can someone with some patience help a newbie to RFBR shooting?

He shows up, and people have Anschutz 1913's, 40x's or other stock guns. Who wins and who walks away disillusioned?
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There were some Annies in the group or at least they looked like Annies. There were some guns that looked like actual BR guns but I think they were T/C R-55 Benchmarks which look like they will shoot great but I've heard good and bad about them.

I guess I really knew what my big problems were but I still wanted to compete on this level even though it is clearly an equipment race, just as you suggested Beau. I think I should start with a better scope for this kind of shooting and possibly a match grade rest. My Savage has some flyers but shoots pretty well most of the time. I think the flyers are mostly due to the ammo I'm using to be honest. CCI can be really good but it isn't match grade so no doubt it could have hurt me too. But my problems were much worse in other areas at this shoot.

Another reason I'm not quite ready to get a dedicated BR gun is that I'm still new to this and I'm not sure that I will enjoy it enough to justify the cash outlay to make it work on a high level. I might find that I have zero chance of shooting the way I would like. I guess I felt like that if I could shoot a Savage like I've been shooting at home that I might be pretty competitive with a better rifle. I'm not likely to be disillusioned though since my expectation is that one thing or another will limit me. Most people hit one wall or another I would think. If not we would see a lot more people show up at the nationals. Someone said only 200 make it that far. That's not many in a country of 300 million. That considerably less than a million to one. I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning.

I've seen contests where the price of rifles were limited to $500 with a chance for any shooter to claim the winner's rifle for that amount. That kind of rules would no doube keep the playing field more level but I'm sure there are enterprising people willing to find some way to fix the odds in their favor even in a match with those rules. Apparently it's human nature to cheat sometimes.

I guess I wanted to know if I stood any chance at all of being competitive with the rifle I own currently and if a particular rifle would make me more competitive and still not have to break into the piggy bank. The stats on what guns are the most popular among top shooters was very helpful. I just need to figure out what makes each rifle better and decide if that's something that will help me enough to make a commitment. I clearly need to learn some things if I want to continue. If nothing else I'd like to come out with a really good shooter. I like my Savage but I could learn to like something that clearly shot a lot better. I'd like to keep within my $1200 budge at this point because I'm going to have to sell some guns I like to get what I really want as it is. I don't want to sell half my collection and find out I'm seriously limited anyway. So I guess that keeps me in the stock class for now.

I'll give that setup a try martin. If it works it could limit my spending for at least a while. Still I want to strike while the iron is hot and I have people helping me.

I'm really tired as I'm typing here. I hope I didn't make a total mess of this post.
 
Claiming rules, at least in my experience, don't work. All the shooter has to do is say he won't sell and he forfeits the match. Usually, there's nothing at stake except bragging rights and he still really won even if officially he forfeited.
 
King Ghidora said:
I've been aware of the fact that the Savage is known for having problems with lugs that are tight. I use a torque wrench to tighten them and not a new style torque wrench at that. The older styles (pointer etc.) adjust down to lighter pressures and that is what I use. I keep the torque down to less than 10 ft. lbs. and more like 8 ft. lbs..

The list of rifles are a big help. I guess I'm trying to keep myself in the lower category to find out just how much I like the sport without spending my kid's inheritance. You people have certainly been helpful in many ways and I do appreciate it.

I do know about contests that are rigged so that certain people get all the wins. My brother went through that with an archery course where they were shooting all sorts of shots up and downhill and at different ranges. He had almost all of his shots disqualified for one reason or another. He went from first place to last place. Needless to say he never went back. But I've seen no reason to think the shoot I went to was set up like that.
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I torque my rifles in inch-pounds. I hope that is what you meant
Don
 
king g, some of the rifles mentioned any kimber, 40x, suhl, no matter the condition will never lose their value, and most will be worth far more 5 years from now. your money will not be wasted and it's a lot more fun with a really accurate one.
 
King,

Stick with the rifle that you have for now. Put a better scope on it with more power and something that you can use on a bench gun later. I suggest a Weaver T36 because it is the least expensive true benchrest target scope and you can sell it later for very little loss.

You will need a better rest than just sandbags.

Test various kinds of ammo to see what your rifle likes best. I use a series of several three shot groups at first and I record them on on a spread sheet. Test indoors if you can to remove the wind effect or shoot at 25 yards while watching the wind. The shorter distance will help remove the wind effect.

You should stay with the rifle you have for a few months and learn what you can from it.

I have never seen a case of match fixing in this sport. The targets are there for all to see.

Concho Bill
 
I think I will eventually try to get a Suhl if I can. I have a Weaver 36 on the way. It's amazing how things work out sometimes. I'll try the scope on the rifle I have for right now. I know what you mean about guns holding their value if they are quality guns. Most of my guns have gone up in price since I bought them.

I have tried a lot of different ammo in my gun. I shot some really good groups with Wolf ME but I couldn't seem to get the consistency I wanted with it. I have tried other decent ammo but I've never bought any of the really expensive stuff. I was just in it for my own amusement at the time anyway. I always knew I would need to look for better ammo if I wanted to shoot competively.
 
I shot the video to prove that I could do it when people accused me of exaggerating on another board. I no longer access that board because of such things
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"That other forum" User List indicates on 2 December at 09:50 AM:

Username King Ghidora
Join Date 05-19-2009
# of Posts 345
Last Post Yesterday

which obviously contradicts your comment re: I no longer access….
 
which obviously contradicts your comment re: I no longer access….
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I think I shot that video for people on thehighroad.org. Maybe I'm wrong. If I am it wasn't deliberate. And so what anyway?
 
king

i shot with you at your first match also gave you 3 $ so you could shoot
i had a savage and won alot of $ WITH IT. but on your setup you were to high bring a movable seat to get you lower .if you remeber i shot of a water jug had to ajust everything it not always like home just try to bring home with you at next match. you will do well with your gun just keep comming back. remember it not the winning it the love of the sport that keep u going
 
Hey les,

You guys treated me very well at the shoot. I had misread the web page about how much it cost to shoot and I rarely carry much cash. I'm a plastic addict I guess.

I do intend to keep coming back. I enjoyed trying to get it done. I learned a lot about what to expect next time for sure. You're right that I was setup too high. I looked like a contortionist trying to get down to even see through my scope.

I wasn't worried about winning. I had no expectations of that especially my first time out. I never even looked to see what others had shot. I just knew my second target was really bad. My first target wasn't so bad. I had several shots in the center but all but one of them were touching the line. I learned some things about equipment too and I have a better scope on the way. I love to shoot and I like to be around other shooters and it's not because I want to show them up. I figure I can learn plenty and maybe I'll be shooting better.

Thanks again for the $3. I'll get that back to you for sure. I wish I could have made it last night but I was out of town. I'm planning on joining the club after the first of the year so I can come out and practice shooting from the facilities there. That's a nice place to shoot and by far the best range I've been to in this area. But I guess I haven't been to that many ranges.

Good to see you on the board and you'll see me again out there. If you could see the pile of rimfire brass in my yard you'd know I definitely like to shoot.

Jeff
 
King Ghidora said:
I hope I never offended the person who invited me to shoot because I'm a competitive person and always have been. When I think I didn't do as well as I could have I don't react too well to it.
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Don't worry about offending me, no ones be able to do it for years.:)
Just coma back and shoot with us again.

As for the rules of that match. It was a WanaBe BR match. Factory gun, stock, barrel, trigger and unlimited scope.Nothing old or exotic, just thing you can pick up at the local gun store. This match is just for fun and a way to introduce new shooters to Benchrest style shooting.
 
Oh I will be back Adam. I really enjoyed myself there. I get a little frustrated sometimes but that's just me. That's how I push myself to do better. I'm sure things will get better.

One thing I wasn't clear on is whether there was a limitation on the type of support we could use. I didn't see anything but boards and sandbags but maybe I missed something. I have an opportunity to buy a really nice one piece rest. I will need to sell a gun (I just bought a S&W .44 mag a couple of weeks ago more as a favor than anything else and I'm thinking of selling it) before I can buy the rest and I was wondering if it would even be allowed in the Wed. matches at the club.
 
king, before buying an expensive one pc. rest better take the sling swivels off and make sure that with the rake and forearm of that synthetic stock it can be shot effectively from any rest. you may find that rifle will not recoil rearwards but may lift the barrel upwards. that rifle may shoot better by being held very firmly. even using sand bags those studs will rip them.
 
The plan is to get a better rifle soon anyway Martin. I will be sticking with the rifle I have for a short while. At the very least I really need a different stock for this gun anyway but if I can sell a gun or two I will be buying a Suhl I believe. I almost bought one yesterday in fact.
 
I thought that was the case les. I just wasn't sure. I know I didn't see any metal rests. As good as the deal is on the rest I was offered I think I'll concentrate on getting a better gun first. And I'm going to try the Savage with some Eley ammo before that. It shoots pretty well with the CCI SV I've been using but I get flyers with it. My best groups were actually with Wolf ME but I got a buildup of whatever it is they put on the outside of those rounds and it got to where my gun wouldn't cycle very well pretty quick. Since my gun seems to shoot better after a couple of hundred rounds I was looking at either cleaning the gun so it would cycle but would shoot more accurate or vice versa. I'm just going to keep plugging away. I have to sell my S&W before I can buy anything so I don't want to make the person who offered me the deal wait anyway.
 
The one-piece rest would still be valuable to you. Valuable enough to sell the S&W, I don't know.

It's value would be that it would better show you what your rifle/scope/ammo is capable of.

FWIW, Greg J.
 
I don't really have a need for the Smith even though it's one fine handgun. I've always like automatics better and I have plenty of handguns as it is. So I'm thinking about whether to buy the rest or use the money to get a better rifle sooner. I'm still thinking about it. I hate to pass up a really good deal so I am thinking hard about the rest. I have several other guns I could sell as well. I usually hold onto guns I buy but sometimes I will sell them to get something else I want.

I bought the Smith because I thought it would be easier to carry around my place at night. I have a slight black bear problem here and I thought it would be good for that. But I haven't seen my visitor since I tossed a pack of firecrackers at him. He didn't care much for that it seems. :)
 
King

............. I'm a little confused, on the "other" board you advised some guy to get a $500 CMP 40X, put a Jewell trigger and a tuner. Why don't you just take your own advice? Thanks, Douglas
 
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hay king

elbow shoot wednesday 9 th same place starts at 6 you should come good times await when u shoot
 
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