Had the opportunity to have a little enjoyment Sunday at the range.

Shot two rifles:

1. Pre-war Model 70 in .30 Gov't '06 (SN 30,xxx), with Balvar-5 in Stith Master Mounts, tapered crosshairs reticule.

2. Current Israeli issue H-S Precision Sniper rig in .338 Lapua, with NF 5.5x22 scope (30 m/m tube), "hollow" mil-dot reticule.

I shot the old '06 first. Have owned it for many years...used it to kill my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th moose, back in '69-'71 while living in Edmonton, Alta. For many years, I fed it
the Nosler 200 gr. Partitions, with 55.5 grs. of H-4831. Definitely NOT a hot load in this rifle, but an accurate one and will shoot through pretty much the full length of a moose. Also nice to shoot as the recoil is light.

Anyway, with the increasing cost of stuff, decided to try some of the older components I've got stowed away around here.

Loaded up some 168 gr. Sierra MK's ahead of 48.0 grs. WC-846 and WLR primers, in some W-W once-fired range-pickup brass. (I know they were once-fired because I saw the guy fire the factory ammo he had just bought over at Bi-Mart. )

Of course, the first round at 100 yards with the 168 Sierras wasn't hitting anywhere near the zero for the 200 gr. Noslers. It was about 1.5" right and 5" lower.

Out came the allen wrench and a by-hope-and-by-gosh adjustment of the Stith mount. Next shot was 3/4" right and 3" high. So, another sight mount tweak and the 3rd shot landed right where wanted, about 1" high at 12 o'clock. Fired two more to make sure that wasn't a fluke, and also to get some clue whether that load is worth more use.

Would you believe shots 4 & 5 cut shot #3? So after the first two sight adjusting shots, the next 3-shots grouped in about 5/16", center-to center. That's good enough for me to be encouraged!!!

Of course, guys, I know it won't shoot like that all the time, and neither will I. It will probably average somewhere up around 1/2" to 3/4", I'd guess. It always has averaged about 3/4" to 7/8" with the Partitions, some days a little better. That's why I've kept it all these years. For a completely unaltered, un-tweaked, factory hunting rifle, that ain't shabby in my book.

I would have fired more rounds, but had the other rifle to shoot and evaluate.


The H-S Precision rifle is a heavy sucker, even for a sniper rig. It weighs about 14 lbs-7 ounces, with the NightForce scope. Has the de rigeur composite stock, which stock is adjustable with "dial wheels" for both comb height and length of pull. Barrel is fluted (more about that in a moment).

Action is made by H-S, I presume, but appears to be a large copy of a Remington 700 with a matt finish and a very small version of something like a Sako extractor. Trigger is adjustable, but as received was NOT light. Crisp, Yes, light, No.

Immediate things I did not care for, for a sniping rig, included the fact that it had no back-up iron sights, and that the sight is graduated in 1/4 minutes. For a sniper, I personally much prefer at least 1/2-MOA clicks and even better, 1 MOA adjustments. I won't try to give a sniper course here, even if I could, but military tactical shooters are early-on taught holds on target which make 1/4 MOA adjustments superfluous...and all those clicks take close counting and comparatively large amounts of time. In combat, time is usually better used for other things, in my opinion.

Anyway, one of the things I DID like, is the rifle comes complete with a half-dozen magazines, in a "french-fitted" hard case, and also comes fitted with a bipod.

The thing I really liked the most is that it has even less perceived recoil with the 250 gr. Sierra ammo loaded by Black Hills than my '06 did with the 173's!!! (Had some "white box" there too.) Muzzle blast is a great deal more, but recoil actually "felt" less!

A couple of other comments...though I LOVED the clarity of the NightForce scope and if I had the bucks handy right now would buy one, I do NOT love the cost of the ammo...$4.25 per shot for the stuff I was shooting.

One other thing, which was bothersome was that first shot from a cold barrel was repeatedly about 3 MOA low relative to all subsequent shots anytime one fires a group. We did a "cold barrel" impact test, and from a cold barrel, the first shots form a nice, small group. BUT, if one fires a five shot group, the first shot is at POI, the next shot is about 3" higher, and each additional shot afterward "walked" up and right, more so with each shot.

A guy might be able to survive that at 100 yards, but at 500+ it could get him in a lot of ca-ca, I'd suspect. I have to wonder if it was the result of the barrel-fluting process releasing a stressed area in the metal?

Got to go now. Not much else to tell anyway. WAS a fun day at the range.

AC

You know, for an old fart you seem to be having too much fun. roger

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
You know, for an old fart you seem to be having too much fun. roger

Yeah, luckily some days are still like that...now if could just recall why I used to chase women......

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
...now if could just recall why I used to chase women......

I'm an old fart too but I still remember....PM me if you really want to know!