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I think it's time for a scope

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  JTJ 
#1 ·
Friday being a day off from work for me, I took advantage of the nice weather to visit the Calverton Shooting Range in Calverton, NY. It wasn't at all crowded when I arrived around 10:45 but was quite busy by the time I left 90 minutes later. As is usual for that range the shooters were about evenly divided between AR users and those with more traditional rifles.

I brought my new-to-me Marlin 336 in 30-30 and my 12-gauge Maverick 88. Using the 50-yard rifle targets I fired 40 rounds out of the Marlin, Remington Core-Lokt 170 grain, and 30 one-ounce 2 3/4" Winchester Foster slugs from the Maverick. When all was said and done I was able to manage 6-inch groups from the 30-30 and slightly tighter ones with the slugs. That may sound dreadful, but keep in mind that I only fire offhand - there's something about using the bench that seems not quite right to me - and used iron sights. An older man at the next bench, who had many years of shooting experience based on our conversations during the breaks, said that under those circumstances it wasn't bad, especially as I wear eyeglasses. He also said that I didn't appear to flinch at all, which was gratifying.

While I like iron sights, I've concluded that it's time to, ahem, bite the bullet and get a scope for the Marlin. Given my vision limitations I really don't think I'm going to get much better than 6-inch groups out of it if I continue with the iron sights, and at some point I'd also like to be able to go for the 100-yard targets. Not going to happen without a scope. There's a LGS not far away where I've occasionally bought ammo and targets, and when I get the chance I'll stop in for a scope. I must say I am rather pleased to be able to maintain sub-6 inch groups with the slugs, using just the Maverick's bead sight. Somehow that is easier to see than the Marlin's sights.

After finishing at the rifle section I went over to the nearby shotgun area, not using sporting clays (they're some distance away and I haven't yet gotten a thrower) but just blasting away at 50-yard targets. I recently picked up a 10-round box of Remington Nitro Turkey 3" shells, no. 5 shot, and according to an online calculator they produce something north of 50 foot pounds of recoil energy. When I saw them in the store I just had to pick them up to see if I could handle them, that's just the way I am. I'll have to say that they weren't nearly as brutal as I had feared, somewhat but not markedly worse than the slugs. Which doesn't mean that I would have wanted to fire 100 of them in one session, ten was enough thank you very much. I finished with some Field and Stream 2 3/4" no. 7 1/2 birdshot, 1 1/8 ounce, which I had gotten very cheaply at Dick's Sporting Goods. They're actually made by Federal. After shooting the turkey load they seemed to have no apparent recoil at all :)
 
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#2 ·
For that rifle look into lower power scopes. I like the Bushnell Trophy Shotgun scope. 1.75-4x32 with a circle X reticle. I use this scope on a 7.62x39 which has similar ballistics to the 30-30.
 
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#3 ·
I installed a Bushnell Trophy XLT Shotgun scope 1.75-4x32 on my Mini 14. I took it to the range today to get it sighted in. I got it on paper at 10 yards then moved to 40 yards and then to 100 yards using Wolf 62 grain HP 223. The Wolf is not that accurate 2-3 moa. I then ran some 55 grain hand loads and got this at 100 yards from a rest with the scope on 4x.
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#6 ·
while shooting off-hand does serve a useful purpose, especially if you plan on using the rifle for hunting, shooting off a bench does serve a purpose as well. shooting off a bench, you are looking at more of the accuracy of the rifle and not necessarily the shooter, while the opposite is trued of the shooting off-hand. the goal is to see what the accuracy potential of the rifle is, and then concentrate on the shooter's accuracy when shooting off-hand. takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation.

if the best i can get are 2" to 3" groups shooting off the bench with whatever ammo i have chosen at 100 yards, then theoretically that translates into 4" to 6" groups at 200 yards and so on. and this can be even magnified when then shooting off-hand possibly.

as general rule, the more accurate the rifle is on the bench, the better the accuracy is shooting off-hand.

for that rifle, i would stick with a lower powered scope like a 1-4, or 2-7 power. it's a generally shorter ranged cartridge, and going beyond 200 yards would be very remote and unethical with that cartridge on deer sized critters. get the scope mounted and bore sighted, then sighted in at about 25 to 50 yards. i would also think going with a 75 yard zero would be optimum for that rifle and cartridge.
 
#7 ·
#9 ·
Typical scope for a 22 lr rifle is a 3x9x32 for rim fire which has a 50 yard parallax setting rather than 100 yards. I will be running a 3-9X40 Nikon rim fire on my single shot whenever I get it back from the Mfg. I usually run subsonic ammo in it. I can run it past the typical 22lr ranges which normally are out to 70 yards which is about where HV ammo goes subsonic.
For a plinker my personal favorite is the Trophy shotgun scope which is also parallax set at 50 yards since shotguns are usually considered short range. I really like the circle x reticle as it is very fast on 1.75x and ideal for fast plinking or short range hunting. We shoot offhand at steel spinners and hangers at 30-50 yards with the 22lrs. I have one on my 10-22. I like red dots too but I have astigmatism and without glasses I am SOL. I can adjust the ocular lens to compensate with a scope. I am running a Bushnell TRS25 red dot on my S&W 15-22. They are excellent and usually available for $65.
I have several of the Bushnell Trophy XLT 1.75X32 scopes and right now they are on sale a CDNN for $80 +$10 shipping. They are normally close to $150. I would order a couple more if I did not have so many scopes laying around.
 
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