Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Technique for shooting ultra light rifles

Good one.
I hunt with a Weatherby Ultra Lightweight .30-06.
When Federal still made them I used the Premium High Energy 180 gr Nosler Partition load.
Stout to say the least.

P

John,

My 30-378 AI rifle weighs on the heavy side of 16 lbs w/scope and loaded. I've found from the bench I get more consistent and accurate results if I have a hard hold on the rifle. That much powder going off feels like a little bomb going off in the chamber, and if I try to let it ride the bags and recoil on its own, I get inconsistent results downrange.

For me, my 338 Fed Montana really enforced the discipline of having a FIRM cheek weld on the stock, like you're laying your head on a pillow. Before I shoot I always make sure that my neck and shoulders are totally relaxed and the full weight of my grape is on the rifle. I found that this keeps the muzzle jump down and helps to tame recoil as well. It also is a good habit to have when shooting any other rifle.

Thanks for the tips. Trying a NULA has been an itch I have wanted to scratch for many years!

Magnumdood,

With hard-kicking rifles I hold them as well, using a bench technique suggested by Elmer Keith: rest the forend on the front bag in basically the same place you would when shooting in the field, then grasp the forend with your hand touching the bag.

But with my NULA .30-06, my hardest-kicking truly light rifle, I've found the folded towel on top of the front bag results in 1/2" groups when only holding the pistol grip. And it shoots the same way in the field, whether rested over a daypack from prone or shooting off sticks when sitting or offhand.

I generally use the same the basic techniques with all my rifles.

I rest the forearm on the front bag and lightly but firmly hold the forearm in front of the bag pulling the rifle into my shoulder.

On a #1 I position the front bag as far back towards the action as possible.

My 260 Montana seems to respond favorably to this technique as do my other rifles.

Good luck with yours!

And is this NULA 30-06 full length bedded like the rest of Mel's rifles?

Yes.

Should note that my previous post was a little unclear. When shooting off sticks I grip the forend normally, and rest my hand on the sticks.

I've got 2 Colt Light Rifles that weigh 7# with scope. Both are 30-06 and with 150-165 grain bullets, recoil in not unpleasant. Stepping up to heavy loaded 200+ grainers, they become handfuls and I can only shoot about 50 rounds comfortably off the bench (unless I have a padded shirt or jacket on).

A friend of mine (who posts here) once fired a couple of shots with the 180-grain Trophy Bonded High-Energy factory load from my NULA, which weighs around 6-1/2 pounds with scope. That HE load was advertised at 2880 but got around 2940 in my rifle, very close to standard SAAMI .300 Winchester ballistics.

He's a very experienced shot and hunter, and has used a .300 Weatherby quite a bit. But he didn't like the NULA with that load! Didn't bother me much, but the rifle may not have fit him all that well, either, which can have a major effect on recoil tolerance.

My 7.75lb scoped 300WBY is the only rifle I hold the forearm. It doesn't jump as bad now with the Edge Tech McM Hunter stock due to shifting weight forward. It's an example of going lighter actually made it more pleasant. I have several 7lb or less scoped rifles and all free recoil but I have always used a folded small towel on top of the front bag.

Personally, I never free recoil any game rifle, as I figure that while hunting I will never be letting it hang free either. I always put the gun on the sand bag, then place my hand around the forend and try to hold it as closely as I can to how I think I will hold it in the field. No surprises for me that way.

I'm still trying to find the right technique! I have a Weatherby Ultralight in 30-06 and the first time I shot 180's out of it I thought I was shooting an elephant gun! I dropped down to 150's and it shoots sub MOA groups but I still flinch! If it doesn't get better I'm going to sell it.

My 280AI is a hair over 7lbs, and it is a jumpy little turd. Was shooting it today, and even with 120's it was trying to kiss my face with the scope.

I noticed with lighter guns a light trigger pull and only two light fingers on the pistol grip helps. I am going to try MD's towel technique next time.

DakotaDeer,

The biggie (as with any shooting) is to test whether the POI is the same with various holds, or at various temperatures, or whatever.

I have yet to find a rifle that shot to a different POI when held with one hand or two, as long as the forend was rested on a folded towel, a daypack or my hand. That includes ranges to at least 500 yards with lightweight rifles.

If your experience is different, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

You can't be flinching too bad, with sub MOA groups...

DF

Aren't all internet groups sub-MOA?

No.

My .280 Rem mountain rifle went 1", 3/4", 5/8", and 1 1/4" in that order today at the range. My buddy shot it and got a 1 1/4 inch group as well.

It sits in a Mickey Edge and is right at 5 lbs 10 ozs as I recall.

How I hold it defenitely makes a difference in group size btw.

Oh yeah...I'm forgetting the two attempts I made free-hand where I missed the 8.5x11 paper entirely. Talk about humbling...

The lesson learned today is that I need to spend less time trying to shoot tiny groups from a bench and more time practicing real field conditions...i.e. shooting sticks, free-hand, kneeling, laying down with my day pack, etc.

Dave

Holy crap--nightmares from the past! Fed Hi Energy 180gr Partition .30-06 loads rattled my fillings loose. My Ruger with its rubber tire recoil pad made sure that I didn't miss any of the recoil. I developed a flinch that few could even hope to match. Eventually, I ended up shooting about 1000 rounds of .22lr to get back to somewhat normal.

A sign of high intelligence....

That's the stuff that moves rifle shooting from science to art form.....there are fewer "artists" today.That sort of regimen used to be "standard operating procedure",and a guy could not call himself a rifleman unless he had mastered that stuff.