A rather odd observation - bolt vs semi

kjohn

kjohn

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SE Sask.
I did my civic duty this week and went to an organic farm and shot gophers. I shot with a CZ 455 Canadian and also an American. I like those rifles. I have both models in .17HMR and .22WMR as well. Something I noticed, after shooting for a while with the bolt rifles, was that when I started using a little Chiappa M22, I was kind of annoyed or distracted by the sound and movement of the semi action. Now the M22 is definitely not a heavy rifle, so that may be part of the problem. I also found that same thing when I would switch to an RIA .22. It is one I refinished a couple of years back.

Does anybody else find this? This is not a world-ending problem, but I did notice it. Also, I found it different using the little red dot with no magnification. I like the red dot, but it took a few shots to get accustomed.
 
the bolt action sound and recoil is defiantly "cleaner and purer" but in a good gopher batch I want my semi auto built for the gopher patch 10/22. anything bigger than that is bolt actions for me
 
I switch around from one type to the other. Even dragged out a nice old Stevens 620 12 ga. and plastered a few! It was so windy the one afternoon, it was troublesome getting a steady aim, so out comes the shotgun. I am not a good shot, so wind definitely puts the gophers at an advantage. :p

At one time, I tried using a shooting stick, but still found that I wobbled. Now, I mostly kneel on my right leg and put my left elbow on my left knee. Seems to work good. My heart beats so strong that it sometimes causes a wobble, but that's fine! I would rather have a good heartbeat and miss a few gophers than the alternative. :)
 
Yeah, tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. :p A shooter buddy and I are going to do some more civic duty tomorrow if the sun comes out. :)
 
Just keep shooting without earpro. If you're like me, by the time you're in your mid 40's, you won't hear the action any more. Or a lot of other things. ;)
 
Even a .22 can do damage to your hearing over time. Find the best for gopher shooting is to wear those spring loaded one piece ear plugs. Not as good as foam plugs or muffs but enough for .22LR. 17 and .22Mag. Your ears will only take so many bangs before hearing loss or tinnitus set in. Ask me how I know.
 
I went out with a few friends in April and shot a bunch of rodents. They used my Marlin bolt and a CZ bolt. They both preferred the bolt over the 10/22. Had to really encourage them to cycle that action fast tho.
I used my APA viper with small game heads. The bow is definitely my preference for small game, or any kind of hunting really. It's very calming and a good form of practice.
That said... Launching a few .308s at them is really funny.
As far as after they are shot... On the last of 6 days shooting the local birds of prey started showing up almost immediately after we stopped shooting. Ever see a Swainsons hawk try to fly with three gophers? It's worth the price of ammo.
 
I do not notice the action cycling on semi auto 22, however shotgun and rifle are very distracting to me! Only action I notice cycling is my mossburg tube fed semi when using shorts, pop, click kerchunk, find it sort of humorus myself!
 
So what you are saying is, the recoil bruised your shoulder, and the brass flying by your face was disorientating, plus the smell of gunpowder burned your nose? Just kidding!! I'm a lefty and certain rifles throw more crud in my face than others, I do like my bolt guns.
 
bsand said:
Curious question, what do you guys do with the gophers after dispatching them?
Click to expand...

Leave 'em for the crows and maggies. Go back a couple of hours later with a shotgun to reduce the crow and maggie population (they dig up seeds and make a mess of the veggie garden).

Then it all becomes fodder for the coyotes, hawks, and owls. The hawks and owls are great, and really help keep the rodent population down. Have to be a bit careful about the coyotes, or the barn cat population starts to suffer.
 
We were out a couple weeks ago, and we shot lots. I started with a CZ Lux and shot a few thousand rounds in 3 days. I later switched to a 10-22 custom and did some more with it the last day and a half. I like the auto for moving quickly to a second and third targets. I did not notice the sound. (ear plugs will be on the next shoot) I still think taking a shot with the bolt is more pleasurable and satisfying than the auto. You double tap less as well. Long story short, any action as long as there are gophers around.
 
kjohn said:
I did my civic duty this week and went to an organic farm and shot gophers. I shot with a CZ 455 Canadian and also an American. I like those rifles. I have both models in .17HMR and .22WMR as well. Something I noticed, after shooting for a while with the bolt rifles, was that when I started using a little Chiappa M22, I was kind of annoyed or distracted by the sound and movement of the semi action. Now the M22 is definitely not a heavy rifle, so that may be part of the problem. I also found that same thing when I would switch to an RIA .22. It is one I refinished a couple of years back.

Does anybody else find this? This is not a world-ending problem, but I did notice it. Also, I found it different using the little red dot with no magnification. I like the red dot, but it took a few shots to get accustomed.
Click to expand...

Have I noticed a difference in the feel and/or the sound of guns, depending of action type? You bet, my Marlin Model 60 feels and sounds much different, when firing, than the CZ 455 American. And I'm not referring to the wood vs synthetic stock. The Marlin's semi-auto blowback action has the bolt running back and forth in the receiver and I feel it "bottoming out" when it stops. Of course since the action is blow back I also hear the action opening and there is some residual pressure there. But when I take the Marlin 39A out and fire her I hear the hammer fall and then cycling the lever action brings in a whole new set of sounds, and tactile feed back. Stevens Favorite bring a different experience to the range than the other guns. The Browning BPR-22 is a completely different manual of arms for use, you have to pump that baby back and forth to fire her. But that is why I have them all. They are different, I like difference, difference is fun.

The Remington 870 pump sounds and feels different than Winchester's 1200 when you cycle the actions, although both are pump guns. You fire a Browning A-5 long recoil semi-auto and it will feel different from a gas operated or inertia recoil operated semi-auto.

The sound of the bolt moving bothers you? Stay away from AR platform guns. the sound of the bolt running back into that buffer tube will drive you nuts.
 
bsand said:
Curious question, what do you guys do with the gophers after dispatching them?
Click to expand...

1/100~take a photo beside the rifle. :)

All of them~leave them for the scavengers/predators etc. I spent a week in early June shooting gophers everyday. I saw the following in the area~1 badger, 1 coyote pup, weasels, magpies, Swainson's Hawks, ret tail hawks, crows and ravens. I personally saw the crows, ravens, Swainson's hawks, seagulls, weasels and OTHER gophers eating the dead ones on the fields we'd shot. By week's end, the ravens and Swainson's hawks seem to come to the sound of gun fire, especially the Swaison's hawks. They got so bold that they'd land on a fence post within 15' of the gophers we were shooting at. That was a strange sight indeed.

I far prefer bolt guns, but at times..the numbers made me wonder if my Marlin 795 should have been there. As it was~the thumb got pretty sore loading mags! Also decided that I think I liked my CZ's polymer mag more than the steel ones.
 
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