Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry

Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Put your range reports for all brands and types of firearms and other items.
Post Reply
User avatar
ESquared
Deputy Administrator
Posts: 2911
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 9:00 pm
Location: KC Area
United States of America

Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by ESquared » Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:02 pm

First things first, my limitless gratitude and best wishes to PT7 for setting up today’s outing, which was to his son-in-law’s property in some beautiful country northeast of Kansas City. Said S-I-L (“Vic”) is a former military sniper, competitive shooter, trainer of private security and public police forces, owner of a multi-faceted outdoor range and all around great guy.

As PT7 knew, I was most interested in getting my recently acquired Henrys to an outdoor range where I could stretch out the Long Ranger 308 and 30-30CCH to some respectable distances, which, in my mind, would have amounted to upwards of 200 yards. I figured we’d start out slow with the BBS 357, work our way up to the 30-30 and, once warmed up, see what the LR 308 could do. So much for my plan.

We walked into Vic’s living room and he basically handed me his competition 6.5 Creedmoor that was topped with a Sig scope as long as your forearm, a Tango6 5-30X56 with a 36mm tube (if I remember right), with which he’d recently won a competition match at 1,200 yards, or about 7/10s of a mile.

We had a good weather day, overcast, low 60s, but with about a 10-15 MPH wind quartering over our left shoulder. So much for my indoor, 50 yard range. Time to step it up.

“You’re gonna shoot this Creedmoor first so you can see what you think,” Vic says, and few minutes later I’m sitting at his shooting bench peering down the scope at a steel silhouette some 300 yards away. This rifle probably weighed close to 20 pounds, and the scope made it feel like I was RIGHT THERE! Started right off by ringing the steel (several times) and WOW, what a feeling! Warmed up yet? You bet!

“Okay, let’s see your 308,” he says. So, we’re going to work our way backwards. Go big or go home. Before I know it, he’s got me focusing in on another steel silhouette that’s kind of nestled in the tree-line 400 yards away. He’s got the target rigged up with a flashing red light that blinks if you hit the steel, which was a good thing, because the wind is blowing hard enough that we couldn’t have heard the “CLANG” no matter what.

He gave me a bit of coaching about where to hold the cross-hairs and with shot #1, I’m watching the red light flash. More rounds, more flashes! We tried out some closer distances, determined that it was just about perfectly zeroed at 200 yards and Yes, the deer should be worried.

We moved on to the 30-30, starting at 150 yards (as I recall) and moving out to 300. Clang, clang!

Next, we slummed with the 357 BBS, starting out by blasting away at a 10” steel square at about 40 yards. We moved to about 150 yards and the wind came into play, decreasing out rate of clanging, but Vic later inspected the target area and found about a fist-sized group just to the right of where I was aiming. Probably just found the outer limits of Hornady 158 gr XTP, I’m guessing.

From there, we moved a few hundred yards afield, down to the pistol range, where PT7 clanged all kinds of steel and shredded lots of hedge-apples with his 45LC Uberti SA revolver (as did the rest of us), and I got some time with Vic’s Sig P320 9mm with its Romeo sight. That 45LC is one sweet six-shooter, so well balanced, with fantastic sights and surprisingly little recoil. While on the pistol range, Vic gave me the run-down on the gauntlet he puts his trainees through over a series of drills and scenarios he uses in his training classes. Ver y cool.

All in all, it was about a four-hour session, by the end of which Vic’s wife (PTs daughter) had arrived to see what we were up to (if not how soon we would be finished!).

It was so much fun and unfolded so unexpectedly that it was, at times, a bit of a blur, so I’m hoping that PT7 will follow up in this thread and correct any errors or omissions that are undoubtedly contained herein.

Thanks, Bob, for a true “blast” of a day. The Long Ranger 308 is a beast and the 30-30 is no slouch, either (and how can you not love the 357, just because?)! Sorry for the long post, but it was quite a day!
8 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357

User avatar
JEBar
Town Marshal / Deputy Admin
Posts: 19270
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:58 pm
Location: central NC
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by JEBar » Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:19 pm

outstanding .... truly outstanding in all respects ... 8-)
2 x

User avatar
North Country Gal
Firearms Advisor
Posts: 6054
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 12:46 pm
Location: northern Wisconsin
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by North Country Gal » Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:24 pm

Congrats to both of you on such a great range session.
2 x

User avatar
BigAl52
Forum Ambassador
Posts: 13639
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 12:43 pm
Location: Evans,Colorado
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by BigAl52 » Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:25 pm

Sounds like a day to remember for a long time. I bet PT was just watchin you with a big ole KC grin on his face.
1 x
Don't worry about getting older and still doing stupid stuff. You'll do the stupid stuff as always, only much slower. Hold my beer and watch this.......


H001T .22LR
H001T .22LR MONUMENT VALLEY
H003T PUMP .22LR
BBS .41 MAG
SS .357
SIDE GATE 38-55

User avatar
PT7
Drover
Posts: 4889
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 8:32 am
Location: The Show-Me State
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by PT7 » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:17 pm

Nope, ESquared. No errors, but maybe one omission. You forgot to tell everyone that the RO and trainer was most impressed also, with both the shooter and the Henry rifles. :D The Henrys wore their scopes and slings proud, and were showcase level. For only shooting rifles since July, it was something to see how well-prepared and knowledgeable ESquared was today. His sight in work on all the Henrys needed zip adjustment.

No doubt about it. There was a huge 'ole KC grin on my face. Watching him shoot the Ruger Long Range 6.5 Creedmore rifle was a real blast to start the bench time. I had not seen the "red-light-on, target-hit" indicator at my son's-in-law 400 yard black steel target....it's new. But it lit up the shaded tree line like fireworks. More than fun to watch that long-distance shooting.

To be honest, I wish you all could have been there in some spectator stands. It simply was a show, which I won't soon forget!
Agree totally with ESquared's final assessment --- "it was quite a day!"

PT7
4 x

~Пока~

User avatar
Sir Henry
Administrator / Owner
Posts: 12054
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:58 pm
Location: Price County Wisconsin
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by Sir Henry » Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:42 pm

I miss reading these great reports.
0 x
Hi, my name is Gene and I'm a Henryholic from Wisconsin.

Range Reporter: Henry Repeater

User avatar
ESquared
Deputy Administrator
Posts: 2911
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 9:00 pm
Location: KC Area
United States of America

Re: Long Ranger Goes Long & Other Highlights (Long Post)

Post by ESquared » Sun Oct 21, 2018 3:18 pm

Thanks for all the "Likes" and kind words. Still seared in my brain is what a fantastic experience it was.

There aren't many times when, at 60+ years old, you can go do something you've never done before in your entire life (exactly this way) and do it fairly well. Nothing else matters but to keep on doing it.

A day to remember, for sure.
1 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357

Post Reply