{"id":1955,"date":"2022-07-19T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T20:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2022-07-26T14:43:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T18:43:11","slug":"ready-for-fall-trust-me-its-not-too-early-by-craig-boddington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/ready-for-fall-trust-me-its-not-too-early-by-craig-boddington\/","title":{"rendered":"READY FOR FALL? Trust me, it\u2019s not too early! By Craig Boddington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For some of us, hunting season is right around the corner. Here on the California Central Coast, our archery deer season is already open, with rifle season starting the second Saturday in August. For most, hunting season is still months away, but it really doesn\u2019t matter. Time has a way of slipping past, so the dog days of summer offer a good time to get some practice in\u2014and make sure your equipment is up to snuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Flanked by Tony Lombardo and Clint Wiebe, John Stucker used Boddington\u2019s Winchester 88<\/a> in .308<\/a> to take this California hog. It worked perfectly, but a week later Murphy\u2019s Law applied and this rifle went to the gunsmith. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll start with the latter. The physical law that \u201ca body in motion tends to stay in motion\u201d was proposed by Sir Isaac Newton clear back in 1687. Sporting firearms are a bit like that. If they work, then with just a bit of maintenance they should continue to work\u2026for many years. However, anything made by man can fail, and all firearms have moving parts, subject to wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I agree with Newton, but accept Murphy\u2019s Law: \u201cAnything that can go wrong surely will.\u201d Also, Murphy\u2019s First Corollary: \u201c\u2026at the worst possible time.\u201d A firearm will probably keep functioning until it doesn\u2019t, absent warning signs. I\u2019ve had guns go down in the field, which is the worst possible time, but for me it usually happens on the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A nice California hog taken with 1950s Savage 99<\/a> in .300 Savage<\/a>. Boddington\u2019s hand is covering it, but at this moment the fore-end is held in place with duct tape. Weeks later, this rifle is still in the shop. Right now, parts\u2014especially for older guns\u2014can be hard to find.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Probably because I do more shooting on the range than afield. With every shot taken on the range, you are also function-checking. Funny, I haven\u2019t had a failure in years, but this summer began I\u2019ve taken three <\/em>rifles to our local gunsmith. All three happen to be lever-actions, but I think this is mostly coincidence; I have several lever-actions, and some are old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It started with my Savage<\/a> 99 in .300 Savage<\/a>, a 1950s rifle. At the range, I noticed the fore-end was rattling. I thought I got the screw tight, but I failed to remove the fore-end and inspect. Sure enough, a few days later I was scrambling up a slope after a once-hit hog when the fore-end came off in my hand. Got the pig and, for the moment, found yet another use for duct tape. Dumb. I knew there was a problem and I ignored it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Although he doesn\u2019t always use it, Boddington has been carrying the light Javelin bipod<\/a> the last couple of years. In Tajikistan in February \u201922 it was the salvation for a tough uphill shot at an ibex. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 I did some deer and hog hunting with my Mossberg 464<\/a> lever-action .30-30, but haven\u2019t used it since. I loaded up some California-legal flat-tipped Barnes bullets, so I took it to the range.  This one violated all the rules, because the rifle was essentially a body in motion: It functioned perfectly the last time I fired it, no reason to suspect otherwise. Big surprise: The extractor was broken, no duct-tape cure here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Boddington\u2019s 2019 Kansas buck was taken with his Mossberg .30-30<\/a>. It was working perfectly after that season. Taken to the range in the summer of \u201922, the extractor was broken. Parts give out on their own schedule, not yours.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Third one, just don\u2019t know. An old friend had a gorgeous reworked M88 Winchester .308<\/a>, a rifle I\u2019ve sought for a long time. I had just a few factory Barnes Vor-Tx<\/a>; it produced a one-inch group and came perfectly into zero. Buddy John Stucker came out to visit, so I handed it to him with my half-dozen remaining California-legal cartridges. First evening, he made a perfect head shot on a nice hog. Week later, I sat down to the bench, different load. Third shot I had sticky extraction, couldn\u2019t get the lever to open. The 88 is among few lever-actions ever made with forward-locking bolt, strong action for high-pressure cartridges. With much hand pressure, I got the action open, but then the lever wouldn\u2019t close. Too nice a gun to force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Prone with bipod is about as steady as it gets, but terrain and vegetation will often preclude its use. Good position to practice, but not good to get married to.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Straight to local gunsmith Jason Cardinale. In due time, maybe I\u2019ll know what happened. For sure, I\u2019ll start over with light handloads and work up. Jason now has three<\/em> of my rifles, and gunsmithing isn\u2019t an overnight fix like getting a tire repaired\u2026especially if parts are needed. It\u2019s not like I\u2019m disarmed, but this fall I hope to hunt with all three. Here\u2019s the point: Don\u2019t wait \u2018til the last minute. This weird rash of gun problems occurred with plenty of time to react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
On the range, an upended bin can replicate a boulder or log, using pack and jackets to cushion the rifle and adjust the height.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s start now. If you cleaned your rifle after last season, clean it again, get the gunk out of the bore. While you\u2019re at it, check all the screws (sort of like I should have been doing on that pesky fore-end screw). Freshly cleaned, your zero may be off and, if screws needed more tension, it probably will be. Taking nothing for granted, you\u2019re going to get good and steady on the bench and check zero first. While you\u2019re doing that, run some cartridges in and out of the magazine to check functioning. This process revealed the broken extractor on my .30-30. That rifle hasn\u2019t been fired for two years, so I will never know how, when, or why, but parts can fail\u2026preferably not at the worst possible time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Javelin bipod system uses a fixture that replaces the front sling swivel stud, using a strong magnet to attach the bipod when desired. Standard sling swivels can be used at the rear of the fixture.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s hope you don\u2019t encounter the same problems; your rifle is working perfectly, and zero is where you want it. Now\u2019s the time to get away from the bench and do some real practice. Wife Donna has a hunt coming up before I do, a tough mountain hunt. Her pet .270<\/a> hasn\u2019t been out of the safe for months. She can clean it, but I had other rifles to tend to, so I scrubbed her barrel, checked everything, and we took it to the range. Couple fouling shots, slight adjustment, left it 1.3 inches high at 100 yards with the load this rifle really likes: Hornady\u2019s Plain-Jane American Whitetail, 130-grain Interlock, clocking 3030 fps in her 22-inch barrel.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get lazy. It\u2019s simple and convenient to zero at 100 yards, less human error, half the back-and-forth to check targets. This time we wanted it just right, so I put up a new 200-yard frame. Off sandbags it was fine, just like the charts said. Donna has trained with a bipod, but doesn\u2019t like the extra weight, or the appendage on the rifle. Makes sense because her little MGA .270 weighs 5.7 pounds with VX3 3.5-10X scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Donna Boddington \u201cbuilding her house\u201d for a prone shot using both bipod and pack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, but summer is a good time to try new wrinkles. I feel pretty much the same about bipods. Very steady, but nothing works in every situation, and, weight aside, I don\u2019t like junk on the rifle. So, as I\u2019ve often written, my go-to is finding a way to rest over a pack. But, even at my age, I\u2019m willing to learn new tricks, and summer shooting, absent imminent pressure, is a good time to experiment. Lately, I\u2019ve been using the Javelin bipod system from Spartan, light, strong carbon fiber. Instead of attaching to the forward sling swivel stud (or a rail), the Javelin fixture replaces the forward stud. The bipod attaches instantly by a strong magnet; until needed it can go on your belt or in a pack pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only light, it\u2019s not even there until needed. I don\u2019t use it all the time, but I\u2019ve been carrying it. In Tajikistan earlier this year, it saved my bacon on a tough uphill shot at an ibex. I thought Donna might like it; if she didn\u2019t, no harm done: That\u2019s what summer shooting is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Boddington isn\u2019t OCD about gun cleaning, but if a firearm has been stored for some time it\u2019s good to start by getting any old solvent or oil out of the bore. Thereafter, Boddington likes to clean his barrels after about 20 shots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Donna is brilliant off sticks, steadier than me, and good off a pack, but she doesn\u2019t like the bench. Don\u2019t blame her; that light .270<\/a> bounces hard. She shoots well with a bipod, too, just hates to carry one. The light Spartan system intrigued her, so she started with it on the bench, sandbag under the butt. No benchrests in the field, but I was curious to see if she could hold her 200-yard zero with the bipod. Oh, yeah, she put the first three within an inch and a quarter, spot on, just favoring an inch to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to get serious\u2026and leave the bench behind. I put a tarp on the gravel, and she took a few shots prone, using the bipod and a pack. Then I upended a storage tub, replicating a boulder or log, augmented with pack or rolled-up jacket to get the height right. Groups are going to open up from such genuine field positions, but who cares? If you\u2019re really prepping for field shooting, \u201cminute of vital zone\u201d is what you care about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In between centerfire sessions, the Boddingtons \u201cwork out\u201d with .22s, always a painless to get good position training for field shooting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hunting season is not an exam you can cram for. Shooting often is to the good, but shooting a little bit now and again is better than overdoing it, especially with centerfire rifles. In between various positions, our drill is to use a .22<\/a>, off the same positions, or from sticks. With a .22<\/a>, just use a smaller target. On our range we\u2019ve got miniature metallic silhouettes, challenging at 25 yards. Recently, we added got a Birchwood Casey \u201ctarget tree\u201d with swinging gongs. Fun, no pain, invaluable practice. We\u2019re not ready for hunting season yet; we\u2019ll do this a few more times. Great way to pass a summer morning, before it gets too hot and the barrels heat up too fast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For some of us, hunting season is right around the corner. Here on the California Central Coast, our archery deer season is already open, with rifle season starting the second Saturday in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,101,21],"tags":[8,19,32,61,60,39],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1955"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1970,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955\/revisions\/1970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}