Hauled my 455 up to the WMA range near Resaca today. Took a variety of ammo. Boy, was it crowded! Just like Black Friday at the mall. I had to wait about an hour to get a lane on the 50 yard range.
There was quite a variety of ordnance today, as well as a variety of people. I saw traditional hunters (it is deer season here) sighting in their rifles, families and extended families, young men, old men, wives and husbands, even a couple of unattached young ladies with pink stripes in their hair, tattoos, and sweatpants that were two sizes too small.
When I finally got a lane, the range went cold and I put my backing board and target on the stand (S-2 Orange Diamond). Then, I set up my spotting scope, and finally set up my rifle with a bipod and sandbag for the heel.
I started off with Remington Target first. I got real excited early because the first 4 went into a very tight group. Unfortunately the 5th shot wen about an inch away. This pattern repeated itself for the next 4 groups, although it was not always the 5th round that went wide.
All of the groups were centered one inch high and an inch and a half to the right. After finishing with 5 groups of Remington, I adjusted the scope reticule to center it on the next diamond. The scope I have on this rifle is a standard, US-made Redfield from the early 1980s. Guys, if you get a chance to buy a US-made Redfield for under $100, you should jump on it, unless it rattles when you shake it. They have excellent glass all the way out to the edges.
Next up was a one-off box of CCI Stingers someone gave me for Christmas a few years ago.
Very disappointing. The groups were an inch and a half at best. After the third group, I gave up.
Finally, I pulled out the CCI standard velocity ammo. As bad as the Stingers were, these were great. No flyers, and the groups hovered around half an inch. The best group had all the holes touching and was probably under 0.4 inches. Just as I got the 5th group in, a weather front began passing through. The wind picked up, gusting quite a bit. It had quite an effect on the target backing board, and the wait between times when the target settled down was getting longer and longer, so I gave up my seat to a father-son duo.
All and all, a good day. I learned that my rifle shoots CCI standard velocity as well as it shoots Wolf Match Target. I can't wait to get out again with this rifle. Next time, I will try and remember to take pictures!
