Best group ever with a #1 well almost.

salmonchaser

salmonchaser

Ammo Smith
Dec 13, 2013
6,297
9,468
Took a short trip to the range today with the intent of banging some steel with the 275 Rigby. I recently located a box of 150gr. 7mm accubonds in the cabinet so this morning I checked seating depth, loaded up 5 with 49.0 gr of Rl 17 grabbed a couple boxes of 140 grs ballistic tips for practice and headed to the range.
With the 140 zero at +1.5 at a 100 I held the top of the plate at 300 yards and rang it twice with 140 grain ballistic tips just to foul the spotless clean, barely broke in new Pac Nor barrel. Walked out to 100 yards and hung a target then moved the rifle to the bench. Fired 5 shots in slow succession, hit 2947 for velocity with an SD of 14. Made the mistake of peeking through my spotting scope after the 4th shot. Sure as the devil I pulled number 5.
I’m pretty sure it is the best group I’ve ever shot with a #1except for that dang #5.
Followed up shooting plates from 200 to 400 from sitting and off sticks with some speed reload practice. That went well.
 

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Still a very respectable group with that 5th shot!😄
Time to break it in on game; sharpen your knives!
I'd take that load to Africa! :cool:
Should stack them antelope up pretty well. I look forward to your reports of on-game performance!
Your performance is about 50 fps less than some loads with the same bullet in the 280 Rem. And about 120 fps slower than a 65k psi load in my rifle with its 24" barrel. Not bad for the shorter case in your No.1!
 
I learned quite a bit about #1s with this rifle, how to get them to shoot in the ten years or so I’ve had it. I’ve replaced triggers, that helps! floated the foreend, fully bedded the foreend, bedded the forend to the receiver with pressure pad, added the “hicks accurizer”. If it’s been written about I likely tried it.
Prior to rebarreling this rifle it would always string. Two together and then it tended to walk. Really bad when I started but even after all the above it would walk. I would confirm my hunting zero from a cold clean barrel. Fire a shot clean the barrel, let it sit for half hour and shoot again. I wasn’t convinced spinning on a new barrel would be a good fix given the results I had with my 300 HH, but that is now being fixed.
Even though Pac Nor copied the profile of the original light sporter the fore end didn’t quite fit right when I got the rifle back as I had the fore end fully bedded to the barrel and receiver and the spring hanger under neath. Just off a thousand or so but too dang tight. That is why God gave us dremmel tools, fixed that just quick. I’ll tune the fore end after hunting season, I’ve a little gap at the receiver that should get bedded. I did bed the hicks accurizer but left the spring hanger channel open.
This experiment really points to barrel quality. A pac nor barrel and a relatively un-tuned forend shoot pretty dang good. Pretty much decided I’m not screwing around with any more #1s. If they string or shoot open groups I’m sending them off for a new barrel.
 
grry10 said:
I'll take it! I've not tried the 150s in my 7x57 #1 but it looks like I should.
Click to expand...
The 140s shot well also a week ago but three shot groups. 100 and 400 yards. Essentially the same velocity with 10 more grains of bullet. I’ll probably shoot 150s on elk this year. First time in 60 years I’ve not hunted elk with at least 180gr. Or better.
 

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While I have taken an elk (spike @ 110 yards) with the 140 gr AccuBond in my 280, I am using them now in my 7mm-08, so have decided that my 280 will run the 150 gr AccuBonds once I have settled on an accurate load. Hoping that it'll perform with Re-17!
(I am running the 160 gr AccuBonds in my 7MM STW, and 170 gr Terminal Ascents in my 7mm PRC; I like to stick to one bullet weight in each rifle/cartridge combination. Should I ever get a 280 AI, I hope to use the 155 gr Terminal Ascent in it.)
 
That is a great group. Like you I tend to pull a shot. Even tried not looking at the group. Glad this rifle is working well for you. By the way, I'm still looking for a self-help group Shot Pullers Anonymous:D
 
Great shooting. I believe I’ve adopted your method. If I can’t get easy accuracy out of a rifle after proper assembly, it gets a new barrel. These days, dealing with a picky rifle just isn’t much fun and your shooting is incredible. That speed on that 150 AB makes it a do everything sorta load.
 
Scotty I’m pretty confident in the 150 at that velocity being pretty effective inside 400 yards. I think there is room to squeeze a little more velocity out of her but that’ll have to wait as elk season is a week away. I’m planning at this point to take her to Africa the end of May along with the 375HH. The only plains game I’m planning on is a Southern Greater Kudu, I could simply take the 375, use it for the Cape Buffalo and the Kudu but what fun is that!
I had the 140 Accubonds up to 3000 but had one stuck case out of 10. Figured I was pushing the rifle a little too far.
 
"The only plains game I’m planning on is a Southern Greater Kudu"

As they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men"...
On your previous trips, how many additional animals did you take?

I know I took two on my first trip; impala and warthog. On the second, bontebok.
My next is planned for eland, Limpopo bushbuck and honey badger...a serval, genet, or caracal may entice me...or a roan...but the latter is not an inexpensive animal of opportunity!

What would be the additional animal that might entice you into adding to your bag, should the opportunity arise?

Regardless, I wish you the best of luck on your quest!
Should be a great hunt!
 
Roan and Sable are not inexpensive and will not be on my impulse list! I must admit to not sticking to the list on my first or second trip. The good news is with the exception of the two noted above the southern greater Kudu and the Cape Buffalo get me to my goals. Catherine had a pleasant conversation with the outfitter. She told him that I literally have had an old glass milk jug I put money in every month since I was young. Once a year it went into an account and finally into a mutual fund. There were times we thought we needed to use the money elsewhere, but did not. That money was to go to Africa and chase the grey ghost like Hemingway. “The dang Jar in empty Andrew” Tell Mark, if Don shoots anything extra it’ll be on him” But should we find something exceptional like a Val Reedbok, perhaps. If Mark, My PH says “ Don, thats exceptional! I might just have to. He does not just say that. Only about 10 times in two trips. There is also the bad influence of friends who might encourage me since it most certainly would only occur with something I had not taken before.
My crate is on the way as we speak. Left Johannesburg this morning. Not entirely sure when it will leave Atlanta to Portland, Oregon but I’ll probably be able to pick it up when Im done elk hunting in Idaho. Catherine is convinced I will fill the allotted wall space. I think there may be room for a couple more.
This place I hunt is truly remarkable. Four ranches combined give over 1million acres of free range hunting. Mark has been guiding there for 20 years. We hunted 7 days and covered 54 miles on foot. Literally saw areas that never get hunted. I remember one trek we took, agreat big crescent shaped loop through some real tough ground. We’d gone almost an hour without seeing game and I commented. Mark pointed, see the bluff, down to the right see the funny colored acacia, down to the left, five Kudu bulls. None of them as good as the one you shot last time”! I do think that was the longest we went without seeing game.
Will I stick to the list, probably. I’ve seen enough Cape Buffalo there to know what is available, Kudu as well. I will be patient.
 
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