Did You See The SKY Today?

WOW!.........it was an Elmore County Phenomenon!  I walked out of "Tuesday Bible Study" around 11:30, out into the church parking lot, and WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!........on top of THAT, there was absolutely NO MOVEMENT in the treetops.

No wind??.................HERE????

It was a "shooter's DREAM"........problem WAS though, I had to hang around the house today, until the carpet guy showed up to stretch the carpet.  When he showed up at 1:PM , I got a "reprieve", as a lot of stuff would have to be MOVED first, and MUCH of it is Donna's nik-naks, which NEITHER Troy or I wanted to handle, so we re-scheduled for Thursday, when Donna will be home to "put things where SHE wants them" before we move the heavy stuff.......and by 1:30 or so, he was gone...............and the wind was still DEAD!...........

"GEE-WHIZ-------I WONDER what I should do with the rest of the afternoon?"

Once upon a time, back when the earth was green, the Mossberg Firearms Company made a special 22 target rifle called the 340B.  It had an interesting sighting system and I always wanted one.  For over 30 years, I'd always wanted one, but they stopped building them a long, long time ago, and today they're as rare as hen's teeth.

About two years ago, I finally found one on gunbroker.com....BID on it and got it.  But it has sat in its case for the last two years, because I've had BIGGER guns to sight-in and work with......(and the wind plays havoc with 22's).............so the 340 became a "one of these days" project.

I can't get out there as often as I'd like, due to the wind, and often due to the mud, after it's rained or snowed.  Some REALLY nice days have been lost to Boise appointments & such. 

But if you shoot, you seldom get a day like THIS one......and the carpet reschedule opened up about a "4-hour window".  Pretty day, NO wind at all------"PERFECT" for "dialing-in" a 22.

And THIS one's been on the "back-burner" long enough.  The very first time I saw a Mossberg 340B, was in a gun magazine I'd bought at the local BX in San Vito, Italy, back in 1975.

At first glance, it looked just like another bolt-action 22 to ME, except that it not only had a special target rear sight...............

....but it also had a shrouded-peep-sight in the FRONT..............

......and if THAT wasn't enough, there's a THIRD "ramp" sight halfway between the front & rear!  Back in '75, I thought a "3-sight system" must really be a neat way to line up on a target!  (actually, that "middle sight" is normally the REAR sight, if you don't have the rifle equipped with that special target aperture.)  I never used it at all today.  But it IS interesting to look at!

Normally, I would use Winchester or Remington ammo for initial sight-in, but there is not only a buying "frenzy" on quality guns right now, but on ammo as well.....so there's no need to waste any of the "good stuff" on paper targets.

American Eagle (made by Federal) is pretty good ammo, and is available in good quantities at the moment), and while "hollow-points" aren't quite as accurate as standard round-nose bullets, it WOULD render a pretty good indication of what the rifle will do.  If it hits well with THESE, it'll be even BETTER with the more "premium" grades of ammo.  So I went out with a box of THESE this afternoon.

This is a used rifle, and lacked the original manual, so I'd have to GUESS "how many clicks"-----for how many inches...left/right/up/down........it would be "trial & error."  But at least it was peaceful, calm & quiet out there today......no hurry......no need to try to "shoot between the wind gusts."  It was actually SO nice out there, I wasn't used to it!

Most 22's are comfortable to shoot.....no recoil.......and THIS one had the same "finger-grip" trigger housing that was so popular on MOST of those "old-era" Mossbergs.  It is a very nice rifle to shoot.

I'm used to a "blade" front sight, so THIS "shrouded-peep" took a bit of getting used to, along with that micrometer rear sight.  But the two work well together, and once you figure them out, you're in good shape (on paper), but I like a little more open sight picture when rabbit hunting.

I put my target stand out about 40 yards and started "getting used" to this thing.  Initially "low and left" I over-compensated and went "high & right".   I was shooting volleys of 5 and 6 in-between sight adjustments, and soon found that it wasn't taking as many "clicks" of adjustment as I had anticipated.  So I slowed the rate to 1 or 2 clicks at a time, until it finally "dialed in" to the "orange" spot.  My final "adjustment shot" is the one that's nearly dead-center.  There's no "half-click" adjustment, so I just left it right there.

Then I threw an old can out there and bounced IT around a little......

.....which I brought HOME with me!..........please don't leave "targets" laying around out there, guys...........makes us ALL look bad.

Paper targets make good references for ammo purchases, so you know what groups well, and what doesn't.

Anyway.....it WAS a "rare" day in Elmore County today.............even for little "rimfire" 22's!

And 37 years after the magazine article, I finally got to shoot a 340B!