Loc Jaw and Rifle Railz

[COOSEFAN]

Howdy folks, I'm still way behind on getting caught up but I'm gettin' there!

 

As most of you have already seen, I've had the priviledge of hunting with some great friends on the past couple hunts and we were fortunate to fill all of our tags thus far this season! Included in that success were several folks that were experiencing our great sport of big game hunting for the very first time and those guys made some amazing shots to take their first animal! Those shots and their success would not have been possible if it weren't for the new product that we used and the reason why I'm writing this testimony here.

 

A friend of mine, David with Aristotle Engineering, designed and produced a great new adaptor for hunting rifles that I feel greatly increases your accuracy in a hunting environment. This new product is the "Rifle Railz" with the "Loc Jaw" attached creating a solid hard mounted platform from which you can attach any tripod adaptor plate. There are other products on the market that achieve the same end results but with David's new product the adaptor weighs less, looks like a factory part made for the rifle, and in no way "clamps" or "squeezes" your stock in any way.

 

 

 

 

I have 2 long range rifles and both have taken a ton of work in constructing, load workup, and sighting in and my first concern after attaching the new Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz was how it will change my POI and consistency. Both my rifles are touchy in regards to where and how the gun is supported and even shoot differently depending on if you are prone or sitting. With that in mind I was certain I would have to re-zero my guns after attaching the adaptors and I gave myself several days prior to opening day in our hunt unit to get the rifles dialed in. I always check my zero before a hunt close to the hunt area to make sure elevation and environmental changes haven't affected my zero and I know practicing that has kept me from making mistakes in the past.

 

 

 

 

With the adaptor attached, a target at 600 yards across broken terrain, and no wind I slid my 7mm onto the tripod. I have been using an older heavy Bogen tripod with a pan head which is very stable and a set of shooting sticks that have shortened top ends. I call these sticks "Chopsticks" because you use them in your hand like chopsticks to adjust elevation under the rear of the gun. The tops are shortened so they don't "dig" into your cheek when your in the scope. With everything in place and an unbelievably solid hold on the target I fired my first shot and it was perfect! The tripod seemed to absorb some of the recoil and to my surprise the crosshairs were still fairly close to the target so slamming another round in and locking back on target was faster and easier than if I had shot off my normal shooting fork! Two more shots and I had a 4" group at 600 yards which was awesome because I was in a hunting situation, sitting on my butt, shooting in the same terrain I would hunt in and off my normal hunting tripod!

 

Very content with that gun I then pulled out my .300WM and proceeded to do the same thing with the same results! Adding the new Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz adaptor didn't change my POI at all and actually helped me achieve tighter groups and faster target acquisition on follow up shots! I was sold at that point and couldn't wait for the hunt to start!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I noticed on the hunts that followed is there were very few opportunities for us to shoot prone! I like shooting prone as the closer to the ground you are the more stable you are but we learned quick that prone shots wouldn't be an option for us. The grass was very tall and the only clear spots were on steep slopes that you couldn't shoot prone from anyways. Having the ability to "lock in" and have an extremely solid rest in a sitting position was imperative to our success on those hunts. If we were limited to only shooting prone we would've had to pass up shots or would've taken too long to setup and would've missed the opportunities. Another huge advantage is that we always had the gun on the tripod ready while we were glassing. We were hunting thick country and when you find a buck you don't have much time to setup, range and shoot so by having the gun ready to go we drastically cut down the amount of time it would take to get a good solid shot off.

 

 

 

 

After watching 5 bucks killed with my guns utilizing the Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz setup I've become a huge fan of it and so has everyone that witnessed those kills. I've shot of this setup a bunch now and have never had more confidence in my rifles than I do now. One thing I think is important, no matter what setup you are using, having something to support the rear of the gun is imperative! Supporting the rear of the gun will take out any wobble, heart beat or breathing and that's very important for those shots out past 400 yards. With this Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz setup attached and the tripod adjusted in a snug position, supporting the rear isn't as neccesary. Under 400 yards it's very steady and you can pan around and follow your target very easily and solid! I've got custom shooting sticks that were hand made but any Steady Stix or other shooting sticks work fine but I would definitely cut the top parts down so they don't dig into your face. By using sticks in this manner it allows you to sit closer to the tripod than those other setups which require a post or brace that attaches to one of the tripod legs. Also, practice with your setup at home and the more you practice using the "Chopsticks" and tripod setup the better and faster you will become. Eventually you will be able to quickly setup and adjust your gun without even thinking about it and it could make the difference of whether you kill or never even pull the trigger!

 

 

 

 

Obviously your rifle needs to be dialed in and proven at the distances you plan to shoot at an animal. This adaptor will only enhance and help you achieve what you've already proven to yourself as your effective range and all other factors with long range shooting still need to be accounted for. No matter what adaptor you use you need to practice with it to make sure the adaptor hasn't altered your rifle in any way. I've heard other folks talk about similar adaptors and how you can just slap it on and go and that just isn't the case at all. Adding the Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz adaptors to my guns didn't affect my accuracy but that's not a guarantee it will do the same for all guns. So try it for yourself, practice with it and I'm sure you'll agree with me that it's the best thing I've added to my setups!

 

You can order the Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz from one of CWT.com sponsors, the "Outdoorsmans", and I'm hearing that soon we can buy them from Amanda here in the CWT.com store!

 

If you haven't seen this little video I did recently here it is again. It illustrates a couple great shots made using the Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz setup! JIM>

 

 

Just click on the below pics to watch videos....

 

 

 

 

 

[COOSEFAN]

I'm also working on getting another video clip together to show yet another first time big game hunter making an amazing shot with the Loc Jaw/Rifle Railz setup!

 

On this more recent hunt we had our friend shoot my .300WM with the setup at 500 and 600 yards and he was ringing a 12" gong with every shot. The very next day he dumped a buck at 665 yards with one perfect shot! Great video of the shot and vapor trail! I'll have it up soon. JIM>

[shaynec]

I like the tape on your turret. I've started to do the same thing. Makes me a lot more willing to change things when I'm not worried about matching up with an $80 knob. Shayne

[Hancock7WSM]

Shayne, you would notice that!!

[shaynec]

Jake, I'm always looking for proof that maybe i'm not full of crap. Shayne

[coues7]

Awesome write-up Jim! I look forward to trying this out!!!!

 

Scott

[stanley]

Good write-up Jim!

 

Curious; Have you used The Gun Claw? If so, I'm curious as to how you would compare the two??

 

Thanks,

S.

 

[coues7]

I've used the gun claw and the one thing I DID NOT like about it was the fact that it squeezed the rifle. If you happen to have your action bedded or latched on at different locations you run the risk of breaking the bedding or changing the conditions by which the rifle shot good.

 

Just my $0.02

[elkhunter]

One thing I noticed when Glenn took his first big game animal, he shot 665 yards...that was impressive but it was more impressive how Jim gave me a smile and a thumbs up. Jim's a hard dude to impress especially when it comes to hunting gear. Jim spends far more time in the outdoors and harvesting critters whether he harvests them himself or his friends or his clients than a majority of hunters in the US. The way Jim reacted after the shot shows his approval and his confidence in this product. If Jim gives a product a thumbs up, it is worth a second look! I know I am interested in this and my dad and I are already talking about splitting our funds to get this setup goin for us. One day I'll give a rookie a smile and a thumbs up too, ain't no doubt bout that!

 

Good write up Jim!

[Schmitty]

Great Video! Thanks for putting the time to put it all together!

 

Nice job!

 

Schmitty

[Dan]

Nice write-up Jim ! How hard is it to mount the adaptor to the stock? I think I might be needing one on my edge.

[DesertBull]

I'm ready to order one but waiting to order it here. Come one....let's get on with it.

[COOSEFAN]

Thanks for taking the time to check this out guys!

 

Shaynec, I'm surprised you noticed that, good eyes man! Truth be told, I'm not that good with numbers in my head and much worse if I've got a buck within rifle range of me. So to make things easier and much faster for me I've got white electrical tape on the turrets of both my guns. The yardage markers are marked in 50 yard increments and each mark has been shot to prove they are accurate. After getting my turret marked out to my maximum range and verified I then wrapped clear tape around it so the marks don't get smudged. If I change up my load I just tear the tape off and wrap a new piece of tape on there and mark it up the same way. A Ballistic program will get me close on the clicks and then I shoot each mark to make sure it all adds up. Not having to pull out a card, pull my face away from the scope, or count clicks saves me time and sometimes that makes a huge difference. Just my $.02 for what it's worth JIM>

 

 

[coues7]

You guys are killin' me when you use the word click. If your going to take a 700 yard shot with a 6.5x284 and you drop is 100 inches and your using a 1/4 MOA scope are you really going to count 57 clicks? Good luck, especially when you got a 110" buck in the cross hairs. I'd just dial 14.5 MOA and send it, or do as you mention Jim and put 700 yards on a piece of tape. I put an explanation of MOA that I created below. Hope it helps someone out.

Explanation_of_MOA.pdf

[COOSEFAN]

Hey Stanley, I have not used the Claw. I love what it can do for you which is the same as the Loc Jaw but there are things about it that I'm uncomfortable with and in the past I've opted to just use my shooting forks instead. My guns are very touchy as to where and what you rest the gun on. All contact points on my stock have to be exactly the same as how I sighted it in. If I rest the gun on shooting forks and position the fork back by the action it will shoot differently then if the forks were out by the swivel stud. It even makes a difference how my shoulder is angled against the butt of the gun and is a big reason why my POI is different whether I'm laying prone or sitting. This is all just a few things that come into play with long range shooting and usually not very noticeable at medium to short ranges. This is also why I really like the Loc Jaw, it's hard mounted and the contact points are exactly the same everytime and there is no added pressure to the stock, it's merely resting in the exact spot every time!

 

Dan, Both my stocks are McMillan stocks and have slightly different tapers or shape on the underside as opposed to a factory stock. In mounting the adaptors we had to add washers to the action screw and utilize the pivoting function of the Rifle Railz. Because the back end of the Rifle Railz ability to pivot it compensated for the custom shape of my stocks and worked very well. In each package there are wrenches and new bolts included and all you'll need to have is a torque wrench to set the torque on your action screws. David will have a video on how to do this yourself on Youtube but it's very simple.