The Last Gun You Bought

[Mad Mac]

Speaking of kook salesmen in the shop...
Not a gunsmith by any means am I,
but notoriously cheap, here is my story.

A Browning BAR, vintage 1965, was given to me.
Later, after I bought a scope for it and had it mounted
by "a professional" it began to jam.

Upon further examination
the screws mounting the scope ring bases
extended down into the receiver sufficiently
that they were engaging the bolt
and slowing the auto-loader enough to fail.

I had to remove the bases,
clamp the tiny screws in a vise,
and file them shorter.
Problem solved.

Another scope story.
My ranch hand got a deal at a pawn shop
on a used Remington 770 in 270.
It did not take long to find out why
the rifle was in the pawn shop.
The scope ran out of adjustment
long before zero.

Tried swapping bases and rings front to rear
to see if that would raise the point of aim.
That made almost no difference.

So not knowing any better,
I centered the reticle in the scope,
removed the bolt and bore sighted a distant target,
and using shims cut from an aluminum beer can
stacked the shims under the front scope base
until the cross hairs came to rest on the target.
It took five shims at .006 each, about .030 of an inch.
Then finished zeroing the scope in the usual manner.

My ranch hand has made one shot kills on coyotes
with Kentucky windage and hold over
as far away as 400 yards.

[MacLaren]

Wow, Bloke! You have some HIGH end optics bro!
Leupold and Leica. Very nice
Ya know, you make excellent points.....having your scope properly mounted.....level and just like you say, close your eyes, bring your rifle up to shoot, then open your eyes. That spot on, bro. But, I gotta say man, I'm no where even close to your experience level. Now, I am a decent shot but, I really didn't start with this dam gun fettish I have until I was in my very late 30's - like 38 or 39.....that being said, I just like to look and see what's out there. I think though that scopes have came such a very long way in the past 10 years. The scope I just mentioned, Athlon, for instance - I just got ot today and I'll swear Bloke, you wouldn't believe how nice it is for $529- its like a buddy of mine on Snipers Hide said, a couple years ago, thos scope ( as it is - as nice as the glass is and all the features) would be $1,200
Which, I got lucky, I got 10% off and they threw in their Pro Series Throw Lever and Billet Level-
Jeez man, this glass is about as good, heck maybe as good as a Gen 2 Vortex PST Viper! No joke. It's built like a tank too. But, to your point, there absolutely was a time when a 338 win mag would bust a Burris scope or the like.
But, man Bloke I wish you were here to mount my scope!! Get that reamer out!! Hahaha!!!!
Seriously though, you dead right. I've got some 30MM NightForce Ultra Light Rings. Pretty good rings but, always room for improvement.
Man, I'll get some pics of this scope and try to get some pics of the reticle and glass quality for ya to see.

[Bloke]

Speaking of kook salesmen in the shop...

Hey Mac, I laughed reading your post. Read on and I’m tipping you’ll laugh too.

About twenty years ago I bought a rather rare (here at least) new Stainless Steel, Remington 700, .220 Swift with a fairly nice walnut stock. Quite a pretty rifle but it shot like a pig.

I figured I’d pillar and glass bed it which I did, turning the pillars and brass (temporary) alignment screws after I bought a Boyd laminated thumb hole stock. The based and rings it wore originally were blued and the scope was black. I figured while I was at it I may as well buy a silver scope, bases and rings to match the stainless action and barrel.

I bought a silver Leupold VX II, 4-12 x 50 Scope and Leupold STD Two-Piece Scope Bases and Rings to suit. I set up the bases with a 6” length of 1” steel bar I drilled a 3/16” hole through the centre and bore sighted it using the windage adjustment on the mounts. All good. I removed the bar and one at a time removed, reset and torqued the base screws with 222 Loctite. All good.

The bases and rings although “silver” are actually nickel plated steel and would chew my reamer so I turned a 1” lapping rod and lapped the rings. All good. I checked the scope was centre for windage and elevation and mounted it square and with the right eye relief (for me). Removed the ring screws one and caps one ring at a time, and as with the bases torqued and set them with 222 Loctite. All good.

I set up with bipod and sand bags as I did to bore sight the rings earlier used the windage adjustment again to bore sight the scope. All good. I loaded 10 each of some 55gr test loads and the following Saturday went out to the local range. I set up on a bench, and for the first time since before I bedded the bloody thing went to slide the bolt in.

The bolt engaged the raceway and slid in to about the lugs I s’pose, hit something and would go no further. Initially I thought I may have played with the bolt and inadvertently cocked it. Not so. The bolt was uncocked and should slid in and lock as it’s supposed to.

Mac, I’ll give you one guess as to what the problem was. Ah, hahaha, ah, hahaha, ah, hahaha!

I’m laughing now but I can assure you mate, I wasn’t laughing at anything that particular day.

[MacLaren]

Bloke, just curious buddy, but was that a PTG Reamer you bought from Brownells all those years ago?
(Pacific Tool & Gauge)

[Bloke]

Wow, Bloke!

Hey Paul, I dare say you’re right mate and scopes like most things evolve and get better and possibly cheaper than their older counter parts.

When I was younger I never actually put any true thought into scopes and here in Oz they were and still are an expensive item.

I’ve only ever been interested in hunting and consequently never had any interest in shooting bits of paper but that’s just me, but I’ve always tried and most often achieved MOA for all the rifles I’ve owned.

In my youth I erroneously tried to compensate for bad judgement and consequent bad bullet placement by going to a heavier calibre and did myself a gross injustice. The .338 Win Mag amongst others set me up with a horrible flinch it took many years to recover from, but I digress.

With optics you get what you pay for. You can walk into a gun shop on a bright sunny day and if you look through a new clean $3.80 Tasco Scope down the street out the front of the shop everything looks great, crisp and clean. That all changes in the field and particularly in low light like dawn and dusk and spot lighting at night.

As per my previous post I’ve always been happy enough with middle of the road Leupold scopes and view them as good value for money. I’ve misted countless rabbits with the VX II out to 300m on my .220 Swift in broad daylight and even more foxes in the spot light at night. The 50mm objective lens suck in plenty of light.

When I first bought the Leica a did a simple side by side test as it was coming onto dusk. First thing I noticed looking through the Leupold (that I’m perfectly happy with) was like looking down a scaffold tube compared to the Lieca. Looking through the Lieca like looking at the latest LED or whatever they are TV’s.

The second thing I noticed looking into the shadows I’d loose the Leupolds cross hair and strain to see it. Look into the exact same spot the Lieca’s cross hair was crisp and clean.

As the light faded further so did the Leupold. I could still see well enough to take a shot with the Lieca about half any hour after I could see nothing with the Leupold.

All said the Lieca has a 30mm tube and 42mm objective lens. The Leupold has a 1” (25mm) tube and 50mm objective lens. How those relate I don’t rightly know. What I do know is the Lieca retailed at the time about two and a half times the price of the Leupold and fair to say I’d have been bitterly disappointed if I couldn’t discern any difference between the two.

Something else to consider is, cheaper variable power scopes have a tendency to change point of impact between the lowest and highest magnification and I’m inclined to think that may well be true for all scopes to some degree.

Anyhow, one scope I can certainly recommend for a rimfire rifle is the little Leupold FX-I, 4x 28mm. I’ve had one on my Model 2, Brno for twenty years I’d say. I sighted it in to Zero at 25m when I first bought and mounted it and have not touched it since. Conservatively, I shot 1500 rabbits a year for over a decade. I certainly don’t have tickets on myself but 99% were head shot from a steady rest in the spot light in temperatures ranging from around -5degC to +35degC and out to 100m.

The little Leupold FX-1 scope is like the little SE HB Ladybug it punches way above its weight.

[Bloke]

Whoops!

[Jurmuscle]

A Ruger 10-22 takedown for me and a Ruger 10-22 for my wife on same day.

[Bloke]

Bloke, just curious buddy, but was that a PTG Reamer you bought from Brownells all those years ago?
(Pacific Tool & Gauge)

Hi Paul, I couldn’t say for sure other than it’s a quality item and I’m near certain it’s High Speed Steel.

Had you asked earlier I may have been able to offer more info as I was over at my Mum and Dad’s today and that’s where most of my tools are.

I’ve commandeered their garage. Ah, hahaha!

Anyhow, I’ll have a look and let you know.

[MacLaren]

Bloke I think you might really like.one of these scopes
They're a good crossover hunting/target
I'll look thru her this evening when the light gets low but, I gotta say, the glass is very nice...
Here's a guy shooting one like mine, a Athlon Helos BTR Gen II at one mile.....glass has to be pretty dang good to do that.

[MacLaren]

Oh, and they track excellently. & with FFP, no worries on on going from 2-12 as your gtg. However that reticle does get bigger.

[Bloke]

Bloke I think you might really like.one of these scopes
They're a good crossover hunting/target
I'll look thru her this evening when the light gets low but, I gotta say, the glass is very nice...
Here's a guy shooting one like mine, a Athlon Helos BTR Gen II at one mile.....glass has to be pretty dang good to do that.

Funk me, Paul!

Those guys are way, way above my league, mate! I reckon I’m doing better than average hitting rabbits in the head at 300m with a flat shooting Swift zeroed at 265m. I’ve never even thought about hitting anything beyond that and never even tried.

Funny enough though, I had a 1500 Howa .308 Win. in the early 80’s which was the very first rifle I ever glass bedded with the help of one of the older guys from the rifle range.

[TomAiello]

A Ruger 10-22 takedown for me and a Ruger 10-22 for my wife on same day.

How do you like the takedown? I've been thinking about one of those for years. I have two 10/22's (one that is the 1976 commemorative and a much newer stainless one I bought in the early 2000s), plus a super nice .17 hm2 conversion with a volquartsen barrel that my daughter has appropriated.

[Jurmuscle]

A Ruger 10-22 takedown for me and a Ruger 10-22 for my wife on same day.

How do you like the takedown? I've been thinking about one of those for years. I have two 10/22's (one that is the 1976 commemorative and a much newer stainless one I bought in the early 2000s), plus a super nice .17 hm2 conversion with a volquartsen barrel that my daughter has appropriated.

I like it. It easily comes apart in the middle. but it has adjustment rings so it doesn't get loose. Super simple and compact.

[MacLaren]

Bloke I think you might really like.one of these scopes
They're a good crossover hunting/target
I'll look thru her this evening when the light gets low but, I gotta say, the glass is very nice...
Here's a guy shooting one like mine, a Athlon Helos BTR Gen II at one mile.....glass has to be pretty dang good to do that.

Funk me, Paul!

Those guys are way, way above my league, mate! I reckon I’m doing better than average hitting rabbits in the head at 300m with a flat shooting Swift zeroed at 265m. I’ve never even thought about hitting anything beyond that and never even tried.

Funny enough though, I had a 1500 Howa .308 Win. in the early 80’s which was the very first rifle I ever glass bedded with the help of one of the older guys from the rifle range.

Hehehe.....I hear ya buddy. It's a pain in the rear to find a 1,000 yards to shoot much less a mile!
The most I've been able to shoot was a little over 400 yards witha Savage 308 and a vortex pst Viper
That scope made very, very, easy Bloke.....and that was close to 10 years ago. ....the scopes have really come along man. My eyes are already not nearly as good as they were 10 years ago. Turning 50, really is a milestone imo. Not that young anymore lol....
At any rate, it's always been a little.dream of mine since I started this shooting for fun hobby that I have a Surgeon Rifle with a Super High End Scope, like a Zero Compromise and shoot super long distance. Just wanna see what I can do...but, it ain't gonna happen, lol...what I just mentioned for the rifle and scope would be right at $10k.......thats a lot a cheddar Bloke! Hahaha!!! ......nope, looks like ghetto blastin for this ole boy lol.......

[Manixguy@1994]

A Ruger 10-22 takedown for me and a Ruger 10-22 for my wife on same day.

How do you like the takedown? I've been thinking about one of those for years. I have two 10/22's (one that is the 1976 commemorative and a much newer stainless one I bought in the early 2000s), plus a super nice .17 hm2 conversion with a volquartsen barrel that my daughter has appropriated.

Early 10/22 pre warning Finger Groove Walnut high comb stock . Early USA Weaver 4X scope , early gunsmith trigger job . It’s my Squirrel, Ground Hog rifle . Dan

[toxophilus]

Not the most recent but I managed to save this 1999 P245 from NOT being shot anymore back in March (post covid gift)

[MacLaren]

Not the most recent but I managed to save this 1999 P245 from NOT being shot anymore back in March (post covid gift)

Very nice indeed!!

[Jurmuscle]

A Ruger 10-22 takedown for me and a Ruger 10-22 for my wife on same day.

How do you like the takedown? I've been thinking about one of those for years. I have two 10/22's (one that is the 1976 commemorative and a much newer stainless one I bought in the early 2000s), plus a super nice .17 hm2 conversion with a volquartsen barrel that my daughter has appropriated.

Early 10/22 pre warning Finger Groove Walnut high comb stock . Early USA Weaver 4X scope , early gunsmith trigger job . It’s my Squirrel, Ground Hog rifle . Dan

That is nice. Mine are the black. But my shotguns are another story. Do you have any shotguns?

[Manixguy@1994]

Only three now, Browning A-5 16 ga. , Winchester Model 12 12ga. and a Benelli Nova 12ga. Rifled Slug for Deer . I had three others but were too fancy for my tastes to use in field so sold them a few years ago .

[Bloke]

Hehehe.....I hear ya buddy.

It’s a hole I came very close to falling into, Paul.
Many years ago I looked at high end actions with custom chambers, turning case necks to fit, high end barrels, etc. etc. and so glad I didn’t take the jump for a few reasons.

Cost aside and I’m fortunate enough to have access to mile plus ranges but I’m tipping I’d have spent most of my spare time pull hair out, testing loads, chasing ridiculous groupings, scrubbing barrels, never happy and never actually having fun hunting game in the field.

Early 10/22 pre warning Finger Groove Walnut high comb stock . Early USA Weaver 4X scope , early gunsmith trigger job . It’s my Squirrel, Ground Hog rifle . Dan

That’s one of the nicest stock I’ve ever seen on any .22, Dan.

The old 10/22’s were popular here before they outlawed semi autos. Cockies (farmers) can still own semi autos and I know a few that still have 10/22’s, Mini 14’s, Humpback Browning shoties etc. but yours is one pretty little rifle.