Went to the range yesterday for a solo 3+ hour informal shooting session...
Loading up: I really like these rifle bags by Voodoo. Rugged and capable of carrying two rifles. Lots of storage/pocket options and well-padded with decent internal restraints. In fact, were you to fill every pouch available you probably wouldn't be able to carry them in a reasonable fashion.
Second rifle with internal divider flipped up
While getting ready I finally decided after 2 years to 'sanitize' the bags and remove all of the extra external carrying straps. You can carry them backpack style etc. I'd like to see Voodoo sell the basic bag and add the straps as a separate option to buy as I don't think most people are interested in them.
Bags and Range box ready to load:
I picked out one of my favorite steel targets. You can tell by how dusty the surface is that its been a while since I've had it out. Made by SRM in Kuna Idaho and I can't say enough good about it. Easy to set up and disassemble. Takes 1X2's as uprights.
Off to the Range. Plan is to sight in the new flip up sights and Red Dot on the as of yet un-shot Hammerli Tac 22, Sight in the Sweet .22 on the yet to be shot Ruger M77/.22Mag and compare accuracy to the Marlin SSV. 22 Mag bought back in 1999 (which has an older model BSA Sweet 22 on it). Lastly, continue to eval the Keltec PMR30 reliability as its come up in recent threads as a point of discussion and I probably haven't shot the gun in over 1.5 years.
The Hammerli was first out of the gate and I had immediate problems with it. I brought one 100 round sleeve of mixed .22's and the gun would not cycle properly. I checked the mixed rounds and found a few Remington Vipers that would cycle the gun but there were maybe 9-12 out of the hundred of those. In the Hammerlis' defense it does have an adjustable gas system to assist with cycling various ammo however, having 4 more guns to shoot I decided to retire it for the day. PS: of the 9 rounds I got on paper the sights seemed centered but was hitting about 6-7 inches low. I'll deal with that another day.
At 25 yards on Paper:
Next was the Marlin SSV in .22 Mag. This gun has always been a reliable tack driver right out of the box. Shooting CCI 40grain JHP it produced the best group of the day and the only group I shot with it.
I then went to the Ruger M77/.22 Mag. I had bore sighted the rifle at home after scoping it and didn't touch any of the turrets.
The results of this group didn't surprise me. The Ruger needs some experimentation with different ammo to see if better results can be attained. I would also say that the Ruger's trigger is a bit stiff. I'm contemplating taking it to my local smith to see if he can do something about that.
Best groups: Ruger on top...Marlin SSV on bottom with the results of a 5 shot group. I think I have the Marlin dialed in for 75 yards.
Before shooting the Ruger M77 I set up the chrono and clocked 1921 FPS as an average. CCI says 1875 FPS for their Maxi Mag 40hr JHP .22Mag. I was going to see what the Marlin was producing for FPS but as luck would have it the battery in the Chrony died.
I suspect it would probably be pushing a few more FPS due to the increased barrel length.
During a cease fire I retired the Chrony because of the battery issue
, changed out the target and moved it to 15 yards to facilitate use of the Keltec PMR30. I haven't shot this gun a lot as it was an impulse purchase 2+ years ago. Until today I had about 150-180 flawless rounds through it. I've been on a couple of recent THR threads were the PMR was being discussed and it does have an established or at least lingering reputation of spotty reliability (cycling).
Today I wanted to continue the shooting to see if my version was prone to this. I was very careful to load the mags as described in the hopes of preventing some cycling issues. At around the point I had 20 rounds loaded in the magazine I had to use CONSIDERABLE force to continue loading. To the point the following was happening. Note the indentation on the case from the rim of a subsequent round I had loaded but then removed to take the picture.
I ran 2, 30 round mags and one 20 round mag through the Keltec PMR30. The 30 rounders were mag dumps...quickly shooting 3-round bursts through one and basically nonstop for the other. The 20 rounder was being shot for accuracy. Only the 20-round mag was shot sitting. I will say that the Keltec's sound signature during the nonstop mag dump is rather...AHEM... impressive. To the point when I finished, I noticed most of the shooters in my proximity were looking to see what I was shooting.
The Keltec ejected the spent cases with AUTHORITY and almost into the next time zone. No failures to feed or eject. That now puts the flawless cycling count for this gun at around 220-250. Not a HUGE number but enough to build some confidence in its reliability. The gun has little recoil but because it's so light you need to force yourself to remember to grab it somewhat firmly because it wants to jump around in your hand. The wide grip (front to back) feels very good in my hand and the fiber optic sights light up like little red and green LED's even in indirect sunlight.
This was the result of the standing, non-stop 30 round mag dump at 15 yards...oddly enough, the results of me sitting and shooting for accuracy weren't much different.
Having now acquired a holster for the PMR30 I'm on the hunt for a red dot (already found a mount) and will see what the results of that will be. I'm warming up to the idea of it as a potential CCW. You have to hold it to understand just how slim and light it is even with 30 rounds on board. Here it is in contrast to a Beretta PX4 Storm Subcompact in .40 S&W.
Although I had more ammo for the Keltec I decided to retire it as well and put it in the range box vice with the action back and mag removed per our range rules.
By about this time I was one of two shooters left on a 30-lane, 100 yard range. We had a quick cease fire so I took the steel plate target out with a range cart and set it up at 50 yards.
Last in today's gun rotation was the Henry in .327Mag. I can't express how happy I was when Henry released this caliber in their lever line up. I have never had a failure to feed event while using it in either .327FM or .32 H&R Mag (although I overwhelmingly run the .327FM's). Looking closely at the picture below you can see the attention to detail Henry puts into their wood to metal margins.
I shot 60 rounds or so standing. The powder coated 120 grainers hit the plate steel target with some authority as it moved it off axis. That's a testament to the .32 caliber's terminal energy as the target and base combined are solid steel and relatively heavy. They were moving in the 1715 FPS range (per my chrony records from previous sessions) out of the 20-inch barrel. One of my favorite guns to shoot and that's saying a lot as I have a fair collection.