22 Match This Morning

My range has started a new match on Thursday mornings for .22's. So this morning I packed up the kids and dropped them off at school and then proceeded to the range. The match started at 9AM and I managed to get there just in time to shoot in the second relay. I also shot an additional target for no score for the practice.

The targets were set out at 50 yards and consisted of twenty five small bullseyes and three sighters, which I needed because my custom Ruger 10/22 had been sighted in for 100 yards. I shot the low velocity Federal Premium .22lr (40gn LRN - 1,050 FPS) today.

I finally got my scope sighted in on the sighters and shot my first target. I didn't do too badly, though there were better shooters than I there. For the first target I got 177 out of 250 points. The second target I did better with 182 out of 250 points, but that one didn't count.

Even though I didn't win I had fun and that's what counts!

More Volquartsen Goodness

The little truck of happiness came again today and dropped off the vertical compensator for my Ruger 22/45. In the same box was the extended bolt handle for my custom Ruger 10/22. I was under the impression it was supposed to be polished, but instead I got the frosted/bead blasted finished one in. I'm not going to bitch about it too bad since I think it looks just fine on my gun the way it is. Oh yeah, I realize the vertical compensator is brushed stainless steel and not blued, but I happen to like the way it looks and ordered it that way on purpose. It gives the gun a kind of "Buck Rogers" space pistol kind of vibe. I got the vertical compensator to help in speeding up my shooting at the plate match. See, last month in one of my runs I tied another competitor, a really good competitor, for speed. If I can gain anything in regards to getting back on target quicker I think I can take him. People don't think there's much recoil on a .22lr, and they're right, but when trying to hit a 6" steel plate from 10-15 yards anything helps. I can see the recoil in my red dot scope as it bounces around after each shot. Anyway, here's some gun porn for you since you read this entire paragraph and didn't give up!

Range Report

Howdy! It was raining cats and dogs and Shetland ponies up at the range today, but that didn't detour me from heading up there with my custom Ruger 10/22 and my Yugo SKS with the new scope mount on it. The fact that it was still hunter sight in days didn't keep me at home either. There was the usual assortment of people who hadn't had their Remchester Bambi thumpers out of the closet since dear season ended last year, kids of all ages with their spiffy brand spanking new rifles who had no idea how to use them, there were also two or three who brought their new rifles straight up from the store. I don't know about them, but every new gun I've purchased has been dripping with lubricant and needed to be cleaned before it was shot. God bless the RSO's up there at the range, I wouldn't want their job!

Ruger 10/22

Well, Volquartsen came through with the replacement hammer, hammer spring, and sear for my custom Ruger 10/22 and I wasted no time getting them installed. Right off the bat I noticed that the safety once again was functional, which was a good sign, but I was unable to take it up to the range until today. Using the same ammo as before, I was able to keep a 2" grouping at 100 yards. Not bad even if I do say so myself. I have no doubt that the rifle is capable of greater accuracy than I am at this point. Kudos to Volquartsen for their fast turn around on the replacement parts! I also got to try out the new bipod from Rock Mount and it really helped with my consistency and shrank my group sizes. Hallelujah! My 10/22 is now fully operational again!

Yugo SKS

The Scout Scope mount I got from Scout Scopes came with clear instructions and everything needed and I had it installed in no time. I am very happy with this scope mount and it functioned completely as advertised. Bravo Scout Scopes! The rest of this rant will not be about the scope mount, but about the POS NcSTAR red dot scope I got from a local gun show. Big mistake, this scope is a piece of crap that won't hold zero and needs an Allen wrench (supplied) to adjust, with no detents at all. It was so sensitive and easy to get off target that it took a long time for me to even get the rifle on paper. Thank you to the anonymous RSO who helped me with this, btw. We had to take the bolt out and look down the barrel and hold it on target while adjusting the scope. Doing this I was able to hit the paper, albeit always about four inches left of where the dot was at, and no amount of adjusting would get it on target. Did I mention that the dot covered a 4" circle at 25 yards. I'm junking this POS and getting a good one. Anyone have a suggestion for a cheap (below $100) red dot that will take the recoil of an SKS? Short story is, I burned up about 60 rounds of corrosive milsurp ammo that stinks to high heaven (Seriously, this stuff smells awful!) and still need to go back with a new scope to get it sighted in.

Ack, well it wasn't all bad, but it wasn't my best day at the range. *sigh*

Potpourri...

Ruger 10/22 Update:

I talked to Volquartsen this afternoon about a problem I had last Friday before the match. It was the first time I'd taken it to the range since installing their HP trigger group parts kit I got from Midway USA. The safety wouldn't engage, the over travel screw was very loose and tightening up on it's own with every pull of the trigger and most importantly of all, I was getting light strikes every time; none of which were hard enough to actually set off the round. I was, and continue to get extraction issues, but I'm thinking maybe that is because I am using subsonic ammo. Anyway, I was able to get my rifle back into service by swapping out the new hammer and hammer spring with the factory parts. I shot the practice this way and the match the next day with the factory hammer and spring which I'm sure affected my trigger pull. To Volquartsen's credit, they are going to send me a new sear, hammer and hammer spring in exchange for my current parts. The tech I spoke to said that they have made some changes to these parts and have eliminated the problems I am having. With luck the parts should be here within the week.

I have a bi-pod on my 10/22 now! It's a Rockmount (Harris clone). Unfortunately I didn't have the cash to get it before the match, but I have one now and we'll see what effect it has the next time I get up to the range.

In other related news, I am considering a switch to a 1200 fps round instead of the current 1080 fps cartridge I am currently using. My hope is that if the bullets stays supersonic for the entire trip I'll be less affected by the wind and air turbulence.

Etc...

At the Washougal, WA gun show, the same day as the match, I managed to sell my Ruger Vaquero for some much needed cash. I hated getting rid of it, but I hardly ever shot it and it was painful to shoot, not to mention the costs of feeding a .44 Magnum. I reloaded for it, but still it was expensive.

I picked up 75 rounds of 7.62x54R for $18 at the show also (this stuff is getting hard to find), and an old Herters Powder scale for $5. The brass beam on the scale was so tarnished I couldn't read the scale markings on it. When I got it home I disassembled it and with some cotton balls and Brasso I managed to get the beam shining like gold. Using my check weights I tested it out and found it's only reading .2 gn's low with 50 gn's of weight in the pan. Not bad for a powder scale as old as this one appears to be. It does seem to take forever to settle down though. In contrast, my RCBS 5-0-5 scale reads .1 gn low with the same amount of weight. Accurate enough I say.

Oh, did I mention the joker with an incomplete Lee Progressive 1000 reloading press? He wanted $100 dollars for it and wouldn't budge past $80. For $149 shipped, I can have a brand new press in .38/.357 from Natches Shooters Supply. I offered him $50 and he and his buddy thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever heard. Seriously folks, if I am going to have to buy crap to make something work, and the new price for the same item is the same or less than I would be spending, I'd have to be an idiot to buy the incomplete, used item. I told him no thanks and walked away.

Oh, a few posts ago I bemoaned the price of ammo? Well, today I went to Bi-mart and found the same 525 round Federal bulk box of .22lr for $10.99. Either they have better connections or something... The UMC 250 round box of 9mm was $3 more than it was months ago at $47.99, so not as bad as Sportsman's Warehouse as far as ammo goes. If you're in the Pacific Northwest area and you have a Bi-mart next to you, go check out their ammo prices. They also have regular specials too, keep an eye out for those.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. Oh, if you get a chance, go check out The People of the Gun and join the tribe! :-)

Why I don't use Remington Thunderbolt .22lr

I didn't take this video, but it illustrates why I don't use Remington Thunderbolt .22lr in my guns. To be fair, I have not had problems with any other Remington Products.

I personally recommend Federal copper plated .22lr in the bulk pack, or Federal Premium Gold Medal Target .22lr, which is what I shoot in my modified Ruger 10/22. It's 1MOA or less at 100 yards with the Adams & Bennett match barrel on it.

I guess I can kiss that Remington sponsorship goodbye! ;-)