When things are going right...don't bother wasting ammo!

Met my buddy at the club range yesterday and it was a fine time for me and my two rifles, shooting at 100 yards. First target was using my newest handloads through my Rem 700 Light Varmint Stainless, fluted, .223, using 24 grains of Varget, propelling 55 grain Sierra semi-pointed bullets in new Starline cases. First shot was dead center and the next two just above. Next group used some older mixed brass and there was one flyer, but the other three were touching. Why bother to waste ammo when things were shooting so great?

Next rifle was my re-barrelled 700 ADL, .243 Win, shooting Winchester Deer Season, 95 grain, tipped factory ammo. Two shots in a quarter inch where they should have been for this time of year on coyotes. Again, why waste ammo. It ain't gonna get any better! That rifle used to be a .22-250, but got a Pac-Nor stainless barrel that shoot's pretty darned well.

So great time with my old shooting buddy. Afterwards, I blew off some old reloads on metal targets at 200 meters offhand.

After all that's gone on this month, including 4 non-critical medical appointments last week, this range visit was a breath of fresh air!!! Literally!

Rifles used in yesterday's range visit. [

The .243 Win used to be a .22-250, before having a Maine gunsmith install a Pac-Nor barrel, making it better for grand-kids to hunt with and to dispose of eastern coyotes...for both, it has been excellent.

Coal Dragger said:

OK, nice groups from the bench.

Now actually practice. Get off the bench and hone your skills.

Click to expand...

You missed the comment about shooting at the 200 meter gong offhand, with some older mixed rounds. I've been a really good offhand shot over the years, winning lots of turkey shoots and shooting several running deer and coyotes offhand...including one running deer left-handed.

JD Pinardi said:

Picher, looks like your ready for whatever comes your way!
happy shootin'
JD

Click to expand...

Thanks JD. I've also got a couple of .270s for deer and bigger stuff. The newest one still hasn't gotten a deer, but shot an 860 lb bull moose last year, so I'll consider it "blooded". It's my "good-weather" rifle.

Steve S. said:

As I said on another thread, when your guns do this, it gets boring. Now what are we going to do?

Click to expand...

I've been trying to get my .22 WMR to shoot 1 min. groups at 100 yards, and finally succeeded after finding the ammo it likes, but can't seem to find much of that brand/type. Most brands don't shoot better than 2 min. at 100 yards. If that cartridge wasn't so handy around the homestead, I'd drop it for a small/quiet centerfire like a .218 Bee, but that's a bit of work, so will probably plod along with the WMR for a while.

The other thing that's fun is to shoot are my old rimfire metallic silhouette targets at 40-50 yards offhand with my rimfire rifles and handguns. My B.I.L. passed away and left me his, so have quite a bunch. There's always something to shoot around here.

When saving files, I found a picture of another target shot with the same rifles as the ones above. Apparently, they weren't the only good groups those two rifles have turned-in.

Note on the bottom target group is wrong. Should have been 0.2" instead of .02". DUH!

Offfhand said:

If it get boring you're not shooting far enough.

Click to expand...

That's often true.

We're limited to 200 yards at the club range and I've shot here behind the house up to 430 yards, but the mirage most days here are hell. We shoot over blueberry fields and mirage is terrible on sunny days, except for just after the fields are burned...post harvest. My .270 shot a 2.5" group at 430 yards, but due to the trouble getting targets high enough and getting the portable bench in position to make the longest shot, I haven't repeated the feat.

rpenmanparker said:

It is not a waste of ammo if you like to shoot. Some folks think shooting a rifle at the range is about checking out the zero and then going home. I think it is about blasting stuff. I just like to shoot. I would shoot boxes and boxes of ammo just for fun.

Click to expand...

I usually shoot quite a bit when I go to the range, but I don't waste my best ammo blowing it off, just to shoot. This time, I didn't bring much throw-away ammo, just some very new cases and great-shooting loads. I've been shooting a lot behind the house and am running out of my so-so ammo, but will get to loading again soon, using my older cases, so I won't need to waste the good stuff.