Range Day!

[Matt.Cross]

I found a range suitable for break-in today. It's only 100 yards, but it's all I need to get the gun on paper and a few rounds run through it. I sent about 60 rounds downrange today and learned several things:

#1. My shooting sucks, I haven't shot a rifle in several years, and boy did it show.

#2. The rifle on the other hand, is awesome! It is by far a much better shooter than I am.

#3. This baby is some major eye candy at the range, there wasn't one shooter there that didn't stop by my lane and ask or comment about it.

#4. This thing is absolutely a blast to shoot, it's just incredible.

Here's a pic of the lasty 20 rounds I fired:

It (my shooting) definitely needs to improve, but that's why I will be at the range again next weekend.

[SWshooter]

Takes an awful lot of concentration to shoot good 20 rd groups. It's hard enough to shoot good 5 rd groups. I have to admit the more I shoot mine the more I like it. You're going to find yourself spending a lot of money on accessories shortly, if I'm any judge of character anyway.

[Matt.Cross]

Takes an awful lot of concentration to shoot good 20 rd groups. It's hard enough to shoot good 5 rd groups. I have to admit the more I shoot mine the more I like it. You're going to find yourself spending a lot of money on accessories shortly, if I'm any judge of character anyway.

You're an excellent judge of character, a better stock and an enidine recoil arrestor are on the "to buy" list. However, I really believe I'm not doing this gun justice. My breathing control was very erratic, cheek weld inconsistent, was fighting my eye relief, and just generally shooting like a palsy-afflicted geriatric with a stomach full of high-powered coffee. I've got a nice list of things to work on next weekend at the range.

[DNP]

Just wait til I get my gun done and drag it to the range....you're gonna feel like an expert marksman when we compare targets ;D

Glad you had a good time.  I can't wait to get out and shoot.

[Matt.Cross]

Well, I just got done with a thorough gun cleaning session. It's amazing how easily this gun comes apart and goes back together, I didn't even have to consult the manual  :P

[Madhouse]

Matt, was this prone off the bi-pod, or were you on rests?

What ammo did you run through it?

[Matt.Cross]

The range officer was sorta cagey so I didn't ask about shooting prone... This is shooting from a bench with just the bipod. The ammunition is Winchester remanufactured soft-tip in 168 grain.  You can see pictures and buy it here.

Edit: Link fixed. Sorry about that fellas.

[98Z5V]

Despite all the internet hero stories that are everywhere - sub-MOA shooters all over, just ask them - that's good shooting.  You have to look at it in the perspective of "size of the target."  Large animal, one you'd typically need a .308 to make the meat hit the floor, most of those shots are coming into a 2" x 3" area, roughly.  At 100 yards, you're definitely pretty close to hitting exactly what you're aiming at, as far as where you intend to put the rounds.  Are they effective?  You bet they are.  If you were going for a "right behind the shoulder" shot on a big deer, would he go down?  Yup. 

Scoop up some match grade 168 grain - something made more for accuracy shooting than hunting - and those groups would tighten up more, with the same exact shooting technique.  For re-man 168 soft points, that ain't bad at all, man.

Good stuff.  :D

[Matt.Cross]

Thanks for helping me gain some perspective.  :)

That is a 2 x 2 diamond and I am only 60 rounds into my break-in. Having benefitted a lot from just calming down and examining my shooting objectively, I'm pretty sure that my shooting will tighten up a lot with better breathing control, getting my eye relief set to my natural cheek rest, and focusing on more consistent trigger pull ( I'm bad to jerk). I had enough 1-hole groups in the preceeding 40 rounds to this target to convince me that the rifle will put them where I want them if I do things correctly. I was very excited, nervous, anxious (cagey range officer) and a little bit pressed for time. I admit that I harbored fond hopes of 1-hole groups throughout the shoot, and that's unrealistic period. I will purchase some match ammo right away once I've completed break-in. I simply purchased 200 rounds of warranty-friendly ammo for the break-in so I could get it over with and start figuring out what the gun really likes. Research online had shown that from 100-500 yds the gun seems to favor 168gr rounds, and since the bulk ammo matched that specification, I figured on reasonable accuracy from it once the barrel settled in.

The gun really amazed me, I simply had my reticle squared, didn't get to bore-sight it, and yet my first shot was on paper at about 6" high and left. The high didn't really suprise me, given that my scope mount has 10MOA built into it, and the windage difference was easy to fix. At about 25 rounds into break-in the AR was hitting at POA (take into consideration I was not breathing right, jerking, etc) and the ugly target was all down to me.

It was a really fun range day overall, the weather was beautiful, the breeze was VERY light, and it was sunny with a little cloud cover. There were some really nice high points to the day too, like where an ex-mil dude came walking onto the firing line with a real-life SOPMOD SPR (complete w/ suppressor  ;D ) and we got to chitchat for a bit. When asked how he managed to haul it away without getting busted, he simply grinned and said "I knew some people!"... LOL

[Madhouse]

I'm jealous that you go to shoot yours!  I've had mine since 01/05 and haven't taken it to the range yet.

:P

[PantherPlayer]

sounds like a personal problem to me madhouse.....get out there!!!

[98Z5V]

sounds like a personal problem to me madhouse.....get out there!!!

HAHA!!!  <munch>

Matt, check out this thread here, about targets.  Look at the different ammo I put through my 5.56 precision gun, and the different groupings each load performed.  Same gun, same shooting style, yet radically different groupings for it depending on the ammo used.  It's a 3+ MOA gun, and a sub-MOA gun, depending on the ammo.  Shooting style/technique didn't change a bit. 

http://308forum.com/index.php?topic=116.0

You're doing good, man - don't sweat it.  ;D

[Madhouse]

sounds like a personal problem to me madhouse.....get out there!!!

LOL!  If the weather cooperates, this weekend is the weekend.

[SWshooter]

One thing I noticed with mine, it seems to put everything to the same poi. I've shot 150's,165's,180's, and 190's and they would probably all stay in a 6" circle at 100 yds. I shot a 10 shot group with 180 gr Horn. SP today at a fairly quick pace and the group was 3.3" extreme spread. That's plenty good enough for 300 yd white tail hunting. I picked up a box of Nosler 168 gr match HP today and I'm hoping for some better groups than I've been getting with hunting bullets.

[Matt.Cross]

I'm counting the hours till Saturday and I can go back to the range. I've been putting some ideas together for a sandbag rest for my stock, using PE plastic beads instead of sand or something equally heavy. I found a bunch of sites where guys had successfully put them together with beans or rice, and I figured plastic pellets would never decay or be affected by moisture. Since I have access to more plastic beads than you can possibly imagine, this means I could manufacture several rests for myself in a nice variety of sizes. I think I'll post some pics once I have built and tested a couple...

[SWshooter]

You can't have too many bags in too many sizes. The plastic pellets sound good if they're not too hard. Ideally the bag should be firm but resilient. Lead shot is too hard, fine white sand is better. Whatever Caldwell uses is very good, I never opened one up to find out what they use.

[Matt.Cross]

They feel hard to the touch, but if you bite them they flatten immediately. They're definitely less hard than dried beans, which is what some others have used quite successfully.

[Matt.Cross]

Yay, had another range day today. Some pics & more details will come later, but I gotta say, I'm beginning to live for Saturdays!!! <thumbsup>

[Madhouse]

I went shooting Friday after work, took my Sig 522 and ran 150 rounds through it.

Shot the LR-308 today.

Tomorrow is pistols day.

<thumbsup> <thumbsup>

[Matt.Cross]

Well, it looks like brighter days are coming! I talked to a gentleman with a private range this evening (50 yards) and he told me I could shoot in the evenings if I want to, just call first... and then another fella told me that his neighbor has a 100 yard range and wants to set up a 200 yard berm and that he would be extremely likely to let me shoot and work for permission to shoot anytime.  <thumbsup> So today turned out to be a really good day for my shooting possibilities, I may soon have a 200 yard range to shoot @ free of charge. Score another one for responsible gun owners!!!

[imschur]

Thats great  <thumbsup>

[Matt.Cross]

Yay, had another range day today. Some pics & more details will come later, but I gotta say, I'm beginning to live for Saturdays!!! <thumbsup>

As promised here are some pics from Saturday, my shooting is a lot less shaky now, but I'm still pulling some of my shots.... I shot 4 rounds per group, one per diamond. My other target is one we will not discuss right now,  <laughs>  Oh and one nice picture of my lil' buddy camping out on the range!

[img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796702020.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701772.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701473.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701136.jpg

[img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796700733.jpg

[Madhouse]

Nice work Matt!!    <thumbsup>

[98Z5V]

Matt, are you inhaling or exhaling while you're taking a shot?  That first target pic above ^^^, that direct straight up-and-down stringing is a classic example of firing at different points in the respiratory cycle.  Sight picture is the same, sight alignment is the same, trigger squeeze is the same in each shot - You can see that by how far left-to-right the shot group is.  That up and down stuff is all breathing.    <thumbsup>

[Matt.Cross]

Well, awesome you should notice... LOL

My breathing was what I was trying to get worked out... I was trying to squeeze the shot off at the bottom of a soft, slow exhale, and that seemed to work the best, but you are exactly right. I wasn't as shaky this time around and had a very stable shooting stance (rear bags & bipod as seen in the pic) so the main thing was trying to get my breathing right. I'm getting to where I can focus a little better and trying to rid myself of the habit of flinching at a shot somewhere else on the line. I also wanted to try to shoot fewer shots per group to try and determine what all I'm doing (good and bad) that is affecting my shots. I did have 2 or 3 other 1-hole 2&3 shot groups that I was extremely happy about, but I would follow them with a really poor last 1-2 shots, so I didn't show my other target  from the day because it's downright embarrassing, LOL. All told, it was a terrific day to be outside, I got another 40 rounds downrange, I'm halfway through my break-in and getting better with every range session. I'm pretty excited at the prospect of running out of break-in ammo and finally feeding the beast some match-grade stuff.