- Joined
- Mar 13, 2021
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 70
- Location
- Bastrop, TX
- Member of
- Life Member SCI, MDF, NRA Life
- Hunted
- USA, Canada, Spain, South Africa
Spent a little time doubling checking the rifles this AM before we head out next week. Tried a technique from back in my 3 Gun competition days with the 375 H&H Improved. I wanted to make things easy to where it was a point and shoot. Zero'd it at 40 yds and it stays within the dot on my NX8 1-8 scope from 25yds out to 180 yds. The only place it isn't in the dot is at 10-20 yds, but I'm not concerned with it being a 3/4" low at that range. For reference, the dot in the reticle is .35 mil, which is roughly 1.3" at 100yds, 2.6" at 200yds. With how I have it setup at a 40 yd zero, my highest point is at .77" at 100yds and 1.24" low at 180yds from center. As you can see that stays within the dot. I also verified with targets at 40, 75, 100, 150, 200 yds. Now there will be a little difference in elevation (sea level) from here to Limpopo, but at these ranges it won't affect it much. Not that I plan on shooting a buffalo at long range (hopefully 50yds or less), but I did want to know where everything lined up just in case I used it for plains game, so I verified data out to 400 yds with it. I will be running 300gr Barnes TSX at 2726, which is a mild load, but the recoil is very tolerable, and it shoots under 1/4 moa. I also loaded up 10 Cutting Edge Safari Solids at the same speed. They hit at the exact same point of impact. The below target is 3 shots at 200 yds off a set of Gun Stix. It is the left group.
Next up was my 30-06 Ackley. I tweaked the load a little to bring the ES down and am happy where it is running. Prone on the ground it held under 1/4 moa out to 500 yds, which is as far as I have shot it with this load. Off the sticks it was under 1/2 moa to 300yds. I'm running Barnes 180 Barnes TSX at 3053. This was not the rifle I originally planned on bringing for the second rifle and definitely not a "proper" Africa rifle, but I just wasn't liking the other one. It didn't give me the confidence I wanted and I'm extremely familiar with this stock setup. The other rifle will have to wait until next year. This rifle shot 3 groups today while zeroing at 100yds and the largest measured .19" CTC. Below is the chronograph photo and the target (left group) at 200 from the Gun Stix. Notice the top "splash" is actually 2 shots.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the accuracy. I've been dry fire along with live fire practicing off the shooting sticks for the last 3.5 months. Wish I would have had a set of quad sticks when I was still shooting precision rifle comps. They are like shooting off a bench! I shot my comp rifle off them last week at 950 and put the two shots within 3" of each other. Here are some ammo and rifle pics, because who doesn't like rifle pics! The brown/tan rifle with the suppressor is the 30-06 Ackley in the configuration I will be taking it in, and the green rifle is the 375 H&H Improved. I will say that I have prepared rifles more for this hunt than normal. Typically, I'm hunting mountains in the West and taking long shots which uses a different set of hardware. Counting down the days now!
Next up was my 30-06 Ackley. I tweaked the load a little to bring the ES down and am happy where it is running. Prone on the ground it held under 1/4 moa out to 500 yds, which is as far as I have shot it with this load. Off the sticks it was under 1/2 moa to 300yds. I'm running Barnes 180 Barnes TSX at 3053. This was not the rifle I originally planned on bringing for the second rifle and definitely not a "proper" Africa rifle, but I just wasn't liking the other one. It didn't give me the confidence I wanted and I'm extremely familiar with this stock setup. The other rifle will have to wait until next year. This rifle shot 3 groups today while zeroing at 100yds and the largest measured .19" CTC. Below is the chronograph photo and the target (left group) at 200 from the Gun Stix. Notice the top "splash" is actually 2 shots.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the accuracy. I've been dry fire along with live fire practicing off the shooting sticks for the last 3.5 months. Wish I would have had a set of quad sticks when I was still shooting precision rifle comps. They are like shooting off a bench! I shot my comp rifle off them last week at 950 and put the two shots within 3" of each other. Here are some ammo and rifle pics, because who doesn't like rifle pics! The brown/tan rifle with the suppressor is the 30-06 Ackley in the configuration I will be taking it in, and the green rifle is the 375 H&H Improved. I will say that I have prepared rifles more for this hunt than normal. Typically, I'm hunting mountains in the West and taking long shots which uses a different set of hardware. Counting down the days now!
