SmallCaliberCentral

Rick, I'm wondering why, when I made clear that I was talking only about p-dogs, you would start telliing me I didn't know what I was talking about, and didn't know what I was missing. I lived in the NW for 3 years and did some small squirrel shooting. I just have no reason to go back there now, but...

Scorched earth is fine for the little rats, Rick, if that's what you're into, but I am shooting p-dogs. If I shoot too many of them in a town the ones that remain will relocate, perhaps to somewhere I cannot drive to, or perhaps not even shoot at all. There are not enough of them to provide me with ...

Correct, Varget, I can be off by eyeballing. But it is simple to verify by cranking up 30 moa and seeing if my POI moves right or left. If it moves left, I know m scope is twisting slightly right, and I fix it. But what I don't do any more is assume that the rifle-maker got the mounts (or rail, dove...

This conversation has gone incoherent. The levels we mount to prevent canting while shooting have absolutely NOTHING to do with how you mount the scope in the first place. Here is an absurd example but it proves a point -- imagine a rifle that has its receiver 1" to the left of where it should ...

A fine, fun day on the prairie. As always, I learned a lot about long-range shooting. This one was so close he did not get shot -- no challenge. I'm not there to just slaughter squirrels, I'm there to improve my long-range shooting.

Well, you got some advice. The video referenced looks sound but I'm not sure about the other. I can't figure out how you know the vertical crosshair is vertical without a level. I level the rifle (action) with a small magnetic level. Then I place another level on the scope elevation turret and move...

You don't need to "level" anything, you just need to make sure the vertical crosshair is pointed precisely at the center of your bore. I just eyeball it, but you do have to be careful, else your POI will drift right or left at long range.

My theory is that what "lifts" the rat, wherever it may be, is the hydrostatic pressure (from the internal explosion) bounching the squirrel off the ground. The closer they are to the ground when they are hit, the better the aerobatics. Today I tested the theory by shooting some freshly ki...

It is sweet until you put hundreds of rounds through it, then it starts to creep down to 8 oz, then 4 oz, then 1 oz. You better have your Loc-Tite handy. Great rifles, otherwise, and you can always shoot it without setting. But I learned the hard way about how they creep down.

I'm all for resurrecting "oldie but goodie" threads, and I'm impressed as heck at the 663-yard group, but I don't see 40-gr. bullets rolling up coyotes at that distance, at least not consistently.

Well, don't get carried away, Rick. If I could have bought a pre-'64 Model 70 with a heavy, 26" barrel in .204, I would have.

But, I couldn't, so I love my 700 VLS.

Well, I dunno. I got my first rifle nearly 60 years ago, and never had a Rem. 700 until yesterday, but shooting it today converted me to Remy-lover in an instant. VLS in .204. Wow.

204Luver: This subject has been discussed here ad nauseum, and the overall opinion seems to be in favor of SFP, but you have company in the love of FFP's just not in many numbers. Reason that's been stated the most? The thick reticle of the FFP blots out tiny targets at extended range. They are per...

It's a tough decision. There are many times I wish my reticle hashmarks were correct, but with my .204 they aren't unless I am on full (25x) power. I don't like to shoot rats that high so I usually shoot on 12.5x, which means my hashmark measurements cover exactly twice as much as they say. That is ...

Will do, Rick. I'm thinking all we will have to do is align the red lines on each compass so that axis is parallel to the barrel beside it, which is to say, scope. All we need to do is to get pretty close. Then I spot a rat that needs attention with my scope, see what my compass dial reads (say, 255...