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!

Ruger Mark II 22/45 magazines

I have a Ruger Mark II 22/45 and a while back I lost the two magazines that came with it, plus a new one I got late last year. The reliability was pretty good with only the occasional jam. Earlier this month, I got two brand new 22/45 magazines ($20/per) from SW and at the match today I was jamming regularly, and in fact it cost me the match.

The jam seems to occur with one fired case getting stuck behind the new cartridge on it's way into the chamber and the bolt & breech face. Jeffersonian has suggested a new extractor, which may well be it. The thing that bothers me is that with the old magazines, jamming was rare. Plus, at the range earlier this month, I borrowed a friends magazine and had jamming problems until I gave that one back to him and he lent me another one. This time it shot like a dream and I had no more malfunctions.

Is there a difference between the Mark II 22/45 magazines & Mark III 22/45 magazines? If so, what is it?

Any other ideas what is going on?

UPDATE: I should have said this earlier, but the replacement magazines I got are from Ruger.

Sarah Brady Cries! Film at Eleven!

Last Friday I went up to my range to practice for the monthly Plate Match which was held the next day. I was unable to go to the match because of a family emergency, but still it was good to get some trigger time in anyway.

Thanks to Robb at Sharp as a Marble, I had a fresh supply of "Every time you hit a bullseye, Sarah Brady cries!" targets with me. Thanks Robb! They're great targets and the guys at the range loved them. :-)

Here's the scoop on the Plate Match. The .22lr division shoots a 6" plate from about 15 - 17 yards, roughly the same distance as the pistol range. Robb's targets have one big 10" target and two 6" targets. First I'd warm up on the large target and then shoot the lower targets rapid fire to simulate the Plate Match. Rapid fire meaning 3-4 shots a second until I'd emptied the magazine (10 rounds). In this case, hitting anywhere within the 6" circle is considered a hit, as it would certainly knock down the steel plate at the match. Having the targets the same size as the plates worked out great too!

Here we have an example of the target I was using:



And here are a selection of smaller targets in no particular order. I should point out that most of the "misses" on the smaller targets can be traced to screw-ups in shooting the larger target. Usually when I got a little too fast for my own good. *blush*







Next Friday, my birthday oddly enough, I intend to make another range trip to re-sight-in my SKS. Seems last time I shot it, the recoil was harsh enough to loosen the set screws on the scout mount. I took it down and applied lock-tite to them and put everything back together. When I did I noticed that the red dot was no longer anywhere near where the rifle was pointing. I've bore sighted it down the hall, but it definitely needs to be re-sighted before I trust it to 100 yards again. And yes, I'll be shooting more Sarah Brady targets too. :-) Time willing I'll try and get more hand gun practice in and perhaps try out some of my newly minted Mosin rounds. We'll see...

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! ;-)

Yuri Gets a Red Dot

Tired of getting his ass served to him at the steel plate match, Yuri went and got a Bushnell Red/Green Dot scope (Sportsman's Warehouse) and mounted it to his Ruger Mark II 22/45 with a Wegand Combat no gunsmith scope mount from Mounts Plus. This only requires drifting out the rear sight and inserting a mounting block. Two 1/16 ball end hex key, set screws lock it down and the mounting rail is screwed down on top of it. A little lock-tite keeps everything secure.

As evidenced by this video, the accuracy that is achievable is incredible. Yuri is using the 3 MOA dot in this clip, at a distance of up to 17 yards (42 feet).