Well, I finally got to take my .204 Handi to the range today for it's trial run, and what a day it was. When I got there and asked them to bore sight it for me, the rangemaster told me they didn't have the thing that fit into a 20 caliber barrel. So, figuring that my bore sighting at home (looking down the barrel and then through the scope) would suffice, I hit the range. The first 10 shots didn't even hit the paper! Needless to say, I was irked, so I took it to the 50 yard lanes and tried again. I lined up the barrel and the crosshairs a little more precisely this time, and took a shot. Not only did I hit paper, I hit the black, which was a start. From there, I was able to dial in my scope to get it dead on at 50 yards in 5 shots. My new Mueller scope was BEAUTIFUL to work with - went everywhere I wanted it to go when I made my adjustments. So, I stepped back over to the 100 yard lane, cleaned the barrel, and started shooting loads for groups. My first and lightest load produced a group of roughly 3 inches, which didn't impress me one bit. When my second load produced similar groups, but 5 inches lower and to the right, I wanted to puke. I thought for sure I got a dud. So, I went on to my next load, and the groups closed up to about an inch and a half, with one group hovering just a shade below an inch. This was better, but I was still not thrilled. Going into my last load, I thought an inch was as good as I was going to get. Then I shot a group that ended up being .652 of an inch, center to center! Not only that, but this was the hottest load I had! So, all of a sudden, I have a gun that groups just a hair above half an inch, with a the hottest load I have, and the barrel isn't even completely broken in yet! So, I guess things can only get better! Hopefully, I can test some out on some ground squirrels this weekend, if the weather cooperates. I will keep you posted!
Chris
