NF1E

Ok. Finished the load development for this bullet. 150 flat base custom by Jerry Carpenter, .308 bullet in MEN berdan cases with tula primer over 43.5 gn of Varget. 9 rnds in .5 moa with one flyer making the max spread .75 moa with an average of .350. I will settle on this one out of an M14 type rifle for sure. Now, down to the bench to load up a few hundred. Whatta Hobby!

Great news.

Time to junk a bunch of LC, RA and DAG brass. Finally got up the guts to bring out a few boxes of new Lapua .308 brass out of the stash. Annealed it this afternoon and sized all 400 cases. First half has been sized, wet tumbled in the SS pins and is now in the dryer. Once dried it gets trimmed and them primed and ready to load. Whatta Hobby!

Our friend Art NeerGaard has a way of making purchases memorable. In addition to great ordered products he sends out pretty unique gifts. Most recent is his magazine dipstick. Simply drop in between case necks down to follower and you can tell whats left in the mag. One side is for 7.62/.308 and the reverse does 5.56/.223. Both go to 20 rnds. so you guys with normal 30 rnd mags will need to improvise. What a neat idea. Thanks again Art. Whatta Hobby!

Been taking them apart and putting them back together since USMC boot camp in the '60s so they seem fairly simple to me. My Rem 700 triggers have all been changed to after market too. Makes the game more fun , for me. Whatta Hobby!

Got in another Shootingsight NM EBR trigger and lightened hammer today. Used a brandy new Bula Defense Systems trigger group to install the parts in. About 10 minutes and parts are in, adjusted with screws loctited, lubed and ready for attaching to an XM21. I have a bunch of these in my precision M14s. Wonderful 2 stage take up and break that is pretty much permanent. No more polishing the old NM triggers for me. Art Neergaard has come up with a solution that really works. Whatta Hobby!

Loaded some RA 68 brass .308 with 150 gn fb over 41.5 gn of IMR-8208 and had to give it a go on my range. Whatta Hobby!

Rifle is a Bula Defense Systems M-14 type .308 rear lugged XM21 with ultra heavy 1-10 Bula barrel in a JAE Gen III chassis , Bula trigger group, OSS HX-QD .338 TI magnum suppressor, Atlas bipod , Accushot monopod. Scope is a Night Force NX8 4-32x50. Shot off bipod. Ammo used is RA 68 brass loaded with a 150gn Berger fb target over 41.5 gn of IMR-8208 set off with 210M primers. Whatta Hobby!

Shot a five targets this morning at 100 yds. Couldn't resist a chance with no wind in Mark's Hollow. Rifle is a CZ-457 with Timney 10 0z trigger, Lilja 20" SS barrel,single load adapter, S-7 bipod and Sightron SIIISS 10-50x60mm. She prefers the X-ACT at 100 yds even though it's a little slower. Whatta Hobby!

Used the Rock Chucker in it's designated place this morning swaging 300 .223 Federal GMM cases. Having had it for over half a century, I had to find a use for it now that the Forster Co-as replaced it as my main loading press. Whatta Hobby!

I find the Forster Co-ax a much more user friendly press than my Rock chuckers. Love just popping the dies in and not having to use a shell holder. Just a better all around device for my uses.

I have used a Rock Chucker for over 50 years and not too many years ago I added a Forster Coax. One at a time is the best way for precision. I have been loading between 5 and 10 K of .308 for decades. Whatta Hobby!

Only thing today was to plunk down a 1K pieces 14lb box of new Starline .223 brass that UPS just dropped off.

Changed out the Leupold 16x MK 4 for a Sightron 45x fixed for some experimentation. Dang this stuff is fun when you aren't rushed. Got in another case of the Federal GM that is using the 73 gn Bergers. Rifle really seems to like that cartridge. Working up some handloads to try to get as good accuracy. Whatta Hobby!

Makes a huge difference when all the stars align. With P-Mags you can file some material off the rear inside to give you a few thou of extra clearance. I prefer a jump of .004 over a jamb. Whatta Hobby!

It is also a 1/2 moa shooter with Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor 140 gn commercial ammo. Whatta Hobby!

The wrap works " OK " , but things do get hot. My OSS suppressors are titanium so they can handle the heat. Mirage sucks without a cover. Whatta Hobby!

I use the blue to quickly identify my 6.5 Creedmoor M14s. That set up is pretty heavy at 20# but I shoot prone so the weight is not a problem. Whatta Hobby!

Thanks. I have enjoyed putting as many variations of the M14 together as I can. At least the ones that appealed to me. There are a few that just didn't cut the mustard.

Been know to keep a few M14 type rifles around. Only 1 M1A in the whole herd. Whatta Hobby!

Planning on ordering one in 6.5 Creedmoor to go on my M5 lower after a week up in Maine. Having more fun and any old fool should be allowed.

Fired 20 rnds at 100 yds this morning with my bolt AR Unitah 20" upper .223 Wylde. I think 9th is going to like his when he gets a chance to shoot it. Amazing! Warmup on sightin target produced 5/8" max spread for 10 rnds. Moved the scope up one click and left one click before shooting the MR-31C. Final score is 100-10X. 1/2" max spread for 10 rnds. This is shot off Atlas bipod with bunny bag. Next goal with this rifle is to shoot a 100-10X without breaking the X ring. Whatta Hobby!

Well, got out an fired just 20 rnds with my bolt AR. Trying new ammo. I bought a couple of cases of Federal GM .223 that uses Berger 73 gn otm which is advertised as 2800 fps at the muzzle. Left the scope with setting from handloads that were running the same. First 2 shots clean cold bore were dead center on my sight in target then creeped up slightly. Dropped the elevation 2 clicks and moved onto an MR-31 and shot a 100-9x. First two shots on the MR-31C were at 11 oclock. Left the scope setting alone because they were Xs and the rest were down near 6, go figure. One thing I noticed with this ammo is it produces tons of white smoke. Almost like shooting black powder. I like the 7 rnds through the one 1/4" hole at 6. Now if I could get over being exhausted it would be a lot more fun. Whatta Hobby!

Thank you Sir. I have been know to turn out a few over the years. Whatta Hobby!

The rifle shown is built on an LRB M-25 receiver which has rear sight and rail that is fitted to dovetails on the receiver. The receivers alone are Bula Defense Systems XM21s which have no rear sight and the rails are machined as part of the receiver. There are many variations of the M14 available and in my opinion the XM21 version is the most stable for optic installations. Here are a few XM21s that I have built into rifles.