Well, my Dad and I have a hunt coming up - actually, this will be our first hunt ever together and is also the first time my dad has agreed to go hunting in over 20 years. Maybe closer to 25 years. Btw, I'm 37, Dad's 66.
In any case, a very good fishing buddy of my Dad offered to have us come out to his place to do a bit of Piggin' out in Texas. I agreed quickly and spent several weeks dropping hints to my dad that this would be a great vacation for him (he's retired anyway) and besides, mom wants him out of the house for a week anyway.
So I figure that since my dad hasn't shot a rifle of any kind in a couple decades I'd do things right. Break out the old .22 bolt gun that HE gave ME when I was 12... and then borrow a friends 7-08 for Dad to shoot. (Dad recently had nasal surgery and is also on blood thinners - I didn't want him shooting my .350 mag or even the .35 Rem as the loads I have are pretty stout).
So, getting back to the story - Piggin' and gettin' ready. My WIFE says "I haven't shot my XD in a while. Can I go?" Gee, how quick can I say yes? She gets her nightstand gun out and I pack 200 rounds of 9mm in the bag.
We head out to the range - I'm testing a new load for the .350 Mag (H4895 & a Horn 200) and testing a new .357 load (H110 & a Horn 180xtp). Dad's got the 7-08, the wife's got the 9mm. Life's just plain good.
And it gets better.
Dad starts shooting the 7-08 and it shooting an 8" group. At best. Rusty trigger finger so after 8 rounds he puts the gun down and picks up the .22 bolt gun. I'd put a very sweet Leupold VX1 4x on it a while back and he immediately starts putting down a 2" group at 100 yards. That old .22 bolt gun shoots a charm and had taken more than a few bunnies. 50 rounds later he pulls the 7mm-08 back to his cheek and drops 3" groups...Gotta love it. Instant .22 improvement all around.
Another trip or two to the range and old dad will be cutting smooth groups like wayyy old times (as in, the old Army days...).
I pull out my the big .350 and the first load drops into a 1.25" group at 100 yards. I finish off with a best group just under 1" at 100 yards
, clocking that 200gr bullet at 2800fps. I'm not the best rifle shot in the world and I consider 1" to simply be superb for me and my eyes! I call that load good: 58 gr. of H4895 and I get consistent results.
I break out the .357 and sight on my 50 yard target. My first group is a resighter as I had pulled the Holosight off for a thorough cleaning. Second group drops into 2" at 50 yards. I end up with a 4-shot 1" (no joke!) group
with a 5th flier stretching it out to 1.5". I am damn pleased with with a 1" revolver group at 50 yards!
The wife is having a ball, banging away with her XD and just smiling and cutting 4" groups. If she's happy, I'm happy. That's all there is to it!
I find that I have seven extra rounds I just needed to blow off (heck, I wanted the brass...) and sat back to ring the 200 yard gong seven straight times with the big .350.
What a great Saturday! 1" groups and time with both my dad and my wife! (and mom was thrilled to get rid of dad for an afternoon!). If only it could always be this good!
In any case, a very good fishing buddy of my Dad offered to have us come out to his place to do a bit of Piggin' out in Texas. I agreed quickly and spent several weeks dropping hints to my dad that this would be a great vacation for him (he's retired anyway) and besides, mom wants him out of the house for a week anyway.
So I figure that since my dad hasn't shot a rifle of any kind in a couple decades I'd do things right. Break out the old .22 bolt gun that HE gave ME when I was 12... and then borrow a friends 7-08 for Dad to shoot. (Dad recently had nasal surgery and is also on blood thinners - I didn't want him shooting my .350 mag or even the .35 Rem as the loads I have are pretty stout).
So, getting back to the story - Piggin' and gettin' ready. My WIFE says "I haven't shot my XD in a while. Can I go?" Gee, how quick can I say yes? She gets her nightstand gun out and I pack 200 rounds of 9mm in the bag.
We head out to the range - I'm testing a new load for the .350 Mag (H4895 & a Horn 200) and testing a new .357 load (H110 & a Horn 180xtp). Dad's got the 7-08, the wife's got the 9mm. Life's just plain good.
And it gets better.
Dad starts shooting the 7-08 and it shooting an 8" group. At best. Rusty trigger finger so after 8 rounds he puts the gun down and picks up the .22 bolt gun. I'd put a very sweet Leupold VX1 4x on it a while back and he immediately starts putting down a 2" group at 100 yards. That old .22 bolt gun shoots a charm and had taken more than a few bunnies. 50 rounds later he pulls the 7mm-08 back to his cheek and drops 3" groups...Gotta love it. Instant .22 improvement all around.
Another trip or two to the range and old dad will be cutting smooth groups like wayyy old times (as in, the old Army days...).I pull out my the big .350 and the first load drops into a 1.25" group at 100 yards. I finish off with a best group just under 1" at 100 yards
, clocking that 200gr bullet at 2800fps. I'm not the best rifle shot in the world and I consider 1" to simply be superb for me and my eyes! I call that load good: 58 gr. of H4895 and I get consistent results. I break out the .357 and sight on my 50 yard target. My first group is a resighter as I had pulled the Holosight off for a thorough cleaning. Second group drops into 2" at 50 yards. I end up with a 4-shot 1" (no joke!) group
with a 5th flier stretching it out to 1.5". I am damn pleased with with a 1" revolver group at 50 yards!The wife is having a ball, banging away with her XD and just smiling and cutting 4" groups. If she's happy, I'm happy. That's all there is to it!
I find that I have seven extra rounds I just needed to blow off (heck, I wanted the brass...) and sat back to ring the 200 yard gong seven straight times with the big .350.
What a great Saturday! 1" groups and time with both my dad and my wife! (and mom was thrilled to get rid of dad for an afternoon!). If only it could always be this good!
