Do you practice with your Milsurp.........

[RB Rooson]

I try to practice every week with my Milsurp rifles.  Usually about forty (40) rounds with either the K-31 or Mosin M44.  I like the Czech 46-grain practice round (cheap and fairly accurate up to 200 yards).

How often do you shoot?  What rifle(s)? and What is your practice regimen?

I usually split the session between pure accuracy at different distances (80, 100 and 120 yards) and speed/accuracy at 55 yards off-hand.

The Mosin-Nagant 91/30, I used almost exclusively as a bench-rest rifle....what's your protocol for shooting this rifle?

[Mikey]

RB:  Yep, I practice with my mil-surps.  But, no where near as often as I would like.  I would love to be able to get out every week but consider myself lucky to be able to get out once a month - just too dang much stuff to do.  

Anyhow, when I practice with them I usuall take either one of my Muaser 8s or one of my SMLE 303 Brits.  With those bolts I go through a drill that begins with a magazine fuul from the bench, maybe two, then the rest of a 40 or 50 round course of fire from the kneeling, standing or prone positions.  I can do very well from either of the last three, especially if I have a nice bright splash of yeller (shoot & see) at the 100 yd line (helps me line up my ole eyeballs and the sights, LOL).  Sometimes it mizzez some of the other guys when I actually outshoot their pricier or scoped rifles.  And, nobody disses either of those cartridges ( which I usually get with a lot of the M16 crowd).

If I take one of my AKs or SKSs, I will usually up the ante to a 100 rnd course of fire from all the aforementioned positions, and just have fun.  Actually, it is fun and dang good practice.  

There are a couple of guys who do the same on my ranges and on occassion we are all there together.  We have a ball.  But, there is one feller who just does not like to see us come along.  He is a local LEO and SWAT sniper with a rather expensive Remington 700 in 308 set up for sniper work.  It seems to bother him a great deal that old guys like us with open sights and old mil-surp bolts can shoot just as accurately and a lot faster than he can acquire his targets.  Accurately is defined as 2-3" at 100 yds with open sights for us and that is good enough to bounce the noggin at that distance.  He also doesn't like it much at all when we tell him that in an urban, or even field, situation we could locate him easily and eliminate the threat (if we felt he was a real one) and that seems to make him feel very uncomfortable.  Ah well.............. Mikey.

[1911crazy]

I would like to shoot at least three times a week like I did years ago just to keep the edge sharp.   I'm researching into joining a local fish & game club right now.   I like to shoot bigbore rifles at 100yds and the 44mag handgun too.  Somedays its a semi-auto shoot and others its a bolt action shoot its been about once a month.  I like to benchrest them first to make sure their on the money than its handheld to see if i'm ok.                                                                   BigBill

I like to bring an assortment of rifles to the range and with some I may shoot only 10rds while with others I may shoot a box or two of ammo.

[His lordship.]

I learned to shoot with black powder, so my rate of fire is not as heavy as some of the other shooters on this forum, about 35 rounds per rifle consumed is the average, in a 2-3 hour shooting period with each gun.  Or I mix a Mauser with one of my scoped sporter hunting guns on a session, nice variety.

I am careful to let the barrels cool.  I may shoot 5-10 rounds, stop and put the rifle on the rack to cool down, grab the other, etc.  My shooting is almost always done from the bench, I do occasionally shoot off hand standing at the 100 yard target, but this is done more with the Ak-47's that I have.

The nice thing about starting out in firearms on the the old military guns is that their heavier trigger is something that you get used to, I have used some techniques to adjust, like using the second joint on my trigger finger to put more pressure evenly on a fussy trigger.  But in general, my first joint works fine.

[Jack Crevalle]

I like shooting at clay birds with my milsurps at 100 yards. It's a lot more fun to see something go bust. I also like to do this with reduced loads.

[RB Rooson]

Jack,

Alot of times we will use the orange clays also (easier to see on some long-range shooting than using a spotting scope).

I like to shoot on metal targets, both for the effect of the "CLANGGG!!" and to see the hitting power (how big and deep is the pockmark).  It is surprising on the same caliber of ammunition, but different countrys of origin, how much this varies.

The K-31 ammo (GP11) is the most consistent and impressive.  The Mosin-Nagant (7.62 x 54R) is all over the place..........but very inexpensive to shoot!