So I've had this M-38 Swede for quite a few years now. Not too long after I got it I changed out the stock ladder/leaf site for a no drill Mojo aperture sight. Which was a big improvement. But. As I've aged, my eyesight hasn't been like fine wine. The rifle just sat in the safe for years but it still called to me as it's a great piece of history, I like the way it looks and it's very pleasant to shoot.
Thought about how to make it more useful to me and decided I needed an optical sight. I did not want to make any permanent modifications to the rifle though. Found a no drill easy install picatinny base that installs where the leaf sight is with really nothing more to do than drive out a pin to remove what's there. Bad Ace Tactical - google will find it for you. The base was very easy to install and level. I considered a scout scope but decided on a basic red dot. This one is a very basic Bushnell. It's my first red dot. It too was easy to install with the hardware it came with.
Went to the range today to try it out. Took all of five rounds to be dead center at 25 yards. Tested four different rounds - a 130 grain BTSP Sierra Game King that I built a few years back. PPU 139 grain BTSP, S&B 131 grain SP and S&B 140 grain SP. It was cold today so I only shot at 25 yards. Everything I shot went to the same POI but at 25 yards. So who knows how they will act at longer range? I'll go again on a nicer day and see if the rifle prefers one over the others. I seem to recall that a 25 yard zero was pretty close to a 200 yard zero. Does that sound right?
The red dot is going to work. It's a 2 MOA dot and can be turned up pretty dang bright. The targets I had used a red bull and that was not helpful. Finally got smart and put a piece of blue masking tape at the aiming point. Huge difference.
Here's what it looks like now. Don't hate me. Well, if you really want to, go ahead and hate me. I can take it.
Thought about how to make it more useful to me and decided I needed an optical sight. I did not want to make any permanent modifications to the rifle though. Found a no drill easy install picatinny base that installs where the leaf sight is with really nothing more to do than drive out a pin to remove what's there. Bad Ace Tactical - google will find it for you. The base was very easy to install and level. I considered a scout scope but decided on a basic red dot. This one is a very basic Bushnell. It's my first red dot. It too was easy to install with the hardware it came with.
Went to the range today to try it out. Took all of five rounds to be dead center at 25 yards. Tested four different rounds - a 130 grain BTSP Sierra Game King that I built a few years back. PPU 139 grain BTSP, S&B 131 grain SP and S&B 140 grain SP. It was cold today so I only shot at 25 yards. Everything I shot went to the same POI but at 25 yards. So who knows how they will act at longer range? I'll go again on a nicer day and see if the rifle prefers one over the others. I seem to recall that a 25 yard zero was pretty close to a 200 yard zero. Does that sound right?
The red dot is going to work. It's a 2 MOA dot and can be turned up pretty dang bright. The targets I had used a red bull and that was not helpful. Finally got smart and put a piece of blue masking tape at the aiming point. Huge difference.
Here's what it looks like now. Don't hate me. Well, if you really want to, go ahead and hate me. I can take it.
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