I was wondering... Are all Taylor very accurate or does it just seem that way Had mine to the range today to sight in my current load and was pleasently supprised by the result. Every shot was within the width of the crosshairs from each other. I never measured it. I just noticed a lot of Taylor shooters report 1.5" or less from their guns and most less than.

NB,

Since my Taylor is being built What load are you shooting to get the accuracy. Have you chrono'd the load? What's the barrel length?

BD

Sorry I havn't run it over the screens yet. Right now I'm still working up the load with a Speer 350gr. MagTip Rel 15 and WLRM primers in necked up .338 WinMag cases. I started low because some people gave me data that they say is MAX but is still 4gr under what another guy is useing. The load that holds the tightest group so far is 73gr. in the above recipe. I am up to 74 gr and still no signs so I'll go a little more. But if the accuracy suffers, I may give up velocity for "Tack driving". The barrel length is 24" with 1-14" twist.

Bigdog,
I have run my Taylor over the screens and have averaged 2320 fps with the 400 grain Hornady out of my mauser's 23" barrel. This is my hunting load for brown bear here in Ak. I used 72.0 gr of Reloader 15 and found that it will constantly do 1" to 1 1/4" @ 100yds. I love this rifle. I am anxious to hear more information as to the 350 grain Swift A-frame. I think thats where I'll head next.
best,
bhtr

Gents,

My Taylor is not that accurate. Quite frankly, it was not put together very well. There's so much freebore, that a 400gr Hornady RN, barely seated in a case, still will not touch the lands.

Here's a typical target...


Don't blame the North Forks for these two large groups! They are about the most accurate bullet this rifle shoots. With .416 Partitions, the groups would be twice that big.

Even with those 'not quite MOA' groups here's what the rifle did last Spring at 170 yards...


So while making all the holes touch on paper is a good thing, it's not the final determining factor on how well a rifle 'hunts.'

Just for fun, here's a second bear, Brown this time, in which my Taylor delivered the second 'insurance' shoot (probably not needed) which knocked this guy down flat too.


Here's a picture of my Taylor. It's the 'working' rifle in front. Originally a M70 Classic in 300 Win Mag, it now sports a 23" Douglas barrel, NECG iron sights, and a Leupold VariX-III 2.5-8X mounted in Leupold QR rings.


The other rifle is a stock Winchester 'Super Express' 375H&H, same scope and rings (except matte) and is waiting a much dreamed of trip to Africa.

Yes, there both lefties, and NOT for sale George!!!

[ 11-16-2002, 11:01: Message edited by: BW ]

Brian,
Those targets are not all that bad. Besides, the results speak volumns!

NBHunter,
What are your intensions as regards the Taylor? Are you contemplating pachyderms in the pansies? Mice in the marsh?

best,
bhtr

bearhunt'r
My thoughts were more like bears in the corn, moose in the meadows, and the odd porcupine in a pine. Actually it was built for my second gun to go with my .338 WMag when I someday ( in about 300 years) visit Alaska for coastal browns. Alot of people suggested to take a second rifle in case of gun damage on the first.

NBHunter,
That is the exact combo I use and carry! I was thrilled to take a Brownie this year with the Taylor. It squared a smaller 8'6" but, at 4 to 5 yards distance (with ears going back,) I decided that he was going to be the loser! The 400 grn Hornady caught the bear full in the chest and was plucked out of the intersection of the rear leg with the body, some 50 inches away. I am real confident in it's prowess! Life is sweet!
best,
bhtr

What did the Hornady look like when you dug it out? did it still have the jacket and core together?

Accuracy is mostly in the components and barrel not caliber, some calibers seem inherently accruate but I'm too sold on that except for benchrest calibers.....

At any rate the accuracy requirment for a big bore is mostly foolishness..2" groups for a Taylor are more than you will ever need...Use it for what it was designed for and thats up to 250 yards, maybe 300 at most and on big targets..I have killed some real big stuff at 200 yards plus with a 416 and 404 that shot about 2" averages...My present 416 shoots under a half inch an my 404 shoots near 2", I can't tell much difference in the field.

NBHunter,
The Hornady is in the classic "mushroom" shape other than the one side is slightly tilted. If my dear wife will let me borrow the digital, I'll post it's picture. BTW, I weighted it on my scale and it came in at 367 grains. Not bad in my mind.

Ray,
You are correct of course. By the by, it's still nice to go in knowing a rifle intimately, knowing what it will do so as not to have to think about it when the time comes.

best,
bhtr

Ray,
You are right, but you have to admit small groups from a gun you build yourself, and is a big bore to boot make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. And to add to the point you made, I don't plan on shots past 200 yards so what does it matter right??

Hey BW, someone put the bolt handles on the wrong side of those rifles.

Hi Brian,
My 416 Taylor has the same freebore as yours it sounds. Mine is built on a Ruger 77 MK1 so the magazine is the 30-06 length max. I tried extending the bullets out and single loading them to see if the freebore made a difference in the accuracy compared to the same bullet set back to fit the magazine. Shooting three, three shot groups of each, the groups were very close.My bore would foul pretty quickly so I fire lapped it. The accuracy was good and it improved with the fire lapping. The velocity picked up a bit also. The bonus was the fouling problem dissapered. Mine is my up North Moose etc rifle.
Take care
470 Mbogo

470 Mbogo,

That's a very interesting experiment you conducted. Smart!

As a follow up, I shot my Taylor last Monday, with some loads using H4895. I had tried it before, but ran out after just a few rounds.

Here's the results. Ignore the stray 300WM hole.



As you can see, the rifle has promise. My shooting sucks! I've got to get serious about shooting better from the bench, if those groups ever have a chance of tightening up. Those were shot with a homemade front rest, with rather stiff foam for padding, and nothing but my shoulder in the rear.

Interesting to note, that the rifle was sighted in about 2" high, and centered, when using RL15 and the same bullets. Going to have to load up a bunch more, and adjust the scope...

In fact, here's my Taylor ar the range...




Sorry, just gotta love digital cameras.

Had mine playing at the range again today. Didn't want to waste real world practice so only fired a 2 shot "group" at 50 yards off the bench with the stock on my left paw and supported the rear in my shoulder. Center to center was 11/16". I usually try to avoid shooting it off the bench much, gives me a flinch.

Hi Brian,
Your groups are very good if your not using a back rest as well as the front. A good solid rest is only to check your components accuracy from your other Bear photos your field shooting is just fine.
This is my 416 Taylor:

This is the moose I shot with the 400 grain Hornady

This is the one with the 350 grain Barnes X


I'm changing the scope back to the 2.5 to 8 VariX 111 just because I find it better for shots over 100 yards. The 1.5 to 5 has the heavy duplex which blocks out a lot of target at 200 yards. I'm really keen to try the Swift 350. I can get over 2500 fps with the Mag tips with good accuracy.
Take good care,
470 Mbogo

Bearhunt'r, when you get in a spot where you need a real rifle, you can borrow my .375. We both know how well it work's on bear's and moose.LOL

470 Mbogo,

Nice looking Ruger. Those Barnes X bullets are really something, as it appears to have skinned half that moose for you.

I had considered buying a 1.5-5x scope for my Taylor, so I could use the 2.5-8x on a 338 Win Mag. You have confirmed what I had already suspected, and I think I'll leave it alone.

'Course now I'll have to buy another durn Leupold! I'm actually thinking of going up in power, to a 3.5-10x VariX-III for the 338WM, as it has no iron sights, and it's sort of my 'smallbore mountain/long range' rifle. As you well know, brown/grizzly bear like to hang out in Mt. Goat territory.

Hi Brian,
The 3.5 to 10 Leupold is a very nice scope. I have a couple of the 2.5 to 8's and really like them. I pulled my bino's out after hiking for a while to look at a deer and the lenses fogged up on the outside as soon as they touched my face so I flipped the scope cover off my rifle scope and it was fogged up. The area I live in is probably a lot like yours for rain and hunting in the rain. I'm going to try one of the Bushnell 4200 series with the raingaurd coating. This is for my 300 Mag. The Bauch and Lomb series is now sold under the Bushnell name and the 4200 series is the top of their line. So it should be interesting.
Take care,
470 Mbogo

470,
I have the 3200 Elite on my .338 and if I try to fog the scope with my breath, both lenses, I can still see the target. It just take on a slight blue tint, but at least you can still see.