BillyGoat Machine 375 CheyTac First Shots

[LynnJr]

Due to a recent surgery I had the kid who runs the local range shoot my new 375 CheyTac build.
I had no data on the load so I picked a safe medium and seated the bullets 0.070 off the lands.
First three shots fired hit about 20 inches high on a 2 foot target and the kid at the range fired the gun standing up with his eyes closed.
No front or rear rest just three sandbags.
It looks like with a little load development and a good rest system it should be a shooter!!!
A huge thanks to Calguns Poster Skkeeter for his outstanding machine work at BillyGoat Machine!!!

For those not familiar we used a barrel block to hold the barrel and let the action and trigger float in space. The action doesn't make any contact at all with the stock.

[DueceMcGurk]

Nice rifle, but what happened to that guys legs. Did the recoil spiral his kneecaps? lol

[LynnJr]

He had never shot a barrel blocked gun before and assumed it was going to fly apart on him.
My wife told him I put spoonfuls of powder in each case when all I was doing was tapping on the funnel so the powder would flow.

[ELR Researcher]

Lynn:

So you aligned the scope on target before each of his shots? And the target was at what distance?

Is that how you actually expect to shoot it (scope, scope mount, brake - esp that wimpy little brake)?

BTW, those front and rear rails are both parallel to the bore. Correct? Pic (to me) makes them look otherwise.

[LynnJr]

Oscar
He aligned it at 100 yards for each shot on a 7.62X39 case sitting on the ground because it was 22 inches high due to the rings. The Ivey base when set at zero has me on at 1000 yards.
So in short the rings are setup for a 1000 yard zero.
That is how it will be shot and the small caliber brake actually works well on this combo because of the weight We shot the 338 Lapua Ackley Improved the day before with the same scope setup so we knew to aim low of the target. The muzzlebrake worked well on that gun as well which was a pleasant surprise.
I still need to bed the barrel block with marine Tex and it will be ready for a match.
The only pain in this setup is the pinch bolts on the barrel block come up from the bottom instead of down from the top. It gives the block a cleaner look but it makes installing the barreled action into the stock more time consuming because you have to time the trigger so it doesn't hit the trigger guard outside of the stock.
If the pinch bolts came down from the top the bottom of the block can stay bolted into the stock while the barreled action gets installed and timed to center up the trigger a one minute job at most.
Witness marks are a must.
The tracking rails are parallel and perpendicular to the bore of the barrel.
The secondary reason for the tracking rails is your gun doesn't rock side to side in the bags.
On a typical flat bottomed stock the torque of firing the gun and opening and closing the bolt rocks the forend in the sand bags. After a short period of time the sand moves to the center of the bag creating a crown in the middle and allowing the gun to torque under recoil.
With the rails we have 3 points of contact creating a very stable plane or a barstool affect and the gun sits rigid making it more consistent.

[theduracellbigd]

Nice rifle, but what happened to that guys legs. Did the recoil spiral his kneecaps? lol

HaHa, or maybe he isn't use to shooting something that looks like a Star Wars gun.

[divingin]

First three shots fired hit about 20 inches high on a 2 foot target and the kid at the range fired the gun standing up with his eyes closed.

That's funnier than hell. Not exactly unusual, but makes a good picture.

we used a barrel block to hold the barrel and let the action and trigger float in space. The action doesn't make any contact at all with the stock.

[/quote]

Buddy of mine has 2 BR rifles set up that way. One is a single block, the other is set up like a pair of bridge towers, similar to a one-piece scope mount. They both shoot very well.

[LynnJr]

He is used to shooting Big Red my 94 pound 50BMG but without epoxy and using a tapered barrel in the block I didn't want him getting scope eyed the day before he went elk hunting and putting the blame on me.

[DueceMcGurk]

He had never shot a barrel blocked gun before and assumed it was going to fly apart on him.
My wife told him I put spoonfuls of powder in each case when all I was doing was tapping on the funnel so the powder would flow.

Lynn,
You might want to use him again for hazardous duty. So don't tell him that turning your head and closing your eyes offers little protection in an explosion. lol

[LynnJr]

The crazy part is he has shot 3 new builds for me and I haven't pulled the trigger once.
My left rotator cuff was just repaired and so far combing my hair is painful.

[mtenenhaus]

LynnJr, hope you heal up well and quickly.

enjoy learning about your rifle/sport. wasn't familiar with that type of rifle. looks very cool and very expensive

thanks for sharing

[LynnJr]

mtenenhaus
I don't drink chase women snort cocaine or live in a fancy home so every penny goes into guns and a little into hunting.
The actions run $1100 the trigger is $175 the stock is $350 as a flat top trigger guard is $25 muzzlebrake is $40 barrel block is $250-$400
The barrels and install is where you spend your money and these barrels don't last as long as a 223 or 308.
Next the brass runs $3 a case as do the bullets. Powder is 144 grains per shot so you only get 48 shots per pound of powder. Primers are cheap.
Dies run $400.
The scope on my rifle is a Nightforce 12-42 NXS and they sell used around $1100.
You can go crazy high on a scope if you want. Lots of $3000+ scopes on the line.
I bought the stock and barrel block used for around $400 and the barrel block in my opinion is upside down. If the pinch bolts came down from the top you could leave the bottom of the block attached to the stock and unscrew the top of the block easily.

You could have your barreled action with the trigger drop straight into the lower block for ease of alignment.

As it sits now it looks clean but I have to remove the block as an assembly and install it as an assembly. The trial and error of getting the trigger centered up is annoying due to the weight of the stock and the barreled action in the barrel block.

In the near future I plan on drilling the pinch bolts all the way through and going down from the top just to ease assembly.
Recoil on this rifle shot free recoil is about 7/8 of an inch so it's actually a creampuff to shoot.

[mtenenhaus]

thanks

glad to hear the recoil is tolerable....from the photo of the gentleman shooting the rifle it sure looked like it would pack a wallop. I've always struggled with recoil, not sure why exactly.

looks like a fun sport

[DueceMcGurk]

Lynn,

Hope you heal quickly. That is a tough injury for a high recoil shooter.