Nosler 48 Heritage First Impressions

walkinhorseman

Beginner
Sep 28, 2010
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The Heritage has arrived. In a word, I am pleased. Short of shooting it, it has met my expectations and objectives in a hunting rifle. With a 2.5x8 Leupold in Talley’s, it weighs 8#2ozs. The balance of this pairing is perfect. I don’t know if it was by design, but the ring spacing of the Talleys on the M48 receiver is just perfect for the Leupold 2.5x8. The wood has a nice color and figure. The stock pattern is a very appealing classic style that is well executed. The black Cerakote nicely compliments the satin oil finish of the stock. Cosmetically, the rifle is eye candy for a classic styled rifle fan. The fit is excellent with symmetrical and even inletting clearances in the barrel channel. The barreled action is sunk into the stock to the mid-point. The trigger is positioned properly at the top edge of the guard hole which shows that the inletting depth of the barreled action to the trigger guard was properly executed. The inletting for the loading port and bolt handle are carefully done. The bottom metal is fit tightly and sunk just flush with the stock line. The checkering is clean and even. From the top, the forend contour nicely follows the barrel taper with an even and symmetrical space to the edge on both sides. This careful mating of wood to metal could not have been achieved without the laying of hands on the assembly. The shadow line of the cheekpiece is a very nice custom touch. The slimness of the forend gives way for the magazine box and tapers nicely over the trigger to the grip.
There is so much more to a hunting rifle than the visual appearance. The feel of a classic style hunting rifle in the hands speaks to the character of the design. The shape, taper and radius of the forend give the rifle balance and liveliness in the hand. The grip radius and contour comfortably position the trigger finger for quick firing. The shape and contour of the cheekpiece position a properly mounted scope in the eye for snapshots. I have long been a student of the Classic Style rifle stock in America. Each year, I would anxiously await John Amber to release the Gun Digest. John Amber showcased the work of the top custom gunmakers in the country. I always admired the great Masters work. Just to name a few of these custom rifle smiths there is Jerry Fisher, Dale Goens, Leonard Brownell and the founder of Dakota Arms, Don Allen. Work by members of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild is out of reach for me. However, this is the gold standard that should be aspired to by any company who wants to build a quality hunting rifle. I applaud Nosler for offering such a high quality rifle at the semi-production price point. I don’t know who the stockmaker was who designed the Nosler 48 pattern. This is a pattern that I would gladly duplicate in another rifle stock.
I certainly will be conflicted when it comes to dragging this rifle into the field. The rigors of hunting and Mother Nature are not friendly to a rifle. Many years ago I learned that there is only so much care that you can take with a rifle in the field. If you use them and you truly hunt, they will take on memories of each day in the field and show the years of use. I hunted with wood stocked rifles for many years before going exclusively to fiberglass stocks. At one point, I didn’t want to be worrying more about the rifle than the hunt. That was when I transitioned to fiberglass stocks. However, when the wood stock gives way to synthetics , in that transition a rifle loses its character and just becomes a tool. You will notice that I didn’t spend any time discussing the caliber. To a point, caliber just becomes academic. We all like to talk about ballistics and terminal performance, but it is the character of the rifle that will endear it to the hunter. I will be looking forward to spending time in the field with the Nosler 48 Heritage.
 

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Very nice indeed. Congratulations buddy on your M48.
Can't wait to hear about how well she shoots.

JD338
 
Thanks guys. I certainly love the esthetics of this rifle. I don't think that the mechanics will disappoint with the attention to detail that this rifle displays. It's going to be tough wading through the break-in procedure to get to load development. But I will observe the recommendation. :grin:
 
Very beautiful rifle. I can see the appeal in that rifle. Wood looks beautiful and overall the rifle just looks great. Thank you for taking the time to write it out.
 
Very beautiful rifle! I think the scope and mount combination is just perfect too. It just flows perfectly and were just made for each other. The cartridge you chose for that thing is fantastic also. I know you did not want to mention it, but it's a classic also! I agree that Nosler knocked it out of the park with these.

I agree with you on the wood aspect of a firearm also. It just makes them special and you truly feel something when you hold them. I do like my wood laminates too as they can make a very attractive rifle and still have that magic wood feel about them.

David
 
Very nice! I'm loathe to drag around a nice piece of walnut up here... but the less time I have on this earth, the less important that consideration seems.

I agree with you that wood/blued rifles take on a character of patina with use.... my synthetic rifle just look like crap over time.
 
We followed to break in procedure and then I did my load development. She shoots lights out and Sue has shot steel at 600 yds and a WT deer at 385 yds.
Yours will do the same.

JD338
 
Thanks to all for the warm welcome and kind comments. I really appreciate this forum because of the orientation to "common sense" hunting rifles. You guys get it. Thanks again.

Fred
 
Thanks guys. I still haven't had a chance to shoot this rifle. Winter has landed on us here in Omaha. My club range is roofed however it is open to the wind. Trying to use patches and solvents for the break-in would be quite a challenge. I'm about to throw together break-in loads in some Nosler brass so that I can get to the club when Mother Nature presents a window of opportunity. As I handle this Heritage, it continues to grow on me.

One of the aspects of this Forum that I appreciate is the orientation of members. It is all about the Hunting Rifle. There is place for the tactical and target/sendero style rifles but hunters who burn boot leather aren't slinging behemoth weight rifles into the field.
 
Hopefully you will get a break in the weather soon and be able to shoot your M48.
The break in is pretty quick and easy. I'm certain your load development will come around quickly.
What bullets are you going to run?

JD338
 
I'm anxious for you to get that fine firearm to the range. Hopefully, winter will break for you soon. Should be a good experience working up a load. Like JD338, I'm wondering what bullet you're thinking of using.
 
I'm quite the 7mm fan so I have bullets from 120 through 175 grain in Nosler, Sierra, Hornady and Barnes in inventory. For this rifle, I am going to work up loads with Nosler 140 Accubonds & BT's and Barnes TTSX 140's. I have I4350, H4350 and W760 in quantities so those will be the first tries. The 4350's have been so good in many of my cartridges over the years that I kind of look at them as a staple.

I'm having a 308 F-T/R Eliseo Tube gun put together by Jim Borden that I will also be breaking in and doing load work on. I'll be hogging up two benches at the range so I can shoot one while the other is cooling. I'm hoping to have that gun in my hands by the end of April, maybe sooner.
 
The F-T/R F-Class rules require your rifle caliber to be 308 Win or 223/5.56. So, it is going to be a 308. I've seen some stellar scores shot with 223's but they don't do as well in the wind. The F-Open class allows any caliber under 35. The 284 Win and it's variants are dominating F-Open. I shot a 6.5 Creedmoor in F-Open last year and decided to go down a class rather than build a full blown F-Open rifle. I can shoot the tube gun in NRA Hi-Power slow fire prone events if I want. F-T/R is intended to be more of the entry level F-Class competition whereas F-Open tends to be more of an equipment race with rifles being more BR-like.
 
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