Made it out to the range for a couple of hours on Labor Day. Sighted in my kid"™s rifles in preparation for their mule deer hunt the end of this month. My 15yo has a regular Optima and my 17yo has an Apex. This year I"™ve got them set up with the 200gr SW over 100gr of BH209 lit by a regular Win 209. Both dialed in fairly quick with the Optima shooting just under 2" at 1900fps and the Apex right around 1" at 1950fps. Difference probably the barrel length, 26" vs. 28". I did have a couple of hang fires with the Apex due to me forgetting to pop a couple of caps after swabbing the bore with alcohol before the first loading. After those first 2 shots all went fine.
After I dialed them in at +2.5" at 100 yards I took 2 shots each at 200 yards. I did not walk down to check them between shots and I questioned if I pulled one of them so I"™m not sure which gun shot which hole. When I did go look I had 3 shots in a 3" group centered about 2.5" above the POA with the 4th about 6" left of the center of the group. I used the first mark down from center on the ballistic reticle of the scopes. I may dial it down a few clicks once the kids start practicing and fine tune them based on their shooting but I think these loads are going to be fine for them. Now to get them out to the range for some practice sessions.
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David
Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.
Groucho Marx
nice shooting... sounds like the mule deer better keep 300 yards between you and the kids.. Good luck hunting. I hope you all get nice ones.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
Getting Things Ready
