Practice advice

Datz

Datz

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I have never owned a bolt gun and ended up with a Browning Xbolt hunter in 30-06, because it just fit me and feels great in my hands, and I’m just trying to get an opinion on how much shooting/practice is too much for the gun (is this possible) and opinions if I’m on the right track?
I want to get into deer hunting but want to feel confident when I pull the trigger on an animal so I have been taking my gun to the range about 1-2 times a month since I got it(15 months) to practice. About 20-30 shots each session, shooting 5 shot groups at 100m with front rest, letting the barrel cool down after 2-3 shots depending on outside temp. From 6”-10” groups when I started I can now consistently shoot 1”-3” groups at 100m and hit the 8” plate at 200m 9 out of 10 times, so I have seen improvement. I’m now trying to work on free standing and kneeling shots, and I know this isn’t a substitute for actually getting out in the woods and target shooting out there or what it’s like getting a deer in the crosshairs but for now it’s the best I can do.
Is this amount of shooting going to do something to the gun other than wear out a barrel eventually? I don’t plan on selling but it got me wondering, I keep seeing EE guns with round counts fewer than 50 or super low and figure I’ll have the only hunting rifle with a shot out barrel in comparison. I’m going to be looking for a range only style bolt gun to keep up trigger time and just because I enjoy shooting, probably a Rem LTR or something similar in .223.
 
Your rifle should be good for thousands of rounds. May I suggest getting a 22 to practice your off hand form practice. You can use a similar scope to what is on your hunting rifle just use a lower magnification for a similar sight picture at a closer range. Cheaper ammo and just as much fun.
 
your rifle should be good for the rest of your life even though there are a few uninformed out there who seem to think a hunting rifle will be worn out after a few hundred rounds
 
A new hunter wearing out a barrell practising. Brings a tear to the eye!

Start worrying about that some years and many thousands of rounds from now.
And if you are as responsible and intelligent in your hunting methodology, many, many deer from now! lol
 
shoot shoot shoot and then shoot some more. .22 is a good idea. .223 is good as well.
you should be able to hit a 10"x10" target every time. from every position. start in close and keep moving out from there. Start at 100 yards and keep working out.
 
Good for you!!!!! The only thing I can add is to "practice with purpose". This means to focus on specific shooting techniques such as breathing , trigger control and having consistent shooting positions. Your practice will pay off in the field.
 
Thanks for the reassurance I'm on the right track. I do reload so my ammo costs aren't to high as I don't get out to the range more than 1-2 times a month(new baby) and I do own a Browning BL .22, I shoot it free hand as I'm waiting for the barrel to cool :)
As for the barrel wearing out, I've never owned a bolt gun or been shooting long enough to know about barrel life. Thank you
 
Once your confident that your gun shoots where you aim, start practicing the important stuff.

Get yourself some metal snap caps and practice the feel of the trigger as often as you can. You can also cycle the caps...all in the comfort of your home. A key component to practice is to do the same motions over and over the same way. Practice leading up to shooting the game during the hunt. What I mean is, if you are planning of walking with a round in the chamber, put a snap cap in there and throw the safty on. Hold the gun as you would either in your hands or over your shoulder with the sling, then simulate seeing the game, getting into the "ready position", take aim, take a breath, flick the safety off and squeeze the trigger and don't forget to follow threw with the shot. Anticipate the game not dropping, so cycle another one and do it again. Imagine the game dropping then make your gun safe (many hunters after dropping their game are so excited that they walk or run over to their game and forget to make their guns safe!). Then stop and repeat the whole process over and over. Repeat it exactly the same way every time or your time will be wasted! You can practice all the possible shooting situations like standing or sitting etc. Most of the time, in my experience, your standing but do what you want. Remember, this can all be done at your home without spending any money!

Many "hunters", throw hundreds of rounds down the pipe at a range, sitting with the gun benched and in the field are a little lost because their isn't much fimiliar to the bench practice. You get the point... Don't let anyone tell you that this sort of practice is not usefull, because when the buck fever strikes, much of your brain will freeze... that's were your muscle memory will kick in.

Good luck.
 
mourre said:
Still way too early in the gun's life but consider the positive side:
worn out barrel = project rifle.
Click to expand...

That is the one complaint about the Browning I have, little to no add on's. The gun has functioned flawlessly, smooth action, nice wood IMO, recoil pad lets me shoot it all day with no discomfort. But I can't get a bolt on replacement trigger, doesn't make me regret buying it but just wish it had some options if I wanted.

aikidoforever that makes sense and is good advice. I do have a couple snap caps but I could do more and practice more at home, and as you say for free. Thanks
 
Try to keep in mind that there are second war rifles with a gazillion rounds thru them that still shoot accurately enough to put meat on the table. It will likely outlive you and your relatives will be fighting over it when you have gone to the happy hunting ground. Too much is never a problem. Not enough certainly is.
 
The two techinques I practice are the standing (using a post-similar to a tree) to rest the rifle and kneeling. The position closest is the one I noted in a US army video (Garand).

The most important is the breathing, trigger pull and removal of flinching.
 
As others have said, you don't need to be concerned about "shooting out" your rifle. For example, if you shoot say 1000 rounds a year, you should get 10 years of barrel life from your .30/06 barrel, perhaps a bit more, before it won't hold 2 MOA. By then the cost of replacing the barrel should be no hardship.

IMHO though, you could benefit from more practice than you now allow yourself. This practice can be done at home without additional cost or significant wear and tear on the rifle. The use of commercial snap caps or home made, easily identifiable, drill rounds are useful to ensure that you don't acquire a habit of short stroking the action, and that you work the bolt powerfully each time you cycle the bolt, you won't hurt it doing this. The snap caps aren't necessary to protect the rifle from dry firing, but are an aid to ensure that your manipulation of the bolt results in reliable cycling. You need to handle the rifle frequently to gain a feel for it.

Practice loading your drill rounds without looking at the rifle. Practice sling carries without wildly waving the rifle around. Practice quickly falling onto various field shooting positions from sling carries. Practice slinging up to shoot from supported field positions. Practice trigger control and follow through, you should work up to being able to dry fire with a coin balanced on top of the barrel near the muzzle. Start with a quarter, then as you improve try a nickel then a dime, its very difficult to dry fire a rifle with a light contoured barrel without disrupting the coin. Practice dry firing on targets, paying attention your sight picture, the sight should not move off target when the striker falls, if it does, you've missed, and your final sight position says by how much. Practice snap shooting, you should be able to acquire your target and drop the striker about a second and a half. All of these things will benefit your live shooting at the range, and your range practice will enhance your field shooting.
 
Datz said:
...I know this isn’t a substitute for actually getting out in the woods and target shooting out there...
Click to expand...

You're right -- the real thing is different than punching holes in paper.
Sometimes you have less time and just have to make a snap shot -- other times you have too much time -- and your nerves can act up...

Having said that, you might want to try shooting groundhogs with your rifle or getting some kind of more realistic looking targets to spice things up...

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Like many of the other posters have said, you are certainly doing the right thing by practicing so much...
 
If your into reloading you can also use a milder load for extended practice. Rem. has a managed-recoil load and i think Hornady does as well if all you shoot is factory ammo, a 22 in a similar style rifle works great to practice with also. Have fun and enjoy yourself.
 
hunter5425 said:
Good for you!!!!! The only thing I can add is to "practice with purpose". This means to focus on specific shooting techniques such as breathing , trigger control and having consistent shooting positions. Your practice will pay off in the field.
Click to expand...

Practice with a purpose is excelent advise.

Shooting all day may start some bad habit from overextending that purpose.

As a former LEO, 50 rounds was all I ever took to the range, and my purpose to work on one aspect.

Reloading is a good start - some of my rifles have never seen a factory round.

The .30-06 with 180 grain bullets are slow enough the stresses on the barrel should allow thousands of rounds. Most .30-06's accept the 180's.

If you are indoubt about the trigger have a gunsmith check it out or at lease offer you advise. Ask "guntech" a regular contributor.
 
Brownings,not 10-22s

Datz said:
That is the one complaint about the Browning I have, little to no add on's. The gun has functioned flawlessly, smooth action, nice wood IMO, recoil pad lets me shoot it all day with no discomfort. But I can't get a bolt on replacement trigger, doesn't make me regret buying it but just wish it had some options if I wanted.

aikidoforever that makes sense and is good advice. I do have a couple snap caps but I could do more and practice more at home, and as you say for free. Thanks
Click to expand...

Brownings are quality,that you can shoot, and hunt with, for a life time.Very good choices you have made.
 
iceman2 said:
Your rifle should be good for thousands of rounds. May I suggest getting a 22 to practice your off hand form practice. You can use a similar scope to what is on your hunting rifle just use a lower magnification for a similar sight picture at a closer range. Cheaper ammo and just as much fun.
Click to expand...

+1 on the .22LR, it is a great practice round. I shoot <100 rounds of centerfire hunting ammo in a year (unless I am doing load development work on a new rifle), but shoot 2000+ rounds of .22LR in a good year. Trigger time is trigger time, I find all the small bore practice translates directly to better performance while out in the field.


Mark
 
I'm a bit surprised about the idea of looking for a new trigger on this gun. I have the exact same model in the exact same caliber and I wouldn't change the trigger at all. It's adjustable, but I've never adjusted it, really just feels perfect, zero take-up or creep, you're just applying pressure till it breaks.

My only experience is with various hunting rifles, but of the 20+triggers I've touched(not nearly as many as most here, I'll concede), the x-bolt had the nicest. Maybe I got an exceptional one?

I'm going to go play with it right now.
 
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