Savage 11/111 Long Range Hunter Rifle and Leupold VX-6 Scope and Nosler Bullets Out of the Box (Part 1) By Ed Hale

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Ed Hale

I chose this 7mm Remington Magnum caliber to test because of the availability of ammo and brass for reloading and its outstanding accuracy record at any hunting distance. I chose the rifle because it has so much versatility with the built in cheek rest and muzzle brake. Due to the popularity of this rifle, it took my friends at Savage some time to obtain one for me to test for NH Rifleman publication. We will be testing this rifle with the Leupold VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated Boone and Crockett system and with Nosler E-Tip Expandable solid gilding copper bullets in 140 and 150 grains.

Hunters can spend many thousands of dollars on a fine hunting rifle and never equal the engineered quality of this Rifle at this price point MSRP of $1136. Yes it is not cheap but for what is in this rifle it is truly amazing if it can shoot as well as they say. Read on…

For the Techies like me…The rifle is for right handed shooters with a barrel rate of twist of 9.5 thus for 140 grains to 175 grains bullets are stable. Stability is calculated at http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi where bullets are very stable above a factor of 1.5.

THE RIFLE

The rifle weighs in at 8.65 pounds without scope. Barrel Length is 26 inches and includes a 2 inch muzzle brake that can be turned on and off by a simple twist. Ammo capacity is three rounds and the cartridge is based on the large .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and necked down to 7.2mm or .284 inches. I think of this rifle as a 24 inch barrel with a 2 inch muzzle brake. So what is so engineered? I liked the Savage videos below to share with our readers all the details. The adjustable cheek rest needs an allen wrench to change the height.

Stock – The AccuStock is engineered to seat the floating barrel firmly in a metal housing. A video presentation makes this clear. http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accustock/

Trigger – Next is the innovative and Adjustable AccuTrigger which allows low trigger weights and with Safety primary. The trigger on this rifle is set just under 3 pounds at 2 pounds 15 ounces and breaks crisply. Video http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accutrigger

Barrels are button rifled with a floating bolt head and head-space control and video clips are seen here. http://savagearms.com/accuracy

Recoil Pad and Muzzle Brake

The rifle has a state of the art recoil pad and absorbs lots of felt recoil. But the best option is the Muzzle Brake. Savage added a 2 inch Muzzle Brake that can be turned on or off, adding more or less to velocity and recoil absorption (Pictured below with the brake activated. See the background through the center holes)

THE SCOPE

The Leupold Scope is the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated with Boon and Crockett Reticle. We will set the scope on 10x for 100 yards with no Illumination. The body of this scope is too short for the existing mounts on the rifle so a set of high rings and a longer forward mount was purchased from Weaver to move the rings closer together.

THE BULLET

See the You Tube videos of Nosler bullets and E-Tips on the internet.

On one video the bullet began expand on impact of ballistic gel and at 5 to 6 inches and beyond it creates a maximum wound channel of 4 inches for an ethical kill and maintained more than 95% of bullet weight throughout and mushroomed perfectly.

BULLET GROUP TESTS (OUT OF THE BOX) SUB MOA August 7, 2015

Bullets were reloaded according to SAAMI spec’s and Nosler Manual Powder and Load recommendations for each bullet. IMR 4831 powder was chosen because it was available and had a starting load that was already proven to be accurate.

140 grain 100 yard Test at a MV of 2950 fps with 62 grains of IMR 4831 with the Muzzle Brake turned off ( Recoil was very acceptable with 140 grain bullets)

DATA and Photo’s

Group 1 = 1.06 inches

Group 2 = 0.812 inches

Group 3 = 0.687 inches

Average = .853 inches

JBM Ballistics Table for Drop, Velocity, Energy and Max Point Blank Range MPBR for a 6 inch target. Max Point Blank Range is 293 yards when sighted for 250 yard zero. If the wind was 10 mph the shot would be limited to 220 yards without any correction. The maximum height of bullet flight is at 3 inches high at 141 yards.

I was thrilled with the rifle, scope and bullet set up as this combination shot sub minute of angle right out of the Box! WOW!!!

Why the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Ed Hale

This was a cartridge that could have been a kin to the .308 Winchester parent cartridge but wasn’t. Hornady produced this original cartridge in 2007 and has grown steadily ever since in both the target world and the hunting world. Just between the .243 and .270 there was room to create a cartridge who’s mild recoil is similar to the .243 Winchester but shoots bullets 100 grains to 140 grains from Prairie Dogs to Elk. The .243 is not an Elk cartridge and the .270 has not been a favorite of Bench Rest Target shooters for pure accuracy. In order to make this 6.5 special required making its own Cartridge which is a bit smaller and shorter than the .308 Winchester but unwittingly a great big game cartridge.

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator does justice to this Cartridge in many ways. The laminate stock is as strong and precision cut as if made from a pure synthetic material. The stainless steel barrel that is hammer forged is the finest barrel for the price. And the Ruger controlled feed action ensures a very high degree of reliable feed. The trigger is a fully adjustable 2 stage target trigger and comes in the 2 pound class making it a fine long range target or predator rifle. It is recommended that adjustments are made by a qualified gunsmith.

The 6.5 Creedmoor round is said to be great on barrel life so for those who shoot large quantities of ammo are in for a treat. Go to my first article far below to begin reading this in the correct sequence.

Reloading 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge – Initial Observations

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

The first thing I discovered is that new Brass for the Creedmoor does not appear to be abundant. In fact I found Hornady brass to be the one of the only available new brass in stock. Nosler Brass was out of stock. If you have read my previous articles on the 6.5 Creedmoor you will see that the Hornady brass is soft, thus making it difficult to reload. Lots of case prep to bevel the inside of the case neck without creating a sharp flair edge is difficult indeed. Pressing on with the only new brass in town, I have succeeded in reloading it more than twice. The brass is stiffer as it becomes harder with use and better for pressing the bullet into the neck.

Of great interest should be Cartridge Overall Length (COL) ; The Max SAAMI Over All Cartridge Length is specified as 2.825.

I am shooting 120 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter heads as I am a hunter first and a target shooter second. I originally set the COL for this head with case at 2.53 inches and later discovered that I could push the head out as far as a COL of 2.70 and still have enough of the bullet seated. Groups of the 2.53 COL show excellent results as groups are 1 inch or less. Yesterday I shot several rounds set at a COL of 2.70 and the result deteriorated with fliers in the 2 inch group area. One would think that groups would improve as the bullet is closer to the rifling. Not so in this case, perhaps because the case had very little of the bullet in it. I perceive that the 120 grain is still a small bullet for the 6.5 and that heavier and larger bullets will make better use of the max COL.

Bullets are readily available from most all manufacturers, key bullets like the Nosler AccuBond are available as are several Berger Hunting Bullets, et al. The reloader must experiment with COL to see what works best and provides best groups.

On powders, my only experience is with Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at this time and I like it very much because it is a smaller kernel and meters well with less variation than larger kernels. Nosler folks suggest powders such as Varget, W760, IMR 4007 SSC, Big Game, H4350, RL17 and Hunter.among others.

Since the Creedmoor Cartridge is new, older reloading manuals do not have it. Nosler does provide load data at http://www.nosler.com/nosler-load-data/65-creedmoor/ and SAAMI specifications. Hornady has the 6.5 listed at http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5-Creedmoor but no data for reloading. Check out the scrapbook of game animals taken. It includes a record Gemsbok. © 2015

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator System Test – 6.5 Creedmoor – Updated

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Ed Hale

System Test: All components to make the shot.

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle

Brass – Hornady

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains

Max Cartridge OAL is 2.825

Cartridge overall length used in this test is 2.53 inches due to my own flawed empirical tests. The longer reach to the rifling I used does not appear hurt hunting accuracy at all.

A system test is one which integrates all factor into one. The shooter, rifle, brass, bullet, powder, scope,trigger pull etc. On 5/20/ 2015, I shot at my club range at 100 yards. I had to wait till late afternoon to shoot as the wind was blowing gusts past 20 mph for most of the day. In less than 10 mph wind I shot a 4 shot 1 inch group that I was just “ok” at 100 yards See photo below. That group below is truly excellent for a hunter but if you are target shooting, then I expect sub-MOA groups such as 1/2 inch or tighter from this 6.5 Creedmoor since that its derivative, a supreme target rifle that a hunter can use as well. Trigger pull average of several pull sequences is 2 lb 2.6 oz and very consistent and very crisp. As a hunter this is too low, I think, for the average shooter but in competent well practices hands is just fine for bean field hunting at long-range where there is a rest involved.

That night I chose to change only one of the factors. The cleaning of the barrel was the factor that was easiest to eliminate as a contributor to this mediocre performance. Accordingly, I scrubbed the barrel with a brush and Butches Bore Bright alternating to patch and back to the brush until it shined like a mirror. It is often the case that new barrels need some break-in rounds.

The next morning I went to shoot at 600 yards as pictured in the prone position above and found that my set up, rest and such was too low indeed as I struggled to relax. I shot just 5 shots and hit the target each time but I was not at an optimum position. Groupings reflected my suspicion as they were in the black but grouped greater than 12 inches with no wind. With 1 inch groups at 100 yards translates to 6 inch groups, and that was just not happening. I stopped shooting at 600 yards and went back to my club and shot a 100 yard target to see where it fell. I had to reset the Leupold back to its zero point having adjusted it 12 minutes up for 600 yards. So I cranked the vertical adjustment back down to its 100 yard zero (48 clicks). This is a test point for the Leupold scope! It should be back where I left it at about 1 inch high above the bull.

Below is the 2nd 3 shot group at 100 yards. Yes, three shot group! The first two bullets went through the same hole at 100 yards and the third printed just 5/8 inch above.

More alternate shooting and cleaning will aid to base line the accuracy of this load. Am I happy with the second group ever out of this rifle? You Bet. The weather was perfect with almost no wind, sunny and bright.

The only component of this system that gave me difficulty was the Hornady Brass. I found that the shoulders were too soft and any pressure to press the bullet into the case resulted in a slight bulge of the case where the shoulder meets the rest of the case body. Trial and error and lots of chamfering were successful however. I would try other manufacturers if I need more brass but as I recall there were no immediate choices, and preferred Nosler brass (none available).

Component Score (10 is the highest) Score

Rifle – Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor 10

Scope: Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm B&C Reticle 10

Brass – Hornady Neck Too Soft 6

Bullets – Sierra Pro- Hunter spitzer 120 grain flat base 2891 fps 10

Powder Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at 47.5 grains 10

System Score (without Brass) 10

Overall Comments:

The rifle with this Leupold scope is just right for an adult hunter to carry afield and recoils so little that a young shooter with a rest could shoot it well. Cranking the Leupold scope up 48 clicks and down proved exact for where I created the scope elevation zero at 100 yards proving its accuracy in this case. On reloading the Brass; As I reload the brass it will stiffen so over time it will be less of an issue.

Bottom line I need to be better prepared to shoot Prone at 600 yards with a better adjustable rest or front bi-pod with rear bag support. The prone bi-pod is perhaps the best overall afield as my son suggested recently. Perhaps some target bullets too. I plan to purchase a roll out prone blanket, change the Prone Rest and test it before hand. As you can see, we all learn from our mistakes. If we make none, we learn little.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Day One – I did not waste a moment when I picked up this rifle from my FFL friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery in Plaistow today. Yes, I am like a big kid in a candy store when it comes to new rifles and scopes and I am sure most all of your rifleman out there are just the same. Upon receiving the rifle, I inspected it and all was as it should be visually a beautiful rifle with the laminate stock. I mounted the brand new Leupold VX-6 3 -18 x 44mm CDS Scope to test too.(Above Photo by Author). The combination looks stunning! Future Testing includes the use of Hornady Brass, CCI Primers, Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder and Sierra bullets a combination that I believe will work supremely well.

I inspected the bore but it was a dull shine so I swabbed the bore with Butches bore bright. It is a good idea to clean the bore of a new rifle so you have a pristine starting point. Test shots are taken at the factory as was very likely in this case.

(Photo by Author)

The swab on the right was a first pass. Finding this, I ran a brush just once and then swabbed again with the patch to the left. I ran more till the bore was clean. Having owned several Ruger’s, I placed the bolt in the rifle and it worked smoothly. I did read the manual to see if there was anything new and found there were video’s which could be viewed on line for use and dis-assembly plus the lock they provide for safety and a pair of 20mm Ruger scope rings. Luckily I had a pair of 30mm rings for the Leupold VX-6 to attach to the Ruger scope platform.

I used a Wheeler Fat Wrench to torque the mounting and scope ring screws. (Photo by Author)

Next is to load the new Hornady cartridge cases, I could not get any Nosler cases as they were out of stock but the Hornady Cases look terrific. (Photo below by Author)

The brass necks and shoulder have been annealed (softened) for reloading. Now off to the reloading bench. I have found that the necks of this new brass need to be really hand chamfered quite a bit on the inside edge so that the flat base bullet does not distress the case neck angle. I ruined a few cases and bullet heads in the learning process but all is well. It took some time and trial and error to determine the cartridge length to the rifling inside the barrel (approx.2.53 to 2.6 inches by my reckoning seems a good COL for the 120 grain bullet based on later tests). Once known you should seat the bullet a bit deeper, so as not to contact the rifling. Good reloading manuals will help with this distance away from the lands and it varies from bullet to bullet and brand to brand. I used CCI 200 large rifle primers.

My research indicates that Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder is one of the best powders for my Sierra 120 grain Pro Hunter bullet for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Also Alliant’s Reloader 17 has been cited for excellence with the Creedmoor too.

Inspection of several fired rounds indicate that I am good to load up some ammo for another day. The recoil was pleasingly mild and the trigger seemed perfect. I will measure the trigger pull next with an electronic trigger pull gage along with other attributes.

I loaded less than a recommended load by a grain and a half, shot the round and examined the primer and cartridge. All looked normal so I shot the recommended load and it looked normal as well. Great! Now to load up some rounds for bullet speed by chronograph and accuracy with the new scope for this load and bullet. End of Day One. Much more to come… © 2015

Wind, Rifle Bullets and Max Point Blank Range

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Ed Hale

An area that the deer hunter or shooter must be concerned about when shooting a rifle at longer distances is the fact that the bullet is going to rise and drop above and below the intended bullet path and that the wind will also blow the bullet left or right as the distance increases. The kill zone circle for a whitetail deer is approximately 6 inches therefore a skilled hunter can calculate using JBM Software the point where the bullet does not exceed 3 inches above or 3 inches below the bullseye. We call this Max Point Blank Range (MPBR). As an example my .243 Winchester bullet is a Sierra 100 grain Pro-Hunter spitzer that can be chosen from the first drop down menu on the screen which includes the Ballistic Coefficient already. I have chrono’d the bullet at 2820 fps and enter that as Muzzle Velocity.

At the bottom of the software screen are boxes that you can check such as Zero at MPBR so it is calculated automatically for you. The MPBR calculated is 272 yards but the wind at 10 mph at 90º and will blow the bullet off course by 7.5 inches. What do you do then? Your bullet will exceed the 3 inch radius and make a poor shot. Knowing the wind direction and practicing at knowing wind speed can help make this shot possible. If the wind is blowing from left to right you will hold to the left by an estimated 7 inches (an educated guess) at the 9 o’clock position thus the bullet will strike the center of the kill zone. Practice, Practice and Practice. If you have the opportunity to wait for the wind to momentarily subside then wait. Trees and leaves can tell you lots about the wind speed. Those who study wind say that if smoke or steam rises vertically wind is 0 to 1 mph; wind shows slight smoke or steam is 2-3 mph but not enough to move leaves; wind that is felt on your face and leaves rustle is 4 to 7 mph; leaves and twigs in constant motion and extends a light flag is 8 to 12 mph. If small branches are moving on trees then you are above 12 mph.

What is critical here is the angle of the wind as it relates to your shot. If the wind is blowing toward you or toward your target then the shot will likely be less affected by wind. It will be helpful to create a chart for your rifle that shows drop tables and wind deflection that you can tape to your rifle or carry with you in the field. Below is the resulting chart for the .243 Winchester demonstrating the wind effect at 275 yards is 7.5 inches otherwise the wind will push your MPBR to an adjusted 175 yard max shot based on a 10 mph wind where wind deflection is 2.9 inches.

Yes wind can really throw you off target so remember to practice. Other factors include bullet speed and energy below. For deer we need around 1000 ft-lbs and 2000 fps making the max shot here at 272 yards as well. Hope this helps! © 2015

mpbr

Taking the Rifles for a Walk at the Range.

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Ed Hale

Its early spring, March 25, 2015, the weather is sunny at 40 º F and the wind is 5 to 10 mph, a great day either walk your dog or take your rifles to the range. Today I am taking two rifles out for a walk as it were. These rifles sat in silence for a few months while old-man-winter dumped a record amount of snow on us here in southern New Hampshire.

First Rifle out, is my Ruger American in .243 Winchester.

ruger american bench rested

The Ruger American is a highly cost effective solution for deer and bear hunters. At last look it was under $400 bucks. It has a Leupold 2-7 power VX-3 on it. I really like these scopes as a long term investment! Also, I like my Ruger American in .243 Winchester too as recoil is very light and delivers lots of accuracy and energy for the investment. Over the last fall I have worked up hand loads shooting Sierra 100 grain spitzers that are just tack driving accurate at top speeds for deer hunting out to about 300 yards (for a southern bean-field deer hunt) keeping the long range 300 yard energy near to 1000 ft-lbs for adequate penetration and velocity in the 2000 ft-sec for mushrooming of the bullet on impact. This I know because I used JBM Ballistic Software on the web at http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

So I shot a three shot group at 150 yards at bench rest and kept the groups at 1 inch. Wow! Very Impressive! Two of the shots were clustered at 1/4 inch. These are near max loads and were shot at a temperature of 40 degrees F. As summer comes on and temperature rises I need to pay closer attention to case inspection for signs of slight over pressure, though I think the loads will be fine, it is best to be a good observer. In the fall when temperatures drop back to 40 or below this load will bring meat to the table and with some luck, something with antlers too. Little wind and the kind of steady rest are critical for shots beyond say 150 yards. My trigger breaks at just under 3 pounds on the Ruger American so I can more easily predict near the break of the trigger.

Next Rifle out is my M77 Ruger African in .375 Ruger with a Leupold VX-3 in 3×9 with a Pachmayr Decelerator® slip on recoil pad. http://www.pachmayr.com/home/deceleraton-slip.php . With this Pad, the rifle shoots like a 30:06 instead. Very nice indeed.

375 Ruger and Leupold VX-III side view

I knew that it was shooting the 235 grain Speer Hot Core well at just over 2400 fps as I chronographed them this past fall.

I took a shot and made a slight adjustment and then two more shots nearly overlapping placing them at 5/8 inch apart at 150 yards a half inch above the bullseye, looking like a pair of eyes and smiley face with the bullseye looking more like a mouth just below the eyes.

This is a deer, bear or moose load, a light load for this cartridges capability.

This rifle is sub-moa accurate for many of my pet hand loads.

Ruger American .243 Winchester : Power + Accuracy = Wow

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Ed Hale

Many are aware that I like the Ruger American in .243 Winchester as I tested it and bought it a few years back. See my article on Rifle Tests. I shot it out of the box with Nosler 90g E-Tip deer loads and they shot sub-MOA at 100 yards and retails for under $400 dollars.

Since then I have toyed with 55 grain heads from Nosler and shot MOA groups at velocities in the 3500 fps class making it an outstanding Coyote rifle. But I also wanted a deer rifle with which the 90 grain e-Tip, as great as it is, wasn’t the only bullet that I could shoot. I was aware that with 100 grain heads and a 1 in 10 twist rate is a not so great combo for bullet stability e.g., that bullets could be unstable and even keyhole on the paper. I am here to tell you that I shot several 100 grain bullets with Speer’s Spitzer Boat Tail and every shot was true. I pushed the round with AA 3100 powder and RL 19 and they both shot well at 2500 fps which I think is slow yet adequate for deer out to 150 yards. I pushed the round today to nearly 2700 fps and the cartridge and standard CCI 200 primer did the job in stride and with room to spare. So I will look for the limits on this bullet, powder and rifle combination. Every rifle slightly different, even in the same model. But while I was at it, loading the Speer at 41 grains of AA 3100, I shot a 3 shot group at 50 yards that was basically touching each other. I just shot not knowing the group size and I was pleasantly surprised. See below. One thing you have to remember well is that this rifle cost less than 400 dollars and shoots like a $2000 rifle.

If I were target shooting for score at 600 yards in F class Competition this would be my load. For deer hunting you want power, reach, accuracy to a minute of angle at 100 yards, penetration and mushrooming this combo makes it harder to find that perfect load. But I found one none the less.

This load is perfect out to 200 yards which is most of the shooting on the east coast that most will do unless you are bean field hunting in the Carolina’s, then you will need a big power and accuracy too maybe out to 400 – 600 yards. I hope to write next month about the Nosler 26 as my Nosler friends are trying to get me a rifle and ammo to test.

Bench Rest Best Practices to Determine Cartridge/Bullet Accuracy

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Ed Hale

We all want to shoot these tiny groups at the Bench Rest don’t we, especially at your local range where we often can earn bragging rights for such a fine group. Recently I struck up conversations at the range about “Best Practices” of accuracy basics at the Bench. What I got for feedback was seemingly all over the place! You can have a $5000 dollar rifle/scope combo and still shoot average without good rests and shooting techniques. Of course the cartridge/bullet and load must be tuned as well to your rifle barrels harmonics, another article.

SAND BAGS AND RESTS

Yea, said the shooter I bought this bag or that bag to place my rifle on at the bench and it works fine. So I query the shooter, so your rifle rests on the bag but how do you hold the stock of your gun still? Well, comes the answer, I put the butt firmly into my shoulder and shoot. My rifle shoots nearly one inch groups comes the further response. So I ask them to show me how they did that. Upon seeing the setup it is clear that the rifle is still moving as the shot is taken. Minor movement of course results in a combination of the shooter skill and the gun together. If you really want to see only what the rifles performance is then you must either take the shooter out of the equation or have a rifle that is already on target and all you have to do is pull the trigger. Shooters that listen to the logic of my recommendations have found greater accuracy inherent in the rifle they are shooting and more work on their part to keep the rifle steady.

Once the rifle is proven itself, If the shooter wants to change to a different shooting style such as prone or kneeling they can do that knowing the rifle is not the problem when accuracy issues arise.

Leather or fabric sand bags can do that when place forward on the stock, never on the barrel and rear under the butt of the rifle. Also the rifle should be high enough above the bench so the shooter can ease into shooting position without undo squirming. I raise the front rest up about 1.5 inches higher with a 2×6 piece of wood (cheap and dirty) or better yet I bought an adjustable front rest from Caldwell. See below. Other manufacturers make them but this Caldwell rock Jr is mine and costs about $35 bucks. I can adjust the rifle vertically just by spinning the black star like nut on the threaded shaft. The rear rest should be a bag type.

Or a shooting bag combo.

TRIGGER PULL

Second problem is trigger pull weight. I own a digital scale and know the break point for my rifles. Poor grouping can also come from too heavy a trigger or a trigger that creeps unpredictably (replace or fix the trigger). Many rifles have a trigger pull of 5 plus pounds. This is too heavy, in my estimation. For Hunting it should be between 3 to 4.5 pounds. For target it can be less but needs a skilled shooter to handle a light trigger.

When shooting begins, all the shooter should be doing is squeezing the trigger once the cross hairs are on the bullseye. squeezing trigger evenly without jerking.

A while back I demonstrated a sub-moa rifle shooting a group of 3/4 inch was really a 1/4 minute of angle rifle with the right rests. For a target shooter that can mean the difference of winning a match verses placing in a match. For a long range shooter it can mean the difference of 7.5 inches at 1000 yards with a 3/4 group at 100 yards or 2.5 inches at 1000 with a 1/4 inch group sighted at 100 yards.

SCOPE-EYE ALIGNMENT

The next error comes in where the cheek touches the comb of the stock to align the eye into the sight or scope. Where there are so many scopes we will discuss scope picture.

It is best to raise the cheek so the eye is to be even with the scope. Some buy a device to raise the cheek. I believe it is not needed for normal hunting say out to 200 yards but will have value of LR shots.

At 100 yards a 3 x 9 scope for example should be all the way to 9x and the image of both the crosshairs and the image should be crystal clear. Some rifle scopes have parallax adjustments, please do not use this to focus the reticle or target. There should be another adjustment for target focus and another for crosshair focus for high power scopes. Or built into one adjustment for less magnification scopes. If you move your eye in the rear of the scope and the crosshairs shift around on you then you need to fine tune that movement with the parallax adjustment. Often they are marked like the Vortex brand. My Leupold scope has no parallax adjustment as it is pre-adjusted for say 100 yards. In addition, by keeping your eye centered in the scope where any outer shadow you see is centered then you also have minimized parallax and this is valuable for long range shooting.

BREATHING

If your are out of breath, or your heart is beating fast then wait on the shot till your composure is relaxed as if meditating and relaxing your core self a technique that helped me in Archery over many years. Once I am relaxed then I breath a few deep breaths and exhale half way and hold while I squeeze the shot off. At high magnification you can see your heart beat in the movement of your crosshairs if you are tightly connected to your rifle. Experts say shoot between heartbeats. Snipers teach the BRASS Method:Breath, Relax, Aim, Stop, Squeeze. It makes a lot of Sense…

An expert long range marksman also suggested letting your tongue hang loose in your mouth as you squeeze.

What does a Zel Custom Spartan 50 BMG look like?

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ed Hale

Below is a Zel Custom Spartan bolt action 50 BMG from www.tactilite.com. The Long range scope is a Vortex with mil-dot. I shot this puppy and it kicks more as it is lighter than some models. But it can shoot. The owner let me take a shot once he was on the bullseye. I missed the red center by 1/4 inch. Well, that is not really a miss, is it? Is this affordable? For some it is not ridiculous to own but you have to have a place to shoot it to wring out its capabilities. At 100 yards this machine never got warmed up. I had a shoulder recoil pad with me for my .375 Ruger full power loads at Bench Rest. This is not a hunting firearm it is a Second Amendment Rifle and a long range target rifle if you can afford the ammo. I hope to shoot it more in the future.

July 2026

Category Archives: Rifle Tests