Ha.
As Daffy Duck used to say, "It is to laugh." My form was sloppy, and I knew that something more would be needed. You know, things like practice, and a decent rest ... not to mention more ammo & instructions for sighting in the scope.
I detailed the difficulties I had getting ammo here from out of state, so I won't go into that again. However, now I have lots of shiny new rounds. No more excuses.
* * * * *
It's a sunny, mostly clear day, and about 50 degrees. The breeze is very slight, so no weather worries.
I set up a target at 100 yards, and used a plain piece of white paper with a black X in the middle. I fired three shots, following the instructions on the new sighting rest. Adjusted the elevation and left/right knobs on the scope, and tried again. ("Lather, rinse, repeat"?)
The range officer established a pattern of "hot" for 15 minutes, then "cold" for 7 or 8, as needed. This worked out well for me, today, given what I was doing. So after the first 20 shots, I was able to put shots in the right place on the target - at least, vertically. Tomorrow I'll go back and work on the left/right adjustment; you can see from my last three shots that I'm off to the left. I'll also take along binoculars, to better see the target from the line, before adjusting. (I won't discount the possibility that I over-corrected, at some point.) Now that I know how it works, I hope to have the sights zeroed in at 200 yards before I leave, tomorrow.
I will also admit that seeing shots beginning to approach the bullseye brought back the old feeling of joy I used to know, years ago. The only obstacle I couldn't overcome today was in running out of time.
While there, I met a gentleman with a couple of 1924 Mosin Nagant rifles. One was Russian, he said; I've forgotten what the other was, but he said the Russian model consistently shoots low and to the left. He was collecting my empty brass, too, with some glee, claiming that the military shells couldn't be reloaded.
As I said last time, I've never used a scope before purchasing this Weatherby rifle, so sighting it in is a new experience for me. I like it!
(For an eloquent and moving explanation of why we shoot, and who shooters are, please visit Brigid's post "I Am A Shooter" ... she says it far better than I ever will.)
3 comments:
I always had my scope bore sighted at a gun shop and then sighted in with a bench rest.
Lots of things involved in shooting from breath control to squeezing the trigger with the tip of my finger instead of inserting a whole finger inside the trigger guard.
but once I got a rifle sighted in (and sighted always for 200 yards) I could generally shoot a three shot group that could cover wth a quarter
still can with open sights with my .22...but takes practise
Don't take this as "expert" advise but you do know to take a shot with the cross hairs on the bull. Then (after you've missed) put the cross hairs on the bull again and, without moving the rifle, slowly adjust the hairs until they are on the hole you put in the paper. Your next shot should be in (or at least much closer to) the bullseye.
Other than that...practice, practice, practice.
GuyK - the lack of practice is my biggest problem.
Joated - yes, indeed. That is how my rest/vice is set up, but it requires moving the rifle in-between, since it's not designed for shooting. Tomorrow, I'm going to use the range's shooting rest, so that I can shoot, adjust, and shoot again without having to move the rifle. That should get me where I need to be, in short order (he said hopefully).
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