Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 26, 2009, 02:46:34 PM
. . .Weatherby Vanguard Varmint Special in .22-250 Remington (22" #3 contour heavy barrel with a recessed target crown) with a Burris Fullfield II 4.5-14x42mm and Ballistic Plex reticle
Here's a pic of the rifle and the target from sighting it in on Sunday. . .shot a .392" 3-shot group at 100 yards and a 1.9375" 5-shot group @ 200 yards using "cheap" Winchester USA 45 gr. JHP's. . .not too shabby!!! Especially considering it's the "cheap" Vanguard, the action isn't bedded, the barrel isn't free floated, and the trigger pull is a little on the heavy side. . .
. . .I also shot some Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips in 55 gr., but the gun did not seem to like them at al. . .this weekend I'm gonna try some Hornady V-Max in 40 & 50 gr. and probably try some of the Federal with the Sierra Game King BTHP's in 50 gr. as well. . .I would be more than happy to stick with the 45 gr. JHP's but they aren't easy to find locally right now so I'm hoping it will shoot something that my local Sportsman's Warehouse carries regularly as well as it does those 45 grainers!!!
. . .next up is to get some shooting sticks/bipod for it and some more ammo and I'm all set!!!
Post by: saylean on January 26, 2009, 02:48:40 PM
Post by: 509er on January 26, 2009, 05:32:55 PM
Post by: wastickslinger on January 26, 2009, 05:34:42 PM
Great gun! Only problem is now everyone knows if you miss, it wasn't the gun. :chuckle:
Man aint that the truth. :bash:
Post by: 509er on January 26, 2009, 05:36:33 PM
Post by: wastickslinger on January 26, 2009, 05:46:22 PM
you know what I mean slinger. ;)
Sorry for the hijack atomicjoe, that is a sweet rig you got there!! Should be fun.
509er :ass:
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 26, 2009, 07:04:01 PM
Post by: demontang on January 26, 2009, 07:07:55 PM
Post by: JoshT on January 26, 2009, 08:13:51 PM
We ran 3 shots at 50... cleaning after each shot... the 3rd shot center-punched the 3/4" circle. We then moved to 100 where he shot a couple groups and we got the rifle dialed. Shooting at 200 yards on this range is pretty tough... there are 6 wind-flags on the range... they were all pointing different directions. I have no doubt that with some practice, and a trigger job... that rifle will shoot 1"-1.5" at 200... easily. It was interesting to me that the Winchester 45 grain fodder shot so much better than the 55 grain Supreme loads... I guess that's a back-handed blessing.
It was cool shooting with another guy from the board... glad it worked out. By the way... here's the shot of the day from yesterday: We moved to 200 yards and I stuck this orange dot on the lower left quarter of the target so I could shoot a sighter incase we were missing the 3" shoot & see. I shot a couple of rounds at the larger target to see where it was shooting with the new 3.5-10... made an adjustment... then fired a round at the sighter dot... here's that shot:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi352.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr325%2Fdogdownproductions%2F200.jpg&hash=f54ab5b2afa8bff044013c20c7bb0ff48a17a3ce)
Post by: Moose Eyes on January 26, 2009, 09:49:01 PM
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 27, 2009, 07:20:58 AM
. . .like Josh said the last time I shot a high power rifle was about 12-15 years ago. . .I grew up in Southern Illinois and the only hunting I did was either with a 10/22 .22LR or with a shotgun. . .we didn't/don't have rifle seasons in IL. . .
. . .then I lived in HI where there aren't many places to shoot, moved to CA laws are crazy there, life was expensive and laws were hectic at best!!!
The last time I shot was in SC using a 30-06 on a deer hunt. . .I shot it 3 times to make sure I knew where it shot before we went out. . .I was on a friends farm so I was borrowing his gun. . .didn't see any deer so I those 3 shots constitute my previous experience with a rifle larger than a .22LR. . .
Shooting offhand or off of sticks while my heart is beating like crazy and I'm excited about a coyote will be a lot different than shooting from the bench that's for sure!!!
Post by: FrankDown on January 27, 2009, 02:44:52 PM
Sounds like a good deal on the grouping. If you havent shot in a long time I suspect your groups will get tighter by default. Simply shooting more will or should help your groups. Finding good ammo or handloading will further improve that.
Overall are you happy with the rifle and its accuracy?
Post by: Antlershed on January 27, 2009, 03:47:43 PM
We ran 3 shots at 50... cleaning after each shot...
Is this all you feel needs to be done for a "break-in" on it? I ask cause I'm hopefully going to get to shoot my Sendero this weekend for the first time, and I have read so many differing opinions about break-in procedures.
Nice gun and great shooting Joe!
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 27, 2009, 04:00:10 PM
Can you still see through the scope on 22-250 when you fire?
I could not on the range shooting off the bench. . .but I was not holding onto the forearm of the rifle nor was I putting any pressure on the gun in any way, shape, or form except for on the trigger and pulling just hard enough backwards to snug the stock into my shoulder. . .
. . .the muzzle would jump off target when I shot and would return back to the target but not back on my aim point. .
. . .shooting off of stick or a bipod may control muzzle jump a bit more. . .I don't know. . .
. . .You would need to ask someone with a lot more time/experience shooting the caliber in particular and shooting period to get a better answer. . .maybe JoshT will chime in on that. . .he shot the rifle that day as well. . .and he has a WHOLE lot more shooting experience than I do
. . .BTW JoshT. . .thanks again for the pointers on bench shooting!!!
Sounds like a good deal on the grouping. If you havent shot in a long time I suspect your groups will get tighter by default. Simply shooting more will or should help your groups. Finding good ammo or handloading will further improve that.
I would imagine that the groups will improve as well. . .I'm gonna hit the local range on Saturday and try some different Ammo (Hornady V-Max 40 & 50 gr.) because no one local to me carries the cheap Winchester USA stuff. . .eeerrgggh!!!
Overall are you happy with the rifle and its accuracy?
EXTREMELY!!!
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 27, 2009, 04:04:27 PM
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 27, 2009, 04:24:51 PM
. . .she's getting there. . .we just haven't been able to go since the week before Christmas so she's gonna be a little rusty again.
Post by: SpokaneSlayer on January 28, 2009, 07:36:56 AM
Post by: 12Gauge on January 28, 2009, 08:37:27 AM
Post by: JoshT on January 28, 2009, 09:25:20 AM
You should be able to tighten that up more. Look at JoshT's 200 yard target, I think it is the size of dime.
It's the size of a quarter... and there's only one round in there. Honestly... that Vanguard shot just about as well as my custom HCR 25-06. I shot a group that looks just about like Joes... from the bench next to him... at 200 yards. Like I said earlier... the wind was pretty tricky... and there were snow flurries the entire time Joe and I were shooting. I'm certain that after another 100 rounds or so (and a trigger job)... you'll see that rifle shoot under 1" at 200 yards.
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 28, 2009, 02:31:51 PM
. . .I can't find those Winchester USA 45 gr. JHP's anywhere around here. . .so I got a box each of 40 & 50 gr. Hornady V-Max, 40 & 50 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips, & 50 gr. Remington Premier AccuTip-V Boat Tails. . .hopefully it will like one of these loads as much as the 45 gr. JHP's. . .the only boxes of ammo that I didn't grab were the 55 gr. Federal PSP's & the 55 gr. Remington CoreLokt PSP's. . .I figured I'd stay away from the 55 grain bullets for now just because of the experience with the 55 grain Winchesters on Sunday. . .
. . .I'll post up my results on Sunday afternoon. . .
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 31, 2009, 06:05:45 PM
It seems that my rifle just had a distaste for the Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips in 55 gr. because I took a gamble and went ahead and bought the same stuff in 40 & 50 gr.
. . the 40 gr. shot about 3" high @ 100 yards but was dead on left to right and the groups were nice and tight. . .
. . .the 50 gr. shot dead center @ 100 yards. . .
. . .the Remington Premier Accu-Tip V Boat Tails shot about an 1.5" high @ 100 yds, but dead on left to right. . .
. . .ar first I thought the 40 gr. Hornady V-Max's were gonna be a bust, but my target was getting cluttered and I couldn't keep track of where they were hitting. . .with a fresh target on they were also hitting about 1.5" high @ 100 yards, but centered left to right. . .I didn't have any of the 50 gr. V-Max's but I wish I did because I'm betting it would be the same as the Winchester Supremes and dead on @ 100 yards. . .
. . .I didn't have a chance to shoot the 200 yard range. . .I'm gonna buy some more ammow and hit the range up again on Friday if not sooner t0 try the 200 yard range. . .
. . .on the upside my GF shot the gun also it she was shooting groups as tight as I was and she has NEVER shot a centerfire rifle before and the she had NEVER shot a rimfire prior to about 2 weeks ago when she shot my 10/22. . .she didn't enjoy shooting paper as much as the clay pigeons but she still had fun. . .
I will post the measured groups up later. . .the target is a little cluttered so I won't post any pics of it, but I will post a pic of the life-size coyote target that I put the 3" Shoot N See circles on and I shot with the Hornady's and the 50 gr. Winchesters
Post by: atomicjoe23 on January 31, 2009, 06:43:06 PM
all @ 100 yards
40 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips-- 3 shots @ 1.625"
50 gr. Remington Premier AccuTip-V Boat Tails--3 shots @ 1.0"
50 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips--5 shots @ .875"
40 gr. Hornady V-Max--couldn't tell because the target was too confused by then. . .
. . .round two at the coyote target with only the two best performing rounds. . .
once again all @ 100 yards. . .
50 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips--3 shots @ 1.5" & 3 shots @ .6875"
40 gr. Hornady V-Max--3 shots @ 1.0"
So at this point I'm sold on the 50 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips and I'm gonna try the 50 gr. Hornady V-Max next time I'm out and I will see how it works at 200 yards this time and I will zero the scope for whichever works best. . .
I wil post a pic of the targets tomorrow. . .