I have followed this forum for some time. I thought some of you might enjoy my experience with my brand new GMRB .54-120 Limited Edition. For those of you not familiar please refer to:
http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/fieldtests3.html
The rifle arrived in a plastic carrying case along with a breech wrench, ramrod extension, worm, screw, allen wrench, full plastic jackets, and 10 Barnes 325MZ bullets in the purple sabot. My initial reaction was that I had just bought a custom rifle and there was no way it cost $397 or so (including the shipping). I bought the blued version and it is a nice even matte finish. The metal to wood finish is outstanding. It is the best feeling inline stock I have ever shouldered. The stippling and shaping on the forearm as well as the stippling on the wrist really make for a secure grip. Thus my experience matches Toby's in his initial review. The one difference I found was that my bolt was not jeweled. It is a standard Knight Disc Extreme bolt, with FPJ and concave breech plug.
The trigger breaks crispy at 3lbs on my RCBS scale, exactly where I want it.
No complaints? - well a couple: the supplied ramrod is too flexible - replaced it with a Supr-Rod. The ramrod hole in the stock is finished wood and subject to chipping of the finish when you insert the ramrod if you are not careful. Another ferrule there would be a nice feature. Toby said his rifle weighted 5.75#. I don't think mine was that light - which is just fine with me. I weighed mine at 7.5#, inc scope.
Based on recommendations in this forum I mounted my scope (a Burris FFII 1.75 - 5) in Warne Maxima rings, so that I could remove the scope for cleaning - this I had to see!
Now to the range. I premeasured (by weight) BH209 charges. For the first session, I elected to do most of the shooting at the 100gr level.
Range conditions @70deg, gusty winds from 10:00 probably to 15mph or so.
1 shot to establish boresight, then:
50yd Results
100Gr BH209, Win209 Primer, Hornady .500 350gr XTP/MAG, MMP Purple Sabot - 3 shots touching .75in group
All components same, but Barnes 325MZ in purple sabot - two shots in one hole and third shot to side for 1.27" group
All comp same except Speer 300gr GD .45 in MMP red sabot - triangular 1.85" group
100yd results:
100 Gr BH209, Win209, Barnes 325MZ in purple sabot - triangular 2.1" group
120 gr BH209, same as above - 3.47" triangular group with long axis vertical
110 gr BH209, Speer 350gr .500 xtp/mag in mmp purple - 5.71" triangular group
I removed the scope and replaced to test the zeroing of the Warne Maxima rings and my last 2 shots:
100gr BH 209, Speer 350gr, .500xtp/mag in mmp purple - .97" side by side, with no shift in zero.
Sorry no chronograph data, maybe later. I have no reason to doubt Toby's results.
All of these shots taken with no wiping. This was my first experience with BH209 and I have to say I was impressed. The breech plug came out easily at the end of the day and the rifle was a snap to clean with Hoppes.
Given the gusty conditions, to say I am pleased after my first range outing would be a huge understatement. My initial inclination would be to go with the Barnes 325MZ w/100gr BH209 for my white tail load. However the 350gr Hor XTP displayed slightly better accuracy. Both bullets suffered degraded accuracy (the Barnes less so) as the powder weight went above 100gr. That is fine with me, as the extra 20 grains only buys you a little less than 100 fps and noticeably more recoil. I will need to do further work on the .54/.45 sabot, as these bullets are available a lot more cheaply and would be nice for practice, if nothing else.
As far as recoil, well as you might guess, it is pretty brisk off the bench. I shot about 10 rounds before going to the sissy pad. My brother-in-law and I both shot it offhand and it isn't bad at all from that position. I would certainly avoid a high power low eye relief scope, however.
This rifle will be my primary white tail gun. I plan to use it for both muzzle loader and regular firearms season (which means a shotgun for the parts of NH and NY I hunt). It handles beautifully, is about the right weight and size for a stalking rifle and is more accurate than my slug gun and existing muzzleloader. One might wish that it was a .50 instead of .54, but there isn't a .50 available in this compact package that feels so much like a nice bolt rifle - at least for my taste. I haven't seen much written about it, so thought you might find my experience interesting. Glen
http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/fieldtests3.html
The rifle arrived in a plastic carrying case along with a breech wrench, ramrod extension, worm, screw, allen wrench, full plastic jackets, and 10 Barnes 325MZ bullets in the purple sabot. My initial reaction was that I had just bought a custom rifle and there was no way it cost $397 or so (including the shipping). I bought the blued version and it is a nice even matte finish. The metal to wood finish is outstanding. It is the best feeling inline stock I have ever shouldered. The stippling and shaping on the forearm as well as the stippling on the wrist really make for a secure grip. Thus my experience matches Toby's in his initial review. The one difference I found was that my bolt was not jeweled. It is a standard Knight Disc Extreme bolt, with FPJ and concave breech plug.
The trigger breaks crispy at 3lbs on my RCBS scale, exactly where I want it.
No complaints? - well a couple: the supplied ramrod is too flexible - replaced it with a Supr-Rod. The ramrod hole in the stock is finished wood and subject to chipping of the finish when you insert the ramrod if you are not careful. Another ferrule there would be a nice feature. Toby said his rifle weighted 5.75#. I don't think mine was that light - which is just fine with me. I weighed mine at 7.5#, inc scope.
Based on recommendations in this forum I mounted my scope (a Burris FFII 1.75 - 5) in Warne Maxima rings, so that I could remove the scope for cleaning - this I had to see!
Now to the range. I premeasured (by weight) BH209 charges. For the first session, I elected to do most of the shooting at the 100gr level.
Range conditions @70deg, gusty winds from 10:00 probably to 15mph or so.
1 shot to establish boresight, then:
50yd Results
100Gr BH209, Win209 Primer, Hornady .500 350gr XTP/MAG, MMP Purple Sabot - 3 shots touching .75in group
All components same, but Barnes 325MZ in purple sabot - two shots in one hole and third shot to side for 1.27" group
All comp same except Speer 300gr GD .45 in MMP red sabot - triangular 1.85" group
100yd results:
100 Gr BH209, Win209, Barnes 325MZ in purple sabot - triangular 2.1" group
120 gr BH209, same as above - 3.47" triangular group with long axis vertical
110 gr BH209, Speer 350gr .500 xtp/mag in mmp purple - 5.71" triangular group
I removed the scope and replaced to test the zeroing of the Warne Maxima rings and my last 2 shots:
100gr BH 209, Speer 350gr, .500xtp/mag in mmp purple - .97" side by side, with no shift in zero.
Sorry no chronograph data, maybe later. I have no reason to doubt Toby's results.
All of these shots taken with no wiping. This was my first experience with BH209 and I have to say I was impressed. The breech plug came out easily at the end of the day and the rifle was a snap to clean with Hoppes.
Given the gusty conditions, to say I am pleased after my first range outing would be a huge understatement. My initial inclination would be to go with the Barnes 325MZ w/100gr BH209 for my white tail load. However the 350gr Hor XTP displayed slightly better accuracy. Both bullets suffered degraded accuracy (the Barnes less so) as the powder weight went above 100gr. That is fine with me, as the extra 20 grains only buys you a little less than 100 fps and noticeably more recoil. I will need to do further work on the .54/.45 sabot, as these bullets are available a lot more cheaply and would be nice for practice, if nothing else.
As far as recoil, well as you might guess, it is pretty brisk off the bench. I shot about 10 rounds before going to the sissy pad. My brother-in-law and I both shot it offhand and it isn't bad at all from that position. I would certainly avoid a high power low eye relief scope, however.
This rifle will be my primary white tail gun. I plan to use it for both muzzle loader and regular firearms season (which means a shotgun for the parts of NH and NY I hunt). It handles beautifully, is about the right weight and size for a stalking rifle and is more accurate than my slug gun and existing muzzleloader. One might wish that it was a .50 instead of .54, but there isn't a .50 available in this compact package that feels so much like a nice bolt rifle - at least for my taste. I haven't seen much written about it, so thought you might find my experience interesting. Glen
