getting ready with my new gun

[Runs With Fire]

Howdy folks,
I bought myself a Ruger American in .308 for Christmas. Fixed it with a Vortex Viper hs 4-16. Never shot much of a bolt action before, exept my mosins but they don't exactly compare. I'll be taking it out to the national forrest in a week or two to try out my shooting up to 200 yards. I shot a couple boxes at 50 and 100 yards. Currently, I'm grouping about 6moa. I'm still working on getting rid of a bad case of "Mosin flinch". I have been working on dry firing and cycling the bolt to loosen the gun and loosen my nerves. And besides, there's not much better to do when my wife pits on Les Miserales than to sit on the bed drinking a coke and cycling a gun. I can't wait to go shooting again and work on consistent smoothness.

[jugornot]

Try saying bang before firing while lined up on target. Remember breath control. Try picking up a 22lr bolt gun for practice.

[jmr40]

6 MOA! Are you using a rest or bench? I cannot imagine a rifle that bad. In order to be sure of the rifles zerod that is pretty essential. Afterward shooting offhand is just fine. And 6 MOA, while not great, could be understood offhand.

With good ammo and a decent scope it is pretty rare for the rifle to shoot worse than about 1.5 MOA and quite often much better.

Either way dry fire practice is your friend. LOTS of dry fire practice. If you're developing a flinch then go back to a 22 until you get over it. The Rugers are nice rifles and normally very accurate. And while 308 isn't known as a hard kicker, the Rugers are pretty light so it might be more than you're accustomed to.

[Runs With Fire]

Originally Posted by jugornot

Try saying bang before firing while lined up on target. Remember breath control. Try picking up a 22lr bolt gun for practice.

I want to pick up another American in .22 mag or .223

[Runs With Fire]

Originally Posted by jmr40

6 MOA! Are you using a rest or bench? I cannot imagine a rifle that bad. In order to be sure of the rifles zerod that is pretty essential. Afterward shooting offhand is just fine. And 6 MOA, while not great, could be understood offhand.

With good ammo and a decent scope it is pretty rare for the rifle to shoot worse than about 1.5 MOA and quite often much better.

Either way dry fire practice is your friend. LOTS of dry fire practice. If you're developing a flinch then go back to a 22 until you get over it. The Rugers are nice rifles and normally very accurate. And while 308 isn't known as a hard kicker, the Rugers are pretty light so it might be more than you're accustomed to.

No, I don't have a bench. I often improvise. I usually shoot a few boxes through my 10/22 when go to the range. I vever really flinch with it. Until recently, I've only really fired my mosin nagant and JC Higgins 12 gauge pump. Between my flinch and my nerves ( I tremor at times [tense minute shaking]). I am focusing on staying calm and loose, and relaxing as many muscles as I can while I shoot. I did find that after quitting smoking the nervousness has diminished greatly. I also realized that I drink too much coffee, like way too much. Skipping coffee before shooting helps my nerves. The last time I went shooting with my American, I fired twenty rounds at 100 yards and had about a six inch group , figure that's about 6moa. We all start somewhere. Like a friend in martial arts told me, " the only difference between a white belt and a black belt is that a black belt is a white belt that never quit". Simply stated, I'm working on it.

[jugornot]

Have you tried prone position? Supposedly the most stable non-rest position. An old piece of something to keep out of the dirt and you are set.

[Runs With Fire]

Originally Posted by jugornot

Have you tried prone position? Supposedly the most stable non-rest position. An old piece of something to keep out of the dirt and you are set.

I was waiting for the snow to melt. I always did quite well (I thought) with my 10/22 prone resting on a small log. Used to shoot the shapes of a deck of playing cards at 30-50 yards.

[std7mag]

Breath control.

Gently squeeze trigger with the pad of your index finger.

Concentrate on the target. I was always told that the shot should surprise you.

[Kvon2]

I would keep experimenting with different rifle rest ideas. Maybe a bipod or a shooting stick? I've been to a range where they had benches but no rests so I used my back pack over an ammo can and actually had really good results.

[Whistlebritches]

I have a RAR in 308.........should shoot MOA with quality ammo or reloads.I did put an Airtech Limbsaver recoil pad on mine.I hated the stock pad,it hung in my clothes and just felt squishy,but found the limbsaver to actually reduce recoil which I felt was more than manageable with the old recoil pad.Either way win win.

Things to remember........

Take a big full breath,acquire target,release about half the breath while gently squeezing the trigger and start thinking of something else while remaining on target(I personally use Jennifer Anniston),bang.You want to be surprised Everytime your gun goes bang.I was taught this method in the military by a man that forgot more about shooting than I will ever know.

[Runs With Fire]

I just finished reading The Shooters Bible Guide to Rifle Balistics by Wayne Van Zwoll. Alot of good stuff in there. I need to re read it and make some notes.

[Mobuck]

I'm going to say that if you have a bad flinch, shooting a light weight .308 hunting rifle isn't going to help you. Even though the.308 has manageable recoil, it's still noticeable and continuing to get smacked isn't going to fix your flinch.
Flinching is MENTAL so you have to mentally overcome the problem by shooting something that provides warm fuzzy mental images.

[Runs With Fire]

I'm going shooting next Saturday with my 10/22 and fire up a couple boxes. I'm have a clearing to a berm up to 100 yards. Might throw in a couple .308 at the end. The plan is to bag a whitetail with the .308 this year.

[T. O'Heir]

Suggest you deal with whatever is causing the nervousness first. Too much coffee and quitting smoking might be the culprit, but that shouldn't be enough to cause 6 MOA groups. Have you tried an assortment of bullet weights and brands to find what ammo your rifle shoots best? Really needs to be done on a known distance range with solid benches too.
"...resting on a small log..." No logs. Hard rests are no good for accurate shooting. Use a sand bag. Actual sand or cat litter or the like will do.

[Runs With Fire]

I'll try the sand bag.

[Picher]

You should pick up a PAST Recoil Shield to wear when shooting from a bench. It helps a lot as you lean into the gun. Some also use a bank bag loosely filled with sand and placed behind the butt when at the bench.

[Mobuck]

"You should pick up a PAST Recoil Shield to wear when shooting from a bench."

I own and use PAST pads in 3 levels of protection. Since I've developed shoulder problems, I use the PAST pads for most of my bench shooting of anything above 243.

[Don Fischer]

Make sand bags out of old pants legs. Lay them on the hood of the pickup r get a 6x6x12 wood block to set them on. If it's inyour budget, lookinto a mobile shooting bench. I made my own and it cost me about $65 if I remember right.