How i hate shooting 100yds?

[Canadian Bushman]

Am i the only one who resents when the time comes to clean a rifle, and then continuing to the fouling shots and confirming 100 yd zero.

I dont know if its wasting expensive bullets and time consuming reloded ammo or trying to get that group centered just right but i dred verifying my 100 yd zero.

Maybe its my crappy attitude, parallax, or the fact im always zeroing in changing light conditions but i never shoot well at 100 either.

For now on with loads that are proven, im verifying at 600, 300, than 100, and if its a half minute off at 100, **** on it.

 

[dragman]

We all start there and when you start shooting long often. going back to 100 is hard. Its a hard discipline to master and can drive you nutz. IMHO I always go back too 100 yards between shooting just to keep everything honest and keep it all on the up and up.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I cant put a finger on what plauges me at 100 yds.

Is it parallax or eye strain from 22x scope.
Is it black lines on white paper?
Is my barrel to close to the ground?

When my rifle shoots .25-.5 moa at distance and 1 moa at 100 yds its confusion if i try and use 100 to base my dope. I always end up .5moa high or 1 moa low.

When i zero at 6 or 8 hundred and verify backwards im within .5 from 100-1200.

 

[dragman]

I think sometimes if your not used to close range stuff the high power and mirage can get to you and drive you nuts!

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I think sometimes if your not used to close range stuff the high power and mirage can get to you and drive you nuts!

It's definitely driving me nuts.

 

[SansSouci]

Canadian Bushman,

I always zero my rifles at 100 yards. If I'm 3" high & dead center at a hundred yards, I'm good-to-go. Then I will try a few shots at steel targets that are as far away as my range has them. If I can hit them, which I can, I'm good. My goal is knowing that my rifle is precisely zeroed at a known distance.

The highest magnification scope I have is a 4x12 Leupold Vari-X II atop a Sako AV 7MM Rem Mag. It will shoot much farther than I can. I have made a very long shot on a buck antelope using a now 40 year-old Redfield 2x7 atop a .270 Win.

I know that long range guys talk about cold bore shots. While hunting, all shots are cold bore, if we're talking in terms of temperature. At that, it will be the first shot that matters. A first shot miss and game won't stick around for another.

I always clean my rifles after shooting them. Protecting bores is most important to me. I have made two very long shots. Both times with clean bores and both times with cold bores.

About 7 weeks ago I killed a bull elk of a lifetime with a clean and cold bore. I hit him precisely where I had aimed, and that was right at his heart. He was dead when we got to him. It took but one 160 grain Partition from my 7MM Rem Mag to cause the really hard work to begin.

I have never encountered a single problem using my method. But I can see how my method won't work for other hunters.

 

[dragman]

Canadian Bushman,

I always zero my rifles at 100 yards. If I'm 3" high & dead center at a hundred yards, I'm good-to-go. Then I will try a few shots at steel targets that are as far away as my range has them. If I can hit them, which I can, I'm good. My goal is knowing that my rifle is precisely zeroed at a known distance.

The highest magnification scope I have is a 4x12 Leupold Vari-X II atop a Sako AV 7MM Rem Mag. It will shoot much farther than I can. I have made a very long shot on a buck antelope using a now 40 year-old Redfield 2x7 atop a .270 Win.

I know that long range guys talk about cold bore shots. While hunting, all shots are cold bore, if we're talking in terms of temperature. At that, it will be the first shot that matters. A first shot miss and game won't stick around for another.

I always clean my rifles after shooting them. Protecting bores is most important to me. I have made two very long shots. Both times with clean bores and both times with cold bores.

About 7 weeks ago I killed a bull elk of a lifetime with a clean and cold bore. I hit him precisely where I had aimed, and that was right at his heart. He was dead when we got to him. It took but one 160 grain Partition from my 7MM Rem Mag to cause the really hard work to begin.

I have never encountered a single problem using my method. But I can see how my method won't work for other hunters.

How far are you shooting? even if I have a gun that groups with cold bore at 100 yards I have NEVER seen a gun (AND YOU WOULD BE HARD TO FIND SOMEONE WHO'S HAD MORE THAN ME) That @ 1000 + will hit the same clean as fouled. sometimes it's only 1/2 MOA low but it's always out a little.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Canadian Bushman,

I always zero my rifles at 100 yards. If I'm 3" high & dead center at a hundred yards, I'm good-to-go. Then I will try a few shots at steel targets that are as far away as my range has them. If I can hit them, which I can, I'm good. My goal is knowing that my rifle is precisely zeroed at a known distance.

The highest magnification scope I have is a 4x12 Leupold Vari-X II atop a Sako AV 7MM Rem Mag. It will shoot much farther than I can. I have made a very long shot on a buck antelope using a now 40 year-old Redfield 2x7 atop a .270 Win.

I know that long range guys talk about cold bore shots. While hunting, all shots are cold bore, if we're talking in terms of temperature. At that, it will be the first shot that matters. A first shot miss and game won't stick around for another.

I always clean my rifles after shooting them. Protecting bores is most important to me. I have made two very long shots. Both times with clean bores and both times with cold bores.

About 7 weeks ago I killed a bull elk of a lifetime with a clean and cold bore. I hit him precisely where I had aimed, and that was right at his heart. He was dead when we got to him. It took but one 160 grain Partition from my 7MM Rem Mag to cause the really hard work to begin.

I have never encountered a single problem using my method. But I can see how my method won't work for other hunters.

I think we are a different breed of shooter.
I never hunt on a clean bore, i only clean every 100-150 rounds, and i verify cold bore drops on different days at different distances after the barrel has been "seasoned."

 

[SansSouci]

Hi dragman,

I try not to shoot at long range. I try to close range. If I were to see an animal at a thousand yards, my first and probably only thought would be closing distance. I'd much rather shoot him at a hundred yards than a thousand.

 

[dragman]

Hi dragman,

I try not to shoot at long range. I try to close range. If I were to see an animal at a thousand yards, my first and probably only thought would be closing distance. I'd much rather shoot him at a hundred yards than a thousand.

understandable and I know a lot of people whom feel the same way and for close distances with most good rifles I have no problem doing as you say. But this thread is in the Long Range Hunting & Shooting section on the Long Range Hunting forums. We for the most part like to engage our skills to the maximum that we can safely and ethically harvest game. So what we do and the general rules we follow will very quite a bit.

 

[SansSouci]

Hi Canadian Bushman,

It appears as though you're right.

When I hunt, I often don't remain in one area long. I am always prepared to move to locate game. Sometimes that might mean a few hundred yards and sometimes I might have to move a couple miles. Then I'll sit and glass until I'm convinced it's time to move again. While October mule deer hunting, I have to be prepared to go after them because the bucks I want to kill will bed down most if not all day. That means I have to let them get comfortable in their beds until late morning/early afternoon, and then quietly sneak up on them.

My guide told me that last year (2013) one of his archery hunters and he snuck up on a 390 bull elk while it was bedded down. They got to about 35 yards of it before his hunter arrowed him while he was still in his bed. That was some excellent hunting skill.

I am very hard on my rifles. I even left my Sako outside all night on a last September's elk hunt. I try to buy the best that I can afford. (Believe me, I'm not wealthy.) I don't want to risk what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to an unreliable/inaccurate rifle.

While I don't care if my rifles get dinged or scratched because they're evidence of hunting adventures, I do take very good care of them. I will clean then at ranges after about 10 shots in effort to prevent copper fowling. Especially with my 7MM Rem Mag, I do all possible to prevent throat erosion due to high velocity.

Before I put them in my safe for next season, I clean the heck out of them and leave a film of quality lubricant on them. But when I hunt with them, I will use them as intended.

I was told of a Philadelphia cop who had never bothered to clean his Model 66. When he needed it to save his life, it failed to fire. His negligence cost him his life.

My dad taught me at a young age to take care of my equipment and it will take care of me. I haven't forgotten that rule.

Finally, why would a clean bore be less accurate than a dirty bore? I can't seem to reason that one.

 

[dragman]

Hi Canadian Bushman,

It appears as though you're right.

When I hunt, I often don't remain in one area long. I am always prepared to move to locate game. Sometimes that might mean a few hundred yards and sometimes I might have to move a couple miles. Then I'll sit and glass until I'm convinced it's time to move again. While October mule deer hunting, I have to be prepared to go after them because the bucks I want to kill will bed down most if not all day. That means I have to let them get comfortable in their beds until late morning/early afternoon, and then quietly sneak up on them.

My guide told me that last year (2013) one of his archery hunters and he snuck up on a 390 bull elk while it was bedded down. They got to about 35 yards of it before his hunter arrowed him while he was still in his bed. That was some excellent hunting skill.

I am very hard on my rifles. I even left my Sako outside all night on a last September's elk hunt. I try to buy the best that I can afford. (Believe me, I'm not wealthy.) I don't want to risk what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to an unreliable/inaccurate rifle.

While I don't care if my rifles get dinged or scratched because they're evidence of hunting adventures, I do take very good care of them. I will clean then at ranges after about 10 shots in effort to prevent copper fowling. Especially with my 7MM Rem Mag, I do all possible to prevent throat erosion due to high velocity.

Before I put them in my safe for next season, I clean the heck out of them and leave a film of quality lubricant on them. But when I hunt with them, I will use them as intended.

I was told of a Philadelphia cop who had never bothered to clean his Model 66. When he needed it to save his life, it failed to fire. His negligence cost him his life.

My dad taught me at a young age to take care of my equipment and it will take care of me. I haven't forgotten that rule.

Finally, why would a clean bore be less accurate than a dirty bore? I can't seem to reason that one.

because it has to foul. it may not copper foul but it has to coat the metal of the bore with the first shot with carbon and powder then a good gun will stay consistent. believe it or not at long range the little coating that the foulers put in the bore "tighten" it up that is why the 1 or 2nd shot are usually a little low.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

A clean bore isnt necessarily less accurate than a fould bore, but typically as the round count climbs the point of impact will settle and remain constant for x rounds.

Some guys (me) who shoot a lot like to shoot thier rifle in this state, because it remains more consistent across larger round counts and our cold bore sometimes becomes more consistent as well.

Usually after a cleaning and oiling the first few rounds through the tube can be a little off when compared to our fouled barrels zero.

So after i clean, i foul the bore, re zero, then double check my drops and im good for the next 100+ rounds.

This thread is me Bi***ing about that process.

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

I personally never hunt with a clean barrel. If you want to see the effects of cleaning... Scrub your barrel nice and clean and then go out to the range and fire off 6 rounds. If you see no shift in impact from the first shot to the last... Then you have a rare gem indeed... Or you are all over the place with your shooting fundamentals and got lucky enough to shoot poorly enough that your rounds miraculously landed in the same place

I have been a cleaning whore since I was a lad... But have since moved to the copper equilibrium philosophy. I might lightly clean out the carbon after firing... But I always shoot at least 3 foulers before heading into the field. The only time I thoroughly scrub all the copper out of my barrels is when accuracy drops off. afterwards... Another 20 or so rounds and my groups tighten up for another 200-275 rounds (depends on the rifle and bullets... My 300wm only gets about 125 to 200).

I figure... Each to his own... But there is no doubt that a clean barrel places bullets elsewhere as compared to a fouled one.