An enjoyable read - many thanks for taking the time to write it up.
Enjoy your new baby, looks like a good one!
Rgds
Mod
I Picked my baby up yesterday, and spent a soggy morning on the range getting aquainted.
The Rifle was built by Mik Maksimovic of the Dolphin gun company using their own brew modular stock.
There rifle is superbly built, in this case specifically for F/TR class (in .308 Win).
The modular stock is Miks answer to the Gemini and AICS. It aint as smooth as the AICS, and it aint as complicated (or as expensive) as the Gemini, but it ticks as many boxes as I would need ticking.
It has an AR type pistol grip, lower bag rail (adjustable up and down), Manners adjustable butt pad (up and down but no cant, you dont want cant in something shooting long range), Length of stock, seperate length of pull on the grip.
The rifle was built using the Barnard SM action. I realise the purists will scream blue murder that this may compromise stiffness with the mag housing taking away a piece of the receiver, but the thing is built like a tank and those I have asked suggest that for F/TR if there was any flex (which is unlikely) it would be the least of your worries.
Why a mag? Because I want one rifle that will let me compete in F/TR and possibly some of the practical/tactical type coms, hence the magazine feed.
Mik tells me that they laboured hard and long getting the mag fitting and feed just right for the various actions (The chassis system can be purchased for a range of rifles, circ £600). It works and fed and ejected faultlessly. far smoother than my M67 Kongsber and No4.
There are several choices of barrel. I let Mik pick mine as, being Mr F Class, he would know the best way to go for F/TR.
I ended with a Lilja 30" 1 in 13 as this keeps the weight sub limit, launching Factory RUAG .308 match at over 3000fps, and my own preffered home loads (155SMK Palma 2156c, 46gr N140 and Lapua brass) at about 2915. This suits me as I want the barrel to last a while, so dont fancy burning it out too quickly with double base powders.
The rifle actually held 1/2MOA elevation easily in the foul windy/wet weather yesterday, and produced a single ragged hole in tests at 100 with the rounds not optimally loaded (for seating).
I intend looking at Bergers for the long ranges (800-1000) but at £40 per hundred thay will be long range only.
Initially I found the Jewel trigger a bit of a shock, but you rapidly get used to the crisp let off, it is one I wont be messing with any time soon. Light yes, but very predictable an dyou soon forget it.
My own scope was mounted perfectly using third eye alloy mounts and a 20MOA rail.
Mik tells me that rust wont be an issue as the rifle has been designed with foul weather in mind...I will have alook later then
Only time and tinkering about with COLs will show it's full potential, but given the nasty wind yesterday, and my lack of experience in the wind, I was pleased with the results. Far better than my earlier shooting in fair weather, particularly when I sorted my position out (cheers Tim..remember..Bren gun..right?).
One of the things that is telling is that I never expected to be able to shoot, both eyes open, with a .308, and see the target throughout, with the rifle falling nicely back onto aim. The only thing messing things up was my position, which I sorted...thanks to a South African boot
The beast was also supplied with a long tracker bipod. It is obscenely light and easy to adjust for elevation. I have some reservations about the tensioning (like 2 podlocks either side) but it works extremely well, and my reservations are probably down to my lack of understanding (Mik tells me it can be locked down 100%, but it is better to have some movement (tight) particularly at longer ranges so you can adjust if the pod digs in a bit, which even with its rocker type feet it will....it did, and that makes sense)
So that's the rifle, superb, Mik warned me that he did not want me sending him an email saying I had lock jaw due to the permanent grin I had stuck on my mug
So what of the Customer service...well he says he is selling 4 guns a week so something is right.
Apparently one gent wandered into Dolphin desperate to have a barrel fitted, Mik told him how much and he nearly choked on his coffee...."Oh Sh*t" said Mik, "I thought it was too high a price". The gent was shocked as Mik had beaten his nearest quote by £300, and had been told 6-9months...Mik could do it in 2 weeks.
This is one of their strengths in that they keep quite a large stock of barrells and actions in house. My rifle I could have had next day, but was not going to Lincs to collect it. He actually had several poofed actions/barrels ready to go.
On pickup day I met Mik (who swore at me...he always does that, cracking lad with a great SOH and generousity, but tells it how it is), and we waded down to the range. He had a Gazebo set up (which had no effect as the rain was horizontal with the ground most of the time) and someone sorted some coffee...Tim again, cheers bud
The rifle was provided with full paperwork including cleaning/run in advice (He had run mine in testing ammo in it), trigger manual, invoice, chrono print outs, letter to his constabulary, and test target.
It also came with a full set of allen keys, and was presented in a Flambeau hard plastic case...which threw me a bit as I had ordered and AIM drag bag for it.
That said, the hard case will be useful for RFD to RFD courier etc should it need it, and I do prefer the drag bag.
He also supplied me with a short tac front end, a carbon fibre cleaning rod and jag, and a can of wipe out foam as part of may package. These were extras, along with the Bipod.
The wipe out is really clever stuff. Clean the barrel with carbon remover first, then sqirt this stuff down the bore and leave it (anywhere between an hour to 24). The foam will change colour depending on what has been removed (in streaks) and you dont need much...I would leave the bore guide in place and put a towel under it as it is a bit like the quatermass experiment!!
An hour spent sizing that days cases...and bingo, very slight brown staining (went after 3 patches) and the jobs a goodun.
To cap it all, when I got home the rifle just popped into the cabinet with about 2" to spare....bonus. I had measured it and was expecting to collapse the stock a bit to get it in, but clearly those figures were for a very long stock setup
Mik has been very helpful and is a very knowledgeble and approachable bloke, and his wife (Tina) is also very good, they work together with Pete brilliantly (Apart from when Mik sold Petes rifle just as he was about to use it in the McQueens)
He has put up with my bonehead emails, counting sleeps etc...well, we are all kids really
If you are after that one off, "I wont be able to afford to do this again for a bit" type rifle, have a look at the Dolphin Gun Company.
They use top quality components, and produce top quality products, without a chronic price tag
Mik shoots all sorts (and has a pssion for 50 cal) so I doubt anything much will phase him, but take any advice given if you can
http://www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk/
http://www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk/i...=87&Itemid=167
I was actually recommended Mik and Dolphin GC by other F/TR and F Open class shots, so he must be getting it right
Last edited by Parabuteo; 28-04-2012 at 07:18 AM.
I'm a maggot in another life you know
An enjoyable read - many thanks for taking the time to write it up.
Enjoy your new baby, looks like a good one!
Rgds
Mod
For professional guided Deer & Wild Boar Stalking, practical stalking intro's & Deer related training, DSC1 & 2 preparation & witnessing, Field Rifle coaching
Go to www.farringtonds.com - or call me on Tel: 07798 771 062
Nice read , if only me numbers would come up
I have to admit that I could not ordinarilly afford to cough up the thick end of 3k (the base rifle is circa £2500), but my wife is financially pretty switched on.
The plan was to save up, and I already had the Sigtron 8-32x56 LRTD and some saved.
She pointed out it would take a couple of years, during which the price of the cost of parts would go up, and the value of my savings would go down, so she found a small loan at very reasonable interest and suggested I go for it.
If Carlsberg made wifes!!
After an open class guy who shoots very well saying "jees, I only beat you by 1 point with a 4k rifle...you need to trade up mate and be proud of that score" I had to take the plunge having been well and truly bitten.
I think I was shooting with the oldest and least appropriate rifle in the club for F/TR, although a few years ago it would have been exactly what F/TR was all about.
I am lucky to be part of a very good club with a core of very good F, F/TR and bench rest shooters (The Dorset Riflemen). We have several British team members and the past World champ in F/TR, so there is plenty of experience to learn from.
Ian...see you sunday mate...bring the bog snorkelling kit!!
I'm a maggot in another life you know
nice write up i enjoyed that sounds like you have a cracking bit of kit now that will last many years i have looked at there website a couple of times.
im not into target shooting but the other things they do on there are very good. and i like the look of there workshop all the mod cons
the guys certainly seam to know there stuff.
I hope so J.
Mik and John at HPS have suggested I should get quite a lot of millage out of the barrel as long as I stick to N140 ONO.
A lot of really competitive F/TR shots are using the N5** powders, but the double base powders do seem to burn out barrels quicker, although they see barrels as a consumeable...
If you are at that end of the sport I guess they are
Dolphin do all sorts, not just new builds. Mik was on abour re-barrelling his L1A1
I'm a maggot in another life you know
Hello
Where did you test it?
some guns.Eeeek!
Mik goes down to Bisley quite regularly, so I got a trial there with 20 rounds of factory.
I then put 60 of factory and home load through it on receipt at Century, Bisley....in the horizontal rain!!
It has since been used at Stickledown this sunday just gone.
Deluge and windy in the morning (learned all about soggy bullets from that!!) got 56.3 at 900...early days and beat some open classers so not worried as a beginner. Some were obviously bad shots, wind change and wet ammo, so no worries about the rifle.
In the arvo the survivors went back to 1000. Again my lack of experience/consistency let me down, but the wind relented (guess who missed it...) and the sun came out...not for long but it happenned...honest.
The kit was that wet that it took a while to get an image at 1000.
I got a 60.4, which aint bad for a first attempt (I have only shot at 1000 before twice, once with an SSG...I think I scared it!!, and once with John Seagers Open class where I got a 63 something, but he made the wind calls so I cannot claim it really).
The nice thing is thus far there is no sign of water issues, a doddle to look after, and still got a daft grin
I'm a maggot in another life you know
"Only time and tinkering about with COLs will show it's full potential, but given the nasty wind yesterday, and my lack of experience in the wind, I was pleased with the results. Far better than my earlier shooting in fair weather, particularly when I sorted my position out (cheers Tim..remember..Bren gun..right?).
One of the things that is telling is that I never expected to be able to shoot, both eyes open, with a .308, and see the target throughout, with the rifle falling nicely back onto aim. The only thing messing things up was my position, which I sorted...thanks to a South African boot"
Its a service I offer - size 12 up a%^se - to adjust body position and attitude!
But enough years on a bren / FAL does result in certain body positions!
We wont the mention the grumpy snarl I got for the "scope tip"
I went to test the Nesika action that MIK had started doing.
Based on that test I ordered a new Dolphin FTR with the Nesika - with which I won FTR section at the Europeans
But seriously to confirm - Mik sure knows his stuff and the product and service is second to none.
"EagerNoSkill"
Look monkey paws, The next time your brain hurts, try having some saffa arsing about behind you like widdow twankey in a bad pantomime muttering jibberish is Afrikaans!!!
Grumpy snarl is reserved for gobby saffas....you aint sene the last of it, but I also do appreciative smiles as well mate
Joking aside, the scope tip did not work for me Tim, I upset enough folk last week explaining why I know all my elevations form zero/flat rather than the 100yd zero. You just take 17moa off if it bothers you, but the point is I thought any notion of even considering bore sighting at 1000 (if you lose your zero) to be daft.
Why? If you have a sight setting that repeats the POI, then set it
This is how marksmen work, they know what their settings are. If you get really stuffed then you can wind up from zero.
As regards the readings, like I said (and I will show you next time we are out) Sightron really screwed their elevation turret up.
No body marks an elevation table 3-2-1-0-1-2-3....Wind yes, elevation no.
The vernier on the sightron works well and is very clear and repeatable, its just marked wrong.
Easilly sorted with some fine graphic tape either side of the vernier and a fine lumicolour.
It must have been meant to work this way, as out of teh box, the bottom of the EL turret bottoms out a couple of clicks past the zero on the base line.
Incidentally, its funny how the mob and civvy shooters disagree. The mob tend to want things to be intuitive, civvies seem to just get used to something that is wrong (or not ideal) and then accept it.
I start at zero and count up, it has been done for millenia, why change it?
The AAC HWI who was shooting with us was similarly mistified by the assertion by some that me seeing my 100yd zero, not as a base to work from (how can it be, it may move or be reset) but as a setting of 17moa as being wrong.
The base setting approach is fine, if you assume that everyone is shooting with a zero stop scope
That said, You have given me some very good tips Tim, I particularly like the one about the wind building and dropping at different rates, thus centering the MPI down wind allowing a sudden drop to potentially allow a round to drop in the 5.
Thanks again also for the loading info. I have located a suitable die and will speak to dave soon about a pointer.
Looking forward to trying some of the pointed hybrids, like you say, there is a match's worth there plus plenty for tests etc.
I wont use them for chronoing as at teh muzzle it wont make any difference, I will just have to adjust to get a final POI.
I have also found a set of reasonably good electronic scales (apparently a lot of the yanks are using them, Russell is also using them, they have a good write up on the 6BR website) which should improve consistency.
Not lab standard, but highly regarded.
Like you Say, Mik mak builds a superb rifle (surprisingly for someone lacking oposable thumbs), cheap really for what it is.....as long as you do the sodding bedding bolts up...right?
Cheers matey
I'm a maggot in another life you know
I've seen this rifle and it certainly shoots well, so soon to be joined by another Dolphin offering.
Good on you mate.
I am still chuckling about your comment re the calibres you were shooting and the Trident...Glad I asked before asking for an inert example...never get it on the bloody drive John
I learned a lot from that weekend, it's the little things as well that make big differences.
Got a GemPro 250 on order, I know some of my loads were a bit iffy, and Tim has done some quickload work which tied in with my own ladder tests and chrono work says I should be able to lose a grain and still be zipping along...jacket intactum..ideally
Good to meet you as well, great bunch of guys, I was all shot out by Sunday arvo though
Good luck
C
I'm a maggot in another life you know