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#Post#: 165--------------------------------------------------
Precision and accuracy shooting
DIR By: allmanav
Date: December 6, 2020, 9:47 am
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Precision and accuracy shooting
I’ve always said you can’t buy capability. Only practice can
turn you into an accomplished precision shooter. However,
neither can you practice your way to great skill without certain
critical equipment.
Whether you jump into the precision shooting scene with both
feet and buy one of today’s excellent purpose-designed rifles or
just want to stretch out your favorite deer rifle, you’ll need
the right accessories. Let’s assume you’ve got the rifle or at
least a foundation in the form of a potentially accurate
barreled action. What do you really need to get the best out of
it?
Appropriate stocks for long-range precision include (from l.)
hand-laid fiberglass composite, laminated wood and chassis-type.
Stocks
Whether you prefer wood, or composite or a machined metal
chassis-type stock, it needs to be rigid to promote accuracy and
stable to promote consistency. It must be impervious to whatever
nature throws at it. This means laminated wood stocks, hand-laid
composite stocks and well-executed machined-aluminum chassis.
Wood is too susceptible to moisture, and common injection-molded
plastic just isn’t rigid enough, and it becomes malleable when
it’s hot and brittle when it’s cold.
If you need a different stock, research the type you prefer and
shell out the money. It’s worth it. Boyds Gunstocks offers
usable laminated wood stocks, and McMillan offers some top-notch
models. Stocky’s Stocks carries most of the good composite
versions at good prices. And chassis stocks can be found at
myriad online retailers.
Opt for a model with a somewhat vertical grip, which makes for
more comfortable, stable improvised field positions.
Also, try to find a version with a lightweight adjustable cheek
rest.Finally, be sure the fore-end is robust enough to accept
your barrel profile. This latter particularly applies if your
action has a heavy match tube or if you anticipate rebarreling
it someday.LL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Action Bedding
Some experts hold that every rifle, even those with CNC-machined
bedding blocks, will benefit from glass bedding. Other experts
believe the opposite.
Pick your side. I’m something of a bedding anarchist. If your
action is mated to a premium, machined surface—either chassis or
bedding block in a composite stock—by a top-shelf manufacturer,
and if it shoots well, I’m satisfied.
However, lots of today’s bedding blocks aren’t accurately
machined, and lots of actions aren’t perfectly square, true and
parallel. My 6.5-300 Wby. Mag. was one such gun. There was a
discerniable bend in the action as the screws drew it into the
skewed aluminum bedding block. Acraglas work performed by Roland
Black—a bedding true-believer—literally halved the size of the
groups that rifle produces.
Plus, no matter what a manufacturer’s literature says, all—and I
mean all—composite stocks need bedding. A good buddy once spent
$600 on a prime McMillan but mistakenly believed he could just
drop his fresh Krieger-barreled action in. Groups were dismal.
We bedded it, and it became a half-m.o.a. rifle.
Critical Scope Features
Gone are the days of capped elevation turrets and mil-dot
reticles. Over the past decade, Nightforce and Vortex
spearheaded a feature revolution in the optics world. The
innovations they made standard showed shooters a new world of
capability and forced other optic companies to up their game.
In addition to clear glass, maximum light transmission and
minimum distortion, today’s savvy shooters want a certain set of
features on their precision optics.First, the elevation turret
must have durable, precision, repeatable guts. If it doesn’t
dial predictably and last for thousands of repetitions, it
doesn’t make the cut.
The turret must be equipped with a zero-stop-type mechanism that
enables the shooter to dial down to his or her base sight-in
distance without looking or counting dial revolutions. And if
the turret has a zero lock button preventing it from
inadvertently being spun off zero, that’s icing on the cake.
Lean toward turrets with easy-to-calculate rotation quantities,
such as 20 m.o.a. or 10 mils per rotation. Second-rotation
numbers on the dial are really nice, too.
If you’re trying to wring out precision from a hunting rifle,
company-offered custom-engraved dials regulated to match your
favorite load in yards are particularly advantageous.
A really important second feature is adjustable parallax.
Precision shooting dictates the necessity of eliminating
parallax, which is an optical anomaly that causes all kinds of
grief if not eliminated. In the old days this feature was found
on the front lens housing, but now the more ergonomic side focus
turret is much more common.
If you want to shoot far, adequate internal adjustment is
necessary. Typically, this requires the use of a 30mm main tube
or even larger. Be aware that although the massive 34mm and 35mm
tubes provide outstanding image quality and tons of adjustment,
they are heavy, and rings are expensive and hard to find.
Bases & Rings
Scope rings are not all created equal. Neither are bases. For a
precision rifle, install a one-piece cross-slot 1913-spec base.
The one-piece design is not only more rigid but also squares up
the two rings to one another. Apply thread lock and torque the
screws to appropriate spec.
Purchase quality rings. They’re expensive, so plan to spend
upward of $100. It’s worth it. Precision machined rings from
Seekins, Nightforce, Leupold, Warne, Steiner, Hawkins and others
typically offer perfectly round, true bearing surfaces. Cheaper
rings need to be lapped to prevent scope body damage and
consistency-robbing distortion when the screws are tightened.
A common tendency is to mount scopes in rings that are higher
than they need to be. This exacerbates the struggle to attain a
good cheek weld. Choose rings that position the scope as close
to the barrel and action as possible¬—without actually touching.
Try them first to be sure. Seekins makes arguably the best
low-mount rings.
Torque scope ring screws only to manufacturer’s spec. Cranking
them tighter will potentially compress the scope tube and
compromise the mechanics of the erector housing and
magnification adjustments.
Cant can be an accuracy killer at longer ranges. A spirit level
like this one from Burris will ensure you’re holding your rifle
true.
Scope Accessories
Canting a rifle isn’t a big deal inside 200 or even 300 yards.
Past that, it can be a real headache, so get a scope level
bubble.
A couple of years ago an old hunting mentor of mine lay behind a
superbly accurate rifle and aimed at one of the biggest Wyoming
mule deer he’d seen in a half-century of hunting big bucks. It
stood 430 yards away, on a steep ridge that fell sharply off to
the one side.
The buck also stood at a steep angle, his hindquarters
dramatically lower than his shoulders. With one or two steps,
the buck could vanish into heavy brush.
My friend dialed up his Nightforce scope, got steady and sent
his bullet. Unfortunately, it was a whisker right—just enough to
miss over the giant deer’s back. He later figured out he’d
canted his rifle strongly due to the angle of the ridge.
My favorite economy-priced scope level is made by Burris and
costs about $35. Mount it on the main tube just behind the front
objective bell so you can see it with your non-shooting eye when
in firing position. Calibrate it to the flat top of your scope
turret.
Several competing models are available, too. Look for the offset
versions; otherwise you have to lift your head from the stock
and take your eye from the scope to see the level.
For a high-end product, serious shooters trend toward Accuracy
1st’s version, which costs a cool $100 but offers more precision
and is less likely to get sluggish in very cold conditions.
Another premium, innovative level is Warne’s $100 collapsible
Skyline model.
Cheek Rests
Few modern scopes can be mounted low enough to allow a good
cheek weld. This is especially so with precision scopes because
of their large lens diameters and large main tubes, as well as
the robust, cross-bolt type bases and rings precision shooters
favor for their strength.
Stock makers have compensated as much as possible by designing
high combs. However, there’s a limit, because the rifle’s bolt
has to be able to clear the top of the comb when removed for
maintenance.
A good cheek weld is critical. A while back, a good friend
struggled with a fine new custom rifle. He was frustrated
because he couldn’t get the gun to group better than 1.5 inches
at 100 yards.
I cut some cardboard, rolled out the packing tape, and stacked
shims atop his comb until he could lie prone with his neck
completely relaxed, eye centered in the scope. His five-shot
groups instantly shrunk to 0.75 inch.
For a price, shooters can order a precision stock with an
adjustable cheek rest. That price comes in two forms—dollars and
pounds—although recent cutting-edge versions from McMillan and
Manners have shaved those pounds to ounces.
If you’re getting a new stock, and if you don’t plan to climb
big mountains with your rifle, by all means get an adjustable
cheek rest. If not, order an AccuPack strap-on by Spec-Ops
Brand. Unlike most strap-ons, which add just a quarter inch of
height and are basically useless, the AccuPack comes with
closed-cell-foam shims and is adjustable for height. Weight is
just four ounces. I use them on all my mountain rifles.
Bipods
Properly used, a bipod provides benchrest levels of accuracy.
Modern technique consists of lying straight behind the
bipod—rather than at an angle as many competitive shooters
learned. This directs recoil straight back through the body,
which minimizes muzzle jump and particularly sideways muzzle
jump.
Additionally, the bipod is typically “loaded,” meaning the
shooter puts forward pressure against it by scooting the body
forward. You not only get increased stability with this method,
loading your bipod provides superb recoil control as well.
Use the non-shooting fist beneath the toe of the stock to
provide rear support or, even better, a bunny-ear sandbag or
lightweight field bag. The instructors at the SAAM School at FTW
Ranch recommend a padded shooting mitt for the non-shooting
fist.
More Harris bipods are in use around the world than any other,
and provide a great benchmark. They’re of high quality, attach
to the forward sling stud, work beautifully and cost little more
than $100. However, they’re also heavy, noisy, prone to snag in
dense brush, and don’t have great amounts of adjustability.
Bipods that up the game and triple the price typically offer
more adjustment, particularly in forward and rearward leg
positions. Sometimes they’re lighter, too. Various
interchangeable feet are available. Atlas, Warne, Modular
Evolutions and Spartan Precision offer great options.
Timney and other manufacturers make great aftermarket triggers
that can really improve your shooting.
Triggers
To get the best out of a super-accurate rifle, you’ve got to
have a crisp, light trigger, ideally without discernable
overtravel, which is rearward movement that occurs after the
trigger releases the sear.
Heavy, gritty, inconsistent triggers interfere with clean shot
execution. No matter how perfect your position, sight picture,
and technique, practical shots from field positions unavoidably
suffer from a poor trigger.
Thankfully, excellent aftermarket triggers are available for
most rifle models. Cost runs from about $125 up to $250.
Jewell, Trigger Tech and Geissele are great manufacturers.
Timney has a broad selection, including triggers for models
infrequently pressed into service for precision work.
Many options are engineered for a specific task. Beware of
accidentally ordering a two-ounce benchrest competition trigger.
My favorites are adjustable to a crisp two pounds, which is
heavy enough to prevent negligent discharges and light enough
for really precise field work.
Whether you’re interested in getting into long-range rifle
competition such as Precision Rifle Series or want to get a
hunting rifle ready to handle any precision task, paying
attention to these features will go a long way toward achieving
your goals.
It’s not that difficult. Just think stock, bedding, optics and
optics accessories, cheek rest, trigger and bipod, and you’re on
your way.
Benedikt
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