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| Butch, I use. 17HMR and. 223s for 99% of my prairie dog shooting,with the occasional shot from my. 243AI. I always wear hearing protection, but it's the other Guy's guns that give me a headache. George |
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| I do 90%+ of my shooting with the 22 ppc and the 223 with 24" barrels, the longer barrel helps minimize the concusion, my 2 main rifles weigh 18 and 16# and both wear thin Pach. decell. pads. Both of these rifles can be shot all day with no side effects. The lighter or larger rifles tend to wear on me, but I also think it has become ore noticable as I grow older. I am find that a 150 round day brings as much satisfaction as a 500 used to. |
| | | Posts: 869 | Location: N Dakota | Registered: 29 December 2003 | 
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| I enjoy using the 17 HM2, 17 HMR, 17 Fireball and 204 Ruger rifles. I have 223 Rem, 22-250 Rem, 220 Swift, and 243 Win, varmint rifles but dont use them very often because Prairie dogs get muzzle blast smart. At 76 years old I like shooting for about five hours befor going home. |
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| quote: Originally posted by DuaneinND:
the longer barrel helps minimize the concusion
A fact that is not often fully appreciated. Not only does a longer barrel reduce the report by releasing the powder gas at a bit lower pressure, it also moves it a few inches further from your head. I have a .221 Fireball with a 26" barrel. I wouldn't have put a barrel that long on such a cartridge, but it came that way from the previous owner who had it custom built. Even though it registers no more velocity than another .221 Fireball of mine with only a 22" barrel, it is noticeably quieter and less concussive to shoot. Of course, that's relative since the little Fireball is pretty tame, even when compared to just slightly larger .22 Centerfires like the .223. At any rate, it makes shooting a few hundred rounds at prairie dogs a delight compared to larger rifles, especially those with shorter barrels. Lord save us from shooting companions with a 16" AR! |
| | | Posts: 13274 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001 |
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| quote: Originally posted by butchloc:
after many year of high volume shooting at pd's, i've learned a thing or two. My ears and head can only take so much. After a few hundred rounds a day, after a couple days my head hurts . The sound from your rifle has 2 dimensions. the sound is only one. The concussion is the other. Good pair os ear muffs do a pretty good job or protecting you ears, but after so much, the concussion travels through the bones of your head and gets your ears from the backside....... What all this chit taught me is that I use smaller guns. Once you leave the 223 size rounds the concussion increases greatly. The good old 22/250 is the absolute limit for some, past limit for most. things like a swift, 243, 25/06 are just to much rifle for hundreds of rounds a day. Sure enough, those bigger guys are great at long range, but stop in time. Ey what's that you say??
Pretty much the same when you're young and dumb and shot ATA without hearing protection.  roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
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| | | Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003 |
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| I am putting neoprene comb pads on my high volume rifles and and AR15s to reduce the transfer of vibrations to my cheek and jaw bones, I think that is a real issue that doesn't get proper attention. Thanks for brining it up.
"Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson.
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| | | Posts: 11143 | Location: Texas, USA | Registered: 22 September 2003 |
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| I used to shoot lots of PDs with 220 swifts and 22-250 guns. I have not taken those guns out of the safe in years. Today myy 22PPC and 223 are my big guns, but I shoot more with 204R, 17 Rem and 17FB, also 22H. As has been said after 100s of rounds the heavier ones take a toll.
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| | | Posts: 2656 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 08 December 2006 |
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| quote: A fact that is not often fully appreciated. Not only does a longer barrel reduce the report by releasing the powder gas at a bit lower pressure, it also moves it a few inches further from your head. I have a .221 Fireball with a 26" barrel. I wouldn't have put a barrel that long on such a cartridge, but it came that way from the previous owner who had it custom built. Even though it registers no more velocity than another .221 Fireball of mine with only a 22" barrel, it is noticeably quieter and less concussive to shoot.
I have an XP100 in .221 and like it enough to decide to buy a Cooper-21 in that caliber. What velocity are you getting w/ what bullet, and have you experimented w/ a slower powder to take advantage of that long barrel?
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Orange Gunsite Family, NRA--Life, Varmint Hunters' Assn., ARTCA, and American Legion.
"An armed society is a polite society" --Robert Heinlein via Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC
Caveat Emptor: Don't trust *Cavery Grips* from Clayton, NC. He is a ripoff.
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| | | Posts: 479 | Location: Medina, Ohio USA | Registered: 30 January 2010 |
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| George: +1  And how is it we are shooting the exact same calibers for PDs? Tiggergate: Yep, neoprene comb pads do help quite a bit.
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Political correctness is nothing but liberal enforced censorship
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| | | Posts: 3490 | Location: Colorado Springs, CO | Registered: 04 April 2003 |
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| From what I've seen at Predator Masters forums a lot of those guys use portable benches with rests for PD shooting.A Caldwell sled,MTM Shoulder guard,etc along with a bench would completely eliminate recoil with any gun suitable for such critters.I can shoot 12g slugs using my MTM Sg comfortably with a bag of lead shot in the compartment. |
| | | Posts: 369 | Location: Adirondacks | Registered: 08 February 2009 |
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| I am a lot more concerned about ear health than I used to be., I wear plugs plus electronic muffs. And I have stopped using a brake also. |
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| quote: I have an XP100 in .221 and like it enough to decide to buy a Cooper-21 in that caliber.
What velocity are you getting w/ what bullet, and have you experimented w/ a slower powder to take advantage of that long barrel?
I shoot either 40 grain Ballistic Tips or 40 grain V-Max. In one gun I use 21 to 21.5 grains of AA-2200 for about 3350-3400 fps and in the other about 20 grains of AA-1680 for similar velocities. One gun is a rebarreled Mini Mark X with a 22" stainless barrel of unknown origins and the other is a custom L461 Sako with what I believe is a Douglas barrel, 26 inches. As I recall, Remington 50 grain factory loads run around 2900-2950 fps in these rifles. |
| | | Posts: 13274 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001 |
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