I'm FINALLY Ready To Rock!!!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I Must start by saying a Huge THANKYOU to el Bald One! Baldie sorted out my damaged moderator for me and the moment I finally got to fire her again, I was gob smacked! What I'd once described, on here, as " Kish Owwww! " now comes out as more like a dull Crack! I'd imagine it's only about three or so times louder than my mate, Dean O's rimmy. And That thing, moderated, sounds like a Zippo being snapped shut! I very much doubt my neighbours, a mile away, noticed I was firing down here! Much Kudos to el Bald; A gentleman and a scholar! Cheers, mate!

 

That sorted then, I had my E-Z Pull all sorted and she was dropping the hammer by little more than the power of thought. So, last evening I set up my target. Aimed. Touched the trigger and CLICK! Yeppers. Six f*cking rounds. Each tried at least a couple of times. Click, click, f*cking click! Of course, I did what ye do. I peered into the end of the moderator and touched the trigger, trying to discern the problem. Click! F*ck it! I put the damn thing away in the safe and tried not to dwell on this latest nightmare.

 

Today I started trying to sort my shit out. Ok. When I'd fitted the E-Z Pull initially, I admit, I Did dry fire her at least three times, in my elation and excitement, before realising it might be a better idea to just lower the hammer manually and slowly as she released. But I still figured I'd f*cked the firing pin up. Square one then. She'd be looking for a competent Gun Smith this side of the water

 

Then, with nothing much else to do or think about, I hit Google. Seeking information about firing pins. More especially, NEF Handirifle ones. Ye'll never guess what I found out?! Several people were reporting that they'd had bother with their NEF's if - broadly speaking - they didn't 'squeeze / hold the trigger 'long enough' ?! Eh?! It's hard to encapsulate or even define. But the strong feeling I was getting from reading a variety of forum conversations off Google was that the NEF Handi has some further quirk, in that the trigger needs to travel so far, else the next bit to the firing pin (Baldie could probably work this out) doesn't do it's thing and, while the hammer drops ..... Anyway ...

 

So I started the completely, soul testingly, arduous task of slightly adjusting the E-Z Pull. Go outside. Load. Aim. Click! Back in here. Deep breath. Alun key. Bit further foreward. Back outside ..... Till, eventually, I lined up on the target, squeezed like hell and Crack!

 

So; Is the E-Z Pull now doing anything for me? The b*stard gun obviously so likes it's anything up to eight pound pull (Yeppers! Factory setting, I've now learned! ) that any reduction leads to duff hammer drops. But, either way, there's simply no more I can do about it, short of getting that internal trigger job done which I so discussed and lamented before. I just got on with it, as is.

 

I had one of my standard 100 Yard Crosshair targets set up at about fifty yards ~ yeah, I know. But the hay's up, the cattle are out and this was the only safe spot I could think of to aim to. At least I was zeroing the bloody thing! I used one of my gates as a bench rest. Adopted a kneeling position and loosed off a couple of rounds. Checked through the scope and then anxiously looked over my neighbours cattle! Thankfully, it appeared I at least hadn't gone so wide I'd hit any of those. Nor though did I appear to have touched the paper.

 

Anyway, without boring ye even more with a round by round account. I did, on closer inspection, find I'd actually hit the tape in the bottom right hand corner. Remembering I'd found her to be going low to the right, I started counting clicks on the scope adjustment. Three Dozen Clicks Later, windage and elevation, I found my mark! As the first round blatted the 'Bull', I asked myself if I was " F*cking kidding?! ". The next four proved I most certainly wasn't! The horizontal bias of my grouping is completely me. That's exactly how I performed with my old BSA Lightning air rifle at around the 25 yard mark. Only there I stitched a horizontal line with the holes virtually joined up like " ..... ".

 

And here, to show Ditch Shitter is no Bull shitter but a Bull Hitter, are the shots to show the shots. If ye accept that the first round hit the brown tape in the extreme lower right corner, the other hole, diagonally up towards the bull area shows where I clicked like a cricket on those turrets! Upper hole on the bull was me finding my mark. Then I rattled off the four horizontals:

 

 

Full Target

 

 

Bull Target

 

 

 

D'Ye think I might be able to knock over a fox at 100 yards now?

 

 

[Guest ceredigion bull cross]

good shot sir

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

too f****n right mate !

 

10 out of 10 for persistance !

[Guest JohnGalway]

Was that target at 50 or 100, ya need to be getting inch groups at 100 for fox. Good to see she's finally working for ya.

[Guest baldie]

As the yanks say......feckin A. Go kick some red ass.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Was that target at 50 or 100, ya need to be getting inch groups at 100 for fox.

 

 

John; As said above mate, the target was set at about fifty yards away, because that was the only safe point I could conveniantly fire to today. Now I have her hitting where I point her, I'll be able to go out and find a spot where I can go the ton ~ though I'd like to have Dean O' and his range finder around, both to verifie the exact range and that it's really me doing the shooting

 

It looks to me like the gun's up to it. As long as my eyes are up to it, I honestly see no problem. I've heard the personal opinions of qualified, professional Marskmen on my shooting. Frankly, I was nonplussed because I just shoot like I do and always have. I couldn't see what they made so much fuss about.

 

Those black squares measure 1/2" square, by the way. I was firing more or less 'as I do'; Braced against a solid upright. No laying down with nice, fancy bi pods. And the trigger's back to being a bitch. I suppose the only differance I've ended up with then is that the mod is as it should be again now and so itsn't throwing the rounds. And I've got her pretty much zero'd as a result. If I can ever get that trigger polished from the inside, she'll be f*cking incredible!

 

Round inside an inch at 100 yards? Soon as Dean drops by, I'll give that a crack. Only I feel one would need to be a better vulpine anatomist, to be able to discern exactly which square inch of upper body mass to fire at, than one need be crack shot! In my woeful ignorance, I'd rather imagined somewhere centre of the area behind the upper front leg would cause most foxes to stop what they were doing. But you like to designate ye ventrical then? Class!

 

So; Is there some new x ray night sight I haven't heard of yet?

[bshadle 5]

Ditch,

 

The reason you want to get that kind of accuracy has little to do with picking what ventrical, at least for us mere mortal shooters. It's to give you a margin of error when you're shooting in the field at actual game. The conditions are seldom as perfect in the field as they are when you're sighting in on paper from a good fixed rest and under no pressure. The best shooters can maintain the same accuracy in the field as from the bench, most of us can't.

 

A fox presents a pretty good size target for a clean kill, maybe 4" or so across.

 

 

If you're shooting a 1" group at 100 yards from the bench, you can be twice as inaccurate in any direction in the field and still be confident of making the shot. The fox doesn't care which ventrical you take out, the results are the same.

 

That group is not bad for early on with a NEF and an 8 lb trigger pull. Getting the trigger polished will go a long way toward cutting down the size of the grouping and practice with the rifle will take care of the rest. From the looks of it you already have pretty good form, it's just a matter of making it work on that particular rifle.

 

Good luck with it.

[Guest JohnGalway]

Well, shoot whatever way ya like or listen to fellas who have shot a few foxes themselves, up to you.

 

100 yard practice will be good for you. Most rifles will shoot very well at 50 yards, my .22lr does less than a half inch, and I was doing 13 shot groups that day (see, it's not an unlucky number).

 

As for how you shoot and the opinions you got, haven't a clue cos I don't know how you shoot However you choose to choot is entirely up to you, whatever feels comfortable and gives best accuracy. Inch and a bit at 50 yards, well it's somewhere to start but for foxing it needs to be better. No bullshit just simple as that.

 

The reason is as stated in the last post above, margin of error. I'll tell you from experience that if you bellywhack a fox, or shoot off his jaw he'll not drop on the spot. I absolutely promise ya that. Will it kill him, yeah most likely. He'll suffer a lot though and for me I like to shoot him and walk up to where I shot him and find him there. From the looks of the terrain around you it won't be easy find him either. So two things could happen, you could go home after the shot thinking you missed (not a good feeling) or you (depending on the person) may have to spend a considerable time searching for an injured fox.

 

You'd be surprised how small the kill area on a fox actually is. And if ya wing him and he turns and runs, he ain't gonna be looking back.

 

Best thing I can suggest to you is Foxing with Lamp and Rifle by Robert Bucknell, can be got at target sports in Bolton online (although they have bad customer service it's the only place I could find it).

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Relax, the pair of ye! I was half cut, am under extreme pressure and had been letting off some tension by firing my rifle. Something I've barely even been able to do since I finally got the damn thing, if ye remember? Coming in here and banging on about banging a few off was theraputic. Now I've calmed down and have barely thought about the rifle all day.

 

I'm looking foreward to the weekend, when Dean turns up and we can have our little shoot out. Then I'll get to fire at 100 yards and I'm quite sure it will be an eye opener for me. My top gate's a range finder measured ton from here. Looking out at it and thinking of a target there is scary enough as it is!

 

Anyway, this fox shooting / lamp thing ye talk of, John? What is it, please? Book or a DVD? Only, if it's a DVD I'm afraid I'm shafted. Haven't got the software to watch them

[Guest Frank]

Well, shoot whatever way ya like or listen to fellas who have shot a few foxes themselves, up to you.

 

100 yard practice will be good for you. Most rifles will shoot very well at 50 yards, my .22lr does less than a half inch, and I was doing 13 shot groups that day (see, it's not an unlucky number).

 

As for how you shoot and the opinions you got, haven't a clue cos I don't know how you shoot However you choose to choot is entirely up to you, whatever feels comfortable and gives best accuracy. Inch and a bit at 50 yards, well it's somewhere to start but for foxing it needs to be better. No bullshit just simple as that.

 

The reason is as stated in the last post above, margin of error. I'll tell you from experience that if you bellywhack a fox, or shoot off his jaw he'll not drop on the spot. I absolutely promise ya that. Will it kill him, yeah most likely. He'll suffer a lot though and for me I like to shoot him and walk up to where I shot him and find him there. From the looks of the terrain around you it won't be easy find him either. So two things could happen, you could go home after the shot thinking you missed (not a good feeling) or you (depending on the person) may have to spend a considerable time searching for an injured fox.

 

You'd be surprised how small the kill area on a fox actually is. And if ya wing him and he turns and runs, he ain't gonna be looking back.

 

Best thing I can suggest to you is Foxing with Lamp and Rifle by Robert Bucknell, can be got at target sports in Bolton online (although they have bad customer service it's the only place I could find it).

 

Need i say more, ........Nope.

 

Well said sir.

 

Frank.

[Guest JohnGalway]

Anyway, this fox shooting / lamp thing ye talk of, John? What is it, please? Book or a DVD? Only, if it's a DVD I'm afraid I'm shafted. Haven't got the software to watch them

 

It's a book, have it here infront of me now. I take that back actually, it's not "a book" it's "the book" when it comes to shooting foxes at night. "Foxing with Lamp and Rifle" by "Robert Bucknell" ISBN 0-9540206-0-X. I got mine online here, they are getting an increasingly bad reputation for service so you may want to drop a line by email to suss them out first, do they have it, how long to deliver, how much postage, usual rubbish. Amazon.co.uk has it also but it's £42 there (used), £30 at the other place, it's also on evil bay. It is the best book ever written on foxing, I even took it on two holidays with me to London and Greece

[Guest baldie]

Cochy-Bhondu books also do it, and i would imagine tideline books also do it Ditch. Its a very good book, written by someone who actually does some foxing, and not written by a wannabe, as a lot of books are these days, highly recommended.

If you havent got a bipod, make a sandbag up, from summat, and zero the gun lying prone, you will get better results than leaning on a gatepost buddy.

[woodga 170]

the first fox you actually shoot should be hit between the eyes with all this preperation bet you miss him

[Guest JohnGalway]

the first fox you actually shoot should be hit between the eyes with all this preperation bet you miss him

 

Woodga, did you not read the rules, you have to specify an eye

[Guest Frank]

the first fox you actually shoot should be hit between the eyes with all this preperation bet you miss him