FAL Shot
Well-Known Member
I stumbled across this thread because I just placed an order today for a CZ 550 7x57mm with open sights and wanted to see what luck others had at long range with that caliber. Will probably put my Burris 2-7x26mm scope on it using QD scope rings. I needed an all-purpose carry rifle to keep in the pickup for whatever came along, especially an emergency outback situation where I might have a long walk out. Jerry's Sports Center has them on special at just under $600, and it's really a sort of mini-safari rifle with the European style walnut stock. Not really a long range rig, but if I couldn't hit a deer or antelope with that 7x57mm at 300 yards like Barness seems to not be able to do, I surely wouldn't insult myself further by admitting to it publicly in a magazine. While Barness may be a poor shot and a jerk, at least be glad that he makes it obviously clear to one and all so he can be avoided without any loss on your part.
Also, long range hunting depends on the rifle, hunter and situation. With my BSA .25 cal PCP air rifle on a typical windy day in Montana at dogtown, long range hunting is 100 yards, with my CZ452 .22LR it is 150 yards, and with my CZ 527 .204 Ruger it is 300 yards. Those ranges might seem short to some, but not if you had to fight the winds that we have here.
Also, on my first trip to my favorite 320-acre PD town this spring, I had a grand total of about 60 dead PD's using my .223 Rem and .204 Ruger rifles. Late last summer, I had racked up about 55 dead PD's using my CZ 452 .22LR at the same location. This was after a long summer of having been shot over, so the PD's were more skittish. Also, my average shooting range was about half with the .22LR than with the centerfires.
The lesson learned is that having longer range rifles and shooting over less skittish PD's didn't do me much more good. The centerfire rifles with their louder report and ballistic cracks sent the PD's to their holes at a distance about equal to the increased range they provided. I was only paying a lot more in ammo for a very slight increase in kills. Had I been shooting in late summer with skittish PD's, my total kills may have been less than with the shorter range but quieter .22LR.
The moral of the story is to not take longer shots than you need to before you have gotten as close as you can get. I have no problem with taking long range shots if that is what I NEED to do and I have PROVEN that I can make the shot. If you are taking longer and longer shots just to be doing it for its own sake, against living targets, then I have a problem with that. That kind of shooting belongs at a target range, not in the hunting field. Closer range stalking should always have precedence over a longer range shot....but not being able to hit a large animal at 300 yards with a 7x57mm means you should be playing golf or something instead of hunting.....especially after having several decades of practice and thinking you are fit to write articles for hunting magazines.
Gunwriters that I once took seriously have cost me a lot in trashy rifles that I ended up selling at a loss. The CZ rifle that I ordered today will be CZ number 5 for me. I first learned about them in Soldier of Fortune magazine, not the mainline gun magazines that pander to their advertisers. CZ was just out from behind the iron curtain at that time, and their tiny ad budget had little impact on the magazines. Now that CZ-USA has gone mainline with lots of advertising dollars, it's hard to find a CZ rifle on the dealer shelves around here anymore. When I asked about any used CZ rifles, the salesmen say they rarely get a rifle back for trade from an unhappy owner. In fact, one of the salesmen owned 4 CZ rifles himself and was looking for more. That tells me more than the gunwriters tell me. They also say they are now having trouble getting CZ product, so I guess the word has gotten out about CZ in spite of the gunwriters' seeming love affair with overhyped products from Remchester and such.
Also, long range hunting depends on the rifle, hunter and situation. With my BSA .25 cal PCP air rifle on a typical windy day in Montana at dogtown, long range hunting is 100 yards, with my CZ452 .22LR it is 150 yards, and with my CZ 527 .204 Ruger it is 300 yards. Those ranges might seem short to some, but not if you had to fight the winds that we have here.
Also, on my first trip to my favorite 320-acre PD town this spring, I had a grand total of about 60 dead PD's using my .223 Rem and .204 Ruger rifles. Late last summer, I had racked up about 55 dead PD's using my CZ 452 .22LR at the same location. This was after a long summer of having been shot over, so the PD's were more skittish. Also, my average shooting range was about half with the .22LR than with the centerfires.
The lesson learned is that having longer range rifles and shooting over less skittish PD's didn't do me much more good. The centerfire rifles with their louder report and ballistic cracks sent the PD's to their holes at a distance about equal to the increased range they provided. I was only paying a lot more in ammo for a very slight increase in kills. Had I been shooting in late summer with skittish PD's, my total kills may have been less than with the shorter range but quieter .22LR.
The moral of the story is to not take longer shots than you need to before you have gotten as close as you can get. I have no problem with taking long range shots if that is what I NEED to do and I have PROVEN that I can make the shot. If you are taking longer and longer shots just to be doing it for its own sake, against living targets, then I have a problem with that. That kind of shooting belongs at a target range, not in the hunting field. Closer range stalking should always have precedence over a longer range shot....but not being able to hit a large animal at 300 yards with a 7x57mm means you should be playing golf or something instead of hunting.....especially after having several decades of practice and thinking you are fit to write articles for hunting magazines.
Gunwriters that I once took seriously have cost me a lot in trashy rifles that I ended up selling at a loss. The CZ rifle that I ordered today will be CZ number 5 for me. I first learned about them in Soldier of Fortune magazine, not the mainline gun magazines that pander to their advertisers. CZ was just out from behind the iron curtain at that time, and their tiny ad budget had little impact on the magazines. Now that CZ-USA has gone mainline with lots of advertising dollars, it's hard to find a CZ rifle on the dealer shelves around here anymore. When I asked about any used CZ rifles, the salesmen say they rarely get a rifle back for trade from an unhappy owner. In fact, one of the salesmen owned 4 CZ rifles himself and was looking for more. That tells me more than the gunwriters tell me. They also say they are now having trouble getting CZ product, so I guess the word has gotten out about CZ in spite of the gunwriters' seeming love affair with overhyped products from Remchester and such.
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