Eye Relief Fix Should do It

Took my dad to the gun range today. Things went very well, for the most part.

Started off with my Vz 58. I intended to test the laser at 50 feet, but they have a new setup out there, and the closest distance is 25 yards. At that distance, the laser wasn’t on the paper, and I could not fix it. I decided to shoot with iron sights and no rest, just to recall how the gun shot and felt. I shot from a seated position with my elbows on the bench. This starts to hurt after not too many rounds, because the recoil pushes the skin of your elbows along the wood.

I love this gun. It must be as fine a home defense weapon as there is. The trigger is magnificent. You always know exactly when the gun will fire, and there is no staging, and it never hangs or drags. It’s like a squirt gun for bullets. I couldn’t see that well, and I wasn’t trying all that hard, but the gun still shot beautifully.

I’ll fix the laser mount and go back. The dot is clearly visible at 25 yards in bright sunlight.

I got out my Savage bolt-action rifle in .17 HMR. I have a 14x scope on it. I moved to 100 yards. I had a problem getting my bipod mounted; I got it months ago and never bothered attaching it. I tried to shoot from my tiny Caldwell rest, and it worked when I raised it all the way and put the gun on the very top of the bag, instead of in the notch. Not stable, but good enough. No rear bag. Look at this target. That’s my first ten rounds. As you can see, this gun is unquestionably capable of consistent sub-MOA shooting at 100 yards.

I had real problems with my scope. The eye relief is way off. I need to move it a good inch or more forward. It drove me nuts; the target kept floating away right when I started squeezing the trigger. It must have ruined my concentration, because the next target was horrible.

Of course, “horrible” is a relative term. This is 4-MOA shooting, which is acceptable if you’re trying to kill something within 100 yards. But it was horrible compared to the first shots I fired.

I can’t wait to move the scope and try again. Incidentally, I don’t like the Savage Accu-trigger nearly as much as the Czech trigger on the Vz 58. I don’t think I could ever enjoy an AK-47’s dunnage-grade furniture and sheet metal parts as much as I enjoy the Vz 58.

I went and joined my dad on the pistol side, and I got rid of a box of dubious .357 reloads I made. A long time ago, I put a lighter spring in my S&W 27-2, and I went shooting, and I had problems with squibs. It occurred to me that hard primers and a weak spring might be causing the failures, so today I took my S&W 686+. It fired every round, although some were extremely wimpy. I guess the recipe I used was off, but the spring was also at fault, if my experience is any guide.

Anyway, it did not shoot badly. The bigger groups were shot with the pistol uncocked. The one at lower left is the result of cocking the pistol. The one at the lower right is my SW1911, firing my sweet reloads.

Trail Glades has a rule that you can’t put more than one bullseye on a pistol target. As you can see, I have come up with a borderline-snotty response to their policy. They don’t mind, however. I think their rule is aimed at people who shoot so badly they destroy frames.

I highly recommend the Vz 58 for home defense. I don’t know how much my recommendation is worth, but the recoil is low, the magazines are big, and it’s very easy to shoot. And the stopping power sure beats a pistol. I think the Saiga-12 is even better than a Vz 58, but you have to rebuild a Saiga from the ground up before you have a weapon you can use.

Dad enjoyed shooting his Glock, although the trigger seems very stiff. I am wondering if it gets looser with wear. If not, it needs work.

Another day of freedom, here in America. I am enjoying it while it lasts.