Well folks, that November time of year is coming again. It's time to stand up on your own two feet and post up those groups on the 8 inch paper plates. For many years I posted ten shot 200 yard KD standing unsupported groups as shot in Service Rifle, but how about 4-5 groups standing unsupported that are all actually on an 8 inch paper plate with your Ruger Deer Rifle at the KD range that y'all can actually perform at. Yes, later in the thread I will post this years 200 yard KD paper plate, and BTW, this year I shall be using the 16 inch Hawkeye Scout Rifle instead of the Mini Thirty which I limit to 150 yards afield. Post up those 8 inch paper plates, since now is the time to hone that standing unsupported marksmanship skills with your Ruger Rifle. Yup, standing unsupported is challenging, but it is an actual field shooting position. Standing bye.
The 8 inch paper plate!
- Thread starter M118LR
- Start date
I don't do 'standing unsupported' much anymore and only at short range. Just too much 'old age quiver'. I use 'seated with crossed sticks' and shoot at 6" & 8" steel plates @ 350 yards(one shot per day)--really disappointed if I miss.
I will be going to the range in the next week or so to check zeros on 2 elk rifles. Shooting a 10 inch steel plate. Won't shoot standing for 4-5 groups, I won't have the time to do that. But 1 group of 3 rounds each rifle. 100 yds is about my standing unsupported range on big game. Now prone over my backpack is another subject. Yeah, I spend some time shooting NM 14s, M1s and AR 15s at 200 yd standing unsupported. I never made the master class with a service rifle but started and finished my HP shooting years as an expert. My rifles I will use are 7 mm WBY mag and .358 NM... neither are made to fire the NM course of 88 rounds in 1 day.
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My entry: Plate is 100yd standing unsupported, 3 shots .358 NM, scope on 5x. 200gr Barnes bullets handload. I fired the 3 shots in under a minute. Cold bore shot is high right. Paper target shows 5 shots from the bench also 100 yds. I take the blame for both flyers on both targets. No matter what load, recoil on that rifle is not pleasant.
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Another entry: 7mm Wby mag, 160 gr Nosler bullets handload. Fired under 1 minute, standing unsupported. Scope on 4.5x. Suppressed BBL. Plate shows shots left, can't explain that. The group includes a cold bore shot. It's highest shot on the plate. I last sighted and shot it at 300 yds. Paper is same rifle fired on a bench.
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Thank You kmoore. Didn't ever think about including a rested target, BZ. Really shows the increased level of difficulty while standing unsupported. I'm getting curios as to how the heavier recoil and bolt manipulation of the .308 Win Hawkeye Scout will effect performance better or worse than the Old Mini Thirty? Comparitivly, they are the same length and weight. Still manipulating a bolt is more difficult on cheek weld than semiautomatic operation. The flatter trajectory and overall increased accuracy over the 7.62 x 39 Mini Thirty should theoretically aid shooting. But time will tell. The participants: since both are detachable mag fed, ten rounds without dropping off the shoulder to reload is consistent.
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Normally I don't show targets. Just explain them. Why? too easy to cheat on distance and how fired and too easy to be bragging. My match targets were always verified/scored by others. I figured to show both bench and unsupported, you'll need to trust my distance. (Shooting unsupported can be demoralizing but needs to be practiced in my opinion). I will try the test with a 6.5 CM or .308 and shoot more rounds if I can find the time.
Every target I show is attested by others, just because I suck taking photos and it wasn't until recently that Thing 2 gifted me a cell phone with camera function. Yup, I was forced kicking and screaming to give up my prepaid 1G flip phone. I believe that some of my attested photos have been on PU for at least a decade, and show the worst and close to the best that a Mini Thirty can achieve? When I attempted to optimize my Mini Thirty I posted an attested 100 yard sitting target to empathize the cold clean bore to warm barrel grouping drift of the most advanced Mini Thirty at that time. The Cold Clean bore with the Russian Target 154 HP is so consistent that it will hit point of impact .75 inches above POA at 100 yards ( which is a 150 yard zero for the rainbow trajectory of a 7.62 x 39 in a 16 inch barrel) consistently. Yet warm barrel near MOA high right all day groupings can be shot as long as I do my part. With proper gradian adjustment on the Mildot Weaver Tactical 2-10 FFP Glass Mounted it can readily punch paper at 200 yards standing unsupported even with these Old Spaghetti Arms. Yet the cartridge lacks 1K kinetic energy past 150 yards afield so 150 yards is maximum range on anything other than paper tigers. It's been a minute since I shot clean 10 round 10 ring targets standing unsupported with a heavy M14NM/M1A SM. But the marksmanship skills don't change, only the skills of the nut behind the butt degrade with age and lack of precise practice. JMHO YMMV. Still, I failed to hold 8 inches at 200 yards with my Ruger Hawkeye Bolt Action Guide Gun in 30-06, but those ten shot groups with a 4 round drop box required three loads and three trips to the shoulder. Cheek weld, a basic marksmanship skill, is more important standing unsupported than most realize? Really long winded, yet I hope those shooting off their shoulder comprehend the challenge a 4 round box presents to a ten round group?
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I will bragg a little.
To set the stage, I was 19-20 way back when. Master class SB shooter. I entered every match I could and was doing great. Tried out for the US Olympic SB team, really no chance in making it but they take the top 50 or so for final tryouts back then 1978-79 time frame. That was my goal.
My local team asked me to shoot on the high power team, shooting the NM course. The club had a number of NM M-14s and NM M-1s available on loan from the DCM. I had never held a M-14, I had fired a M-1 before and owned 2 mini-14s.
I showed up on match day was assigned an M-14 and given 100 rounds of ammo. Took that stuff to the 200yd line to shoot a match. My friend said it was zeroed at 200yd yards. Remember we got 2 sighting shots before the match started. That was my 1st time pulling the trigger. Both rounds were 10xs. Boy I thought this is easy. But as matches go, I failed to shoot 100s. Likley I was too cocky. I tossed my score books a decade ago but shot well enough to get placed into expert level where I stayed for years. I shot some 100s in RF 200, RF 300 and some SF at 600 yd but never standing at 200yd. I wore out that M-14 and got another. I also bought a NM M-1 and shot it at 600 and 800 yds in SF matches a few times. I used the M-1 in police/fire Olympics several times. I got a Bronze metal once and shot a high enough score to be a police sniper in WA. Shooting against about 50 guys with scoped rifles. That was easy, the targets were full size human silhouettes at 100, 200 and 300 yd. No way could I win but only needed an 80%, I was under 90%. the course was combined with standing, tripod, sand bags. I only used the sling. The range guys were making bets on me after the 100 yd stage. They said it had never been done before. Some of the shooters couldn't believe a non scoped rifle could be that good. The SWAT guys mostly shoot from sandbags or tripods. I understand why, but they should be practiced in unsupported standing also. The SWAT team next to me had never shot standing. I helped them get set up.
To set the stage, I was 19-20 way back when. Master class SB shooter. I entered every match I could and was doing great. Tried out for the US Olympic SB team, really no chance in making it but they take the top 50 or so for final tryouts back then 1978-79 time frame. That was my goal.
My local team asked me to shoot on the high power team, shooting the NM course. The club had a number of NM M-14s and NM M-1s available on loan from the DCM. I had never held a M-14, I had fired a M-1 before and owned 2 mini-14s.
I showed up on match day was assigned an M-14 and given 100 rounds of ammo. Took that stuff to the 200yd line to shoot a match. My friend said it was zeroed at 200yd yards. Remember we got 2 sighting shots before the match started. That was my 1st time pulling the trigger. Both rounds were 10xs. Boy I thought this is easy. But as matches go, I failed to shoot 100s. Likley I was too cocky. I tossed my score books a decade ago but shot well enough to get placed into expert level where I stayed for years. I shot some 100s in RF 200, RF 300 and some SF at 600 yd but never standing at 200yd. I wore out that M-14 and got another. I also bought a NM M-1 and shot it at 600 and 800 yds in SF matches a few times. I used the M-1 in police/fire Olympics several times. I got a Bronze metal once and shot a high enough score to be a police sniper in WA. Shooting against about 50 guys with scoped rifles. That was easy, the targets were full size human silhouettes at 100, 200 and 300 yd. No way could I win but only needed an 80%, I was under 90%. the course was combined with standing, tripod, sand bags. I only used the sling. The range guys were making bets on me after the 100 yd stage. They said it had never been done before. Some of the shooters couldn't believe a non scoped rifle could be that good. The SWAT guys mostly shoot from sandbags or tripods. I understand why, but they should be practiced in unsupported standing also. The SWAT team next to me had never shot standing. I helped them get set up.
CAJUNCHEF
Single-Sixer
Thanks for sharing that information. Good stuff.
I'm shocked (nowadays I should not be) that some SWAT teams do not practice shooting standing, unsupported, even at less than 100 yards.
I use a sling for standing shots, but only 100 yards, I'm not 25 anymore!
This might sound reboundant? How about those Standing Unsupported Targets Folks? When I post any of targets past or even target present I can understand crickets. Yet I haven't yet posted a single target and would expect far more participation? Guess you scared them off kmoore?
I hope not, your challenge is a good one for practicing hunting marksmanship. Shooting standing unsupported can really be humbling.
