Zero'ing my new Browning X-Bolt .243

shoughton

Well-Known Member
I am new to the world of centrefire rifles and recently received .243 on my certificate. I shall be addressing the local fox population on my permissions (all cleared for .243) initially and then getting onto deer in due course (muntjac starting to appear :)). I am attending the DSC1 in December (by my own choice before the usual debate starts!) and looking forward to it.

I started setting up the rifle at the weekend and am certainly happy with how it operates, along with the S&B 8x56 scope. I also have an A-TEC CMM4 sound mod.

Whilst zeroing, I am shooting from prone using a (Harris 9-13 swivel) bipod at a paper target 100 yards away, firing safely into rising ground immediately behind - all blocked off and inaccessible even to trespassers. I have a question though that I would appreciate others view on: how firm should I be holding the rifle? Is a firm grip essential or should I seek to keep the touch as light as possible?

Steve
 
Different schools of thought on the grip. The most important thing is to be as consistent as you can be from shot to shot.

Myself, I find it helpful to pull the rifle back slightly into my shoulder with my forward hand (helps with recoil and holding the fore end firmly helps to see reaction to shot)
with the rear hand I endeavour to have a fairly light grip while i squeeze the trigger......
 
For me a good grip is essential, even on the forend on a bipod - not holding on for dear life but not loose either - it is very individual thing..... I would say that if your holding 1" ish groups prone @ 100 then you're doing fine - follow through is the most important thing as I switch between rifle and shotgun shooting often and the trigger discipline don't transfer!!

I would recommend you practice from other positions though - you appear to have the opportunity and ground so do so - sitting, standing, off hand and off of stick(s).

I shoot most foxes from the sitting position (it's surprisingly more stable than you think) - getting down low when you're quarry is already low to the ground will restrict your shot and maybe suffer deflection through vegetation - Charlie won't wait for anyone to put the range mat down!
 
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This about says it all;

Hold that Forend!

As Hereford says, practice different positions & note where they shoot to (it is unlikely to be exactly the same as the bipod zero).

I would suggest reading the above and getting comfortable with it. 243 doesn't have much recoil, but will pay dividends when you move up to 270, 30-06 etc on bigger deer. Likewise learn to use sticks and shooting off them from both standing and sitting. I like to use a good firm squeeze of both hands as it controls recoil and works from all positions, although appreciate it may not be optimal for pinpoint accuracy with very heavy weight target / sniping style rifles.

But in the real world we are shooting live animals at ranges of up to 200 yards or so, and time for the the shot is often just a few seconds. Also shooting from standing off sticks gives you much more downward angle of shot - essential in flattish parts of the country.
 
If your zeroing first, I would use a sand bag on the butt of the stock so your breathing does not effect your initial zeroing shot take two or three shots to make sure you are hitting paper, once you have established that your rifle is actually shooting roughly in the same area then you can start messing with your scope to get that bullet (preferably if stalking about an inch above the centre of your target) hitting where you need it.

Once you have your bullet hitting target without shooter error then remove the sand bag and start practising with just the bipod or off the bipod on sticks etc. but at least you know your rifle and scope are zero'd .

I hope this helps because previous posts I found a little hard to understand myself lol
 
In '99 I was instructed in shooting with a bipod for the first time. I am right handed. My left hand is used to hold the butt into my right shoulder and fine tune the elevation of the butt. I've attended a number of training courses since that have taught this approach. Bradley Bourner published an article on positions to be adopted and it's worthwhile tracking down his material.

The recommendation above to practice a variety of positions is a good one, however I find 95% of my shots are either taken prone with the bipod or off 4-sticks. There are odd times when the terrain or cover favours a sitting shot.

Regards

JCS
 
Tbh I have tried shooting off a bipod as described by jcs above and found it not for me.... I found the rifle bounced a bit and made seeing the reaction to shot difficult (on live targets).

each to their own though, give both methods a try and see which you prefer!
 
JCS is correct, the weak hand supports the butt, have a look at any tactical/varmint stock and they are usually designed with a hooked stock bottom to aid the hold. That said, what works for you......
 
In '99 I was instructed in shooting with a bipod for the first time. I am right handed. My left hand is used to hold the butt into my right shoulder and fine tune the elevation of the butt. I've attended a number of training courses since that have taught this approach. Bradley Bourner published an article on positions to be adopted and it's worthwhile tracking down his material.

The recommendation above to practice a variety of positions is a good one, however I find 95% of my shots are either taken prone with the bipod or off 4-sticks. There are odd times when the terrain or cover favours a sitting shot.

Regards

JCS

as in my photo.,


this was the schools way, I was informed how to use the left hand for supporting the stock for quick elevation adjustments and as in this photo for rapid fire it maintains a tight hold for machine gun controlled bursts of fire.

bob.
 
JCS is correct, the weak hand supports the butt, have a look at any tactical/varmint stock and they are usually designed with a hooked stock bottom to aid the hold. That said, what works for you......

Note 'tactical/varmint stock'. You've got a lightweight hunting rifle & I'd guess that you'll find the front end flipping & opening up groups without additional grip at the front, especially without the mod.

I wasted mountains of ammunition & became very dispirited after being told when I first started that I should use a bipod & nothing should touch the forend & my left hand should support the stock. This would give me 4" 'groups' if I was lucky. I ditched the bipod, used a sling & a pack & very firm grip & back to 1". I prefer to shoot without a mod so the grip is even more important but every rifle is different.

Do let us know what works for you.

PS Before you get too involved in experimenting with different grips & positions find ammunition that groups well in your rifle, especially if you're trying 100g bullets in the .243 as not all rifles like them. You want to be certain that erratic results aren't as a consequence of ammunition or you'll have too many variables to consider.

PPS Gently rising ground as a backstop can be dangerous, especially if the ground is dry or hard. I saw someone recently get a ricochet from a shot in a field with a 40 degree backstop.
 
Note 'tactical/varmint stock'. You've got a lightweight hunting rifle & I'd guess that you'll find the front end flipping & opening up groups without additional grip at the front, especially without the mod.

I wasted mountains of ammunition & became very dispirited after being told when I first started that I should use a bipod & nothing should touch the forend & my left hand should support the stock. This would give me 4" 'groups' if I was lucky. I ditched the bipod, used a sling & a pack & very firm grip & back to 1". I prefer to shoot without a mod so the grip is even more important but every rifle is different.

Do let us know what works for you.

PS Before you get too involved in experimenting with different grips & positions find ammunition that groups well in your rifle, especially if you're trying 100g bullets in the .243 as not all rifles like them. You want to be certain that erratic results aren't as a consequence of ammunition or you'll have too many variables to consider.

PPS Gently rising ground as a backstop can be dangerous, especially if the ground is dry or hard. I saw someone recently get a ricochet from a shot in a field with a 40 degree backstop.

Ditto this advice, my Heym has a light barrel and I can't get it to shoot well off a bipod either, so ditched it. If shooting prone - not that often I use either a pack or my binoculars (preferably in their case), since I usually have them to hand.
 
Thanks all.

A friend helped last night and let me use his indoor range inside an old chicken shed that is 100 yards long. Back stop was a huge block of hardwood, two large sheets of 12mm steel (doubled up) just in case the wood should fail and with 4 double height straw bales behind. Looked very safe!

He had a nice bench rest setup but I only used that for the rear rest, using the tripod to support the barrel. I adopted a firm grip of the rifle but not so tight that I was too tense. I also managed to avoid my tendency to pull instead of squeeze; in my zeroing last week I did manage a few flyers through doing that.

First three shoots formed a 1" group, 1/2" to the right and 2.5" high. Three clicks down sorted the elevation and then a click to the left brought me onto the centre line. I was amazed at how quick and easy it was using this set up. A further group of three all positioned themselves in group just over an inch, 1" high but dead on the centre line so I was happy.

I was surprised at how hot the sound modulator and barrel got and my friend was right in getting me to wait between shots in order to allow it all to cool. When it got very hot there was a noticeable heat shimmer when looking at the target through the scope - I thought that the scope had lost it's focus for a while.

Anyway - it was a very interesting session and I was happy with the results. Now I just need practice to keep that group size down. My mate demonstrated his ability to clover leaf his home loads - but then he's been doing this for nearly 50 years.

Sorry if this is all boring and all known stuff to you guys - but it is all a learning curve for me as I have only used shotgun and .22lr for the last 30 years.

Steve
 
Now I just need practice to keep that group size down. My mate demonstrated his ability to clover leaf his home loads - but then he's been doing this for nearly 50 years.

Steve
Bit of advice, don't get hung up on clover leaf groups, a deer doesn't have a vital organ that resembles a clover leaf.
I have shot beside a guy once and he could do that, but when it came to something with a pulse he screwed up, not once, but on 3 separate occasions, i don't shoot with him anymore.
Smack it through the lungs and it's job done.
I have the X-Bolt in 30-06, very accurate capable rifles, i had a glitch when i first bought it but it was down to the crap mounts i was sold.
Cheers
Richard
 
Hi all... Is this a brand new rifle. If so I am a big believer in running a new barrel in. Has anyone mentioned this to you i.e. the shop you got the rifle from.
I know you say knew in your headline but it might just be new to you, if you know what I mean.
Whats everybodys views on this process?
 
I take on board what your saying palmer_mike. Maybe it does,maybe it doesn't make a difference but it gives me confidence knowing I've done all I can to be as accurate as possible.

shoughton.....Did you do any cleaning between shots? What I do with a new rifle is for the first 10 shots clean between everyone (whilst zeroing ). They for the next 15 clean between every 3. (still shooting at paper and also out foxing at this point).
Then for the next 20 clean between every 5 shots (now confident with rifle)....
What I was told this does is finely hones the bore and smoothes out any little in-perfections there is in there......Factory rifles are mass produced and not individually hand made pieces craftsmanship...
 
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