Two humbling firearms experiances

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8MM Mauser

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Wow! So I had a humbling experience at the range this past Sunday. I was firing my Sporterized Mauser (in 8MM Mauser) at 100 yards and my Ruger MKII (in .22LR) at 10 yards. Now let me give some backstory: i am completing my college degree while working full time and supporting my wife and daughter on top of it all. Time and money are both rare commodities for me, with the ammo shortage and crazy prices, I literally haven't shot either of these guns all year. As of last November, I could easily put 5 shots in a 2-3 inch group at 100 yards with the Mauser standing. With the Ruger I would shoot about the same at 25 yards (it's a ten inch barrel) and about 1-2 inches at 10 yards.

Now, as you can see I'm nothing special in the accuracy department; however, today was a major disappointment. I have not shot either of these guns for almost six months and I was shooting like 4 inch groups with the Ruger at ten yards, which is usually about how well I shoot a Glock 19, which is a 9MM, a much larger caliber. With the Mauser I just barely managed to stay on the paper plate my shoot-n-c target was stickered to. Now I only had 12 rounds left for the rifle (i was basically emptying my stock of 8mm ammo,
time to reload) but only five were actually decent at all. The other seven shots were all on the periphery of the target or on the paper plate. The real kicker is that I was shooting the rifle from a kneeling position, not offhand :(


http://therepublicofbenjamin.blogspot.com/2013/07/humbling-day-at-range.html

So what humbling experiences have you had in the world of firearms? Maybe getting stomped in competition or falling short like I did here.

Feel free to give me shooting advice too! :P
 
I have many Milsup rifles and don't shoot them as often as I like.
What I notice is it takes about 10 rounds or so before I really start to group with them.
These rifles are all iron site type rifles.
IMHO its just a matter of not shooting them that often.
Same thing happens when I take out my 44mag with full on mag rounds.
1st 5 10 rounds are in a 5 - 6 inch group.
After that they are in a 2 - 3 group at 25 yards.

And just to add; Guns I shoot on a regular basis all group good right out of the case.
 
Yeah, I really think it's just been a matter of lack of practice. Most of my shooting this year has been skeet shooting with my shotgun or shooting the guns of friends who have "richer blood" than me. Just a week before taking my MKII out I was shooting a (friends) Glock 19 just as well. My friend has a Mosin that I shoot fairly well too, over open sights no less.

It just surprised me how much my (humble) skills degraded after a few months away from a certain gun.

Also, something I didn't mention in the story was that I was burning through the last few bullets of some truly crappy yugo ammo I purchased like three years ago. I have only ever used it when I run out of "good" ammo. That said, I'm thinking I will buy myself 100 rounds of the good stuff and work my proficiency with this rifle back up. I really do want to take it into the field this fall instead of something more "practical."

I just love old Mausers. If I had the money I would find myself a real K98 just for the :) and a yugo to beat up on.
 
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Handguns in general humble me. I can out shoot most ordinary guys with ordinary rifles. I'm no competitor but shooting against Joe DowntheStreet, I win more often than not. Handguns, man do I suck.

S-u-c-k.:D
 
That's interesting. Generally I am the opposite. I find I have a natural repoír with handguns that even with my favorite rifles I never quite have. Don't get me wrong, I love rifles, especially milsurp mausers and old winchesters; but something about handguns just feels more... Right to me. With an unfamiliar rifle I usually have to put a fair number of rounds down range before I really start appreciating it. Idk, I think te motions come more naturally with handguns for me. I remember the first time I shot a handgun (having shot rifles and shotguns before for years) it was an HK USP and I shot a pretty respectable group (don't remember the exact size) with the whole first mag, it was a 9MM. At first I thought I just loved the USP, but I soon found that what I loved was handguns... Revolvers, semis... Whatever. I just do relatively better with them than rifles.
 
They do take practice to stay sharp with. I have been layed up for 2 1/2 months and found what skills I had left me. Just took a vacation I quess.

For you to have been able to free stand and shoot 3" 100 yard groups with the 8mm puts you in good company with few riflemen. Try to shot the .22 more often as it will atleast keep your skills sharp . Centerfire rifles can eat into a monthly budget for fun quickly.
 
I totally suck with a rifle. Honestly, I can shoot the same distance with a revolver much, much better than I can shoot even a scoped rifle.

Oddly enough, I'm really good at point shooting with a 12 ga. But something about rifles just doesn't give me anything to brag about. 22 to 308, I suck.


Sgt Lumpy
 
They do take practice to stay sharp with. I have been layed up for 2 1/2 months and found what skills I had left me. Just took a vacation I quess.

For you to have been able to free stand and shoot 3" 100 yard groups with the 8mm puts you in good company with few riflemen. Try to shot the .22 more often as it will atleast keep your skills sharp . Centerfire rifles can eat into a monthly budget for fun quickly.
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Eh, you flatter me. One thing that helps me shoot well is my history in competitive powerlifting and my current exercise regimen. I in no way am bragging here, just to be clear, but I have very strong arms and that simple, physical fact makes it easier for me to shoot accurately and for longer periods of time than others. I have an easier time stabilizing the rifle than say, my dad; but a I grow older this advantage will fade.

The funny thing is that the groups I was shooting last year were hardly different offhand, kneeling or on a rest. I could usually bring them in too about 2 inches from a rest, and I suspect that's probably about as good as it will get with this gun, whose action, though apparently lightly used; is almost 80 years old (the barrel, stock and everything else are only a few years old.) Unfortunately too the "range" I was at was an informal one and lacks benches from which to function test the accuracy of my ammo.

One thing I didn't mention in what I wrote above was that the last time I went shooting was only a day after a pretty brutal workout in 90 degree heat. That probably didn't help too much. :0

Also, I really, really need to buy a .22 rifle. I've neglected to do so thus far in my firearms collection and it's a shame.

I see a Ruger 10/22 in my future, black synthetic to match my MKII. :)
 
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I totally suck with a rifle. Honestly, I can shoot the same distance with a revolver much, much better than I can shoot even a scoped rifle.

Oddly enough, I'm really good at point shooting with a 12 ga. But something about rifles just doesn't give me anything to brag about. 22 to 308, I suck.


Sgt Lumpy
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I am very much the same way; in longarms I prefer a shotgun for "practical" work, though I do get all-a-flutter when I shoot a good group with a rifle in a way that shooting a shotgun doesn't match. I think I like shotguns better for real work and Rifles better for "fun."

Over the last year or so I have become interested in picking up a .357 Magnum revolver and shooting at some longer ranges with it. I don't own any revolvers and have only ever shot a few that belonged to friends. I think shooting revolvers long range sounds pretty great to me! I bet I could be more consistent than with a rifle because I usually prefer to shoot handguns anyway.
 
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