You guys know 42769vette right? He's the guy behind INGO Advertiser A&A Optics.
A&A Optics - INGunOwners
He's a big fan of Vortex optics, and aside from recommending and selling them, he also uses them on a regular basis. And he can use them regularly because just up the road is his family's farm, complete with a 730 yard range (when the crops aren't planted
). Always being one to share his space with fellow INGOers, he invited me, lovemywoods, and OneBadV8 out to his place for a day of stretching out our rifles.
Now this is an entirely new area to me personally. So I was excited to try out yet another form of firearms ownership. This was lovemywoods' second trip out to the farm, and OneBadV8 was dying for a chance to see what his Savage 110BA in .300 win mag could do at 700+.
We settled on a date (Sat 2/16), which turned out to be the coldest, windiest, and snowiest day of the entire week.
Temperature was about 25 degrees, the wind was constantly blowing at about 18mph, and we had snow flurries on and off the entire day.
So yesterday morning I tossed my gear in the car and met lovemywoods and OneBadV8 at a McDonalds. We then consolidated our gear into lovemywoods' truck and began the 1 hour 45 minute drive to 42769vette's farm.
Upon our arrival we met Mrs. 42769vette, who had graciously prepared us a chilli lunch, complete with fixins. Then she went on to tell us that she had made coffee cake and brownies for when we were done shooting. My kind of woman.
Over lunch we discussed things like guns, kids, and INGO. We also got to see the progress on 42769vette's reloading room that he recently relocated.
With warm full bellies we layered up on clothing and headed over to the farm.
Did I mention it was cold? And windy? Because about this time I was beginning to second guess myself on whether or not this was worth doing. This was reinforced by 42769vette's Father who came outside just long enough to tell us all how crazy we were.
But we pulled up our big boy pants, muttered something about being tough for shooting in crappy conditions, and pushed on.
To kick things off we shot from a position that allowed us to engage hanging steel targets (AR500 from Bobcat Steel) at 150, 200, 250, and 300 yards.
Here was our shooting position:
And here was the target array, from near to far.
lovemywoods got us rolling by shooting his Remington 700 in .223 at the 200 yard target.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KHwhfYWdk[/ame]
Then OneBadV8 brought out his big boy-- a Savage 110BA in .300 win mag. You can read more about this rifle in a review we did back in 2011: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...s_new_savage_110ba_300_win_mag_pics_vids.html
(you'll note some friendly heckling in the videos)
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxd8thbAb-I[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tjTthVjn7o[/ame]
42769vette warmed up his .260 a bit (full specs can be provided by him, I can't recall the make/model).
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkP1Y4TuGQ0[/ame]
Of course I brought the only "rifle" I own, Project Iron Widow ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/class_iii_nfa/121565-my_ar_sbr_build_in_progress.html ). Even at 250 yards, the 10.5" Noveske and 4MOA Aimpoint H1 hit just fine.
But being the gear snob that OneBadV8 is
he had to outdo me by revealing his latest acquisition-- a Noveske Diplomat 7.5" upper with NSR rail, Aimpoint T1, and Huntertown Arms Kestrel 5.56 suppressor.
With the upper not having been zero'd he started out by trying to hit with holdover and lovemywoods and 42769vette guiding him in.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhs5Xz9pXR0[/ame]
Then he moved on to making adjustments to the Aimpoint to get a rough zero.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhLMxubnzH4[/ame]
Next 42769vette broke out his suppressed Savage 10 (not sure which exact model) in .308.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOUhvApFy5Q[/ame]
I've never shot using a front-focal plane scope before, but found it very cool. The fact that the glass cost 4x what the rifle itself cost made me
.
Another of 42769vette's rifles that I enjoyed shooting was his latest project, a precision AR with a Geissele trigger ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/269085-i_just_finished_my_first_precision_ar.html ). I've always wanted to try a Geissele trigger and now that I have I'm sold. What a fantastic trigger. Now I can understand why someone would want to build an AR around one.
Anyone remember the cool review that lovemywoods did on a 1950's-era rifle scope called the Litschert "Spot Shot"? You can read about it here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...nge_report_the_litschert_spot_shot_scope.html Well he brought it out mounted on a Remington 700 in .223 to compare it to the scopes we have available today. Most interesting was the fact that the optic body "floats" inside the rings, and you can actually move it side-to-side and up-and-down, and yet it still returns to zero. I got a chance to shoot it and made 200 yard hits with ease. It isn't the clearest or most compact optic, but it worked. Amazing for such old tech.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6oEDX3G1wo[/ame]
Now it was time to see what these rifles (and riflemen) were really capable of. We loaded up the UTV and headed for the 730 yard range.
Setting up shop on a rise in a corn field, I suddenly realized just how far away 730 yards is. It's 7 football fields. It's just shy of a half-mile. It's a long friggin' ways away.
Our target was a Bobcat Steel AR500 full-sized IPSC plate-- about the size of an average human torso.
Again I snapped a progressive set of pictures, from near to far:
Eager to try this out I was the first up, shooting 42769vette's Savage in .308. Imagine my surprise when my first 2 shots were hits! Granted, 42769vette did all the hard work by telling me exactly which tick-mark to hold on, but the experience was thrilling! I learned that, even with .308, there is a 3-second delay from the shot breaking to when you can hear the hit on steel. Crazy!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hk1MGdkdS4[/ame]
lovemywoods got his turn and made his hits.
Once again OneBadV8 was up with his Savage 110BA in .300 win mag. He did a great job zeroing in on the target and making his hits. We were all reminded just how effective his muzzle break was when we watched as it produced very little recoil to the shooter, but gave a concussive blast to those standing to the sides.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m6N6x-iZIY[/ame]
As you can clearly hear in the videos, the cold wind would not let up. All 4 of us had some nice wind-burned faces by the end of the session. After being out in it for about 5 hours we decided to call it a day and headed back to 42769vette's house.
As promised we were greeted with coffee cake, brownies, and hot coffee. And it was ALL good. At least the 3 helpings that I had were. We spent the next several hours lounging and talking about guns, family, jobs, INGO, and shooting. I love this country.
Before it got too late the 3 of us headed back home, content to be in a warm car amongst friends.
What a fantastic day!
So what did I learn on this fieldtrip?
A&A Optics - INGunOwners
He's a big fan of Vortex optics, and aside from recommending and selling them, he also uses them on a regular basis. And he can use them regularly because just up the road is his family's farm, complete with a 730 yard range (when the crops aren't planted
). Always being one to share his space with fellow INGOers, he invited me, lovemywoods, and OneBadV8 out to his place for a day of stretching out our rifles.Now this is an entirely new area to me personally. So I was excited to try out yet another form of firearms ownership. This was lovemywoods' second trip out to the farm, and OneBadV8 was dying for a chance to see what his Savage 110BA in .300 win mag could do at 700+.
We settled on a date (Sat 2/16), which turned out to be the coldest, windiest, and snowiest day of the entire week.
Temperature was about 25 degrees, the wind was constantly blowing at about 18mph, and we had snow flurries on and off the entire day. So yesterday morning I tossed my gear in the car and met lovemywoods and OneBadV8 at a McDonalds. We then consolidated our gear into lovemywoods' truck and began the 1 hour 45 minute drive to 42769vette's farm.
Upon our arrival we met Mrs. 42769vette, who had graciously prepared us a chilli lunch, complete with fixins. Then she went on to tell us that she had made coffee cake and brownies for when we were done shooting. My kind of woman.
Over lunch we discussed things like guns, kids, and INGO. We also got to see the progress on 42769vette's reloading room that he recently relocated. With warm full bellies we layered up on clothing and headed over to the farm.
Did I mention it was cold? And windy? Because about this time I was beginning to second guess myself on whether or not this was worth doing. This was reinforced by 42769vette's Father who came outside just long enough to tell us all how crazy we were.
But we pulled up our big boy pants, muttered something about being tough for shooting in crappy conditions, and pushed on. To kick things off we shot from a position that allowed us to engage hanging steel targets (AR500 from Bobcat Steel) at 150, 200, 250, and 300 yards.
Here was our shooting position:
And here was the target array, from near to far.
lovemywoods got us rolling by shooting his Remington 700 in .223 at the 200 yard target.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KHwhfYWdk[/ame]
Then OneBadV8 brought out his big boy-- a Savage 110BA in .300 win mag. You can read more about this rifle in a review we did back in 2011: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...s_new_savage_110ba_300_win_mag_pics_vids.html
(you'll note some friendly heckling in the videos
)[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxd8thbAb-I[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tjTthVjn7o[/ame]
42769vette warmed up his .260 a bit (full specs can be provided by him, I can't recall the make/model).
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkP1Y4TuGQ0[/ame]
Of course I brought the only "rifle" I own, Project Iron Widow ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/class_iii_nfa/121565-my_ar_sbr_build_in_progress.html ). Even at 250 yards, the 10.5" Noveske and 4MOA Aimpoint H1 hit just fine.
But being the gear snob that OneBadV8 is
he had to outdo me by revealing his latest acquisition-- a Noveske Diplomat 7.5" upper with NSR rail, Aimpoint T1, and Huntertown Arms Kestrel 5.56 suppressor.
With the upper not having been zero'd he started out by trying to hit with holdover and lovemywoods and 42769vette guiding him in.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhs5Xz9pXR0[/ame]
Then he moved on to making adjustments to the Aimpoint to get a rough zero.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhLMxubnzH4[/ame]
Next 42769vette broke out his suppressed Savage 10 (not sure which exact model) in .308.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOUhvApFy5Q[/ame]
I've never shot using a front-focal plane scope before, but found it very cool. The fact that the glass cost 4x what the rifle itself cost made me
.
Another of 42769vette's rifles that I enjoyed shooting was his latest project, a precision AR with a Geissele trigger ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/269085-i_just_finished_my_first_precision_ar.html ). I've always wanted to try a Geissele trigger and now that I have I'm sold. What a fantastic trigger. Now I can understand why someone would want to build an AR around one.
Anyone remember the cool review that lovemywoods did on a 1950's-era rifle scope called the Litschert "Spot Shot"? You can read about it here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...nge_report_the_litschert_spot_shot_scope.html Well he brought it out mounted on a Remington 700 in .223 to compare it to the scopes we have available today. Most interesting was the fact that the optic body "floats" inside the rings, and you can actually move it side-to-side and up-and-down, and yet it still returns to zero. I got a chance to shoot it and made 200 yard hits with ease. It isn't the clearest or most compact optic, but it worked. Amazing for such old tech.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6oEDX3G1wo[/ame]
Now it was time to see what these rifles (and riflemen) were really capable of. We loaded up the UTV and headed for the 730 yard range.
Setting up shop on a rise in a corn field, I suddenly realized just how far away 730 yards is. It's 7 football fields. It's just shy of a half-mile. It's a long friggin' ways away.
Our target was a Bobcat Steel AR500 full-sized IPSC plate-- about the size of an average human torso.
Again I snapped a progressive set of pictures, from near to far:
Eager to try this out I was the first up, shooting 42769vette's Savage in .308. Imagine my surprise when my first 2 shots were hits! Granted, 42769vette did all the hard work by telling me exactly which tick-mark to hold on, but the experience was thrilling! I learned that, even with .308, there is a 3-second delay from the shot breaking to when you can hear the hit on steel. Crazy!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hk1MGdkdS4[/ame]
lovemywoods got his turn and made his hits.
Once again OneBadV8 was up with his Savage 110BA in .300 win mag. He did a great job zeroing in on the target and making his hits. We were all reminded just how effective his muzzle break was when we watched as it produced very little recoil to the shooter, but gave a concussive blast to those standing to the sides.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m6N6x-iZIY[/ame]
As you can clearly hear in the videos, the cold wind would not let up. All 4 of us had some nice wind-burned faces by the end of the session. After being out in it for about 5 hours we decided to call it a day and headed back to 42769vette's house.
As promised we were greeted with coffee cake, brownies, and hot coffee. And it was ALL good. At least the 3 helpings that I had were.
We spent the next several hours lounging and talking about guns, family, jobs, INGO, and shooting. I love this country.Before it got too late the 3 of us headed back home, content to be in a warm car amongst friends.
What a fantastic day!
So what did I learn on this fieldtrip?
- INGOers are great people.
- Even in long-range precision shooting, the 'software' is more important than the 'hardware'.
- I want a Geissele trigger for Project Iron Widow.
- 42769vette has an approach to customer service that is unique in this industry. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge in the fields of long-range shooting and precision optics. If you need an optic, he can help you (even if he doesn't sell what you need).
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I love reading the reviews you write! you make us all feel like we were tagging along!! Looks like everyone had a great time! and thank you for sharing it with us!! 
Great report Evan!
) straight over and fired a fwe rounds threw my AR. I emptied the mag and Evan was going to shoot it. I was going to load the mag, but after mabye 5 minutes without my right glove on (I cant shoot precision with a gloved hand) I litterally had to have Evan load his own mag because I couple not hold my hands still enough to load.
