Thread: Good Progress With My Subsonic Mission

Thanks for the interesting and encouraging comments. Dunno what my next rifle should be. I really like the .357 magnum calibre, although I need to have a few more successful hunts with it just to see what it is capable of. I like the look of the Ruger 77s, but I have been a bit put off with reports of accuracy problems - so it was good to read a success story here. I'd love a Ruger No 1, or some other old style single shot with decent steel sights to play with as I try different loads and practice shooting with open sights. With a longer barrel and modest subsonic loads I might not even need a suppressor.

I like single shots, especially when they have an exposed hammer. Simple and safe, and I'm more likely to save the brass after a shot.

After playing around with the factory sights on the Bergara, I had some more encouraging results when I shot it today. I obliterated the fluorescent glow from the fibre-optic sights with the use of a dark black marking pen. I painted a white dot on the foresight and filed a decent V in the rear sight. I got much better definition and some reasonable shooting results, although not as good as I'd like. It would be fine for close shots in the bush though.

I had previously had a scope on the rifle, but I'd taken it off to experiment with the open sights. Today I refitted it, and found that the point of aim was spot on and no adjustment was needed. And I shot a good group of new reloads while sitting with a pair of crude shooting sticks supporting my left hand. The group might not cause a bench rest shooter to have a premature ejaculation, but an inch and a half group at sixty yards centred around my point of aim is plenty good enough for me at present considering that the maximum point blank range for my rig shooting at a two inch circle (rabbit size) is around 75 yards. Without special gear, judging distance and managing the 'drop' gets tricky for me beyond this range. I like to keep things uncomplicated. If I need to shoot something at a greater range I can use a faster cartridge. Cheers !