OK, so my first, ever, official 50 yard targets. I've shot close to 50 before, but space limitations keep me from much of the longer range shooting.
The local public range here is Lee Kay in Salt Lake. It was BUSY last Saturday at 9:00 AM. I've shot the 25 yard lanes before, but yesterday, decided to stretch to 50 and 75 yards. And yes, the staff were a bit puzzled about my weapon.
It's a Benjamin Marauder .22, Gen 2. Scope is a BSA 4-14x44 from Midway USA. They don't make it anymore, but love the scope. So far, I've been extremely happy with the gun / scope combo.
Now for the Good, Bad and really UGLY!
First group after a sighter target:
The target is the downloaded version of the AOA 75 yard target, no modifications (My first official 50 yard shoot, EVER!):
Crosman Premier Domes, 14.3 grain. 10 shot groups. If you exclude the 2 screw-ups (my fault, not flyers), it's 1.5 inches Center to Center. Next Card:
JSB Jumbo Exacts 18 grain. about 1.6 inches Center to Center. 10 shot groups.
Next, is a card at 50 yards, probably best of the day. JSB Exacts 18 Grain:
Switched to splatter style targets to see better. Still in the 1.5 inch range center to center. For first time out, I'm happy.
Now for the Really UGLY, 75 Yards. To be honest, I was getting tired, and having trouble with the holdover at 3.5 mil-dots hold. 50 yards was only 2, which for me was a lot easier.
These two targets represent 20 shots at the top target. Yes, I did hit the bull at the bottom target, only because I loused up the hold over for the top target! Missed completely on a couple shots. Yes, I was tired, and really starting to have trouble with focusing my eye through the scope.
Next time, I start at 75 and work down from there.
I also learned several things:
1. My normal shooting is around 25 yards. the amount of hold over for 75 yards gets excessive, so I need a different tactic. I think I'll take another scope, and mount it, set for 75 yards. It'll probably require shims so it'll be specifically setup for the 75 and 100 yard markers I'm working with.
2. I need to shoot more, with longer sessions. After a couple hours shooting, and pulling that damned Marauder bolt back, I was having a great deal of trouble holding it all steady. By the way, I do suffer from a mild case of Muscular Dystrophy (MD) so 150 pulls on a 10 pound bold do add up for me. Also, each pull requires moving your eyes from the scope, meaning lots of movement.
3, I need Elbow Pads or a blanket to make the benches a bit more comfortable. Elbows are raw today. One more bit of kit I'll need.
4. I love long range shooting. If I can go next week, I'll have another scope ready to go, and hopefully do better. The challenge of 75 yards trumps 25 yards any day.