Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
I have not had much chance to get to the range in the last few months, which has been frustrating since I had my cataract surgery on both eyes at the end of January and the beginning of February. Prior to that, I wore glasses with lenses as thick as the bottom of coke bottles, and could not see clearly past the end of my nose without my glasses on. Even with my glasses, I could not focus on a target much beyond 50 feet or so because the lenses in my eyes were starting to get opaque.
After my cataract surgery I can see 20/20 in my right eye, and about 20/30 in my left. A very minor correction in my new glasses brings the vision in my left eye to about 20/20, there is no correction for my right eye. Because cataract surgery replaces the natural lens in the eye with a rigid plastic one, I cannot focus much closer than 3 feet now. I had the choice of getting lenses for 'distance', 'mid-range' or 'close up'. I chose distance, because I knew I would probably need glasses when I was all done anyway. No problem, I have been wearing glasses since I was six years old. So my new glasses have progressive lenses for reading and other close up stuff. Again no problem, I have been wearing progressive lenses for many years.
Enough medical stuff.
So today I took five Rimfire rifles to the range with me to see how well I could do with my 'new eyes'.
I don't have a photo of my CZ Model 455 with its 4X-16X scope. Need to correct that. I put a bipod on it that I am not completely happy with. I will probably want to replace the bipod. It is a very accurate rifle.
My Marlin Model 39A was one of the 22s I took to the range today.
This Remington Model 341P Sportmaster from the late 1930s came too. I found this rifle in a local shop a few years ago. A really nice bolt action rifle with a real nice peep sight.
This is not the Winchester Model 61 that came today, I have another one with a real nice scope on it. No photo yet though.
This terrific old 22 Long Rifle Winchester Model 1890 from 1928 rounded out the rifles I took to the range today.
I set up some targets at 25 yards. First I was just doing some sighting in. I had already zeroed the CZ 455 at 50 yards when I first got it. It did not take much adjustment to zero it in at 25 yards. I am not happy with the bipod, it is not as rigid as it should be, but as I said I will probably be replacing it. With my new eyes I took my glasses off. I can see perfectly with the scope dialed to 16X, don't need any glasses at all. I had trouble keeping my groups tight because the darn bipod wobbles. (I might have been wobbling too.) That rifle is a tack driver.
Next I sighted in the pump action Winchester Model 61. I'm ashamed to say I had never actually fired it before today. I put a real nice scope on it, 3X-9X before I ever fired it. It really is silly putting a scope on an old pump like that, and I am considering taking the scope off and going with the iron sights that came with it. Never having been shot before it took me a while to zero it at 25 yards, but eventually I did. I am actually not pleased with the trigger, it is quite stiff. Still trying to decide if I want to take off the scope.
The Remington Model 341P has a hooded post for the front sight, and a small peep sight for the rear. I did very well with it, but it was shooting low. I forgot to bring any screwdrivers with me, so I could not adjust the peep for elevation.
Next I got out the Marlin. This is where it got interesting. This is the Full Buckhorn rear sight on my Marlin 39A.
This is the front sight.
I cannot focus closer than about 3 feet now with my new eyes. The progressive bifocals are not set up to be shooting through them. So the target at 25 yards was crystal clear, the front sight was slightly blurry, and the rear sight was a complete blur. Be patient with me you guys who have been able to see like an eagle since you were a kid, this is all new to me. I knew there would be an issue with this, so I brought along some inexpensive 'readers'. With a .5 diopter reader, my front sight was crystal clear, the target was almost crystal clear, and the rear sight was not quite as blurry. I have some other inexpensive readers to try, but I was using the .5 today. That rear sight is tough to use when it is blurry. I was nesting the bead of the front sight in the blurry little divot just above the white diamond in the rear sight. That was the best I could do. I did pretty well with that combination.
No, I am not going to show any of my targets, take it from me that I did pretty well.
Finally I brought the old Winchester Model 1890 to the bench. This is it's front sight.
This is the rear sight of the old Model 1890.
This is another view of the rear sight of the Winchester Model 1890. It is just a shallow V.
I did the best I could. Like the Marlin, with the 'readers' the front sight was crystal clear, the target was almost crystal clear, the rear sight was blurry. But the shallow V of the Winchester rear sight was a bit easier to use than the full buckhorn rear sight of the Marlin. I was amazed how well I did with the 1890. My first group of 5 shots were very tight except for one flyer. No, sorry I did not take any photos of any of my targets, but I was really impressed with how well my new eyes did with the old Winchester.
So after punching paper for an hour or so it was time to have some fun. I set up some of my favorite targets, empty soup cans, on the 50 yard berm. The CZ with its scope set at 16X was way too easy. I just held on the bottom of each can and they went flying. I only fired about 5 shots out of the CZ at the soup cans, it was too easy.
With open sights I had done the best with the Winchester 1890, so I loaded up five rounds in the magazine. Just being able to see a soup can 50 yards away is a new experience for me. I did not hit a can with every shot, I must have eventually fired around 50 shots at soup cans with the old Winchester. No, I did not send one flying with every shot, but I was kicking them around respectfully, and having a great time. These old gallery rifles were standard in shooting galleries for years. Goodness only knows how many thousands of rounds have gone through this one in all those years. The bore is not perfect, but I was shooting like Annie Oakley with my old Model 1890 today.
Well, maybe not quite as good as Annie, but I sure had fun.
I have not had much chance to get to the range in the last few months, which has been frustrating since I had my cataract surgery on both eyes at the end of January and the beginning of February. Prior to that, I wore glasses with lenses as thick as the bottom of coke bottles, and could not see clearly past the end of my nose without my glasses on. Even with my glasses, I could not focus on a target much beyond 50 feet or so because the lenses in my eyes were starting to get opaque.
After my cataract surgery I can see 20/20 in my right eye, and about 20/30 in my left. A very minor correction in my new glasses brings the vision in my left eye to about 20/20, there is no correction for my right eye. Because cataract surgery replaces the natural lens in the eye with a rigid plastic one, I cannot focus much closer than 3 feet now. I had the choice of getting lenses for 'distance', 'mid-range' or 'close up'. I chose distance, because I knew I would probably need glasses when I was all done anyway. No problem, I have been wearing glasses since I was six years old. So my new glasses have progressive lenses for reading and other close up stuff. Again no problem, I have been wearing progressive lenses for many years.
Enough medical stuff.
So today I took five Rimfire rifles to the range with me to see how well I could do with my 'new eyes'.
I don't have a photo of my CZ Model 455 with its 4X-16X scope. Need to correct that. I put a bipod on it that I am not completely happy with. I will probably want to replace the bipod. It is a very accurate rifle.
My Marlin Model 39A was one of the 22s I took to the range today.
This Remington Model 341P Sportmaster from the late 1930s came too. I found this rifle in a local shop a few years ago. A really nice bolt action rifle with a real nice peep sight.
This is not the Winchester Model 61 that came today, I have another one with a real nice scope on it. No photo yet though.
This terrific old 22 Long Rifle Winchester Model 1890 from 1928 rounded out the rifles I took to the range today.
I set up some targets at 25 yards. First I was just doing some sighting in. I had already zeroed the CZ 455 at 50 yards when I first got it. It did not take much adjustment to zero it in at 25 yards. I am not happy with the bipod, it is not as rigid as it should be, but as I said I will probably be replacing it. With my new eyes I took my glasses off. I can see perfectly with the scope dialed to 16X, don't need any glasses at all. I had trouble keeping my groups tight because the darn bipod wobbles. (I might have been wobbling too.) That rifle is a tack driver.
Next I sighted in the pump action Winchester Model 61. I'm ashamed to say I had never actually fired it before today. I put a real nice scope on it, 3X-9X before I ever fired it. It really is silly putting a scope on an old pump like that, and I am considering taking the scope off and going with the iron sights that came with it. Never having been shot before it took me a while to zero it at 25 yards, but eventually I did. I am actually not pleased with the trigger, it is quite stiff. Still trying to decide if I want to take off the scope.
The Remington Model 341P has a hooded post for the front sight, and a small peep sight for the rear. I did very well with it, but it was shooting low. I forgot to bring any screwdrivers with me, so I could not adjust the peep for elevation.
Next I got out the Marlin. This is where it got interesting. This is the Full Buckhorn rear sight on my Marlin 39A.
This is the front sight.
I cannot focus closer than about 3 feet now with my new eyes. The progressive bifocals are not set up to be shooting through them. So the target at 25 yards was crystal clear, the front sight was slightly blurry, and the rear sight was a complete blur. Be patient with me you guys who have been able to see like an eagle since you were a kid, this is all new to me. I knew there would be an issue with this, so I brought along some inexpensive 'readers'. With a .5 diopter reader, my front sight was crystal clear, the target was almost crystal clear, and the rear sight was not quite as blurry. I have some other inexpensive readers to try, but I was using the .5 today. That rear sight is tough to use when it is blurry. I was nesting the bead of the front sight in the blurry little divot just above the white diamond in the rear sight. That was the best I could do. I did pretty well with that combination.
No, I am not going to show any of my targets, take it from me that I did pretty well.
Finally I brought the old Winchester Model 1890 to the bench. This is it's front sight.
This is the rear sight of the old Model 1890.
This is another view of the rear sight of the Winchester Model 1890. It is just a shallow V.
I did the best I could. Like the Marlin, with the 'readers' the front sight was crystal clear, the target was almost crystal clear, the rear sight was blurry. But the shallow V of the Winchester rear sight was a bit easier to use than the full buckhorn rear sight of the Marlin. I was amazed how well I did with the 1890. My first group of 5 shots were very tight except for one flyer. No, sorry I did not take any photos of any of my targets, but I was really impressed with how well my new eyes did with the old Winchester.
So after punching paper for an hour or so it was time to have some fun. I set up some of my favorite targets, empty soup cans, on the 50 yard berm. The CZ with its scope set at 16X was way too easy. I just held on the bottom of each can and they went flying. I only fired about 5 shots out of the CZ at the soup cans, it was too easy.
With open sights I had done the best with the Winchester 1890, so I loaded up five rounds in the magazine. Just being able to see a soup can 50 yards away is a new experience for me. I did not hit a can with every shot, I must have eventually fired around 50 shots at soup cans with the old Winchester. No, I did not send one flying with every shot, but I was kicking them around respectfully, and having a great time. These old gallery rifles were standard in shooting galleries for years. Goodness only knows how many thousands of rounds have gone through this one in all those years. The bore is not perfect, but I was shooting like Annie Oakley with my old Model 1890 today.
Well, maybe not quite as good as Annie, but I sure had fun.
Last edited: