The SIG diopter sight is actually pretty good, but some instruction is needed for optimal use. Infos form the manual are not sufficient. I have the adjustable iris from Grünig&Elminger installed which I think is quite supportive when you have troubles with focusing the front sight hood. It's not recommended though if the full range of the mechanical BDC should remain intact.

I have learned that our shooting cultures are different. Rifles on the 25m/50m ranges is a no go over here. 300m is strong in Switzerland but less common in other European countries. There they mostly shoot at 100m and use properly reduced targets.

I took the 550 and 553 to the range today; the 550 to test my new load of 20.5 grains along side of the 21grain but the group opened back up. I started with 10 rounds of 21 then three 5-shot groups of 20.5grain. After the first set of 5 I adjusted the scope up 2 clicks (1/2" total) but with the exception of a flinch at 1 O'clock and a flier at 3, the other 8 grouped 1-1/16" @ 100 ... As previously mentioned this is just my standard fodder, un-prepped range brass loaded with bulk 69SMK's on my Dillon 550 (and by the way, 69SMK bulk bullets are from batches rejected because (IIRC) 5% of a random selection of the batch didn't pass their inspection, so they sell the entire batch as bulk, but you have to go there in person to buy it)



I also shot 20 rounds of Silver Bear the 553, 10 with the 4x 550 scope and 10 with the diopter



I didn't adjust the scope from when it was on the 550, so I was happy that it was on paper! However shooting the 2nd target with the diopter didn't go so well ... I know they hit the board but no idea where so after 5 rounds of that I opted for an 18"x18" steel gong at 150yds ... The first 2 hit the dirt so I raised my sight to just cover the gong and the last 3 rounds smacked it.

(Edit) I just noticed I wrote 551 on the 553 target ... It actually was the 553, and I was shooting it suppressed with my new gas valve!


Pay no attention to the styrofoam head atop my spotting scope ... It serves to hold my hat when I'm shooting, but has also served as a target ... Not on my scope!

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
.... a flinch at 1 O'clock and a flier at 3, the other 8 grouped 1-1/16" @ 100 ...

There you go! This is realsistic and about as good as it gets. How much more do you need?

quote:

Originally posted by OTD:

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
.... a flinch at 1 O'clock and a flier at 3, the other 8 grouped 1-1/16" @ 100 ...

There you go! This is realsistic and about as good as it gets. How much more do you need?

I think I'm there, but since I don't buy match ammo, the next step is to start weighing bullets, get 100 or so within .3grains which is the limitations of my scale. Then sort through my brass for 100 or so of the same head stamp, I'm pretty sure I've got a bag of Lake City stashed some where; we've moved twice since I've shot a match and not everything has been unpacked, but we've been here 9 years and now we'll probably wait until Abby gets done with collage ... She's a senior in High School, we've probably got another 5 years so I'm probably safe to set them up. I'll also have to find and mount my case length trimmer and neck turner; uniform the primer pockets and drill and de-burr the flash-holes ... Then load them up and with a little luck I'll end up with some good match quality rounds to see how steady my hand is

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
... Then load them up and with a little luck I'll end up with some good match quality rounds ...

It's my understanding that a number of the top competitors in the precision/tactical game don't go through so much effort to produce match quality ammo. They're more along the lines of finding a powder charge and an OAL that works. Then it's just filling the loading machine and pulling the handle as quickly as possible to get through the process.

I suggest buying a box or two of FGMM 69 as a baseline for your own loads, if you really want to wring out the accuracy of that rifle. FGMM is no longer priced like gold bullion -- $17 to $18 per box is fairly common now. There are other SMK 69 loads available and I've tried a number of them. I still keep returning to FGMM, as its sub-MOA performance doesn't just occur at 100 yards -- it extends out to the point that the bullet is still flying at Mach 1.3 or 1.4.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
... Then load them up and with a little luck I'll end up with some good match quality rounds ...

It's my understanding that a number of the top competitors in the precision/tactical game don't go through so much effort to produce match quality ammo. They're more along the lines of finding a powder charge and an OAL that works. Then it's just filling the loading machine and pulling the handle as quickly as possible to get through the process.

<SNIP>

I found pretty much this same thing when I was shooting matches ... and it's also what I would do. I discovered early on that unless I'm sitting at the bench & bagged up I can't wring the best a rifle can do and and all that work is in vain with me at the line ... however I've always felt that once I prove what the rifle can do, anything less is me ... also, for a time I was obsessed with teeny-tiny groups.

I also learned early on that $17-$18 for a box of ammo that I can load 100 or so (20 years ago it was about 10 a round, about the same as surplus)
Loading doesn't save any money but I can shoot much more ... and it gives me something productive to do at night instead of watching TV or when I can't sleep. Extra bonus, the wife doesn't wonder where I am!

We do have a gun show coming up next weekend ... I'll check to see if the ammo guy has any FGMM 69 ... I know he carries a lot of 22 match because I was amazed when some people were trying to get $60-$80 or more out of a box of Golden Bullets when he had several brands of Ely Practice and different levels of Match 22 for the same price ... this was the post-Sandy Hook days

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
I also learned early on that $17-$18 for a box of ammo that I can load 100 or so

That's $.17 to $.18 per round -- which is a challenging price with current materials. If I understand loading, ballpark costs are likely:
$.25 for the bullets
$.03 primers
$.10 powder
$.04 amortized cost of brass
-----
$.42 per round

Now if you're basing costs on existing old stock, the calculated costs will be lower. But you'll have to replace inventory sooner or later.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
I also learned early on that $17-$18 for a box of ammo that I can load 100 or so

That's $.17 to $.18 per round -- which is a challenging price with current materials. If I understand loading, ballpark costs are likely:
$.25 for the bullets
$.03 primers
$.10 powder
$.04 amortized cost of brass
-----
$.42 per round

Now if you're basing costs on existing old stock, the calculated costs will be lower. But you'll have to replace inventory sooner or later.

My bullets are old stock. The last time I bought (about 6 years ago, before Sandy Hook) they were $7.77 per pound, which is roughly 101 projectiles. I just got off the phone the current price is $16.36 which would make mine $.34 per round or $34 per 100

I buy 5000 at a time (50 pounds) and out of that I usually find 20-30 that I save for fouling shots and a dozen or so that I feel aren't usable at all because the jacket is messed up and I don't want to shoot it ... call it 50 just to keep the numbers round.

I inspect and weigh every bullet. Its kind of mind numbing but if you do it while watching TV and do it over a 2-3 day period or even a week, its not too bad. I realize all this takes time, but when I'm working for myself I work pretty cheap When I weigh them I group them into about 6 different weight groups. My scale is at least 15 years old but is accurate to +/- .3 grains. This last time when we moved something happened and they all got mixed up and I haven't taken the time to re-weigh them but I know there wern't any "bad" bullets but sometimes the weight can vary by as much as 4 grains ... this is one of Sierra's QC checks. I've toured their facility and I don't remember what the magic number is ... but if say 5% of their sample doesn't pass every QC check they "scrap" that entire run and sell them as seconds ... and they only way to buy them is to go there in person ... and they wont hold them for you, its 1st come 1st serve, so if I call them at 8am and they have what I'm looking for and I leave to make the 2.5 hour drive someone else could come in and buy the whole barrel before I get there.

Anyway, in a perfect world loading my own is $34 per hundred ... to buy FMG's, 5 boxes of 20 at $18ea is $90.

As to the drive up there, I go for multipal reasons; on a nice day when I can have the top down ... and my grandpa (and some other family I never knew) is buried not far from there ... I'm the only one left to put flowers on the graves.

For a few years I needed 223's and 308's every year (69's and 168smk's) but the last time I was there was 2012 after my mom passed. So on one hand it would be an expensive trip but but on the other, it's always been good for the soul and worth it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kimberkid,

As an aside, here is a cheap way to avoid spent brass dings at the rear of your 550/551 ejection port. I found these small felt sticky pads meant to go on the bottom of small lights, vases, etc. They work just fine when placed behind my 550's ejection port. They're not beautiful but like I said, they are cheap and get the job done.

good info. I'm using velcro tape because it can be better cut in shape.
As a side note, I sugget to protect the rubber fence and the cap covering
the chargeing handle with food grade silicon past once in a while because the material "can" disintigrate because lube and hardrubber dont go very well together and replacement caps cost SIG typically an arm and a leg, which was around USD 30,- per piece the last time I looked

Again, good info OTD.
When I got my 551 the rubber fence is wavy and I've never seen any place that sells it ... then again, even if I had it I'm sure it takes special tools to rivet it in place.

When I first got it I wanted to have it refinished/restored ... but after a while I decided that if I did it would be too nice to shoot, so now I just enjoy it.

OK then. I'm resurrecting this old thread because we have a shoot scheduled for next Tuesday the 13th.

Assuming we have descent weather, I'll be comparing some of this GP90 against GP90 ammo with US SS109 (62 grain) bullets in place and US SS109 ammo. We'll see how these three compare to each other when fired from my SIG 550-1 using a bench rest.

Nice bump....picked up my 553R today

I'm was getting all my stuff together for Tuesday's shooting session and I ran across the bag of pulled GP90 bullets. I couldn't stand how dirty they looked with the residual seating/sealing glue in place. I decided to remove the glue and see what they really looked like. I dumped the bullets into an empty glass jelly jar and covered them with Mineral Spirits. After a few hours of soaking, I pulled them out, dried them off, and re-bagged them. Here are before and after pictures of the pulled GP90 bullets.

Oh ... Pretty

Wow! Thread drift was cool although way too technical for me, very cool to read thru. I'll have to go back and re-read to understand the details.

One final "thread drift" question (I can post a new thread, but seems the experts are in this thread, so hopefully a quick answer)...

55x OEM mags are plastic. In ARs, there are metal-type mags (Lancers, HK maritime, milspec aluminum, etc.) but also plastic (Magpul of course).

Can you leave a 55x mag loaded without feedlip spreading issues? If so, how long can they be loaded before seeing issues?

With the AR, I know it's a long time before the metal ones experience issues, and Magpul has those covers to relieve pressure, but I'm just not sure about the 55x mags.

James

quote:

Originally posted by James in Denver:
Wow! Thread drift was cool although way too technical for me, very cool to read thru. I'll have to go back and re-read to understand the details.

One final "thread drift" question (I can post a new thread, but seems the experts are in this thread, so hopefully a quick answer)...

55x OEM mags are plastic. In ARs, there are metal-type mags (Lancers, HK maritime, milspec aluminum, etc.) but also plastic (Magpul of course).

Can you leave a 55x mag loaded without feedlip spreading issues? If so, how long can they be loaded before seeing issues?

With the AR, I know it's a long time before the metal ones experience issues, and Magpul has those covers to relieve pressure, but I'm just not sure about the 55x mags.

James

I can't specifically answer your question as I've never left my mags loaded for any length of time. However, of the many mags I own, I did buy a (used) batch years ago from a forum member and three of the mags included in the deal all had cracked feed lips in the same general area. All three were from the same manufacturer and from the same time frame and so I don't know if this was an isolated issue to these mags, or a more general design issue. The forum member was super great about it when I let him know and sent me three additional mags. I offered to return the cracked mags back but never heard back and so I've held onto them for range use.

I've also read a couple other accounts in which users experienced cracked feed lips with their 55X mags.

quote:

Originally posted by MG34_Dan:
OK then. I'm resurrecting this old thread because we have a shoot scheduled for next Tuesday the 13th.

The shoot was cancelled due to the weather. Damn!

Well, thanks for getting us all excited, then letting us down.

Keep us posted!