A Good Day at the Range

Bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action, self loading rifles and other miscellaneous longarms.

A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 20 Oct 2020, 8:47 am

Had a good day at the range on Sat...

I have a Bushnell elite 4500 6-24 x 40 on a Sako 85 varmint in 204 & ive been getting sick of the scope on that rifle...its murky & just doesnt cut the mustard for dusk sniping of bunnies due to the lack of light.

So i pulled a Leo VX3 6.5-20x50 scope with varmint reticle off of another rifle not currently being used, & mounted it on the Sako for (hopefully) some bunny headshot action out at 300yds & beyond...
Took my time & mounted it all proper like to get it plumb with the action etc etc...
Also used the last 4 of a batch to get on paper & sight it in, then wacked thru a couple of a fresh batch of each load at 100m to confirm its ready for some over the bonnet 300yd action at bunnys heads...

One load is the Sie 39 BlitzKing for when the wind has something to say (left target), & a 32 gr for those magnificent nights when the wind drops off to nothing at dusk.

Pretty happy...this is how it printed without a shift of the turrets between loads...Yay for me...!!... :clap:

S85 VLS 204 Leo VX3.jpg
S85 VLS 204 Leo VX3.jpg (126.74 KiB) Viewed 3274 times



Now for the every day 204...which is a stock standard T3 with a sporter barrel.


Earlier this year i purchased an Optisan 6-24X56 for spotlighting on the everyday Fox/Bunny/Roo rig, but mounted it in a hurry & hadnt set it up correctly (in terms of being true level & eye relief).
So while i was there & the Sako came together without much fuss having only taken a few shots to confirm, i decided to re-mount the scope on this rifle, shift it another notch forward on the rail & set it up properly level.
Again i used the last few of a batch to get on paper after bore sighting, then threw down 2 of a fresh batch & this is how this rifle printed.

Last weekend i was out tipping skippys over for a farmer & used all my Roo ammo & didnt have time to reload any... So It was a shame i didnt have any of them to check at the same time...
But thats easy enough to check next time, & at the end of the day, it may have been one of those shots couldve ruined the perfect sighting in target day i had...because usually when i do this type of exercise i ALWAYS get one or 2 shots that fly which can bring that confidence back a peg...hence why i left these at 2 shots for confirmation.. :lol:

Here's that target...

T3 204 Optisan.jpg
T3 204 Optisan.jpg (119.18 KiB) Viewed 3274 times


So i cant bloody wait to get out there, & im sure hoping i get good wind free weather next week & them bunny's are out early nibbling the green shoots while sunning themselves... :clap:

Cheerio... :drinks:
Skinna
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by in2anity » 20 Oct 2020, 9:05 am

Well done good shooting. In terms of clarity, how does the VX3 compare to the Optisan?
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by SCJ429 » 20 Oct 2020, 9:13 am

Nice work there.

Those 39 grain Blitzkings are the business, my Sako also likes them well enough to shoot an inch at 300 metres.
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 20 Oct 2020, 9:13 am

Thanks In2...

Well i didnt really compare them side by side...i was gas-bagging for an hour in between because i hadnt seen guys there for over 6 months.

But look from memory, the Leo is certainly seemed brighter/crisper, but was more likely clearer...but then the Optisan was higher mag which blocks out light...
The Optisan can be murky, but it is a third the price--plus i got that for spotlighting, of which i love it for its price--i had no issue at all cranking up magnification & still smacking roos out 180, which is good for my eyes & the crappy old LF 170 blitz the farmer has attached to his roof.

Ill have to get back to you on that one...Ill give em a proper test side by side both during the day & at dusk on the bunnys & come back to let you know... :thumbsup:
Skinna
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 10:30 am

Do you have speeds at all skinna ? It’s interesting to see the 39’s vs 32’s for height - I’m guessing the 32’s are absolutely sizzling along...
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 20 Oct 2020, 3:39 pm

Scj--i havent nailed the 39's yet...think ive found the load, but just cant seem to get them touching for some reason...the Sako is a bugger for seating depth to feed from the mag cos its so bloody short.

Tassie...cant remember what the 39's are doing, ill check that next time...but the 32's are leaving the tube at 4080 fps...

Ive posted this pic before but this is the result of those little 32's at 300 yds taken over the bonnet of the car in backround vs a bunnys head...no wind of course... :thumbsup:
You can see a bit of its brain to the left of the bunny in the pic...lol...

2020-04-19 23.23.06.jpg
2020-04-19 23.23.06.jpg (468.22 KiB) Viewed 3186 times
Skinna
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 4:38 pm

4000Fps...Farrrrrrrk me.
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by in2anity » 20 Oct 2020, 6:20 pm

Bloody amazing shot, for such a light pill :clap:
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by marksman » 20 Oct 2020, 9:58 pm

well done Skin
thats is certainly some good shooting :drinks:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by SCJ429 » 21 Oct 2020, 10:31 am

I found the 39 grain projectiles very forgiving with a very wide node. I use 27.7 grains of 2206H and a COAL of 2.300. What powder are you using?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 21 Oct 2020, 8:23 pm

SCJ...The load is 27.2 of 8208. COL of 2.275
COL for the 32's above is the same (2.275) with a charge of 29.1

The first bullets that came out of the barrel it didnt like--that was 32 & 40 Vmax, 32 Nos Vgdn, & the Speer 39's...nothing printed well at all...
But the first of these SBK's that came out of the barrel basically went in the same hole at 100 with any charge weight of 26.6, 26.9, or 27.2 ..but not any more... :unknown:

Ive tried seating them long at all above charge weights & higher with no difference...not sure what im doing wrong... :cry:

Might try the Speer & Vmax again...unless you have any other suggestions to get them single holing again...??.. :unknown:
Skinna
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Blr243 » 22 Oct 2020, 1:50 pm

That’s the gun and the operator Together. A team at its best. Don’t touch the gun or the load or the dies. Changing things chasing improvement may only find you lost and looking for the perfection again. If u are on a good thing stick to it
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by in2anity » 22 Oct 2020, 8:45 pm

Blr243 wrote:That’s the gun and the operator Together. A team at its best. Don’t touch the gun or the load or the dies. Changing things chasing improvement may only find you lost and looking for the perfection again. If u are on a good thing stick to it

Well said blr.
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by in2anity » 22 Oct 2020, 9:08 pm

I have a 204 in the safe. It’s a CZ. It absolutely kills it on the 200m line - V-bulls all day long, no worries at all (if you’re doing your bit). Headshotting a bunny at 200m - heck yes it'll do it. But I’ve never properly pushed it on the 300 and 400m mound though, during a comp. I always chicken out, and opt for the venerable 223 + the 69gr SMKs. After seeing Skinna's pic, I'm thinking maybe I should give the 204 a look into a Telo match... I always thought it’d get blown to buggery on those buffeting coastal days :unknown:
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 06 Nov 2020, 8:53 pm

in2anity wrote:Well done good shooting. In terms of clarity, how does the VX3 compare to the Optisan?


Ok...at dusk there is no comparison...the Leopold makes the Optisan look like a coke bottle filled with Murray River water off the bank in a high boat activity area.
I put the rifle with Leo VX3 away & pulled out the rifle with the Optisan & struggled to find the bunny's at 300.
I was surprised at the vast difference myself...!!
:drinks:
Skinna
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by in2anity » 06 Nov 2020, 9:11 pm

Skinna wrote:
in2anity wrote:Well done good shooting. In terms of clarity, how does the VX3 compare to the Optisan?


Ok...at dusk there is no comparison...the Leopold makes the Optisan look like a coke bottle filled with Murray River water off the bank in a high boat activity area.
I put the rifle with Leo VX3 away & pulled out the rifle with the Optisan & struggled to find the bunny's at 300.
I was surprised at the vast difference myself...!!
:drinks:


Cheers for the feedback skinna - I’m always searching for a cheap, but “clear” option when it comes to glass. Sadly I’m yet to find it - go figure. The vx3s on the other hand, a well priced scope for decent glass.
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: A Good Day at the Range

Post by Skinna » 07 Nov 2020, 11:59 am

in2anity wrote:
Skinna wrote:
in2anity wrote:Well done good shooting. In terms of clarity, how does the VX3 compare to the Optisan?


Ok...at dusk there is no comparison...the Leopold makes the Optisan look like a coke bottle filled with Murray River water off the bank in a high boat activity area.
I put the rifle with Leo VX3 away & pulled out the rifle with the Optisan & struggled to find the bunny's at 300.
I was surprised at the vast difference myself...!!
:drinks:


Cheers for the feedback skinna - I’m always searching for a cheap, but “clear” option when it comes to glass. Sadly I’m yet to find it - go figure. The vx3s on the other hand, a well priced scope for decent glass.


Well at 3 times the price, i cant afford another VX3, which is a bummer.
Ive got the Optisan on a spotlighting rig & it does the job pretty weel.
I think thats because of the contrast under a light, as opposed to the severe lack of contrast at dusk shooting bunnies against a dust backdrop.

The Optisan has its place & id get another for spotlighting because of the 56mm objective....but id have thought it'd be much better than it was at dusk,
Skinna
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