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You can easily see how that body position eats recoil, and minimizes movement at the gun (That was a very sweet .338 Laupa Magnum, Barrett MRAD - thank you @Rsquared). From the shooting perspective, your body soaks it up, and there's very little movement as far as scope/shooter/target go. Having the gun "tamed" like it needs to be is the biggest part - but the body position is the second piece of that. Best part of doing that is that it negates - as much as it can - your breathing, and that effect of breathing, when looking through the scope-at-target.

Nice - how you've got that firing side leg out there. You know what's up. Ease up the tension on your solar plexus, minimize how your breathing affects your shot at distance. You nailed that one. The form is good for distance shooting...

I'd run that one - great job!

You, my man, have zero need for any alter ego. There's enough alter ego caged inside of you, for 20 motherfuckers...

Hit that thing with the hairdryer again, and it'll firm up. Should be okay to fire, but it might take some time to get the "tack" out of it. Once it's tack-free, it's game on...

Think it's gonna be dry enough to shoot this weekend? Will it make it? You might wind up with a brown cheek - but it would be worth it...

The Gorge at George is something everyone should experience in their life. What a badass venue...

WHITE Oak Armament, you mean?... That second statement, about the ELDs, is BS. Complete BS. 2657fps is the chrono data that you've shot from these 140gr S&B 6.5C loads, yourself? Same lot number through the chrono at 300' MSL, that you just shot at 1600' MSL? That's not even enough altitude difference to make a difference, honestly. That altitude difference will be very, very minor in muzzle velocity.

What's their chrono velocity that you're seeing?

Who is Oak Standard? Rifle gas in a 22" barrel is already more dwell time, so your pressures are already up. Only projectiles I run in my .260 Rem are Hornady 147 ELD-Ms, and it doesn't eat tips.

The threaded SS pin that is used for the bolt catch is not 4-40. Only the takedown pin setup is 4-40. You can do this (for the takedown pin modification) on any AR lower receiver, small or large frame, doesn't matter if the takedown setup goes in from the back, or from the grip area (only on some .308ARs). I use 6-32 as well for this, because 4-40 set screws aren't always easier to find in local hardware stores, but the 6-32 are everywhere. There's a write-up that's about 10 years old on this mod, somewhere on this site. If you have the 4-40 set screws, you just run a tap in the hole that's already there. If you can't find 4-40s, and you do the 6-32 setup, you need to run a hand-turned drill bit through it first, before you cut the 6-32 threads. On some (all AR15s), you have to cut down the spring length. On .308ARs that go in from the bottom, you have to cut down the spring length. On .308ARs that go in from the back (like an AR15), you need to come up with a spacer, and you DO NOT cut down the spring.

I've only seen that happen on 6.5mm loads when the loads are hot. I've been through it building my .260 Rem loads. Run your cartridges through a chrono, and see where those hot-ass bastards are at. What gas system are you running on that 22" barrel?

Sure will. They were already 638hp on that supercharged LS9 setup, a few years ago.

Cliff's words are right on the money. Out to 400 yards, there is very little difference that barrel length will make, on the .308 Win cartridge. 500 is a little different for shorter-over-longer barrels, using the same load. You start to see the real differences in shorter-over-longer barrels at 600 and beyond. A month or so ago, I took the 13.5" gun out to 400 yards, with just the red dot, just to make sure I still knew the hold overs. Details of the results are in here:

I knew you'd eventually find that hidden gem, brother...

That would be an easy answer, but I asked you something else. Never got an answer from you about this: ^^^

Dirty gun. Needed to be cleaned. That's my take-away, but what am I missing?

With a 6.5 Creedmoor, you can crush 500 yards with a 16" barrel. I have a 20" barrel on my .260 Remington build (the theoretical twin that 6.5 Creedmoor came from), and my handload is supersonic to 1500 yards. So far, it's laser accurate at 845 yards, repeatable, and I've had it at 1000 and 1100 yards very, very effectively. If 500 yards is the ultimate goal, you don't need 22 or 24 inches of barrel to lug around. Are you hunting 500 yards, or punching paper and banging steel at 500 yards?

You may have given the wrong people too much information, and now we'll see the barrels prices go up. I've seen it happen before... John at WOA always asks you why you need a specific gas tube length. He wants to know that YOU know what you're doing - so you don't trash WOA later, based on bad data that you gave them. That would be something that's out of their control. It'll work. JT and I came up with the necessary perfect length, in a long discussion about converting this to a DI gun. You're not building a SIG 716 from this barrel. You're building a .308AR pistol (or SBR, later, if you choose that route) out of a good SIG 716 barrel...

Everything comes down to "what's your intention for the rifle?" You haven't explained that yet, and that drives the whole train...

A Criterion or a Fulton Armory barrel would also be a very excellent choice, right up there with the other 3 I mentioned above.

Aero Precision and Ballistic Advantage barrels - are all Ballistic Advantage barrels. Don't leave Faxon out of the mix, though. BA, Faxon, and WC are what I would have recommended. Rifle +2, don't do that on a 20" barrel, if that's the way you're leaning. 20" doesn't benefit from Rifle +2, and we've seen one here that didn't work. Had to up the gas port size because of it... It's a Dwell Time thing. 22" and 24" can benefit from R+2 gas systems, and soften the recoil. It mitigates the longer Dwell Time that a Rifle gas system on such a long barrel would have, which would increase how harsh it feels... But, it's still 6.5 Creedmoor, so it's not gonna kick you like .308 Win would...

"I always thought bow-hunting was hard. Nah, try getting one with a cannon..." That blood trail and veg is a tracker's dream, right there.

I've been wrenching for money since 2007, after getting out of the Army. In the past 3 or 4 years, I've been converting all my power tools over to Milwaukee tools. Most of them have a 5yr tool warranty, and 3yr battery warranty, and they're tough. When my two corded Dremels die, I'm moving to this one right here: MIlwaukee M2460-21 The "21" at the end is the kit, with battery and charger and case. Don't get the "20" at the end, it's just the tool, no battery, no charger, etc. https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Specialty-Tools/Rotary-Tools/2460-21 The best thing I've ever done was 2 years ago, for soldering wires and connections - I moved to this tool right here. No more dragging extension cords around, in and out of vehicles, cords getting caught. No more. This thing is BAD! https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Specialty-Tools/Heating-Tools/2488-21 So, that's my recommendation, man. I'm basing it on what I've been doing now over the last several years. Migrating all my power tools over to Milwaukee. I use most of them every day, all day long. Haven't had to turn any of them back in to Milwaukee for any warranty work or replacement yet, either. EDIT - I found that kit I recommended above for you online, anywhere between $99 and $119 - and much higher at other places. Deals are out there.

I just spot-checked some .223 Rem, .308 Win, and .338 Fed loads against the book. It looks like the online version for the .223 Rem and .308 Win has more powder options listed than the book does, and Barnes has alot more projectiles available now, over when the book was printed, so the book doesn't have them. The online .338 Fed was identical to the book. If you're looking for a specific Barnes projectile, I'll look that one up, too, and compare it to the online version. Overall, it looks like the online one is more comprehensive.