EXPLANATION... This is going to be another 'RABBIT HOLE' type thread...sorta like my other two threads about the Sav. MKII & the CZ452.
The difference being that we are not talking about precision rifles, rather, any vintage .22 rifle that is your favorite to shoot. That rifle that came from your GramPa or Dad or if you are an Old'Fart like myself, maybe it's your first rifle?
Could be that you just love it but haven't been shooting it because you don't think it's accurate enough and it rarely gets out of the safe any more...?
One thing I'd like to know... "What is good accuracy for; a vintage rifle + common inexpensive ammunition + iron sights + whatever handicap you have to overcome?"
I have spent more than a year now shooting precision rifles (from an entry level MKII up to a custom built CZ452) here on my home range trying to learn the art of precision.
At this point the new has worn off and I find myself turning more and more to an old favorite .22 that taught my 50 year old kids to shoot. It is one of those rifles that just 'feels right' whether your carrying it or have it shouldered.
What I would like to discover is the 'Tip's-n-Tricks' of getting good accuracy from this old rifle. I think we may discover another 'RABBIT HOLE' of information that we can all benefit from.
So...this thread is dedicated to the shooters of these old rifles . . . "What are you doing with yours to get more accuracy & enjoyment out of it?"
I have several vintage .22lr rifles but I want to start off talking about my Winchester mod. 67A & shooting for groups at 50 yards on paper.
Here I am tapping the dovetail sights back and forth at 25 yds. to get ready to move to the 50 yd. bench. Getting that windage alligned and discovering what difference this little slide adjustment makes at 25 & 50 yds. It is going to be part of my 'Scheme to shoot better groups'.
I know..."eyesight is primarily going to determine our group sizes." BUT...in my 'Scheme to shoot better groups' there are no limitations to the targets we shoot. Any size, any color or combination of colors, any shape you want. The idea is to shoot at whatever size and shape that allows you to get the best POA (with your eyesight and the type of iron sight on your rifle) and resulting POI that yields the smallest consistent groups. If you have a 'trick' then use it and share it too.
I have experimented with making my own targets with these 'stickers and printed targets' trying to get that 'sight picture' that will work...
A year ago, this was what I was working with, it was easy to see using the traditional 'punkin on a post sight alignment' against the fluorescent green color...
...it was a little easier to bring that silhouette of the front bead up under that black half moon shape.
The other day I decided to change the traditional sight picture (front bead or post @ the same height as the rear 'U or V notch' and centered) ...change it to nesting the front bead in the bottom of my 'U' notch rear sight and then placing the spot on the bead...sorta like this below...
I know..."not a very good drawing'' but you get the idea here. I have removed part of the sight picture I previously used keeping the top of the front bead level with the top of the rear sight. For now, this is easier just stacking the bead and the spot together like this, it's also easier to keep the stack centered.
I don't know about you guys but I can't keep my focus on the front bead alone, I am constantly keeping track of that dang spot too. If you can't break a bad habit like this then 'do something to improve it'. That's what I'm doing till I learn something new!
In reality back at the 50 yd. bench, even this alignment is difficult. 'Theory' goes out the window and 'what works' remains...(I can't get the actual picture I want to show you, this is all canted after I crop the picture I took with the iPhone) but it does demonstrate 'almost', droping the front bead to the bottom of the 'U notch'.
I tried this idea just the other day and got these...(also notice that my favorite target now has a white spot in the center, things change as you experiment in the Rabbit Hole!)
So...as far as "What is a good group"...I don't know until I see some of your groups with the 'Iron sights' but...until we determine what that really is, I am setting my goal to shoot 1" groups. That seems doable to me and I think I just might be delighted with a group that size, if I can repeat it over and over.
The bottom right target from both above pictures gives me an idea that 1" is realistic.
Well...if this thread catches on like my other two have, I think there's about a 'thousand million' different things we all can share with each other to improve our shooting with our most favorite vintage .22lr rifles...what I have opened up with here is but scratching the surface.
Remember...this thread is about us shooting vintage rifles, not the expensive precision rifles...I want to talk about and compare 'apples to apples' although almost everything we will discover here applies to all the rifles.
charlie