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I was finally able to get some time shooting in preparation for this fall's hunting season. The hood of my Jeep was the rest. 500 rounds of Wolf steel case had just showed up on my doorstep, so I had something to get things "on paper".
First up was an 18" BCA side charging upper. This same upper took my spike deer last fall. So I know that it likes the 123 grain Hornady ELD and it doesn't like the Wolf ammo at all. Since then I changed out the hand guard and barrel nut (aluminum gets really cold), so it needs to be re-checked. Five rounds down the pipe and I had about a 4 inch group at 100 yards. That's good enough to move on to the better ammo, which I will do at a later date. It didn't preform any better last year either when using Wolf so I'm not too worried about it.
Next was a pistol build from the 12 inch group buy Faxon barrel. I've function tested it before and shot at some old fruit and sticks, but have never gotten serious about sighting it in. This has open sights. Over the hood of my Jeep with Wolf ammo, it is "minute of deer" Probably a 5 or 6 inch group. Not real good, but again this is Wolf ammo, over the hood a Jeep and open sights. I'm undecided about this guy. I really didn't want to put a scope on it since it bounces around in my Jeep most of the time. I'm going to have to spend some more time with it. I was hoping to have something to keep with me in the Jeep for coyotes, skunks and marmots.
Finally was the Howa with a 20 inch lightweight barrel. This was the first time that I have ever shot it. It performed great. With Wolf ammo, it was just over a one inch group at 100 yards. That is if you don't count the flyers. The concerning thing was the number of flyers. At least one quarter of the rounds fired were out in the 3 to 5 inch circle, and they were all over the place. Some were high, some were to the left, others to the right. The rest were all grouped well together right where I wanted them. Really weird. I had half a box of Hornady 123 grain ELD left over from last fall, so I gave that a try in the Howa. No more flyers. An easy 1 inch group off the hood of my Jeep at 100 yards. I dialed the scope so that they were about 2 inches high at 100 yards.
There was a 10 inch gong hanging from a tree branch. My range finder said that it was 170 yards away from an old fence post. So I rested the Howa on the fence post and tried my hand at it with Wolf ammo. Even though the plate was spinning and swinging after the first shot, I was still able to smack it every time.
I'll get some more boxes of Hornady just to practice with in the Howa and to get the 18" BCA sighted in better. While the Wolf ammo is by no means the best, at least I know that I can take a deer with it at 100 yards in any of my Grendels.
The Howa is quickly becoming my new favorite hunting rifle. It's small, lightweight, has mild recoil, is magazine fed and is accurate. The action is smooth and the trigger pull is nice as well. It will be fun to see what it can do this fall.
First up was an 18" BCA side charging upper. This same upper took my spike deer last fall. So I know that it likes the 123 grain Hornady ELD and it doesn't like the Wolf ammo at all. Since then I changed out the hand guard and barrel nut (aluminum gets really cold), so it needs to be re-checked. Five rounds down the pipe and I had about a 4 inch group at 100 yards. That's good enough to move on to the better ammo, which I will do at a later date. It didn't preform any better last year either when using Wolf so I'm not too worried about it.
Next was a pistol build from the 12 inch group buy Faxon barrel. I've function tested it before and shot at some old fruit and sticks, but have never gotten serious about sighting it in. This has open sights. Over the hood of my Jeep with Wolf ammo, it is "minute of deer" Probably a 5 or 6 inch group. Not real good, but again this is Wolf ammo, over the hood a Jeep and open sights. I'm undecided about this guy. I really didn't want to put a scope on it since it bounces around in my Jeep most of the time. I'm going to have to spend some more time with it. I was hoping to have something to keep with me in the Jeep for coyotes, skunks and marmots.
Finally was the Howa with a 20 inch lightweight barrel. This was the first time that I have ever shot it. It performed great. With Wolf ammo, it was just over a one inch group at 100 yards. That is if you don't count the flyers. The concerning thing was the number of flyers. At least one quarter of the rounds fired were out in the 3 to 5 inch circle, and they were all over the place. Some were high, some were to the left, others to the right. The rest were all grouped well together right where I wanted them. Really weird. I had half a box of Hornady 123 grain ELD left over from last fall, so I gave that a try in the Howa. No more flyers. An easy 1 inch group off the hood of my Jeep at 100 yards. I dialed the scope so that they were about 2 inches high at 100 yards.
There was a 10 inch gong hanging from a tree branch. My range finder said that it was 170 yards away from an old fence post. So I rested the Howa on the fence post and tried my hand at it with Wolf ammo. Even though the plate was spinning and swinging after the first shot, I was still able to smack it every time.
I'll get some more boxes of Hornady just to practice with in the Howa and to get the 18" BCA sighted in better. While the Wolf ammo is by no means the best, at least I know that I can take a deer with it at 100 yards in any of my Grendels.
The Howa is quickly becoming my new favorite hunting rifle. It's small, lightweight, has mild recoil, is magazine fed and is accurate. The action is smooth and the trigger pull is nice as well. It will be fun to see what it can do this fall.
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