The groups I am shooting with my big bores are larger than my medium and small bores. I have to shoot my big bores differently than my small/medium bores. The idea of shooting my big bores off the bench or prone sounds painful. This is not to say that I couldn’t hunt with the groups I am pulling, but I am not happy with the groups I am pulling.

How good do you have to be before you would say “this guy can shoot big bore guns”?

Four to six inch groups at 50 yards - off of sticks - will suffice.

Better than that is not necessary, but is good for building confidence.

off sticks, or sitting on the ground, you should be able to shoot 4-6 inches at 100 yards.

if you cant -- then down - load 200 fps off your working load and build confidence up, and then SLOWlY add back till "on spec"..

Recoil DOES suck -- and I am not immune .. My 500 ar, off the bench with full house loads, will make me remember that i DO have something else to do.. like play in traffic...

knocking 200-300 fps off your loads (keep the case full!!! use slower powders of KNOWN loadings) will usually cut FELT recoil a whole bunch.

If you don't reload -- goodness me, you have more money than I do!

jeffe

In recent months I have been reminded that shooting a bigger bore is different than shooting a smaller bore.

In my younger days I learned to shoot rifles for accuracy with a loose or no hold on the forearm ... often used the left hand to support the rear of the stock to adjust the elevation when shooting off sandbags. Worked fine with things through .338 Win Mag. Even worked fine with 9,3x62 and even the .375 H&H.

And then came the .416s and the .458 AR. Can't do that with them. Can't even use a light grip on sticks and the rifle forearm with them.

I suspect that with the larger bores, that the rifle begins to move while the projectile is still in the bore. Thus if the rifle is not held firmly, the group starts to open up. The bigger the bore ... the worse the groups get.

May not be an accurate analysis but if the rifle is held more firmly the rifle is more accurate for me.

The range at which you can keep all your shots on a paper plate offhand, sitting and prone or rested against a tree) is your max hunting range. Same thing off sticks,Land Rover HOODS, PH shoulders etc. etc. My experience is big bores will shoot just as accurately as small bores if you know what your doing, but small errors in your stance, hold, trigger control etc get magnified quickly and god forbid you start to develop a flinch. If your shooting 6 inch groups at 50 yrds with a otherwise accurate rifle, something is wrong somewhere. However you wont be able to correct it till someone who knows watches you and sees what your doing wrong. Nevertheless, 6 inch groups at 50 yrds offhand will do fine for Buff or ele and 98% of all deer critters. Finally, consider your upper body strength. Is the gun really too heavy for you, are you holding it too long before squeezing off the shot? Does your trigger suck? These factors make a big difference in offhand shooting.-Rob

mstarling, I have very limited experience (just my 375 H&H), but even shooting my 375 H&H I had to change my bench shooting technique from my 270, by holding the forend firmly with downward pressure. My groups went from omfg I can't sight this in, to under .7" at 100 yards. I'd also recommend dry fire practice a lot, making sure you're holding the gun the way you want to be. Practice shouldering the rifle, sight picture, trigger control. It's a lot cheaper too!

We'll see how this all works out for me next week when the 500 Jeffery shows up though.

By the way Rob, I saw a video somewhere where a fellow shot his big bore rifle off of someone's hood and blew the windshield out. I'll try and find it and post the link, though it could just be an urban legend.

http://video.google.com/videos...le+blast&hl=en&emb=0



Regards,
Chuck-

Chuck,

The best group I shot with a .375 H&H came as a surprise as it was done with a Weatherby Mark V Weathermark Alaskan using a loose hold. Ammo was 235 gr Speers driven to 2935 fps with 76 gr of RL-15.

Group measured 0.28" center to center.

Rifle was very accurate. Gave it to a friend and replaced it with a less accurate Winchester M70 SS Classic that was better set up for hunting Africa.

SHooting good groups from a big bore is satisfying, but not required. I agree, 4"-6" groups @ 100yds sitting or off sticks is sufficient. It is confidence building to shoot sub 1" groups @ 100yds off a bench though. I call my 404jeffery my 42cal varmint rifle. Yes, it shoots that well.
It does require a very diff. technique though. I sit as upright as I can & use a PAST recoil pad, elbow pad & hold onto the front end. This I do for testing loads.

I want to know the rifle shoots so I prepare myself with benchrest equipment and a PAST Magnum recoil pad or a Protektor Sissy bag to develop loads. Under these conditions my big bores shoot MOA at 100 yards. A big bore bolt action rifle can be extremely accurate. I have a 12.5x70 Schuler with a Krieger barrel that shoots like the Hammers of Hell. After that, I go to shooting sticks, know my limitations, and do the best I can.

I've personally seen a muzzel braked .338 RUM take the paint off a guys car hood. I was just being funny actually about the Land rover hood. Good video though. laughed my ass off LMAO. thanks-Rob