October is here a cool breeze across your face, that crisp air allows the crack of a wildcat cartridge to echo as you watch a super sonic bullet hit it’s mark with a rewarding whalip! Once again fall has arrived and it’s time to check zero on the rifles you intend to heat up the barrels on. There is something special about a cool fall day and the smell of burnt powder, I pulled an old favorite varmint rig out for a day of trigger therapy and reminiscing just how much I missed shooting the 6mm-284 Winchester. Looking thru my load data log book I found the ammo batch that closest suited the days temperature, with 66grain match hollow point bullets and a large dose of Reloader 17 powder I was all set for touching off the Jard 6 ounce trigger. It’s nice to know you can set quarter sized targets out at 100 yards to verify your zero when you trust the optics you use. A touch of the trigger sent the first round down the 12 twist bore at just under 4000 fps down range to hit a bit high of the X ring, this was true for the second and third rounds too and then my eagerness got the best of me and round four landed low and right opening the group to a big ol 5/8″. Many more rounds were sent down range that day and dime sized groups were ok as I began to remember just how to coax the true potential out of the ol girl, a Mauser GEW 98 with a glass smooth bolt feel and a very heavy laminated stock made for a pleasant time of burning powder. I took some pictures after cleaning the bore and wiping down the metal to ward off any possibility of rust from handling, I hope this taste of a cool fall day has you grabbing an old favorite and heating up the barrel remembering just how much fun these time pieces are. Now where is that slice of pumpkin pie to go with my coffee.
With the Mauser 98 cleaned up I snapped some pictures of the ol girl.
As the day wore on the groups got better. left to right 5 shots, 3 shots, 3 shots
Next month will put us in deer season so stay tuned.
Right On Dead On All the Time
knowyourzero 