Oh No, Another newbie

[BillyBushCook]

Hi Guys, New to the forum but not to shooting or shooting forums.
Have been a member on Shooting.com for a while now & shooting since I was a young teen, now 44 so you can do the math

Had a few years off after the laws kept chopping & changing back around the late 90's & then picked it back up again when it all settled down, thankfully it was within 10yrs so it was just a simple renewal.

Got right back into the air rifles at first with me being the one who pressured the importers into bringing in the Benjamin Marauder PCP & more recently bought my self a 308 for long range hunting & a little bit of F class for practice.

Been a long time fan of my .222R which was my only c/fire for many years & the rifle I most hunted with but the 308 is now a stable workhorse for the long range work.

I have done a few meetings at Cessnock & find the guys there a great bunch who made me & my inferior hunting rifle feel very welcome. I'm looking at spending as many Saturdays over there as I can this year & considering an F class purpose build in the future after hopefully picking the brains of a few of you in the process.

Any one here from Cessnock?
If you don't know me by name, you'l know me by this



Cheers, Mick.

[AlanF]

Welcome aboard Mick. I've just finished saying how shooters in their 40s and 50s are the best prospects as new F-Class shooters so you fit the profile. Rod Davies posts a lot on here. I also know John Peters well, and met Tim Nugent at Canberra. All top shooters so you're in a good place for some stiff competition. No doubt your stock will have some admirers.

Alan

[Norm]

Welcome BillyBushCook

Good rifle for field practice etc. Should give them a run for the points at the local F-Class events. Have fun and enjoy yourself.

Norm.

[BillyBushCook]

Good rifle for field practice etc.

Cheers guys.
It is a Howa 1500 Varmint, pillar bedded (by self) into a Boyd's thumbhole.

I'm very supprised at how it shoots for such a budget rifle. ($812 for rifle, scope & stock)
The second time at 800 I put my first 5 scoring shots into a 4" group with 3 of them supers, my scorer gave me a bit of a Gee up, when I had a good look at where they were I got all excited & physically started trembeling,,,,,it all went to shit from there

First time at 900 & I was on the bull again in the first couple when I got nailed by bloody green ants, after dealing with those mongrels I forgot my POA & threw a couple out into the 4 zone on the left before picking up on it, otherwise it would have been a cracker too, the total virtical in that set was about 6" including sighters.

Mostly shoot mid 50's at this stage, still early, still working on tuning but very happy with it so far as a hunting rifle. my cheap arse 9x scope is holding me back a little too but that will have to wait until funds allow, at least I can still get out there & have a go in the mean time, learning all the way.

Still going thru load development ATM & recently found some excentricity problems in my finished loads, working on solving that now.

Very addictive, this F class. Loving it!

Cheers, Mick.

[Norm]

Mick that rifle will do ok, seems to be accurate enough. But you are dead right with wanting a bit more optics than 9x.

Below is a photo taken at Rosedale of my son shooting the rifle that I started out with. Its a long action Remington in .308, the barrel I picked up second hand for $100 and paid $300 off used guns for the snake skin H-S precision stock. With adding an adjustable cheek peice and barrel fitting costs it was a cheap entry level rifle that has since shot a few 60's off that Harris Bipod.

[Batman]

Hi Mick
If you need a scope for interim till you have enough for Nightforce or March I have just posted a couple of fixed Leupolds on the "for sale/wanted to buy" part of ths forum if interested

good luck and happy shooting
regards Stuart
[/quote]

[BillyBushCook]

I should add, that scope is an $85 3-9 x 40 Air rifle scope which I had spare when I bought the rifle.
It is working fine for hunting but lacking a little for F class, even though it is quite clear.

One of the problems I have with scope choice is that this is primarily a hunting rifle, which means that target specific scopes are not a good option.
For starters I need to be able to bring it down to 3 or 4x for short range work in the scrub but still get enough mag for F class without being too big & bulky.

I prefer to shoot off my reticle instead of adjusting turrets.
Zero at 300 (depending on the reticule) & never touch the turrets again.
That way I always know where it is every time I pick it up & I can go from 50yds to 900yds in the blink of an eye & be on target every time. Very important for hunting.

I use a drop chart stuck to the side of my range finder with Mills v's distance in 50yd increments.

This one is for the air rifle but the 308 chart is on the other side.

So,
My choices are limited to around 4-16x & must have extended milldot or Ballistic reticle that will get me out to 900. Using that 9x I'm using a 300 zero which means I'm 1 Mill hold under at 100yds & bang on 7 Mill at 900 (where the thick part starts on a 6 dot scope)

Currently looking at a Vortex Viper PST 4-16 in a FFP Mill/Mill

Can you guys point me to any others that might fit the bill?

Cheers, Mick.

[AlanF]

...That way I can go from 50yds to 900yds in the blink of an eye & be on target every time. Very important for hunting...

What do you hunt at 900?!?!

[BillyBushCook]

Nothing but steel but I do need to get to 900 for F class at Cessnock (900 is the furthest mound at Cessnock)

Have limited my self to 500 for hunting ATM until my wind reading gets a little better, then may stretch it out to 800 max but more likely 6-700.

Edit:-
Removed comment about a Feral Goat.

Regards, Mick.

[Barry Davies]

This is not what target shooting is all about.

[BillyBushCook]

This is not what target shooting is all about.

Was looking for forum rules etc, when I wrote that. (can't see them ATM)
I was never going to post hunting pics etc on here & if you'd prefer I will Edit out the Goat bit?

Mick.

[TOM]

Please do, save those stories for a like minded audience. We're about target shooting here.

[BillyBushCook]

Fair enough, Done.

So none of you hunt as well?

Mick.

[Barry Davies]

Not me-- live and let live.

[Brad Y]

Mick


There is a big discussion at the moment about getting new people into our sport and welcoming them in. So firstly welcome.

Hunting is a bit of a sticky point when it comes to target shooting. NRAA disciplines arent hunting related and as you may have seen some of the shooters are against any reference to hunting or using mil dots, or even using hunting/varmint rifles such as yours. I didnt see your story about the goats but I hunt and dont have any issue about hunting. Whether or not its appropriate on a target shooting forum, Im not going to comment.

I hope the guys at the range you shoot at are welcoming and let you have a go with your rifle and you enjoy yourself at f class shooting. Keep us posted with results and your thoughts on the F class scene.

For hunting stories- take a look at Ausvarmint.com forums- plenty of guys on there enjoy a read on anything hunting.