Bitter Cold with Bright Sun
 

This morning at dawn it was -13, but the sky was clear. After the sun was up some, the sky was a very pretty blue, and there was little breeze. It seemed one should go shoot rifles. So i did.


































Two rifles were in the truck loaded and ready to go. They both had been fired a few times, and weren't clean. It seemed instructive to shoot 5 shots from each, and see if they could manage any kind of a group having their barrels go from -13 to warm. The target ended up at 99 yard. The load was 115g BH, 270g Deep Curl, Harvester Sabot, and STS primer. The rifles were Accura, one old, one new. One was scoped, the other had a peep sight. Two shots were fired from each rifle, then one shot from the other, then one shot from the other until 5 shots fired.





A quick weather change occurred during the shoot. It was -4 when the shooting started, and 4 when it ended. The 10 shots were fired about as fast as one could load and shoot without hurrying. The first 2 shots from each rifle grouped together as usual. It has been my opinion, for some time now, that the first 2 shots from all my rifles make a group of themselves just about every time i go out and shoot. It doesn't seem to matter if the barrel is clean or dirty.

Some times, i think i am imagining these 2 shot groupings.

Many times i have had 2 shots from all my rifles, make a good grouping. I have even gone so far as to quit shooting then, and return on succeeding days, to shoot the same targets. If i can manage to get the same range, and the breeze isn't much different from day to day, the rifles have managed some great 4 shot groups. Six shot groups made on 3 different days have been iffy, but still reasonable.

Ron, those first couple of pictures strike me as scenes from a horror movie. :biggrin: I can't believe you guys actually go out and shoot in that stuff.

Good shooting. What I find interesting is that your groups with a scoped gun and peep sights are about the same. I too have noticed that my first two shots are often the tightest of the group.

Yes good shooting. Like the pictures.
Ron, is that highway on the way to Nemo?

That there is the Sheridan Lake Road. The Nemo Road has similar scenery, but it seems some more open country to me.

Actually, the morning here was the exact opposite of a horror movie. It was beautiful here today. The weather shown on the nightly news was a real horror today.

Isn't it weird an old man that needs magnifiers to see the front sights, but then can't see the target, can shoot that good with iron sights. I certainly can't explain it. I just squint to see the front sight, and squueeze the trigger through the slight creep.

Good shooting no matter what the weather. With my luck a game warden would see me shooting out of my truck and suspect me for road hunting. I wonder how the characteristics of your windows glass is affected and how much concussion force can they handle when its that cold. Other then cold it sure looked beautiful outside; easy for me to say, it was 60 degrees in Charlotte today.

What a great view for sure. I love looking at nice pictures. Thanks for Sharing those. I do need to ask you a question, do you ever shoot outside of your truck? Just curious, and your third shots made me think of this.

Interesting how different things go through our minds. The thought of the glass being a problem/breaking never occurred to me; what i was/am worried about is the operating mechanism failing, so that i have to drive 17 mile with an open window.

Never, this time of year. I do rarely in the spring and autumn. Sometimes i rig up a bench, and give it a go. Kinda fun to shoot from something really stable. However, i suspect my large groups are more a function of my ability, than a poor shooting bench. One thing i have learned, because i forget to insert a primer now and again, is i don't flinch much.

Years ago, when i had access to a range, we shot from concrete benches, now that was fun. One can really learn about one's rifles. I had rifles that were inaccurate, rifles that were accurate, and rifles that were super accurate. It's a real kick to shoot 1 1/2"" groups at 290 yard, which is what our 300 yard target stand turned out to be. To escape the wind, i would drive up to the 300 yard target with head lights, attach the target, go back to the bench, and shoot before dawn. This behavior required i trade my spotting scope for a much better one.

nice shooting.. and great pictures.