New Toy To Play With.

[bigblue]

RR stated-I can proudly say that I am nowhere as good as I will be, thanks guys!
While that may be true, you are as good at this point as your likely to ever need to be. I'd say you did one heck of a job for a beginner! Your right on the money for most of all the hunting situations your likely to come across. The 150gr. bullets your shooting are fine for deer. If you decided to stay with that weight you could always move to a premium bullet like the Barnes and it would suffice for most any hunting you'll do.
Good job!
Don

[Rookie_Rover]

Thanks Don!

I know that throwing groups like that would put a deer down, but I still want to make sure that I can be consistant.

Also, I am going to do something a little stupid. One of these upcoming days, I am going to do a little sweatin'! I am going suit up in full camo, like I would while hunting, and see what I need to change (Such as the recoil pad, will it make the pull to long with my camo on, will the sling be a help or a hinderance, etc.)

I want this upcoming season to go well with no unexpected last minute changes if I can make thta happen. (Yes, I know I am taking all the fun out, but it is my nature to be a party pooper, I don't want to put a poor shot on an animal just because I didn't know how my gun would shoot with me wearing what I would on a hunt.)

[DocHolladay]

Dont worry about the sling...You will use it and hate not having it when having to drag a deer out and tote a rifle too.

Your group is look good, but I would suggest taking a break for a few days to give your shoulder a rest. A hurt shoulder only makes you shoot bad because you know the pain is coming with every shot. Now that you are on the paper at 100yds., I would start concentrating on getting the accuracy. Try different loads to see what each one will do. As long as the paper is big enough you dont have to worry about readjusting the scope until you find one the rifle likes. Just make sure that you aim at the same spot with each shot, no matter where you hit, and go with the ammo that has the tightest group. Once you have the tightest group, then you can dial it in. I would also suggest sighting in with the scope set on 9 power at 100yds, helps you see the center(just in case you havent).

[Rookie_Rover]

Oh I agree on every part. After having fired it 60 times yesterday, I woke this morning with a sore and stiff shoulder. I will NOT be doing any shooting any for several days.

I had my scope set on power 9, otherwise just my own heartbeat would move my crosshairs off the paper!

Soon, I am going to be putting some different ammo down this one, and start working on finding ammo that is making great groups at 100. For you guys, I'll post the report once I get it. (Don't look for it for several days, up to a couple three weeks.)

[bigblue]

rookierover said:

One of these upcoming days, I am going to do a little sweatin'! I am going suit up in full camo, like I would while hunting, and see what I need to change (Such as the recoil pad, will it make the pull to long with my camo on, will the sling be a help or a hinderance, etc.)

I want this upcoming season to go well with no unexpected last minute changes if I can make thta happen. (Yes, I know I am taking all the fun out, but it is my nature to be a party pooper, I don't want to put a poor shot on an animal just because I didn't know how my gun would shoot with me wearing what I would on a hunt.)

RR,
We all do the same thing, it's called off season. We try to take up our time worrying about what else we can do to make the upcoming season perfect, or at least as close to perfect as possible.
As for the sling, definitely get one. If for nothing else it comes in real handy carrying your rifle. After a few hours that 8lb. rifle starts to weight 20lbs. When I get a chance to shoot, I always look around for a rest if possible, sometimes it's not. Shooting from a bench is easy compared to standing and trying to steady a rifle with no rest. The sling also comes in handy for that. If you adjust it just right, you can stick your arm through it and reach up and hold the rifle's forearm with the sling tight against your arm. It locks the rifle in nice and steady. Make sure you get enough practice off the bench, especially for closer shots. You usually have enough time to get set when the target is far away, it's the close shots that come up quick. Another little item that can drive you crazy when you spot a deer is the scope setting. The first deer I ever took was only about 35 yards away. It took me by complete surprise. I held the rifle up and my scope was set so high that all I could see was fur. I didn't know if I was looking at it's neck or tail. Now I keep the scope set at it's lowest setting with a variable scope. If the critter is a ways off I figure I'll have the time to set the scope setting higher.
Don

[DocHolladay]

bigblue said:

Now I keep the scope set at it's lowest setting with a variable scope. If the critter is a ways off I figure I'll have the time to set the scope setting higher.
Don

I have my variable scope set on 4x at all times, unless I know it is going to be a long shot, then I turn it up. It is nice to know that you can make the kill and not have to worry about turning the scope down and having the animal run off before you can reshoulder it.

[DocHolladay]

See if you can find these big dog...Should help the shoulder out.... A friend showed me these.... www.winchester.com/products/catalog/cfrdetail.aspx?symbol=X30062&cart=MzAtMDYgU3ByaW5nZmllbGQ=

[Rookie_Rover]

I'll look for those Doc, unfortunately, for the next couple days, my ammo budget is spent. I picked up 5 more boxes of 150s.

At this rate, I'll be able to loadout a war party in a few weeks. Maybe I'll load up a crew and take 'em to The Mexy border to thin out the fence cutters. ;D