Checking rifles before season

[Native Hunter]

Gun season is still a long way off (November), but I got the bug to check two rifles today and have them ready for season. The way my work varies I thought it would be good to go ahead while I had time, because I may not have time later.

First gun is a moderately heavy 25-06 Remington Stainless Sendero. I have never tried but one bullet in this gun - the one I wanted to shoot - a 115 grain Nosler BT. It didn't take too long to get a 1/2 MOA handload, and that is what I have continued to shoot. It had been a long time since I had given this gun any attention, so I gave the barrel a good scrubbing and even removed the scope and checked the base screw tightness. It was close to being in line when I put it back together - only had to adjust a few clicks.

Second gun is a very light weight TC Icon 308. I also knew what bullet I wanted to shoot in it - a 150 Hornady SST. So, I worked out a load that was giving me about .7 MOA and felt that was excellent for such a light gun. Below are the targets this morning.

I had shot the Icon recently, so only fired one shot at 200 yds. It was still dead on. First pic below shows that one shot. Why waste ammo??



The next target is sighting the Sendero back in at 100 yds. I was right back to my 1/2 inch group but needed to adjust a little Rght. Not surprising since the scope was removed.




This next target is one shot from the Sendero at 200 yds. Just where I want it. Might check one more time later before hunting, but both of these guns are good to go. I do need to work some later with my son's 30-06. I have some brass ordered and will get that one tuned up sometime soon.

 

[OkieKubota]

I usually get our Muzzleloaders out the weekend before Muzzleloader season and check them but I haven't had to change a thing in the past 4 years.

I have killed a coyote and big hog with my rifle back in July so it is good to go and we will check my wifes rifle sometime during the week of muzzleloader while we are off...

 

[Native Hunter]

I usually get our Muzzleloaders out the weekend before Muzzleloader season and check them but I haven't had to change a thing in the past 4 years.

I have killed a coyote and big hog with my rifle back in July so it is good to go and we will check my wifes rifle sometime during the week of muzzleloader while we are off...

That would be a good time to do it.

My muzzleloader should be good to go. I did a lot of work on it late last year. I likely won't shoot it before season.

 

[G3 Ranch]

Nice shooting, I'd say your GTG.

Taking my grandson out tomorrow for some trigger time. Told him earlier this year he would kill his first deer this season. I bought him a savage Axis II youth in 243 a couple weeks back. This will be his first time shooting a hunting caliber...the heat is on papa this season. I'll get some trigger time with my 308, haven't shot it for several years, been using my 7 RM for so long...love the rifle but it's a bit much for where I'm hunting.

 

[Lost Arrow]

Do you guys find it necessary to check your rifles every year. As long as my rifles don't take a big fall I don't check them and I've never had a problem.

 

[Elkaddict]

I check all the rifles I might use. This summer I've got the following dialed in:
7mm-08
7mmSTW
308
7.62x39
6.8
35 Whelen (both auto and pump)
What I use will depend on the stand to be hunted, and my mood. I look forward to the ritual every summer. This year I swapped scopes on a couple rifles so I actually had the need. With trusted scopes, it's rare that point of impact has shifted---but I still check for the confidence it provides. I do need to shoot the muzzle loader the next week or two.

 

[Native Hunter]

I do the same as Elkaddict - check the ones I might want to use.

And, It all depends on just how precise the shooting needs to be. If you are satisfied with hitting a pie plate at 100 yards, that is one thing, but for long range precise shooting, you need to check guns.

Over time you learn an individual gun like you learn an individual person. You know how many shots it takes it to settle in after you scrub the bore - you know whether it shoots better clean or dirty, and you keep track of how many times you have fired it since cleaning - you learn if it is subject to POI shifts from different weather conditions - you learn........................

Is all of that necessary for most typical deer hunting??? NO...................... But, to each his own in what it take to make him happy....

I will say that if you have a wood stocked bolt action with forearm pressure and hunting in varying weather conditions, you really do need to check it and check it often.

 

[G3 Ranch]

Do you guys find it necessary to check your rifles every year. As long as my rifles don't take a big fall I don't check them and I've never had a problem.

I do, usually just one shot is all that's needed, although I have had a loose scope mount & had to adjust. Never enjoyable with a 7 RM & light clothing.

 

[OkieKubota]

Nice shooting, I'd say your GTG.

Taking my grandson out tomorrow for some trigger time. Told him earlier this year he would kill his first deer this season. I bought him a savage Axis II youth in 243 a couple weeks back. This will be his first time shooting a hunting caliber...the heat is on papa this season. I'll get some trigger time with my 308, haven't shot it for several years, been using my 7 RM for so long...love the rifle but it's a bit much for where I'm hunting.

How old is your grandson? My grandson I take hunting is 10 now. He has been hunting since 7 and has gotten a deer every year so far...

 

[G3 Ranch]

He's 7, he'll be 8 Nov 1, he's been to deer camp With me a few times and loves chicken fried venison more than anything.

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[G3 Ranch]

How old is your grandson? My grandson I take hunting is 10 now. He has been hunting since 7 and has gotten a deer every year so far...

That's great, I hope I can say that soon.

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[Elkaddict]

I do the same as Elkaddict - check the ones I might want to use.

And, It all depends on just how precise the shooting needs to be. If you are satisfied with hitting a pie plate at 100 yards, that is one thing, but for long range precise shooting, you need to check guns.

Over time you learn an individual gun like you learn an individual person. You know how many shots it takes it to settle in after you scrub the bore - you know whether it shoots better clean or dirty, and you keep track of how many times you have fired it since cleaning - you learn if it is subject to POI shifts from different weather conditions - you learn........................

Is all of that necessary for most typical deer hunting??? NO...................... But, to each his own in what it take to make him happy....

I will say that if you have a wood stocked bolt action with forearm pressure and hunting in varying weather conditions, you really do need to check it and check it often.

I've switched to synthetic stocks (or wood free) in all of my hunting rifles (except my whelens where it wasn't an option) precisely to take swelling wood/imprecise bedding out of the occasion. I've also found I don't cringe as much hunting in rough country when using synthetics--I really don't care if they get dinged/scratched compared to a beautiful piece of walnut.

 

[Native Hunter]

I've switched to synthetic stocks (or wood free) in all of my hunting rifles (except my whelens where it wasn't an option) precisely to take swelling wood/imprecise bedding out of the occasion. I've also found I don't cringe as much hunting in rough country when using synthetics--I really don't care if they get dinged/scratched compared to a beautiful piece of walnut.

Yea, I have too. You can free float a wood stock and bed the action and that will do a good job most of the time. But, I like the synthetics the best.

 

[OkieKubota]

He's 7, he'll be 8 Nov 1, he's been to deer camp With me a few times and loves chicken fried venison more than anything.

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Our grandson Eli is a very calm child. He can sit for hours without moving much or making any noise. I hunt with him in open ladder stands. He has killed every deer at our "Home 10" property but we usually start out down at our deer lease to get the "deer camp" experience going...

 

[wklman]

I reload and shoot year round so my rifles get used quite frequently. I love to play with loads and try different bullet,powder, and primer combinations. So far the best accuracy comes from berger bullets and a number of different powders. I've got a few different rifles I shoot but my favorite right now is an ar-10 I built in .260 rem. Accurate and fun to shoot with the suppressor on it.

 

[Elkaddict]

I've got a few different rifles I shoot but my favorite right now is an ar-10 I built in .260 rem. Accurate and fun to shoot with the suppressor on it.

That makes me miss living in a free state....

 

[Native Hunter]

Per my statement about wood stocks and weather changes - Somewhere in my basement there is an article I cut out of a magazine a few years ago where a guy did a case study on a name brand bolt action 308 with a wood stock. He worked out a very accurate load for the gun and it was cutting groups around 1/2 MOA.

He shot at a deer around 300 yards and missed it. He was stumped because he knew the gun was capable and he was capable as well. Over the course of his investigation in the coming months, he discovered that the POI, due to various weather changes (heat, cold, humidity, etc.) moved 18 inches at the distance he missed the deer. The gun would continue to shoot 1/2 MOA groups but the POI drifted this much due to nothing but weather changes.

I was already aware of this, because I had seen the same thing to a lesser degree in some rifles. Free floating the barrel may or may not work well. It will most definitely stop the POI shift, but some guns shoot better with pressure on the barrel. For a rifle like that, a good synthetic stock is likely to be the best fix.

Moral of the story is that while tight groups are important - they are not in themselves but one part of the big picture. The stability of the firearm to hold it's POI in all weather conditions is just as important. Another factor in this is the ammunition. Some powders are more temperature stable as well.

Bottom line is that if you come up with a very accurate and stable gun, scope, ammo combination that you can count on 100% of the time - you have a jewel to be treasured.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

I see two separate needs as every deer season approaches:

1. The need to check the zero on the rifles (or in my case, the handgun) that are going to be used.

2. The need to PRACTICE with the firearms.

Both, IMO, are necessary. Adding to this, as I see it, the two are not interchangeable and one does not substitute for the other.

Checking the zero is a mechanical process that generally takes only a few rounds and a few minutes.

That, however, doesn't do anything for the hunter as far as practice. Unless you hunt from a blind that had a cement bench, a stack of sandbags, and deer that only emerge at even 100 yard intervals that are clearly marked.

I have asked several top guides, African PHs, and even Craig Boddington about practice and the answers are very, very similar.

1. Shooting off a bench is not practice. It just gives most hunters a vastly inflated sense of what they are capeable of, which in 90% of cases will crumble the instant they shoot from a more realistic hunting position.
2. Practice off of shooting sticks, improvised rests,and bipods. This should be most of your shooting time. I've talked to many hunters that think that they will easily be able to replicate benchrest results from shooting sticks. Usually they are very surprised to find out just how bad of a shot they really are and just how much practice they need.
3. Practice when sitting. If you hunt in country where it's likely you'll have such a shot, practice in the prone position as well. In mountain hunting especially, the prone shot can often be required.
4. Yes! You should practice standing shots! It's rarely the preferred position, but it can be necessary and it can even be a life-saver if the situation suddenly goes pear-shaped and something that wasn't supposed to be there, suddenly IS there and is not happy that you are in his territory.

Grouse

 

[Native Hunter]

Good advice, and I might add to be careful with big bore, hard kicking scoped guns when shooting from awkward positions.

I got a good case of "magnum eye" once when I ran across a field and leaped on top of a hay roll to shoot at a deer about 275 yards away. The deer died and I lived, but it is questionable which one of us bled the most.

 

[Lost Arrow]

Good advice, and I might add to be careful with big bore, hard kicking scoped guns when shooting from awkward positions.

I got a good case of "magnum eye" once when I ran across a field and leaped on top of a hay roll to shoot at a deer about 275 yards away. The deer died and I lived, but it is questionable which one of us bled the most.

Scope eye can get pretty nasty

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