Well, it's been another one of those "busy" Saturdays for me.
First, I went up to Harlan to check out the Fort Wayne Rifle & Revolver Club range. They were having a range cleaning day, so I just wanted to stop in and see what the place was all about. I wasn't really sure what they were cleaning up, because the range looked like it was in pretty damn good shape already. The firing range on the rifle range is elevated a bit, which I kind of like. Their pistol range is also pretty impressive. They have several separate pistol bays, which are all a ways a way from the rifle range. I tend to like a little separation between pistol and rifle ranges, because it's always a little difficult to work on handgun accuracy when someone's 7.62 brass is whizzing past your head. Anyways, I'm not sure if I'll join...but it seemed like a really nice place, and it is pretty close to town.
After that I headed to Gander to pick up some ammo and targets and a few other random things. While I was there I test drove a Nikon Monarch 4-16x. Them things are real nice...I think I'm going to switch my newly acquired Burris 8-32 out for one (or maybe the 5-20, though it doesn't come in MilDot).
So, after doing my shopping, I headed down to Roush to play with my new [STRIKE].308[/STRIKE] .223 (thread). I was slightly apprehensive as this is the first centerfire rifle I've ever owned, one of the few I've shot, and it's a used gun to boot (so I was hoping the barrel was good and all of that).
I started out at 50yds and breathed a sigh of relief as my first shot landed on paper about 6" off the mark. I went through a box of Remington UMC 55gr before I got kicked out by a group of boy scouts (and leaders) that wanted to use my lane. At that point I was ready to move over to a 100yd lane anyway.
At the 100yd lane, I fine tuned the scope a little more, and then settled in. I was using some cheap ass American Eagle 55gr ammo that I picked up at Gander, so I wasn't really expecting to be thrilled. My first few groups were okay...maybe 1.5" to 2" groups or so at 6 rounds a group. Then I decided to get serious and see if I could shoot some decent 3 shot groups. I cranked the scoped up all the way to 32x just for the hell of it. Resolution was okay, but not great...there was definitely some noticeable chromatic aberration at 32x. But probably the most difficult thing to deal with (though fun) was watching my heartbeat bounce the crosshairs. It really makes you realize how important breathing technique can be.
Anyway, below are probably my best groups of the day (and I definitely had plenty of groups that were much worse). I was pretty excited to be able to feel confident in my rifle. I feel like if I do my part, this rifle is up to the task. I'm also a little surprised that I could get decent groups with cheap ammo. Things would surely get better with hand loads or match ammo, but for 100yds, the cheap stuff seems okay. I'm not at all disappointed that I ended up going with a .223. I probably went through 60 rounds or so, and neither my shoulder or my wallet suffered too badly.
First group that I would consider "internet worthy":
Another one that I was pretty happy with. It turns out shooting groups is way easier if you only put 3 shots in a group and not six.
I shot some 9mm pistol too, but after 60+ rounds with the rifle, my concentration was pretty "shot", and I sucked it up pretty bad. Way too many flyers.
All in all, a really fun morning. Now I have to go mow the lawn.
First, I went up to Harlan to check out the Fort Wayne Rifle & Revolver Club range. They were having a range cleaning day, so I just wanted to stop in and see what the place was all about. I wasn't really sure what they were cleaning up, because the range looked like it was in pretty damn good shape already. The firing range on the rifle range is elevated a bit, which I kind of like. Their pistol range is also pretty impressive. They have several separate pistol bays, which are all a ways a way from the rifle range. I tend to like a little separation between pistol and rifle ranges, because it's always a little difficult to work on handgun accuracy when someone's 7.62 brass is whizzing past your head. Anyways, I'm not sure if I'll join...but it seemed like a really nice place, and it is pretty close to town.
After that I headed to Gander to pick up some ammo and targets and a few other random things. While I was there I test drove a Nikon Monarch 4-16x. Them things are real nice...I think I'm going to switch my newly acquired Burris 8-32 out for one (or maybe the 5-20, though it doesn't come in MilDot).
So, after doing my shopping, I headed down to Roush to play with my new [STRIKE].308[/STRIKE] .223 (thread). I was slightly apprehensive as this is the first centerfire rifle I've ever owned, one of the few I've shot, and it's a used gun to boot (so I was hoping the barrel was good and all of that).
I started out at 50yds and breathed a sigh of relief as my first shot landed on paper about 6" off the mark. I went through a box of Remington UMC 55gr before I got kicked out by a group of boy scouts (and leaders) that wanted to use my lane. At that point I was ready to move over to a 100yd lane anyway.
At the 100yd lane, I fine tuned the scope a little more, and then settled in. I was using some cheap ass American Eagle 55gr ammo that I picked up at Gander, so I wasn't really expecting to be thrilled. My first few groups were okay...maybe 1.5" to 2" groups or so at 6 rounds a group. Then I decided to get serious and see if I could shoot some decent 3 shot groups. I cranked the scoped up all the way to 32x just for the hell of it. Resolution was okay, but not great...there was definitely some noticeable chromatic aberration at 32x. But probably the most difficult thing to deal with (though fun) was watching my heartbeat bounce the crosshairs. It really makes you realize how important breathing technique can be.
Anyway, below are probably my best groups of the day (and I definitely had plenty of groups that were much worse). I was pretty excited to be able to feel confident in my rifle. I feel like if I do my part, this rifle is up to the task. I'm also a little surprised that I could get decent groups with cheap ammo. Things would surely get better with hand loads or match ammo, but for 100yds, the cheap stuff seems okay. I'm not at all disappointed that I ended up going with a .223. I probably went through 60 rounds or so, and neither my shoulder or my wallet suffered too badly.
First group that I would consider "internet worthy":
Another one that I was pretty happy with. It turns out shooting groups is way easier if you only put 3 shots in a group and not six.
I shot some 9mm pistol too, but after 60+ rounds with the rifle, my concentration was pretty "shot", and I sucked it up pretty bad. Way too many flyers.
All in all, a really fun morning. Now I have to go mow the lawn.
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