Finally out shooting again

xphunter

Handloader
Sep 15, 2005
1,058
1,817
After a time with food and fellowship with three families on Sunday after our morning worship, Dan and I got out with about 1.5 hours of daylight left to go play on steel. I had not shot this much since last June-It was great.
We met at Mac's Gunwork's south of Gillette, and set up a paper target at 100 yards, as we both needed confirm our 100 yard zero's.
After doing that and slipping the dials, we started shooting at 300 yards, and worked our way out to 1K.
We had painted targets out to 1200 yards (100 yard increments) but the lack of light kept us at a max distance of 1000 yards.
We had three specialty pistols with us. Dan had his center-grip XP-100 6mm Creedmoor, shooting 107 Smacks. I had my Nosler 48 Independence 6mm Creed, shooting Hornady Match ammo (108 grain ELD-M), and I also had my 6.5x47 Lapua rear grip Kauger Arms Black Widow, shooting 140 grain RDF's.
Since I had not confirmed drops yet past 500 yards with the Nosler pistol, Dan got behind the spotting scope, and I made pretty quick work of it hitting target out to a grand. We were shooting at 10" steel, with the 1K target being 14". Then, Dan grabbed the Black Widow, as we are adding another 100 rounds, so that two people can use it at WY-SHOT. We wanted to fireform the brass before the shoot...And it gives us a good excuse to go shooting.
As Dan was confirming it at 100 yards, I knew we were running out of time to shoot one gun at a time, so I grabbed his 6 Creed XP-100, and we took turns shooting and spotting for each other through our rifle scopes. Once we made it to a grand and hit steel, then we switched pistols and hit steel at a grand again. It was pretty dark, by the time we got in our vehicles and headed home. We didn't take time to takes pics of the pistols or drive down range to take pics or video of where we hit on the steel. The Nosler pistol has a 2-stage trigger on it, and is heavy compared to the Black Widow and Dan's center-grip XP. After shooting the Nosler first, then going to Dan's XP, there was once or twice that the trigger broke before I was really ready. I still hit the target, but I was not quite ready to hit the target yet. It was a great day!
It Was So Good To Be Shooting Again!
 
Even if it got dark on you it’s always nice to finish the day doing something you like to do.
Just reading about it and knowing my own limitations I found the report quite impressive.
Agreed-Great way to finish the day.
If you are ever in NE Wyoming, I would help increase your distance shooting skill-set. It is not as mysterious as many think it is.
 
Excellent day Ernie. Glad you are back in the saddle.

JD338
 
Agreed-Great way to finish the day.
If you are ever in NE Wyoming, I would help increase your distance shooting skill-set. It is not as mysterious as many think it is.
Any day you can finish with a smile on your face is a good day!:cool:

If I ever get to Wyoming on an antelope hunt, I will take you up in that.
While I may not be a long range hunter, it would be cool to be able to shoot at longer distance, just to build the skill set, and increase confidence and competency for my own self-imposed limited range.
I have only practiced out to 500 yards as that is the longest range we have in our area.
To date, in 37 years of hunting, I have only knowingly taken shots of just past 400 yards on game a few times (3), and only once at 475, when I under estimated the range. (Most of my scopes are Leupold B&C that I have verified at the range with the specific ammo for that particular rifle. Works for me as this is my self-imposed maximum for hunting.)
Are there OTC tags in your area? And what date range is the season?
 
Any day you can finish with a smile on your face is a good day!:cool:

If I ever get to Wyoming on an antelope hunt, I will take you up in that.
While I may not be a long range hunter, it would be cool to be able to shoot at longer distance, just to build the skill set, and increase confidence and competency for my own self-imposed limited range.
I have only practiced out to 500 yards as that is the longest range we have in our area.
To date, in 37 years of hunting, I have only knowingly taken shots of just past 400 yards on game a few times (3), and only once at 475, when I under estimated the range. (Most of my scopes are Leupold B&C that I have verified at the range with the specific ammo for that particular rifle. Works for me as this is my self-imposed maximum for hunting.)
Are there OTC tags in your area? And what date range is the season?
Antelope tags over the counter are pretty much gone for awhile with winter-kill and disease that have hit Wyoming's herds the last several years.
There are some whitetail doe OTC tags on land up against the eastern side of the Bighorns and over in the the Black hills (east of Gillette), but much of that is private land.
Antelope season around Gillette, is usually the whole month of October.
 
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