Aussie_Hunter
AH elite
So I managed to get to the range a couple of days earlier than I expected, testing 4 different loads. I still want to work up some loads with RL15 and RL19 when I get a chance, but the loads tested today are more than good enough and I have plenty of AR2209, Bertram bullets and Woodleighs on hand to keep this rifle fed for a couple of years. The load with Bertram bullets is purely for range work only as they are fairly cheap cup and core bullets, but I thought while I had the chrono and the shooting sticks out I might as well test velocity and accuracy of that load as well.
The rifle has already proven to be very accurate as you will see from the loads tested below. The irons on this rifle might just be the best iron sights I have ever used, the notch in the rear express sight really makes it much easier to hold a consistent sight picture. The front trigger almost feels perfect, has a very crisp break but the back trigger has quite a bit of creep before it breaks, not that it feels like a bad trigger it just feels quite a bit different to the front trigger so might take a bit of getting used to.
Felt recoil seems to be significantly less for me than the Merkel 470 I owned, both the Merkel and the Chapuis have 1" decelerator pads on them and are similar in weight so all I can put it down to is the Chapuis just fits me better and I must say it's a pleasant surprise. I fired 25 rounds today, mostly from the sitting position off sticks and all though I was wearing a 1" sissy pad my shoulder is not sore at all. I remember doing the same with the Merkel I had, and it was absolute murder on my shoulder.
The rifles action out of the box was extremely tight, before taking it to the range I disassembled the rifle and gave everything a good lubing. After making sure all wear points are well lubricated and firing the 25 shots today it is already much easier to open and close the action. Ejectors work well as expected and actually don't make too much noise. LOP to the first trigger is a little bit of a stretch for me but not something I can't get used to or something that will impact the way I hold and/or use the rifle. Weight of the rifle unloaded is right on 10.4lbs it seems to soak up the recoil just fine, as I said above the felt recoil is much less than I expected.
I know it's only early days but overall, so far, I literally can't point out one fault with this rifle, I am very very happy with it. I think it's definitely going to be one I hold onto forever. I have ordered a weaver style rail from Chapuis and I have a Aimpoint Micro H-2 red dot already for it as well which I will try when the rail turns up but I will be surprised if I don't just end up sticking to the iron sights.
All loads used Norma brass, Federal primers and an open cell foam case filler.
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
97 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2152fps
1.2" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
99 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2218fps
0.9" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
95.5 grains of RL17
Averaged 2130fps
1.4" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Bertram soft
97 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2140fps
1.2" group at 50 yards
0.9" at 50 yards
1.2" at 50 yards
1.4" at 50 yards
The rifle has already proven to be very accurate as you will see from the loads tested below. The irons on this rifle might just be the best iron sights I have ever used, the notch in the rear express sight really makes it much easier to hold a consistent sight picture. The front trigger almost feels perfect, has a very crisp break but the back trigger has quite a bit of creep before it breaks, not that it feels like a bad trigger it just feels quite a bit different to the front trigger so might take a bit of getting used to.
Felt recoil seems to be significantly less for me than the Merkel 470 I owned, both the Merkel and the Chapuis have 1" decelerator pads on them and are similar in weight so all I can put it down to is the Chapuis just fits me better and I must say it's a pleasant surprise. I fired 25 rounds today, mostly from the sitting position off sticks and all though I was wearing a 1" sissy pad my shoulder is not sore at all. I remember doing the same with the Merkel I had, and it was absolute murder on my shoulder.
The rifles action out of the box was extremely tight, before taking it to the range I disassembled the rifle and gave everything a good lubing. After making sure all wear points are well lubricated and firing the 25 shots today it is already much easier to open and close the action. Ejectors work well as expected and actually don't make too much noise. LOP to the first trigger is a little bit of a stretch for me but not something I can't get used to or something that will impact the way I hold and/or use the rifle. Weight of the rifle unloaded is right on 10.4lbs it seems to soak up the recoil just fine, as I said above the felt recoil is much less than I expected.
I know it's only early days but overall, so far, I literally can't point out one fault with this rifle, I am very very happy with it. I think it's definitely going to be one I hold onto forever. I have ordered a weaver style rail from Chapuis and I have a Aimpoint Micro H-2 red dot already for it as well which I will try when the rail turns up but I will be surprised if I don't just end up sticking to the iron sights.
All loads used Norma brass, Federal primers and an open cell foam case filler.
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
97 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2152fps
1.2" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
99 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2218fps
0.9" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Woodleigh soft
95.5 grains of RL17
Averaged 2130fps
1.4" group at 50 yards
500 Grain Bertram soft
97 grains of AR2209
Averaged 2140fps
1.2" group at 50 yards
0.9" at 50 yards
1.2" at 50 yards
1.4" at 50 yards