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Graham Smith

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Posts posted by Graham Smith

  1. It didn't help that the projectionist had the volume set to 11, so I spent three hours with my fingers stuck in my ears so that it was only loud instead of painful.

    That's the second biggest reason that I don't like to go to the movie theater. The biggest is that there isn't a remote control with a pause button.

  2. The Bushnell 10x Mil-Dot is a nice little scope for the money. I have one on a Savage .22 that I practice with. Believe it or not, 10x is enough to shoot long range with. 1000yd is possible but it's a bit much.

    Using it mounted on a tripod to practice Mil-Dot target ranging. Use it as a poor mans spotting scope. Decorate the Christmas tree with it.

  3. think banana-rama

    Little known fact about Bananarama. "Their success on both pop and dance charts have earned the group a listing in The Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female group with the most chart entries in the world, a record which they still hold." - Wikipedia

  4. Since this post has just been reopened... I just ran across a lecture given by J Michael Straczynski at MIT. The main subject he chose to speak about was not being afraid to fail.

    One of things he pointed to was the Army where testing things to the failure point was common. You have to know how far something can be taken and you also need to know as many ways as possible that something can go wrong.

    Much of basic training is pushing the recruits to the point of failure then getting up and pushing them on. One object is to find out just where the failure point is the other is to get past that point. IOW, you don't know if you can do something until you try and try again.

  5. I didn't appreciate how much arc there is to a bullet path until I shot a long range class where they put out a whole bunch of steel torso targets at varying distances, some out where you could see, some partly concealed. One target was at about 600+yds and almost completely behind a berm with only the tip of the head showing. To hit this target, you had to aim into the berm and let the arc of the bullet carry it over the berm and into the target. It was freaky.

    We were shooting as teams, one shooter one spotter. I was spotting and my partner had been having problems with windage adjustments. We were using holds for windage and what was working for me was consistenly too little for him. On this target, he couldn't seem to get on target because we couldn't see where the bullet was hitting. Long story a bit shortened, he had a poor position and I noticed that he seemed to be canting his rifle. I suggested he straighten it a bit and his windage problem mostly went away.

    For someone shooting prone at fixed distance targets (like F-Class), the rifle level won't matter as much as consistency. For someone shooting PRS or targets at different distance, different height, etc, where positional consistency isn't possible, then having a scope/rifle that are on the same axis is probably more important.

    I've read enough of what Frank Galli has written to respect his opinion. That's why I wonder were he is coming from with this. I'm pretty sure that he is speaking about a very slight difference in cant here and for that he is probably right. If you are more often shooting from a stable prone position then you are best off being as comfortable as possible. Having to twist the rifle some in that position is probably more of a detriment than having the scope slightly off level.

    Complicated.

  6. This is rapidly evolving into a discussion but it might not be a bad idea to move the topic somewhere that it can be discussed.

    Call your CC company and ask them to send you a second card with a different number. Use one card for online shopping and the other for around town. That keeps charges separate and it's easier to scan for things you didn't charge.

    The whole idea is to compartmentalize your charges to allow you to spot fraud and cancel the card quickly. But you still have a card you can fall back on.

  7. Be aware that Microsoft is getting more agressive about upgrading Win7 computers. People have reported that after an automatic semi-monthly update they found their computers were in the process of upgrading to v10.

    I cannot confirm this from first hand experience but if you want to stay on 7 then it might be worth getting a look at this:

    http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

  8. However, I hope we can agree that: If the scope is level and directly above the bore (as in photo A), you will still get an error if the reticle isn't level in regards to gravity (unintended cant by the shooter).

    In the Magpul video, there is a point at which one shooter is hitting high (or low) to the side of the target. Todd tells him to watch his cant and that puts him back on target. I know that they are using a Horus reticle and holding for their corrections rather than dialing but I don't think it makes much difference.

    The reason I question the canted rifle / level scope issue is that the bullet path is not straight, it's an arc. When you adjust for distance you are pushing the reticle down which brings the barrel up which increases the arc. If you cant the rifle, you are actually pointing the barrel slightly to the side of the target. Closer in it won't matter but at 800-1000yd it can.

    In reality, the differences are proably minor. If you are shooting a 3G or PRS competition then having a completely level setup is far from being your biggest concern. If you are shooting 1000yd F-Class where the difference between an X and a 10 could win or lose the match, then everything matters.

    And Mike makes one very important point in his video, being in a comfortable shooting position is one of the most important things for consistency. You can always make a minor sight adjustment to correct but if you aren't comfortable with your position you are likely going to be shooting all over the place.

  9. This is the truth. Put a spirit level on the scope and make sure the reticle is plumb to it.

    http://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/story/1540059-canted-rifle-level-scope

    This article flys in the face of what other established experts (like Todd Hartnett) demonstrate and teach. Certainly there are arguments for both, but if you are going against the traditional method, you have to understand what the difference is and the effects. Particularly when it comes to windage and the difference between dialing in adjustments and holding. And that's where it gets really complicated.

    He is talking about a very slight difference in cant between the rifle and the scope. He is also talking about shooting prone from a stable position at a fixed distance with corrections dialed in. I'm not enough of an expert to evaluate this, but I'm not willing to make a blanket statement that he is right and tradition is wrong.

  10. What is the most popular 308 bullet out there ? In grains and type ? To use for 3 gun and just target shooting.

    If you are shooting 3G then you are probably shooting under 600yd. If so, then lighter and faster is probably the better choice because for those distances you will have a slightly flatter curve an a better MPBR.

    Price wise, you are probably better off with a 150gr FMJ or if you want to spend more, then a 150-155gr ballistic tip.

    The Sierra 155 gr Palma (#2156 BC:.504) bullets over H4895 perform extremely well but can be quite pricey for anything other than precision rifle.

  11. I've never even thought about the feeler gauges. I had to read it a couple times, then think about it before it clicked. It is a great idea, as long as there is a rail on the rifle and the rail is level.

    A rail is almost guaranteed to be level and even if it isn't exact it's close enough. And close enough for level is usually close enough. You mainly want to be sure that your scope and rifle represent the same vertical plain to help eliminate cant. Speaking of which, if you are shooting far enough that much cant is making a difference, then you need a level of some kind on the rifle. Either on the scope or on the rail.

  12. While the Lee Pro has it's faults, the case feeder is a model of simple design. I have often sat and stared at my 550 and wondered if there was a way to adapt one to it. It doesn't even have to be automatic - just a manual push feed would be fine by me.

    Not sure how it would work since the shell platform moves up and down but they have an (expensive) automatic case feeder for it so something should be possible. Of course, why would they want to build a less expensive alternative?

  13. I had good success with my Lee Pro 9mm but problems when I went to .40 so I got a Loadmaster. Never could get it to work quite as well as the Pro. It would run like a champ for a while then screw up. Finally switched to a 550B and discovered two things:

    1. I prefer a manual index to an automatic. Not sure why, it just suits me better. I think it keeps me focused better. Which leads me to the second thing.

    2. You have to develop a smooth steady pace. Going just a bit too fast can lead to problems. And I think that may have been part of my problem with the auto-indexing.

    One thing I notice in your video is that you are using a nice steady pace. A bit faster than I might go but you seem to have found a sweet spot.

  14. I haven't read the book in many years, but after watching the first night, it seemed very different from what I remember. I plan to re-read the book after watching the final 2 episodes to compare the two.

    I'm not sure that that the screen writer even read the book. Maybe he read the Cliff Notes version or something. The screen writer has missed the entire point of the book. The entire feeling you get from it is wrong. The timescale is wrong. Everything is wrong.

    The book was written in the early 50's and was unlike anything that had been done before. The mini-series is trying to turn it into something more familiar when the entire point of the book was to be something entirely unfamiliar - unlike what we were used to. It's a coming of age story - a story about the parents having to sit back and watch their children grow up and leave home. It is both sad and joyous.

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