Punching paper at 50 with my Henry. 22

[JBlaisdell]

I did a bit more work tonight to develop my sighting skills. It's quite a challenge when the minimum distance allowed for rifle at my range is 50 yds. I shot 30 rounds of CCI SV, 5 at a time, the first 5 resting the front of the gun on a sandbag. The rest were offhand. I experimented with the Bullseye sight by covering the outer portion and turning it into a makeshift peep, just to see how a peep would work for me. I might go with one down the road, but for now, I want to get comfortable with open sights.

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This was using a center hold. Seemed to still want to hit low. But I think I'm fairly consistent, or at least getting to be.

Next up was some Remington Golden Bullets to compare. These hit noticeably higher. I dropped to a 6 o'clock hold, and that helped, although I went too low at first. I know I have to work on timing my shot with my breathing.

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For anyone wondering what the sight picture of a Marbles Bullseye sight looks like, I managed to take this:

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One thing I noticed about the Golden Bullets while I was loading them: every one seemed a bit loose in the casing. Not sure how that might affect things, but the casings did come out dirtier around the opening than the SV seems to have. And out of the corner of my eye I caught one just kinda strangely flop out when I opened the action. Didn't fly out like normal.

[JEBar]

50 yards, off hand, open sights .... nicely done indeed .... looking forward to your next reports

[RanchRoper]

50 yds is a challenge with open sights. Well done.

[Steve51]

Not bad at all for iron sights.
I like iron sights but I switched my Henry front sight to a similar one with a 1/16" bead (Marble Arms). For me, the larger bead covers too much target at 50 yards.
I bought one box of bulk Remington golden bullets a few years ago. All of the bullets would turn in the case and I had multiple fail to fire rounds. I mostly use bulk ammo but I stay with Federal or Winchester. My preference is Federal Auto Match (325 rds/box).

[North Country Gal]

Yes, keep up the good work. You are correct in using your consistency to gauge progress and your shooting. Do experiment more on bullseye type targets with a six o'clock hold, even if shots are shooting high or low. If it works for you, then you can adjust sights as needed.

Not a big fan of Remington Goldens, either, but I do shoot them, now and then, and they are certainly adequate for practice. They're a HV load, so they will shoot to a different POI at 50 yards than the SV CCIs. The Goldens are pretty much middle of the pack for accuracy in any of our guns - not great, but not bad, either. During the great 22 LR shortage, they were available, so we stocked up on them, heavily. Now that availability is back to normal, we don't shoot them much. I'll probably just keep them in reserve, for now.

The CCI SV, on the other hand, are just about everyone's go to budget target ammo. Do very well in most of our guns. For just a bit more money, the Federal orange box Premium Target 711B and Premium HV Match 719 shoot even better and cleaner, too (CCI sometimes overdoes it with the lube on the CCI SV).

As Steve mentioned, the federal Automatch is a great buy. It's our go to bulk ammo. Don't let the auto designation fool you. It actually shoots very well in our revolvers and bolt rifles, too. Not always consistent, one box to the next in functioning with our autoloaders, but it's a good land for general target work.

[JBlaisdell]

Not bad at all for iron sights.
I like iron sights but I switched my Henry front sight to a similar one with a 1/16" bead (Marble Arms). For me, the larger bead covers too much target at 50 yards.
I bought one box of bulk Remington golden bullets a few years ago. All of the bullets would turn in the case and I had multiple fail to fire rounds. I mostly use bulk ammo but I stay with Federal or Winchester. My preference is Federal Auto Match (325 rds/box).

Thanks. I have filed down the sight along the sides, leaving a profile more like the end of a section of train rail. It helps, but a thinner top may be the way to go. I have a box of Federal, I just haven't broken it open yet. I figured I'd establish a baseline for both the gun and me with the CCI since reviews rate it so well.

[JBlaisdell]

Yes, keep up the good work. You are correct in using your consistency to gauge progress and your shooting. Do experiment more on bullseye type targets with a six o'clock hold, even if shots are shooting high or low. If it works for you, then you can adjust sights as needed.

>snip<

Thanks. I appreciate the encouragement from the folks here, and especially yours. I've seen your postings here. You're no slouch!

[North Country Gal]

You're welcome. Glad to help.

[RetiredSeabee]

Being on paper with those targets at 50. You are doing very well. For me that particular target would be hard to see. I would need at least a 12" black bullseye on a white background to have enough contrast for a six o'clock hold.

[Sir Henry]

With the target being in the shade you did excellent. I bet when it is in the sun you will get even better.