Welcome to Pokin' Holes.

This blog is all about target shooting. Nothing is more fun that pokin' holes into paper targets! I use a variety of guns for this purpose. I have air rifles, handguns, rimfire and high power rifles, and shotguns. I am not a hunter. I simply enjoy the sport of target shooting.

I have created several targets that you can print and use. They are in PDF format. NOTE: When printing, don't let your PDF viewer resize the image. This will retain the original dimensions.


Air Rifle

Pistol

Scope

I have also created a specialty target just for the AK47 and SKS rifle. This target will help you sight in your rifle at 25-yards and be dead on at 100-yards.


AK47 / SKS

Feel free to use and distribute these targets. I hope you enjoy your visit here. Feel free to comment on the articles.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Shooting the Marlin model 60 rifle

blank-1x1-transparant pistol-thumb The oldest rifle I own is the Marlin model 60.  This is an inexpensive .22LR semi-automatic rifle.  It holds 18-rounds in the tubular magazine.  I don’t know exactly, but I think I have owned this rifle more than 20-years. 

I added a red/green dot sight to it.  As I mentioned before, my old eyes don’t like iron sights.  I found a cheap Walther 1x30 red/green dot scope that will either mount to a Weaver/Picatinny rail or the grooved receivers on many .22 rifles.  All you have to do is reverse the built in mount.  This sight is non-magnified and is great for quick and accurate target acquisition.

Walther-1x30-red-green-dot

The Walther 1x30 red/green dot scope works great on my Marlin 60 .22 rifle.  It has Picatinny rails on it to attach a laser or light.  There is a dot size and color selector.  I think the dot is about a 5-MOA size dot.  At 25-yards, the dot covers about two-thirds of a 4-inch circle. 

Marlin 60

The Marlin model 60 is just a fantastic little tack driver.  The wood stock is cut for an adult length of pull and had a nice cheek weld.  The iron sites are “ok”, but you start to see its true potential when you add a scope.  The barrel has what is called “micro-groves”.  This has 16 smaller grooves that is marketed to be more accurate.  I can attest to that fact! 

Yesterday, I tried three different brands of ammo.  The Federal 36-grain hollow point in the bulk pack.  You know…The cheap stuff at the mart store.  The Winchester Super Speed round nose.  This is 40-grain copper plated ammo that is traveling at around 1300 FPS.  The last is the CCI Mini-mag which is 40-grain round nose, copper plated ammo. 

I was not surprised by the cheap Federal bulk pack ammo.  It is fun to shoot, but not very accurate.  I was shooting about 4-inch groups at 25-yards.  I guess you get what you pay for.

A big surprise was the Winchester Super Speed ammo.  The ammo fed 100% but wasn’t as accurate as I expected.  It shot about 2-1/2-inch groups at 25-yards.

The CCI Mini-mag ammo really shinned…Again!  This ammo is the most consistent .22 LR ammo I have every used.  I get the same results from a box I buy today as one from last year.  It cycles 100% and gives consistent accuracy performance.

20090920-M60-CCIMM-25-Yards-6-shot-420x407

In the image above, the white circle is 1-inch in diameter.  What you see is a 1/2” group using a 5-MOA green dot non-magnified scope on the Marlin model 60 .22 LR rifle at 25-yards from a seated position.  Click on the image to see the full target.

The Marlin 60 rifle has always been very accurate.  More accurate than anything I have.  When using good ammunition like the CCI Mini-mags, you can drive tacks!

1 comment:

  1. Great Article! It sounds like it has been a great rifle. I picked up the exact same one at Walmart for $165 2 weeks ago and I could not be happier! This is my first gun purchase and I am excited to invest in a scope very soon.Have fun!

    Matt
    Simpsonville, SC

    ReplyDelete