When you shoot off bench use sand bags for support of forend and barrel or a sled(not necessary) breath in exhale with crosshairs center of bullseye slowly squeezing trigger. Focus on the bullseye not the anticipation of gun going off. I am always surprised by when the gun goes off.
sure. If I haven't zeroed a rifle recently to confirm all is well, I won't hunt w it.
Front and rear rests of simple bags of sand or other separate rests instead of Lead Sled. You can thank me later
I don't have a led sled I use sand bags, on a bench. After you have to practice in off hand, sittings, kneeling and prone. Do this with out support. This is in case you don't have a fixed rest to rely on. Also depending on how you hunt practice resting on side of tree. And use your imagination when practicing.Front and rear rests of simple bags of sand or other separate rests instead of Lead Sled. You can thank me later
Wanna line mine up if ya work at dead zero
I know Bill Vance
Don't like sleds I take it. Mine works great, I use lead shot to fill the bags, reduces the recoil shock wave, and I also don't clamp the weapon down, so it isn't restricted. After I zero, I use a front bag on a bench and take a confirmation shot to make sure it is dead on without the sled.Front and rear rests of simple bags of sand or other separate rests instead of Lead Sled. You can thank me later
Bill is a great guy! Come by and I'll be glad to help. I'm there Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays.Wanna line mine up if ya work at dead zero
Thank you! Bill has some nice guns, miss shooting clay courses with him. I'm in Piney so close by. Im off Mondays & Tuesdays so a Wednesday would work if you don't mind shooting it yourself, I'll give ya the gun and ammo
Sleds take out a lot of the guess work. They are solid and dependable. They are rough on scopes and should be used to get dialed in. To confirm a solid zero.
We have one similar to that at the range. Still has generic forearm placement that lets the gun wobble all over the place.
Have an older version mtm predator rest, used to use it a lot shooting off bench but haven't used it in several years. It worked pretty well for us.
It works for me, and my shoulder absorbs the recoil.
You may disagree, but it doesn't change the fact that using one has saved me countless rounds getting my rifles zeroed. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, and friends that have used my sled to zero their rifles it has worked great. As long as you mount and bore sight your scope properly, it usually takes very few rounds, usually three or so, to get a good zero. Once zeroed, I take it off the sled to confirm the zero, which introduces the human element, so maybe it is not the sled, but the shooter which is giving you bad results.
If you have a steady bench and sand bags it takes about 3 shots to get you close enough to actually shoot a group to check zero. A 10+ shot group will give you a true zero and adequate group size. 3 shot groups have worked but they don't really give a good representation of a typical group nor zero. Will it kill a deer at 100, absolutely. And probably even out to 300. But the last thing I worry about is sending rounds downrange when I'm on the bench.
You got a better solution or just baseless commentary. It makes more sense than a 25 yard zero. But what do I know.
What's the farthest range you could imagine shooting at a deer where you hunt?
Very good point. Some rifles are pretty picky.
Sure, that works, but it doesn't negate the fact that how I do it works well, for me. Before the sled, I would shoot multiple three round groups to zero my rifle, if the three round group was tight, I would adjust the scope to the POI, if not, I would shoot another. It would usually take about half a box to zero my rifle, now with the sled I adjust my scope after each round, and usually the third is just to verify the second, and a fourth round off the sled to confirm the second and third round. I don't compete, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I like my three round groups to be under 1", a ragged hole is not necessary, but I do have a couple rifles that are capable of that. I also shoot the third and fourth round with a cold barrel, which is what I will be shooting while hunting. I would guess that is not a thing for competition, since there is no cool off period.
I don't have bad results, I zero rifles for many guys at my job, usually after they tried the sled we have at the range and wasted a box of Ammo. Yes some guys can't shoot and only practice will help that, some guys just plain stink at shooting. I don't need a sled, if you like them then by all means use one. Carry on
Who said anything about competition. All I own are hunting rifles. If you wanna use 3 shot groups, shoot 3 and measure what you need to adjust. But if you keep making adjustments after each shot you're chasing your tail. If your cold bore shots and warm shots are significantly different you have an issue.
