The Hunter Marksman Challenge - use your hunting rifle!

EastBranch said:
I don't have enough centrefire ammo to burn for this. I might try with my 17hmr though, is that legit?
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I can't speak for Brobee, but it seems that if you hunt with it, your results are desired..... I may take a try with my 17 hmr myself.... This was a fun and immensely educational challenge.... And something I may take forward for practice outside of this thread..... Very relevant test IMOP.....
 
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Johnn Peterson said:
That it is, but it's one I may have to pass on for the moment. I have a cataract problem 'they' want to deal with very soon:(, so................
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John, not thread related, but my mother just went through this and I can't tell you how excited she is about her improved visual acuity...... Take it as a positive.... You have many nice rifles awaiting your new set of eyballs.....b
 
Tried the SKS today. I was very slow as this rifle is s pig with the Archangel stock, rail, bipod, long detach magazines... I find it hard to hold the rifle comfortably from offhand and sitting positions. Would have much preffered a factory SKS with a low power scope or an aftermarket aperture sight.

I'll post pics later but best out of 3 attempts was 7 hits in 95 seconds. Very slow but as the main criticism of the SKS is accuracy and shootability, I decided to concentrate on accuracy rather than speed. All shots hit the paper, one barely outside a 8" circle.

This excercise is really fun, I can see it becoming an addiction. Now to handload some practice ammo for my actual hunting rifles Laugh2
 
Gatehouse said:
Tried the SKS today. I was very slow as this rifle is s pig with the Archangel stock, rail, bipod, long detach magazines... I find it hard to hold the rifle comfortably from offhand and sitting positions. Would have much preffered a factory SKS with a low power scope or an aftermarket aperture sight.

I'll post pics later but best out of 3 attempts was 7 hits in 95 seconds. Very slow but as the main criticism of the SKS is accuracy and shootability, I decided to concentrate on accuracy rather than speed. All shots hit the paper, one barely outside a 8" circle.

This excercise is really fun, I can see it becoming an addiction. Now to handload some practice ammo for my actual hunting rifles Laugh2
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Gatehouse.... In light of my known distaste for using an SKS as a hunting rifle, I have to say that I appreciate your honesty.....

I will be doing this challenge again in the morning with my most accurate "to me" rifle..... The lowly rem 799 in .223....... My expectation is high accuracy and a time that would make Jabba the Hutt look agile.... But we will see....

Look forward to your report....
 
Brobee said:
Agree that there is a somewhat disappointing low level of participation, and I suspect my poor timing (february) might have something to do with this.

I also wonder if there might also be somewhat of a psychological effect working against "participation". I would speculate that a lot of people like to think of themselves as good at something, and it's deflating to the ego to go out and prove to yourself that your skill is not what you would like it to be. It might also be generally difficult to admit/present evidence of low skill level in a public community venue.

Because of this I think my "challenge" will suffer poor participation despite my efforts to get people to buy into the great news that once they shoot the challenge and uncover where skills could use improvement, a bit of practice can upgrade these skills considerably. Ultimately that's what I want the challenge to really be about - celebrating improvement.

It's also going to present a fascinating study of selection bias. I've drug a bunch of my friends, all gun enthusiasts who shoot reasonably regularly, out to shoot the challenge and am amassing a pretty good sample set of folks who I've personally witnessed their scores. When compared against the sample set that comes from the great anonymous internet, it will be really interesting to see whether or not there is noticeable variation between the two populations (scores I have seen shot vs scores submitted on the internet).

Anyway, enough of me ranting! I'm grateful that you might have time to participate once your trade shows are done, and would love to see a couple runs with your different guns that I've enjoyed reading about so much over the years. I'm going to get out this weekend and run the challenge again, this time with my new CZ550 Ebony in 30-06.

Cheers,

Brobee
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I'm looking forward to the results too, glad you have a control group to compare too, results should be interesting. I'll shoot after the 19th with the Kimber Adirondack, did the last two offhand "challenges" with and it's good fun, you run out of ideas on the range.
 
Gatehouse said:
Tried the SKS today. I was very slow as this rifle is s pig with the Archangel stock, rail, bipod, long detach magazines... I find it hard to hold the rifle comfortably from offhand and sitting positions. Would have much preffered a factory SKS with a low power scope or an aftermarket aperture sight.

I'll post pics later but best out of 3 attempts was 7 hits in 95 seconds. Very slow but as the main criticism of the SKS is accuracy and shootability, I decided to concentrate on accuracy rather than speed. All shots hit the paper, one barely outside a 8" circle.

This excercise is really fun, I can see it becoming an addiction. Now to handload some practice ammo for my actual hunting rifles Laugh2
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No laughing here, good on ya if I had an SKS I'd be using to too. A guy can afford to shoot them! Agreed on the tactical crap, often makes a rifle harder to shoot accurately than a plain Jane, boring setup.
 
Superbrad said:
John, not thread related, but my mother just went through this and I can't tell you how excited she is about her improved visual acuity...... Take it as a positive.... You have many nice rifles awaiting your new set of eyballs.....b
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The comments I've heard have been very positive. Just trying to get my mind set around the concept. I've been aware of the gradual decline in sight quality and am gradually accepting the upcoming correction procedure. Gotta' be done:), just in the process of building up the courage.
 
So here is the SKS in question- except it has a more traditional type of bipod in it now. It's a Chinese SKS that has seen well over 10 000 rounds through it. It has a Archangel stock, Wartak rail, bipod, Burris 3-9 scope and it uses Tapco 5 round mags. It's pretty heavy but it's pretty accurate from the bench, too. I don't think the stock adds to the accuracy at all- it's not bedded and I don't think it's any more "solid" than a laminate or wood stock- but the rail is pretty solid and that and the scope makes the big difference.


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I find this rifle pretty unwieldy to shoot precisely except for with the bipod, although shooting larger steel plates (like IPSC size) at 100 offhand is no problem. I would prefer a factory SKS stock or one of the sporter style tupperware stocks for this, compared to the heavy pistol grip Archangel. The only reason this rifle is set up this way is because it looks cool for my guests to shoot, and they can stand there and bang 8" gongs at 100 all day from the bipod. If I was going to hunt with an SKS I think I would just put the scope on it. And maybe take off the bayonet. :)

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With 7 hits and one pretty darn close, this was the Best out of 3, and 95 seconds. Others were 5 and 6 hits. I'll probably clean the SKS and try again, as it hasn't been cleaned for over 1000 rounds. The trigger felt a little sticky so it might be crudded up :)
 
Yes, it's what I had- a 6" target. So the hole at about 12'oclock above the circle would be within a 8" circle, and the one at 2 o'clock is just a smidge outside-or right on the line- of a 8" circle.
 
Gatehouse said:
Yes, it's what I had- a 6" target. So the hole at about 12'oclock above the circle would be within a 8" circle, and the one at 2 o'clock is just a smidge outside-or right on the line- of a 8" circle.
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So that is 9 shots "touching" the target! I won't be able to equal that with my best SKS, but I will try real hard!:d
 
I may have to give this a go........I've never played along with any of these challenges, but seeing as it is going to benefit your education I may just have to make up some circles and give it a go.........start at .204 and finish with .470 NE...........the 50 is to heavy for any offhand shooting...........
I only have one question.........what do you consider sitting supported as opposed to sitting unsupported........is sitting supported as in off the bench with bags? And unsupported meaning no artificial support but elbows on knees OK?
Does time include moving from one position into the next? OK that's more than one question but.........................
 
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