Beaten at the shooting game

[rangerrandy]

I got myself a late xmas present. Weatherby accumark in 338-378. I wanted a hard hitting gun that I could reach out with. I had some experience with this gun and I knew it was loud and had a nasty recoil.
I had a Zeiss scooe put on where I bought it and it was bore sighted. I could hardly wait to get to the range and fire some bullets at some paper.
First 2 shots at 100 yards proved to be low and wide. I adjusted and fired 2 more. I was carefully trying to follow the break in procedure as well. The next 2 shots were closer but still wide. I adjusted again and the last 2 were exactly where I wanted them to be. Because of the recoil on the gun I stopped shooting for the night. I planned on shooting more the next day and I didn't want to be sore.
The next day came and I headed to the range again eager to set up my target at the 200 yard mark. First 2 shots were low and wide. I adjusted. Next 2 proved again to be needing more fine tuning. The next 2 were exactly where I wanted them. I was pretty happy with my new purchase. I decided to see what it would do at the 300 yard gong. The 2 shots at the gong both missed. I started to doubt myself and went to my phone to look at a ballistics chart to see if I overlooked something. Nooe. All good there. I went back to my 200 yard paper and the next 4 shots were a complete miss. Never mind the small circle in the middle of the paper. I completely missed the paper. 2' x 2'. I was sure something happened to the gun. Something was loose or the scope came off or something.
I came home with the gun and I went through the gun completely. I couldn't find a thing wrong with it. I took it over to a friends place and had him check it out again and he couldn't find anything wrong either.
Next day I went back to the range except this time I brought my 22-250 with me also. I had a lot of fun shooting targets at 100 200 300 and 400 yards. This gun was bang on. At the end of the day I put 2 rounds in my 338-378 and again I had the same results as the day before. 100 yards and I had 2 shots that were at least on the paper. Both were wild and not even close to where I wanted to be. This time I noticed myself flinching. I decided to stop shooting for the day. Loaded up the guns and I went home. I lost sleep that night thinking about the wild shots and wondering if they were caused because of my respect or fear of the large caliber gun.
Next day I returned to the range again. This time I put my 338-378 into a lead sled and fired at the 100 yard mark. 2 shots and both shots were touching each other. Slightly low and wide. I adjusted and boom. 2 shots dead center. Both touching each other. I picked the gun up knowing that there was nothing wrong with it and the problem is me. I fired 2 shots. Both shots were wild but at least I hit the paper. I sat down again. This time I didn't put a bullet in and dry fired the gun. I found myself jerking the gun and yanking the trigger. For the next 15 mins I just sat with the gun. Looking down range. Really paying attention to my shoulder pressure and the way that I was squeezing the trigger. I chambered a round and hit the bullseye.
I have been shooting guns for 40 years. Pretty much every type there is. For some reason I got it in my head that this was a large caliber gun with big kick and I was compensating for it before the shot was taken causing my shots to be all over the place. I never thought it would be possible for me to do this. Thank god for range practice.

[Smokinyotes]

Sounds like you have bitten off more than you can chew! Does it have a brake on it.

[rangerrandy]

Yes it has a brake. I think I have it under control now. Would be nice if I could handle more than 10 shots at a time without getting sore. Not to mention that each shot is $5.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by rangerrandy

Yes it has a brake. I think I have it under control now. Would be nice if I could handle more than 10 shots at a time without getting sore. Not to mention that each shot is $5.

You can. Buy a basic reloading kit, and load it as light as you want. Shooting it more will build up your recoil tolerance. But you probably knew that.

Look into a Limbsaver gel recoil pad or similar.

You may have to get a trim to fit, and cut the butt stock slightly shorter to fit you, as some of the pads are pretty thick.

You can get into a basic set of reloading tools with a Lee hand press for a little over a hundred bucks.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by rangerrandy

I got myself a late xmas present. Weatherby accumark in 338-378. I wanted a hard hitting gun that I could reach out with. I had some experience with this gun and I knew it was loud and had a nasty recoil.
I had a Zeiss scooe put on where I bought it and it was bore sighted. I could hardly wait to get to the range and fire some bullets at some paper.
First 2 shots at 100 yards proved to be low and wide. I adjusted and fired 2 more. I was carefully trying to follow the break in procedure as well. The next 2 shots were closer but still wide. I adjusted again and the last 2 were exactly where I wanted them to be. Because of the recoil on the gun I stopped shooting for the night. I planned on shooting more the next day and I didn't want to be sore.
The next day came and I headed to the range again eager to set up my target at the 200 yard mark. First 2 shots were low and wide. I adjusted. Next 2 proved again to be needing more fine tuning. The next 2 were exactly where I wanted them. I was pretty happy with my new purchase. I decided to see what it would do at the 300 yard gong. The 2 shots at the gong both missed. I started to doubt myself and went to my phone to look at a ballistics chart to see if I overlooked something. Nooe. All good there. I went back to my 200 yard paper and the next 4 shots were a complete miss. Never mind the small circle in the middle of the paper. I completely missed the paper. 2' x 2'. I was sure something happened to the gun. Something was loose or the scope came off or something.
I came home with the gun and I went through the gun completely. I couldn't find a thing wrong with it. I took it over to a friends place and had him check it out again and he couldn't find anything wrong either.
Next day I went back to the range except this time I brought my 22-250 with me also. I had a lot of fun shooting targets at 100 200 300 and 400 yards. This gun was bang on. At the end of the day I put 2 rounds in my 338-378 and again I had the same results as the day before. 100 yards and I had 2 shots that were at least on the paper. Both were wild and not even close to where I wanted to be. This time I noticed myself flinching. I decided to stop shooting for the day. Loaded up the guns and I went home. I lost sleep that night thinking about the wild shots and wondering if they were caused because of my respect or fear of the large caliber gun.
Next day I returned to the range again. This time I put my 338-378 into a lead sled and fired at the 100 yard mark. 2 shots and both shots were touching each other. Slightly low and wide. I adjusted and boom. 2 shots dead center. Both touching each other. I picked the gun up knowing that there was nothing wrong with it and the problem is me. I fired 2 shots. Both shots were wild but at least I hit the paper. I sat down again. This time I didn't put a bullet in and dry fired the gun. I found myself jerking the gun and yanking the trigger. For the next 15 mins I just sat with the gun. Looking down range. Really paying attention to my shoulder pressure and the way that I was squeezing the trigger. I chambered a round and hit the bullseye.
I have been shooting guns for 40 years. Pretty much every type there is. For some reason I got it in my head that this was a large caliber gun with big kick and I was compensating for it before the shot was taken causing my shots to be all over the place. I never thought it would be possible for me to do this. Thank god for range practice.

If you decide a gun is beating you up even a 223 can give you a flinch. That said, I have seen guys that flinch with big guns still lay down three shot groups in the 1/2 inch range. It all depends on what the flinch is doing to your shot picture.

There is no substitute for practice when it comes to shooting big boomers and still hitting your mark. it took me a while to work up to full bore loads in my 460 Weatherby but it is worth the effort. After shooting that nothing will intimidate you. You want to practice and be in very good shape to tolerate that amount of recoil.

[MattSako]

Originally Posted by rangerrandy

Yes it has a brake. I think I have it under control now. Would be nice if I could handle more than 10 shots at a time without getting sore. Not to mention that each shot is $5.

You cant shoot a 338-378 like you would shoot a 30-06 or 270 win etc... shooting position is different when i use a caliber with big recoil.. if you want to shoot it as much as you want you need to adjust.

Position of your rifle on your body and position of your feet and face the gun.. dont position yourself sideway lol.. ( i call that archery position ) hah

[MattSako]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

You can. Buy a basic reloading kit, and load it as light as you want. Shooting it more will build up your recoil tolerance. But you probably knew that.

We are talking about a Weatherby caliber, i have myself a 460 weatherby magnum and its never a good idea to suggest " light " load in a weatherby... if you want very annoying hangfire do that..

As far as i know they always recommend close to maximum load in a weatherby magnum to prevent this situation and obtain the best accuracy.

[sikwhiskey]

I dry fire a lot with snap caps, load one or two in May with the live rnds. when gun goes click, cock bolt and click 5-10 times on target. Once satisfied with your hold/ trigger pull/ breathing, eject cap and try a live one. Seems to work for me.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by MattSako

We are talking about a Weatherby caliber, i have myself a 460 weatherby magnum and its never a good idea to suggest " light " load in a weatherby... if you want very annoying hangfire do that..

As far as i know they always recommend close to maximum load in a weatherby magnum to prevent this situation and obtain the best accuracy.

One assumes a certain amount of knowledge on the subject. Of course you can load light. You can make a lighter load with slow powder. Quite a bit lighter with a very fast powder, and very light with a case filler and a smaller charge of pistol or shotgun powder.

What I was speaking about however was more of a reduced recoil type load. Somewhat like the ones that can be bought commercially.

Hope that clears things up a little. There are a number of loads listed in the books as well.

[oldgutpile]

Don't cut yourself short on hearing protection, especially if there is a break involved. I was amazed what happened, when shooting a large caliber gun, I found myself developing a bad flinch. Someone suggested to me to double-up on hearing protection, so I put in foam earplugs underneath my shooting muffs. Amazing what such a small attention to detail can do!

[bobinthesky]

Originally Posted by oldgutpile

Don't cut yourself short on hearing protection, especially if there is a break involved. I was amazed what happened, when shooting a large caliber gun, I found myself developing a bad flinch. Someone suggested to me to double-up on hearing protection, so I put in foam earplugs underneath my shooting muffs. Amazing what such a small attention to detail can do!

X2

OGP beat me to it.
Flinching induced by noise is common and muzzle brakes make a lot of noise for the shooter.
Plugs and good muffs for certain!

[fatrack]

I think the 338-378 Bee is the fastest factory available 338 out there, definitely one heck of a boomer! What kind of brake do you have? My 338 RUM is no slouch and with a Fat Bastard brake on it, it kicks like my wifes 243, its a pleasure to shoot and I never get a sore shoulder. I think a more effective brake would do wonders for you.

[Skytop B]

The Big Haus "BRAKE" from PTG looks almost identical to the Fat Bastard, they are amazingly effective and are about $50 cheaper.