Henry Rifle Forums

After enjoying NCG's thread about long-distance shooting with her CZs (Cowgirl Corner: I like CZs, too.), that report encouraged me to take my Henry SGC and try shooting at longer distances today.

I went to my friend's shooting range today, but wasn't quite able to gather 100 yards. From the target board he has set up, I could only back out to 75 yards. I might have moved back to almost 85 yards, but his tree branches started waving in front of the target. So I settled in at 75 yards.....yes, that target looked far away through the Skinner .096 peep aperture!

OK. I shot at a 12"X18" oval splash, mounted sideways. Shot 10 rounds only, standing, off hand. I landed 6/10 POIs, but results ending up as a very large-sized group. Between the lowest and highest POIs near the top/bottom sevens, there is an 11" gap. The widest side-to-side gap is 8-1/2" from the left POI at number 9, and right upper POI on the 6-7 ring line.
So, I don't quite know how to evaluate this target? I'm good with 6/10 rounds in target, but not as much with the gaps. I know I need more practice at longer distances, and to especially to steady my rifle more. I'll keep this 75-yard target as a benchmark for that distance. Will continue to shoot more groups at this range and try to improve. Any thots from anyone if the splash target size is a good choice? Maybe it should be smaller or larger? And the other size issue is the Skinner aperture? I can get the target in sight fairly well with the .096 aperture, but am wondering if the ghost-ring peep might be better? Guess that will part of the more and more practice.

At the end of my range time today (shot 80 rounds total), I did a final 10-round group at an 8"X10" black steel target, off hand, at 50 yards. Dang if I didn't clang 10 for 10 today....cool sound out in the woods! I definitely know I can land them at 50 yards pretty much on target. Moving farther out will continue to be a fun challenge.

Appreciate any comments on my Qs. As usual, this Henry SGC is a wonderful rifle to shoot, and I really enjoy it!

North Country Gal wrote:Thanks, folks.

PT, these days, I really do need a scope for 100 yard work, though I do occasionally shoot irons at that distance for old time's sake. I also much prefer using a scope, now, for offhand work (with red dots a close second), mostly as a result of all my practice shooting scoped airguns, offhand. These old eyes just tire very quickly, now, with irons.

PT7 wrote:Excellent group, NCG. I'd be beyond quite happy with those 5 POIs on a 6" splash at 100 yards, especially off hand shooting.

I haven't shot 100 yards with my Henry SGC for a while now. Might try to shoot that distance next time out, but it's a little challenging with the rear iron Skinner peep and front bead sight. However, your range report and great target results do motivate me to try.....

Have you tried several brands of ammo?

off hand .... at 75 yards .... I'd be happy with your target

No, just the Federal so far. Your point is well taken....thanks.
I will do that as I practice more.

Travlin wrote:Have you tried several brands of ammo?

"Just shoot." That's what I try to remind myself. I like your choice of target, but my worst enemy is over thinking. Might have been yours too, although 6 out of 10 at that distance off hand standing is very good I think. I'd take that and build on it any day. We'll done.

I certainly wouldn't get down hearted, PT7. As the other folks have said, that result offhand at 75 yards is more than acceptable. I know from my own efforts to improve my offhand shooting that it certainly isn't easy.

On a lighter note, I don't know if it's just me, but when I hold an unloaded rifle and point it at something, I can hold it quite steady, but as soon as it's loaded, it waves all over the place.

Les wrote:On a lighter note, I don't know if it's just me, but when I hold an unloaded rifle and point it at something, I can hold it quite steady, but as soon as it's loaded, it waves all over the place.

And I thought it was only me

I think that's pretty good too !
My SGC doesn't wave.....it wobbles!!

Yup. Me too. Unloaded I'm rock solid aiming. That's the mind game to overcome.

First, thank-you so much for the nice endorsement, PT. I'm flattered.

The key point, here, is that you shot offhand and not so much how small the group was. Good for you. Glad I could share my passion for this kind of shooting. It's all for fun, of course, so if you had fun, you shot, well.

If you will allow a few suggestions that could make it even more fun, via smaller groups, here goes.

First, with iron sights, use a six o'clock hold on bullseye targets. Not sure what kind of hold you were using, but the key for shooting offhand with iron sights is front sight visibility. The reason for this is simple. No human being can hold perfectly steady shooting offhand. That sight will always be in motion. Shooting with accuracy with a front sight (or scope crosshairs) in motion is a matter of trigger timing as the sight (or crosshair) crosses or passes the target. If that front sight goes invisible or even slightly dimmed as it passes across a black bullseye on it's way to a brighter center red section, as a result of a dead on hold, getting this hair second timing down is extremely difficult.

For much the same reason, I can guarantee smaller groups at 75 yards by using a smaller target. That old saying about "aim small, miss small", very much applies to offhand shooting, as well. Smaller targets force you to be more precise. My rule of thumb is to use the smallest target for a given distance that still provides good visibility and that doesn't cause excessive eye fatigue, but will still allow enough hits in the black to provide positive reinforcement. This really will get you smaller groups. A 12x18" target at 75 yards is a monster. That's a size I would select for 200 yard work, even with open sights. (In large bore silhouette rifle competition, the smallest target, the chicken, is still only 11"x13" and is shot at 200 yards.) No way can you get a precise sight picture with such a large target, up so close. Notice how your shooting improved when you went to those proportionally smaller 8x10" targets at 50 yards. Notice, too, that your widest shot spread coincides with the wide horizontal 18" width of the target.

Your choice of target size at a given distance is still a personal preference. Yes, it's nice to keep all shots in the black, but this tempts a lot of shooters to use a larger bullseye than they really need. For instance, I like using a 6" bull at 50 yards for my offhand work with handgun or rifle because I get more of a kick out of keeping them all in the black. I sometimes do go to a 3" bull at 50 yards, though. When I do, my percentage of hits in the black goes way down, but if I stop and measure my groups, they really do tend to be smaller on average. Just not as much fun as seeing them all in the black, though.

For 100 yard offhand work, I start with a 6" target, but sometimes go to an 8" with handguns. Again, the larger the target relative to your sights, the cruder the sight picture. Give that aim small, miss small principle a try, next time out at 75 yards.

Hope this helps.

I appreciate the answers to my Qs, NCG. Very helpful, and good info to chew on. Always like the goal of having more fun! Think I'll make some comments w/in your quote below, and add a few more photos to this thread. Hopefully that will give you a more pictorial view of where I'm shooting, and what I'm shooting at.

quote="North Country Gal"]First, thank-you so much for the nice endorsement, PT. I'm flattered.

The key point, here, is that you shot offhand and not so much how small the group was. Good for you. Glad I could share my passion for this kind of shooting. It's all for fun, of course, so if you had fun, you shot, well.

Yes, off hand shooting is where it's at for me --- most enjoyable!

If you will allow a few suggestions that could make it even more fun, via smaller groups, here goes.

All ears....

First, with iron sights, use a six o'clock hold on bullseye targets. Not sure what kind of hold you were using, but the key for shooting offhand with iron sights is front sight visibility. The reason for this is simple. No human being can hold perfectly steady shooting offhand. That sight will always be in motion. Shooting with accuracy with a front sight (or scope crosshairs) in motion is a matter of trigger timing as the sight (or crosshair) crosses or passes the target. If that front sight goes invisible or even slightly dimmed as it passes across a black bullseye on it's way to a brighter center red section, as a result of a dead on hold, getting this hair second timing down is extremely difficult.

I've seen the difficulty you've described here when looking through my rifle sights, because I hold my brass front bead sight dead-on the bull. It is difficult to gauge that movement in such a short span of time. Think I will try the six o'clock hold next range time.

For much the same reason, I can guarantee smaller groups at 75 yards by using a smaller target. That old saying about "aim small, miss small", very much applies to offhand shooting, as well. Smaller targets force you to be more precise. My rule of thumb is to use the smallest target for a given distance that still provides good visibility and that doesn't cause excessive eye fatigue, but will still allow enough hits in the black to provide positive reinforcement. This really will get you smaller groups. A 12x18" target at 75 yards is a monster. That's a size I would select for 200 yard work, even with open sights. (In large bore silhouette rifle competition, the smallest target, the chicken, is still only 11"x13" and is shot at 200 yards.) No way can you get a precise sight picture with such a large target, up so close. Notice how your shooting improved when you went to those proportionally smaller 8x10" targets at 50 yards. Notice, too, that your widest shot spread coincides with the wide horizontal 18" width of the target.

I like the "guarantee," and that's the first time I've heard that old saying of "aim small, miss small." Makes good sense. I'm going to do that at 75 yards and see how it goes. BTW, a couple of years ago or so I was shooting at smaller target sizes. Not sure why I moved away from that. At the bottom of this post, I'll add some comments about that shooting plus photos.

Your choice of target size at a given distance is still a personal preference. Yes, it's nice to keep all shots in the black, but this tempts a lot of shooters to use a larger bullseye than they really need. For instance, I like using a 6" bull at 50 yards for my offhand work with handgun or rifle because I get more of a kick out of keeping them all in the black. I sometimes do go to a 3" bull at 50 yards, though. When I do, my percentage of hits in the black goes way down, but if I stop and measure my groups, they really do tend to be smaller on average. Just not as much fun as seeing them all in the black, though.

For 100 yard offhand work, I start with a 6" target, but sometimes go to an 8" with handguns. Again, the larger the target relative to your sights, the cruder the sight picture. Give that aim small, miss small principle a try, next time out at 75 yards.

Appreciate all the suggestions for target sizes at various distances. Exactly what I'm interested in learning/trying.

Hope this helps. Yes, all helpful....thanks much! [/quote]

ADD-ON to this Range Report

Here are some pictures of where I shoot. It's my friends country property (he has 20 acres), and he is building a shooting range behind his house. Right now it's mainly a shooting board (about 6'X6') that he, his wife, and I use for paper targets. I can also hang my black steel target from bolts off the top of the board. I have much fun when mounting/hanging targets around the wooded areas. He plans to take down a number of the closer trees, in order to extend his yard and shooting range. Now I hang 3" tin cans from branches, or swing a reactive target on a rope. Also fun to hang 12-ga or 20ga shotshells on branch ends and try to pop them off with the SGC. They call their place Poverty Knob.
Early spring photo showing target board...range will be extended someday deeper into the woods.
These next two photos show about my favorite spot to shoot from...at the side of their house, distance between 50-55 yards from the target board. Also having the tree branches "in the way" is kind of a fun challenge on windy days. Back in 2015 I had a Henry .22 Magnum lever action. Very nice rimfire....smooth action and a strong caliber. The 8" black steel target was hanging on the target board and I shot it from this spot. Thought the perspective of distance was a neat photo to keep. I loved hearing the clangs come back to me....lots of fun! This was a good test for me shooting standing, off hand, with my .22 Magnum back in 2015. Tried this later that summer after some practice with the .22 Magnum. I need to try this with my SGC in .22LR now, I think. Anyway, I found this target on the inside of a rimfire ammo box. It states that it is a "standard 25-meter target. Set it up at 25 paces and test your skill. A shot will score the value of the highest ring it touches."
The target is 2-1/4", and the bull is 3/8" in size. I took only one shot at each target, and was quite pleased with 3/4 POIs in target. I need also to try this again, right?

What a beautiful place to shoot! You are lucky, indeed. Looking forward to hearing more about this shooting project of yours. Thanks for sharing.