Sighting in the Savage

About a week ago I acquired a new (to me) hunting rifle. It's a Savage Arms in .300 Win Mag.  I must say, I'm rather impressed with it so far.  I haven't owned a proper, PA approved hunting rifle in quite a few years, so needless to say I'm rather excited to be able to get back out this coming season and do some hunting.  My license will be purchased the day the new ones are available. 

While I live in a location which sadly does NOT allow me to step outside and site in a rifle, one of my coworkers does.  He has a 100 yard range across his driveway from his home.  He was kind enough to allow me to come over on Wednesday of last week, and again yesterday, to site in the new rifle.  He also thought it would be a good idea to take a video of one of my shots, after the initial changes to the scope were made.

It sounds like a solid group in the making.  Two rounds, approximately an inch apart, at 100 yards, with factory ammunition.  However, after those two rounds, my group suffered.  I think part of it was heat (it was so hot that it took 45 minutes for the barrel to cool after firing 5 rounds through it), part of it was user error (it has been about 15 years since I last fired a hunting rifle, I'm out of practice), and other variables.  After another group, we decided to end for the day, and resume another day.

On Sunday we finished sighting in the rifle.  The end result was a group of 5 rounds, between 1 and 2 inches above the center of target, with just slightly over a 1 inch grouping, at 100 yards.  I'm satisfied with that for the time being, and I'm confident it will carry strong accuracy out to 200 yards.  The next step will be deciding what and how I'm going to reload, and begin that process. 

One of the payments I gave my friend for allowing me to use his range for sighting in my rifle was throwing some rounds downrange with a slightly more fun to shoot rifle:

And of course, I can't break out that firearm without putting a few rounds through it myself.  This video has some NSFW language.  It's also important to note that the white pistol target in the foreground was not ever the target.  That would not stand up to abuse these guns would have given it.  Instead, the AR was used primarily for shooting old satellite dishes that he has had laying around the house for a while.  Who doesn't need a little practice for the coming zombie apocalypse?

UPDATE: Correct video put in this time.

Oh, also, please forgive the camera operator.  He was filming away while I was shooting, and didn't consider that rotating the Android amid filming that it would be a problem.  We're not video people, obviously.

For those of you who live in the same state I do, and were unaware, beginning this past April the Game Commission has created a requirement that one obtain a $30 permit for using the public ranges at the state game lands.  Previously they had been free, and the repairs, upgrades and the like subsidized by the cost of hunting licenses.  Now, if you have a hunting license, you can use these ranges at no additional cost.  If you do not have a license, you must purchase the permit for $30.  The new licenses for the 2011-12 season go on sale in July.  I'm not spending $30 to use one of those ranges for a few weeks, I'll wait till I have my license this year.

If any of you hunt, let me know in the comments what you hunt, what you use to hunt it, where you hunt it, etc.  Consider this open discussion about hunting!