I remember a "new guy", back in the early 80s who stopped by my friends house this was a guy he worked with, I didn't know him. My friend was single then ( we were all around 30yrs old though) and he and I had a good 200yd range set up in his back yard, with a solid, well built bench. I had scrounged up some sand bags to use too. The guy had a brand new Smith & Wesson Mod 1500. ( Howa/Vanguard, same action) It had a good Leupold 3x9 on it, rifle was 30-06. We looked it over, it had a nice wood stock, no recoil pad, hard plastic buttplate. The GS (Carter's Country then off I10, Houston) had set it up, boresighted it. I told him I felt the scope was a bit too far back, but he said "its just right" in a tone that really meant " I didn't ask you!", so OK then. He wanted my friend to help him get it "zeroed in" at 100yds. I watched that guy get a cookie cutter first shot! That thing was kicking him something fierce. He kept shooting though, I'll give the hard head that, ha. five shots later, when he was in "the paper pie plate" homemade target, he said "thats good enough", ha. So, it looked like the guy had never shot any big rifle off the bench, and his form was crap, so that hard butt kicked his "hard headed butt", ha. So, I try to emphasize shooting form too if anyone asks me what I recommend. The young man probably has a cartridge "in mind", and I would tell him to do some research. Shoot something you have just to see. Golf, Archery, Wing Shooting, Fly Fishing.....its all about "form & function", ha. Let us know what he decides on though...?
