Dr T
Member
I was able to hunt this season for the first time since 2019 (long story involving serious injury and rehab). During that hiatus, I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things (one was the conversion of my old TC Contender to a rifle). However, I managed to overlook a bit of field craft in my musings.
My hunting rifle is a TC Icon in 6.5 CM, and my preferred hunting ammo is Hornady 129 Gr SST Superformance. This is suitably accurate combination on the bench, and the bullet performance in the field has been excellent. It is sighted in about 2 inches high at 100 yards
The Problem
The problem is that the bullets have hit about 4 inches high and bit left of where I intended for the last several deer I have killed with the rifle (all at 130 - 150 yards). The windage was fairly simple to sort out (part practice, part setup, and part adrenaline), but the elevation was a bit tougher. After we got the deer to smokehouse for processing, we had some extra time to sort out rifles. My brother needed to tune up a 6.5 CM and a 257 Roberts for his grandkids, and I needed to check the TC Contender 30-30 at 100 yards with factory ammo and then recheck the Icon.
The Contender is wearing a 30mm LPVO 1-4x24 mm with a German #4 Post with a red (or black) dot at the top. It wasn't a big problem to get it where I wanted it at 100 yards using circular target.
Then i picked up the Icon, and without much thought sent the first round down range. It was a bit 4 inches higher and a little to the left of where it should have been. But why since had recently checked the zero. Then I shot again with a similar result and think about it a couple of minutes..
The TC Icon is wearing a Bushnell Elite with a so-called BDC 600 recticle. This reticle has a very fine cross hair at the center and a series of dots starting at one for 200 yards going down the vertical. Almost all of my other rifles have a Duplex. When I sight in, I use a circular target and hold so that the horizontal cross hair is tangential to the bottom of the circle and the vertical cross hair bisects the circle. This hold will give me the smallest groups and will work even with lower power optics.
When working with the Contender, I was putting the cross hairs right in the center of the circular target. I find this works well for me with dots.
When I shot the Icon without thinking, my eye was drawn to the dot (for 200 yards) and I held on the center of the round target. The bullet went high as it had done on my game shots in 2019 and 2023. When I shot with my usual bench hold, the bullet went right to where it was supposed to (about 2" high at 100 yards).
I think this is what happened when I was hunting: When I was looking at the deer, there were standing is somewhat mottled lighting conditions. When I rechecked this after thinking it through, I found that the horizontal crosshair is far, far less pronounced than the dots. I think that in the heat of the moment, my eye was drawn to the 200 yard dot, to the place the center of the cross hairs. Thus, I ruined a bit of backstrap. On the plus side, the deer all went down quickly and didn't go anywhere (last three shot with this combo have gone a total of less than 10 yards).
A Solution
I could probably sort this out with a couple of hundred round, but I think it would be better to simple eliminate the source of my unwitting error. Fortunately I caught a Black Friday sale right after sorting this out and picked up a Bushnell Engage 3-9x40 with a Duplex reticle and illuminated dot. I have found the Engage scopes to be fairly well made and serviceable for my hunting conditions. Also, as I grow older, I think that the red dot will help me make sure I am aiming where I think I am aiming in the field with the early-morning and late-afternoon lighting.
I will be doing a bit of other scope swapping: the BDC will go to the 10/22 takedown, a Leo VAR X III 2.5-8 will go the 7-08, a 4-14x40 will go to a Ruger 77 Lightweight 223, a 10x Tactical to a TC Encore 6.5x55 barrel, and perhaps a few others. My somewhat lenghty recovery has given me a lot of time to plan and the projects are stacking up.
But what I really need to do I simply get out and practice. I think that walking down to check and change targets over somewhat uneven ground will help me get it some excercise my foreshortened leg (don't slip on ice) and help with my continuing rehab. And, it will probably help my shooting alot.
At least it makes a palatable New Year's Resolution.
My hunting rifle is a TC Icon in 6.5 CM, and my preferred hunting ammo is Hornady 129 Gr SST Superformance. This is suitably accurate combination on the bench, and the bullet performance in the field has been excellent. It is sighted in about 2 inches high at 100 yards
The Problem
The problem is that the bullets have hit about 4 inches high and bit left of where I intended for the last several deer I have killed with the rifle (all at 130 - 150 yards). The windage was fairly simple to sort out (part practice, part setup, and part adrenaline), but the elevation was a bit tougher. After we got the deer to smokehouse for processing, we had some extra time to sort out rifles. My brother needed to tune up a 6.5 CM and a 257 Roberts for his grandkids, and I needed to check the TC Contender 30-30 at 100 yards with factory ammo and then recheck the Icon.
The Contender is wearing a 30mm LPVO 1-4x24 mm with a German #4 Post with a red (or black) dot at the top. It wasn't a big problem to get it where I wanted it at 100 yards using circular target.
Then i picked up the Icon, and without much thought sent the first round down range. It was a bit 4 inches higher and a little to the left of where it should have been. But why since had recently checked the zero. Then I shot again with a similar result and think about it a couple of minutes..
The TC Icon is wearing a Bushnell Elite with a so-called BDC 600 recticle. This reticle has a very fine cross hair at the center and a series of dots starting at one for 200 yards going down the vertical. Almost all of my other rifles have a Duplex. When I sight in, I use a circular target and hold so that the horizontal cross hair is tangential to the bottom of the circle and the vertical cross hair bisects the circle. This hold will give me the smallest groups and will work even with lower power optics.
When working with the Contender, I was putting the cross hairs right in the center of the circular target. I find this works well for me with dots.
When I shot the Icon without thinking, my eye was drawn to the dot (for 200 yards) and I held on the center of the round target. The bullet went high as it had done on my game shots in 2019 and 2023. When I shot with my usual bench hold, the bullet went right to where it was supposed to (about 2" high at 100 yards).
I think this is what happened when I was hunting: When I was looking at the deer, there were standing is somewhat mottled lighting conditions. When I rechecked this after thinking it through, I found that the horizontal crosshair is far, far less pronounced than the dots. I think that in the heat of the moment, my eye was drawn to the 200 yard dot, to the place the center of the cross hairs. Thus, I ruined a bit of backstrap. On the plus side, the deer all went down quickly and didn't go anywhere (last three shot with this combo have gone a total of less than 10 yards).
A Solution
I could probably sort this out with a couple of hundred round, but I think it would be better to simple eliminate the source of my unwitting error. Fortunately I caught a Black Friday sale right after sorting this out and picked up a Bushnell Engage 3-9x40 with a Duplex reticle and illuminated dot. I have found the Engage scopes to be fairly well made and serviceable for my hunting conditions. Also, as I grow older, I think that the red dot will help me make sure I am aiming where I think I am aiming in the field with the early-morning and late-afternoon lighting.
I will be doing a bit of other scope swapping: the BDC will go to the 10/22 takedown, a Leo VAR X III 2.5-8 will go the 7-08, a 4-14x40 will go to a Ruger 77 Lightweight 223, a 10x Tactical to a TC Encore 6.5x55 barrel, and perhaps a few others. My somewhat lenghty recovery has given me a lot of time to plan and the projects are stacking up.
But what I really need to do I simply get out and practice. I think that walking down to check and change targets over somewhat uneven ground will help me get it some excercise my foreshortened leg (don't slip on ice) and help with my continuing rehab. And, it will probably help my shooting alot.
At least it makes a palatable New Year's Resolution.
