Loading 80 Grain Sierra MatchKings. 200 of them.
Match rifle with Leupold 16X scope on Brownell base.
Match starts this Friday with a two-man team match. We'll be on the Camp Swift range down near Bastrop. 300, 500 and 600 yards. I'm shooting my match rifle, but scoped this time in the any rifle-any sight catagory. I'm interested, especially at Swift, in watching the wind through the scope AS I shoot. Swift is famous for switching conditions in just a few seconds.
I had to order a scope mount base for my AR spacegun. I picked the mount from Brownells. 45 bucks or so for the base and another 24 for the rail. It's modular so you can put several different rails on it. I had to get the extended rail so I could move the scope forward for prone shooting. It looks ungainly on what is a fairly ugly rifle to start with. The scope is a Leupold 16X fixed power target scope I got off Ebay a couple of years ago. Dated but serviceable. I had never used the scope before so I mounted it up and took it out to get a zero at 31 West range. It just took a few minutes and a few rounds to get on paper at 25 yards, tune in at 50 and finally shoot at 100. It seemed to shoot well at 100 off the bench and the 80s grouped better than the 69 Sierra MatchKings.
This was all off the bench in late light.
Today I went out to shoot out of position at 200 yards in good light. Lucie went along but never enjoys the sound of gunfire so she spends most of the time in the truck. I rolled out the mat and set up, having to move the scope forward one address on the flat-top of the AR to get good eye relief while prone. The 16X is very clear and you can see the mirage up to the last moment.
My 200 yard zero is up six revolutions on the elevation knob. The knob has a total of 8 1/2 revolutions of elevation so I am toward the top. I was shooting at the blank backs of two 200 yard centers stapled vertically with a black paster near the bottom as an aiming point. I shot a couple of rounds to dress up the zero and then added one revolution- 10 minutes on the gun, (40 1/4 minute clicks). 10 minutes on the scope ought to be ten inches at 100 yards, 20 inches at 200 yards. I shot a round and it looked like the hole was about that much higher than the black paster I was using as an aiming point. I ran it back down and up and shot again to check- same elevation. I added another 5 minutes of elevation, (20 quarter minute clicks or half a turn of the elevation knob and shot over that. When I walked down to the target the top group was 27 inches above the aiming point. I'll need about that much to go from 300 to 600 yards. I have another 10 minutes of elevation, (one knob turn) still left over that, so I have plenty of room. I could add more room by getting a rail that adds some elevation from Brownells so I would be up one revolution at 200 yards.
I flipped over the target so I could see the target black and scoring rings and went back to shoot five rounds with the 200 yard zero on. All Xs. I held off to the edge of the X-ring on mirage switching left and right.
Now I just have to take it apart and tighten everything up, clean it and put it back together. And load 200 rounds of 80 grain Sierra MatchKings.
3 comments:
What kind of reloading press is that?
Good scope, and you can watch the mirage easily... I'd also look at a 20moa base to give a little more room on the adjustment.
It's a Harrel press. They make several reloading tools. Pretty good folks. You can get them through Sinclair.
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