Well,
As I mentioned before I definitely had an interest in Steyr rifles and Ringworm tipped me over the edge with his enthusiasm for said Steyrs.
Thank you Sir, I am in your debt!
I don't usually buy rifles new, but I pulled the trigger and got the Steyr Pro Hunter in 376 Steyr from Euro Optics late last week. It came in last night. I got brass and dies from Midway earlier in the week and found some 235 Gr. Barnes flat base TSX bullets. I had originally planned to either load 260 Gr. Sierra Spitzers or 270 gr Hornady's and use Ringworms's load posted above, However a friend informed me that he had excellent luck with the 235 grain Barnes over 67 Gr. of H-4895. My local gunshop just happened to have several boxes of that very bullet, so I picked up a box and decided to load for it also.
Topped the rifle with a 3-10 x 50 Zeiss Conquest mounted in Warne fixed rings. Figured since the rifle didn't have irons, no sense in QR rings. Won't be shooting past 200 yds., and although I prefer a 36-42 mm objective, the 50mm will be good for hunting at first and last light as well as at night with a light.
I'm more of a fan of blue steel and wood, but this has been the wettest spring I can remember in the hill country. Last trip it rained off and on for four days straight. I don't mind dust and scratches but as I don't hunt in an enclosed blind, soaking good wood in not my favorite type of entertainment.
Anywho, my son is into black rifles, had built a 50 Beowulf and wanted to try it out. I took the Steyr along this morning to see how it would shoot.
I normally shoot over a chronograph but did not do that this morning.
I loaded up 9 rounds with the 260 gr. Sierra's over 62 gr. of H-4895, Federal 210 primers and an OAL of +/- 3.080”.
My barrel break in procedure on a stainless barrel is to run several patches smeared with a JB Bore Paste/Kroil mix through the barrel and then patch till clean and dry. Did that prior to shooting this AM.
Two to get on paper at 25 yds.
Shot #3 at 100 yds was dead on, left and right, but about 6.5” high.
So I made elevation adjustments. I typically zero a non-magnum about 2” high at 100. Shots 4,5 & 6 were made after the adjustments with the aforementioned load.
Next I tried the 235 Gr. Barnes TSX using 63 grains of H-4895.
Shots 7,8 and 9 were a just over 2” high and to the left. Decent group, but I had a feeling this rifle could do better.
Mike had said his load was 67 grains. When filling the cases 65 grains was the beginning of a compressed load. Sixty-seven grains of H-4895 completely filled the case. Don't much care for compressed loads,so I backed off and used 63 and 65 grains respectively.
What’s the old saying about the third time is the charm? Shot 10, good. Shot 11, I thought to myself, surely I didn’t miss the whole target. No, believe it or not, both in the same hole. Shot twelve impacted just below shots 10 and 11. Was I jazzed. Decided to stop before I ruined my braggin’ rights with a 5 shot group. I’ll load up some more rounds with the 65 grain load density, and go back to shoot over a chronograph and make sure of POI out of a cold barrel, but at first glance, it appears I have a good load and that this Steyr, like my others, is a shooter.
Steyr Pro, 7Mag
Steyr Mountain Rifle, 308 Win
Steyr Pro, 376 Steyr
JAPPFT,
GWB