What does IDPA have to do with Long Range Shooting? Well... not much.
So why am I posting about this? Good question! A: I went to an IDPA match and had a ball. More importantly, here are the two similarities that I observed:
1) Recoil is a huge factor. No matter if you're trying to see the target before it explodes at 600 yards or trying to get in a fast follow-up shot at 10 yards, recoil is a pain in the butt plate. Okay enough bad puns. Point being, managing recoil is a big part of both sports. While it is done in vastly different ways it has to be managed.
2) Anticipation runs very high. If you're waiting for the beep of the timer to draw or the first cold-bore shot of the day, there is a lot of expectation and anticipation. I think in both sports this is the same and has similar negative effects. Relaxation before the first shots seems to me to be the guiding principal. The tricky part is how to achieve it.
So my open question to anyone who is reading this: comments on these two problems? Advice or suggestions are also welcome. And for this post feel free to share about IDPA or action shooting games.
-Steven Kipp
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Savage 10-FCP Review
As promised here is the savage 10-FCP review.
I bought this rifle for three reasons. 1) Savage has made a name for itself from the out-of-the-box accuracy that their rifles have. 2)The AccuTrigger and now the AccuStock. I had seen the AccuTrigger before and liked what I had
seen. I was eager to try the new AccuStock as it seemed like a good bedding system for the action. 3) It had gotten good reviews out of the box and I found one for about $750. This was a good deal for a good long range rifle, I thought.
Description: This rifle has a good deal of "big gun look" to it. It is under Savage's law enforcement section, so it's built with purpose in mind. It has a 26" fluted barrel on it with a muzzle brake. It's chambered in .308 Win, and has a synthetic stock on it. The old Savage stocks seemed to be flimsy, where this one is very stout due to the aluminum inlay of the Accustock. The butt end of the rifle still seems like it could use a thicker plastic to stiffen it up, however.
Being a LE model, everything on it is black, even the bolt. The bolt even has the Savage name and logo on it in bronze color. I thought this was a very neat feature. The other nice feature is the double swivel studs on the beaver tail fore end.
This rifle weighs in at just under 9 lbs (I think the spec is 8.9lbs) without anything on it. Add a good sized scope and a bipod and it may well reach 11 or 12 lbs. Personally I like my target rifles heavy, and I may look into adding weight and recoil reduction in the butt end of the stock.
As for accuracy This gun may always shoot better than I do. Here is a target from when I was sighting it in at 100 yrds. The top and right group is from some low-end 180 grain Federal. The other group is from some Federal Gold Medal Match 168 boat tail hollow points. (168 bthp is probably what I'll reload for this.) Each group is three shots. The group with the 168 grain bullets measured at under .5". I shoot this in prone on a bipod.
I must say I'm very impressed with this rifle, especially for being out-of-the-box. So don't get me wrong when I say there are two things I would fix with this rifle. 1) The previously mentioned butt end of the stock. It seems like it'd do the job, but I'd like a lot more rigidity to it. I do not, however, feel as though it might break on me, but I wouldn't want to try to fend off a bear with the back of this rifle. 2) The bolt is not as smooth as I'd like it to be. This could be just my rifle and it is not as though I'm worrying about the safety of it. When the bolt locks, it is solid. I'd just like it to work smoothly when I pull it back and put a new cartridge in it. In the big picture these two issues are minor and I could probably go my whole life without fixing them. (The problems probably won't last the summer, but I digress)
Overall I would recommend this rifle to anyone who asks about a long range rifle, not just those who want one on a budget or out-of-the-box.
-Steven Kipp
I bought this rifle for three reasons. 1) Savage has made a name for itself from the out-of-the-box accuracy that their rifles have. 2)The AccuTrigger and now the AccuStock. I had seen the AccuTrigger before and liked what I had
seen. I was eager to try the new AccuStock as it seemed like a good bedding system for the action. 3) It had gotten good reviews out of the box and I found one for about $750. This was a good deal for a good long range rifle, I thought.
Description: This rifle has a good deal of "big gun look" to it. It is under Savage's law enforcement section, so it's built with purpose in mind. It has a 26" fluted barrel on it with a muzzle brake. It's chambered in .308 Win, and has a synthetic stock on it. The old Savage stocks seemed to be flimsy, where this one is very stout due to the aluminum inlay of the Accustock. The butt end of the rifle still seems like it could use a thicker plastic to stiffen it up, however.
Being a LE model, everything on it is black, even the bolt. The bolt even has the Savage name and logo on it in bronze color. I thought this was a very neat feature. The other nice feature is the double swivel studs on the beaver tail fore end.
This rifle weighs in at just under 9 lbs (I think the spec is 8.9lbs) without anything on it. Add a good sized scope and a bipod and it may well reach 11 or 12 lbs. Personally I like my target rifles heavy, and I may look into adding weight and recoil reduction in the butt end of the stock.
As for accuracy This gun may always shoot better than I do. Here is a target from when I was sighting it in at 100 yrds. The top and right group is from some low-end 180 grain Federal. The other group is from some Federal Gold Medal Match 168 boat tail hollow points. (168 bthp is probably what I'll reload for this.) Each group is three shots. The group with the 168 grain bullets measured at under .5". I shoot this in prone on a bipod.
I must say I'm very impressed with this rifle, especially for being out-of-the-box. So don't get me wrong when I say there are two things I would fix with this rifle. 1) The previously mentioned butt end of the stock. It seems like it'd do the job, but I'd like a lot more rigidity to it. I do not, however, feel as though it might break on me, but I wouldn't want to try to fend off a bear with the back of this rifle. 2) The bolt is not as smooth as I'd like it to be. This could be just my rifle and it is not as though I'm worrying about the safety of it. When the bolt locks, it is solid. I'd just like it to work smoothly when I pull it back and put a new cartridge in it. In the big picture these two issues are minor and I could probably go my whole life without fixing them. (The problems probably won't last the summer, but I digress)
Overall I would recommend this rifle to anyone who asks about a long range rifle, not just those who want one on a budget or out-of-the-box.
-Steven Kipp
Thursday, June 25, 2009
3rd Annual Fathers Day Shoot
Every year, for the past three years, Brad and I have been holding a shoot in memory of our dad. We had this years shoot on the weekend before father's day due to ease of scheduling. This event is a full day of shooting everything from handguns to shotguns to rifles. We pack a lunch and stay all day at the range, usually shooting up more ammo than some people own altogether. Needless to say it's a ton of fun.
So why is it that I'm blogging about this here on a blog dedicated to long range rifle shooting only? Well a big part of this years fun was shooting at a good distance with a couple of my rifles. Having gotten into the long distance shooting at last years shoot, this years amount of that was highly expanded. I had purchased a spotting scope, which helped out enormously. I have also obtained a new rifle (Savage 10FCP, review coming soon) to shoot with.
Some of our greatest improvements were in communication between the spotter and the shooter. This allowed for us to hit pop cans at 450 yards by the second shot. Brad even spotted for me on the one can I hit with the first shot. That was indeed a great boost of confidence for me, as well as for Brad. In everything I've read the spotter is the one who does most of the work, and the shoot is just the trigger man.(unless the shooter is the only one there, of course) So I must give the majority of the credit to Brad for that shot.
Below: One water filled container hit with my 270 at about 475 yards.
-Steven Kipp
So why is it that I'm blogging about this here on a blog dedicated to long range rifle shooting only? Well a big part of this years fun was shooting at a good distance with a couple of my rifles. Having gotten into the long distance shooting at last years shoot, this years amount of that was highly expanded. I had purchased a spotting scope, which helped out enormously. I have also obtained a new rifle (Savage 10FCP, review coming soon) to shoot with.
Some of our greatest improvements were in communication between the spotter and the shooter. This allowed for us to hit pop cans at 450 yards by the second shot. Brad even spotted for me on the one can I hit with the first shot. That was indeed a great boost of confidence for me, as well as for Brad. In everything I've read the spotter is the one who does most of the work, and the shoot is just the trigger man.(unless the shooter is the only one there, of course) So I must give the majority of the credit to Brad for that shot.
Below: One water filled container hit with my 270 at about 475 yards.
-Steven Kipp
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