OK I'm Convinced! (range report)

[digs68]

I finally got the .308 out for some shooting Sunday since I got it back from the H&R repair facility. If you all remember, it was misfiring often, and wouldn't hold a group the size of a paper plate.
I put the scope back on it and headed to my brother's where he had set-up his poortable bench and a 100 yd target. I loaded her up and said a small prayer to myself.
To my disbelief, the first 3 rounds made a nice tight group (less than one inch), but was a few inches high and right. I was ready to do a lot of dialing just to get it on paper.
I made the adjustments, and fired two more 3-shot groups. The first shot of each group hit low (in the red), but the rest settled-in right about where I thought they should. I wanted it about 2 inches high at 100yd. It's still a bit right, and I did have those 2 that hit low, but otherwise the rest of the rounds all sat in a 1" group at 100. Also, I had the forearm resting on the bag, which is how I wanted to shoot it, so I wouldn't have to worry about the groups changing in a "real hunting" situation.
Considering that I just couldn't seem to get comfortable on the bench, and my croshairs weren't rock solid (they weren't moving much, but enough), I was pretty happy with the results!

The gun never missed a lick, firing every shot. Even with light touches of the trigger (which felt great!)! The "new and improved" transfer bar kit, and whatever else they did (all at no charge to me) really made a huge difference! My brother even fired a few shots, with similar results. He was impressed with the gun & talked about getting one himself.
I'm planning on firing a few more rounds next weekend to fine tune it a bit more. I want to move it a bit more to the left, but I'll keep the height. Also, I want to try that "de-resonator" just to see what happens. I'm fairly confident I can get better grouping than I did today (which I was happy enough with) with or without the deresonator.
I'll have to admit, I love shooting this gun!!  I'm very confident that I can take it on this November's deer hunt and handle anything to 200 yds plus without too much worry.
I would also highly recommend sending yours in for the trans-bar upgrade kit if you are having misfire issues. It's well worth it, and it's free!
I have a strong feeling I'll be buying more of these rifles in the future. Really glad I gave her a second chance, and glad I found this site. Will also have to give a shout-out to the H&R repair facility for being friendly, thorough, and very quick on turn-around.
Thank you everyone!! More reports to follow!
Chris

[Spanky]

I don't see the 1" group you're talking about but it's definitely minute of deer.



Spanky

[zoner]

looks like you're doin pretty good to me. I'm wondering about the "transfer bar update kit" you mentioned. Did H+R just replace your transfer bar assembly with factory parts or have they come up with some kind of improvement to the factory ignition system?

[digs68]

OK first off,
Spanky, the rings on this target are exactly one inch apart. The bullseye is 2" with one inch to any edge of the red from the center "X". I fired two 3-shot groups (aiming at the center of the red bullseye) on this target from not the most stable rest I've ever shot from. I consider shots #1 & 4 to be flinch shots. 2 and 3 are slightly less than one inch apart (I measured it). 5 and 6 are obviously less than one inch since they are between two of the one inch lines (closer to 3/4 of an inch). Since I dismissed 1 and 4 as flinch, that leaves two seperate groups coming in less than a group. I'm very confident that, with a better rest, I could toss 'em in all day at an inch or less. At any rate, I agree that I'm very confident that I can take a deer with it as you said. I'm just really happy with the results.
Next,
Zoner, I'm not exactly sure what they did, but they just told me it was an upgrade to remedy the misfire issue. Whatever it was, they did it very quickly and with great results. My firing pin dents are closer to center now too.
Before the upgrade, when I could get the gun to go off, I was tossing bullets everywhere, which I attributed to inconsistent primer ignition. The results after are remarkable to me!
I'm curious to see if the limbsaver will tighten it up at all. I would be clicking my heels if I can pull off half-inch or less groups at 100 yds. If I do, you folks will know.