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With Idaho Moose season less than two weeks away, some range time has been mandated for me and some rifles of choice.
My first choice for this hunt is a .58 cal Muzzle-loader, an older CVA Mountain Rifle that shoots like a million bucks after being lapped.
Here's the point of my observations. After doing some range work with the .58 BP gun, I also warmed the barrels on a couple of center-fire rifles that will potentially go along as backup/longer range weapons on the hunt.
I did some serious shooting of my .375 H&H Ackley Improved, using our .377"-255g Spitzer Gas-Checked bullets and a VERY stiff load of IMR 4350. This rifle is 8.3 lbs in full dress ( a ver lightweight Sako, pre-Garcia gun), and it backs off that load pretty hard, even with it's Kick-Eze pad.
Then, shooting a Ruger KM77MKII, in .30-06 Ackley Improved, using some 180g Barnes-X again with a stiff load of IMR 4350 in fire-formed brass, I did some more shooting. However, this Ruger seemed to buck and jump more than the .375, and hammered my cheek even harder as well.
The stocks of both guns fit me pretty well, and being the earlier design Ruger Zytel Stock doesn't have a cheek-piece either. I'm scratching my head over this one.
Running the numbers on the recoil-calculator, the .375 Ackley should have been the punishing monster of the day, but it was pure pleasure in comparison to that mule-kicking Ruger '06 Ackley... go figure.
It was the first time that I'd had both side-by-side at my range, and a real eye-opener at that!
Ideas?
Thanks to all,
God Bless,
My first choice for this hunt is a .58 cal Muzzle-loader, an older CVA Mountain Rifle that shoots like a million bucks after being lapped.
Here's the point of my observations. After doing some range work with the .58 BP gun, I also warmed the barrels on a couple of center-fire rifles that will potentially go along as backup/longer range weapons on the hunt.
I did some serious shooting of my .375 H&H Ackley Improved, using our .377"-255g Spitzer Gas-Checked bullets and a VERY stiff load of IMR 4350. This rifle is 8.3 lbs in full dress ( a ver lightweight Sako, pre-Garcia gun), and it backs off that load pretty hard, even with it's Kick-Eze pad.
Then, shooting a Ruger KM77MKII, in .30-06 Ackley Improved, using some 180g Barnes-X again with a stiff load of IMR 4350 in fire-formed brass, I did some more shooting. However, this Ruger seemed to buck and jump more than the .375, and hammered my cheek even harder as well.
The stocks of both guns fit me pretty well, and being the earlier design Ruger Zytel Stock doesn't have a cheek-piece either. I'm scratching my head over this one.
Running the numbers on the recoil-calculator, the .375 Ackley should have been the punishing monster of the day, but it was pure pleasure in comparison to that mule-kicking Ruger '06 Ackley... go figure.
It was the first time that I'd had both side-by-side at my range, and a real eye-opener at that!
Ideas?
Thanks to all,
God Bless,