I was having a dig mate ;)
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Nice afternoon so I thought I'd chance my arm with the Howa 7.62x39. Cheated a bit and used my diy front rest but as it was 380 metres I thought I need all the help I can get so why not.
1-6 bdc scope, Norinco silver box fmj, 12 inch plate, slight swirling breeze from 9 oclock. First shot ding, see it's on the rhs second in the middle, third on left edge as the wind must have dropped. I'm pretty suprised and quite pleased. It's not a range I would consider shooting at an animal with this cartridge though.
got bored sitting at home so rebedded the Howa .270w with a hot gluegun "blob job" similar to what model 70 winchesters and weatherbys have done in factory...rather happy with outcome and removed pressure points from forestock at same time....
my target paper is 6"x8" with a 1" dot in centre...first two rounds wer inch off to left at hundy...slight adjustment and we good to go..hard work at hundy yards with fixed 4x post n rail...the post covers an inch at that range so its a matter of holding under till just about to fire then slight bit of up and squeaze off.
Attachment 208817 this fella made mistake of stopping where I could see him...SST at a blistering speed in a hot load did the rest..LEFT HANDED out window of terrano at eye watering range of THREE PACES...
Nice :thumbsup:
Now be sure to cut 5 inches from wound to avoid food posioning :thumbsup:
too late...now if phone would let me upload 2nd photo you would see dinner plate relevance...the dogs got hind quarters and frame,I have scoffed the back steaks for my lunch.
No dinner plate but shooting off the bonnet of truck checking scope zero a week ago.Close enough for the 308 at 100yds then checked 400yds.
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Can do better on a good day at 400yds.
When shooting above targets i was looking thru a new Nikko Stirling Octa 2x16x50.After the 100yds shots i dialed 2 clks up and1 right,all good.Wanted a low to high x scope so got this with a life time warranty from Scopeuout NZ for just over $500.Great FOV with a 4A retical.Tipped ove a couple of geese at 300+ yds and shot a deer up a hill at 360yds last week.Thermal clip on looks good thru it.So scope and me are on song.
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Top left and top right 100m checking zero after putting suppressor on (surprisingly zero point of impact change)
Back to 430m for the group in centre
6.5 creed
So, this is one for bush hunting.
One shot at 30 rough paces, which is as far as I could see through the trees, standing, start with rifle slung over one shoulder loaded and safety catch on, 5 second timer on phone.
This is a shot we'd all back ourselves to get, right ?
Target is in the middle of this pic, soft earth behind and I can actually see there's no one on the slope behind.
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I suspended the target in vines 50cm above the ground. It's the 20x20cm cardboard wrapper off a slab on chocolate.
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The ground under foot was a little uneven but better than average when you're in a hurry shooting at a deer.
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Got the shot away before the timer went off.
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Not every snap shot would be so close to the middle of course but I'd be confident to shoot a deer.
Very Nice! That is the way the challenge was intended: one shot, cold barrel, and at a distance and with the method and the target size replicating a particular hunting situation, a dinner plate-sized target being for larger deer. It gives a high level of confidence to the hunter as to whether they would be likely to make a humane killing shot on a deer in a similar situation and conditions — or not.
Deviating from this approach, by taking steps of any kind that improve the likelihood of hitting the target in this contrived situation is fine, but how then can the effect of these can be quantified and allowed for in a future hunting situation where the same steps can't be applied prior to a single shot being taken?
For example sighting-in immediately prior to the challenge is fine — if the hunter always sights in immediately before taking a shot at game. If not then the typical hunting conditions aren't being replicated. The question as to whether the rifle shoots to the same point of aim with a recently fouled barrel as opposed to one that was last shot some time ago is not being addressed, along with the rifle's ability to hold zero after being dragged through the bush for several hours etc... there are a number of variables that can change with time since the last zeroing. The same applies to shots being taken at targets progressively further away before taking this challenge at the longest distance, just like a deer at 600 metres will wait for a hunter to first confirm their come-ups and windage at 200m and 400m to factor out the effect of those particular conditions. Again these prior shots are taking out a lot of variables that the challenge was intended to be including as part of an assessment that as closely as possible replicates a hunting situation.
Bet the chocolate tasted nice,good shooting practice for in the bush.Very covered in bush there.
Yep the chocolate was good thanks. Have admit i stoppped and ate my lunch before doing this test. Felt a bit tired after an 05:00 start.
This was after 2 days unsuccessful bushunting, sleeping under the fly with the gun beside me.
Last sighted in afew months ago and fired a few rounds at a club range shoot since that.
Also, refrained from dry firing practice on it beforehand.
one could say you have "hit the sweet spot"
Here's one at 141m, sitting using a tree for a rest. Again, a shot we would expect to make but on the other hand we haven't always.
After a couple of hours pushing through scrub I decided I wasn't going to get a deer in this place.
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The paper plate is hanging from a Dracophyllum bush in the red circle.
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There was some wind from 3 O'Clock but at that range it wouldn't make much difference. Actually, at the target it was drifting the other way, possibly a bit of a ridge top rotor.
Here's how I set up for the shot, gripping the small tree with a few fingers and holding the foreend out from it with a couple of others so the scope and stock wouldn't make contact. Not a 100% steady hold but good enough for the 21cm plate.
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Here's where it fell.
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Looks ugly enough to be the top of the kaimais
Yes, thats what I tried first too. There was something wrong - maybe a branch got in the way of the scope.
There are a variety of ways to splay your hand and fingers over round or flat surfaces from either side which we should practice.
I like to contact both the surface and the stock with the soft surface of my fingers/ hand rather than resting the bony back of the hand / wrist if I can manage it. But you have to be adaptable.
I’ve been practicing shooting in various sitting / standing positions as the grass is so long, prone shooting is a non-starter. Some gong practice shooting uncomfortable positions has really helped fine tune the setup.
What I have found is that the DPT Hunter chassis with a wide sling around the left forearm and left elbow on my left knee, right hand on the pistol grip and right elbow on my right knee which is supported by the sloping ground, produces a very stable position with which to take some difficult shots.
Recently I’ve been hunting hard country on shitty gradients where long grass / scrub and bad lies make prone shooting impossible. I’ve really appreciated getting the sitting position sorted as its pretty much on autopilot now. Getting the sling length just right was important.
This was a tough shot - a good red stag stopped to take one last look back up the spur to see if the smelly human was still there. Neck shot was the only option in the scrub. Shot angle was >30° down, about 140-150m. Something that is also on autopilot is remembering to aim slightly low on the steeply angled closer shots. My .308 Win POI is 2.5” low at 100m (200m zero) and I’ve pretty much got this hard-coded when snap shooting, again thanks to “dinner plate” practice on the gong.
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Good shot Flyblown. That’s flying !
Before we can fly we have to be able to dance
Before we can dance we have to be able to run
Before we can run we have to be able to walk
Once we have our equipment sorted, then some familiarity with the 4 basic unsupported positions and bench resting, we need to start trying those awkward positions and being inspired by people who have solutions to them. And passing on tips. Sometimes a technique can give unexpected stabilty (like kneeling with a rest but the left elbow hanging in space and the right keen up with right elbow resting on it which you see occasionally at gong shoots) and other times an apparently unpromising technique like using a none too tight sling for sitting like you described or standing does translate to higher scores on paper even if it still feels abit wobbly. Unsupported shooting can give good results in training bit can be a bit fragile under stress.
Should have been poa not poi (point of aim vs point of impact)
If you want to really see your offhand (standing) shooting improve have a go at silhouette shooting.
A club day of silhouettes at Tokoroa is 4x rounds of 40 shots on the silhouettes repeated the next day.
All up 320 shots standing in two days plus whatever practise shots you use.
That's all standing with 22rf.
You'll be surprised what you can do standing with your after a while.
It's a lot of fun.:)
Good shot for a downhill, tricky.
I like sitting as a good position too, cant master kneeling at all.
Another one to try is to lay your mustering stick against a bush or tree at 45 degrees and shoot across it. Can be used laying onto a soft springy bush / hebe etc for a surprisingly solid rest
Another good rest in long grass is your day pack standing rather than lying down - so long as it has some of those rigid stays in the back of it. And if its got a bit of gear in the bottom it also helps more.
This is an American made Outdoorsman pack frame that I use in the tussock. Its an excellent platform to shoot off, especially steep down hill. The frame is stiff nylon sort of stuff and there is a notch in the frame to rest the rifle stock on when shooting. There are several bag sizes you can attach or just use a meat shelf.
I mainly use the small bag in the bottom pic so the set up can be used for day hunting. Ive also got a 70 litre bag, and it takes about 3 minutes to change the bags. A wonderful set up.
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The “sitting position” extra-long Harris bipod I bought recently worked really well too. Went out for a quick goat cull before the weather packed up and did well with the .223, sitting comfortably on a settee cushion.
Yes, I know. Unfortunately my coccyx takes such a beating on the quad on these rough bloody tracks that after a while sitting on hard uncomfortable ground becomes sufficiently unpleasant to resort to ridiculous comforts. Nick it off the couch when no one is looking and stuff it in the pack. Easy!
203m prone with backpack.
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25m today off the pack. #fulllrealism
#opensights
Theres quite a bit if luck involved for the shot to fall that close to the middle too 🙂.
It doesnt happen every time.
… but I say if you intended to hit it and you did hit it, then take the credit !