Random Thought Thread

About 25 years ago I bought a Remington VSSF in .308. It was the most accurate rifle that I ever owned. It shot 3/8" groups at 100 yards with Federal Gold Medal 168gr. match ammo. Even with GI ammo, it would shoot around an inch. That was not unusual. At the same time I bought mine, another customer bought one in .223. His shot even better.

Then, something happened to my right shoulder and I couldn't handle the recoil. I sold it. :( The pain got so bad that eventually went to a doctor. It turned out to be calcium deposits around the ligaments. The doctor called it "frozen shoulder". He gave me cortisone shots and stretching exercises. 3 months later my shoulder was fine, but the rifle was gone.:mad:

Just before I moved to AZ I got a opportunity to buy a 40X in .308. It shot well, but not nearly as well as the VSSF. I eventually sold it too.
 
UffDa said:
About 25 years ago I bought a Remington VSSF in .308. It was the most accurate rifle that I ever owned. It shot 3/8" groups at 100 yards with Federal Gold Medal 168gr. match ammo. Even with GI ammo, it would shoot around an inch. That was not unusual. At the same time I bought mine, another customer bought one in .223. His shot even better.

Then, something happened to my right shoulder and I couldn't handle the recoil. I sold it. :( The pain got so bad that eventually went to a doctor. It turned out to be calcium deposits around the ligaments. The doctor called it "frozen shoulder". He gave me cortisone shots and stretching exercises. 3 months later my shoulder was fine, but the rifle was gone.:mad:

Just before I moved to AZ I got a opportunity to buy a 40X in .308. It shot well, but not nearly as well as the VSSF. I eventually sold it too.
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Hope you used some of the targets to get a good price for the VSSF.

The manufacturers that guarantee 1/2 MOA rifles, sell them at a premium. Sometimes we get lucky. I bought a competition AR that came with a factory test card with a 1/4 MOA group using 69gr SMKs :eek:.

Unfortunately, off a bipod, I'm the weak point. I've never been able to do better than a 1/3 MOA 5-shot group.
 
we once had all these rust stains around the bathroom from me using the angle grinder in there.

I had a plasma cutter in the house once too. I used it pointing the spray out the window. Still managed to cause a fire.

Jo really puts up with a lot.
 
bluemax_1 said:
Hope you used some of the targets to get a good price for the VSSF.

The manufacturers that guarantee 1/2 MOA rifles, sell them at a premium. Sometimes we get lucky. I bought a competition AR that came with a factory test card with a 1/4 MOA group using 69gr SMKs :eek:.

Unfortunately, off a bipod, I'm the weak point. I've never been able to do better than a 1/3 MOA 5-shot group.
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I got a fair price for it.

The man who bought the .223 VSSF also bought 3 Cooper rifles over a couple of years. He wanted to be in the shop when we unpacked them. The rifles came with a test target and the load used. The targets had teeny tiny groups. He duplicated the load, but was never able to duplicate the groups. We used to joke about Cooper having various caliber paper punches.

For various reasons, I don't shoot much anymore, but when I did, I would often watch other people shooting. I was often amazed at how poorly many would shoot from a bench rest.
On the other hand, when I used to shoot in matches with my M1, I was amazed at how well some folks could shoot. There was one guy who was on a Navy reserve team. He had an issued M1A match rifle. He shot tighter groups offhand at 100 yards than I could from the bench. (My M1 was a 2 to 2.5 inch rifle with ball M2 ammo and didn't do much better with match ammo)

There was also a German couple that shot very well. The man shot a HK91 and his wife shot a HK93.
 
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I'd like to thank Taco Bell for the much needed clear plastic straws:D

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UffDa said:
I got a fair price for it.

The man who bought the .223 VSSF also bought 3 Cooper rifles over a couple of years. He wanted to be in the shop when we unpacked them. The rifles came with a test target and the load used. The targets had teeny tiny groups. He duplicated the load, but was never able to duplicate the groups. We used to joke about Cooper having various caliber paper punches.

For various reasons, I don't shoot much anymore, but when I did, I would often watch other people shooting. I was often amazed at how poorly many would shoot from a bench rest.
On the other hand, when I used to shoot in matches with my M1, I was amazed at how well some folks could shoot. There was one guy who was on a Navy reserve team. He had an issued M1A match rifle. He shot tighter groups offhand at 100 yards than I could from the bench. (My M1 was a 2 to 2.5 inch rifle with ball M2 ammo and didn't do much better with match ammo)

There was also a German couple that shot very well. The man shot a HK91 and his wife shot a HK93.
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I've never used a bench rest before. I thought those pretty much held the rifle steady for you?

I like Precision shooting for the exercise in Zanshin and Mushin No Shin (and it's easier than finding a Kyudo range).
 
bluemax_1 said:
I've never used a bench rest before. I thought those pretty much held the rifle steady for you?

I like Precision shooting for the exercise in Zanshin and Mushin No Shin (and it's easier than finding a Kyudo range).
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That's the general idea. Shooting from a bench rest tests the rifle and ammo, but there is still some operator skill required unless you have a machine rest or a rail gun. Even then you have to deal with wind and mirage sometimes. I have seen people jerk the trigger and flinch while shooting from a rest and get terrible groups.
 
UffDa said:
That's the general idea. Shooting from a bench rest tests the rifle and ammo, but there is still some operator skill required unless you have a machine rest or a rail gun. Even then you have to deal with wind and mirage sometimes. I have seen people jerk the trigger and flinch while shooting from a rest and get terrible groups.
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Ah, ok.

Yeah, some folks need to work on their fundamentals. Then there's the insane World Record 1.068" 5-shot group at 1000yds last year.
 
There is some amazing shooting being done these days. I saw a video about a year ago of someone shooting a 10/22 at 300 yards. What they did was fire 3 rounds and have all 3 in the air before the first bullet hit the target.

When Townsend Whelen said "only accurate rifles are interesting" a good rifle shot 2" groups at 100 yards. Now, with the improvements in barrel making and bullets, 1" or less is common.
 
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