How do I load a bolt action?

[big rifle man]

I belong to a gun club that is a 40 minute ride from my door and being that the public range is only five minutes away I frequent it so as to save gas. Last October just prior to the deer season the regular shooters showed up to sight in their rifles and one of the shooters sat next to me at the 100 yard sight-in range. I watched him uncase a browning semi auto in 30.06 and set it up on sandbags. We both started shooting and when a target change was called we both went to check our results. His target had a roughly 18 inch group about 2 feet high. We returned to the benchrest area and I asked him if he would like some help getting his rifle set up. He replied "that's ok, my buddy sighted my rifle in for 500 yards and I'm just getting in some practice." I asked him where he hunted and he said it was a large farm out of town with some long fields. He again refused help and I went about my business. You can see where that one was going.

 

[DrMike]

Aleena,

I've heard so many horror stories by gun store experts behind the counter that I've almost quit standing near the gun counter. The fear generated can only raise my blood pressure. I overheard a gal selling rifles tell a novice that he could shoot 270 Weatherby ammunition in a 270 Winchester. That conversation only got worse, until I stepped in to offer some advice. My effort engendered considerable hostility on the part of the sales person, though the prospective purchaser was grateful. He had been looking for a rifle to hunt in bush on Vancouver Island. She was trying to sell him a 270 Weatherby. I know this is an entirely different thread, but it does reveal the lack of knowledge that prior generations would have assumed.

 

[efw]

Teaching him was a great thing. Not alot of knowledge left to the masses about firearms. I always like to assist as much as i can. Anything to keep a new shooter interested or excited is a good thing.

Preach on, brother.

I had no men in my family who shot or hunted, and I thank God for the kind and patient men who came along side me to nurture my passion for it all. It's now one of my own "hobby horses," getting kids from non-hunting families out for shooting and hunting, and teaching safety & conservation.

We gotta multiply ourselves and the "black rifle" craze is an opportunity to do so if we play it right. Good on you Guy for taking advantage!

 

[rquack]

In the final analysis there are only 3 types of people in the world:

Those that make things happen.

Those that watch things happen.

And those that wonder what happened.

 

[SJB358]

In the final analysis there are only 3 types of people in the world:

Those that make things happen.

Those that watch things happen.

And those that wonder what happened.

Well said, I like it! :twisted:

 

[300WSM]

Guy,

I wouldn't be surprised that he had seen someone load a bolt rifle that way so he tried it himself.

Sometimes I do this and sometimes not. It does permit getting one extra round in the total rifle...chamber/magazine. Load one in the chamber and then turn the rifle upside down and load the mag well. Doing that maximizes the rifles capacity. :wink:

 

[cloverleaf]

Guy,
Thanks for helping the guy out w/o making him feel like a fool. (sure we poke a little fun at him here anonymously) However, teaching the fella without being condescending does more to preserve our sport than anything. As you said, he wasnt being unsafe and you may have a new range buddy. If he does the same for a guy like me who barely knows where to find the trigger on an AR then it was a great success. CL

 

[BillPa]

Its always a good idea to help someone out....provided they can be helped.

One day a guy was all set to send a few down range. He dropped one on the follower, shoved the bolt forward and it stopped, no where near close to rotating. He pulled the round, gave it a look and tried again with the same results. He started bumping the handle pretty hard trying to close it. No luck. Then, "@&$***@@ Remington bullets"!

I walked over thinking maybe I could help. I noticed a box of 280 Rem ammo, but glancing at the rifle the barrel was roll stamped "270 Winchester". When I told him he had the wrong ammo, he needed 270, not 280 " Is not. Its the same stuff, the 280 is a heavier bullet that's all. Its the &*@*! Remington bullets". He packed up his gear and left.

About a half hour later he came back, setup, and chambered a round. "See there, I bought Winchester bullets, but all they had were the lighter 270 ones so I'll use them. I guess you didn't think I knew what I'm doing huh"?

Nope, I didn't "Think" that at all. :mrgreen:

Bill

 

[gerry]

Wow, I'm amazed that more guys don't blow themselves up :shock: thankfully someone was on the ball when they designed the 280 years ago.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I have to admit to doing some pretty dumb things in the past and thinking I knew things I didn't. Heck, I invented the 350 Woops magnum. 350 Mag cartridge in a 338 mag. rifle. I was shooting both calibers and grabbed from the wrong box. It worked and even hit the target. Thanks for taking mercy and helping. Those folks and a whole lot like them are at least using firearms and not voting against them like some of the 'Best and Brightest".
Greg

 

[Wincheringen]

Years ago when I was just a young whippersnapper myself, I was at the range shooting my .22. Some guys rolled up and put up a target and began shooting a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum. I thought it was a little odd that it took the guy so long to reload. I had never even held a SBH before and probably never seen one either. I asked if I could help, because using a pocket knife to get the cases out of the cylinder didn't seem to bright. It took about 2 seconds to work the ejector rod. He was pretty happy when he found out about that neat feature.

"Oh, thats what that is for!"

 

[BillPa]

I can't claim perfection either.

One oops is entitled "How to jackknife, do a couple 180s and roll a Chevy Suburban pulling a 26' camper on an icy road across all four lanes of Rt 81 in Virgina" . (BTW, I wasn't driving!)

After returning home from that adventure one of the other guys called and asked if I wanted to head back to in Virgina in the morning. You bet!

Although my rifles were in a hard case in the recently destroyed camper after they're wild ride I thought I'd better check them, so off to the range. One was a '70 in 308, the other a '98 in 280 Imp. We were leaving at 11:00 in the morning so I had to hurry. ( Note to self. Haste makes waste and might be painful to boot!)

I shot the 308 first which was right on then dropped the 280 in the bags. Fired a round but when I ejected the case it was short, much shorter than a 280 Imp. It looked like a rimless straight walled case. Hummmm.....

At first it appeared to have a complete separation at the shoulder. I used a brush to pull the piece out but nothing. I looked in with a flashlight but only saw a shiny chamber, no brass. More Hummmmm.

Sometime while scratching my head in my confused state I happened to glance at the MTM 50 round ammo box. On the side in big black letters...."308 Win". At that point I also remembered why I put those big black letters with the caliber on every box. I was OK ( physically) and the rifle wasn't damaged.

In case anyone is interested , not that I would recommend the practice, a 308 with a 150 ( Solid base :grin: )@ 2848 MV shoots about 1.5" low @100 when fired in a 280 Imp chamber, but windage is OK. I haven't repeated the test for group however.

As a side note, the 280 Imp using a 140 SB killed a descent 18" eight on that trip.

Bill

 

[Guy Miner]

Outstanding!

Laughin' here Bill - that would be easy to do. Glad you and your rifle survived that interesting ammo-swap test...

 

[DrMike]

The amount of abuse modern metals will withstand is phenomenal. Nevertheless, I'd rather not be the one doing the testing.

 

[BillPa]

Another UT-OH....

Was at the range one day when a guy showed up with a spank'n brand new Chrony. He asked if we would mined waiting a few minutes until he got it setup. "No, go right ahead. We're in no hurry, take your time".

He sat a 12ga slug gun on the rest, set the Chrony up, checked and rechecked. He was ready.

The slug gun roared and the Chrony lost it's mind plus most of it's guts. The best we could tell he got it about dead center in the LCDs. One guy chimed up "You should shoot a least two more for group"!

Bill

 

[SJB358]

One guy chimed up "You should shoot a least two more for group"!

Bill

Always a comedian in the group! Now that was funny!

 

[orchemo]

We all have our moments. Years ago when Savage brought out the Accu-trigger, I bought my first Savage rifle. First trip to the range was great. Took the rifle home, cleaned it and took it apart to adjust the trigger weight. Set it to the lightest weight.

Back to the range the next week. Chambered a round.... Pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Tried a couple more rounds. Nothing. Turned the safety off and on a couple times and still nothing.

Must the that piece of **** trigger. The manual said you could not set it too light. Get back home. Looked at the manual again about adjusting the trigger. Happen to notice something about a three position trigger.

Too use to a Remington safety.