Practicing with a small bore

[Keelebilly]

I’ve bought my first large bore rifle, a Belgian browning 458 win mag. I love shooting it and practice several times a week off of viper flex sticks. My problem is I don’t reload and I’m going to go bankrupt shooting factory loads. I was considering buying a Belgian browning 30-06 to practice with since if I’m correct it users the same FN Mauser action. Is this a stupid idea? Thanks for any constructive feedback.

 

[375Fox]

If they have the same stock design and trigger I think it’s a great idea. Some other aspects aren’t going to compare though. Once you get it, I’d take it to a gunsmith to make the triggers break at the same weight. I think I’m above average with my rifles. Part of that is my two main rifles are identical from the action back and same scope. So pulling the trigger on one is the same as the other and very natural to me. Slightly different barrel lengths and weights between the 300 and 375 though.

 

[Gomer]

I shoot a 223 quite a bit. Big rifle trajectory without the cost or the recoil. HOWEVER, recoil tolerance is something you have to maintain. You still gotta shoot a bigger somewhat regularly.

 

[grand veneur]

Speaking from personal experience, I don't think much of this practice. Others might have had a different experience, but the point here is not learning to shoot in general, for what you can use small-caliber rifles, but training to shoot large-caliber rifles with heavy recoil. That sort of thing can only be done with rifles that have a strong recoil, which you have to learn to control.

 

[Nhoro]

I think practising with a small bore is always useful. I use an airgun and .22 for shooting. They both develop your shooting technique and trigger control. Then when you practise your big bore, you have good fundamentals and can then just work on recoil management. I have a CZ 550 magnum length 458 and a CZ 550 medium action 30-06. So my small bore is a shorter action and not really great for practise as the action is shorter. Also the scope changes loading the magazine a bit. I try to seperate the practise in my mind, small bore for fundamental shooting and then big bore is quick shots and reloading practise. Different aspects of the same sport and different tools.

 

[grand veneur]

When you acquire a big bore rifle, you are normally a confirmed shooter and you don't have to practice shooting in general beforehand. If that is not the case and one need shooting practice, one should think carefully about whether to get a large-caliber rifle. There are already enough of negative reports about the people who use such rifles in the field.

 

[Nhoro]

World champion shooter are confirmed shooters and so by your logic, they dont have to practise shooting ? I would say they practise more than anyone.

My observation is that in the field, well practised shooters put animals in the salt. At our local big bore shoot, the best performers are invariably the guys that shoot lots of disciplines-pistol,shotgun and rifle In contrast,the worst shot I saw on a hunt spent the first day boasting to me how he beat all the local snipers in the Florida area- SWAT, Army units etc. Then he couldnt hit the side of a barn.

I firmly believe that more shooting = better shooting. Cheaper shooting = more shooting. But each to his own.

 

[grand veneur]

This is about training with large-caliber rifles, not shooting training in general. But no problem for me, you can train shooting regularly with a rifle caliber 30-06 and then use a rifle caliber 458 Win Mag for hunting. Perhaps something like that works without any issues. Good luck!

 

[BeeMaa]

Dry fire practice is extremely effective at creating the proper muscle memory while maintaining the feel of your big bore rifle.

We use snap caps and will practice 3-4 times a week with each session lasting about 15-20 minutes. Then we confirm our practice at a weekly range session that consists of 6-8 live cartridges.

I think we are at 15 or 20 dry fire rounds for each live one. Excellent way to practice and still save money.

The other option is to find a near identical rifle in 22lr or 223REM to practice with. I don’t think stepping down to 30-06 will save much money.

 

[Choupique]

don’t think stepping down to 30-06 will save much money.

It wont since OP still needs to buy the rifle/ammo/optics(?) Etc. Itd take a lot of rounds to break even and .30-06 is not terribly cheap to shoot anymore.

.223 is the best choice for a centerfire training rifle if you can find one that matches. Otherwise, snap caps and dry firing are probably as good as anything.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Long ago I chatted with two-time Olympic 300 Meter Rifle gold medalist and NRA Vice President Gary Anderson. He confirmed to me that mastering the fundamentals of marksmanship is the most important part of becoming a champion or very good marksman.

One note is for me, my dangerous game shooting stance (position) has more weight on my forward leg, and is more perpendicular to the target than my competition position. One must practice as they intend to shoot. That means proper dry firing and for dangerous game shooting, working the bolt to chamber and shoot the next round!

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

There is no substitute for mentally and physically training to shoot heavy recoiling rifles than to actually shoot the heavy rifle. This was brought home to me in spades a couple months ago. I have private facilities and shoot on a regular basis. But, I had not shot my .500 Schüler in about a year. A recent thread about Elephant Rifles triggered me to break out my .500 and Boy Howdy when I touched off that first round it rocked me good. I had to make a mental adjustment and climb back in that fight and I’ve been shooting my .500 for 20+ years. My advice to @Keelebilly is to definitely buy the .30-06 FN Browning because it’s a fabulous rifle and to get a basic set-up to start handloading the .458 Winchester. Handloading is a wonderful world to explore.

 

[Hunt anything]

I practice a lot with the smaller caliber and use proper mechanics, I still shoot a few rounds of my .375 and .416 every couple of weeks.
One thing I do if shooting with a friend is I hand him my rifle and tell him to either put one in the chamber or not, he hands it to me and I fire it. It will tell you if you are developing a flinch or not if not loaded. I normally always check the chamber of a firearm when someone hands it to me. In this one occasion I don’t.
I use a .22 rimfire, .223, 7mm REM mag and 30-06. It’s not wasted practice as I hunt with all of these rifles.

 

[Keelebilly]

My thought would be to shoot the 458 in addition to the 30-06 every range session. My question is would I benefit from shooting a rifle that is basically the same as my 458 except a smaller caliber as opposed to just practicing basic fundamentals off of sticks with my 22 or 7.62x39.
I realize that buying another rifle probably negates the saving of shooting cheaper ammo, but then I’d have another 30-06 to add to the herd. Plus somehow the ongoing expense of buying expensive ammo is psychology harder on me than the one time expense of a rifle purchase.

 

[375Fox]

My thought would be to shoot the 458 in addition to the 30-06 every range session. My question is would I benefit from shooting a rifle that is basically the same as my 458 except a smaller caliber as opposed to just practicing basic fundamentals off of sticks with my 22 or 7.62x39.
I realize that buying another rifle probably negates the saving of shooting cheaper ammo, but then I’d have another 30-06 to add to the herd. Plus somehow the ongoing expense of buying expensive ammo is psychology harder on me than the one time expense of a rifle purchase.

I think you’ll find a lot of value in it, plus you’ll get a nice additional rifle.

 

[Andrew NOLA]

Cheaper to buy a base reloading setup than to buy a new rifle.

or do both.

Since that's gonna happen anyway.