Ok, here we go. Dead Possum II, Go Navy (Army)-Beat Cancer Make a Lot of Noise With Savages Match (Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats).

After much soul searching and consultation with the CPA I have on my staff of crackshot kibitzers and drinking buddies, I came to the conclusion that this should not cost anybody who wants to participate anything. Not so much as a farthing (or a dead possum fart). So...... just forward your mailing address via PM and I shall forward to you forthwith whatever targets you need to participate in the event. If you feel the need to pay something, either buy me a beer next time you see me or give a kid some bullets to shoot. I figure the cost of mailing targets to 10-20 entrants won't break the bank. If a hundred entrants jump out of the bushes, well, ok. The targets and envelopes are left over from last year's event.

To save me trying to remember all the rules I set out in the previous post, or jumping back and forth in an effort to transcribe them, please refer to the previous thread I started. (I just can't figure out how to cut and paste that response in that thread. If you are savvy enough to make the link happen, I beg you do so, and will buy you a beer next time I see you.)

Remember, those who wish to fire the "Ten Shots Quick" leg must provide their own paper plate. I'm not surrendering any of my "fine china".

Match dates: June 1-July 1. Post your results here, in this thread. Or, mail your targets to me and I'll score them. (A fifth of scotch will help sharpen my eyesight when doing said scoring. Just saying...)

Shooter submitting the best 50 yard .22 group gets the Traveling Possum Award. (Thanks again, Keith.)

I have made formal application to the International Olympic Committee to make the Dead Possum Matches an Olympic event, perhaps in place of the Biathlon. We shall see.

Let the Games begin!!!!

Gary (Ol' Deadeye) Dunkelberger

Thank you Gary. Pm otw for my contribution. Can't wait for ten shots fast!!
Jefg

Thank you Gary. Pm otw for my contribution. Can't wait for ten shots fast!!
Jeff

Only a handful of responses so far. What's wrong? Are y'all skeert?

I don't know why they would be, you won't let me shoot with a Marlin.

I didn't have targets big enough to hold the shot grouping of a Marlin. It would cost too much to mail a refrigerator carton to Oregon, Roy.

Big talk for a Savage shooter.

Well sure if you want 1000 yard targets I guess it would be a little impractical. How about dishwasher boxes at 500?

I'm in with the Marlin. Just to keep you guys honest.

Fired the dead possum match this morning. Results and pictures attached. Used a Model 5 BA pre war with a Weave 29S scope, same as last year. Same ammo too, Fed GM Match.

That's gonna be hard to beat! I won't get my targets shot until weekend after next.

I would be very surprised Gary that this group might win. I told my better half about the match and the fact that I won this last year. She wanted to know what I won so I told her. Anyway..

This rifle is amazingly accurate and is very much hampered by the scope. No, that's not right. The rifle is amazingly accurate. The shooter is hampered by the scope. I would recommend this model or the Model 4 to anyone wanting an accurate, inexpensive BA 22 RF.

I had the pleasure of shooting a heavy barreled Anschutz bench gun, with Leupold 36x on it this past Saturday. OMG, what an eye opener. We would fire a shot into a blank piece of paper and then use that bullet hole as a target and the resulting group wasn't much bigger than the original hole. Likewise my buddy then showed me how to dot all 25 of the x-rings on a 50 yard IBS target (one shot per bullseye). Things have sure come a long way since the early 30's when my target guns were made! But that's ok, I still prefer making bug hole groups with the 19-33NRA and the M52A.

I'm waiting to shoot my targets until Joe Martin can go along. Perhaps I'll shoot the centerfire leg this weekend without him.

Gary, here is the info from the other posting...

"Ok, looks like we have enough interest to kick this off. Let's say entries to start June 1, deadline for target submission July 4th. I'll forward targets for cost of postage+envelopes (which will vary depending on how many categories/targets you wish to shoot in). I'll have a firm cost in a couple days.

A) (For the traveling Dead Possum Trophy- thanks, Keith!)-- .22 rimfire. 50 yards, benchrest or off your hind legs if you prefer. Any rifle as long as it was made by Savage (or Stevens after the Savage takeover), any sights or scope. Five shots on each of the five bullseyes contained on the NRA 75 foot target (same one we used last year), best group to count for score. No sending the targets back to me, just post the results here. If digital photography is not your thing, just send me the target and I'll post it for you.

B) Go Navy (or Army if we must stoop so low!), Beat Cancer Match-- Any cartridge (centerfire), 100 yards, benchrest or over your truck hood, any Savage lever gun, any sights/scope. Five shots on each of the five bullseyes on the NRA 50 yard smallbore target- hey, it's a 4" black bullseye, you can see it at 100 yards. You don't have to shoot all of the five shot groups. One group will suffice- if you feel lucky, punk.

C) Same as above, 100 yards, any Savage centerfire bolt gun.

D) Ten Shots Fast Match-- any Savage autoloading pistola, .32 or .380 (extra points if you do it with a .45). Ten shots 15 feet at yon paper plate, seven seconds. (Ten seconds for you, Joe, because, well, you're old.) Most number of hits on the regulation K-Mart paper plate wins. I ain't gonna mail paper plates, sorry. Steal them from your wife or mother. In the event of a tie, best group wins. Honor system prevails for timing. If you have no way to time it or video it, just empty the darn gun quick-as-a-lick.

Any questions? Bueller? Bueller?"

Thanks, Rick.

For all of you dithering over whether to participate, there's still time. I mailed out two packets of targets this morning.

Savages are fun to collect, look at, and talk about, but they were built for a purpose you know.

Steve, you are making me sweat; the Dead Possum does not want to leave home. It is going to take some practice to keep him in Minnesota.

Rather than shoot the Savage Anschutz 54 that I used last year, I’m going to shoot a pre-war Model 7 that I picked up in March. I took it out back this morning in some wind to try some CCI SV and SK Rifle match. The SK was better, but not likely good enough. I have some Federal Ultra Match to try next. It's going take some luck and a perfect, no wind, morning.



10 Shot Practice Group this Morning

Practice? Practice? Can you do that?

Seriously, I was surprised how far off my rifle/scope/ammo was given nothing had changed since last year. Doesn't look like you need much Keith. And Keith, don't send that thing to me no matter the result. Be interesting to see what you can do with that Model 7/scope combo, very similar to what I used aside from action type. Good shooting Keith!

The Savage Model 7 with a Weaver 344 and I could not get it done. Best group only 0.789" this morning. Federal Gold Metal Ultra Match. When I got back, I looked at the movement and size of the groups and thought something was out of wack. Sure enough, both T1 mounting screws were loose, so lesson learned.


I plan to shoot the Savage Anschutz 54 at 100 yards for fun. I have to find some 8" paper plates for the 1907; measured what we have and they are 9.5".

Just draw an 8" circle in the middle.

My Ten Shots Quick. Did not have an 8" paper plate, so made an 8" cardboard circle.

Before picture,



Link to video shooting:
[img]http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy263/KeithNyst/Savage%201907s/th_Ten%20Shots%20Quick.mp4[/img]

After picture .. all ten shots on plate.

I pick Keith to be on my side!

I know it's not a centerfire bolt, so it does not count, but I'd never fired the Savage/Anschutz 54 Sporter at 100 yards before, so I did this morning. I thnk if I practiced a bit, I could get it under 1/2". It has an older Leupold Vari-x II 3x9 AO on it.

Try an AO scope in the 16 to 24 power range.

Savage 24B 22 WMR

I swear #4 is legit. t looks like #3 has 6 shots but I dont think I shot extra on that one.

Here is 5 shots of my Savage 99R in 250-3000

I have a bolt with a 114 Compact but that is set up with light loads for my son. So, I skipped the bolt portion. No Savage pistol.

***

I was going to use my R in 250 also. Now, I might just leave it home and watch Gary shoot, that's a tough one to beat. Good shooting Jeff, Joe.

Nice shooting RAS, both matches.

Thanks guys. I really need to get a rimfire scope for that 24. With those 30 gr CCIs, it is a pretty reliable rimfire out to 50 yards for sure. The K4 on there now was what I had laying around when I decided to scope it. I really need a Leupold rimfire to go on there with a really thin reticle. I bet those groups would tighten up.

Jeff, great shooting! Both look like the likely winners; think I'm gong to need your address for the possum :-).

I had the Savage/Anschutz 54 Sporter out yesterday for fun; it did no better than that. It has an old Leupold 3x9AO on it; last week I ordered a Sightron Sii 36x42 BRD Dot to put on it. Can't wait for it to get here and get it out on the bench (not for this competition).

Joe and I are going to shoot our targets next weekend. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Setting here wondering how Keith got all ten hits on that plate when the best I could do was five...then realized I was shooting from 15 yards vs. 15 feet.
Was not a good day at the range. 45 min. there and forgot the targets Gary sent. Hopefully I can get back to the range before the time runs out.

Rick, when I shot, I did it wrong, too. I set it at 7 yards; have no idea how I got 7yds in my head.

Not Bad For a SNIPER!

My postal entry pics for the .22 pre-60 and pistol no longer link to Photobucket. I am re-attaching. As noted in earlier post, after firing, I unfortunatley found that the the T1 screws were loose :-(

Went to the range today to shoot the 100 yard center fire lever gun match using a prewar 99R with a Lyman Alaskan in the Stith mount. Did the same thing as Rick, forgot the target sheet. Not a total waste though, checked hunting loads in this R and it likes them.

I'm afraid that I DNF.
Took some practice shots (I need it) first week of June, then proceeded to get injured/surgery and haven't made it to the range again yet.

Here is what I did do for fun;

1907/.32, nickel
2 magazines @ 25', little high 1st mag., better 2nd.



NRA1919, 50yd. seated supporting rifle, Nice groups, Almost dialed in.



1899H/22HP with fuzzy scope & 99C/303, 50yd. seated supporting rifle, Nice 303 group though high (I'm a deer hunter!), HP is a little scattered but that's probably me. HP has nice round holes though.

Just got in after a long hot weekend. Too much sun, not enough beer. Shot my targets yesterday. Give me a day or two to tabulate the results (and try to figure out how to post pics here- you need a degree from MIT in computer sciences to do it now. Grrrrrrrr).

The 1933NRA with Litschert scope turned in sub-MOA groups at 50 yards. The best were with an old box of RWS R-50, the last of which I had, figures. It was about 95 degrees at the range and by the time I was done with the rimfire leg, I was boiling and not in the mood for shooting high power at 100 and 200 yards. I shot a couple quick groups with a .22HP, around 1 1/2MOA, aperture sights, and called it quits.

On a cheerier note, my colonoscopy results on Friday showed no cancer or polyps. I'm just a normal PIA again!

Brother!

That's good news Gary!

Finally found my camera with which to snap some pics. The .22HP group (best out of four) was better than I thought initially.

50yds., M1933NRA Savage, Litschert 12x scope, RWS R-50 ammo: .465"



100yds. centerfire, M1899H .22 High Power, Lyman 30 1/2 sight, handloads (63 grain Sisk, 23.0 grains 3031, RWS primer, W-W .25-35 brass): 1.190"



Hang on while I sift through the results to see just who won this thing!

The results are in.

Dead Possum Match- 50 yards .22 rimfire, any sights.

Steve99- .376"
RAS- ? bug hole group, but no measurement
KeithNYST-.789"
gnoahhh- .465"

Even though Jeff didn't measure his group I think we can agree that his tiny group indeed skunked us (possumed us?).

Go Navy/Go Army Match- 100 yards, any Savage lever action, any sights

RAS - Tiny group, but no measurement, 99R .250, scoped
gnoahhh - 1.190", 1899H .22HP, iron sights

Again, we need to get Jeff a micrometer caliper, but he obviously turned in the best group. (But ya gotta admit 1.190" with aperture sights and a 100+ year old carbine ain't bad. ) And since Jeff is a Marine, and I have ties to the Naval Academy, we shall officially call it the "Go Navy Match". (Sorry, Keith )

Ten Shots Fast Match- any Savage autoloading pistola

It's hard to tell, but I think Southern Wi Savage (Rick) beat out the competition slightly.

Match results are final as of five minutes after I post this. That's how long you have to register a challenge!

To the guys who turned in fine results but not on regulation targets, thanks for shooting the match anyway. Since we're going for group size not score, perhaps next time we should just shoot whatever targets we feel comfy with? Keep it in mind for the next match which should be this fall after the weather cools off a bit (and the dead possums don't reek as bad).

Thanks to all who participated. My goal with this exercise is to get us away from the internet and make our cherished rifles do what they were intended for. Furthermore, the sound of Savage rifle fire is as 'Merican as you can get, and adds to the sound of Freedom.

Gary

Sorry I couldn't join in, just too busy this year with moving, family medical, work.

That's ok, Roy. You were missed. But, next time, the targets will be 2x4" portraits of you.

That should be popular. Triple the entries and extra shots in every target.

Nice work Jeff, great shooting and thank you Gary for doing this again.

Thanks Gary for displaying the initiative to put something together like this. My late grandfather is quite pleased that his beloved Savage won the Dead Possum contest.

Really, that 24 is way, way more accurate than it should be. Members on this forum have shot that firearm with very similar results. For next year, it will have a rimfire scope and I will have my calipers out of storage!

The possum started his road journey to RAS today; let us all pray he does not succumb to road kill!

So who won?

See above.

The possum is now safely located in northern Michigan. He is sitting atop a gun safe ultimately guarding my grandfather's Savage 24 that won the contest.

That dead possum has gotta be starting get ripe.

Petrified possum by now.

Glad to hear he survived the trip without becoming road kill.

This contest has given me the motivation to get a bonafide rimfire scope for this 24. It shoots so darn well, it definitely warrants it. Going with a Leupold.