Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Marlin 336XLR/Hornady LE 160's (group of my life)

Ya know, I'm a decent shot...by no means do I consider myself a "rifleman" or even a really good shot. I honestly don't get much out of shooting @ paper. I basically sight in and practice enough to stay proficient with my rifle for hunting purposes. For some reason today I woke up differently. The kids are gone with their Mama, getting her classroom ready for school to start, and I felt like shooting a rifle or two. I don't have a bench set up for shooting, but I really made an effort to get as solid as possible to see what I could do. One of my chosen rifles was my Marlin XLR 30/30,shooting the Hornady Leverevolution 160. I fell in love with this thing as soon as I saw it, and after taking two bucks with it last year, it is now my "go to" deer rifle. I played around with some 125 gr loads last year after deer season, so I needed to sight back in with the 160's. My Leica 800 said I was 98 yards away. Close enough.



My first two are the two high and right. Good group for me, so far so good. I made the adjustment and put the muffs back on. My first shot was perfect. My second shot was...off the entire paper apparently, even though it felt perfect. Upon inspection, there were two shots in one slightly bigger hole. Should I stop there and show my bro-in-law or take a chance on blowing it with another shot?? He would've given me too much grief for not shooting three, plus now I am full of confidence....The third shot felt great,and I felt good about not jerkin it under the pressure. Wherever it was, I wouldn't complain...but I wasn't even gonna look til I got up to it. Bam, right there under the other two!
It was way too hot, and I decided to leave on a high note and didn't shoot anymore. Gotta email my bro-in-law now!

Very nice group. Try it again next week. Same group, it's you. Larger group, it's the rifle/ammo.

Nice group! I'd lower it about 2.0-2.5" and call it ready.

Mike