First day at the range - Ruger Precision Rifle in 308

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This is my first rifle capable of anything better than a 6" group at 100 yards. Here is a summary of my first time shooting it.

Weather: -12 degrees, zero wind.
Sight in distance: 100 yards
Ammo: 150 gr Federal PowerShok SP ($25/box) then 178gr FGMM ($40/box).
Optic: Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 with EBR-2C reticle
Rings: ATRS 30mm, 1.375" high
Gun rest: cheap plastic Caldwell gun rest (very wobbly)
Ballistic Calculator: Strelok Pro (Android)
Spotter: nobody but me
Break-in procedure: none - I shot 20 rounds at the range then went home and cleaned it.


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Sent my first two groups down range. Note that I am actually a horrible shot! I flinch like crazy, and my plastic gun rest is very wobbly!




So there you have it. roughly 1 inch groups, even with cheap ammo, and I SUCK AT SHOOTING!
Next up, I tried my skill at a 487 yard steel plate. Using my smart phone to calculate hold over, I lined up 3.4 mils on my reticle, with 0.1 mils in the horizontal. I squeezed off five rounds (Federal GMM 175) and I think I might have hit it twice. I can't say for sure since recoil made me lose the target in my scope but I did hear a thud shortly after each shot went off. I can see why it's nice to have a spotter for long range!

Feeling unsure about whether I was hitting the steel at 487, I put up a 12" paper target at 300 yards. My 3 shot group (Federal GMM 175) landed one round on the paper (barely).

It is clear that I need a massive amount of practice behind the boom stick. I found myself constantly trying to get my eye in the right place at max power. My eye drifts out of alignment as I prepare for the recoil, I close my eye at the last moment and hope for the best. I am not sure whether I have my reticle properly focused, and I'm not sure whether parallax is properly adjusted. I think I had them pretty close.

Conclusions:
- Shooting is fun
- I suck at shooting
- I like my new toy. The RPR gives me a lot of room to grow.
- I need a better rest. Thinking of a nice bipod, perhaps Atlas. And rear sand bag.
- Vortex optic is good but I need practice using it
- There is no need to buy expensive ammo at my skill level. I'll pick up a case of cheap PMC so I can practice fundamentals on the cheap.
- I need to find a shooting buddy to act as spotter for long range.
- Perhaps I would benefit from a muzzle break to reduce recoil for rapid follow-up shots?
 
I don't think you should say you suck at shooting, just need more time. You do need a non wobbly rest, sandbags or other bag rests are cheap. I personally don't like a muzzle break on a .308, the noise distracts you more than what you gain on recoil IMHO. Consider reloading, I'm fairly new at this and found reloading .308 on a single stage RCBS super easy, and the accuracy gain was amazing. Nice gun, tried to buy one, still waiting in line.
 
Nice looking Rifle!
As others have been saying keep practicing, anything close to 1 moa is pretty good shooting,
Make sure you practice squeezing the trigger for a surprise shot and you should see your shooting improve if you feel you are slapping the trigger.
Also check out some youtube videos on how to set parallax.
Did you install the scope yourself? If you are having trouble keeping yourself in the eyebox you might have to see if you need to move your scope forward or back to get the eye relief if you are having trouble.
Good Shooting and Have fun
 
That "rest" just looks like a pain. I did the same thing in the beginning, but luckily I also bought a bipod/bag. I didn't even bother taking a shot with the rest, well I was told not to even bother by a much more experienced person.

I'd suggest a bipod and rear bag, it's what I used to get into LR shooting. I personally use a harris SBRM 6-9 bipod w/ podlock and a JSA tactical small bag.
I suppose I'll also pass on a tip that I also got when starting out, apparently groups are 5 shots, 3 is more of a meeting.
 
Throw that crap rest in the garbage and get a better one. Or use a decent bipod.

You need some help from an experienced shooter to get your trigger pull down and also to set up that scope properly. It needs to be moved so that you see through it properly when your head is on the stock. There is no closing eyes and hoping for the best while you jerk the trigger in precision shooting.

FIVE shot groups. Three shot groups are not enough.
 
Haha thanks guys, great comments! I'll definitely get a better rest, work on my scope alignment/sight picture, and practice trigger control until I get it down! I NEED to get that flinch under control. I flinch like crazy with my handgun too.
 
Might Sound like a dumb question. But are you wearing adequate hearing protection. A couple friends I have just wear ear plugs and they flinch from the bang more than the recoil.
Maybe try doubling up (plugs and ear muff style) on the protection if this is maybe the issue
 
varcoe301 said:
Might Sound like a dumb question. But are you wearing adequate hearing protection. A couple friends I have just wear ear plugs and they flinch from the bang more than the recoil.
Maybe try doubling up (plugs and ear muff style) on the protection if this is maybe the issue
Click to expand...

I actually do wear double hearing protection - but I didn't have any eye protection due to the cold fogging them up. That might be part of it. I'm sure with more practice I'll be able to get it under control.
 
CostcoSamples said:
I actually do wear double hearing protection - but I didn't have any eye protection due to the cold fogging them up. That might be part of it. I'm sure with more practice I'll be able to get it under control.
Click to expand...
Never ever ever shoot without eye protection!
 
varcoe301 said:
Might Sound like a dumb question. But are you wearing adequate hearing protection. A couple friends I have just wear ear plugs and they flinch from the bang more than the recoil.
Maybe try doubling up (plugs and ear muff style) on the protection if this is maybe the issue
Click to expand...


Great point!
 
I got one of these for my son as a Christmas present in 6.5 Creedmoor (at least that was my excuse to the wife). I bought a plain Brownells 'ole sandbag for $3 and a Duplin bipod with a Larue LT271 picitanny adaptor, a Burris scope with Alberta Tactical rings, a Redding die set, and enough reloading components for 800 rounds. I had all the other reloading stuff. I hope the rifle lives up to all the hype. Yours looks promising with off the shelf ammo.
 
You are off to a really good start but here are a few tips that can help.

Most important - if it hurts, make it not hurt. I would recommend putting on a muzzle brake and/or a shoulder recoil pad. Flinching will never help you shoot. Noise is another huge part of recoil... ear plugs and the best muffs you can get (33db) Under cover, things are going to be way louder and that will cause some shooters to "shut down" as their brains want them to stop and run away.

Sounds like the scope is not adjusted properly in location and focus for you. Did you set up the scope yourself or did a "shop"? When you are in a comfy shooting position, the view through the eye piece should be right there and clear. If you have to move, it is not right. If you find you need to lean forward to get a full view, move the scope back. If you keep getting "black out" in the eye piece, move it forward. You would never ask a stranger to choose shoes for you... why would you want someone else to mount your scope?

If the family is ok with this, make the rifle safe (take bolt out), set up the rifle on a table to replicate your bench, play with scope position fore and aft AND higher and lower.... move the comb up and down. close your eyes, get comfy behind the rifle, open your eyes, if the scope view is not right there, move the scope. Keep adjusting until you have found it..... now come back off and on over a few days and make sure it really is in the right spot.

The ocular focus may be off and that will also cause issues with comfy viewing as your eye/brain fights to keep things in focus.

Now that you are comfy with the rifle.... go over EVERYTHING and tighten it up. The design doesn't work well if parts are loose and often they aren't.... Rock solid?

Practise dry fire....get comfy, aim at a small object out a window... the reticle should be dead steady at this stage of learning... sand bags, rests, whatever to cradle and hold the rifle in place. Light grip, squeeze and click... if you have a smooth trigger pull and not jerking, your view of the reticle will not move during the entire process. Keep watching the target and reticle through the entire process.. do not blink or close your eyes.

If you see the reticle hop when the trigger breaks, you are likely jerking the trigger. Put a video camera on yourself and record your dry firing. It should be the most boring 5 min video where NOTHING is moving. bolt cycles, click, cycles, click... but YOU stay in the same point during each trigger break and the rifle doesn't move at all.

Practise for a few weeks until you know you can keep the reticle steady before, during and after that trigger breaks. NOW go shoot, and I bet things will be more consistent.

If the rests and position/follow through is good, the rifle will move very little after the shot (some bipods like the MPOD are far better at keeping tracking true). Try shooting with lower mag... not the best scope and optics tend to fade at the highest mag so you may get a better/easier to use view at lower mag.

practise, practise, practise... know where the reticle was when the shot broke. YES, you will need to keep your eyes open.

Enjoy the journey.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
You are off to a really good start but here are a few tips that can help.

Most important - if it hurts, make it not hurt. I would recommend putting on a muzzle brake and/or a shoulder recoil pad. Flinching will never help you shoot. Noise is another huge part of recoil... ear plugs and the best muffs you can get (33db) Under cover, things are going to be way louder and that will cause some shooters to "shut down" as their brains want them to stop and run away.

Sounds like the scope is not adjusted properly in location and focus for you. Did you set up the scope yourself or did a "shop"? When you are in a comfy shooting position, the view through the eye piece should be right there and clear. If you have to move, it is not right. If you find you need to lean forward to get a full view, move the scope back. If you keep getting "black out" in the eye piece, move it forward. You would never ask a stranger to choose shoes for you... why would you want someone else to mount your scope?

If the family is ok with this, make the rifle safe (take bolt out), set up the rifle on a table to replicate your bench, play with scope position fore and aft AND higher and lower.... move the comb up and down. close your eyes, get comfy behind the rifle, open your eyes, if the scope view is not right there, move the scope. Keep adjusting until you have found it..... now come back off and on over a few days and make sure it really is in the right spot.

The ocular focus may be off and that will also cause issues with comfy viewing as your eye/brain fights to keep things in focus.

Now that you are comfy with the rifle.... go over EVERYTHING and tighten it up. The design doesn't work well if parts are loose and often they aren't.... Rock solid?

Practise dry fire....get comfy, aim at a small object out a window... the reticle should be dead steady at this stage of learning... sand bags, rests, whatever to cradle and hold the rifle in place. Light grip, squeeze and click... if you have a smooth trigger pull and not jerking, your view of the reticle will not move during the entire process. Keep watching the target and reticle through the entire process.. do not blink or close your eyes.

If you see the reticle hop when the trigger breaks, you are likely jerking the trigger. Put a video camera on yourself and record your dry firing. It should be the most boring 5 min video where NOTHING is moving. bolt cycles, click, cycles, click... but YOU stay in the same point during each trigger break and the rifle doesn't move at all.

Practise for a few weeks until you know you can keep the reticle steady before, during and after that trigger breaks. NOW go shoot, and I bet things will be more consistent.

If the rests and position/follow through is good, the rifle will move very little after the shot (some bipods like the MPOD are far better at keeping tracking true). Try shooting with lower mag... not the best scope and optics tend to fade at the highest mag so you may get a better/easier to use view at lower mag.

practise, practise, practise... know where the reticle was when the shot broke. YES, you will need to keep your eyes open.

Enjoy the journey.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Hey Jerry - have read that dry firing is ok on centerfires, but I was always worried it would cause havoc with the firing pin. It's OK?
 
As usual, Jerry covered just about everything but I also found that once you get yourself set, slowly squeezing and waiting for the 'surprise', two things I find help, one get your breathing right, second watch where you put your finger on the trigger. I shoot on the exhale, with pad of index finger, not knuckle, centered on the trigger, works for me. The practice exercise that Jerry mentioned will help enormously and please always use eye protection.
 
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