Last month I took my match 457 VPT w/24" barrel to the Lapua Test Center in Mesa, AZ. For those who don't know Arizona is mostly desert and this facility is on the outskirts of Mesa at the end of a dead end road. Lots of desert around here!
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There was a security gate at the entrance and the guard was new, so there were issues even getting in.
My tester/contact was Devan Stricker and he finally showed up at the gate and escorted me in. I was told that the facility (Nammo) has many contracts with foreign governments, and that is the reason for the security.
We first went into a small shop like building where Devan took my barreled action out of my rifle and mounted it their testing fixture. We then went across the lot to the testing site where the tunnel could actually be seen above ground. It is made from 4ft (?) diameter concrete pipe. The building is a short sea container with lots of exterior insulation, for heat as I was told. It gets HOT there!
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Here it is all set up ready to shoot. They have electronic targets at 50 and 100 meters and a computer screen just to the right of this is where it is all monitored. He brought out all available lots of ammo that was to be tested, in my case Center X, of which he had 8 or 9. He fouled the barrel with 5 or ten shots and then began the tests. We started with 10 shots of SK Long Range Match that I had brought as a baseline. It wasn't very impressive.
The computer centered the first shot and then recorded each shot after that based on that. It would also encircle the group and note the diameter. Afterwards, the computer would generate more data and overlay the second ten shot group (if tested) over the first to see what a twenty shot group would look like. It also generated a bar chart to help see the distance from center the shots were. Too much information to digest the first time through. Next time I will be more knowledgeable.
Working with just a five round magazine, if a lot wasn't showing promise after five rounds he would put it aside and move on. After shooting 10 rounds through all the remaining lots, he would go back through and shoot another 10 of the best looking groups.
After completion of shooting, the computer would generate all the data and he would print it all out, and the option of purchasing was made with no real timeline on the decision. I was very pleased with the whole experience and feel like I will go back soon to test another rifle and maybe some different lots of ammo in this rifle.
Did I miss anything? Probably, and if so I will try to answer any questions.
Richard
My tester/contact was Devan Stricker and he finally showed up at the gate and escorted me in. I was told that the facility (Nammo) has many contracts with foreign governments, and that is the reason for the security.
We first went into a small shop like building where Devan took my barreled action out of my rifle and mounted it their testing fixture. We then went across the lot to the testing site where the tunnel could actually be seen above ground. It is made from 4ft (?) diameter concrete pipe. The building is a short sea container with lots of exterior insulation, for heat as I was told. It gets HOT there!
Here it is all set up ready to shoot. They have electronic targets at 50 and 100 meters and a computer screen just to the right of this is where it is all monitored. He brought out all available lots of ammo that was to be tested, in my case Center X, of which he had 8 or 9. He fouled the barrel with 5 or ten shots and then began the tests. We started with 10 shots of SK Long Range Match that I had brought as a baseline. It wasn't very impressive.
The computer centered the first shot and then recorded each shot after that based on that. It would also encircle the group and note the diameter. Afterwards, the computer would generate more data and overlay the second ten shot group (if tested) over the first to see what a twenty shot group would look like. It also generated a bar chart to help see the distance from center the shots were. Too much information to digest the first time through. Next time I will be more knowledgeable.
Working with just a five round magazine, if a lot wasn't showing promise after five rounds he would put it aside and move on. After shooting 10 rounds through all the remaining lots, he would go back through and shoot another 10 of the best looking groups.
After completion of shooting, the computer would generate all the data and he would print it all out, and the option of purchasing was made with no real timeline on the decision. I was very pleased with the whole experience and feel like I will go back soon to test another rifle and maybe some different lots of ammo in this rifle.
Did I miss anything? Probably, and if so I will try to answer any questions.
Richard
