Woo! Shooting Guns!

[DownrangeFuture]

Got to go shooting again, (finally) and I did fairly well. I kept most shots from my Mosin in an 8" group at 50yds. Iron sights and that I don't practice with it much meant that was fairly good for me.

The real fun stuff was on the .22-250, .22 LR, and my 7mm-08. I kept all the .22-250 rounds to a 1.5" group at 100yds, and I found my 7mm-08 will shoot 2" groups all day long. Not amazing for most rifles, but good enough for southern deer country. Too many trees to get a much longer shot than 100yds. And the .22LR we all got 6" groups iron sights at 50yds.

I was really excited though, because that's the tightest groups I've ever shot. Considering I've only put maybe 200 rounds through a rifle tops in my life, that was pretty good. (I'm not counting mounted machine guns. I was a beast on the M240B and the .50 caliber mounted machine gun. You use tracer rounds on those though and ignore the sights generally.)

I'm mostly a shotgun and pistol guy. The family wanted to shoot pistols yesterday as well, and I blew a hole in the center of the target at 15 yards with only 22 rounds in 60 seconds with 2 mag swaps. Carrying a pistol for self defense (I truly hope the only thing I ever shoot at is paper), I make it a point to practice. And I shoot about 90% in singles and doubles for clays with the shotgun. I'm somewhere around 80% for triples.

And it bugs my father-in-law to no end that I close my eyes every time I shoot clays. He shoots competition clays and competes at the regional level. I outshoot him all the time. He had a new Benelli that he couldn't hit anything with. Swore up and down the gun was busted. I tried it, loaded 8 rounds and shot 10/10 with it in doubles and triples. First time I heard him cuss, actually. But I guess I just jerk the trigger the same way every time, so when I aim, close my eyes and jerk, it dusts the clays almost every time.

My favorite shot ever was when my father-in-law threw two clays low and fast. I dusted the first one and put the gun down because I thought I couldn't hit it. "You can't hit the second one" my father in law said. So I reshouldered, and took the shot and dusted the far one. It was pushing 100yds for that clay.

That's the day I learned that shot doesn't really spread out all that much actually. My FIL had to explain that one to me. He likes shooting with me, but he has to bring lots of beer so he doesn't get too mad. He hates my "natural eye", he calls it.

Anyway, any other shooters on here with good stories? Or hunting/shooting plans?

For people in the Jacksonville area, Gateway Rifle and Pistol Club (GPRC) is hosting an open entry level IDPA match. Cost is $15 for non-members plus the cost of ammo. Should be a 250 round match and registration starts at 0800. I'm going this weekend.

IDPA (Internation Defensive Pistol Association) does practial pistol competitions all over the world. A practial pistol course is a course designed to simulate real-life defensive senarios. IDPA matches require a defensive handgun, mildy modified (if at all) and a consealable holster you would use for an all day carry. They also require a power factor of over 120,000, but to simplify, any 9mm or up should be fine.

So bring your pea shooter and come on out this Sat! And share stories!

 

[FIZZER6]

That's some darn good scatter-gun shooting! I do recreational clays time to time, usually shoot pretty well for not practicing that.

I have my concealed handgun permit as well and usually carry a Ruger LCP .380 on my person, a Sig P229 (.40S&W) in the tank bag/glove box.

I can brag about 2010's deer hunting season a bit as it was the best shooting I've ever done. I got 3 deer in 2010 with 3 bullets; a 185lb 8pt buck and 2 antlerless. The buck was a 100 yard shot with my .50 cal muzzleloader..absolute Daniel Boone shot with open sights. The other 2 were at 150 and 175 yards with my Winchester 70 .270Win with my own handloaded rounds. I pride myself on one shot kills but last year was perfect shooting, hoping for a repeat this year as I'm almost out of venison! :thumbup:

 

[ChevyFazer]

Sounds like you had fun and im jealous .... but are you refering to the mosin negant? (Sp???) If you are after seeing it on that show top shot ive been dieing to shoot one. I have quite a few guns between me and my dad but mostly all for hunting a semi auto. 243, bolt .243, mossburg 12 ga pump, remington 20 ga youth modle pump (my first gun), charles daily 12ga semi for trap, a hi point 9mm, a super red hawk .44 and a .22 rifle and a little omega. 22 revolver. I love hunting and shootin for fun I really want to get a some sort of ar based assult rifle to play around with but id say that the best shot ive ever made was one evening about 7:30 while I was hunting, I remember getting to my stand about 3 o'clock ish and about a hour of sitting there I finnaly herd something moving around and it was loud and close, I just knew ot was a deer so I keep looking and waiting for it to show itself and about a hour of waiting later I finnaly saw it.... it was a armadillo so I keep sitting there patiently waiting hoping it would quit making a racket or simply go away but it never did so I began to get aggrevated knowing that with that little sucker sounding like he was trying to tear down the tree he was rooting around there would be no deer coming remotly close so I waited a little longer until it was starting to get dark, I didnt want to disturb anyone elses hunting, so I shouldered my. 243 scoped it up about 50yrds off and about that time something startled it and it took off running so I gave it a little bit of lead and right before I squezed the trigger it jumped (POW) and now I cant see it any more but I still hear leaves rustleing and think to myself dangit i missed. So I get down out of my stand and walk over to where I herd the noise and I saw the back half of it, legs still kicking, sticking out of a hole, that I presumed was his home. So I grabed is tail and drug it out to find the only thing left of its head was part of its bottom jaw so I would say that was my best shot so far

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[Smersh]

Very nice! I'm envious of your grouping. I didnt shoot much in my life, but consider it an essential skill that I'd like get better at, so i go every once in a while to a range. I have a basic 10/22 which I can shoot all day long w/o fatigue to either my ear or my wallet. Recently got a remi 700 .308 - a little more kick

 

[04fizzer]

I love my .22-250 (Rem 700 ADL, got it on sale/closeout). It's great for 'chucks and I'm hoping to get out with it during coyote season. The deer population's taking a pretty big hit lately because of them.

I've got a small collection of guns, a couple are my dad's that he doesn't use anymore, but the rest I bought.

Short list:
Ithaca 20ga single-shot. It has to be manually ****ed before each shot (Dad's)
Remington .22 (I can't remember the exact model, it's a bolt action single-shot made between '39 and '42)
Rem 597 .22
Rem 700 .22-250
Rem 870 Express Super Mag 12ga (with vent rib and rifled deer barrel, and itching for a cantilever barrel)

My parents' house backs up to roughly 10 acres of woods that I bow hunt as well as chase tree rats with my brother-in-law. There's a small clearing where one of the neighbors built a serious tree house about 20 years ago. It's since fallen down, but the fire pit and clearing are still there. This one day, we were out chasing tree rats when one popped up and started running up a tree. I was carrying my dad's 20ga, and without even thinking I shouldered that little scatter gun, ****ed it as I was bringing it up, and wiped out that squirrel before he knew what hit him. He actually landed a good 5' from the tree. I think that was my best ever reaction shot, one that I'll likely never repeat.

 

[DownrangeFuture]

Yep ChevyFazer, I was talking about the Mosin Nagant. It was the rifle the russian military developed in 1942 and used during WWII. Russia could only afford one rifle and it had to be built around the 7.62mmx54mm Rimmed round because England or some country gave them their stock of used dyes for that caliber. The rest of the world had moved to the modern rimless rounds.

They developed one rifle that would serve as their main infantry gun and as their sniper rifle. The only differences between the two are that the sniper rifle had no rear sight, it instead had a mounting for the scope, and the bolt handle was bent instead of straight.

The rifle tends to go at gun shows anywhere from $300 to $2000 dollars depending on if the serials match and if the cleaning rod and bayonette is attached (with it attached the rifle will shoot half inch groups at 100yds), or if it's the full sniper system with a good scope. With matched serials on a full sniper kit, expect to pay upwards of $3k.

The only downside of the rifle is the steel buttplate. Since most soldiers only got 5-10 rounds the butt of the weapon was the major weapon along with the bayonette. That's why it was tuned harmonically to shoot with the bayonette attached. You'd shoot 2-5 rounds and then most likely get shot, then the guy cowering behind you only holding 5 rounds and no gun would pick yours up and keep going. Or he'd get shot running away by his commander. That's the way they fought. :'( 1,000,000 people to throw at germany, and just over 200,000 guns.

Production continued until 1973, but the AK-47 was developed in the 60's and produced en-masse. So production of the Mosin Nagant (which was arguably the better weapon) slowed considerably.



Nice shot on the armadillo. I didn't really start shooting, myself, until I was dating my wife and my father-in-law loved shooting. I had shot a .22 a few times and tried shooting clays once but never hit anything. Once he explaned sight picture on iron sights, ghost sights, and the shotgun bead I've been hitting well ever since.

The first time, he had a .300 Savage that I could shoot. I took two shots at around 50 yds and was wildly off as the second one didn't even hit the backstop on his 40 acres. So he told me how to stand and what the sight picture should look like. I was at least getting close to the clays and other reactive targets he had. So he taught me to take two fast breaths, then take a large breath and hold it for a few seconds and start to breathe out slowly. As you do that start to squeeeeeeeeeeeeze the trigger so slowly that it scares you when it goes off. Then I started nailing everything with 1-2 shots.

So when we went shooting clays one day, he asked me if I had shot a shot gun. A few times at some clays one day, but I never hit anything, I told him. So he explained sight picture on the shot gun and I dusted the first clay. He threw 5 more and I dusted those. And he got upset. I hit everything he threw that day. It was also the day he said I couldn't hit the long one.

I have a Remington 870 Express Magnum, but I don't care for it much. I never shoot well with it. Someone stole my Mossberg 20 Gauge, so I may just buy another one of those or ask which Benelli my FIL has so I can buy that model. I shoot awesome with the FIL's 870, so I don't know what the difference is, other than his is 10 years old. :don'tknow:

I don't have many guns.

Ruger .22-250 with a 3-9x30 power scope.
Stevens Arms (Cheaper Savage guns) 7mm-08 with a Weaver 4x38 scope
Wal-mart brand break action .22LR with a .410 barrel
1943 Mosin Nagant 7.62mmx54R

Remington 870 Express Magnum and I'm buying a rifled slug barrel with a cheap red-dot sight soon. If I don't buy a Benelli first.

Springfield Armory XD .40 S&W
Cobra Arms .38SP S+P hammerless revolver.

I honestly didn't buy any of the rifles. They were gifts from my father-in-law and my wife. I did, however, buy everything else.

 

[Shawn]

That reminds me I need to get out and get ready for this years hunting season. In the past years I have only been getting out for deer and upland.

My gun collection includes
Winchester 300win Mag
Remmington 597 semi-auto .22
Ruger 10/22 semi-auto .22
Traditions .50 cal black powder
Browning citori over-under 12ga

 

[sniff6]

That reminds me I need to get out and get ready for this years hunting season. In the past years I have only been getting out for deer and upland.

Are there any Deer left to kill in America??

 

[ChevyFazer]

Are there any Deer left to kill in America??

Oh ya in many places they are actually over populated due to the lack of any natural predators

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[04fizzer]

Remington 870 Express Magnum and I'm buying a rifled slug barrel with a cheap red-dot sight soon. If I don't buy a Benelli first.

Are you going to get a cantilever barrel, or a saddle mount for the red-dot?

 

[04fizzer]

Oh ya in many places they are actually over populated due to the lack of any natural predators

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It's definitely hit or miss (no pun intended). Some WMU's don't have any doe tags to give out, while others are loaded with them.

 

[Shawn]

We are over run with deer up here in Canada. All the agricultural land makes for good food for them to thrive. There is also a reduced number of people hunting them.

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

Are there any Deer left to kill in America??

We have way too many here in Michigan. Their favorite pastime is kamikazing cars and motorcycles. :thumbdown:

 

[FIZZER6]

Are there any Deer left to kill in America??

You would be surprised. US DOT estimates that more deer are killed every year from vehicle/deer collisions than hunting. They are so overpopulated in much of the east that hunters are allowed to take 2-8 deer per year per hunter!

The Quality Deer Management Association's Whitetail Map Guide

 

[FIZZER6]

You would be surprised. US DOT estimates that more deer are killed every year from vehicle/deer collisions than hunting. They are so overpopulated in much of the east that hunters are allowed to take 2-8 deer per year per hunter!

The Quality Deer Management Association's Whitetail Map Guide

There are plenty of counties in the east where there are 1 deer for every 10 acres of land! Insanity!

 

[DownrangeFuture]

Yeah. They're usually called cities.

I'm not sure which I would do with the red dot sight. Actually, I thought a cantilever system was the only setup.

 

[ChevyFazer]

A couple years back on red top mtn here in ga the deer were so over populated that they were running out of food and becoming diseased so the gov steped in and litteraly had a killing spree to thin them out

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[Sawblade]

Yep ChevyFazer, I was talking about the Mosin Nagant. It was the rifle the russian military developed in 1942 and used during WWII. Russia could only afford one rifle and it had to be built around the 7.62mmx54mm Rimmed round because England or some country gave them their stock of used dyes for that caliber. The rest of the world had moved to the modern rimless rounds.

They developed one rifle that would serve as their main infantry gun and as their sniper rifle. The only differences between the two are that the sniper rifle had no rear sight, it instead had a mounting for the scope, and the bolt handle was bent instead of straight.

The rifle tends to go at gun shows anywhere from $300 to $2000 dollars depending on if the serials match and if the cleaning rod and bayonette is attached (with it attached the rifle will shoot half inch groups at 100yds), or if it's the full sniper system with a good scope. With matched serials on a full sniper kit, expect to pay upwards of $3k.


Production continued until 1973, but the AK-47 was developed in the 60's and produced en-masse. So production of the Mosin Nagant (which was arguably the better weapon) slowed considerably.

Every number mentioned is wrong. :spank:

The 91 in M91/30 is for 1891 which is when the rifle was developed in Belgium.

Right now, they range from $70 a run of the mill WWII surplus rifle (arsenal new, never fired) to $400-450 for a numbers matching sniper variant.

The Finnish M91s are capable of groups that tight, but the Russians usually do good at about 2-3" with bayonet.

Production ceased in 1965.

The AK-47 was fielded in 1947 and was general issued by 1949.

 

[FIZZER6]

A couple years back on red top mtn here in ga the deer were so over populated that they were running out of food and becoming diseased so the gov steped in and litteraly had a killing spree to thin them out

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My inlaws counted 47 deer last month feeding AT ONE TIME in a 50 acre grain field the day after it was harvested here in central VA. :thumbup:

mmmm...deer steak.

 

[Sawblade]

Also, random gun pic.

Myself and my range toy AR-15.