Another Quagmire

I mentioned the notion of getting a cheap, accurate bolt-action rifle and a scope. I had the Savage FVSS in mind, I think. The plastic one, not the wooden one. Then I asked about scope choices. Right now, I have no place to shoot beyond 100 yards, but I thought it might be a good idea to get something good enough for actual varminting; you never know when you might get an opportunity. I received all sorts of weird suggestions.

Reader Blindshooter says he has a 6-24x scope he uses a lot. KDT says 10x is all you need, under 400 yards. I read up on the choices, and it looks like the best choice, without breaking the bank, would be a Nikon. People are raving about them, and they cost about a third less than comparable Leupolds. I’m wondering what makes most sense: the 6-24×50, or the 4-16×50. Even if I somehow find myself shooting at longer ranges, 300 yards is about the best I can hope to find. Is there really any point in getting magnification I will probably never need? And here’s something weird: there is no real difference in price. Due to the vagaries of Internet discounting, they’re both in the same range.

It has also been suggested that I work on my open-sight shooting. My only problem with that suggestion is that I am not anxious to do that with my current weapons. The Romak and the K31 beat my shoulder up pretty bad, and although I’m saving the brass, I doubt I’ll ever take the time to reload it, because it’s all Berdan-primed. I don’t mind the bruising when I’m shooting with a scope at 100 yards. But I’d be shooting at half that distance with open sights, and it seems silly to use a cannon for that. The Savage would be fine, but if I scope it, iron sights won’t be an option.

I have a .22 rifle, but I’m not sure it’s accurate enough to fool with. If you want to learn anything, you have to have a gun that shoots considerably better than you do. I suspect that the Nylon 66 has enough error in it to confuse me at the range.

I guess I could use the Romak. The ammunition was cheap, and it’s supposed to be very good stuff.

In the past, I’ve considered getting a cheap Savage .22 LR, because they’re very accurate, and the ammunition is cheap. Maybe that’s still the best course.

Another reader emailed me and suggested I try to carve out a niche, writing about guns. Believe me, I would love to. The main problem with that is that I know almost nothing about the topic. That doesn’t stop most writers, I know. Maybe the answer is to turn ignorance into an asset. Find someone who would publish accounts written by an admitted gun doofus, trying to improve himself.