Sabotloader - need your opinion on Austin & Halleck

[mouthcaller]

I know you have an Austin &Helleck rifle. Which model? What are the pros and cons, likes and dislikes. How does it shoot?

The reason I'm asking is that they appear to be going out of business and I havebecome smittenwith one of those 420s with the gorgeous curley maple wood. I have an omega Z5 that is a great gun, accurate, etc, but you know how it is when you see another gun you like. I don't need another ML rifle right now, but my son is 10 and will be needing one soon!

By the way, my boy killed a nice 8-point during the special youth weekend here in Tennessee. One shot through the heart from a laser measured 201 yards.

As always, thanks for your great advice. I didn't get to pull the trigger this past weekend, the first in Tennessee for Muzzloaders. I worked up a load with those 300 gr. Gold Dots you recommended in front of 115 gr of loose 777. Maybe Friday I will be able to see what they can do on an unsuspecting whitetail doe.

[sabotloader]

mouthcaller

I know you have an Austin Helleck rifle. Which model? What are the pros and cons, likes and dislikes. How does it shoot?

I have two 320's in Nickle. They both shoot really well in fact when I am testing loads that is normally the gun I choose to do the testing.

Pros
I believe they are well built, a very solid gun.
The bolt is fairly simple to disassemble and clean.
The barrel while it might be a Spanish barrel is solid the hexagon shape of the first portion of the barrel increases it's strength.
Recoil is dispersed well thoughout the gun really do not feel that much.
Adjustable Bold trigger.
Pretty easy to clean.

Cons
It is a very long gun do to its very long bolt assembly.
It sometimes feels front end heavy
It even feels heavy but when you weigh it - it just like a lot of others.
You have to adjust the length of the throw each time you take the bolt apart and clean it - no big deal.

I have an omega Z5 that is a great gun, accurate, etc, but you know how it is when you see another gun you like. I don't need another ML rifle right now, but my son is 10 and will be needing one soon!

I honestly think you will still like your z5 better than the A&H and again on the being honest side I think it would be much of a gun (physically it is a big gun) for your son for quite a few years. If you were to use and your son would go to the z5 that would be a different story.

I know what you mean about the wood stocks - they really have some beautiful stocks

I didn't get to pull the trigger this past weekend, the first in Tennessee for Muzzloaders. I worked up a load with those 300 gr. Gold Dots you recommended in front of 115 gr of loose 777. Maybe Friday I will be able to see what they can do on an unsuspecting whitetail doe.

Let me know about your results with that 300 grain Speer. I often worry about the 300 grain on white tail @ close range going through the body to quickly - the animal will be dead but he/she may run a bit... I have gone down to the 250 grain Gold Dot for white tail and 300 grain for elk.

good hunting

mike

[lemoyne]

I have a friend who shoots with me that uses one,he shoots one hole groups at 50 and 1 to 1.5 inches at 100yds uses 90 gr pyrodex and 250 XTP with a HPH24 . Lee

[mouthcaller]

Thanks for the reply Mike

I was thinking like you - the Z5 could find its way into my son's hands if I were satisfiied with the A&H. He isnot ready just yet to hunt on his own, but he will be soon.

Couple more questions:

How impervious is the bolt design to rain? Could I hunt in inclimate weather with the gun. I may not want to if I can find one with the curly maple but it is a consideration.

What is the difference between the 320 and 420 models? From the website it appears that the only difference is that320s have synthetic stocks and the 420s have the gorgeous wood stocks.

They are selling the 320s for anywhere from $210 - $250 and the 420s are going for about $275. I don't know what they retail for, but I suspect these are good prices - am I right?

Should I be concerned that the company may be going out of business or be sold to another party? Are the guns reliable? Should I buy any common spare parts like a breech plug or firing pin?

Sorry for so many questions and I appreciate very much your opinion and the opinion of other A&H owners.s

I'll let you know how the Gold Dots work out - hopefully sooner rather than later.

[mouthcaller]

Lemoyne

Thanks for the reply. One hole at 50 yards is a great testiment to the accuracy of this rifle.

[sabotloader]

mouthcaller

How impervious is the bolt design to rain? Could I hunt in inclimate weather with the gun. I may not want to if I can find one with the curly maple but it is a consideration.

The breech plug and nipple are open to the weather, it is not a weather proof system. The weather shroud that the gun comes with is not really the best, but I ended up making one out of copper tubing that protects the area fairly well, plus reduces blow back to nothing. (double click the pic to get a bigger version)

What is the difference between the 320 and 420 models? From the website it appears that the only difference is that320s have synthetic stocks and the 420s have the gorgeous wood stocks.

The 320 and the 420 are the smae gun other than stocks. The 420 originally came with both stocks - the synthetic and the wood stock. Both prices sound realy fair to me if you are not hooked on the newer style ML's without a bolt.

Should I be concerned that the company may be going out of business or be sold to another party? Are the guns reliable? Should I buy any common spare parts like a breech plug or firing pin?

I would try to get an extra breech plug or even Randy Wakemans 32 H&R Mag conversion breech plug. I might try to get an spare firing pin spring, I would not be concerned with the firing pin itself. The trigger is a "bold" and that is a separate company - just un-screws from the reciever. My to have really been reliable - once I learned how to set up the bolt. I do not think it will be sold - I am not sure anyone will buy it. The biggest problem in my mine is the loooong bolt which increased the overall length of the gun and affects the balance.

Sorry for so many questions and I appreciate very much your opinion and the opinion of other A&H owners.s

I love questions - do not worry about it - that is what makes good forums like this gooooooo.

Here is a target from one of the A&H's when I was testing some sabots...