Geezerbiker
New member
A friend of mine invited me to shoot at his small ranch and I finally got over there today. We talked too long and traded some reloading supplies before we got shooting. It was already late in the day and getting cloudy and cold. It was almost hard to imagine that it was 111 degrees here only a few days ago...
I wasn't very prepared so I only took 2 rifles and one handgun. We didn't get around to shooting the handgun. His shooting bench is on a deck over looking a 100 yard range with a large artificial berm. The bench is built for a much shorter man than I and I forgot to bring my bi-pod. I was uncomfortable and having a hard time getting a good sight picture but I did pretty well with both rifles.
I really wish I hadn't forgotten my bi-pod. It would have helped me sort out the operator error from what the rifles can do. Well, next time...
First off was my .22 K-Hornet. Before today there was only one test round down the barrel by the gunsmith that worked on it. The rifle was on paper to start with but I had to adjust the elevation around 60 clicks and 40 on windage. It wasn't long before I was getting a 1/2" group even with me wiggling around trying to get a good sight picture. I expect I'll do better on my next outing with it. With only about 30 rounds down the tube, the barrel is far from broken in. I'm not sure if it was all the sitting position at the bench or me but I was having trouble with eye relief distance at the scope. It felt like the scope should be a little further back but scope bell is all the way back on the front ring and Ruger rings only have one position. Anyway the groups I was getting make me hopeful I can do better. If I ever replace this scope, I'll really need to do my homework to get one long enough...
Next up was the AR15 with the M4 style upper assembly I got on sale from PSA a month or so ago. The 2 to 7x Redfield scope I rolled down hill from another rifle turned out to be perfect for this rifle. Once I dialed it in I was shooting about a 2" group with my elbows rested but still more or less off hand until around 50 rounds when my groups went to hell. I turns out I hadn't tightened the scope mount enough and it shook loose. Not a little loose but almost ready to fall off. I never got around to trying the iron sights and I might just take that clamp on rear sight off and save it for my next AR build.
I think one of my mags has problems. The rounds jammed up and wouldn't feed. After dropping it out, I gave it a light smack on the table top and the rest of the rounds fed OK. Over all for a function test, I'd give this rifle a strong pass... The mags like the rifle are new and it could be they just needed to be cleaned. The other 2 mags full fed OK. I also have a 10 round mag that I was hoping to try but it's hiding somewhere in my gun room and I can't get it to come out.
It's been years since I fired an AR and I forgot how much they shake. I hardly notice the recoil from my .223 single shot but even with a muzzle brake this rifle has way more recoil than I expected. I think I might be feeling the bolt hitting the stops. I don't know if it's normal but it tosses the empties around 10".
Tony
I wasn't very prepared so I only took 2 rifles and one handgun. We didn't get around to shooting the handgun. His shooting bench is on a deck over looking a 100 yard range with a large artificial berm. The bench is built for a much shorter man than I and I forgot to bring my bi-pod. I was uncomfortable and having a hard time getting a good sight picture but I did pretty well with both rifles.
I really wish I hadn't forgotten my bi-pod. It would have helped me sort out the operator error from what the rifles can do. Well, next time...
First off was my .22 K-Hornet. Before today there was only one test round down the barrel by the gunsmith that worked on it. The rifle was on paper to start with but I had to adjust the elevation around 60 clicks and 40 on windage. It wasn't long before I was getting a 1/2" group even with me wiggling around trying to get a good sight picture. I expect I'll do better on my next outing with it. With only about 30 rounds down the tube, the barrel is far from broken in. I'm not sure if it was all the sitting position at the bench or me but I was having trouble with eye relief distance at the scope. It felt like the scope should be a little further back but scope bell is all the way back on the front ring and Ruger rings only have one position. Anyway the groups I was getting make me hopeful I can do better. If I ever replace this scope, I'll really need to do my homework to get one long enough...
Next up was the AR15 with the M4 style upper assembly I got on sale from PSA a month or so ago. The 2 to 7x Redfield scope I rolled down hill from another rifle turned out to be perfect for this rifle. Once I dialed it in I was shooting about a 2" group with my elbows rested but still more or less off hand until around 50 rounds when my groups went to hell. I turns out I hadn't tightened the scope mount enough and it shook loose. Not a little loose but almost ready to fall off. I never got around to trying the iron sights and I might just take that clamp on rear sight off and save it for my next AR build.
I think one of my mags has problems. The rounds jammed up and wouldn't feed. After dropping it out, I gave it a light smack on the table top and the rest of the rounds fed OK. Over all for a function test, I'd give this rifle a strong pass... The mags like the rifle are new and it could be they just needed to be cleaned. The other 2 mags full fed OK. I also have a 10 round mag that I was hoping to try but it's hiding somewhere in my gun room and I can't get it to come out.
It's been years since I fired an AR and I forgot how much they shake. I hardly notice the recoil from my .223 single shot but even with a muzzle brake this rifle has way more recoil than I expected. I think I might be feeling the bolt hitting the stops. I don't know if it's normal but it tosses the empties around 10".
Tony