Off-hand, golf ball, iron sights at 25 yards - Can you hit it?

[aarondhgraham]

I was making my rounds of pawn shops today,,,
I overheard a conversation about hunting squirrels with a .22 rifle.

The man was saying that he hunts with open sights,,,
And regularly takes them at 50 yards or more.

I never challenge someone when they say stuff like this,,,
If I say anything at all I say; "I don't think you know what 50 yards is".

Anyways, after he left I got into a conversation with two other gentlemen,,,
They were both around my age (I'm 72) and hunted as kids,,,
None of us had a fancy rifle and none were scoped.

Heck, my rifle at the time was a single-shot Springfield,,,
It probably cost less than ten bucks brand new.

We sort of agreed that 25 yards was the average distance,,,
Where we could be confident of making the shot.

I did manage to take a few squirrels every now and then,,,
I'll certain that most were even closer than 25 yards.

Anyways that got me to thinking about my shooting habits, fiery-arms, and skill level,,,
Now that I'm all old and decrepit.

I'm somewhat OCD in my shooting habits,,,
For the past couple of years since I've been retired,,,
I've stuck to a routine of choosing my rifles for a specific purpose.

1) I have a CZ-457 At One with a 4-16 x 44 scope for 200 yard long distance shooting off of a bench using bags.
2) I have a CZ-512 Rifle with a 4-12 scope for silhouette out to 100 yards prone with a good bi-pod.
3) I have a CZ-512 Carbine with a red dot for Faux Steel Challenge and 50 yard plinking.

Now I'm home with a few (several?) adult beverages under my belt,,,
And I got to thinking about my squirrel hunting days,,,
My Pop always told me to go for head shots,,,
I wasn't always successful but I tried.

So now that I got to musing on the subject,,,
If hitting a squirrel head were the benchmark for accuracy,,,
It then follows that a measure of a shooters accuracy could be like this.

With whatever rifle/aiming device you want to use,,,
How far away can you hit a squirrel head,,,
Or in lieu of a squirrel, a golf ball?

I have a Mauser es340b with iron sights,,,
I think it would be an ideal rifle for shooting off-hand,,,
The targets would be golf balls (or eggs) at 25 yards distance.

So I think I'll make me a little stand to hold ten golf balls,,,
And use it as the 4th rifle, aiming device, shooting stance, and distance.

4) I have a Mauser es340b rifle with iron sights for off-hand shooting of golf balls at 25 yards.

I propose that my personal benchmark for accuracy could be,,,
Using any rifle, aiming device, and shooting stance,,,
How far away can you hit a golf ball?

Like I said,,,
I'm just musing.

Aarond

.

 

[Catt57]

I was making my rounds of pawn shops today,,,
I overheard a conversation about hunting squirrels with a .22 rifle.

The man was saying that he hunts with open sights,,,
And regularly takes them at 50 yards or more.

I never challenge someone when they say stuff like this,,,
If I say anything at all I say; "I don't think you know what 50 yards is".

Anyways, after he left I got into a conversation with two other gentlemen,,,
They were both around my age (I'm 72) and hunted as kids,,,
None of us had a fancy rifle and none were scoped.

Heck, my rifle at the time was a single-shot Springfield,,,
It probably cost less than ten bucks brand new.

But, I did manage to take a few squirrels every now and then,,,
I'll bet not many were at a distance more than 25 yards.

Anyways that got me to thinking about my shooting habits, fiery-arms, and skill level,,,
Now that I'm all old and decrepit.

I'm somewhat OCD in my shooting habits,,,
For the past couple of years since I've been retired,,,
I've stuck to a routine of choosing my rifles for a specific purpose.

1) I have a CZ-457 At One with a 4-16 x 44 scope for 200 yard long distance shooting off of a bench using bags.
2) I have a CZ-512 Rifle with a 4-12 scope for silhouette out to 100 yards prone with a good bi-pod.
3) I have a CZ-512 Carbine with a red dot for Faux Steel Challenge and 50 yard plinking.

Now I'm home with a few (several?) adult beverages under my belt,,,
And I got to thinking about my squirrel hunting days,,,
My Pop always told me to go for head shots,,,
I wasn't always successful but I tried.

So now that I got to musing on the subject,,,
If hitting a squirrel head were the benchmark for accuracy,,,
It then follows that a measure of a shooters accuracy could be like this.

With whatever rifle/aiming device you want to use,,,
How far away can you hit a squirrel head,,,
Or in lieu of a squirrel, a golf ball?

I have a Mauser es340b with iron sights,,,
I think it would be an ideal rifle for shooting off-hand,,,
The targets would be golf balls (or eggs) at 25 yards distance.

So I think I'll make me a little stand to hold ten golf balls,,,
And use it as the 4th rifle, aiming device, shooting stance, and distance.

4) I have a Mauser es340b rifle with iron sights for off-hand shooting of golf balls at 25 yards.

I propose that my personal benchmark for accuracy should be,,,
Using any rifle, aiming device, and shooting stance,,,
How far away can you hit a golf ball?

Like I said,,,
I'm just musing.

Aarond

.

That's not a bad test for accuracy.

A golf ball at 25yrds could easily translate into a ground hog or skunk at 75-100.

 

[Blackdog]

Hanging from a string
At 500 yards took 4 shots
260 rem, nosler rfd 140s under varget
As for 22s I've never tried. Now I am on a hunt for a bucket of used golf balls lol

 

[Johnny]

I used to sit on the port with a 18” 10-22 with peep sights and toss a golf ball about 10 yards and then shoots it till it rolled out so far that I could no longer hit them and walked out and get them and bring them back and start again. Usually four or five golf balls.

It was pretty easy because in the dirt/grass you have good feedback on where you are hitting.

Once they got to 60-70 yards it was luck to hit one. The fence was about 80 yards and I never had to go into the pasture to get them.

I would take a 50 box out there at least three or four night a weeks.

I was pretty salty out to 40 yards or so. But after that it was just sending bullets until you made hits.

 

[aarondhgraham]

It could just as easily be 1 1/2 inch stickers,,,
I mean the target size is what matters,,,
Not the golf ball itself.

But come the great upheaval,,,
If you can shoot a tree rat,,,
You could feed yourself.

Aarond

.

 

[Okie4570]

As a kid and teen that would be no problem. We wore Crossmans out yearly and .22LR ammo was plentiful and cost pennies. My eyes/need for readers desperately combo doesn't do iron sights on rifles very well lol. Pistol iron sights are a little more cooperative for me.

 

[Gunbuffer]

Heck I can pop a golf ball with my Glock at 25

 

[montesa]

Heck I can pop a golf ball with my Glock at 25

This. It's really nothing with a .22 rifle.

 

[tynyphil]

I take squirrels with my 177cal pellet gun. I don’t want to miss so I always take the lung shot but it usually hits exactly where I’m aiming. My usual range is 30-40 yards. My scope is zeroed @ 40yds

 

[2busy]

You'd have been reprimanded by my great grandparents for shooting a squirrel in the head. That was prime eating in dumplings.