Recoil was ery very gentle. More of a push than sharp smack.
And less than 285 grain Privy Partisan bullets and 285 grain NOE at 2000 fps loaded with IMR 4064
My friend, Guy, who shot the 285 grain load said "this gun is a pussy cat" - he was expecting a lot more recoil. He was the proud owner of an L46 less than 3 weeks later and intends to use it for whitetails in Quebec. His current whitetail rifle is a 450 marlin (Guy is a lawyer in Quebec who comes to Alberta for a week of hunting with me on the Alberta Hunter host Program)
I could not reach the "sweet spot with IMR4064. Groups were over 5" at 100 meters with 42 gr of powder and each increase in powder charge gave a slightly smaller group. At max load of 45 grains the groups are just under 2" with no signs of pressure. for the first time in my life I am tempted to go over max suggested loads by 0.2 grain increments to a) see if groups shrink and b) see if the primer starts to flatten.
I like the caliber, and I like the rifle
Once I get the power coated 2000 grain bullets sorted out with a good load at 2400 fps, i am going to use the same bullet, same diameter with lee liquid alox, and either Felix lube, Lyman lube, or RCBS lube. Just to see if powder coat really did make the a difference.
In the past I have found that with cast bullet accuracy tends to drop off between 1700 and 1850 fps using conventional lube. To date I have only substituted powder coat for lee liqiud alox and the commercial stick lubes and shot the same loads with powder coat.
My initial foray into cast bullets was one based on economy and the desire for inexpensive plinking loads. That worked well when I was shooting my Egyptian Rolling block, my Martini Mk III converted to 45/70, a savage 340 in 30-30,and a K frame 38 special.
Aver my discovery of NOE 5 cavity molds budget and economy went out the window.
BTW, my L46 cost me about $225 Canadian 4 years ago. I paid $185 CDN for my last L46 on a dealer close out on Swede Rifles last December.
I keep finding myself looking at the sweet deals available from the Canadian Importer Tradex
I have found that with the 9.3x57 the first shot was one too many, now 10,000 are not enough.
My always sighted in (with commonly available factory ammo) hunting rifles are a Rem model 7 in 7mm/08 and a Reming 700 ADL stainless in 30/06 - That way I do not need to grab an hour or two of range time confirming zero before I go hunting.
Secondary hunting rifles with cast bullets are 30/06, 30-30, 303, 6.5x55. 7x57, 45/70, and 577/450 depending on my mood and whether or not I have a suitable hunting load that the gun is sighted in for.
Intended rifles to hunt with cast bullets, 9.3x62, 8x57, 6.5 Carcano (Folks were giving away 6.5 Carcano's during the Canadian gun registry program) and 308.
If I can get the 200 grain bullet sorted out this week I will be hunting black bear with it in the first two weeks of May.
