Related posts:

1. Holster for Sig 1911 Tac Ops
2. More thought on the Sig 516
3. New Gun! Sig P238

Did this:

At 50 yards. the upper hole is as 223, the 30-06 is the bigger more centered hole. The target was 2″ thick stainless steel.

The round was a Fusion 180 grain 30-06. I wanted to try 180 grain Hornady Superperformance but did not get a chance.

Related posts:

1. Remington ShurShot Stock: Part 1, Install and Feel
2. Rails for the Sig 516
3. ZMOG Blackhawk

Readers of this blog will know I am looking for an optic. I am currently debating between EOTech and Aimpoint. Being a Leupold fanboy (as they are the hometown hero here in Portland), I have also been considering the Prismatic. Although I would love a HAMR it seems to be 3x the sticker of the others I have been considering. The HAMR would look pretty sweet on top of my Sig 516…

Related posts:

1. Leupold VX-3 Unboxing and Mounting
2. Remington 700 + Leupold VX3 + 180grain 30-06 =
3. Business and Pleasure: Gun Jobs

Two shooters, two guns, two shots each, four strikes at 25 yards. Not bad for a gun that competes in a class where 10yards is impressive.

Related posts:

1. New Gun! Sig P238
2. Ruger 10/22 Transformation: Part 2, Barrel and Stock
3. Spammy Comments

Now the fun of looking for new holsters. Thinking about the Raven Mini-Phantom and a Galco pocket thing. Really wish Comptac made a mini-mtac.

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1. Gratuitous Sig Tacti-Cool Gun Porn
2. Portland Gun Show
3. Why I love the Interwebz.

You can’t have a good debate if people don’t understand what they are talking about. So instead of wasting your time talking about magazine capacities and police response times, welcome them into the fold of people who enjoy firearms.

Or framed another way, in the debate do you want to be seen and the shoot-anything-that-moves-get-off-my-lawn-anti-government-elitist/exclusionary-wakjob, or a warm and welcoming group of enthusiasts?

Example of how this works: My mom is a moderate on this issue. Before I got into guns she would probably vote on the left site of the issue (honestly thats’s where I was at as well). Sometime, after my born-again, conversion (which happened when a close friend came back from the Marines and took me shooting) I took her to the range. She shot my 1911 and XD9, mostly with her eyes closed as she pulled the trigger. Running low on both 9 and 45 I asked her what she wanted to shoot last. She smiled and pointed to the 1911.

I know she had a good time but the real gratification was hearing her tell me that she had shared her experience with the high schoolers she teaches. So when I facilitated a good experience with 1 person that experience was shared with 70+ impressionable others.

Related posts:

1. Range Report: Wife Shoots A .45 / I Come To 1911
2. Simple Secret to Doubling Your Bench
3. The Hunt For A Kimber Stainless II 1911

Compared to some of my other recent purchases, I have not researched this as much. I started casually looking around and then played with a bunch at Cabelas. Then when I found something I liked, my wife informed me that she would let me buy it, “for my birthday”. awwww…

At first I really liked the Redfield range finder. It is about half the length. Granted it more roundy, but it feels like holding a ball in your hand. However, the guy working behind the counter said that the Redfield does not work near as well as the Nikon. On paper they have the same range and the Redfield is cheaper. Not to diminish Redfield, which is owned and operated by Leupold, but the little reading I had done seemed to agree with the counter guy that the Nikon was better.

Cabelas says that the Redfield will work on reflective targets out to 550 and non-reflective targets out to around 300 yards. I have tested the Nikon. I can shoot trees out past 400 yards, I don’t think it gets much more non-reflective than an evergreen tree. Also I have done most of my testing in bright daylight, which the Nikon owners manual said was not optimal. I was able to take a the Nikon out to 646 yards on a reflective target. Take a look at the youtube, I recorded it.

In the youtube you will notice the cross hairs and then an X over those cross hairs. This is the continuous scan feature. This might be handy if you target was moving or in my case, if you are looking for something that will reflect the laser.

And Yes, it is a laser. I thought that was cool. Guess because its a laser you can’t point it an planes.

No if I were to do it again, I might take a longer look at the Redfield rangefinder. But I am very pleased with my Nikon Prostaff 550 Rangefinder. If you are feeling like spending more money they do make rangefinders that take angle into consideration, that way you calculate bullet drop as if you were shooting level.

Maybe someone at Redfield/Leupold can hook me up with a demo unit so I can actually compare them head to head. Come on guys I know you are just down the road.

Shot and edited on my iPhone 4.

Related posts:

1. Notes on Riflescopes
2. Leupold VX-3 Unboxing and Mounting
3. Remington 700

The Leupold VX-3 came very well protected from MidwayUSA

Shiny box. In my Opinion Leupold did a good job with the packaging.

Leupold VX-3 Box. Simple but you know you have got something good.

Now there is something I was not expecting. The Leupold VX-3 comes in some sort of sock.

With the sock removed, we can see the Leupold VX-3 and its 50mm lens in all its glory.

Sexy.

The Leupold VX-3 is so easy to look though I can point my iPhone camera at it and get a decent shot.

I opted for Leupold’s quick release mounts. They are not your standard weaver style quick releases.

And there you have it. My Leupold VS-3 mounted on a Remington 700 in 30-06. The bi-pod is not final, it just makes the Remington 700 easier to work on and take pictures of.

Kinda blurry but a picture of the Leupold Scope, Mounts and Remington 700 all assembled and ready for zeroing

Looks like I have some leveling to do. Or it could just be the rushed picture.

How can you not love this? OK maybe if you are an elk…

Related posts:

1. Leupold HAMR
2. ShurShot Stock Part 2: Firing
3. Notes on Riflescopes

I have been looking for the right scope to put on my newly acquired Remington 700. Over the course of much internet searching, talking to long time hunters and playing with countless scopes in the stores, I learned a few things. Because I am a sharing person here is some of my notes.

Its all about light:
Every hunter I talk to says its all about the light the scope lets in. The more light the better. The main variable here is the objective lens diameter. Followed by whatever coatings have been applied to the glass. When I make my initial list of possible scopes, most were 40mm lenses. After going and playing with many a scope is because abundantly clear that if I was going to invest in a nice scope the objective lens diameter should be the first features that I pay extra for. The 50mm lenses let in sooo much more light. The picture was sharper and it was just that much nicer to look through.

Magnification, not what I was expecting:
I generally expected, having poor eyesight, that the greater the magnification the more I would like the scope. But greater magnification has a side effect. The sight picture takes longer to acquire. With the 3-9ish scopes, when I held them up to my eye, I was instantly able to acquire the picture. The higher magnification scopes tool longer to and more fidgeting to work. I have to say, in this area the Redfield really shined. I was able to get a great sight picture very quickly.

Windage and Elevation:
I at first I wanted windage and elevation adjustments that did not require the removal of a cap. The ideal system, in my mind is Leupold’s CDS or Custom Dial System. Basically, you send them your ballistic data and they make you a dial with range marks. This works better than having finger adjustable knobs as you don’t have to do any calculations. Here is the thing. You can add CDS to any Leupold scope. So why not put your money into getting some really great optics and add the fancy stuff later?

My general requirements:
So after looking around a doing my research this is my list of requirements:

• 3-9ish power
• 50mm (although I could settle for 40mm)
• Highly fogproof
• Finger adjustable windage and elevation
• Great warranty
• Preferably make in the USA

The List:

• Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x50mm, Duplex: By far the best scope I looked though, CDS can be added. Around $549
• Redfield: Did not note the details, but thing thing felt good and it was the value deal. Looking at this scope in 50mm its hard to say exactly why I would spend the extra $300 to get a Leupold. Around $200.
• Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40mm, Duplex, CDS: Has the CDS but also the smaller lense. Around $499

Related posts:

1. Leupold VX-3 Unboxing and Mounting
2. Remington 700
3. Why? Because Why Not! (Shotgun Reddot)

I certainly did I spent the weekend with friends and family. It was also double XP weekend so I did a fair bit of terrorist killing in Modern Warfare 2.

Anyway, this weekend was also a success for my personal arsenal. I acquired a stainless steel Remington 700 in 30-06. This acquisition was prompted by an invitation to go elk hunting but it also expands my collection to include a real precision weapon (my 10/22 is great but its a .22).

Now I just need to find a scope. The current front runner is the Leupold VX-3 with custom dial system. But its still early. I have yet to really explore the other options (notably Nikon).

My wife snapped this photo last night.

This photo reinforces the need to upgrade the lighting in that room. So many projects so little time…

After the scope I will have to start figuring out how to adapt my hiking/backpacking/camping gear into hunting gear.

Related posts:

1. Notes on Riflescopes
2. Leupold VX-3 Unboxing and Mounting
3. Remington ShurShot Stock: Part 1, Install and Feel