Reloading barrel cleaning products.

[Gwion]

Can't hit what you can't see. 3 -9 x 40 as a target scope? You aren't going to be putting down much of a group @ 300m when your cross-hair is covering about 3 inches or more of the target. As for 500m, I just hope your target is big enough to hang out the sides of those cross-hairs.

Again; I don't think anyone is suggesting the 3-9 power scope is ideal for target shooting but you should be able to get on target with it if that's all you have.

I think some of you guys who own s heap of guns forget that everyone has to start some where.

Personally, if I were the ColinBentiegh, I would be going back to basics at short range with a 22lr before I started shelling out for new scopes, etc.. It is evident from his comments that a heap of cheap practice would help a lot. I can't, for the life of me, figure out how/why he is grouping 1" at 100m but can't hit squat at 200..... Practice, practice, practice. 22lr is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get that practice in! I'd be back to the 22lr until I could consistently plug sub-inch groups at 50m without trying too hard, then I'd get back on the 223 and see how much I had improved.

Colin, one more thing: are you adjusting your scope for 200m or just shooting it as per your 100m zero?

[bladeracer]

I can't, for the life of me, figure out how/why he is grouping 1" at 100m but can't hit squat at 200..... Practice, practice, practice. 22lr is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get that practice in! I'd be back to the 22lr until I could consistently plug sub-inch groups at 50m without trying too hard, then I'd get back on the 223 and see how much I had improved.

Me either, that's why I suggested checking focus, parallax and cheek weld.
The only other thing I can think of is if he can't clearly see the target he's aiming at - thus trying a larger target might help.
Maybe heavy mirage or gusting winds but I'm sure he would've mentioned those.

Definitely a few thousand rimfire rounds would pay huge dividends.

[Gamerancher]

All good Gwion, but I was answering the question he asked. " What strength scope would be recommended for 2 or 300 metres? " He says he's bench shooting at targets. Hence my statement that 3-9 x 40 aint what he needs. Okay, I probably should have suggested something about what may be a better choice but there were plenty of posts already about that. I think we need an emoticon for smartar$e remarks. I shall try to refrain in the future.

[Gwion]

All good Gwion, but I was answering the question he asked. " What strength scope would be recommended for 2 or 300 metres? " He says he's bench shooting at targets. Hence my statement that 3-9 x 40 aint what he needs. Okay, I probably should have suggested something about what may be a better choice but there were plenty of posts already about that. I think we need an emoticon for smartar$e remarks. I shall try to refrain in the future.

No worries, mate. I know it's funny to you guys when someone starts off with completely the "wrong" gear but we all start somewhere. I shot f-clas for 6 months with a 3-9x40 and a 223rem with 50gn bullets!
Shot my wallaby rifle (short, heavy barrel 223rem) at 300 the other week to get a zero and managed a 2" group with the same scope. Just saying you can make it work for starters, even if it is not ideal.

[Gamerancher]

Agreed, start with what ya got! I started high power silhouette with my hunting rifle at that time. L61R Sako in .257 Roberts with a 6 x 42 Kahles. Zeroed at 300m, I held foot of the 200m chicken , middle of the 300m pig, head height of the 385m turkey and had to hold top of the thick post of the duplex about horn height of the 500m ram.
I shot that rifle like that for a few months until I turned up to a major event where they weighed your rifle. Turns out my walk-about hunting rifle was too heavy for the 4.6kg limit! Had to build a dedicated rifle after that.
Getting back on point, he asks what would we recommend, I'd recommend getting a dedicated target scope with target turrets, adjustable for paralex, adjustable magnification from 6 - 20 X with fine crosshair, target dot or combination of both for 2 -300m target work. Happy days.

[colinbentley]

came home from the range today and the first thing I do is clean my rifle. Instead of Bore Tech Eliminator today I thought I would revert back to Wipeout. Well after I considered it clean I put through some Bore tech Eliminator and low and behold the patches started coming out blue. I always thought Wipeout got out all the copper, but obviously not. Will stick with Bore tech in future. Anyone want to buy a can of Wipeout ?