I got to the range again w/ the .404. Now I am an ok bench shooter, but I shot these groups w/ the 1.5x5 VXIII. I wonder how good this rifle would shoot w/ more glass & a one piece bottom metal?

Fred, those are all very acceptable groups to me. Yes you can cut your groups down a bit but you'd have to use at least a 10X or better. All in all, I think you've reached the point where there isn't too much more you can tweak your rifle for optimal performance with all that you've got.

Good enough for big varmits.

Dave