Target Sports

RIFLE REVIEW: OUTSTANDING ACCURACY

Created on 14th May 2009

VINCE BOTTOMLEY tests out the Cooper Varminter in .204 Ruger - and gets a very surprising three-shot result

WE HAD a look at Cooper rifles a couple of years ago, when Fox Firearms of Manchester first started importing them. At that time, a good portion of my review was taken up with a potted history of the Cooper company so I don't intend to repeat it here, save to say that after one or two changes of ownership, the company has now stabilised and is reliably producing some fine rifles under the leadership of the founder, Dan Cooper. Although exceptional accuracy is Cooper's objective, its rifles are not built for the target shooter but the hunter - by far the bigger market in the US. The rifles are offered in an impressive array of chamberings designed to appeal to the American ‘varmint' shooter. In other words, the company is dealing with the smaller end of the vast range of cartridges now available, though it has recently branched-out with its Model 52 rifle which caters for larger cartridges based on the 30-06 case.

The hunter market is very competitive and if you are ever fortunate enough to visit America, you will be shocked to see how little a basic Remington 700 sells for in Walmart. So, to survive and sell rifles at considerably greater cost than the ‘big four', the Cooper needs to be a bit special. Make that a lot special.

Target shooters get behind their rifles and blaze away at paper, then put the rifle in a box and chuck it in the car. By contrast, hunters take their rifles for a long walk and occasionally take a shot - if they are lucky. The target shooter is happy with a rifle as heavy as the rules and regulations will allow; the hunter, by contrast, is obsessed with lightness.

Cooper's first task therefore was to build a light rifle. This was accomplished by scaling everything down as much as possible without compromising accuracy. This means that although the miniature receiver lacks bulk, it maintains stiffness by having a solid bottom. Whereas target shooters go for stocks of fibreglass and plastic, hunters like natural wood. In spite of the fact that such stocks often cause bedding problems, wood is light and it looks good. So, objective number two is to select a nice piece of well-seasoned walnut. Finally, if it's going to shoot, we need a top-notch barrel - it doesn't need to be heavy but it must be of benchrest standard in all other respects.

It's obvious that working to these parameters isn't going to be cheap and Remington for example wants around £2,000 for its 40X ‘custom-shop' rifles. Frankly, I'm amazed that Fox Firearms can bring these rifles across the pond and sell them for under £1,200.

The name ‘Varminter' confirms that this rifle is aimed squarely at the American varmint shooter market - a sport which involves wiping out small animals at extreme ranges. This is not hunting in the normal sense but more shooting at live targets rather than cardboard ones. We don't tend to do that over here but we do like small calibre accurate ‘field' rifles for foxing and vermin control. Let's take the Cooper apart and see what makes it special.

The solid-bottom receiver is just 1.15" in diameter, compared to around 1.35" for a Remington or Savage, but the slim three-lug bolt allows the receiver wall to be of similar thickness, thus maintaining stiffness. The barrel is of reasonable profile for our tiny 204 Ruger cartridge, tapering from an inch at the breech to 0.77" at the muzzle. The bedding is confined to the area of the front receiver ring and recoil lug and frankly, by any standard, it's poor - full of air-holes and I would have expected better from Cooper. The Cooper trigger looks exceedingly well-made and works well but I'm amazed that Cooper doesn't simply source a trigger from one of the many American manufacturers. But then again, competition triggers are expensive and can be finicky to adjust, whereas the Cooper is designed for owner-adjustment.

The walnut stock is well-finished inside and out with crisp chequering around the wrist area. The front action-screw is supported by a largish ‘button' which helps spread the load but there is no attempt to provide bedding pillars. The bore scope reveals a well-cut chamber free of machining marks and the internal finish of the barrel is what I would call match grade.

Our test rifle is chambered in 204 Ruger. This is not a favourite cartridge of mine but that's what a customer has ordered and I am privileged to have a play with it before he takes delivery. The ugly bolt-knob is not Cooper, neither is the screw-cut muzzle, but Fox Firearms are able to supply these and other add-ons ‘in-house' if the customer requires it.

I have also been given a Hakko scope in 8-32 magnification and I first need to mount this, bore-sight and zero the Cooper. The Hakko scope is made in Japan and should not be confused with some of the Chinese stuff we have talked about. Brian Fox sourced the Hakkos at IWA, with the intention of offering a high-magnification target scope at reasonable cost and with good optics. Price-wise, at £375, it falls nicely between the entry-level Chinese ones and the top-end Leupolds. This one comes with side-focus, fine reticle and 30mm body-tube, so it should have plenty of adjustment, though today our testing is confined to 100yd.

Brian Fox generously threw in a 20 round box of Hornady ammunition loaded with the 32gn V Max bullet, so I can at least zero the scope and shoot a few groups. My first three or four rounds soon had the Cooper grouping close to the centre of the target and I had enough ammo left for three five-shot groups. The best of these measured 0.59", with the other two slightly larger. I must confess I was expecting better but off a bipod and without wind-flags this is not too bad.

The trigger? I never even noticed it so it must be good - there's no creep, and a crisp let-off. We'll measure the pull-weight later. As you would expect, the Cooper action cycled smoothly throughout, with no extraction or ejection problems from the Sako-style extractor, and is spring-loaded, with a bolt-face plunger-ejector.

My shooting buddy Dave Wylde of South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies has some experience with this cartridge and kindly gave me a box of Berger 40gn boat-tail bullets. I also managed to blag a set of Hornady dies so could put some rounds together and see what this rifle is really capable of.

A week later I was back in Diggle's covered firing-point on a ridiculously cold, wet September day and fiddling about weighing powder-charges was just too much trouble. The task was made easier with the Smart Reloader electronic scales I have on test from Henry Krank. These scales are great value (£36) and if you cover them with a plastic food container and make a hole in the top for your powder-funnel, it's possible to weigh on the point in a veritable gale!

I had absolutely no idea where to start with powder. Here's where the internet came in really handy. I soon found plenty of data for the .204 and fortunately for a powder I had on the shelf, namely Hodgdon's Benchmark. This is a fast powder designed for small cartridges and the recommended load is around 27gn with a 32gn bullet. I was using a 40-grainer, so I played safe and started off with 25gn.

Cooper guarantees half MOA three-shot accuracy with this rifle using commercial ammunition and a test target is included with every rifle. The Cooper would generally shoot under half an inch with three shots but not five so let's see if we can improve things with our hand-loads.

I loaded up five rounds but the first two shots were wasted adjusting the impact point, which was slightly lower than my zero with the factory ammunition. I used the remaining three rounds to shoot a group to see if the load was anywhere near. Again, I shot off a Harris bipod on a concrete bench, but I hoped that with a low-recoiling cartridge and a back-bag, I might get away with it.

Shot one was just to the left of the bull on my test target. I had no wind flags and a significant breeze was now fanning the range. I squeezed off shot two but there was still only one hole in my target. Puzzling. When I fired the third shot, it still looked like one hole! Could there really be three shots in that group? Surely not - not off a bipod on such a horrible day.

At the first opportunity, I retrieved the target and you can see it reproduced here. Quite remarkable. But three-shot groups test loads, five-shot groups test rifles, so I loaded a few more to make sure this wasn't a fluke. Thankfully, all my five-shot groups were below half an inch and all had at least three shots touching, so this is one accurate rifle. This gun could be really good with some load-development, decent brass, a good clean and a proper benchrest set-up.

If you went to one of our top gunsmiths and spec'd a custom field-rifle built to shoot like this Cooper, I doubt that you would have any change out of £3,000. Yes, you would have a properly pillar-bedded bespoke rifle built without compromise but I doubt it would give you better accuracy. With the money you save, you could buy one of those really nice Swarovski scopes in say 6-24 which would perfectly compliment this fine rifle. In fact, you could buy two!

Finally, thanks to Fox Firearms and the new owner for making this rifle available for review. The price of the model on test is £1,188 and if you are interested in a Cooper the choice is vast. It would be best to visit the Cooper website at www.cooperfirearms.com, pick your model and chambering and then give Brian Fox a ring on 0161 430 8278.

Technical Specification

Manufacturer: Cooper Arms, Montana USA
Type: Single-shot bolt-action (left hand available)
Chambering: .204 Ruger but many others available
Barrel: 24" stainless steel, free-floating. 1 in 12 twist
Stock: Claro walnut with chequered wrist and rubber butt-pad
Weight bare: 7.2lb
Overall length: 44"
Trigger: Single stage adjustable, set to 2lb
Sights: None - 8-32 Hakko scope used in test

Contact: Fox Firearms
T: 0161 430 8278

RIFLE REVIEW: OUTSTANDING ACCURACY

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