Do you think you can do better?
I mean, is further work/practice to maintain where you're at? Or shrink the groups? Or get a better idea of adjustments to get the POA/POI together more often?
I think I remember you saying the Holosun had an inconsistent result on adjustments vs. where the bullet holes went on the target. Or was that a different optic?
I know you're having fun, but sometimes getting better/more consistent is still "fun."
M1A4ME--Yes, I can get better. What seems to happen with a little practice is that there are fewer and fewer bad shots over the course of an outing. I get my trigger control back and sight placement better every shot. So, I tend to measure consistency no only by group size but by the percentage of good shots relative to total shots fired. Thursday was the first day in a long time that I didn't have any really bad shots. On Tuesday, I had 16 out of 20 good shots and 4 bad ones and got worse on the second and third targets. But there were some good shots.
The sight adjustments are crude to begin with and the tiny mechanisms have backlash in them that makes repeatable results impossible. At 100 yards, if I want to make a 4" adjustment to the group placement, I'm better off doing what I did on Thursday, just hold on a different spot and hope to be able to see it well enough to have a consistent result. The blue square I added around the repair center target made this a little easier. Removing the smudge on the sight front glass was the biggest help, in my opinion, as that allowed me to shoot the first 40 rounds in a fine group, just low right. But ALL 60 shots on Tuesday were either on the repair center or on the blue tape, with no wild shots like I had on Tuesday.
Holding for wind at 200 is something I have to do often in New Mexico. On the first attempt at 200 yards 10 years ago, I held "one bull low" to get a good 4 shot group on paper after seeing the first shot was high. So holding high left as shown in the video works fine, much better than making a 1 or 2 click adjustment in each direction and wasting another 10-20 rounds to come to some conclusion about whether that was a good move or not. Holding always works, if the reference point is clear enough and well defined enough to allow repeatability.
NETim--Regarding the barrels...
I have both aftermarket and factory barrels. My P-09 has a factory barrel, as do my 97B"E" and this P-10S. I have Primary Machine barrels in the P-10F and P-10C. Obviously, the factory barrels are good. The only reason I wanted to try the PM barrels is that they are easier to clean due to the smoother bores, and the chances are the fit will be a tiny bit tighter. My P-10C was the only factory barrel that I think warranted replacement, and I'm not sure about it. Both F barrels shoot fine, but I am very happy with the PM barrels. One would think that, if an aftermarket barrel was really a big improvement it would show up at 100 and 200 yards, and I haven't seen that. The CGW 10x bushings for the 75 pistols and the "E" bushing for the 97 are a different story. Those changes definitely are noticeable first time out. There is something to be said about the confidence level perhaps increasing with an aftermarket barrel, and even that may be helpful to some shooters. My justification is simple--I like to try new stuff, and they didn't hurt a thing.
For carry use, aftermarket barrels are overkill. I would spend my time on ammo selection and sight zero rather than on aftermarket barrels. And lots of range time.
Joe
