Rifle shooting with my neighbor.

[TCFD273]

My friend asked if I was going to shoot it off the bench, or prone. I said, "Are you crazy?" I shot standing. Years ago I shot a .375 H&H and .458 Win. Mag, etc. on a regular basis and have the arthritis in my right shoulder to prove it. These days, I'll shoot those things if it's the necessary tool for the task, or if someone offers it up for free of course.

I limit the 375 to 8-10 rounds a range session. It packs a serious punch out at 300yds!

470....Generally never shoot it more than a few times, mainly to show it off. I do take it hog hunting, but it’s also never more than a few shots.


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[Sherman A. House DDS]

I’ve shot 80 rounds of HEAVY Garrett loads out of my .45/70. The RSO said, “Going home so soon?”

I said, “Hold the door and get the hell out of my way would ya?”

I’m no pansy but damn. That’s some heavy metal.


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[MistWolf]

The proper way to shoot the heavy hitters from the bench is to use a bench tall enough that the shooter can stand.

[NH Shooter]

I have the No. 1-S in 45-70. It's heavier than a No. 3, but not much. My gun with the stupid hard Ruger factory recoil pad was no fun with mid-level (Marlin 1895) loads. Installing a 1" Decelerator completely changed the gun. I can imagine the pain from the steel butt plate on a No. 3. I'm assuming that's why that gun is in your "had" column.

Unfortunately, there are more than a few guns in the "had" column that I wish were still in the "have." The Ruger wasn't one for a fun afternoon shooting groups off the bench, but it sure was a lot of wallop in handy package. Yes, that hard butt plate was tortuous...

[Paul D]

The proper way to shoot the heavy hitters from the bench is to use a bench tall enough that the shooter can stand.

Shooting sticks.

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[Poconnor]

Deleted

[P.E. Kelley]

I once had Ruger #3 in .45-70. I think the rifle weighed about six pounds.

Ouch....

And in a 10/22 stock! Horrible!!! Put just enough way too hot 500 cast bullets downrange with it to say goodbye!

[MistWolf]

Shooting sticks.

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Nothing wrong with shooting sticks, of course, but the proper to develop loads for, or sight in heavy recoiling rifles, is from a bench tall enough for the shooter to shoot while standing. An article was written a few decades ago on the subject and I believe Ross Seyfreid was the author.

[Malamute]

Ive had good results by using a normal bench and just getting enough rest materials stacked/piled up so you can sit with your back straight up to shoot. Leaning into it down low as most benches situate you is the worst possible way to shoot heavy kickers, but seems to be the most common method, and Id guess leads to the complaint about poor stocks and vicious kicking guns. Sitting on the ground to shoot works pretty well, and does kneeling or offhand, but offhand isnt as practical for getting sights regulated for most of us.

No technique helped when shooting a Browning 1886 rifle with crescent butt and 500 gr loads doing 1750-1800 fps on a bench. I chopped the crescent off and put a pad on shortly after that.

A Ruger No 1 458 was fun to shoot offhand, the owner was somewhat miffed I kept asking for more shells rather than handing it back in awe and not wanting more. Made a very nice clang on the 300 yard plate.

[GJM]

My Ruger #1 in .30-06 kicked way harder than a Ruger RL .308, that was several pounds lighter, so I can’t imagine a #1 in Rigby. I have often used kneeling with the fore end supported across an ATV for heavy rifle sight in and load development. I once shot a Cape buffalo prone with a Rigby, and that is not an ideal position for a Rigby!

One of my favorite African trips was to Zimbabwe where I shot a .416 Rigby as primary, with a .375 H&H as my back-up and plains game rifle. Here is the result of the trip:



This is the position i shot that leopard from:




After we we got the elephant down, we alerted the local village, and they came and took the meat. It was absolute chaos with guys inside the carcass of the elephant chopping off hunks of meat with machetes, tossing the meat out to their wives to collect. One guy cut his finger off with a machete, in the melee, although it didn’t seem a big deal to him. Here was the scene, and you can see a neat reflection in my glasses.



On the hunt, when we were out chasing buffalo, this buffalo charged us out of the blue. He apparently was in a foul mood after having been injured by a snare previously. You can see the scar on his face. Pretty big shoot em up, and I remember the crack of my wife’s .375 going off multiple times quickly, and my ears ringing badly, which is unusual for me in the field.



This is is a flyer Gunsite put out around 2000, using some photos from our hunt.