zekeskar

OK! I've been shooting the gun and have been having a lot of fun.

I got an owner's manual and broke it down and cleaned it up. The good part was that it was pretty much immaculate to begin with.

I ended up puttting a Weaver 1-3X20 scope on it. (V3) based on recommendations on this forum (THANKS for the pointer). I bought it from Midwest shooter's supply and they'e a great company. I am real happy with my selection. I did side by sides with my own Leupold 2-7 VariXII and a Leupold compact 4x available locally. In the dim light (similar to the 30 min before and after sun), I really couldn't tell any difference in brightness at about 60 or 70 yards, and the scope is very sharp. This could be that my eyes just aren't good enough to distinguish extreme nuances of brightness, or it could be that I just won't be shooting in light dim enough to make use of the better scopes, or it could be that this Weaver is a pretty nice scope for the money (which it is - I'm happy). Of course it doesn't have the warranty that my Leupold has, but I didn't pay for that either. I'm not really worried about a transferrable warranty. Aside from that important factor, I preferred the Weaver's light, compact size and the 1X option.

Before mounting the scope, I shot several sessions from the bench with the open sights. I got them zeroed at about 50 yards, but that was about it - I found it nearly impossible to get a decent accurate shot at 100 with my eyes and my skill. I could probably master it, but I think the low power scope was the way to go. I think the 1X will get a lot of use as well. At 50, I couldn't get much better than close to 2 inch groups and with the scope it was about half that at 100.

I held a lever gun at a local gun shop today with high visibility front and rear sights and think that might have been a good option as well.

After mounting it and sighting it, I've tested 3 170 gr. factory loads and one 150 gr at 100 yards. I found one that is slightly more accurate (Federal), but the difference is so small though that I wouldn't have any problem substituting in a pinch. The point of impact is different, but again, within an inch or two, so no big deal for hunting deer.

Best group so far at 100 is less than an inch, which I consider extremely good for the sand bag rest and my crummy technique - and definitely a "lucky", not typical group. I'd say that typical bench groups from this gun with this shell will be just a little bigger than an inch. I'm very happy with that.

Now that I have the load selected and it sighted in at 100 yards (about 1.5- 2" high which should zero at 25 and 150 - good for my hunting), I'm going to burn a box or two of shells practicing field positions and quick, accurate second shots. And, doing the half-cock safety between every shot so it becomes as second nature to me as the other safeties I'm comfortable with.

Many thanks to everyone for the advice and information. A lot of fun so far!