I borrowed this rifle from a friend. I have always wanted one of these guns and wanted to shoot one and so I took the opportunity when it presented itself. Rifle is stock and came with $10 weaver rings, Leopold vx-III target and Harris bipod. He had Sellier & Bellot 250 grain match so that's what I shot. I have hornady 250 grain match as well I haven't fired yet but I'm a little worried to as I have heard you will get stuck cases after fired.
Keep in mind, this is my first time shooting this rifle and a .338 ever so results will be better with time and practice.
First, I wanted to check zero. Not worried about a group at that distance, I had a target set up at a -2 degree decline and at 130 yards. First round was cold bore and it hit 4" high and right. Bullshit it kicks like a 308. It wasn't bad but it was more then a .308. Under recoil, it definitely tries to jump a lot more. The next 3 rounds landed dead center and a perfect 2" apart. Oh dear, not a good indicator this ammo will shoot well. Knowing full well that a .338 doesn't stabablize at that distance, I kept going hoping for the best.
Next, I had a plate of 12x12 steel at 375 yards. The book that came with the scope said the scope used 1/8 MOA at 100. Dialing my turrets for those adjustments, I lined up my shot and let one fly. Over the top. Okay, maybe I was a little conservative on its muzzle velocity. Dialing for 2900 fps I let another go. Still way over the top. Now, doubting the book was correct, I re dialed for 1/4 MOA adjustments and let one fly. Slam. High up on the target but centered, it tore the plate of steel off the stand. Shit. Gotta truck my lazy ass down and set it back up. Once set back up, I put 2 more on it. Just a hair to the right of the first but not bad all in all. Maybe a little more then 3" apart so its hovering just under 1 MOA. Okay, this is acceptable.
Next, I moved back to 615 yards. Got a solid dope dialed and let one fly. Couldn't hear any reported impacts. Okay. Ill let another go. This time, there was an audible report. The next few were hit or miss with noise. Not having a spotter, I couldn't tell what was going on so I had to go down there. Coming up to the target, I was pleasantly surprised that there was 4 impacts high up on the shoulder and right. Only one round was AWOL but I'm assuming it went high over the shoulder. Know I was hitting the target high, I went back and held dead center of the target. Last time I held high thinking I was low. I let 3 more go and all had solid impacts but still high. I took of 1 MOA and fire two more. Those hit damn near where I wanted. Inspection of the target revealed 3 more solid hits in the same place high on the shoulder as before and the two corrected shots in the center about 2" apart. The top shots weren't as impressive as they were right around 5" maybe a little more apart. Still, sub MOA with cheap ammo.
When I got home, I looked over the rifle. The scope mover forward from the recoil almost a 1/2"!! Holy shit, how did I hit anything. If I'm going to shoot his rifle a little more, ill be a gentlemen and at least put on some better rings.
All in all, I'm happy with results of this rifle and the ammo. It produced around .8 MOA and was capable of better, much better. Ill have to replace the rings and try out the hornady match. I'm expecting much better results. The 18 rounds I fired produced a nice black and blue on my shoulder so I won't forget the experience anytime soon, at least for the next week till the bruise goes away.
Keep in mind, this is my first time shooting this rifle and a .338 ever so results will be better with time and practice.
First, I wanted to check zero. Not worried about a group at that distance, I had a target set up at a -2 degree decline and at 130 yards. First round was cold bore and it hit 4" high and right. Bullshit it kicks like a 308. It wasn't bad but it was more then a .308. Under recoil, it definitely tries to jump a lot more. The next 3 rounds landed dead center and a perfect 2" apart. Oh dear, not a good indicator this ammo will shoot well. Knowing full well that a .338 doesn't stabablize at that distance, I kept going hoping for the best.
Next, I had a plate of 12x12 steel at 375 yards. The book that came with the scope said the scope used 1/8 MOA at 100. Dialing my turrets for those adjustments, I lined up my shot and let one fly. Over the top. Okay, maybe I was a little conservative on its muzzle velocity. Dialing for 2900 fps I let another go. Still way over the top. Now, doubting the book was correct, I re dialed for 1/4 MOA adjustments and let one fly. Slam. High up on the target but centered, it tore the plate of steel off the stand. Shit. Gotta truck my lazy ass down and set it back up. Once set back up, I put 2 more on it. Just a hair to the right of the first but not bad all in all. Maybe a little more then 3" apart so its hovering just under 1 MOA. Okay, this is acceptable.
Next, I moved back to 615 yards. Got a solid dope dialed and let one fly. Couldn't hear any reported impacts. Okay. Ill let another go. This time, there was an audible report. The next few were hit or miss with noise. Not having a spotter, I couldn't tell what was going on so I had to go down there. Coming up to the target, I was pleasantly surprised that there was 4 impacts high up on the shoulder and right. Only one round was AWOL but I'm assuming it went high over the shoulder. Know I was hitting the target high, I went back and held dead center of the target. Last time I held high thinking I was low. I let 3 more go and all had solid impacts but still high. I took of 1 MOA and fire two more. Those hit damn near where I wanted. Inspection of the target revealed 3 more solid hits in the same place high on the shoulder as before and the two corrected shots in the center about 2" apart. The top shots weren't as impressive as they were right around 5" maybe a little more apart. Still, sub MOA with cheap ammo.
When I got home, I looked over the rifle. The scope mover forward from the recoil almost a 1/2"!! Holy shit, how did I hit anything. If I'm going to shoot his rifle a little more, ill be a gentlemen and at least put on some better rings.
All in all, I'm happy with results of this rifle and the ammo. It produced around .8 MOA and was capable of better, much better. Ill have to replace the rings and try out the hornady match. I'm expecting much better results. The 18 rounds I fired produced a nice black and blue on my shoulder so I won't forget the experience anytime soon, at least for the next week till the bruise goes away.
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