[AgedWarrior]

Finally was able to take the new rifle out and sight it in. Howa mini action 6.5 Grendel with 20” heavy barrel. Scope is Vortex 4-12x40. I really like the rifle, even though I prefer a wood stock. Trigger pull out of the box is 3 pounds, good for my purposes. I did not like the polymer bottom/trigger guard assembly so I replaced it with a nice aluminum piece from DIP. This rifle has a great balance and shoulders very nicely. Having done a rough boresight I was simply waiting for a day when weather was reasonable. Went out last Friday morning, good day, little to no wind and temps at a balmy 28, but plenty of snow! Sighted in really quickly (3 rounds) and shot great. Really smooth bolt. But after a half dozen more rounds it seem to spread from 3/4” to about 1.5”. I know the barrel was not heating up because I was not shooting fast at all. Was going to re-torque the rings and realized my tools that are always in my range bag were still at home on the bench. :frown5: I always re-torque after shooting a few rounds because initial vibrations from shooting tend to settle things a bit, and since I initially installed in 70 degrees and was now at 28, metal contraction can be a factor too. Snugged everything up good while it was cold and now itching to run it some more.

 

[Coalcracker]

Nice always good to get out for some range time. Im going to try and do some distance shooting tomorrow with the 86C and 87C. I have my range finder packed so i don't forget it.

 

[AgedWarrior]

Well the weather was pretty good and I had a bit of spare time this morning, so I took the Howa back to the range...with all tools in my range bag. It was 31 with 15 mph winds gusting higher at times, but not too bad.

Shot a couple of rounds initially and it was slightly high and about 2.5” right. Did a scope adjustment and brought it in pretty close, slightly low and still a bit to the right. Torqued the scope rings again after a few rounds and colder temps. Next two were an inch higher and a bit right. Running short of time and cold fingers, I adjusted scope once more and shot three rounds...and they all went through the same hole! Honestly, that amazed me shooting in the wind like that! It can still use a slight tweak, but I will get that next time, but I will wait for less cross wind to tweak it in tight. I am pretty happy with this rifle.:thumbsup:

 

[Coalcracker]

I had a tail wind today. Guess that is better than a cross wind?

 

[Rivervalley0311]

I had a tail wind today. Guess that is better than a cross wind?

Depends on the terrain and how steady the crosswind is.