Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Took the CZ to the range yesterday along with a few LMI’s to try 1000-yard shooting. It was 8 degrees out and thats pretty cold when youre used to 25-30~ degree weather. On the bright side, heat mirage wasnt much of a concern. Wore the Flectar parka and it was up to the task. Shoulda worn warmer socks though…one of the LMI wore a pair of Mickey Mouse/bunny boots and they apparently served him quite well. Looks like Im going to have to hunt a pair of them down and buy them. I was still getting the feel for the CZ and my 9x scope was no match for the distance of 1000 yards so I just shot 100 yard stuff. The LMI were shooting 7mag and .308. I personally thought the .308 would be pretty spent and thus less accurate by the time it got there, but it acquitted itself nicely. Holdover? Well, the conversation went like this: “Okay, sighted in for 300 yards, so its 25 clicks of elevation for 1000″, “Add two more clicks for the colder temperature”, etc. See, at that range you dont just think to yourself “I’ll hold four feet over the target”…no, you calculate your ballistics on a computer, print a little range card with the various distances noted, and then you mark down the correct number of clicks to adjust your scope. Of course, for this to work you need a very good scope (average cost of the scopes used we $900 each) and your ammo has to be quite consistent. When all that is said and done you head down the range and see a group thats about 6 or 7 inches big and you think “Thats horrible” until you realize thats .7 MOA…the equivalent of shooting a .7″ group at 100 yards…and that those shots all would hit a man sized target at well over half a mile away.
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Took the Mr Heater ‘Buddy’ to the range. It worked adequately enough to warm hands and feet but it really works best in an enclosed space. The brain-numbing cold didnt have much of an effect on it although the Coke I was drinking froze in the three minutes I left it alone to go take a leak. Thats cold.
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Things at the house are a bit chilly too. I was negligent in getting the storm windows up so thats a priority for today. Additionally, I need to make sure theres no under-the-door drafts or anything. Heating bill was outrageous last time.
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Im going to ditch the Remington brass and pick up some Lapua or Hornady Match cases. I may be on the right track with the IMR 4895 but I’d like to try some of the Varget or blc2 loads. Any idiot can hit a playing card at 100 yards…I didnt spend this money for 100 yard shooting. I want the maximum effective and accurate range. Not necessarily 1000 yards but probably 600yards or so at least.
