Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles "Mastering The Lightest of Rifles"

American Rifleman September 2015 by Dwight Van Brunt.

Article both confirms campfire discussion and expands upon topic.

Gee, what would we do without writers.

Why so many need affirmation is beyond me.

Steelie - " Why so many need affirmation is beyond me. ". Yeah they do...don't they. But I'd rather give JOC or Keith an 'atta boy in print than today's HUG anytime. Writers need to pay bills too.
Homesteader

I read the article.

Makes me want to run out and buy a really lightweight rifle that I need to call Mr. Forbes for instruction on how to shoot it. Otherwise, I might end up shooting sika deer in the head.

Good grief.

I read the article and I'm going to use some of the tips shooting my M70 feather weight. It's the first light weight rifle I've owned. I admit there's much I don't know. I'd rather learn even if it's from print than stay ignorant and not shoot as well.

Also - all of us shooters and hunters haven't ....

learned everything

or

know everything.

Only a few know it all! !


Jerry

I don't get American Rifle but instead, American Hunter. What does the article say?

I haven't read it, but I'd guess it says that lighter rifles are harder to shoot small groups with and are more finicky about consistent holds and shooting technique.

That would be correct.
One of the tips he offered is to hold the rifle down with your hand on the scope. While that may possibly help to stabilize the rifle on the bench and give you some indication of the accuracy potential of your rifle, I can't see using that technique in the field and would expect that your POI would change when shooting from field positions. IME you are better off to hold the rifle as you would shooting in the field.

"IME you are better off to hold the rifle as you would shooting in the field."

Absolutely! My buddy bought a Kimber Montana after my love affair with them in 7-08 and told me this damn thing won't shoot. We met at the range and I told him, hold the forearm not the scope. Wouldn't you know it, the crappy gun shot a group around 1/2"-3/4" .

It was an ok read though....

I found that some of his points were pretty good, but some of it was nonsense.
The part about being square behind the rifle, and not allowing any side pressures when shooting from a bench is dead on. That applies to not so light rifles as well, and from field positions.
But his comments of about shooting with a sling is simply nonsense. His comments about shooting off of a bipod were only a little better.
Sure, some rifles with flexible stocks, including some that have bedded barrels, do shoot off when using a shooting sling. BTW, using less pressure on the shooting sling might allow the bullet to land closer to your bench zero, but it usually still pulls the rifle off of it's zero.
The solution(s) is/are simple. One can free float the rifle's barrel, or one can use a stock that doesn't flex so much. Or one can use a shooting sling, like the Safari Ching Sling, that pulls down instead of to the left like the classic military version. Whatever one does, above all, test the rifle from the field positions that you will be using. I don't find many benches in the field.
It's called learning how to shoot the rifle so that one hits what needs to hit, consistantly. Or one can call it realistic testing. Something checking one's zero ever so often. E

We'll I've had my 300 WM Nula for 6 years now,great rifle and accurate is a understatement. Killed multiple animals with it, some free standing some braced against a tree some from the prone position. I shoot my lightweight rifle just like I shoot my heavier rifles, firm hold, and in the right position. The best thing though is TO SHOOT THEM nothing else will help.

I think it is a good idea that the shooting public is informed that the lighter rifles require more effort to shoot accurately. I know when people have expressed interest in shooting my 84M's (708/223) a few helpful tips made for a better experience.

For some, that article may be information more so than it is affirmation.

It's too bad that everyone wasn't born as reptiles are, knowing every damn thing.

Learn from others - even if it's their mistakes - as you'll never live long enuff to learn EVERYTHING on your own . . .

You're right, it's good to have stuff in print for the stupid.

Interesting enough article. I've tried the hand on the scope trick and don't think all that much of it. Full length neutral bedded Nula's and the same with a re-barreled Kimber tell me free floating a LW is not how I want it done. Shooting from the bench with any rifle I don't have a heavy cheek on the comb.

Agree with his thought on keeping bounce to a minimum with the LW's. However, it seems to be a good idea with any rifle.

A good barrel along with having it assembled correctly goes a long way in eliminating problems. Much the same as a normal weight rifle.

AlaskaLaunch mentioned wrote here that when shooting at a basket ball sized target he is willing to accept a little less accuracy from his LW's, which is something most here seem to ignore.

Had a .338Fed Kimber that bounced around a lot on the bench and on average stayed around 1.5. In the field it hit stuff as well as the others that shoot much smaller groups from the bench. Funny how that works.


Addition: With the Nula's I've found that cleaning every 4 groups-as the writer mentioned-is not necessary. Much the same with the re-barreled Kimber. Nor does the Nula POI move around all that much when shot hot. The Kimber a little more so, but nothing that would cause a miss. If a second shot is necessary, I doubt if I will have 3minutes all that often to get it off. So it seems a little contrary to wait 3-5minutes between shots as the author recommends to find out how well your LW performs from the bench and equate it to the field.

Battue -1. Target shooting 'CAN' be relative to the TARGET size. Very Good Point.

2. Funny isn't it? We really don't NEED a comp. rifle/load/bullet to hit LIFE SIZE game.


Don't get me wrong, I strive to get the most accuracy I can find from hunting rifles.

Jerry

Personally, I like it when people don't know stuff like this. I've picked up several Kimbers and other light weight rifles at super prices because their owners didn't know how to shoot them and thought they were bad guns. Of course that's not what they told me when they were trying to make a trade with me.

I was coming to type the exact same thing; well said and correct in my opinion.