Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Shooting the "Ultra Lights" - ???

He does his best work,when things are limpin'............(grin)

I've shot over 400 MPAJ rounds this season, we call it rock chuck hunting, and I have to agree my Titanium is shooting tighter and more consistent groups. Shooting chucks has slowed my target acquisition time because we're always shooting off rocks.

I useta poke 3M "traction tape" upon my rifle's bellies,to defeat rock scritching under recoil,via MPAJ.

I just figure 'em to be "beauty marks" now,though I'm still hard on issued BDL potmetal guards.

There's alotta gents from this Board who've shot my Ti and none have bitched and that most certainly includes me.

With a 1 pound Basix trigger in her,few rifles could run with it,for Critterly pursuits. Though..she's no slouch in it's current configuration,at 2 pounds.

GREAT rig...................

My trigger guard has taken a real beating. I rest my rifle on the sling but have a habit of creeping forward and pushing the front of the guard against our basalt rock. I tell myself I like the scratches and am just dumb enough to believe it.

I put a Basix in my 40X, it is much better than the orginal. I would state how well it shoots but there are numerous individuals on this site that would not believe it. I need to keep it a secret from our F&G because I'm sure they would make it illegal.

I would like to know how many people have posted that it is difficult to shoot a light weight rifle but are able to shoot a heavier rifle significantly better.

ALL of my hunting partners want either Montanas or Ti's after handling my rig. They just make sense for our steep a$$ mountains.

Back from the dark side?


Lefty

Re: Ultra lights:

I have 3 ULA rifles and they gave me fits for a while.

From the bench I use a rest with a narrow "U" shaped opening and place it about 6-8" in front of the trigger guard screw.

I put a piece of tape on the rifle so it always goes back in the same spot & pull the rifle into my shoulder and grip the forend. Not hard, just enough to keep everything settled in and try to be as comfortabe as possible. One thing I find very important is try to get everything linned up as best you can so the cross hairs are about as close to the bullseye as possible w/o any pressure on the rifle. If you have to cheek it or press it up or down much you most surley will get a pretty good flier. I spend a good bit of time getting everything adjusted pretty close. The rear of the rifle settled in or on the sand bag with the swivel stud set so that it can't catch. (big time verticle flier) Once all that's done I fire three shots pretty quick. Check the target let the rifle cool. If the rifle is too hot with these light barrels I feel your just wasting your time. If it won't cool I stick it in my car, poke the barrel in the AC vent and cool it down. Works really!

In the field I almost always try to shoot holding onto the rifle pretty good and use any field rest thats available, pack etc is a help.

Last the lighter the trigger the better. Since I shoot benchrest I am used to pretty light triggers. I like about 1 1/2 lbs or 1 3/4 pounds if the trigger can safely be set there. Just concentrate and don't jerk that trigger as you will miss like you can't believe.

Hate to say it but I once actually missed a big grizzly 150 yards away. Sick feeling. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> All said though these rifles can be very accurate and I am now pretty much tunned in with mine.

Lefty

I missed a Black Bear this Spring,that would give most Grizzlies a run for their money. He couldn't have been 80yds away and it was a WELL attended event.

Only thing I can fathom,is I touched a limb enroute to him,as the video revealed that there wasn't a projectile even nearly in his zip code,despite a dead nuts rest upon a tree trunk. It weren't a light rifle either(338-378 Accumark).

Bright side was that I caught him in the open soon after,with my 338Ultra in tow.

THAT cost him and little of it were luck.....................

I'm hip on a S/S ADL guard,on my Meat and Taters rifles.

I look forward to driving Brother Bill's Montana in a few days........................

Well since I was in wide open tundra and only air between us I can only blame it on the "jerk" behind the trigger...........but found another one three days later and he wasan't so lucky

Lefty

Two of my most accurate rifles are lightweights. A Remmy Mdl 7 in 204 and a Sako Finnlight in 7-08. Both triggers are set at around 2.5 lbs, the Finnlight maybe even lighter. I also use the "free recoil" method. Groups tend to be better IMHO with these types of rifles when the rifle is rested a bit closer to the action, with no pressure on the forend tip. Welcome back Stick, things were gettin' a little boring around here without you---2MG

All the replies give some good information, but the key is consistency. There is no magic way to shoot an ultra light, or for that matter a heavy rifle, it all boils down to consistency. It's just that small errors in form, are more pronounced on lighter guns. Ultra lights are more difficult to get back in the bags in the same position than a heavier rifle that doesn't move as much. On big kickers, shooters sometimes are more aware of the recoil and pull shots. It takes some practice, and patients to master. Add to all that, the fact that for the most part, ultra lights are not usually as accurate as their heavier barreled, and stocked brothers and the frustration level goes up when shooting. I try to keep telling myself, they're hunting guns, not paper punchers.

any pics of the bruin to share?