Today I finally got to go shoot for a little bit! The bad thing was that I could only shoot at about 50 yards. I had to make sure of my backstop where I was at and shooting into this bank was the only way I could do it.
I didn't get any top quality mounts for the rifle yet. I had to use some from one of my air guns since I didn't want to use the same ones that I was using on the rifle.
The scope I replaced was a Barska 4 x 12 with mil dots and adjustable objective. I've never really liked this scope. It just isn't very clear to be honest and I think my Leapers and Center Point scopes that are on my air guns are much better.
My new scope is a Simmons 44 magnum 6 x 21. It has side adjustable objective (which is nice!), target turrets with covers so you don't knock them while hunting, and mil dots for easy shooting at longer ranges.
The scope came from Optics Planet. I bought it for around $160 shipped. Simmons is having a special for their 25th anniversary so I'm getting $40 of that back for a rebate. Not too bad if you ask me on the pricing.
It came double boxed and it came only two days after I ordered it! That was really nice.
Put the scope on my .223 Handi Rifle. It has the thicker varmint barrel on it and the camo stock. Because I wanted to shoot for awhile, I just grabbed a box of Remington FMJs and took off out to Louisville to shoot.
The bad thing was I only had a crappy table to shoot off of not a rest. I used kitty litter bags for sandbags. Following some suggestions from an article I read, I sighted it in the same hold, etc, that I'm going to shoot it in the field.
Since it is a single shot, it is easy to break it open and look down the barrel to get it close. The first shot hit about 1" to the right and about 3" low. My target has a scale on it so I adjusted the scope and shot again. This time it was right on line but it was still low. I clicked it up the appropriate number of clicks for the range to get it on target (12 in this case). I shot it a couple more times for fine adjustment and got it to where I liked it.
I then switched over to another target I had. I knew when I pulled the trigger the table wiggled a little bit, but I was only about a quarter inch off the bullseye. I then used the hole in the target as the aiming point and put the next one through the same hole. This was followed up by a few more and all still in one raggedy hole. It was only 50 yards, but I never got it to group that tight with my old scope at half that range.
I've got to say changing out the scope has given me a LOT more confidence in my rifle! The lenses on this thing are crystal clear and the reticles very fine so they don't obscure the target. The side adjustable AO is SO much easier than reaching around to the front.
It is close to the top of the line that Simmons makes. Their scopes aren't very expensive, but neither is my rifle.
For an effective price of $120, I think it was a good deal and like I said the proof was being able to put them in the same hole. I'll head out to Jim's pasture this week and take some hundred and two hundred yard shots to see how it does at longer ranges. With the 21x power it will be a lot easier to see those far targets.
