It came in the mail this morning! :D

Yes, I managed to make it to the range for 2 hours.
Sighted in my scope and then had at it with 6 different ammo.
Took no pics at the range, I completely forgot too. lol
Will post pics of groupings and scope setup later on tomorrow. My dad took the camera today.

I definitely have to improve on my form. It is difficult for me to sight at 25m. I keep wobbling 2" back and forth n the target.

Cheap $5 barrel bipod is next upgrade. lol
 
A tip... If you mount a bipod use one that mounts to the stock via the sling swivel hole. The ones that mount to the barrel can give you serious accuracy problems. Infact anything putting unequal pressure in the barrel will give you accuracy problems, including any form of benchrest, always rest the gun on the stock not the barrel.

Form/breathing/trigger control is very very important. Focus in this order... Breath, you have to keep breathing. Dont try to hold your breath or that will cause you to be even more unsteady, rather try to align your crosshairs with the target when you are at the end of an exhalation. After you exhale your body takes the longest natural pause of the breathing cycle so that is when you want to squeeze off the shot. Take several breaths and when the sights return to the target every time at the end of the breath you are ready for the squeeze.

With trigger pull, it is a fairly common thing to see people grip the stock like it's goin to jump out of their hand. You want to keep a fairly loose grip with your shooting hand and let the buttstock take the recoil. Try to focus on using your hand ONLY for squeezing the trigger and not for gripping the rifle. I find it best to use only the very tip of my finger on the trigger and place my thumb directly opposite my trigger finger on the back of the grip. When the breathing is right, you want to put an equal amount of pressure on your thumb as you put on the trigger finger. This will prevent any jerking or twisting of the stock during the shot.

Also, one of the best things I have been taught in regards to shooting accurately is to let the shot going off surprise you. If you are bracing in anticipation of the shot you are a billion times more likely to twitch and instinctively counteract the recoil by pulling the gun off to one side. It's one of those things that you don't even realize you do, but it is happening.

Lastly, make damn sure your scope is on really good and tight (without stripping the screws), be sure to use a good solid rest, infact i would reccomend a harris bipod if you must use a bipod, or even better a proper caldwell rifle rest, and practice those fundamentals a LOT.

These techniques are true for all calibers and trust me, trying to keep the fundamentals with larger calibers is not easy and very counter instinctive, but believe me they work.

Happy shooting!
 
mikeystew said:
A tip... If you mount a bipod use one that mounts to the stock via the sling swivel hole. The ones that mount to the barrel can give you serious accuracy problems. Infact anything putting unequal pressure in the barrel will give you accuracy problems, including any form of benchrest, always rest the gun on the stock not the barrel.

Form/breathing/trigger control is very very important. Focus in this order... Breath, you have to keep breathing. Dont try to hold your breath or that will cause you to be even more unsteady, rather try to align your crosshairs with the target when you are at the end of an exhalation. After you exhale your body takes the longest natural pause of the breathing cycle so that is when you want to squeeze off the shot. Take several breaths and when the sights return to the target every time at the end of the breath you are ready for the squeeze.

With trigger pull, it is a fairly common thing to see people grip the stock like it's goin to jump out of their hand. You want to keep a fairly loose grip with your shooting hand and let the buttstock take the recoil. Try to focus on using your hand ONLY for squeezing the trigger and not for gripping the rifle. I find it best to use only the very tip of my finger on the trigger and place my thumb directly opposite my trigger finger on the back of the grip. When the breathing is right, you want to put an equal amount of pressure on your thumb as you put on the trigger finger. This will prevent any jerking or twisting of the stock during the shot.

Also, one of the best things I have been taught in regards to shooting accurately is to let the shot going off surprise you. If you are bracing in anticipation of the shot you are a billion times more likely to twitch and instinctively counteract the recoil by pulling the gun off to one side. It's one of those things that you don't even realize you do, but it is happening.

Lastly, make damn sure your scope is on really good and tight (without stripping the screws), be sure to use a good solid rest, infact i would reccomend a harris bipod if you must use a bipod, or even better a proper caldwell rifle rest, and practice those fundamentals a LOT.

These techniques are true for all calibers and trust me, trying to keep the fundamentals with larger calibers is not easy and very counter instinctive, but believe me they work.

Happy shooting!
Click to expand...

I'll think I'll save up for a rifle rest. :)
That seems the the best right now.
What would be a good rest? I'm on a budget so ~$50-100.
 
Something cheap would suffice. I like the caldwell rests, like this;

ht tp://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/range-accessories/gun-rests/handy-shooting-rest-nxt-/prod242552.html

But honestly all you need is a small bean bag pillow, or sack of rice/sand would work for all intents and purposes.

Here is what i use, made of wood and old carpeting.
373004eb.jpg
 
mikeystew said:
Something cheap would suffice. I like the caldwell rests, like this;

ht tp://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/range-accessories/gun-rests/handy-shooting-rest-nxt-/prod242552.html

But honestly all you need is a small bean bag pillow, or sack of rice/sand would work for all intents and purposes.

Thanks. :)
Should I spring the extra $15 and get this one instead? I can take it down to 2 pieces if need be.

http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/caldwell/catalog.asp?product=matrix&tab=specs
Click to expand...
 
Sure, it would be handy for load selection and scope zeroing because it will remove most of the variables that can affect the shot.
But... For practice i strongly recommend removing the rear and use only the front rest. You wont find anything like that full rest in a real life situation to support the whole rifle for you. Once you have the fundamentals mastered, you can pretty much use anything for a front stabilizer. IMHO, shooting with a full front and rear rest for reasons other than scope zeroing and load selection/development is cheating, and does not build good marksmanship skills. The rifle should move with your breathing.

But for the extra $15... why not.
 
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