How Much do You Shoot Your Big Bore?

[TTundra]

Right on with @BeeMaa and dry fire practice. Easiest thing anyone can do. I'll shoot smaller bore rifles to maintain my manual of arms, but bring the big bores out 8-9 months before a hunt. I had a little under 200 of 460 wby before my August Zim hunt.

Probably another shot out for the R8. Getting a 223 barrel or even now 22lr to pair with the larger caliber is a nice plus to save $ and shoot much more often.

 

[gizmo]

I tend to shoot and use my big bores quite a bit here at home. Aside from general fun shooting I use mine as backups on bison and Waterbuffalo hunts on my place. I’ve killed several things over the years with mine and though unnecessarily over gunned, I occasionally hunt deer and pigs with mine for fun.

 

[Franco]

Dry firing my 404 gives me all the practice I need. Components are rare and expensive. Also, I have several retina detachments in my medical history. I save recoil and $$$ for the hunt.

If you have a history of detached retinas, you need to be extremely cautious of heavy recoil. Saving recoil for a hunt isn't the same as putting money in the bank - it only takes one to do damage.

My cousin, a very accomplished eye surgeon, is currently in Africa teaching surgical techniques at a clinic in Zambia - he would be someone to talk to about heavy a recoil you could tolerate.

 

[Franco]

I tend to shoot and use my big bores quite a bit here at home. Aside from general fun shooting I use mine as backups on bison and Waterbuffalo hunts on my place. I’ve killed several things over the years with mine and though unnecessarily over gunned, I occasionally hunt deer and pigs with mine for fun. View attachment 593375View attachment 593376View attachment 593377View attachment 593378

Just bought a place in Texas, moving in a couple months. I would love to go on a pig hunt with my double rifle. I have a few other "cool" rifles we could discuss in private.

 

[DWB]

My 404 has in excess of 1600 shots through it and my 450 Rigby probably half of that.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I shoot my 450/400 Heym double about 6 shots a month and then another 20 or so a year.

 

[tward1604]

I wish I had more time and space to shoot my 404. It sure is fun to put a rock or two in an empty shotgun shell box and chuck it out there and put holes through it. I get plenty of dry fire and bolt manipulation practice. Dry fire can only take you so far when it comes to fast follow up practice coming out of recoil.

Some of yall have incredible numbers through your guns, I'm envious!

 

[Puddle]

Well, my big bore only reaches up to 450/400 #1. However, this Spring I'm quite busy working on back-up loads for all the cartridges that rely on H4350. That involves 20+ different loads including 9.3x62mm and .375 H&H. Just too many dang loads depending on a reliable supply of H4350.

However, if walking around carrying a rifle counts, then my daily 5-mile strolls in the hills includes rotating rifles between the M1 Garand, the 9.3x62mm, and the .375 H&H.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Dry fire and live ammo as often as I can. I actually enjoy shooting them. .505 Gibbs at the top of recoil View attachment 593304

How would you compare the perceived recoil of the 505 vs other common cartridges like 416 Rigby, 458 Lott? Does it feel like double those loads? do you feel like its enough recoil to seriously injure you without having perfect technique with each shot?

 

[Altitude sickness]

This custom made .505 has a nice wide and tall recoil pad and a nice stock. Weighs almost 11 pounds. In my opinion it doesn’t hit as hard as my smaller rifles with narrow harder recoil pads. I wish I could show the video of me shooting it. You would see it’s not bad at all

.505 Gibbs on the left 7mm on the right

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If you have a history of detached retinas, you need to be extremely cautious of heavy recoil. Saving recoil for a hunt isn't the same as putting money in the bank - it only takes one to do damage.

My cousin, a very accomplished eye surgeon, is currently in Africa teaching surgical techniques at a clinic in Zambia - he would be someone to talk to about heavy a recoil you could tolerate.

I have discussed it with my eye surgeon. He says my eyes are now "settled" after a dozen years of no troubles. Apparently, the vitreous fluid has pretty much finished shrinking.

Last time at the range shooting the heavy 404 with 400 gr bullets from the bench I could kinda feel some of my teeth moving in their sockets. Message received. I ordered a yoke to turn my photography tripod into shooting sticks. I'm only shooting off my feet from now on. And I will also be exploring changing powders as advised in this thread. And moving down to lighter bullets. 400 gr is almost overkill with modern bullet construction. The fancy walnut stock coming for this rifle appears to be perhaps thinner than the one I used for the build. Fully loaded and scoped, this gun now must be close to eleven pounds. I prefer to keep it that way.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I tend to shoot my larger bores only now and again during a range session. Maybe 10-12 rounds and then switch to my .300WM or .308. I just don't have the ammo budget to go through a lot of the bigger stuff on a consistent basis. Heck, I don't even shoot my .338WM much anymore due to the scarcity and cost of that ammo. I do reload, but with my work schedule, I just haven't found the time to sit down and have a "relaxing" extended reloading session. If/when I plan a Cape Buffalo hunt, I'll get a lot more serious and buy some fresh factory ammo and hit the range much more often.