336T and CRS

[petemi]

I'm old and I need professional help.  I've got a lovely, like new condition .30-30 336T that I figure I bought about 1961.  I killed my first rifle deer with a head shot at 167 paces and the second the same day with a boiler room shot at a known 225 yards.  I have absolutely no recollection of ever sighting this rifle in, or where I could have done it.  Were these factory sighted, or am I just sliding around on my marbles?

Pete

[Halwg]

With open sights?  How old were you? I could never see well enough even when I was 20 to kill a deer with open sights at 225 yards.

[Rangr44]

A rifle's sights used to be zeroed via boresighting - later, some factories  using a laser - at the factory, prior to boxing/shipping it to the warehouse.

Lately, however, the bean counters seem to have the line workers simply centering the sights - not particularly near zero if the front ramp's a tad "off "

.

[dpe.ahoy]

Why Pete, that's just being "one" with yer 336T.   Now tell Patty DP said to stop puttin' yer marbles on the floor.   DP

[wreckhog]

How would the factory know what load you were shooting and how far the shot was? I assume that if I had a 30-30 carbine  sighted dead on at 100 yards, a head shot at 167 is risky and boiler room shot at 225 is riskier. Now it it were sighted for 150 (unusual for iron sights) that would make the shots a lot easier.

[Skunk]

Lets just face it Pete. You were just a great shot back then, just as you are now.

[petemi]

I was 19 at the time and could count the flies on a deers butt at 100 yards.  I banded hawks for 15 years, and could age and sex most of them thru binoculars at a half mile.  That's relatively simple.  Plumage gives you the age, and females are a third lager than males. Those days are long gone......so are open sights   I was an excellent instinctive longbow shooter since I was a kid.  I killed my first running cottontail with a homemade bow at about 12 years old.  That gave me a big edge on being an instinctive rifleman.  I still do a lot of distance shooting with my Handis...scoped of course.  My 97 year old mom says "Getting old isn't for sissies."

Pete

[AtlLaw]

I was 19 ... could age and sex most of them thru binoculars at a half mile.

I could to!     without binocs!   I tell ya, one look and...    Oh... wait... you're talking about hawks...    nevermind... 

[Davemuzz]

Hey....come on. I'm 53 and here's a pic of my Marlin 1895XLR target at 200 yards....a 4 shot group....shooting from a bench.....Williams peep sight on the rear....factory front bead (hood removed)....Hornady's new gummy bullets driven at 1700fps.



The groups get a tad bigger at 300 yards.....but man, at least right now it ain't that bad. Just don't ask me to read anything without +1.5 cheaters. 

Dave

[petemi]

That's great shooting!!!  Like most of us over 50 you're getting farsighted.  Arms aren't long enough to hold a book, but you could read it at 200 yards

Pete

[Rangr44]

I can sex most cougars, just by looking at them acoss the dance floor - but I'd NEVER try to age them !   

      

.

[Davemuzz]

That's great shooting!!!  Like most of us over 50 you're getting farsighted.  Arms aren't long enough to hold a book, but you could read it at 200 yards

Pete

You've seen me reading the paper at the local coffee shop!

[wreckhog]

Hey....come on. I'm 53 and here's a pic of my Marlin 1895XLR target at 200 yards....a 4 shot group....shooting from a bench.....Williams peep sight on the rear....factory front bead (hood removed)....Hornady's new gummy bullets driven at 1700fps.



The groups get a tad bigger at 300 yards.....but man, at least right now it ain't that bad. Just don't ask me to read anything without +1.5 cheaters. 

Dave

What did your sight picture look like. Assume the front bead fully covered the bullseye.

[Davemuzz]

All of my open sight guns are adjusted to the bullseye at 6:00 o'clock. So, I "snug" the front bead just under the target (so I still see the bullseye....Grandpa always said to "keep your eye on the prize") and then I squeeze the trigger. Of course, if I jerk the trigger, the result will let me know.

Now...to tell you what my sight picture looked like? Well....it looked like that target at 200 yards. And when I shoot at it at 300 yards.....it's even smaller. I'm not trying to be a smart guy....but I'm not quite sure how to answer your question other than this.

I adjust my open sights this way because I don't like to cover up the target in a hunting situation. Should the target happen to turn sideways a bit, or step into brush.....if I have it covered with the front bead and I can't see what's going on, I'm either going to miss and miss the opportunity, or worse yet, make a bad shot and be in for a longer day than I'd like.

Dave

[petemi]

All of my open sight guns are adjusted to the bullseye at 6:00 o'clock. So, I "snug" the front bead just under the target (so I still see the bullseye....Grandpa always said to "keep your eye on the prize") and then I squeeze the trigger. Of course, if I jerk the trigger, the result will let me know.

Now...to tell you what my sight picture looked like? Well....it looked like that target at 200 yards. And when I shoot at it at 300 yards.....it's even smaller. I'm not trying to be a smart guy....but I'm not quite sure how to answer your question other than this.

I adjust my open sights this way because I don't like to cover up the target in a hunting situation. Should the target happen to turn sideways a bit, or step into brush.....if I have it covered with the front bead and I can't see what's going on, I'm either going to miss and miss the opportunity, or worse yet, make a bad shot and be in for a longer day than I'd like.

Dave

I greatly respect and admire your ethics.

Pete

[Davemuzz]

I greatly respect and admire your ethics.

Pete

Thanks Pete. Something I'll give credit to my Grandfather and Grandmother (She hunted too).  It's tough for me to chases 'em over hill 'n dale now. But when I was younger....when you chase 'em over hill 'n dale because you put a bad shot on 'em, and you finally recover 'em, you realize that what Grandpa said about making a good shot hits home. Draggin 'em back over hill 'n dale isn't high on the list of fun stuff to do.

But again, I thank you for your comments...and I defer them to my Grandparents.

Dave

[petemi]

I'm 68, I gave up on chasing em over hill n dale quite a while back.  All I want is one well placed shot......if I'm not sure of that, they walk.  I like dumping them where I can drive right to them, and I want them to stay put.  That's the main reason I love my Handis.  They make me a better shooter and hunter.

I just scoped the 336T, and bore sighted it.  First shot was on paper.  Now, I want to tune it it with .30-30 Hornady LEs.  Perhaps tomorrow if the wind quits.  I'm having great results with the LEs in Handi Rifles in .45-70 and the .445 Super Mag with the .44 Mag LEs.  I havent tried the .357s in my Mag or Max as yet.

Pete