Thread: Rifle and Optics Snobs

I have met a great many people who insist on 'label' gear, vehicles, clothing, tools, rifles, scopes, etc. Whilst there is no doubt that a lot of it is very nicely made, I believe the only thing that matters is results, nothing else counts for anything other than pride of ownership. A Nikko or Bushnell scope in aluminium rings on a .222/.223 Savage 340 or a Remington 788 will embarrass the hell out of many much more expensive combinations. The perfectly perforated paper, or the dead animal, fail to be impressed by the brand or the quality, just the results. Many expensive hunting rifles are only capable of good hunting accuracy, ie: 60mm (2.5") groups at 100 metres, and in the hands of a good shot will kill reliably at realistic hunting ranges. My old .223 8" twist Chinese Ranger AR15 was the most accurate rifle I have ever owned and would shoot sub 0.5" groups all day with my 69 grain Sierra HPBT handloads (sadly now gone in the buy-back). I was testing my .44 Magnum S&W 29 8-3/8" with full-power loads, prior to going to a shoot in the US in 1987, on the NZDA 100 metre range and another shooter was zeroing his new .243 Steyr Mannlicher with a Kahles scope. He was not happy when my revolver consistently produced sub 2" groups while his best with rifle was about 2.5" (perfectly acceptable for hunting). It is all about the results.

Originally Posted by gundoc

I have met a great many people who insist on 'label' gear, vehicles, clothing, tools, rifles, scopes, etc. Whilst there is no doubt that a lot of it is very nicely made, I believe the only thing that matters is results, nothing else counts for anything other than pride of ownership. A Nikko or Bushnell scope in aluminium rings on a .222/.223 Savage 340 or a Remington 788 will embarrass the hell out of many much more expensive combinations. The perfectly perforated paper, or the dead animal, fail to be impressed by the brand or the quality, just the results. Many expensive hunting rifles are only capable of good hunting accuracy, ie: 60mm (2.5") groups at 100 metres, and in the hands of a good shot will kill reliably at realistic hunting ranges. My old .223 8" twist Chinese Ranger AR15 was the most accurate rifle I have ever owned and would shoot sub 0.5" groups all day with my 69 grain Sierra HPBT handloads (sadly now gone in the buy-back). I was testing my .44 Magnum S&W 29 8-3/8" with full-power loads, prior to going to a shoot in the US in 1987, on the NZDA 100 metre range and another shooter was zeroing his new .243 Steyr Mannlicher with a Kahles scope. He was not happy when my revolver consistently produced sub 2" groups while his best with rifle was about 2.5" (perfectly acceptable for hunting). It is all about the results.

ahh yes the old 788 still have mine wont part with it one of the most accurate rifles I have ever had and holds its zero well