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Green_Frog
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Al Story Borchardt
Apr 28th, 2004 at 9:03pm
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I finally got to shoot the Borchardt Rifle Co. sample rifle (in .45-70) today.  I had cobbled together some rounds using 
Al's favorite 375 gr GC bullet and a moderately stiff charge of Unique then sallied forth to our local range.  The shadows were lengthening and the wind was a little gusty (compared to E-G where "a little gusty" means Dorothy and Toto are only 5 feet off the ground  Grin)  I got off all 20 of those rounds + 10 rounds of Remington factory 300 grainers (1/2 jacketed hollow points)  I shot some off our rickety plywood bench at 100 yds and some offhand at 140 at a large berm I frequently resort to.   

The rifle's performance was flawless, and the stock shape (a sort of pistol grip midrange sporter) made the recoil quite bearable, even though not pleasant!  I will be writing the whole thing up, probably for the May/June SSRJ and tell everyone all about it.  If the caliber were, say .38-55 or .32-40, I'm afraid Al would have a hard time getting it back!

Stay tuned for more adventures!
the Green Frog
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #1 - May 1st, 2004 at 8:28pm
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What type of buttplate configuration is on the Borchardt? I'm with you on those stiff loads in the .45-70! Guess I'm just a big sissy, but I much prefer the .38-55, .32-40, or other light recoiling rounds also. I load my .45-70's with a 300 gr cast lead at about 1300 fps, so they more enjoyable to shoot.
Look forward to more on the testing of the Borchardt.
  
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Green_Frog
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #2 - May 1st, 2004 at 9:01pm
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The sample rifle I am testing has a shotgun style butt plate, so it takes the recoil pretty well.  In fact, off hand shooting was surprisingly pleasant.  The height of my shooting bench, the rest, and the shape of the rifle didn't make for comfortable shooting from the bench, but it really was not as painful as I had feared it would be.   If I were ordering my dream Borchardt, though, it would have a true offhand stock and a .32-40 barrel/chambering.  THAT would be a real pleasure to shoot, I believe.   Smiley

GF
  
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Green_Frog
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #3 - May 2nd, 2004 at 3:53pm
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In my previous post I neglected to mention that the shotgun butt is covered with a leather lace-on pad.  Looks kinda out of place and time for the rifle, but it sure does help preserve the old shoulder from recoil.  Wink  I hope it will still help on the 500+ grainers that DWS gave me to try in it.

GF
  
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DonH
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #4 - May 3rd, 2004 at 6:19am
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Mr. Frog;
The "REAL" powder for that .45-70 will take much of the recoil problem away. Also as you probably know, bench shooting with any rifle gets the most out of recoil.

Don
  
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Dale53
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #5 - May 3rd, 2004 at 9:45am
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Many years ago, I bought a .375 H&H magnum. I found that the recoil was "serious". I had no intention of "downloading" it as I had rifles of lesser power and caliber for that. I decided that I would learn to manage it. I shot over 1000 rounds off the bench with it that first summer. I learned that it was VERY helpful to raise the height of the rifle on the bags (while shooting off the bench) so that I sat upright behind the rifle. The difference in recoil between lying over the rifle and sitting straight up behind it was dramatic.

You still knew when it went off but the pain was considerably less Grin. By the end of the summer, I had fired a number of targets sitting that scored around 96 on the 100 yard smallbore target (at a 100 yards). I later got my bear with it, but that's another story...

Dale53
  
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PETE
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #6 - May 3rd, 2004 at 10:02am
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Dale53,
  Good point! I found the same thing when shooting the .50/90 with 600 gr. bullets and full house BP loads. I do the same thing when shooting off cross sticks.
  Shooting 700 gr. bullets..... as you say.... is another story!  Smiley

PETE
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #7 - May 3rd, 2004 at 8:25pm
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Dale,
Maybe you just built up scar tissue on your shoulder so it didn't hurt so much! Wink
  
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Dale53
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #8 - May 3rd, 2004 at 11:42pm
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Marlinguy;
Could be! It sure rattles the old gourd, too!

Dale53
  
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QuestionableMaynard8130
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #9 - Jun 7th, 2004 at 8:08am
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When I was using my 45-70 browning 1885 Traditional Rifle(B-78 action and sporting weight barrel not BPCR version) in ASSRA two seasons ago I was regularly practicing at our local range and shot all 3 events with it.  I found I was OK for between 100 and 120 rounds a day at EG and  about 70 in a 3 hour period at the practice range.

My load is the 500 gr 457676 bullet with a mid-30's gr load of 5744.  I've tried lighter bullets and lighter charges but nothing appraches this for accuracy in my rifle

  For me the key was learning to position my body so the gun was  square to my shoulder and in solid contact. Basically I shoot from behind the bench rather than from beside it.  the first time I tried the gun I used the usual bench rest form and had the gun butt down farther on my arm.  it was well over a week before the bruise went away.  Now the thing that causes me to quit is the battering of my right elbow as it rubs and contacts the benchtop---gotta find a smoother bench mat.

  
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Dale53
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Re: Al Story Borchardt
Reply #10 - Jun 7th, 2004 at 10:03am
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DWS;
Sinclair International has the solution for you (right elbow protection). It comes in two flavors:

Flat leather pillow bag:
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Shooterpad: this is a gel-filled, flat nylon pad with a non-slip rubber back (come two in a pack for little more than the single leather pad). I have both and prefer the Shooterpad:

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Either of these solutions will END any problems with the right elbow.

Dale53
  
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