As 2013 comes to a close we should all reflect upon the year behind us and look forward to the year in front of us.
Since this is primarily a "Rifleman" or "Marksmanship" type of blog, I want to focus on what was accomplished and what needs to happen this coming year.
In 2013 I discussed a lot of general subjects to help the reader understand what it takes to become an accurate rifleman and also how to start putting some precision into their rifle shooting. As much as I wanted to get into the actual "Technique" of these things, Life sometimes has a habit of getting in the way. Since I didn't really set any actual goals for myself and this blog last year, I can't beat myself up too badly. Looking forward to 2014, I need to set some goals for the blog.
Some 2013 "Personal" goals that I had set for myself were to:
A. Get my 7mag broken in and zeroed.
B. Get myself set up to hand load for the 7mag.
C. Purchase a "Shooter's Chrony" and get the 7mag chrony'd (after broken in).
D. Set up "hasty" tables for the 7mag out to the maximum effective range for the projectiles I'll be sending.
A, C, and D are complete.
B...touchy subject. I had the $$ set aside for all of the reloading equipment but I did NOT purchase due to a significant LACK of reloading powders, primers, and projectiles. It just didn't make the financial sense to make the purchase this year. :(
I found a source for some seriously good "Match Grade" ammunition utilizing the projectile that I prefer to shoot, purchased some of that, and now it's out of stock and NOT in production. When will production resume? That is an excellent question. I may have to drop an email to the manufacturer to find out. Do I "absolutely HAVE to shoot that projectile/ammo". No. But based on the price point and accuracy per shot, I sure do WANT to shoot it.
2014 Goals for this blog that I should hold myself to...
One blog, every two weeks, to begin on Thursday, Jan 2. Some may be VIDEO blogs...fun fun!
That will equal out to 26 Blogs for some serious rimfire rifle shooting fundamentals and also to touch on some high-power precision rifle fundamentals.
The ultimate goal for the blog is to help rifle shooters to get KNOWLEDGE so they can get the most out of themselves and their equipment. Knowledge is power. Knowing your personal rifle and all of its "quirks" is everything. This can be applied to every rifled firearm, from .17hmr up to the "dangerous game" calibers that will knock your shoulder off every time you squeeze the trigger.
What do you need to "know" about your rifle? We will go through these things so that ultimately you will be able to PREDICT what your rifle is going to do on the next shot, pending the shooter does his/her job correctly. How do we do this? Documentation in a similar style reminiscent of Gunny Hathcock.
First and foremost we, as shooters, must be consistent. Consistency is everything. If we are consistent, the rifle will perform consistently as well.
Good, bad, or ugly, we will learn about our own strengths and weaknesses and those of our rifles and ammunition along this journey and have some fun in the process. We might even learn something.
Your mission before the 1st of the year...promise yourself to do the best you possibly can for 2014 and hold yourself to it. By the end of 2014 I hope we can look back and see some serious improvements over where we are starting on the Jan 2nd blog.
