shuter
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2014
- Messages
- 365
- Reaction score
- 219
- Website
- www.roboliveauthor.com
- Media
- 16
- Hunted
- Oregon, Montana
By way of background, up till today I'd never fired a more powerful rifle than my fairly heavy and relatively comfortable Sako 75 .338 Win Mag. I've also fired some heavy .45-70 loads in my Marlins and Ruger #1's, both of which pack a hefty punch as well. But typically, I'm shooting my .223 bolt-action varmint rifles, AR-15's and my .270 Win and .300 WSM hunting rifles...and suppressed .22 rimfires and .17 HMR's every chance I get, of course.
As I posted last month, I finally picked up the honest to goodness "African Rifle" that I've always wanted! Got a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in the grand old .375 H&H. Anyway, I finally got it to the range today and I was surprised at the trepidation I felt prior to the first trigger squeeze. I'm 50 years old and have shot all my life, but I had mind games going on today! The upshot is that it seemed to recoil a bit more than my .338 Sako, but it was manageable for me. The rig weighs right at 11.25 lbs. loaded (Leupold 1.5-5x in Warne mounts), so it's no lightweight. But the balance is very nice, and the rifle has a tremendously solid feel to it.
After 20 rounds at the bench I'd had enough though! The ammo was Hornady 270 grain Superformance, which averaged 2,782 fps for 5 shots over my chronograph, by the way. Pretty hot stuff, I guess. It took a few rounds to get it close, then I fired three 3-shot groups at 100 yards, and the last 4 hammered the 200 yard gong into submission!
None of the three groups were worth bragging about overall, but each group had the first 2 shots touching or nearly so, until the 3rd shot flew 1.5-2" out. I think the rifle really wants to shoot, and I also think that I'll have a different mindset next time out. The recoil was stout, with what I gather are pretty hot loads, but the scope has plenty of eye relief and the Decelerator pad helps. Can't wait for the next time, and also can't wait to load up some of the 300-grain Accubonds I picked up.
Anyway, just babbling, but wanted to share my first range session with the .375.
As I posted last month, I finally picked up the honest to goodness "African Rifle" that I've always wanted! Got a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in the grand old .375 H&H. Anyway, I finally got it to the range today and I was surprised at the trepidation I felt prior to the first trigger squeeze. I'm 50 years old and have shot all my life, but I had mind games going on today! The upshot is that it seemed to recoil a bit more than my .338 Sako, but it was manageable for me. The rig weighs right at 11.25 lbs. loaded (Leupold 1.5-5x in Warne mounts), so it's no lightweight. But the balance is very nice, and the rifle has a tremendously solid feel to it.
After 20 rounds at the bench I'd had enough though! The ammo was Hornady 270 grain Superformance, which averaged 2,782 fps for 5 shots over my chronograph, by the way. Pretty hot stuff, I guess. It took a few rounds to get it close, then I fired three 3-shot groups at 100 yards, and the last 4 hammered the 200 yard gong into submission!
None of the three groups were worth bragging about overall, but each group had the first 2 shots touching or nearly so, until the 3rd shot flew 1.5-2" out. I think the rifle really wants to shoot, and I also think that I'll have a different mindset next time out. The recoil was stout, with what I gather are pretty hot loads, but the scope has plenty of eye relief and the Decelerator pad helps. Can't wait for the next time, and also can't wait to load up some of the 300-grain Accubonds I picked up.
Anyway, just babbling, but wanted to share my first range session with the .375.