Topsy-turvy triangle

[PT7]

About 3 weeks ago, on Nov 2nd, was the last time I had my Russian .45LC top-break revolver at the range. I posted a thread about the spent brass catching under the ejector star. http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5446 Here is a follow up Range Report dealing with that issue.

FIRST GOAL. I ordered some different ammo to try out, and today I shot 20 rounds of Black Hills Ammo 250gr RNFP. This ammo never "trapped" a spent brass under the ejector star. I also tried some of the same ammo I used at the last range time, and it work fine also. So I shot a total of 40 rounds today without an ejection glitch. I also was a little firmer when I "broke" the cylinder away from the frame, so that may have made a difference; similar to firmly cycling a Henry lever. Anyway, my main shooting goal today was some ammo testing, and it went well.

SECOND GOAL. After I last shot my SGC http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=5527 , and somewhat lamented the fact that my POIs were high off of dead bull, Bandit sent me a PM with a suggestion. Even though he responded to my shooting the rifle, I thought I'd try his suggestion shooting the revolver today. It was interesting. Here is Bandit's suggestion:

I have something for you to try next time out shooting. Don't use the circle target next time. Make a triangle with the point facing down. Make it whatever size you need to see it well. Color it in solid black. Aim for the point of the triangle. It gives you a smaller aiming point and a more consistent aiming point with out the larger area of the circle to aim at....you can be in the circle with your sight but still be off some and not notice it because of the size of the area of your target.

This was new to me, but I decided to try it. Below is the topsy-turvy triangle target I drew on a piece of white foam core. The inverted triangle has 5" sides. The only thing I didn't do per Bandit's suggestion was to "color it in solid black." If I would have done that, I would have lost my revolver's very tiny black front sight in the black target. So left it white.

I shot off hand the 20 rounds of BHA, 10 rounds at 7 yards and 10 rounds at 10 yards. That's my wabbit hunting distance I'm sticking with. Even though I'm not 100% positive on how the suggestion translates from a rifle to a revolver, I am quite pleased with my POIs on this target.

Here is my "triangle triumph." It was a good suggestion, and added to the fun & good shooting results today.

PT7

(Again, "thanks" to Bandit.)

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[ESquared]

I'd say the wabbits should be vewy wowwied...

[BigAl52]

Atta boy PT. I bet RR will even like that target with those big holes.

[North Country Gal]

Kudos to bandit for that suggestion. Looks like it did the trick for you, PT. Fine shooting with that Russian.

[PT7]

Thanks, All.

I would say this target is a pretty good "plinking" target. But I'm still uncertain if the distances between the five outliers are small enough to hunt wabbits. Here are some measurements I've taken, along with my thinking about whether or not I'm prepared enough to harvest this small game. I got the revolver in August, and I've shot 240 rounds over the last three months.

Please number the five outliers starting with the highest POI above target to be number 1. Go counter clockwise using 2-4 for the three on the left side of triangle, and 5 for the low flier on the right side of triangle. Not totally certain if my "group size" is being looked at correctly, but here are some measurements I made:

1 ---> 4 = 5-1/2"
1 ---> 5 = 6-1/8"
4 ---> 5 = 4-1/2"
3 ---> 5 = 5-1/4"
2---> 5 = 6-1/4"

The largest span of the group inside the triangle is just at 3-1/4". Remember that the triangle has 5" sides. Inside the triangle look like wabbit-hunting POIs; outside the triangle, not sure. These outliers seem like large distances to me when I think about a wabbit's size.

My son-in-law is an experienced hunter and excellent marksman. One thing he taught me about hunting: "It is only the first shot that really counts." My first POI was the lowest POI on left side of triangle, number 4. That just might let the wabbit scamper away to see another day.

What do you all think of my eval of these POIs? Appreciate any helpful insight from some experienced hunters. Thanks!
PT7

I'd say the wabbits should be vewy wowwied...

Atta boy PT. I bet RR will even like that target with those big holes.

Kudos to bandit for that suggestion. Looks like it did the trick for you, PT. Fine shooting with that Russian.

[bandit1250]

PT7, Glad you got to try the target. I am sorry I was thinking you were shooting open sights on a rifle or with peeps. I color the triangle black because I shoot form 33 yds. here at home to 50 yds. at the range with my open sight rifles and peep sights. The colored in triangle helps to see it much better as my triangle is 2" at max on the sides. I hold 6 0'clock on the tip of it and set my sights so the bullet hits a 1/2" -1" higher. I have found this target is the easiest for me with standard open sights to shoot more accurate when shooting paper. It has also helped me shoot a little better groups when shooting off hand with open sights. I am a bench shooter more than any thing else and shooting prone from a bipod would be second but if I could shoot like NCG off hand maybe I would shoot like that more. I will say that I am better off hand than about all my shooting friends except for one and maybe my younger brother. One of my friends can hit small pieces of clay targets at a 100 yds. offhand and sometimes hit a fair amount of the 12 GA. shot shells he sets up at a 100 offhand. He uses a Leupold 4-12 AO scoped 541-S Remington which is known to have very fast lock time which helps some shooting off hand. My best off hand rifle peep sighted is my 39A with a very light trigger but levers have very slow lock time compared to a good bolt action so maybe I should practice with one of my bolt rifles but I just like my Marlin to much to not use it. Can't believe I once sold that rifle for $300 and was able to buy it back. I also know that my best off hand bolt rifle is my CZ Trainer or my FS with the tangent sights. I am sorry I strayed off topic more than just a little.

[North Country Gal]

PT, don't be in too much of a hurry to draw conclusions from such a target as far as how it translates to hunting, especially hunting small game like rabbits. Target shooting is an excellent practice for hunting, but it's still no substitute for the actual thing.

That said, my suggestion would be to reduce the target size to rabbit size, then find the distance that gives you the confidence to make a hit. That will be your effective range out in the field. The aim small, miss small principle at work, here. I think you'll be surprised at how well you will do with the smaller target. An even better way to practice for hunting or field shooting is with a small metal gong, say a 3" or so. Hits are what count for field shooting, not group size. Besides, shooting steel is a whole lot more fun than punching paper.

Mostly, though, get out with that revolver and start hunting rabbits. Remember, with that big 45, a hit anywhere on a rabbit is likely to anchor it. In time, your shooting will get better and allow you to be selective for the sake of saving meat. Then, too, it's a whole lot more than just bagging rabbits, anyway. Hunting with a revolver is very much like hunting with a bow. It forces you to develop your hunting skill. In the end, that's worth MUCH more than a rabbit stew, now and then.

[RanchRoper]

Yup I do like that target full of big holes. Good job. I also love BH ammo but it is tough to find up here.

[PT7]

Your helpful answer explained what I was looking for, NCG. Ah, yes. So there IS A TRANSLATION from target shooting at the range to the real hunting in the woods; in the field hits versus group size. Been trying to figure that out for a long time, just like a missing puzzle piece.

Thanks also for the suggestions on how to continue shooting, but especially to go hunting. There is one thing I learned last year when I took an MDC training class on wabbit hunting that I'd like to ask about. They instructed us that it is best to wait for a significant period of very cold weather before hunting wabbits. That is to lessen the chances of harvesting a wabbit with tularemia. As you've hunted wabbits, is that a good practice, and have you followed that? The instructor explained that "in rabbits, the symptoms include a white- or yellow-spotted liver and the liver and/or spleen may be a dark bluish-red and appear very swollen." He also showed us photos in the training class, too. Finally, as everyone knows, he mentioned how very important proper cooking of the meat is. So I was looking toward January hunting as long as there is a strong cold spell.

It will be really cool if I can harvest a wabbit or two with this .45 revolver. I'd enjoy having to search for some good wabbit recipes!

PT, don't be in too much of a hurry to draw conclusions from such a target as far as how it translates to hunting, especially hunting small game like rabbits. Target shooting is an excellent practice for hunting, but it's still no substitute for the actual thing.

That said, my suggestion would be to reduce the target size to rabbit size, then find the distance that gives you the confidence to make a hit. That will be your effective range out in the field. The aim small, miss small principle at work, here. I think you'll be surprised at how well you will do with the smaller target. An even better way to practice for hunting or field shooting is with a small metal gong, say a 3" or so. Hits are what count for field shooting, not group size. Besides, shooting steel is a whole lot more fun than punching paper.

Mostly, though, get out with that revolver and start hunting rabbits. Remember, with that big 45, a hit anywhere on a rabbit is likely to anchor it. In time, your shooting will get better and allow you to be selective for the sake of saving meat. Then, too, it's a whole lot more than just bagging rabbits, anyway. Hunting with a revolver is very much like hunting with a bow. It forces you to develop your hunting skill. In the end, that's worth MUCH more than a rabbit stew, now and then.

[North Country Gal]

Yes, I always waited for a cold spell or at least a few nights below freezing before I got serious about rabbit hunting. Tularemia is less of an issue in squirrels, so I started hunting them earlier in the fall (and, yes, I used a 22 handgun for a great deal my squirrel hunting). Keep in mind, though, that even if you take home an infected rabbit, proper cleaning, followed by proper cooking, will keep you from getting infected.

Here's a good discussion on how to take precautions for cleaning and proper cooking that will work for a lot of game.
https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2013/ ... tularemia/

[Mistered]

This may sound silly but it's an 'old' trick to simulate hunting conditions - go find a couple cheap , somewhat lifelike, toy stuffed rabbits, take them into your hunting environment, place them in the brush and shoot at them at what you might think your actual distances might be. They will get shot up quickly but should last long enough to give you some 'realistic' practice.