PRECISION SHOOTING
-
FEBRUARY 1999
BY AL ASHTON
Dan Dowling is the proprietor of
Accuracy Gunsmithing, in Palisade,
Colorado. His name is well known to
many readers of Precision Shooting, as
the developer of the WALDOG cartridge.
Dan is a superb riflesmith. all-around
good guy, and he enjoys a well-deserved
reputation for high quality work. One of
Dan's outstanding traits is his willingness
to work with his customers. He has a
really good feeling for what works, and
what doesn't. Dan has generously given
me advice and guidance on my projects.
His wealth of experience has certainly
been a benefit, helping guide my
decisions. Dan built several fine rifles for
me; all shoot exceptionally well.
The roots
of the Dasher
project
started about five years ago. On several
occasions, as Dan and I were discussing
future projects, he praised the virtues of
the .22 PPC cartridge. I was a hard sell,
but Dan persisted, finally convincing me
to build a.22PPC. He fiued a Schneider
#'7 barrel (27" length,
l:14 twist) to
a
Remington 700 action. The action was
bedded into a McMillan A2 stock, using
Marine-tex compound and Parish
pillars. A Leupold 12X scope, with
target turrets and a Jewell varmint
trigger completed the package. After
extensive testing, a load was selected
using a moly-coated 50 grain Nosler
Ballistic Tip, at 3535 fps. The rifle is
superbly accurate, and, to the detriment
of the Wyoming rodent population, very
effective at long ranges. I've been
13
shooting the rifle for four years now,
with excellent results.
when I bedded the .22 PPC, I
installed Parish pillars in the fiberglass
moly-coated bullets are increased
accuracy, and longer barrel life.
stock. Several stock makers. McMillan
benefits which are substantially more
among them, say pillars aren't necessary
with their stocks. However. I obtained
some improvement with pillars installed.
The groups seem to be more round, and
the rifle is slightly more repeatable.
to me: increased cleaning
interval, and reduced barrel heating.
The use of moly-coated bullets
permits many more shots to be fired,
before accuracy deteriorates. This point
was clearly demonstrated by an experiment I conducted last year. The objective
of my experiment was to determine how
Based on the performance
of the .22
PPC. I went back and instailed the Parish
pillars in all of my varmint rifle stocks.
However, fiom the standpoint of practical
varmint shooting, there are two other
important
In retrospect, I believe the results
completely justified the effort.
The .22 PPC is a fine cartridge, but it
has a few shorlcomings. The odd sized
rim diameter requires bolt face modification in most rifles, the brass is quite
expensive, and it has a relatively small
case capacity. Its ballistic performance is
very similar to the .223 Remington. On
varmint hunting trip to Wyoming
for this
test. At the time, my Remington 700
Varmint (.22-250) had an old factory
barrel, with several thousand rounds
through it. Since the barrel wasjust about
shot out, I didn't care if it was damaged
ofthe
during testing. There were 290 rounds of
the plus side, the inherent accuracy
PPC case is legend in benchrest circles.
The PPC's short, wide powder column,
small rifle primer, small diameter flash
hole, and high quality brass lend to its
inherent accuracy. My .22 PPC loads do
have lower standard deviation (SD)
values than comparable loads for my
.223 Remington. This may be one of the
for the excellent long range
accuracy of the .22 PPC.
At this point, it is necessary to digress
for a moment, to mention some benefits
of moly-coated bullets. The moly coating
process has strongly influenced developreasons
ment
of the DASHER. The
many rounds could be fired, without
cleaning, before accuracy deteriorated. A
presented an ideal opporlunity
ammunition available,
all
I wouldn't recommend
shooting any
barrel that much without cleaning, but it
clearly demonstrated that moly-coated
bullets do significantly increase the
number of shots which may be fired
before accuracy deteriorates. Apparently,
my experience was not that unusual.
Dick Wright, in his August 1998
most
commonly proclaimed advantages of
loaded with
moly-coated bullets. All 290 rounds were
fired in one day, without ever cleaning
the barrel! To my pleasant surprise, the
rif'le shot just as well at the end of the test,
and no decline in accuracy was observed.
Continued on next page
7
PRECISION SHOOTING
14
immediatelY
obvious that a considerable gain in BR
Improved
Continued
case capacity could be achieved
Precision Shooting article on moly
coating, tells of shooting a Highpower
match, where he fred212 rounds through
his match rifle, without cleaning the
barrel. His arlicle also mentioned Eunice
Berger firing an entire benchrest match
without cleaning.
is an ever present
for many varmint shooters. It
isn't uncommon for a heavy batel .22Barrel heating
problem
250 to become uncomfortably warm after
only five or six shots. After switching
over to moly-coated bullets, a significant
reduction in barrel heating was noted.
Compared to uncoated bullets, nearly
twice as many moly-coated bullets may
be fired before reaching the same barrel
FEBBUAFY 1999
times during the next two years. It was
my tum to be persuasive, and finally, in
February 1998, Dan agreed to underlake
case. It was
Dasher Project
-
bY
the project.
pushing the shoulder forward, and
utilizing a 40 degree shoulder with a
minimum case taper. After some
measurements and calculations, I
concluded it would be Possible to
I
made a drawing
of
the
proposed case dimensions, and mailed it
to Dan for his evaluation. He suggested
one change, a slightly longer case neck.
After some discussion, the dimensions
were agreed upon. In selecting a name for
approach .22-250 performance. using a
I called
Dan Dowling and described my concept.
Dan was interested; he felt the concept
our new carlridge, we took the D from
Dowling, ASH from my name, and the
blown out BR case. Inspired,
DASHER project was born.
Dan sent the drawing off to Pacific
had merit and the goal seemed achievable. Unfortunately, Dan was swamped
with work, and was unable to take on any
Precision, to have the chambering reamer
and headspace gage fabricated.
He
specified dimensions for the chambering
special projects at that time.
Dan and I discussed the project several
reamer which provide an optimum
fit for
temperature.
In past years, I had a strong preference
for the smaller .22 callber cartridges, such
as the .223 Remington and the .22 PPC,
because they generated less heat. This is
a real advantage for prairie dog hunting,
where the weather is often very warm,
and many shots are fired in a single day.
Compared
to the larger .22 caliber
cartridges, the .223 could be fired nearly
twice as many times before reaching the
same temperature. My .22-250 and .22-
250 Ackley Improved weren't used
as
much, because they would get too hot, too
fast. I'd fire five or six shots, and then
have to put the gun in the cooling rack.
After switching over to moly-coated
bullets, the reduced barrel heating made
using the larger .22 caliber cartridges
somewhat more practical. I thought what
I really needed was a cartridge that could
duplicate the performance of a .22-250,
but with a smaller case capacity.
The advantages of the PPC, with its
outstanding accuracy, led me to take a long
look at a similar cartridge, the
a standard rim
diameter, less
expensive brass, and a slightly larger case
capacity. Its performance falls about
midway between the .22 PPC and the .22-
250.
There were some comPlaints
regarding the quality of BR brass, but the
recent availability of superbly-made Lapua
and Norma brass eliminated that problem.
I
was examining a
6 BR case, and
it to the
.22-250 AckleY
compared
"170"
ZZ
Drnatsttt: -t\xL{ rgot"l
DASHES
l\
FlgE
rosrE} cA65
.22
Remington Bench Rest. The .22 BR has
many of the same attributes as the .22PPC,
plus a few additional advantages,
including
.75A
Don Gmtner's bullzts .... the 6mrn bulbts that haue set so nxany
World B mchrest recor^ are f'nally aaailnb lz !
Gmtns Bulles
on
bencbrest-Prouen Detsclt
carbide dies, Tbese extraordinary
bullets are offered in 7 or I ogiue,
flatbase at $75.0O Per 5OO;boattail
at $85.00 Per 500. 22 caliber are
Mad.e
nou auailable at tbe aboue Prices.
PRECISION SHOOTING
-
FEBRUARY 19S9
Lapua cases. Neck diameter was set at
.254" , and overall case length at 1.56". In
due time the reamer and headspace gage
arrived. In the interim, we had acquired
the other components required to build
the rifle. Dan built the rifle to my
standard varmint rifle formula:
Schneider 2J" #7 contour barrel.
15
Remington 700 action, McMillan A2
stock, and Jewell trigger. He also
modified a set of Redding.22 BR compe-
tition dies to handle the Dasher case.
In mid August, I visited Palisade and
DASHER case is quite simple. Because
the DASHER shoulder is moved forward
in the forming process, the 6 BR case will
not headspace properly in the DASHER
chamber. It is necessary to leave a step in
took delivery of the rifle. Dan and I
wanted to fire form a case, so we could
the case neck, to maintain the proper
position of the case during fire forming.
have a look at our creation. Makins the
This is accomplished by sizing jusr
the
front parl of the neck down to .22 caliber.
Run the 6 BR case part way into a 22 BR
sizing die, then try the case in the rifle
chamber. Adjust the sizing downward,
until the bolt will just close on the case,
with moderate resistance. This ensures the
of the cartridge case is held firmly
against the bolt face. Warning - This
causes substantial rearward thrust on the
bolt. Make sure the rear of the bolt lugs
are well lubricated with grease, to prevent
galling. For a hre forming load, we started
with 30 grains of H-322,behinda 55 grain
bullet (a maximum load for a .22 BR).
Pressure was too low, resulting in rounded
case comers. The load was increased to 32
grains of H-322, which worked very well,
giving sharp, fully formed corners with no
base
The Dasher, on the bench during load testing at the cororaito Rifte club.
evidence of excessive pressure. We
measured the case capacity of the
DASHER and found ir held 40.5 grains of
water. That is an I I percent increase over
the 6
New... from Switzerland!
Green-X Lubricator
Greases seated
BR!
The case capacity
of the
DASHER falls just about midway berween
the .22-250, at 45 grains of water, and the
6 BR, at 36.5 grains of water.
bullets
""$:.
d"':'{;;e'
Continued on page 17
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PRECISION SHOOTING
-
FEBRUARY 199S
Dasher Project
prepare the rifle prior to departing for a
varmint hunting trip. Since I much prefer
fire forming in the field, I hastily mounted
a 6.5 X 20 Leupold on the barreled action
and carried it along to Wyoming. After
arriving, I pulled the stock off my .22-250
and mounted it on the DASHER action.
The rifle was sighted-in exactly one inch
Continued from page 15
In August, Lapua 6 BR brass was in
very short supply. A good friend took
pity, loaning me a hundred cases, to get
started. The fire forming loads were
prepared, but
I
17
was unable to completely
high at 100 yards. After setting the
elevation, I switched to a new target and
fired three rounds. I was rewarded with a
nice triangular group, just over 3/8"
center to center
an auspicious start for
-
the DASHER. There are some days when
things just go really well, and this turned
out to be one of them.
Since the barrel was new. it was
to go through the break-in
process. For the first ten rounds, the
necessary
barel was cleaned after each shot. The
barrel was scrubbed with a Kroil
wetted patch, followed by two or three
dry patches. No brush was
used.
Subsequently, the barrel was cleaned after
every three rounds, until thirty more
rounds had been fired. Finally, it was
cleaned after every five shots, until the
remainder oi the ammunit ion was
exhausted.
Schneider Rifle Barrels, of Scottsdale,
AZ,
make excellent barrels. They are
extremely accurate, with very little
tendency to fbul. Schneider barrels shoot
well right from the beginning, not
First outing with the Dasher, in Wyoming.
Continued on page 19
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This is a gage to measure
consistency of rim thickness
on .22 rimfire ammunition (a
.22 timtue rille's headspace
is determined by case rim
thickness). The more consislent the rim thickness, the more
I
consistent the ignition of the t
primer and the powder charge in the case. ln other words, the firing pin
will fall the same distance every time if
the same rim thickness is used on every
case being fired for a particular group.
By sorting the shells into various groups
by rim thickness, a reduction in group
size of up to 25% can be realized in
some lF NOT MOST rimfire rifles. This
information aboul group reduction
comes from the .22 rimfire benchrest
participants who compele in the
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-
IBS Life Member)
PRECISION SHOOTING
Dasher Project
-
FEBFUARY 'I9S9
Cantinued from page 17
requiring an extensive break-in period. This barrel was no
exception, it perlbrmed splendidly from the very start. The
highlight of the day was two consecutive hits at 600 yards
(measured with my Ban & Stroud rangehnder). An impressive
:irst outing, to be sure!
The Lapua cases formed very well, and only one case was lost
due to a split in the shoulder. The cases were cleaned and primed,
and it was off to the Colorado Rifle Club near Byers, for load
testing. Since this is a varmint rifle, I prefer using polymer tip
bullets like the Hornady V-Max, Nosler Ballistic Tip, and Sierra
19
BlitzKing. All bullets are moly-coated. Powders selected tbr
preliminary testing were Varget, Reloader 15, and IMR-4895.
These powders were chosen because their burning rate should
give maximum velocity with high loading density. This assumption proved correct; the listed loads filled the DASHER case to
the bottom of the neck. I believe this is ideal, since it permits
throwing charges directly from the measure. This is a great time
saver when loading several hundred rounds at a time.
Velocities were measured using an Oehler Model 35 chronograph, set up with 2 foot screen spacing. Screens were placed 15
feet ahead of the muzzle. A starting load of 35.0 grains of Varget
Continued on next page
Cleaning the Dasher during fire forming. Barrel cleaned only
with Kroil and patches.
Working setup in Wyoming. Most of the prairie dogs are in the
dark bsnd ut the base ofthe hills, between 400 and 600 yards off.
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PRECISION SHOOTING
20
tially in the late afternoon, as a thunderstorm moved in. A total of 28 grouPs
were fired. The average spread for all
Dasher Project
Continued
behind
a 50 grain Sierra BlitzKing
produced an average velocity of 3850 fps,
with moderate pressure. The next load,
35.0 grains of Varget behind a 55 grain
Ballistic Tip, produced an average
velocity of 3750 fps, with a Standard
Deviation of 1l Again, pressures were
groups was .442" . The largest group fired
was less than one inch. I believe this is
particularly impressive, considering the
rif-le had not been bedded into the action
at the time of testing.
-
FEBRUAFY 1999
We met our goal of matching .22-250
performance. Dan Dowling rebarreled my
.22-250 last year, installing
a
21"
Schneider barcel, #1 contour, with a 1:14
twist. This rifle makes an excellent basis
for comparing the .22-250 against the
DASHER. since both have the sam"
length barrel, with the same twist rate.
moderate. Accuracy was in the vicinity of
1/:" for 3-shot groups.
Switching to IMR-4895, 35.3 grains of
4895 behind
a 55 grain Ballistic Tip,
produced an average velocity of 3870 fps.
The second load was 36.5 grains of 4895,
behind a 50 grain Ballistic tip, for an
average velocity of4040 fps. Pressure for
both loads was near maximum, with
accuracy in the 3/+" range. At this point,
the groups started to open up. Next I tried
Reloader 15, with miserable results. A 3shot group measured nearly one inch. I
suspected that switching powders, with
the resultant mixing of residue in the
barrel, caused the poor accuracy. The
barrel was cleaned thoroughly, and the
loads re-lested. My assumption was
correct, the difference was remarkable. A
load of 36.0 grains of 4895 behind a 50
grain Ballistic Tip averaged 4000 fps and
shot into a one hole group. The load for
the 55 grain bullet remained the same, at
35.3 grains. It produced an average
velocity of 3850 fps, and
it
Left to right: .223, .22 PPC, .22 BR, .22 Dasher, .22-250, .22-250 Ackley Improved 40 deg.
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also made a
nice one hole group.
The barrel was cleaned again, then the
Varget powder loads were re-tested. A
load of 36.5 grains ofVarget, behind a 50
grain BlitzKing averaged 3975 fps, with
excellent accuracy. Switching to 55 grain
Ballistic Tips, 35.5 grains of Varget
averaged 3825 fps, also with excellent
accuracy. Pressure on both loads was
good. The fire forming loads (32.0 H-322
with a 55 grain Ballistic TiP) were
chronographed, averaging 3715 fps with
good accuracy. Alter seeing how well the
ire forming loads groupea dn pap.r. it
was no surprise that they had performed
so well in the field. I planned to re-test
Reloader 15, but a massive thunderstorm
moved in, and I departed the range in
haste, just ahead of a torrential downpour.
I was delighted with the results of the
first day's testing. Wind conditions at the
range were excellent during the morning
and early afternoon, with just the slightest
breeze. Wind speed increased.
substan-
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rechamberin g, muzzle brakes, and all other types of
custom work. Specializing in QUICK turnaround.
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PRICE REDUCED, $25.00 per die, plus $5.00 shipping.
PRECISION SHOOTING
-
FEBRUARY 1999
from the same manufacturer. The best
load fbr the .22-250 pushes a 50 grain
Nosler ballistic tip at 3950 fps, while the
best 50 grain load for rhe DASHER
fps. In the same manner,
the best load for the .22-250 had a
velocity of 3175 fps, compared to 38-50
fps for the DASHER. The referenced
loads for the .22-250 and the DASHER
reached 4040
produced similar sized groups.
After bedding the action, and with
more load development, the average
21
group size has been reduced to the mid
.3s. The
working loads have been
reduced slightly, from those listed above.
The current loads are very accurate. My
best load fbr the 50 grain Nosler Ballistic
tip is 36.3 grains ofVarget, for a velocity
of 3985
fps.
The best Ioad for rhe 55
grain Nosler Ballistic tip is 35.2 grains of
Varget, giving a veiocity of 3800 fps.
Is the Dasher Proiect a success? We
certainly believe it is. The velocity goals
were achieved, while maintainins a hish
degree of accuracy. And it was accomplished using less powder than the .22250. What's nexr? A 6mm DASHER is
on the way. In fact, as Dan and I were
admiring the tirst DASHER case (it was
about two minutes old, and still warm),
he commented that it would make a
superb little 6mm cartridge. I just
wonder how close we can come to .243
perfbrmance. The 6 DASHER reamer is
on order, as well as a 6mm Schneider
barrel, with a 1:14 twist. That will be my
winler project this year.
Accuracy Gunsmithing
'];lt
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Dan Dowling
260 Road 33r/:
Palisade. CO 81526
910-434-0525
Al Ashton
1122 S. Penrose Ct.
Littleton. CO 80122
303-798-0 I 89
Jewell Triggers
3620 Highway 123
San Marcos, TX 78666
s12-353-2999
:IL
!l*{]::l]]r,iry'
.,{
.@@s*
"&M**li
Left to right: Basic 6 BR case; 6 BR case partially necked to .22, with headspacing
step; Case, ready to fire form; Fire formed .22 Dasher; Loaded .22 Dasher.
Attention:
McMillan Fiberglass Stocks
21421 N. 14th Ave. Suite B
Phoenix. A285021
(t02-582-9635
Schneider Rifle Barrels
12202 N 62nd Pl.
Scottsdale. A285254
602-948-252s
Accuracy minded owners of factory rifles
If you are the owner of a Remington
SS, BDL, ADL,
700 VS,
or Browning A-BoIt, Winchester
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from our Accurizing service. For just $22b.00 we
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Your rifle can benefit from this work which brings it up to where it
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Phone: (803) 827-2069
FAX: (803) 827-3908
1200 Old Jackson Hwr'.
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