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

[aarondhgraham]

I think that I overthink things quite often,,,
Perhaps I am doing this with my recreational shooting,,,
Having four different rifles for four different target types is a sign.

But what the heck,,,
It's all recreational for me,.

I'll never again be as good a shot as I was just 5-6 years ago,,,
So when I go to the range it's really not with improvement in mind,,,
It's more just me and some paper targets trying to enjoy myself while I still can.

About all this talk about eating brains reminded me of something.

My older sister and I were spending a week on my grandparents place,,,
Granny was first generation American from German parents,,,
They ate just about every part of an animal but the skin.

We sat down for dinner one evening and she served a stew-like dish,,,
The little clumps of meat were very sweet and delicious,,,
She told us it was calf brains.

My poor sister, who was a pampered baby boomer,,,
Didn't even make it out of her chair,,,
She puked on her dinner plate.

I at least made it to the bathroom.

Aarond

.

 

[ronny]

Now that’s funny!
People around the world do what they gotta do. A lot of what we eat is tied to the bad times, i. e., the Depression, a war or a famine. Once we learn something is tasty, we accept it no matter how “gross” it might otherwise seem.
For instance, I love Rocky Mountain Oysters.

 

[turkeyrun]

For the most part, MANY have no idea what 50 yards actually looks like and in comparison to a golf ball.

The typical squirrel shot is less than half that distance. Sitting 20 yards from a tree, squirrel 10 yards (30' up, more likely 20' or less) is way nowhere near 50 yard shot. Is 50 yards possible? Absolutely, mostly a matter of practice. There are some incredible shooters out there. They all practice a lot.

Can't do it, now. Out of practice. There was a time, my range time was: offhand at an 8" gong at 300 yards. I could consistently hit 10 of 10 with a 7 mag. I was shooting 80 rounds per month, on the range every week.
Made any supported shot at a deer, extremely easy.
Physically and financially unable to do now, but it was fun, 20-30 years ago

 

[2busy]

Most of the people around here don't know what 100 yards is. I've stepped it off, used range finders. Shot at ranges. People around here just guess and it's usually in the 50 yd range when they show you where it took place. Same at further distances. 200 yds is a lot farther than people t hink. They'll claim 200 when it's actually closer to 100.

 

[T. MIKE SMITH]

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

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In my younger days- 16-19- I went to the river almost every day and shot some- when I didn't have large cal ammo- I would take my Marlin 22 auto that I got from Otasco for about $30 in the late 60's. I would throw a 12 ga live round as far as I could chunk it where it would land on sand in the N Canadian- then shot it with that 22- I think I got where I might hit it about 25 times out of a box of 50 22 LR. Never did get on to go off though. You do that a lot and you can hit more, but 200-yard shots would take someone special.

 

[Arnie]

I've never tried anything close to that challenge -- I'll have to set something up. Thank you for the idea!

 

[ronny]

So, y’all think age might have something to do with it, huh? Does age change your eye sight? Does age make your rifle gain weight? I’ve still got that Model 67 and I swear it’s 8 lbs heavier. And what makes this old rifle wobble so much? It didn’t used to do that!
Oh, wait a minute! It wasn’t me that got old! It was that blasted rifle. I’m 85! It’s 89!
Well, I forgot! It’s a Model 67A. It was born in 1938, too!
Well, rats! We’re both old!

 

[DRC458]

I never ate squirrel brains, but my Dad and I used to have calf brains and eggs now and then. Dad would come across some calf brains at the grocery store and take them home. He'd call me and ask if I wanted some brains and eggs. I'd go over and him and I would split the brains and eggs. Mom would cook them, but she wouldn't eat them. Neither would my brother, so it was just me and Dad. Good old days.

 

[aarondhgraham]

"Most of the people around here don't know what 100 yards is."

I agree with you on that,,,
But to solve that problem I bought one of these.

It's a 300 foot tape measure from Lowe's for about 30 bucks,
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-300-ft-Long-Tape/4667543

On days when I'm feeling the need to try long distance,,,
I use it to mark out 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards,,,
Then I place paper silhouette targets there.

I use a CZ-457 At One with a 4-16x44 Vortex Diamondback,,,
naturally I'm shooting off of a bench and I use bags.

I do well at 50 yards, okay at 100 yards,,,
Not embarrassingly bad at 150, but dismal at 200.

First time I did this I took four large river rocks and painted the distances on them,,,
Then I used the 300 foot tape to place them at the exact distances,,,
Next time I went out there to shoot, they were gone.

Now I just leave it in the trunk of my car.

Aarond

.

 

[ronny]

"Most of the people around here don't know what 100 yards is."

I agree with you on that,,,
But to solve that problem I bought one of these.

View attachment 493880

It's a 300 foot tape measure from Lowe's for about 30 bucks,
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-300-ft-Long-Tape/4667543

On days when I'm feeling the need to try long distance,,,
I use it to mark out 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards,,,
Then I place paper silhouette targets there.

I use a CZ-457 At One with a 4-16x44 Vortex Diamondback,,,
naturally I'm shooting off of a bench and I use bags.

I do well at 50 yards, okay at 100 yards,,,
Not embarrassingly bad at 150, but dismal at 200.

First time I did this I took four large river rocks and painted the distances on them,,,
Then I used the 300 foot tape to place them at the exact distances,,,
Next time I went out there to shoot, they were gone.

Now I just leave it in the trunk of my car.

Aarond

.

You expected them to hang around waiting for you to shoot at them? Ha!