"New" scope for a MKIII Hunter

Blindpig · Post by **Blindpig** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:25 am

Sweet, Greener, sweet! Have you looked for the higher Burris mounts? I had to use the higher ones on my CZ 452 American to be able to operate the bolt and clear the side of the 6X18 scope I have on it.

greener · Post by **greener** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:58 pm

Going to the Richmond gun show this weekend. This one usually isn't as good as the C&E show, but they might have some better scope rings.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:10 pm

Found some higher rings, but didn't put them on. Shot the Hunter and scope as put together. I rarely shoot with magnifying scopes and have never shot with magnifying scope on a pistol. I have quite a learning curve. Standing the 4x multiplied my natural unsteadiness enough that I checked my hands a couple of times to see if I had a case of the shakes. Will also have to get used to looking through the scope. Finally went to a bench and used it to support my elbows. Even though I was fighting the scope, I never thought I'd shoot the Hunter that consistently. I see why Leupold gets the prices they ask. The thing is a dream to adjust and once adjusted, the pistol shot dead on where I had the center of the cross hairs. Think it's going to be fun learning to shoot that scope.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:42 am

Its kind of scary when you look through the scope and it appears to be waving all over the target. Any slight movement is greatly amplified when looking through a magnified scope. Sounds like you've found a new fun discipline for your rimfire pistol - precision benchrest shooting. Remember Sealkiller? He was big into precision shooting Rugers.

Enoy,

R,
Bullseye

greener · Post by **greener** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 8:12 am

It sure does magnify every little quiver. Made the red dot I've been using look like it was nailed to the target. I also have to learn how to get the scope and my eyes lined up so I can see through the scope well. Part of a learning curve. I can see why Sealkiller liked shooting from a bench. Reduce the movement from holding the pistol, magnify the sight picture and the Ruger shoots impressively. If I keep doing things like this and see what the pistol will really do, I may run out of excuses for the way I shoot.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:36 am

Greener and Bullsye, you have to remember that Sealkiller had an 8-2 on his long paclit barreled unit, mine is just a 6-24 but I can alwytake one of the scopes ooff my 10/22's, either an 8-32 or a10-40 and give them a try.
With the 6-24 on my Great Eight, I have shot some under.100 5 shot groups at 25 yards.
Right now in the process of teaching myself to shoot the rifles off hand with the scope on 16 or thereabouts to get ready to shoot some NRA small bore silhouette at 40. 60, 70, and 100 meters.
Got to get in contact with the Sealkiller as I have not heard from him in a few months or so.

Post by **Bullseye** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:54 am

If you practice offhand shooting with a smallbore rifle your hold will improve drastically. My Highpower hold wasn't too good until I started shooting 3 position smallbore rifle in competition. Then my rifle groups really shrunk and the basics of position shooting really revealed themselves to me.

As I recall, Sealkiller was seeking to find how accurate the Ruger pistols really were and was always singing their praises on inherent accuracy.

R,
Bullseye

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:19 am

Bullseye wrote:If you practice offhand shooting with a smallbore rifle your hold will improve drastically. My Highpower hold wasn't too good until I started shooting 3 position smallbore rifle in competition. Then my rifle groups really shrunk and the basics of position shooting really revealed themselves to me.

As I recall, Sealkiller was seeking to find how accurate the Ruger pistols really were and was always singing their praises on inherent accuracy.

R,
Bullseye

After having some retina damasge in my right eye in the central vision years ago> I have become right eye dominant and have been a rH shooter for 7o+ years, in the last year and a half I have taught myself to shoot a rifle LH, am finally getting used to trigger control and feel and brain control of that finger. Just nor really used to holding a rifle up steady on the other side but it is getting better.

MicroGuy · Post by **MicroGuy** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:01 pm

I just ordered a TruGlo red dot scope last week, and I'm going to have the same issues, but it's only a 2X scope.

I'm hoping it will do two things, besides being a better dot than most other red dots I've seen.

A) Help compensate a bit for my failing eyesight by bringing the targets just a bit closer (secondary thoughts really)

and

B) Help me steady my hand since it does magnify that waver.

Could be wrong on both counts though!

Bullseye, is there another post describing better what you're talking about?? I'd still need access to a rifle, but still would like to know more about what you're saying.

Glad that scope is working out for you. Hope I have as good of luck with that TruGlo.

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:56 am

I've never tried a magnifying red dot. Let us know how it works out.

Red dot scopes will certainly help the blurry front sight problem. I'm not sure how much they help keeping the waver down. Some movement of the pistol is natural. Trying to lock the front sight, red dot or scope reticle down solid without movement, in my case, just makes it worse because I start over correcting.

Post by **Bullseye** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:55 am

Steadying up a sight pictutre in a magnified or red dot scope comes from relaxing not trying to keep things steady. When you give up trying to fight the scope and relax, that's when everything settles down in your field of view. The harder I try to make things steady, the more they waggle around in the scope.

R,
Bullseye

MicroGuy · Post by **MicroGuy** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:58 pm

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm talking about. The magnification will show the waver a bit more, not that I can fight it, but it's just an indicator.

I already shot with one almost just like it, the only difference is the one I ordered has the green/red dots. I tend to like green better.

The scope it self seems to be pretty good, and the magnification seems to work ok. Maybe making the filed of view a bit smaller.

And there's the issue of both eyes/one eye. Seems harder to "pick" a target with both eyes. With both eyes open, you basically see two targets, one 1X, and one 2X.

If you're using a non-magnified scope, you don't see that too much because both eyes are 1X.

But with it, (at least *I* do), I have to close one eye, pick the "red dot target", then I can open both eyes and shoot normally.

Maybe with use I won't have to do that.

And part of it could be the right eye/left handed thing too, don't know.

Either way, it does seem to work out pretty good.

I'll let you know more after I spend some time with it at the range. I only ran about a hundred rounds through the loaner.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:16 pm

Takes some getting used to. Shot the Hunter with the Leupold and started doing ok freehand at 25 yards. I stopped fighting the scope, relaced and shoot thrugh the magnified wobbles.

MicroGuy · Post by **MicroGuy** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:54 pm

I think that's what I do.

If the wobble is too much, I know I'm tired, so if I've been at it a while, I just go home. But if not, then I've probably had my arms up too long, so I slow down and take my time.

That helps a lot.

But no matter what, there's at least a little wobble, so I get as steady as I can, then I sort of wait until I "wobble" onto the bull (or what I'm shooting at) and then shoot.

But much of that wobble, I wouldn't even see without a scope, or a 2X scope. But don't fight it, use it.

Works out pretty good.

Learn to do my one handed shooting first!!

greener · Post by **greener** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:53 am

I have not shot with much with a magnifying scope ever. The most I've done is the scope I put on my Glenfield Model 60 a while back. The problem I fight is getting the scope-eye alignment right so I see the full view from the scope and not a partial with lot's of black. Doing the alignment properly is just a case of me relaxing and not forcing it. Part of a learning curve. In the past, I'd just get disgusted and shoot something with open sights.

This 4X scope really magnifies the natural movement you have when shooting freehand. You see some movement with open sights and more with a red dot. Magnify it 4X and, whoa, nelly, I didn't know I was that shaky. As you said, wait for the cross hairs to cross the target and pull the trigger. From a rest, the MKIII with that scope will do things that some rifle shooters would be satisfied with.