I bought one of these right after the election last November. I planned on using it for an antelope hunt this fall. I haven't had much time to hunt the last few years and after some changes in my work, I thought I would have time this year.
After mounting a Leupold vx3i in Leupold mounts and buying two boxes of Nosler 142 grain ablr ammo for $80 a piece, I headed to my makeshift range. Sighting the rifle in did not go well. It seemed like the barrel was heat walking. So I decided never to shoot more than 3 rounds in a session. It turns out the windage screws were coming lose from the recoil, of course I burned up a few range sessions before I figured that out. Replaced the mounts with Talley's and headed for the range again. Still wouldn't shoot. Back to the store for a box of the 129 grain ablr.
Back to the range. With this ammo I was able to get a 3 shot group right where I wanted it and under an inch at 100 yards. By this time it was late February and I decided I wanted to shoot a coyote with this rifle.
The first coyote was shot at 325 yards and dropped like a rock. I was pleased with myself and the rifle. The second coyote was close to 200 yards and I did not hit him where I was aiming. I hit him way back. I have no idea where the next two shots landed. This set off a little rodeo. I ran back to the vehicle grabbed a second rifle and finished him with that.
Back to the range. Yep, just as I suspected. The rifle was now shooting 8" groups. I gave the gun a very thorough cleaning. The amount of blue foam that came out confirmed my biggest concern. I never could get the 129 grain factory ammo to group again and I'm not really sure why.
At this point, I had about 50 empty pieces of brass, so I stopped at Precision Reloading and picked up the necessary supplies to roll my own. With the way the 142's shot I opted for the 130 grain vld and us869 powder. I had plenty of mag space to jam the lands. The first 3 shots where over pressure and shot as bad as factory ammo(8-10" groups). At this point I seriously thought about unloading this rifle on some pour unsuspecting soul, but that just didn't seem right. After a little Google research, I discovered that Berger suggested trying to jump the VLD's if they didn't group when jammed. Many more range trips. On one range trip I finally shot a 2" group, which I normally wouldn't have been excited about, but that was the best I had seen in a while from this rifle.
I had pulled the bullets from some of the remaining 142 grain factory ammo and discovered that they where using 88 grains of us869, so that's where I had started with the Berger's. With my length found, I started adding powder. It didn't take long to figure out I was heading in the wrong direction and that I was over pressure even though I was 2 grains short of published max load. So, I headed the other direction.
I had decided that the next range trip was going to be it for this rifle. It was going to shoot or it wasn't. After firing my three shots, I walk up to the target to find a nice clover that measured just shy of 3/4" with a tape measure. FINALLY!
The next day I opened my email, and wouldn't you know it, I didn't get an antelope tag. Figures.
After mounting a Leupold vx3i in Leupold mounts and buying two boxes of Nosler 142 grain ablr ammo for $80 a piece, I headed to my makeshift range. Sighting the rifle in did not go well. It seemed like the barrel was heat walking. So I decided never to shoot more than 3 rounds in a session. It turns out the windage screws were coming lose from the recoil, of course I burned up a few range sessions before I figured that out. Replaced the mounts with Talley's and headed for the range again. Still wouldn't shoot. Back to the store for a box of the 129 grain ablr.
Back to the range. With this ammo I was able to get a 3 shot group right where I wanted it and under an inch at 100 yards. By this time it was late February and I decided I wanted to shoot a coyote with this rifle.
The first coyote was shot at 325 yards and dropped like a rock. I was pleased with myself and the rifle. The second coyote was close to 200 yards and I did not hit him where I was aiming. I hit him way back. I have no idea where the next two shots landed. This set off a little rodeo. I ran back to the vehicle grabbed a second rifle and finished him with that.
Back to the range. Yep, just as I suspected. The rifle was now shooting 8" groups. I gave the gun a very thorough cleaning. The amount of blue foam that came out confirmed my biggest concern. I never could get the 129 grain factory ammo to group again and I'm not really sure why.
At this point, I had about 50 empty pieces of brass, so I stopped at Precision Reloading and picked up the necessary supplies to roll my own. With the way the 142's shot I opted for the 130 grain vld and us869 powder. I had plenty of mag space to jam the lands. The first 3 shots where over pressure and shot as bad as factory ammo(8-10" groups). At this point I seriously thought about unloading this rifle on some pour unsuspecting soul, but that just didn't seem right. After a little Google research, I discovered that Berger suggested trying to jump the VLD's if they didn't group when jammed. Many more range trips. On one range trip I finally shot a 2" group, which I normally wouldn't have been excited about, but that was the best I had seen in a while from this rifle.
I had pulled the bullets from some of the remaining 142 grain factory ammo and discovered that they where using 88 grains of us869, so that's where I had started with the Berger's. With my length found, I started adding powder. It didn't take long to figure out I was heading in the wrong direction and that I was over pressure even though I was 2 grains short of published max load. So, I headed the other direction.
I had decided that the next range trip was going to be it for this rifle. It was going to shoot or it wasn't. After firing my three shots, I walk up to the target to find a nice clover that measured just shy of 3/4" with a tape measure. FINALLY!
The next day I opened my email, and wouldn't you know it, I didn't get an antelope tag. Figures.