Advice For a Beginner Long Range Hunter

[Browning16]

I think the wind could have definitely been some of it, but at three hundred yards that wind shouldn't have been walking us around the target up and down left and right like it did. I'm obviously no expert but that was more than the wind. i understand my windage adjustment wasn't perfect, no where near it, but we were just trying to dial in for elevation and we decided we should account for some of the wind to keep us on the target. In regards to the barrel walking, I can definitely believe that, we will make sure to pay more attention to giving some time between shots next round. We did go to the local club and shoot a hundred yo check the zero, like I mentioned l, and used a barber pole to check the mils. And we put 6 rounds on target there. Then proceeded to drive ten minutes and get setup to shoot 300, which was probably at least a half an hour total before we got a target set up, and out "cold" bore shot on the 300 harder was dead on left to right and an inch and a half low, second round was 2 inches below that, then they started to get random, coincidence? Idk, maybe

 

[WildRose]

Not that I've got a lot of long range experience.... Seems to me that the wind is probably 2/3 of your problem. 5 to 11 o clock? That means no value when at 6 and full value at 9 o clock. That 80 gr. bullet is going to drift a bit, especially when the wind is gusting like you said. Clean the barrel good. Get a good calm AM or PM and try again. Another problem could the barrel "walking" as it heats up. Your barrel isn't going to cool very fast when its over 90 degrees. Barrel/ action may need bedded and floated. Try w/o the wind and time to cool between shots and report back. Also get some 115 or 105 gr Bergers depending on your barrel twist and start reloading. Best of luck. Bruce

Being from Gillette you would be used to shooting in a lot of wind wouldn't you...>gun)

 

[WildRose]

When I say my brother is a good shooter I mean he is just simply rock steady, always has been, has always shot well, at whatever range he shot at, with whatever weapon you give him, bolt action, rimfire, semi auto centerfire, bow, anything. Anyway, i dont want to get into that, nor do I need to. I trust my brothers shooting abilities and spoke with him about how stable he was with that setup, he said he was dead steady and had no doubt whatsoever about staying in target. I'll take his word for it. Regardless of anything that i say there will be people that say that he is probably the issue in our results. Not ruling that out entirely, just saying that I doubt it. I'm sure many of you are better shooters than he is, but he's deffintely good enough to have shot better than what showed up on the target today. ANYWAYYYYY I had seen the tracking test mentioned while researching and thought about doing that, but we both just assumed the scope would track the way it was built to track, regardless of that we still should've been able to get groups. That could have been one of our issues but it most likely was not the only one. Keep the recommendations coming guys, I'll thinking about them and we try to eliminate them one by one, guess we need to go shoot some more pretty soon, because if we dont this is drive me insane

Trust me, no one here wants to insult your or your brother's shooting abilities.

We don't know you, don't know your history, training, or experience but you asked for honest opinions as to what could be the problem so that's what you are getting.

If the best shot in your county cant' hit a basketball at 10 yds and you can hit a baseball at 50 then you're the best shot in the county.

If the best shot in your county can hit a 10" pie plate at a thousand, and you can hit the lid of a snuff can, you're the best shot in the county.

"A really good shot" is an incredibly subjective term.

Trust me, most of us here really are trying to help you and no insult is intended.

 

[Browning16]

Can someone please give an in depth explanation of this bipod thing for me? I dont think I'm fully understanding it

 

[barnesuser28]

When you are using your bipods if you push forwand a little you can feel the bipod legs flex a little bit, that is called loading the legs. This is a great thread http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f116/importance-being-solid-91149/

 

[winmag]

When you are using your bipods if you push forwand a little you can feel the bipod legs flex a little bit, that is called loading the legs. This is a great thread http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f116/importance-being-solid-91149/

Ya, that's a good read, but doesn't explain my post.
Basically, if I grip my rifles forend & cradle in tight for a "solid hold" my stock flexed ever so little, but shows a drastic effect! Same thing with bipods on my rifle. If I pre load or "flex" them by leaning into them hard enough to get solid resistance, my groups go to crap.
My barrel is floated, but action is not glassed in. I can tell you with absolute certainty that somehow the pressure put on the forend, by my grip, or the pre loaded bipods causes me grief. My rifle will not shoot well at all like that.
If I use my left hand at all, its only on the buttstock.

I simply let the front ride, & put no pressure what so ever forend, or on the bipods.
It was a slight change in technique that revealed the flexing stock caused by loading the bipods.
The accuracy is there. Sometimes,its a ever so slight change to your technique that makes the world of difference.


Like Wildrose said, NOBODY is judging you, or your brother. We've ALL been there at some point, & will likely have to rely on our buddies again for advise in the future. That's what LRH is for. Sometimes it just takes someone who's been there before, to point out subtle little things that can make all the difference.

You'll no doubt track down the culprit, & get it corrected if your persistant. Then inevitably, you'll run accross someone with a simmilar problem, & may be able to offer your own hands on advise.
Good luck,

 

[WildRose]

Ya, that's a good read, but doesn't explain my post.
Basically, if I grip my rifles forend & cradle in tight for a "solid hold" my stock flexed ever so little, but shows a drastic effect! Same thing with bipods on my rifle. If I pre load or "flex" them by leaning into them hard enough to get solid resistance, my groups go to crap.
My barrel is floated, but action is not glassed in. I can tell you with absolute certainty that somehow the pressure put on the forend, by my grip, or the pre loaded bipods causes me grief. My rifle will not shoot well at all like that.
If I use my left hand at all, its only on the buttstock.

I simply let the front ride, & put no pressure what so ever forend, or on the bipods.
It was a slight change in technique that revealed the flexing stock caused by loading the bipods.
The accuracy is there. Sometimes,its a ever so slight change to your technique that makes the world of difference.


Like Wildrose said, NOBODY is judging you, or your brother. We've ALL been there at some point, & will likely have to rely on our buddies again for advise in the future. That's what LRH is for. Sometimes it just takes someone who's been there before, to point out subtle little things that can make all the difference.

You'll no doubt track down the culprit, & get it corrected if your persistant. Then inevitably, you'll run accross someone with a simmilar problem, & may be able to offer your own hands on advise.
Good luck,

Slightly off topic here but maybe useful..

WM exactly what kind of stock did/do you have on that rifle which was flexing when you gripped and preloaded the BP?

I had many years back a wood 700bdl factory stock that did basically the same thing which gave me fits.

After I free floated it completely I cut a channel below the bbl and used a cut off piece of stainless rod (cut up a stainless 1 piece cleaning rod for it) which I bedded in solid with epoxy.

I also cut two channels along the sides from just behind the action to the recoil lug and did the same.

Buddy, that thing didn't flex much anymore after that!

 

[Joe King]

We do have handloading equipment available to us, but it isn't ours, our great grandfather's actually. Neither of us know how to reload, not that we couldn't learn, but obviously my great grandpa could, and definitely would make some loads for us. Should I just get him to teach me to load right away or let him do it for now? I suppose either would be better than factory loads but still......

I know what I would do if I was in your shoes, I'd be all crawled up in Gramps back pocket! Seriously it's a huge win for you and your Great Gramps. you get to spend time with him and form a bond that you'll both appreciate, he'll get to pass on his knowledge to you (trust me this is huge for our elders) you'll get to learn something more about self sufficiency, and learning it from your Great Gramps, you will cherish this in years to come. By all means HIT THE OLD FART UP!!!!!!!!! There's no downside.

 

[Browning16]

Yea, I think I'll have to have him teach me. I am deffintely closer to him than the average great grandfather and great grandson, which isn't saying much, but still. I've talked to him about teaching me to reload shotgun before, I suppose we could kill two birds with one stone and I'll learn rifle and shotgun at the same time. I'll talk to him about it next time I see him.

 

[Joe King]

Very smart choice

 

[WildRose]

Yea, I think I'll have to have him teach me. I am deffintely closer to him than the average great grandfather and great grandson, which isn't saying much, but still. I've talked to him about teaching me to reload shotgun before, I suppose we could kill two birds with one stone and I'll learn rifle and shotgun at the same time. I'll talk to him about it next time I see him.

Just a suggestion but I wouldn't wait till the next time I saw him.

My bet is a phone call from you asking for help in learning how to reload would make his day, week, month, and maybe even year.

One thing you can count on is grandparents and great grandparents never tire of feeling important and needed.

Sadly, one other thing you can count on is that they won't always be around.

In less than ten years I went from having both parents, two grand parents and one GGP still living to my brother and I being all that was left of the families we had grown up with.

 

[Joe King]

Just a suggestion but I wouldn't wait till the next time I saw him.

My bet is a phone call from you asking for help in learning how to reload would make his day, week, month, and maybe even year.

One thing you can count on is grandparents and great grandparents never tire of feeling important and needed.

Sadly, one other thing you can count on is that they won't always be around.

In less than ten years I went from having both parents, two grand parents and one GGP still living to my brother and I being all that was left of the families we had grown up with.

Yup that was precisely my point

 

[Browning16]

I kinda understand what you mean, but I shoot trap with him every monday? And I will probably be at his house again next week as well, thats where we did the 300 yard shooting. Only place around here where we can shoot that far without getting permission from a farmer. So do you still think I should call him? It's not like it's gonna be a long time until I see him

 

[Joe King]

Yea sure like WR said it'll make his day, all to often we don't make time to involve ourselfs with the our elders, so yea any excuse you get. and trust me a call "Hey grampa I been thinking about learning to reload" yea that'd just be cool