I just got this new rifle to the range, though I owned it for about two years.
It is a Montana Rifleman 1999 action, in 257 AI, on an Accuracy Innovations laminate stock. It was built for me by Bits of Pieces. The barrel is 26inches long, and the rifle weighs approximately 10lbs. The scope is a Leopold VX III, 2.5-8 power. I think I will get a varmint scope in the near future, as the rig seems ideally suited to taking coyotes or possibly wolves.
I fired two boxes of 257 Roberts plus P through it today. The kick is very mild, though the noise is tremendously loud for some reason. I am not a very good shot, but off a sandbag I shot some very tight groups. This surprised me, as I understood that AI cartridges often give poor accuracy in their parent cartridge. Such is not the case here. The ammo was the cheap stuff, economy priced hunting ammo from Remington and Winchester. The bullets were 117 grain that dropped considerably out to three hundred meters. I did not measure the groups, but at one hundred meters, three shots would fit into the size of a dime.
I like the looks of the rifle and the accuracy is as good as I can ever shoot. I cannot imagine that with hand loads the group size will decrease, as I am not that good a shot. Perhaps other shooters will have to take it for a spin to demonstrate its accuracy potential. Everything about the rifle worked well, except for one serious issue. I had three misfires, where the cartridge failed to fire. I ejected the three rounds and found that two of them had strong strikes on the primers, but the rounds did not fire. Upon chambering for the second time, all three fired. One round had a very shallow strike on the primer. I think the rifle may have to be adjusted to put more thump on the primers, but I do not know for sure. I guess I will have to shoot some more to find out.
BB
It is a Montana Rifleman 1999 action, in 257 AI, on an Accuracy Innovations laminate stock. It was built for me by Bits of Pieces. The barrel is 26inches long, and the rifle weighs approximately 10lbs. The scope is a Leopold VX III, 2.5-8 power. I think I will get a varmint scope in the near future, as the rig seems ideally suited to taking coyotes or possibly wolves.
I fired two boxes of 257 Roberts plus P through it today. The kick is very mild, though the noise is tremendously loud for some reason. I am not a very good shot, but off a sandbag I shot some very tight groups. This surprised me, as I understood that AI cartridges often give poor accuracy in their parent cartridge. Such is not the case here. The ammo was the cheap stuff, economy priced hunting ammo from Remington and Winchester. The bullets were 117 grain that dropped considerably out to three hundred meters. I did not measure the groups, but at one hundred meters, three shots would fit into the size of a dime.
I like the looks of the rifle and the accuracy is as good as I can ever shoot. I cannot imagine that with hand loads the group size will decrease, as I am not that good a shot. Perhaps other shooters will have to take it for a spin to demonstrate its accuracy potential. Everything about the rifle worked well, except for one serious issue. I had three misfires, where the cartridge failed to fire. I ejected the three rounds and found that two of them had strong strikes on the primers, but the rounds did not fire. Upon chambering for the second time, all three fired. One round had a very shallow strike on the primer. I think the rifle may have to be adjusted to put more thump on the primers, but I do not know for sure. I guess I will have to shoot some more to find out.
BB
Last edited:
