I picked this up late last year. I got a couple of chances to run some rounds thru it an was pretty impressed with the rifle. More accurate than me and easy to shoot. However I wanted to change a couple of things and had the opportunity to get it done a couple of weeks ago. I dropped the rifle with Tier 1 Defense in Mountainside and had them cut 5" off the barrel and put an 11 degree crown on it. I also had them cerakote the barrel black. I am thrilled with the work and will be shooting it on Monday morning out to 200. I may look at bedding it in the future but want to see how it shoots first.

 

Ruger Varmint/Target .308Win 21" bbl 1/10 twist

Harris bi-pod

Sightron SIII 16x42

Triad Tactical stock pack

 

 

Range report to follow.

 

Glamour shots:

Looks great, can't wait it hear how it shoots!

That's pretty neat. I'm on the fence about doing something like this. Target pics please!

Just a caveat about any targets I post: I suck. Like really suck at rifle shooting. Worse than pistol which for those that have shot with me means its really bad.

 

I just wanted to put that out there.

 

C

Just a caveat about any targets I post: I suck. Like really suck at rifle shooting. Worse than pistol which for those that have shot with me means its really bad.

 

I just wanted to put that out there.

 

C

I hardly ever practice shooting groups with a rifle but have found that focusing on fundamentals and being patient do wonders.  I shot a <.5MOA group at 100 yards a week or two ago off a bipod and plan to do a five by five (five rounds on five targets) to see if I can repeat it consistently.

Good Luck with it.  While Rugers seem to have reviews that state they are less than stellar for accuracy, I have found just the opposite.  I have three Mark IIs and a 77/22 that are very reliable.  The action is rock solid and if you find you want a better barrel McGowen Barrels makes prefits that are great.

Good Luck with it.  While Rugers seem to have reviews that state they are less than stellar for accuracy, I have found just the opposite.  I have three Mark IIs and a 77/22 that are very reliable.  The action is rock solid and if you find you want a better barrel McGowen Barrels makes prefits that are great.

Same here, I have a cheap Ruger American in .243 that consistently shoots at least MOA out to 300 yards.

Again, remember I suck. That said the rifle does seem to shoot fairly well. I'll be doing 5 shot groups and am seriously looking forward to putting some ammo thru this guy.

 

Thanks for the nice words.

 

C

Start practicing at 50 yards.  Sounds radical? It is. Get proficient creating tight groups at this distance. Then back it up to 75 yards and so on.  In no time you'll be getting really good groups at 100 yards.  Then you can make the big step to 200 yards.  It's as much about building confidence as it is proficient shooting.  You cannot keep plugging away at 200 yards and expect to get better, doesn't happen. Start at 50 yards with some other soft shooting caliber to get trigger control and recoil reaction established.  The 308 is punishing round after round, you have to work up to it.  Both my boys went from pellets to 22LR to low power 223 and then on to low power 30 caliber.  Each upgrade in caliber became easier as time went on.  I know you can do it, takes time, lots of practice.   

Start practicing at 50 yards.  Sounds radical? It is. Get proficient creating tight groups at this distance. Then back it up to 75 yards and so on.  In no time you'll be getting really good groups at 100 yards.  Then you can make the big step to 200 yards.  It's as much about building confidence as it is proficient shooting.  You cannot keep plugging away at 200 yards and expect to get better, doesn't happen. Start at 50 yards with some other soft shooting caliber to get trigger control and recoil reaction established.  The 308 is punishing round after round, you have to work up to it.  Both my boys went from pellets to 22LR to low power 223 and then on to low power 30 caliber.  Each upgrade in caliber became easier as time went on.  I know you can do it, takes time, lots of practice.   

Great advice here.  And every time I shoot I still work in more snap caps than live rounds, and even work in a few rounds with my .22 while I am waiting for my barrel to cool. When I shoot with a partner I have them load snap caps and live rounds into my magazine ant then make the gun ready just to make sure I don't flinch on a snap cap.

 

Friends of mine who went through military sniper school told me thay dry fired for an entire week before they tried live ammo, they even dry fired with pennies on the end of the barrel to make sure they didn't flinch.

Great advice here.  And every time I shoot I still work in more snap caps than live rounds, and even work in a few rounds with my .22 while I am waiting for my barrel to cool. When I shoot with a partner I have them load snap caps and live rounds into my magazine ant then make the gun ready just to make sure I don't flinch on a snap cap.

 

Friends of mine who went through military sniper school told me thay dry fired for an entire week before they tried live ammo, they even dry fired with pennies on the end of the barrel to make sure they didn't flinch.

Thanks gents. I can pull 2-3 DA revolver pulls without dropping a penny. Good practice on a rifle as well. Thanks.

 

C

So...

 

I love the rifle. It's still a lot more accurate than I am. I shot it at 100 but was having some ammo issues so it wasn't the best time. Moved over to the 200. I'm about 2" at 200 which will come down considerably once I get the ammo figured out. All in all I'm very pleased.

 

C

Nice toy, Topher.

 

Someone mentioned dry firing.  For those that cannot shoot several times a week, dry firing might give you the most improvement, in my opinion.  Also, make sure you have good fundamentals.  No sense practicing bad technique.

 

If you ever feel like taking a ride down to Range 14, I would be happy to observe your technique and make suggestions.  I'm no grand pooba shooter, but I don't suck either.

 

 

Eric

Bag the rifle solid and check it's capabilities.  Do this too while working up your loads.

Once you have your loads...Practice. practice practice.  Even though that is a beautiful rifle

I doubt you know it's true capabilities.  Maybe it can be a one hole rifle, maybe needs to be bedded?

Maybe it likes long ammo.  Develop your loads then practice. 

Nice toy, Topher.

 

Someone mentioned dry firing.  For those that cannot shoot several times a week, dry firing might give you the most improvement, in my opinion.  Also, make sure you have good fundamentals.  No sense practicing bad technique.

 

If you ever feel like taking a ride down to Range 14, I would be happy to observe your technique and make suggestions.  I'm no grand pooba shooter, but I don't suck either.

 

 

Eric

If I ever do, you'll get a PM. Thanks.

 

 

Bag the rifle solid and check it's capabilities.  Do this too while working up your loads.

Once you have your loads...Practice. practice practice.  Even though that is a beautiful rifle

I doubt you know it's true capabilities.  Maybe it can be a one hole rifle, maybe needs to be bedded?

Maybe it likes long ammo.  Develop your loads then practice. 

Thanks as always Homie.

 

C

Nice toy, Topher.

 

Someone mentioned dry firing.  For those that cannot shoot several times a week, dry firing might give you the most improvement, in my opinion.  Also, make sure you have good fundamentals.  No sense practicing bad technique.

 

If you ever feel like taking a ride down to Range 14, I would be happy to observe your technique and make suggestions.  I'm no grand pooba shooter, but I don't suck either.

 

 

Eric

Can you walk me thru some dry fire exercises please?

 

C

Can you walk me thru some dry fire exercises please?

 

C

C - Make sure you use snap caps if you go this way.

 

You're not a newbie.  Yes practice fundamentals.  But develop your rifle and live fire as much as you can. This ain't airsoft.

Can you walk me thru some dry fire exercises please?

 

C

Sure.  I'll jsut try to give a big picture type of thing (pardon me if some of the stuff is stuff you already do).

 

Basically, with dry firing, you are trying to strengthen you fundamentals.  you know, the BRM stuff.  The goal is to have the steadiest position and hold that you can develop and have the smoothest trigger pull, with as little impact on the rifle as possible.

 

In a nutshell, here is my pre shot routine, shooting prone:

 

1. establish line of shot to target and place rifle (using a bipod) on that line.

2. get on hands & knees behind rifle and kick my legs straight back.  I want my spine parallel to the shot line.

3. drop onto the rifle.  Make sure I have the rifle in the pocket of my shoulder, drop my head on teh stock naturally, with no stretching of hte neck or straining and make sure my head is not canted too much.

4. acquire sight picture thru scope.  check for rifle cant.  try to put crosshair on target and work on my natural point of aim, using as little muscle to hold the aim as possible.  Have the weight of the rifle mostly rest on your skeleton where you can close your eyes and repoen them, with no movement from your point of aim.

4a. Load the bipod; push forward a tiny bit.

5. relax as much as possible without causing wobble and take a deep breath.  Note, as you breathe in, the POA will drop below your target and as you exhale, it will rise back to the POA.  This is good.

6. begin your trigger pull at the bottom of your exhale (your natural respiratory pause).  Perfect your trigger pull.  you should use the pad of your index finger and pull as smoothly as possible.  It's mroe of a press than a squeeze.  Do not let the side of your finger drag against the side of the stock. After the trigger breaks, hold your finger press for a full second afterwards.  This is considered good follow through.  You don't want to flinch before the bullet has left the barrel.

 

This is just a quick and dirty post (I'm at work), but this is my dry fire practice.

 

This vid is part of a series (really good shit).  It might cover the topic better than I do:

 

 

Also, you might want to check with Ruger if dry firing without a snap cap is ok.  With a Remington 700 action (striker fired bolt, similar to Ruger), it;s fine to not use one.  Remington recommends not using anything to dry fire.

 

 

Eric

Toph,

 

Also, when cycling the bolt, practice staying on the scope.  Don't come off the gun and stay on target.  This is a good habit for follow up shots.

 

 

Eric

Sure.  I'll jsut try to give a big picture type of thing (pardon me if some of the stuff is stuff you already do).

 

Basically, with dry firing, you are trying to strengthen you fundamentals.  you know, the BRM stuff.  The goal is to have the steadiest position and hold that you can develop and have the smoothest trigger pull, with as little impact on the rifle as possible.

 

In a nutshell, here is my pre shot routine, shooting prone:

 

1. establish line of shot to target and place rifle (using a bipod) on that line.

2. get on hands & knees behind rifle and kick my legs straight back.  I want my spine parallel to the shot line.

3. drop onto the rifle.  Make sure I have the rifle in the pocket of my shoulder, drop my head on teh stock naturally, with no stretching of hte neck or straining and make sure my head is not canted too much.

4. acquire sight picture thru scope.  check for rifle cant.  try to put crosshair on target and work on my natural point of aim, using as little muscle to hold the aim as possible.  Have the weight of the rifle mostly rest on your skeleton where you can close your eyes and repoen them, with no movement from your point of aim.

4a. Load the bipod; push forward a tiny bit.

5. relax as much as possible without causing wobble and take a deep breath.  Note, as you breathe in, the POA will drop below your target and as you exhale, it will rise back to the POA.  This is good.

6. begin your trigger pull at the bottom of your exhale (your natural respiratory pause).  Perfect your trigger pull.  you should use the pad of your index finger and pull as smoothly as possible.  It's mroe of a press than a squeeze.  Do not let the side of your finger drag against the side of the stock. After the trigger breaks, hold your finger press for a full second afterwards.  This is considered good follow through.  You don't want to flinch before the bullet has left the barrel.

 

This is just a quick and dirty post (I'm at work), but this is my dry fire practice.

 

This vid is part of a series (really good shit).  It might cover the topic better than I do:

 

 

Also, you might want to check with Ruger if dry firing without a snap cap is ok.  With a Remington 700 action (striker fired bolt, similar to Ruger), it;s fine to not use one.  Remington recommends not using anything to dry fire.

 

 

Eric

 

 

Toph,

 

Also, when cycling the bolt, practice staying on the scope.  Don't come off the gun and stay on target.  This is a good habit for follow up shots.

 

 

Eric

Fantastic. Thank you.

 

C

Harris Bi-Pos up front and a home made rear bag. My best group at 100. 4 good ones and a brutal flyer. The nut behind the trigger got a little loose...

Eric mentioned it, but if you are using a bipod, rather than a front rest, it is important that you load the bipod consistently, shot to shot. Differing pressures on the fore end of the stock will result in different barrel harmonics - which will affect POI.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Straight behind the rifle, load bipod, check dope and parallax, get your rear bag set, align reticle, breath in, exhale, pull trigger, follow through. Do all that and you should be good to go. Don't forget your wind call as well.

Straight behind the rifle, load bipod, check dope and parallax, get your rear bag set, align reticle, breath in, exhale, pull trigger, follow through. Do all that and you should be good to go. Don't forget your wind call as well.

What...?

What...?

He's giving you a play by play, on how to properly shoot that rifle off a bipod. And it sounds like solid advice to me.

He's giving you a play by play, on how to properly shoot that rifle off a bipod. And it sounds like solid advice to me.

Sorry.  I should have put a smile emoji.  I got all that. 

 

This is a new game to me.  Gonna take me some time to get it all dialed in.

 

C

Straight behind the rifle, load bipod, check dope and parallax, get your rear bag set, align reticle, breath in, exhale, pull trigger, follow through. Do all that and you should be good to go. Don't forget your wind call as well.

 

That's what my dad taught me at about 10yo.  Works for me.  Only thing is my body is out about 20 degrees to the left and I'm a rightey.  Breathing is critical.

 

And spread your legs

Pizza Bob,

 

What are you doing jn this section?  No one mentioned revolvers 

 

 

Eric

Harris Bi-Pos up front and a home made rear bag. My best group at 100. 4 good ones and a brutal flyer. The nut behind the trigger got a little loose...

IMG_20150608_144845176.jpg

 

hey Chris,

 

What kind of ammo are you using?

 

 

Eric

hey Chris,

 

What kind of ammo are you using?

 

 

Eric

Hand loads. Currently a mixed bag but I will be going A-Max over Varget after the next couple hundred rounds. I am trying to get comfy behind the rifle right now, nothing more than that.

 

C