Big Bore Rifles, How Much Do you Actually Shoot Them?

Aussie_Hunter

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The wet season is fast approaching over on this side of the world where I live, which means hunting season is coming to an end soon. During the hunting season I actually spend very little time at the range, I feel I do enough shooting when hunting to stay in pretty good form. The question is how much do you actually shoot your big bores outside of hunting? I find what works for me is shooting my rifle/rifles more regularly with a lower round count rather than say one trip a month to the range with a higher round count, having said that Before this year I only had my 375H&H rifles, but now I have my 458 Lott and 500 Jeffery this off season I feel I am going to be spending more time at the range to try and stay in good form with all of them. Also I thought I should mention nearly all my range work with the big rifles is off hand, I only shoot them off the bench to check zero or for load development.

What works for you to stay in good form? And how much time do you actually spend shooting your big bores? Not just time spent but also how many rounds fired? And also how much time do you spend shooting them just because you enjoy it?
 
Wife and I each shoot between 7-12 shots a week each, takes less than an hour.
We break it up between the 300WM, 375H&H and 416RM.
Admittedly, she has not shot the 416RM yet, just getting comfortable with the 375 now.
We also do about 25 shots a week each of 22lr.

This is mostly done off sticks (tripod) and at 100 yards.
We also practice sitting, kneeling at 100 yards and off-hand at 50.
Nothing on the bench after getting sighted in.

A month prior to a trip, we step it up to twice a week and 10-15 shots each time.

We do it because it's what we do.
It's relaxing to us and we really enjoy it.
Sometimes we skip a week and go shotgunning instead.
 
I will shoot one of my big bores every couple of weeks in the off seasons, probably 4-6 rounds sometimes up to 10 rounds but no more to keep in good form.
 
I shoot the .375 nearly every range trip, usually 6-9 rounds. I practice hitting a 12” gong at 100 as rapidly as I can.

After the .375, it is much easier to work down in calibers. My .300 WM elk gun feels much better when taking a step down in recoil. The confidence boost is effective.
 
Being lucky enough to participate in BASA shoots and also shooting at the range I would say I easily shoot 200 or more rounds of larger calibre mostly 458 Lott this year with 140 or so in my lott thus far. Previously mostly only with 375 also 200 rounds per year and most of them off hand with some sticks and bench to split the rest.
 
almost every range trip I take a big bore 40-50Cal and shoot 8-10 rounds, a med or small rifle 8mm-375 or 30 and smaller. 20-30 rounds and a 22LR 50+ rounds.
 
Not nearly enough...

If Im planning a hunt with one of the big boomers, I'll very intentionally take it to the range 3-4 times and shoot 10+ rounds through it over the course of a couple of months prior to the hunt..

But otherwise they might get shot 5-10 rounds per range session.. and only probably get taken to the range a couple of times a year..

My small and mid bores get a lot more range time as they are the rifles I use much more extensively through the course of a "normal" year as I dont have DG hunts or otherwise large animal hunts planned out most years..

End result is my 25 cals, 30 cals, 7mm's, etc.. get a whole lot more attention than my 375, 416, 458, etc..
 
I usually shoot once a week. All my Sako rifles have same stock/trigger so which rifle I shoot isn’t so important. I only shoot 4 max with any caliber unless I’m sighting a gun in, but range is also only 200 yards from my house. I had dummy rounds loaded up so I can’t tell unless I specifically look. I find the dry fire practice is even better than the live round. You learn a lot about your mind’s/body’s reaction in that split second as trigger is being pulled. It’s dramatically improved my shooting without spending several dollars per bullet. I shoot 4 live rounds but pull the trigger on another 4 or 5 while at my range.
 
I alternate shooting my 375H&H double one week, then my 416Rigby the next week. I will add my 300 winmag occasionally as well. Usually shoot only 6-8 rounds with the 375 or the Rigby as ammo is expensive. I have found that regular practice minimizes the effects of recoil from heavy caliber rifles.
 
I actually enjoy shooting the big bores within reason so I take my 450NE double with me every time I go to the range and shoot 10 or 12 rounds. I also handload so I can load my 416 Rigby and 375 H&H to just about whatever level I wish. That way I can shoot them considerable more without developing bad habits. I usually shoot off sticks with these calibers and almost never off the bench.

My Dakota 300 Win plains game rifle is supremely accurate. I have been trying to limit how much I shoot it to maintain that accuracy. I have hunted with it for many years and now have about 1000 rounds through it. I have a Dakota 280AI with the same scope that is perfect stand in for practice and good for hunting in Texas.
 
I use my .458 Winchester Magnum to hunt Axis deer , barking deer and wild boars seasonally . I estimate that I fire at least a hundred rounds through mine per year , ever since I originally purchased it in 1977 . I have also been using it extensively for Problem Animal Control work , since the last 43 years . By this point , firing that grand old rifle has almost become secondary nature to me .
 
Lucky all of you. Last time I shot was in 2010. I was load developing for my 505 Gibbs. Shot a few rounds with 375 hh.
 
Depends on how bad the recoil is for me. I can handle quite a lot of recoil.

375 H&H - I can shoot this just about as much as I want. Never shot more than 20 rounds in a session, though.

416 Rem Mag - I can do about 30 rounds before I started to get fatigued by it. One time I shot 40 rounds in one session but I was really sore the next day.

458 Lott - The Lott kicks really hard, IMO. I start getting tired of it after about 5 shots. I've never shot more than 10 rounds in a session.
 
Three or four times a year, I visit the simulation shooting range, together with my friends.

Each of us has a little big bore battery, and we shoot as long as we can lift a gun....or run out of ammunition.

Mostly, my .450/400 3" NE, 10,75x68, .404 Rimless and .470 Capstick come into operation.

An when you cannot lift a gun any longer, you still can lift a beer and a steak.

Independently of this sessions, I seriously shoot my rifles in preparation for a trip to Africa.


HWL
 
I'll shoot about eight rounds of .375 or .458 and then take a break. The other shots with the .22 are actually more difficult after the eight rounds.
 
I'll shoot about eight rounds of .375 or .458 and then take a break. The other shots with the .22 are actually more difficult after the eight rounds.

And probably just as, if not more important. I too, follow up my big bore range shooting with a little rim fire shooting. It seems to take the edge off before I go back to the house.
 

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