I didn't shoot well...

[Guy Miner]

Last time at the rifle range, a few days ago, I didn't shoot well.

Put my 2/3 scale IPSC style steel silhouette up at 300 yards.

Set up my new "Bog Pod" tripod. Set the new-to-me 7mm Rem Mag, Ruger Number One on the tripod...

Missed. Missed again. Missed some more. Adjusted this. Adjusted that. Never touched the scope 'cause I knew I'd nicely sighted-in at 200 yards with 140 gr Accubonds. I'd shot sub 2" groups at 200 yards resting the rifle on my backpack, on a shooting bench.

This time? Not so good... I finally started connecting and hit it five times in a row from sitting, with the Bog Pod tripod.

Thinking about lining the "cradle" of the Bog Pod with some foam, so it will hold the rifle with less movement.

Am already doing more dry-firing of the Ruger, from the Bog Pod.

This device is supposed to be my answer for accuracy, since my injured neck precludes shooting from prone. Injury and subsequent surgery made it pretty much impossible for me to shoot from prone anymore. Hard pill to swallow for a rifleman who worked his way up to "High Master" in NRA Long Range prone competition. Ah well. The neck is compromised, and prone isn't an option anymore.

So... Trying shooting sticks. Trying the Bog Pod. This rifle doesn't do well with a Harris Bipod 'cause the sling swivel is on the barrel band. I've shot well from sitting with my 30-06 Rem 700 on a tall Harris Bipod.

Also... I'd had four or five cups of coffee that morning. I had a hard time steadying the crosshairs.

Also... The 1974 vintage 3-9x Leupold scope isn't ideal. The eye relief changes so much with magnification changes that I am most likely to use it at 3x or 4x - which is okay with me, but not ideal. My favorite fixed 6x scopes don't seem to fit this rifle real well....

So... Working on it. Another marksmanship challenge. I think I can get it. Hoping for 1 MOA accuracy, shooting from the Bog Pod. We shall see. :grin:

Regards, Guy

 

[ShadeTree]

Guy, do they make different attachments for those bog pod's? If so look for a V type support to try, or maybe you can come up with something similar on your own. That would wedge the sides of the stock for a more stable support where it isn't rolling on you. Not saying that's the answer but I use a V type front support when shooting off the bench and it has worked out well.

 

[Blkram]

We always look at the rifle or scope first.

The biggest variable behind every firearm issue, is the gun nut pulling the trigger! LOL

All joking aside, we do tend to forget that regardless of how experienced we are with firearms and our own ability, we have good days and bad days, and this affects our shooting ability from day to day too.
Did you sleep wrong last night?
Is your back or shoulder(s) sore?
Is your sciatic nerve acting up?
Did you have too much caffeine this morning that is affecting your nerves and making you a little more jittery than normal?
There are a myriad of physical issues and ailments that can affect our position and shooting form from day to day, and hence our (or your) accuracy.
Before looking too hard at hastily changing your equipment, take another day and head out to the range and shoot again. (Not saying that there may be something wrong with the equipment i.e. loosened scope/ring/action screws, etc....but in many instances, I have seen people fuss with items that weren't broke before looking at themselves. May be a good idea to just have someone else shoot the firearm and see if it is the firearm, or just you that day)
Is it as bad as last time? Or did it improve today?
It may just have been a bad day for you...

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Been there my friend. It can be discouraging when you’re having “one of those days” at the range.

The tripod style shooting sticks such as the Bog pod are a real help in the field. I think I quite prefer them in rougher country as mostly any prone shooting is nearly impossible with the knee deep brush and rocks.

As for the changing eye relief on your riflescope, I would advise replacing it. JB convinced me to try the Burris Fullfield II on my wife’s 7mm-08. You can pick them up for between $150-$200 and I’ve been very impressed. Was planning to go the Fixed 6x route on my .30-06 but now I may get a Burris 3-9 instead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Guy Miner]

Oh, it was a bad day for me.

No doubt. There are a few changes I can make that will help, but mostly I need to get me back on track.

Guy

 

[JD338]

Guy,

I read you post and had to laugh. I remember the first hi-lower match I shot in back in the eariy 80's. Got there early and and had 2-3 cups of coffee before I shot. I was ready from all the practice I had but the coffee got the best of me. After that experience, I drink my coffee after I shoot.

Did you get the Bog Pod with the Death Grip?
I just bought one for my wife to use in the deer blind. Haven't shot off of it yet but it sure is stable. I put Sue's Kimber Hunter 6.5 Creedmoor in it and zeroed in on a target about 800 yards away. It didn't move even after several hours.

JD338

 

[PJGunner]

"My favorite fixed 6x scopes don't seem to fit this rifle real well.... "

That's a common complaint with Ruger #1s. Most of the newer scopes are a lot shorter that when the #1s came on the market. Ruger does sell extended ring sets to fix the problem.

Ruer #1s are also somewhat sensitive to how they're shot. I've had poor shooting #1s that tightened right up when changing the position of the forearm on the rest. A couple literally won't shoot unless the rifle is set one the bags with the front of the receiver and trigger guars are hard up against the bag. Then again, I have I have a few others the don't give a hoot where the forearm sits in the bags. They just keep on spitting out tiny groups. Three of them are chambered to the .300 Win Mag. I have a fourth .300 that I haven't shot yet as I'm considering what scope to put on it.
Come to think of it, I also have one in 7MM Rem. Mag. that I haven't even shot yet. Picked it up as part of a package deal with another #1. IIRC, the other one was in 25-06.
Paul B.

 

[Guy Miner]

JD - no - mine just has a good-sized "U" for the rifle stock to rest in. I'll see about some cheap way to tighten it up a bit. Thinking some foam padding zip tied on will work fine.

And ya - my coffee habit sometimes gets the best of me. I love that hot black coffee in the morning! Think I'll have ONE cup before my next trip to the rifle range. :grin: I've known about that for 30 or 40 years, but I think it got me good this time.

PJ - ya - I like my Number One rifles, and they can be a bit different than our usual bolt action rifles. No doubt.

Guy

 

[JD338]

Guy,
Black coffee! Is there any other way?

What about the black foam insulation for copper pipes? One on each side with a couple of zip ties might get it done pretty quick and easy.

JD338

 

[bdbrown66]

Guy, are you admitting that you don't have an MOA rifle? :wink:

 

[Guy Miner]

Guy, are you admitting that you don't have an MOA rifle? :wink:

Ha! Excellent.

 

[elkeater2]

Interesting!! Looking for the update, because I know you'll get it sorted out. My son (a disabled wheelchair guy with excellent upper body strength) continues to look for the ideal rest for hunting purposes. He has tried many but not all, and I don't think the bog pod is in his inventory. A couple work OK for target purposes, for hunting though his main challenge is range of motion left/right without moving his chair. The rests that swivel require too much movement out of the shooter. Picture being all set up, camo screening and netting in place, right-handed. Twisting right is nearly impossible, so you start out pointing pretty far right so you can swivel left if need be. Something may appear 45 degrees to the left, but to get on it the rifle won't be on the rest anymore. He will get it solved, just like I'm sure you will, Guy.

 

[cloverleaf]

Interesting!! Looking for the update, because I know you'll get it sorted out. My son (a disabled wheelchair guy with excellent upper body strength) continues to look for the ideal rest for hunting purposes. He has tried many but not all, and I don't think the bog pod is in his inventory. A couple work OK for target purposes, for hunting though his main challenge is range of motion left/right without moving his chair. The rests that swivel require too much movement out of the shooter. Picture being all set up, camo screening and netting in place, right-handed. Twisting right is nearly impossible, so you start out pointing pretty far right so you can swivel left if need be. Something may appear 45 degrees to the left, but to get on it the rifle won't be on the rest anymore. He will get it solved, just like I'm sure you will, Guy.

Uh - yup- that exactly. The only deer in peril when I am shooting from the Ford RGB is the one who stops 10 degrees Right of my left shoulder (I'm right handed). out the drivers window.... Sorry back to the point...seems to me I recall there was a modification that could be added or made to those single shots so that the forearm was supported from a hanger so that it could not come in contact w/ the barrel. Thereby eliminating that forearm/ barrel interference variable. Or was that from that factory?

Any way, Guy is smart enough to ring out the variables first. Unlike me. My fist answer is run out and buy a new scope.... :roll: CL

 

[Guy Miner]

Haven't been out to the range with the rifle since. Jeep is getting some upgrades & maintenance and is stuck in the shop for the time being, so I'm down to a motorcycle or my bicycle, or walking, to get to the Gun Club. Motorcycle works fine for taking the handgun & gear to the club, but... I don't think I want to just sling the rifle over my shoulder and ride...

Did that many years ago and got away with it just fine. Folks in cars sure gave me a lot of room on the highway! But... Naw. :grin:

So, maybe later this week when 4 wheels are avail for me again.

The rifle shot just fine when I rested it over my backpack a few months ago. This accuracy issue was due mostly to the shooter, and to trying a new field rest I hadn't used before. I've been doing a little dry firing from the rest and think I am making progress, but until rounds are on target... Who knows?

Sure is a nice rifle, and the rest has strong potential too.

Guy

 

[PJGunner]

Interesting!! Looking for the update, because I know you'll get it sorted out. My son (a disabled wheelchair guy with excellent upper body strength) continues to look for the ideal rest for hunting purposes. He has tried many but not all, and I don't think the bog pod is in his inventory. A couple work OK for target purposes, for hunting though his main challenge is range of motion left/right without moving his chair. The rests that swivel require too much movement out of the shooter. Picture being all set up, camo screening and netting in place, right-handed. Twisting right is nearly impossible, so you start out pointing pretty far right so you can swivel left if need be. Something may appear 45 degrees to the left, but to get on it the rifle won't be on the rest anymore. He will get it solved, just like I'm sure you will, Guy.

Uh - yup- that exactly. The only deer in peril when I am shooting from the Ford RGB is the one who stops 10 degrees Right of my left shoulder (I'm right handed). out the drivers window.... Sorry back to the point...seems to me I recall there was a modification that could be added or made to those single shots so that the forearm was supported from a hanger so that it could not come in contact w/ the barrel. Thereby eliminating that forearm/ barrel interference variable. Or was that from that factory?

Any way, Guy is smart enough to ring out the variables first. Unlike me. My fist answer is run out and buy a new scope.... :roll: CL

Simple fix on your problem, learn to shoot from either side. :lol: seriously, I learned to do that when my buddy and I were declaring war on the jack rabbit population. I still can do it but nowhere near as fast as I used to be.

The thing for the hanger is called the Hicks Accurizer. They run IIRC about $75 and the one I installed was a bit tricky. You have to remove some wood to make it fit. There is a simpler way and that is to drill a hole in the hanger, thread it for a small Allen head screw. Have a matching hole in the forearm and you can adjust tension with that. I have on on my #1B .300 Win. Mag. and I and I got it to go from a 1.50-2.00" gun down to .375" shooting the older Nosler semi-round nosed Partitions. I have three other #1s, the medium sporter which I prefer and all three have been sub MOA without any additional work.
Anyway, that's two ways to tame a Ruger #1 that doesn't as well as one would like.
Paul B.

 

[cloverleaf]

Hicks Accurizer- yup that sounds familiar! As to shooting left handed... Nope. not gonna happen. It was years of practice before I could shoot sitting up w/o support, right handed! CL

 

[TackDriver284]

The rifle shot just fine when I rested it over my backpack a few months ago. This accuracy issue was due mostly to the shooter, and to trying a new field rest I hadn't used before. I've been doing a little dry firing from the rest and think I am making progress, but until rounds are on target... Who knows?
Guy

I do trust that your shooting ability is great, the same scenario happened to me when one of my rifles shot real well at 200 yards and shoot it 2 months later using a newly made load of the same components and shoots bad. :grin: It drove me nuts on the bench a few weeks ago, could have been the humidity or this gun nut. :mrgreen:

 

[PJGunner]

The rifle shot just fine when I rested it over my backpack a few months ago. This accuracy issue was due mostly to the shooter, and to trying a new field rest I hadn't used before. I've been doing a little dry firing from the rest and think I am making progress, but until rounds are on target... Who knows?
Guy

I do trust that your shooting ability is great, the same scenario happened to me when one of my rifles shot real well at 200 yards and shoot it 2 months later using a newly made load of the same components and shoots bad. :grin: It drove me nuts on the bench a few weeks ago, could have been the humidity or this gun nut. :mrgreen:

You make a good point. Sad to say I consider wood stocked Rugers to be fair weather rifles. On close inspection, none of mine, #1s and M77s are sealed on the inside. All I see is raw wood. I never noticed this until an elk hunt up in the John Day region of Oregon. Don't remember the year but a bad storm came through with very heavy raid and God awful wind. My Ruger #1B got seriously soaked as did I. Asa luck would have it, we saw no legal elk so one the way home we stopped at a ranch when one of our group worked as foreman. WE rested a day or two and got in some pheasant and duck hunting. We'd just exited the truck when we saw a coyote running off with a pheasant in it's mouth. My .300 was the only rifle in the truck as I was hoping to maybe pot a coyote so I took the shot. Nothing, couldn't see the bullet strike. Three more shots and the "yote ran off to enjoy his catch. I'm getting serious razzing. The thing puzzling was no one saw where the bullets were hitting.
When I got home after resting up a couple of days I took the rifle to the range and learned it was shooting almost 6 feet high. The stock was noticeably swollen and I had a bit of a time removing it from the action. I have two sheds in my back yard and I put the stock and forearm out there. It gets quite hot in the summer in that shed with a freezer and two refrigerators going 24/7. It took about 6 years for that stock to dry out to where it would shoot on paper.
So yes, I do believe your rifle was affected by the relative humidity and that is probably the main cause of wandering zeroes in Ruger #1s and M77s.
Paul B.