GTA
Target Shooting Matches, Discussion & Events => The Long Range Club => Topic started by: steveoh on October 14, 2019, 01:06:29 PM
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Nothing Under A Hundred - NUAH
Kevin invited me over for a Sunday morning airgun shoot, and I accepted. Kevin is great company, and it's always a good time, and who in their right mind passes up a chance to stretch out and shoot to 100 and 200 yards? :D
I brought the Texan .257, the Marauder and the Sumatra. I ended up shooting the Texan for the entire morning though as I can't really shoot it in the backyard at home. I have a Texan Jones. :P
The Texan has been sighted in at 100 yards now for quite a while. My chart of MilDots and Distances taped to the tank usually gets me close to bullseye for any distance from 25 out to 200+ yards. This day however started out with whackadoodle behavior from the normally trusty Texan.
Right off the bat I struggled to hit big targets close in. Very strange. The Texan does have a newer "BSA" FFP scope on it that has given me grief in the past, where I have been unable to make vertical adjustments. Last time it did this I smacked it with a rubber hammer. That got things a moving. While I suspected something was going on with the scope, I noticed that the gauge on the rifle differed by quite a bit on the SCBA tank gauge. Hmmm. I filled up the Texan only the gauge did not budge. HUH?
I screwed around trying to determine what was going on, and figured out that the fill port check valve on the Texan was not letting air in. So I gave it a quick open shut, open shut the valve on the SCBA tank and I heard the Texan make a CLICK, and it suddenly started taking air. I'm going to email AirForce and see if they can decipher this behavior. Is it the fill port, or is it the valve that is sticking?
Anyway, with filling the Texan once again working, I turned my attention to shooting at 75 yards. Using the new home cast NOE - 258 75 FN BT HP I finally started getting decent groups of sorts. I switched back to my old standby of the 257420 and got about the same groups. I did see some flyers and that had me puzzled. I don't think I trust this scope, and will put my old "BSA" back on for the next shoot I think.
Curiously I was able to smack the small spinners at 75 and 100 yards mostly at will. One series of shots on a 5 or 6" plate gave me horizontal strings. I suspect I was not holding my Texan at the same angle each shot. I thought a level would come in handy to avoid this. After realizing that's probably what was happening, I tried referencing a fence post for more precise alignment of the vertical cross hair to the fence post. That helped.
Then I focused on shooting NUAH targets at 102 yards as reported by my rangefinder. I had mixed results, and swapped ammo several times. I came to the conclusion that the new NOE - 258 75 FN BT HP performed a little better than the 257420. I used up a lot of the new bullets. Next time I'd like to do some sort of ballistics testing to see how both bullets perform against a chunk of clay or soap or ballistics jell. Oh wait I have a bunch of melted candle wax. Hmmmm.
I had two targets where I got all bullets inside of the 4MOA ring (which was undersized due to the print guy adjusting size). Kevin and I were shooting under a handicap as a result. The posted target is the best.
Submitted target has a 1.34" group.
Photos did not include one of me or Kevin, and I shot the three images of our shooting position after I'd torn down my shooting chair and packed stuff away. Of course the target was printed a little smaller than specified. If this disqualifies me, then oh well, I'll try again.
Steveoh
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Great shooting Steve.
Yes printing the target out a tad smaller actually makes the job harder for you with the groups.
I've noticed when I print out the target for it to be the proper 4 inches at the 8 ring that the "wind" and "position" at the bottom of the page are gone. I click on "actual size" or "scale to 100" when I print.
If I click on "Fit" before it prints then it will be the smaller target like yours.So look at your page size and play with that and see what you can do with it.
Either way, good to see you on here.
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Not only are those shots inside the 4 MOA ring, they are inside the 3 MOA ring (9-ring) as well.... Nicely done, Steve.... Targets printed smaller are OK, just not larger....
Bob
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Good shooting Steve. I added you to the list as an Expert. Congratulations and welcome to the Club.
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Good shooting Steve. I added you to the list as an Expert. Congratulations and welcome to the Club.
Thank you kind sir!
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Steve, Buddy...I'm just getting around to reading this. I've been thinking about it and it took me a bit to find the proper thread.
Nice work. I've watched you progress from having a horrible flinch (Steve used to be to shooting what Charles Barkley is to golf) You've practiced, suffered setbacks, had amazing 'firsts', and I've had a blast watching it all. You're prowess with that .257 is only getting stronger each time out. Next round we need to get a 200 yard group if the conditions allow. I know that I laid in a really tight 5 shot group at 200 last time out on steel and I would have loved to have gotten that on paper. I can barely keep up with the accuracy of that .257 now that you're dialing it in; I have to step up my game.
Congratulations again. You earned it.
And for what it's worth, I was a witness to the groups that Steve shot.
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Wow, thank you Kevin!
You start out the day smacking steel every shot and I’m sitting there wondering what on earth happened to my accuracy. Took me a while to dial it in for sure. It’s curious because I’ve had to turn up the magic wheel one full revolution. I’m wondering if the hammer spring is weakening.
Flinch? What Flinch? Hahaha. That’s call DAQ-itus. At one point I put a GoPro next to me to record the flinch. It appears that sometimes my right hand released grip and flew off. I think that’s more than a flinch.
Your 200 yard group was pretty amazing. Had it been on paper you’d have become master, no doubt.
Good fun! Wish I could shoot .257 everyday.
Steve, Buddy...I'm just getting around to reading this. I've been thinking about it and it took me a bit to find the proper thread.
Nice work. I've watched you progress from having a horrible flinch (Steve used to be to shooting what Charles Barkley is to golf) You've practiced, suffered setbacks, had amazing 'firsts', and I've had a blast watching it all. You're prowess with that .257 is only getting stronger each time out. Next round we need to get a 200 yard group if the conditions allow. I know that I laid in a really tight 5 shot group at 200 last time out on steel and I would have loved to have gotten that on paper. I can barely keep up with the accuracy of that .257 now that you're dialing it in; I have to step up my game.
Congratulations again. You earned it.
And for what it's worth, I was a witness to the groups that Steve shot.
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Man that range looks fun! That is the kind of fun I am looking to have as I move on up the PCP calibers
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JB,
Thanks for the compliment on the range. I'm fortunate to live on a place where my range is backyard and I can shoot big bore. A friend welded me up some custom 'heads' that fit on top of T posts. He also made some stainless spinners for small bore (which Steveoh likes to shoot with his .58 Daq.) and thicker steel spinners for big bore. Some of the spinners are 1" to 2" which make it really fun at long range. Currently I have hanging steel from 25 to 200 yards with posts at 25 yard increments. When I go other places to shoot I just take a couple of unused posts and the heads and I'm in business for steel. Here are some more pics of it.
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Yup that is exactly what I want to do on my 5 acres....I can go out to 200 yards but with my current rifles that is not needed.....with my Raptor and Slugs......I am thinking your set up is exactly right!
I am not in the steel business so I buy from big box stores the little I have.....Do you have a recommendation where to get the Steel I will need without paying too much......salvage, distributors, Amazon....I live in South Denver Area.
Again.....nice shooting!
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Go to your local welding and/or fabrication shop. They usually have a remnant rack and you can pay by the pound. I buy thin stuff so it's easier to carry and makes a nice sound. When it starts to bend or curl I flip it over to shoot the back side and it reverses/straightens out.