..by Ian Smedley
After owning a Sako TRG22 .308 for 2 years and shooting pretty well with it I thought it was time for a new rifle. I decided that I wanted to stick with FTR and was originally going to get the TRG re-barrelled to a 32″ 1 in 10 twist. However, I ended up selling it and approaching Dolphin Gun Company for a bespoke build.
Parts picked ready for the build.
I had a long chat with Mik Maksimovic and went through various options and with a deposit paid the build began. I decided on their Modular Rifle System with a 32″ 1 in 10 twist barrel with spiral fluting, a Barnard S action, Jewel trigger and a 20 minute rail.
Also went for the Dolphin Trakker bipod and lapped rings. The stock is Dolphins own design which they CNC themselves.
Ready to chamber.
Cartridge length determined.
For optics I have gone for a Sightron SIII 10-50×60 bought from the lads at Dauntsey Guns which I have tried out on my SGC AR15 .223 and it is a stunning scope.
The throat has been cut to work with .308 Sierra Match King 200gr HPBT bullets and the 1 in 10 twist will stabilize them whilst the 32 barrel should give me the necessary velocity for 1200 yards.
Chambered and ready for proof.
I first saw the stock at the Bisley Phoenix meet on Fox Firearms stand. It is a lovely piece of engineering.
Dolphin Stock.
Throat being set.
The barrel has been duracoated in black after being spiral fluted. Perhaps a little OTT but I really like it!
Duracoated Barrel.
It is assembled and the head space checked.
Assembly and head space checked.
Trigger is then fitted.
Jewel trigger fitted.
Here she is, all assembled, just awaiting scope rings, scope and bipod.
…Update 09/10/2012
Pictures arrived with the bipod fitted… Nearly ready!
…Update 14/10/2012
First outing at Bisley on Century Range 600 Yards. Just shooting strings of 3 between cleans but once sighted in everything landed in the 5 ring.
…Update 14/01/2013
So first club competition outing, 300 yards at Bisley on F Class targets.
I have not had chance to do any load development so had to go with a few best guesses.
Sierra 200gr MatchKing HPBT with 39.8gr of Vit n540 and an OAL of 2.965″ (calculations made using QuickLoad Pro software).
The weather conditions were very stable with a very light wind from 3 o’clock so all looked good for a good score and the rifle did not disappoint.
75.10 out of a possible 75.15… Very happy with that!