Bloke on the Range videos

[ugly]

Its remarkable just how variable was the quality of RG ammunition over the years. With the ordinary 7.62mm ball, you get batches that range from "good enough for competitive TR" to "at least it went bang".

With owning and shooting large quantities of RG surplus, I've become aware of certain trends:

- 60s/70s - quite good, with some exceptional batches.
- 1989 "black spot" (one particular batch); TR quality
- 90s, generally very poor indeed (outsourced components, poor QC?)
- old Green Spot (80s, brown boxes); very good
- new Green Spot (90s, BAE boxes); very average
- 155gn sniper (L41/42/43 et al); just buy GGG instead


At auction I picked up a dirty old lot of 800x 1969. The 20 rnd boxes had faded to grey, and even the outer poly wrapper had started to go opaque with age. No-one else wanted it. I thought it'd at least be useful for "blowing off" before using better ammo, or perhaps for short range rapid fire comps where any old junk will do to save money.

I didn't pay attention to its performance until I used it for warming/blow-off groups in six rifles I was doing ammo testing with (AW, Envoys, Enforcers, TR rifle, etc). Turns out it'll do consistent 1 MOA, with no flyers in the first 100 rounds or so. The RG machinery must have been in mint condition that year!


The late 50s/early 60s cordite .303" is also exceptional; the best ammunition by far for Long Lees and SRb No1s and No4s. The 70s 7z is also really good, but virtually non-existent these days.

I shared a range day with the bae rifle club and they all knew by heart the good years and the bad ones, oddly enough they seemed to have a considerable stash of good year production free issued to the club as sponsorship
ETA this was in the 90’s

 

[stoatman]

I was aware that there were a several "reorganisations! at RG in the 90 and 2000s where machines were moved about from building to building, and production methods kept being swapped about as more components became externally sourced resulting in much more batch to batch variation..

There was a new factory building being built about fifteen years ago, which was supposed to be being completely retooled, however Tony's follies got in the way and we were forced to source small arms ammo from all over the place. We were sourcing .50 from Magtech in Brazil the last time I was in Afghan..

It also turns out that some of the 5.56 firearms are a bit picky over what ammo they like. The Dimacos C8s in particular did not like RG!

IIRC RG broadly makes 2 types of SS109 ball, one for AR-type gas tube systems and L2A2 for L85's and similar - off the top of my head, the former uses cut tubular powder and the latter uses ball powder. Can't remember the L-number of the former, which I first encountered in Denmark of all places.

 

[stoatman]

 

[BetwixtandBetween]

Something for our cousins to think about, when the democrats gun grab all those upper and lower receivers.

 

[tiv]

The bit about primary extraction took me back to when what became the Cadet Rifle appeared on the range without that assisted cocking lever, there was blood everywhere!

 

[4(T)]

Good idea to make use of stock AR 15 parts.

IMHO they should have thought a bit more about the ergonomics - shortening the trigger mech in order to bring the grip closer to the bolt handle (a la Enfield).

Probably a mistake not to include a recoil lug; that limits the change of calibre potential and might also be part responsible for the stock damage at the rear.


IIRC back in the day (a long, long time ago), someone made a pretty decent prototype straight-pull rifle using a para FAL bolt & carrier group. Big bolt knob welded to the right side of the carrier, running in a slot. Simple fixed receiver with some sort of end cap arrangement for bolt removal. Apparently very good (primary extraction less of a problem with tilting bolt), but went nowhere because lack of investment and fact that L1A1s were still legal back then!

 

[stoatman]

Good idea to make use of stock AR 15 parts.

IMHO they should have thought a bit more about the ergonomics - shortening the trigger mech in order to bring the grip closer to the bolt handle (a la Enfield).

Probably a mistake not to include a recoil lug; that limits the change of calibre potential and might also be part responsible for the stock damage at the rear.


IIRC back in the day (a long, long time ago), someone made a pretty decent prototype straight-pull rifle using a para FAL bolt & carrier group. Big bolt knob welded to the right side of the carrier, running in a slot. Simple fixed receiver with some sort of end cap arrangement for bolt removal. Apparently very good (primary extraction less of a problem with tilting bolt), but went nowhere because lack of investment and fact that L1A1s were still legal back then!

Yeah, the trigger's a touch too far forward.

The rifle was unfired (other than proof) when I got it (I have some film of the bolt head from before I fired it and it's quite clear), so the stock crack was a manufacturing flaw.

And primary extraction is just as big an issue with a tilting bolt (cos there isn't any geometric provision for it - see the cutaway in this video ) - having shot surplus ammo on a L1A1 we'd already been firing quite a lot semi with the gas turned off and having had to kick the bolt handle open I can absolutely confirm that first hand.

 

[Bladensburg]

I'm glad you posted this I was about to start a thread asking about them.
Peter Wilson auctioneers up in Nantwich has one of these up for sale next month c/w fluted barrel, three magazines, a slip and a copy of Ian Hogg's sniper rifles book.
Guided at £2-300 although there's a bit of a crack in the stock and Wilson's fees (32.34 percent!) are almost as extortionate as Holts.

BMS CAM .223 rifle, serial number 11, with 19 inch DPMS I-8 twist stainless fluted barrel, four m

Bid Live on Lot 65 in the Arms & Militaria Auction from Wilson55 Auctioneers & Valuers.

www.the-saleroom.com

 

[stoatman]

I'm glad you posted this I was about to start a thread asking about them.
Peter Wilson auctioneers up in Nantwich has one of these up for sale next month c/w fluted barrel, three magazines, a slip and a copy of Ian Hogg's sniper rifles book.
Guided at £2-300 although there's a bit of a crack in the stock and Wilson's fees (32.34 percent!) are almost as extortionate as Holts.

BMS CAM .223 rifle, serial number 11, with 19 inch DPMS I-8 twist stainless fluted barrel, four m

Bid Live on Lot 65 in the Arms & Militaria Auction from Wilson55 Auctioneers & Valuers.

www.the-saleroom.com

Apparently it's common for the wood ones to crack there. Probably the lack of recoil lug, so it's all taken on the screws and the rear of the tang.

I'd imagine that will go for rather more than that estimate, but good luck!

 

[Bladensburg]

I'd imagine that will go for rather more than that estimate, but good luck!

Thankfully I haven't got any free slots... it does look like a useful foxing rifle though.

I'd noticed the M16 style bolt head while looking through the catalogue and was going to post to see if someone knew anything about it.
Having watched your video and had another look around the 'net it does look like it might have potential as a sporting/varminting rifle. Straight- pulls like the Blaser R8 seem all the rage these days among the people with deep pockets and I would have thought that this has the potential to be almost as quick but potentially a lot cheaper thanks to all the off-the-shelf AR components in a range of calibres.
The recoil lug does seem a strange omission though and surely there's a more compact trigger mechanism they could use.

 

[stoatman]

 

[CptDanjou]

These chaps seem to be light years ahead if building a bolt action trainer based on a modern military semi auto is your objective Uintah.

 

[stoatman]

These chaps seem to be light years ahead if building a bolt action trainer based on a modern military semi auto is your objective Uintah.

Wow, the bolt handle position on that is really, really terrible...

 

[HE117]

.... ask Santa for a bench block mate!

 

[HE117]

Wow, the bolt handle position on that is really, really terrible...

... what we really want of course is a .223 based on a Dreyse action !

 

[CptDanjou]

Wow, the bolt handle position on that is really, really terrible...

Its a compromise allowing the use of an AR10/15 lower and the use of the massive range of AR fittings and accessories , the AR Straightpulls in the UK also work quite well and most of the CSR competitors choose them over bolt actions .

 

[stoatman]

 

[stoatman]

Anyone interested in some stupid Facebook drama where I pissed off an Aussie gunwriter and his mates due to this absolutely hilariously atrocious bit of advertising/PR?

 

[Himmler74]

Anyone interested in some stupid Facebook drama where I pissed off an Aussie gunwriter and his mates due to this absolutely hilariously atrocious bit of advertising/PR?

View attachment 526330

Fancy pissing off iraqveteran8888?

 

[incendiarycutlery]

Anyone interested in some stupid Facebook drama where I pissed off an Aussie gunwriter and his mates due to this absolutely hilariously atrocious bit of advertising/PR?

View attachment 526330

Probably more interesting than most dramas