koger
09-30-2018, 08:41 PM
Friday about 12 noon, I picked up a buddy and we went to the range, to zero several guns and just have a blast. Beautiful weather, sunny and 72, and our bolt actions were all shooting teeny, tiny groups at 100 yds, the lever actions were the last ones to the show. I had a 1957 Marlin with a half mag tube, excellent condition, with some factory leverloutions and the same 200 gr FTX bullet loaded with the same bullet and powder, using the load data on the leverloution powder can, with WLR primers, and some Privi Partisan brass I had bought for cheap from Grafs. This rifle has very fine sights, so I tried it at 25 yds, dead center but an inch low. I moved up the elevator one notch, and went to 50yds, the first shot dead centered the X ,still shooting factory ammo. MY buddy says lets see how the loads you loaded do, and the first shot, he says you either missed it or hit the same hole at 50 yds! I levered in another round, holding the same and shoot. That time he said you definitely hit the same hole, egged it just a little lower. We went and checked the target, and looking very closely, you could see where the second shot had slightly edged the hole about 1/8 of an inch right, and the 3rd shot had edged it about 1/4" lower, still dang good for my 56 year old eyes and iron sights. We then set up two pieces of a clay pigeon we found broken by the 75 yd berm, and I went back to the table, put 2 more rounds in the tube, and offhand, called the right hand piece of clay, and at the shot it disappeared! I then shot the second piece, same thing, powdered!
Then we shot my buddys 99 Savage, in .300 Savage caliber. It wore a 2x7 Leupold, and was in great shape, but I have never had great luck with 99's shooting well, and I told him not to expect under 1&1/2 inch groups. Well his first shot at 25 yds was centered but a little high, so I told him to go to 100 yds on a target that had not been shot. He called his shot, and was about 1/2 inch under dead centerwith 3 shot of 180 grain going into 3/4 of an inch! I could not believe it! Then he told me to shoot three with the 150 grain Remington ammo. I snugged it up in the sandbags, and proceeded to shoot 3 shots all overlapping just a tad for a .610 center to center group at 100yds! I offered him a substantial profit right there on the gun, but he just smiled and said nope, she had found a home.
Now we had just gotten done shooting 4 varmint/target rifle that were shooting ragged holes at 100 yds before shooting the lever actions, but we were both more impressed with the lever rifles and how we shot them, than with the bolt actions. This was especially true for me, since I have been trying to come back physicaly from 3 strokes last November that left my right leg 75% numb and my right hand50% numb. It felt good to be able to shoot as well as I did before the strokes, being a 20 year offhand muzzle loading competitor on a local, state and national level. A beautiful day, with a great friend, good shooting all the way around, and I told my buddy it don't get much better, and he agreed as he sniffed the aroma of gun powder from a cartridge he had just shot! Just thought I would share!
Then we shot my buddys 99 Savage, in .300 Savage caliber. It wore a 2x7 Leupold, and was in great shape, but I have never had great luck with 99's shooting well, and I told him not to expect under 1&1/2 inch groups. Well his first shot at 25 yds was centered but a little high, so I told him to go to 100 yds on a target that had not been shot. He called his shot, and was about 1/2 inch under dead centerwith 3 shot of 180 grain going into 3/4 of an inch! I could not believe it! Then he told me to shoot three with the 150 grain Remington ammo. I snugged it up in the sandbags, and proceeded to shoot 3 shots all overlapping just a tad for a .610 center to center group at 100yds! I offered him a substantial profit right there on the gun, but he just smiled and said nope, she had found a home.
Now we had just gotten done shooting 4 varmint/target rifle that were shooting ragged holes at 100 yds before shooting the lever actions, but we were both more impressed with the lever rifles and how we shot them, than with the bolt actions. This was especially true for me, since I have been trying to come back physicaly from 3 strokes last November that left my right leg 75% numb and my right hand50% numb. It felt good to be able to shoot as well as I did before the strokes, being a 20 year offhand muzzle loading competitor on a local, state and national level. A beautiful day, with a great friend, good shooting all the way around, and I told my buddy it don't get much better, and he agreed as he sniffed the aroma of gun powder from a cartridge he had just shot! Just thought I would share!