Sporting Firearms Journal

®

RIFLERIFLE

MOSSBERG’S MVP 7.62 NATO

WinchesterXPR

Hunter

Steyr’s AUG Turns 40!

TESTED:• Nightforce Scopes• Black Hills Gold Ammunition

SHOOTING NEW.30 CARBINES

Display until 8/7/17 Printed in USA

July 2017 No. 293

Rifle 293www.riflemagazine.com

COLUMNS

6 Cartridge Design Spotting Scope - Dave Scovill

12 Bergara Sporting Rifles Lock, Stock & Barrel - Lee J. Hoots

16 Leupold Riflescopes Mostly Long Guns - Brian Pearce

20 Trapdoors Down Range - Mike Venturino

24 Big-Bore Plinker Project – Part II Light Gunsmithing - Gil Sengel

28 Nightforce for the Long Shot A Rifleman’s Optics - John Haviland

62 Black Hills Gold .243 Winchester Ammunition Product Tests - Richard Mann

66 Fausti Class Express .30-06 Double Rifle Custom Corner - Stan Trzoniec

70 The Joys of Simplification Walnut Hill Terry Wieland

FEATURES

30 Mossberg MVP 7.62 NATO Mossberg’s Newest Varmint Rifle Brian Pearce

36 The AUG at 40 Steyr’s Answer to the AR-15 Terry Wieland

40 .30 Carbines Shooting Samples from Inland Manufacturing Co. Mike Venturino

46 Thompson/Center Compass Testing a Budget-Priced .30-06 John Haviland

52 21st Century Rodent Rifles Why less cartridge is sometimes more. John Barsness

58 Winchester XPR Hunter Test Firing a .270 Winchester Stan Trzoniec

On the cover . . .A Winchester XPR Hunter .270Winchester with a Redfield 3-9x40mm Revenge scope (photo by Stan Trzoniec); a Mossberg MVP 7.62 NATO/.308 with a Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x 40mmscope (photo by Brian Pearce); a Steyr AUG with a Meopta 1-6x RD scope (photo by Terry Wieland).

4

Page 52 . . .

Page 40 . . .

Page 46 . . .

Page 12. . .Page 6 . . .

Page 20 . . .

Page 66 . . .

28 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 293

H unting license holders, as a percentage of the U.S. pop-

ulation, have dropped by nearly half since 1960. It’s estimated that gun owners outnumber hunters five to one. These folks want to shoot their rifles, and an increas-ing number of them are taking up target shooting, specifically long-range shooting. This popularity is signified by all the tactical “chas-sis” rifles manufacturers have in-troduced in the last few years and sniper-style competitions around the country, like the Precision Rifle Series.

Nightforce Optics has been mak-ing scopes with a tactical focus for 25 years for these long-range rifles and shooting. Last fall I attended a long-range shooting course spon-sored by Nightforce at the CORE Shooting Solutions Center near Baker, Florida (www.coreshooting .com). The CORE site is sort of like a golf course, with a club-house and stretches of mowed fairways, except it’s encircled by tall embankments, and bullets hit steel plates instead of white balls. Shooting there does not entail sit-

ting and freezing in the cold or sweating in the sun in hopes of taking a single shot at a passing deer. Shoot all you like, then retire to the clubhouse for an appropri-ate beverage.

Shooting started with Accuracy International’s Accuracy Tacti- cal bolt-action .308 Winchester ri-fles with Nightforce ATACR (Ad- vanced Tactical Riflescope) 5-25x 56mm F1, 4-16x 42mm F1 and the 7-35x 56mm F1 scopes. Instructors Bryan Morgan, Terry Cross and Ryan Castle assessed our shoot-ing form with a critical eye.

After firing a shot, my hunting habit is to lift my head off the stock

comb to work the bolt and survey the area and game for telling re-sults. Cross coached me to keep my cheek on the comb and con-tinue looking through the scope while cycling the bolt. That saves time between firing the next shot and before the ever-changing wind switches intensity or direction.

Everyone seemed to prefer twist-ing the elevation turret to compen- sate for bullet drop at various distances, even though the scopes

A RIFLEMAN’S OPTICS by John Haviland

nightforCefor the long shot

The Nightforce ATACR 4-16x 42mm F1 scope has an elevation turret dial to compensate for bullet drop. The scope also features a MIL-R reticle to compensate for distance and wind.

The reticle is in the first focal plane on the Nightforce ATACR 4-16x 42mm F1 scope, so the spaces between reticle graduations remain the same at all distances.

With the correct ballistics determined, ringing plates at 1,000 yards with an Accuracy International bolt-action .300 Winchester Magnum and a Nightforce scope proved fairly easy.

(Continued on page 64)

featured reticles based on min-ute-of-angle or mil-radian divi-sions to compensate for bullet drop and drift. The instructors had precisely determined the ballistics of the rifles and loads beforehand and knew exactly how much to dial up the elevation turret on the scopes to aim right on from 100 to 1,000 yards. They called out required elevation adjustments. Wind is the gremlin of long-range shooting. They watched the move-ment of grass and mirage to judge the wind, called windage correc-tion and yelled, “Send it!”

Steel plates at one station stood at 300, 450 and 550 yards. Shoot-ing prone with the rifles supported on a bipod, we dialed and held for the wind and hit each plate three times from one distance to the next. The elevation turret on the scopes must have been twisted from one end of their adjustment range to the other 100 times during two days of shooting.

The magnification turned up to 25x and even 35x on a couple of the Nightforce scopes. That high mag-nification provides a more exact look at extreme long range or small

targets. One shooting scenario consisted of small steel plates in-side the shade of vehicles at 400 to 700 yards. I had to turn magnifica-tion to about 20x to distinguish the plates from the dark surroundings. I was shooting with the rifle some-what less than steadily balanced over a big rock, and the high mag-nification exaggerated my shake. Plus, mirage was boiling up some and distorted the view. I hit a few – and missed a few.

Mirage increased in the sun-light of midday. Shooting at 1,000 yards, a white plate danced about through the 7-35x 56mm F1 scope set on 25x. The view of the plate was sharp with the scope set at 15x. When I missed the plate, it was to the side from failing to hold the correct amount for the wind.

At another setup, five shots were fired at a plate hidden behind a berm at 740 yards. The idea was to trust the scope’s windage and elevation adjustments. We aimed at a circle of orange clay targets visible high and to the left of the hidden plate. A spotter who could see the concealed plate shouted adjustments. We dialed and shot. Four of my shots arched over the berm and landed in a tight circle

in the center of the plate. The final bullet hit the plate but slightly to the right.

To see exactly how a Nightforce scope is adjusted, I borrowed a Nightforce ATACR 4-16x 42mm F1 scope and at home mounted it on a Colt LE901 autoloading .308 Winchester. Sighting it in at 100 yards, several three-shot groups measured a touch under an inch while shooting handloads consist-ing of 44.0 grains of TAC powder and Berger 168-grain Target Hy-brid bullets.

Switching to targets at 300 yards, bright sunlight shined right at me and mirage rose off the snow-cov-ered ground. Targets stood in deep shade. Setting the scope at 12x pro-vided a clear view of the black cir-cles on white paper through all that interference. The first three bullets hit 10.5 inches below aim. The holes were plainly visible through the scope. In fact, the holes were eas-ier to see through the scope than through my 16-48x 60mm spotting scope set on any power.

I could have dialed up the ele-vation turret to raise bullet impact even with the center crosshair in the scope’s MIL-R reticle, but bul-let drop at 300 yards was nearly one milliradian, and the floating center crosshair is 1.0 mil across in the MIL-R reticle. The reticle is positioned in the scope’s first focal plane, so the reticle spac-ing remains constant at all mag-nifications. Aiming with the 1-mil hash mark on the lower wire, I fired three bullets into a 4-inch group. Shooting (or referring to a ballistic program) to determine bullet trajectory at different dis-tances and establishing hash marks to compensate for drop at those distances is, in the long run, far quicker than dialing elevation.

All this calculating and shoot-ing in Florida and at home was fas-cinating and instructive. It put into focus the constant dependence on a scope to hit targets at ever-chang-ing distances. All the shots I fired during those sessions were more than I would fire in years of hunt-ing and would make me a better shot while hunting.

Accuracy In A Jar! Pro-Bed2000

The Ultimate Stock Bedding Epoxywww.scorehi.com

G U N S M I T H I N G

Featuring: Stockwork • Accurizing • Custom Rifles

Toll Free: 800-326-5632 • Tel: 505-292-5532 • Fax: 505-292-2592

Are you a custom gunsmith?Ever tried bone char for casehardening

or barrel bluing?2 sizes of bone char available.

Now available in 4 lb. pails.

P.O. BOX 3247 - MELVINDALE, MI 48122(313) 388-0060 ebonex@flash.net

WWW.EBONEX.COM

A RIFLEMAN’S OPTICS(Continued from page 28)

R

www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 29364

Brian Pearce

Beginning in 2011, Mossberg introduced the MVP (Moss-berg Varmint Predator) bolt- action rifle series available in

.204 Ruger and 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem-ington, with varying barrel lengths and weights. It was designed specif-ically for this family of cartridges. In firing multiple rifles extensively, in the field and at home, I was pleased with the function and accuracy.

MOSSBERG MVP7.62 NATO

www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 29330

Mossberg’s Newest Varmint RifleJuly-August 2017 www.riflemagazine.com 31

of the bolt cap, is a two-position design and allows the bolt to be opened (to remove a cartridge) while in the “safe” position.

The trigger features a familiar center pivot lever that has become common from other manufacturers; Mossberg refers to it as the Lightning Bolt Action (LBA) trigger and was factory set on the test rifle to break cleanly at 2 pounds, 3 ounces. As a unique cos-metic feature, the image of a lightning bolt is cut in the trigger’s pivot lever.

The round receiver is machined from high-tensile bar stock and is secured to the stock via two guard screws, with a third wood screw to secure the rear of the trigger guard to the stock. The guard screws are housed in steel pillars, while a barrel lock nut secures the recoil lug and barrel to the action. The receiver is drilled to direct gases away from the shooter in the unlikely event of a ruptured case, while flanges on the bolt assembly act as a final protection from gases.

The 24-inch barrel is slightly tapered and measures .750-inch diameter at the muzzle, a “medium bull” con-figuration. There are six flutes that begin just forward of the forearm and extend 111⁄2 inches, while the muz-zle features a recessed crown. The barrel is button rifled and has a 1:10 twist. My sample rifle was shipped in late 2016 so does not feature a threaded

While it offered several notable features, of significance was that it accepts standard AR-15-pattern detachable mag-azines, which can be handy in a varmint rifle. It was also priced attractively, with a

current MSRP of around $710. In subsequent years, Mossberg

has introduced several addi-tional models and has added the

.300 AAC Blackout cartridge.In 2013, the MVP became available

with a larger action that would house car-tridges such as the 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester

family of cartridges. This version accepts standard AR-10 magazines and is shipped with a 10-round ver-sion. For the purposes of this article, an MVP Varmint 7.62 NATO was obtained.

The large action features a standard 90-degree bolt lift with twin locking lugs that are staked to the bolt body. It features a countersunk bolt face, plunger ejector and rotating extractor for a push-feed system. The right lug (or bottom lug when the action is closed) is slotted to correspond with an antibind rail. The bolt body is spiral fluted, the bolt handle is swept back and the knob is knurled. The safety, to the right side

A Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x 40mm Custom Shop scope with Tactical Milling Reticle (TMR) was installed using Leupold QRW rings.

Left, the rifle has a two-position safety and the bolt handle is swept back. Above, the Lightning Bolt Trigger (LBT) is adjustable and factory set at 2 pounds, 3 ounces.

MOSSBERGMVP 7.62 NATO

32 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 293

barrel; however, the 2017 model comes standard with a threaded barrel and cap.

The MVP 7.62 NATO (aka 7.62x 51mm NATO) can also be fired with .308 Winchester ammunition. There are several technical specification differences between the two car-tridges, including case weight and capacity, but it should be noted that the .308 is generally loaded to higher pressures. Nonetheless, SAAMI considers it safe and inter-changeable to fire .308 Winchester ammunition in a 7.62 NATO-cham-bered bolt action. Mossberg also recommends using .308 Winchester ammunition in its rifles.

The stock is a gray laminate with a shade of green, a mix of tan and is fitted with a soft, ven-tilated one-inch-thick recoil pad. The barrel channel is free-floated, and the forearm measures 2.2 inches wide with a flat bottom, an asset when shooting from a sand-bag rest. The pistol grip features a palm swell. The forearm and pistol grip are machine laser-checkered in a unique pattern that appears to simulate branches and leaves.

A Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x 40mm Custom Shop scope with Tacti-cal Milling Reticle (TMR) was installed on the test rifle using Leupold QRW rings. It features a 30mm main tube and offers

77.0 MOA elevation and wind-age adjustment, allowing plenty of room for the target shooter to “dial” and zero with any reason-able long-range .308 Winchester load shot out to 1,000 yards and beyond. This scope also features a generous eye relief of 5 inches at 6.5x, and 3.70 inches at 20x. Other notable features include side parallax adjustment, side fo-cus and a Twilight Max Light Man-agement system said to enhance color transmission. Also special ordered were long-range eleva-tion and windage adjustment di-als that feature a cap to prevent their being inadvertently turned

Mossberg MVPVarmint 7.62NATO Series

SpecificationsCaliber: 7.62 NATO (7.62x51mm NATO) and .308 WinchesterAction: turn bolt, 90-degree rotation, push feedReceiver: machined high-tensile bar stockSafety: two-positionTrigger: Lightning Bolt Action, adjustable from 2.5 to 7 poundsFactory set trigger pull: 2 pounds, 3 ouncesStock: gray, green and tan laminate, free- floating, pillar beddedLength of pull: 13.25 inchesBarrel: button rifled, 1:10 twistBarrel length: 24 inches, threaded with capOverall length: 44 inchesMagazine: accepts AR-10, ships with 10-round versionWeight: 8.75 poundsMSRP: $754.00

in the field. The scope was leveled by placing levels on the factory in-stalled cross-slot base and on top of the scope cap.

To help with barrel break-in, for the first five shots the bore was completely cleaned after every round using Bore-Tech Copper Re-mover with a light coat of oil being wiped in the bore between shots. For the next 20 rounds, the bore was cleaned and lightly oiled af-ter every five shots. Perhaps this method was not as complete as the standard accepted methods of bar-rel break-in commonly used today; however, the amount of time spent was reasonable, and it did not take days of firing and cleaning before test shooting could begin. Inciden-tally, by viewing the bore before and after, using a Lyman digital borescope, this minimal amount of break-in procedure definitely

helped smooth the bore’s surfaces and reduced copper fouling.

After sighting in the rifle at 100 yards, a variety of factory loads were tried for accuracy, with those results appearing in the accom- panying table. Some of the top performers included the Hornady 155-grain A-MAX Match load, with the average of three, five-shot groups going into just under .65 inch. A Black Hills Gold Match load containing the same A-MAX bullet averaged just slightly larger groups of .70 inch. The Nosler-Custom 165- grain Ballistic Tip load recorded very low extreme spreads and produced one group that measured over .50 inch; the

average of three groups measured just over .70 inch. Federal Match Gold Medal ammunition contain-ing Sierra 168-grain BTHP bullets averaged .75 inch. (Note: Groups were measured center-to-center, averaged, then rounded to the nearest .05 inch.)

A few handloads were also tried that produced some interesting results. One of the advantages of tailoring handloads to a particular rifle includes seating bullets out so they are closer to the leade, which often, but not always, maximizes accuracy. When handloading for the MVP 7.62 NATO, overall car-tridge length is limited to industry standards of 2.810 inches due to magazine length. In other words, if bullets are seated out so the overall cartridge length exceeds that limit, they will not load into the magazine and must be fired in single-shot mode.

Two handloads were assembled that included the Sierra 155-grain HPBT Palma Match bullet pushed 2,820 fps using 45.0 grains of Hodg-don Varget powder. This bullet was seated with overall cartridge lengths of 2.805 and 2.880 inches with the latter load being fired in the single-shot mode. Next the Hor-nady 178-grain ELD-X bullet was loaded in conjunction with 43.5 grains of Varget for 2,625 fps. Again two overall cartridge lengths were tried, 2.805 and 2.870 inches with the latter being loaded individually.

July-August 2017 www.riflemagazine.com 33

Mossberg MVP Varmint 7.62 NATOAccuracy Results

advertised actual 100-yard group bullet velocity velocity 3-group average (grains) (fps) (fps) (inches)

factory loads

147 Winchester/USA FMJ 2,800 2,818 1.25150 Federal Nosler Partition 2,840 2,856 1.10150 Federal American Eagle FMJ-BT 2,820 2,801 1.20155 Black Hills Gold Match Hornady A-MAX 2,750 2,769 .70155 Hornady Match A-MAX 2,860 2,872 .65165 NoslerCustom Ballistic Tip 2,800 2,777 .70165 Nosler BT 2,800 2,792 .85168 Federal Gold Medal Match Sierra BTHP 2,600 2,613 .75168 Nosler Defense Bonded 2,750 2,755 .95168 Winchester Supreme Competition Nosler HPBT 2,680 2,644 1.05185 HSM Berger HPBT 2,606 2,592 1.05190 HSM HPBT 2,484 2,513 .90

Notes: Velocities recorded from a 24-inch barrel.

The MVP 7.62 NATO Varmint rifle variant can be used with either 7.62 NATO or .308 Winchester ammunition.

The Mossberg MVP bolt head is staked to the bolt body. It features a plunger ejector and rotating extractor for a push-feed system.

34 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 293

In each instance, loads with bul-lets that were seated out produced better accuracy. For example, the Sierra 155-grain bullet averaged groups of .77 inch when seated to 2.805 inches, while groups with the bullet seated to 2.880 inches shrunk to .61 inch. Similar results were observed with the Hornady 178-grain ELD-X bullet, with three groups averaging .72 inch with bullets seated to 2.805 inches, but groups averaged .59 inch when seated to 2.870 inches. While these experiments are certainly not con-clusive, I suspect that if Moss-berg would cut chambers with a slightly shorter leade, there would be an overall improvement in ac-curacy, particularly with factory and handloads that are within in-dustry maximum overall cartridge lengths.

The MVP 7.62 NATO should ap-peal to hunters, target shooters, and anyone looking for a simple yet effective general-purpose tac-tical rifle. It is also finding favor with small law enforcement de-partments.

Approximately eight months be-fore starting this article, my son Porter purchased an MVP Varmint in the same configuration as the rifle used herein. He developed mul-tiple handloads tailored to achieve top-notch accuracy. Initially, he used the Hornady 178-grain A-MAX

bullet (now replaced by the ELD-X) at 2,808 fps using 47.5 grains of Hodgdon CFE 223 powder, CCI BR-2 primers and Federal Cartridge AE 7.62 NATO brass, which proved accurate at long range.

He enjoys hunting coyotes, but this past winter was severely cold with subzero temperatures and deep snow. The coyotes seemed sparse, but as winter dragged on, we began seeing them in packs of five or six, which is very unusual. They began hunting and killing valuable livestock, especially tar-geting young beef calves. Soon we began getting phone calls from neighboring ranchers asking us to help them thin out these pesky predators.

On a Sunday morning, while

feeding our own cattle, a group of six coyotes was spotted among our neighbor’s cattle at around 600 to 700 yards away. Porter grabbed his MVP 7.62 NATO Varmint rifle, extended its bipod and went prone. A Sig Sauer Kilo 2000 laser range-finder recorded a distance of 661 yards. Porter referenced a chart taped to the rifle’s stock, and then using the scope’s mil-dot reticle, he took the shot. The Hornady 178-grain bullet struck home. The other coyotes were instantly in motion and scattered in different directions. I told Porter to stay in position and follow just one coy-ote and wait for it to stop and look back. A coyote stopped just before entering a brush patch, which the rangefinder indicated to be at 854 yards. Again, Porter referenced the ballistic chart, held accord-ingly and touched off the shot. It was easy to watch the bullet’s trail as it made its way toward the coy-ote in the near-zero temperatures. His aim and the bullet’s flight were true, the .30-caliber bullet striking vitals.

Throughout testing and eval-uation of the MVP Varmint, I ex-perienced no malfunctions; it fed, fired and ejected cases like clock-work. It is 100 percent manufac-tured in the U.S.A. with an MSRP of just $754.

MOSSBERGMVP 7.62 NATO

Basic field stripping illustrates the overall simplicity of the MVP design.

R