packgoatguy
Well-Known Member
Earlier this summer, my wife surprised me and let me get a rifle I had long had on my wish list. A Fierce CT Edge in 28 Nosler with titanium muzzle break and a March 2.5-25 scope in Talley Lightweight rings. Unfortunately, with work and other commitments, it took me a while to finally get to the range. Even more unfortunately, after multiple boxes of expensive boxes of ammo, I am not getting anything close to the half MOA advertised by fierce for such an expensive (in my book) rifle.
Rifle has shot Hornady ELDX 162 gr, Nosler ABLR 175, and Nosler 160s. The ELDX seems to be the worst, with most groups hovering around 2.5MOA, with the best around 1.5MOA. The Noslers both seem to hover around 1.25-1.5. These are 3 round groups. During the same shooting sessions I am consistently shooting .5-.75MOA with my ultralight braked Kimber Mountain Ascent 6.5 Creedmoor with a Swarovski z5 3-18 (sub six pound rifle including scope), and a braked Ruger American 6.5CM with a vortex crossfire 3x9 from the same rest and position.
I don't profess to be the most experienced of shooters, nor do I know the ins- and outs of the technical aspects of these scopes and rifles. All I know is that I wanted a lightweight half MOA hunting rifle that packed a real whallop, and that is why I picked the Fierce....something seems off with a $4500 rifle that is so picky with ammo, when I can pick up a $400 Ruger off the shelf at Sportsmans and shoot 3/4MOA with anything I put down the tube.
When I contacted John Mogle at Fierce with this story, I got a very terse reply to just send the rifle back to them. No reply on how long that process would take, and I find it unlikely that I would have the rifle back by hunting season. I have plenty of other rifles to outfit myself and the 3 young hunters I will be taking into the woods this year, but its a real bummer to not be able to use a rifle I had looked forward to so long at the performance it should be able to produce.
Does anyone have any insight into what I could try, perhaps a local gunsmith or someone who knows their stuff in the Boise Idaho area who could give the setup a quick once over and see if I am missing something obvious here???
Rifle has shot Hornady ELDX 162 gr, Nosler ABLR 175, and Nosler 160s. The ELDX seems to be the worst, with most groups hovering around 2.5MOA, with the best around 1.5MOA. The Noslers both seem to hover around 1.25-1.5. These are 3 round groups. During the same shooting sessions I am consistently shooting .5-.75MOA with my ultralight braked Kimber Mountain Ascent 6.5 Creedmoor with a Swarovski z5 3-18 (sub six pound rifle including scope), and a braked Ruger American 6.5CM with a vortex crossfire 3x9 from the same rest and position.
I don't profess to be the most experienced of shooters, nor do I know the ins- and outs of the technical aspects of these scopes and rifles. All I know is that I wanted a lightweight half MOA hunting rifle that packed a real whallop, and that is why I picked the Fierce....something seems off with a $4500 rifle that is so picky with ammo, when I can pick up a $400 Ruger off the shelf at Sportsmans and shoot 3/4MOA with anything I put down the tube.
When I contacted John Mogle at Fierce with this story, I got a very terse reply to just send the rifle back to them. No reply on how long that process would take, and I find it unlikely that I would have the rifle back by hunting season. I have plenty of other rifles to outfit myself and the 3 young hunters I will be taking into the woods this year, but its a real bummer to not be able to use a rifle I had looked forward to so long at the performance it should be able to produce.
Does anyone have any insight into what I could try, perhaps a local gunsmith or someone who knows their stuff in the Boise Idaho area who could give the setup a quick once over and see if I am missing something obvious here???