Well, bad news...
Bad news for my credit card statement, that is!!
It’s keeping warm in the safe beside some new friends. I found a line on some 105 Berger Hybrids today, picking them up Monday from another shooter, and I have some Vortex branded Seekins medium rings and both Redding and Hornady dies in the mail, all should be here by the time I get back from work this week. I’ve had a Bushnell DMR II collecting dust for a few months, so that’ll go on top once the rings arrive. Had plenty of Lapua 6.5 creed brass on hand, and about 8lbs left of H4350, so we should be cooking next weekend.
The new Seekins bottom metal is a bit different, and I’m going to need some time to adjust. It’s not the old push button type I’ve used and not the typical exposed lever release, but rather has the lever integral to the trigger guard. It’s great for being snag proof and it looks fantastic, but I’m struggling a bit to get the magpul AICS pattern mags to pull free, since my thumb is inside the trigger guard and I end up putting a weird force on the mag body trying to pull it free. Real metal body AICS and Accurate Mags pull free easily, so I may be happy to be a mag snob and simply stick with the metal Accurate and AI mags I have. I was a little dismayed at first that this one has the blackened bolt and handle, vs. the new all stainless ones, BUT - I read this is a DLC black, not just bluing, and sure enough, with a spritz of Hornady One Shot Dry, it’s slicker than goose schitt on a bootheel.
The Timney 510 is what it’s supposed to be (a great trigger) - although I do have a Jewel HVR in the drawer, which MAY get transplanted sooner than later. The 510 is a great trigger though, and I really can’t justify any legitimate complaint with it.
The McMillan Game Warden stock is a little narrow on the comb for my liking, BUT I almost universally need a cheek riser, and this rifle doesn’t seem to be an exception, so I won’t be feeling the stock comb once it’s up and running anyway. I have a machinist on my staff who will cut a delrin riser however I need it, so I’ll be planning for that as soon as I get the scope mounted and my cheek height confirmed. I’ll be tearing it out of the stock next weekend to see if it’s already skimmed in, and doing so if it is not. Like any McMillan stock I have handled or owned, it’s a very well made stock, and is very, very stiff in the forend.
It’ll get a SiCo ASR muzzle brake and spend a few months waiting while my Omega is in jail. It’ll most likely be fired exclusively suppressed once my stamp clears.
My wife is insistent - and I tend to agree - the pea soup puke green stock is going to need a cerakote job soon. If she shoots well, I’ll be thinking of some graffiti for the stock, probably do something in a GAP or Kuiu camo pattern with some accent graphic on the sidewall of the buttstock.
All in all, I’m hoping it shoots as good as it feels and looks. Range reports (and plenty of shameless brag posts) to follow in the near future.