My Afternoon At The Shooting Range

Been thinking about how you might be able to jump from just out of the money to always being in the money. You definitely have the skill to win matches. So what can you do to make that jump. I think the variable lies in the mini mag ammo you have to use. Mini Mag ammo is made to a price point. That means that there will be a variance from one round to another. No much chance for a variance in the bullet or the casing. That leaves the powder. 22's are sensitive to small differences in powder. Have you thought about weighing each round. Any weight difference would most likely be due to a different amount of powder. You would need an accurate and consistent scale. Any way just a suggestion.
 
mickri said:
Been thinking about how you might be able to jump from just out of the money to always being in the money. You definitely have the skill to win matches. So what can you do to make that jump. I think the variable lies in the mini mag ammo you have to use. Mini Mag ammo is made to a price point. That means that there will be a variance from one round to another. No much chance for a variance in the bullet or the casing. That leaves the powder. 22's are sensitive to small differences in powder. Have you thought about weighing each round. Any weight difference would most likely be due to a different amount of powder. You would need an accurate and consistent scale. Any way just a suggestion.
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There are enough variables to affect the projectile without having to worry about inconsistent powder charges.
I went to Eley for my 22lr matches. It took care of those fliers. Expensive though. I don't even know if you can get it anymore.
What are you California guys doing? You can't buy online. I know, I live in the Golden State.
I learned some benchrest tips from an older fellow. One of the things besides proper breathing was to make sure my cheek was just touching the stock so my pulse would not affect the trajectory. It made a big difference for me.
 
I used to shoot Eley also. Great ammo. I mostly used Winchester match ammo because that was what the military guys were selling.

I think that you can still buy online. It just has to go through a California licensed ammo vendor.
 
It’s one of the league rules, CCI Mini-Mag hollow points, are the only ammo allowed to be used.
 
Jeff and I were merely commenting on ammo we used to use. Not that you should use it in your matches. Back to Mini-Mag ammo. Like I posted above I would weight every round looking for consistency. You might also consider measuring the overall length too. Sort the ammo into groups to see how different ammo performs in your rifle. For testing I would set the rifle up in a rigid rest where all you have to do is pull the trigger. The testing is to see how the ammo groups. I would not be surprised to see the point of impact change from one group of ammo to another. But the group size should be very consistent. Do this testing indoors so wind is not a factor.

And you may find that there is no difference between the different groups of ammo. The mental aspect of shooting can affect how well you shoot. If you don't have confidence in your rifle, ammo, how you set up to shoot, etc., those nagging doubts will effect your shooting. When you have that unexplained flyer. Was it me. Was it the ammo. Was it the rifle. Or whatever will swirl through your mind.
 
This format sounds like fun. You don't need to shoot 10x, you just need to shoot better than the other guy. Homolog ammunition evens the playing field, as does using production rifles (even some are practically made of plastic?). The only edge one person has over the other is skill. This is why jalopy class racing is so much fun. I wouldn't change a thing other than banning muzzle breaks.
 
So it back to the range yesterday (Christmas day) and today. The first thing on the list, was shoot my my league, 5 target average of 98.2%. Then is was the start of the Winchester Wildcat sighting in. I really like the rifle, but felt the rear peep sight was very cheesy, but for the actual rifle cost, it was to be expected.

I bought an aftermarket M1 rear peep sight, that mounted to the rifle’s top rail, but while fully adjustable, it now requires a high front sight. Because at this point it’s height is unknown, I fabbed up a fully adjustable front sight out of an 18 mm, 2 piece shaft collar and a piece of #8-32 hardened all thread. So after about 15, 10 shot targets, i zero in the rifle, now I know that, with the M1 rear sight set at the middle of the adjustment range I need a front sight in the .690” to .700” height range.

After the sighting in, I then shot 3 series of targets, like I do with the Ruger Precision Rimfire, for the league. The averages with the temporary front sight were 97.8%, 98.2% and finally 97.6%. I feel pretty good about the rifles capabilities, I just wish mine were better. I also need new glasses.

The only real complaint with the Winchester Wildcat, is the high trigger pull, in all of the reviews, they say it varies from 4.8 to 5.9#, I‘m not sure what mine is, but it is high. So far the manual and all the other sources, fail to mention any way to adjust the trigger pull. So far my emails to Winchester, have not been responded to.
 
You are getting that new rifle dialed in. Congrats on the scores.

Way back when when I was shooting small bore prone I used different springs depending on the trigger pull requirements for the match. Had one spring for 3 lb pull matches and another spring that got the trigger pull as low as I dared and still be safe. The pull was only a couple of ounces. I don't remember what it was. The springs were easy to change on my Anchutz.
 
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