I'm so excited! Was browsing the gun store today and found a 20 year old Anschutz M64 on the rack.... she followed me home! She was already wearing weaver adapters, so I've borrowed a scope with rings and strapped it on. Total weight with scope, based on my kitchen scale, is 3.75kg --> about 8.25lbs. The scope is an interim solution -- a hunting model off a friend's .308, but it will let me do some shooting tomorrow so I can see what kind of groups it gets.

I might still be in the market for that CZ, but I'm excited about getting started.

Congratulations on your new purchase. You will have a blast shooting it. When you shoot that first silhouette animal and see it fall with a satisfying "ping" remember it was me that told you you would be hooked.....

Kitty

Sophia;

Congrats from the rest of us as well on your new Annie. Always nice to see another new shooter. Hope we can convince you to travel to some of the matches where like minded loonies gather.

By the way, when John shoots those silhouettes it sounds like "Bling, "Bling"! Right, Kitty?

dwl

I hope that used 64 works out for you. You'll probaly want to put a target scope on it soon. With the 64, I would start out with some Eley. It comes in a variety of prices and the more expensive stuff just has fewer flyers. I have also had good luck with Wolf in my 64. Stay away from the US made stuff. Federal use to be good but something happened to them.

When you hit dirt it is more like 'plop', when you hit steel it is more of a 'klank'. I guess when you hit the snow in Cash Valley there isn't any sound.

Free advice from someone that really likes Eley, try the Practice 100 for a low cost practice ammunition.

dwl,

You're right of course.....bling bling bling......Sophia remember, it don't mean a thing if you don't bring the bling

Kitty

Thanks for sharing my excitement with me.

I started the day by shopping for some ammo. Not much variety to be had in this little one-horse dorp. I found some CCI hi-velocity stuff, some CCI Green Tag, some Remington cheap stuff, and some Aquilla Sub-sonic.

The day was cold and windy, with snow flurries before it was over, but I zeroed in the scope and then shot a few groups with each type of ammo, using a bench rest. The Green Tag worked best, giving me a 5-round group at 50 yards of about 0.3" even with the blustery wind. The hi-velocity stuff was not bad. The rest don't really deserve the name "groups."

You're right about really needing to get a proper scope on this thing. The one I was using went from 4x - 12x (I used it at 12x) but the target image was so blurry it was very hard to know when the cross hairs were centered on the orange dots I using as aiming points. The problem, I'm sure, is that it has a fixed focus set at something closer to 100 yards.

I'm still shopping for scope ideas before I start shopping for scopes but, now that I've satisfied myself the rifle can shoot straight, I need to start working on my own technique.

Sophia,
Congrats on picking out a rifle, and welcome to the fun!
Most ranges do not allow high velocity ammo for the smallbore targets as they tend to destroy the targets very quickly.
As for scopes invest in good glass. it will hold it's value, I would recommend for a beginner sonething like a 6X20 or 6.5X24 as most cannot hold much over 12 to 16 power steady enough to concentrate on what target you are shooting at. Thus causing lots of crossfires and lost points. Leupold and Weaver (T series) have good glass and are reliable with good warranties. Crosshairs, dots and other reticles are truly personal preference. When picking out a scope, look for a 40 to 44 mm bell, as the 50mm tend to cause mounting problems and usually require a very long neck to get your head high enough to see through the scope.
All the Anschutz's I've known tend to love Eley ammo, look for groups at 100 meters, at 50 almost anything will hold a fairly tight group, it is the Turkeys and Rams that you start seeing the major spread in consisitancy for the ammo.
Again, welcome to the fun and I look forward to seeing you at the matches.

Innocent

Sophia,

Congrats on your purchase. I too, just picked up an Anschutz 64 msr and just tried out a scope and ammo. Here is what I have found out. I used the BSA 8 x 32 platinum that came with the rifle. A skilled silhouette shooter helped me sight in the scope, choose which ammo worked best ( almost all the eley).

After getting the chicken, pigs and turkeys sighted in and the scope set to 0 for the chickens, we started on the rams. The 64 came with very high mounting brackets. I believe they were 1 1/2 inches. They work fantastic for bring the gun and scope into perfect alignment with my eye while keeping my head stright. But, this caused a problem as the scope ran out of adjustment.

We had to start over after shiming the rear scope bracket. We used a piece of aluminum from a coke can. We we able to bring the Rams in after shimming the scope.

After reseaching scope information I found if using a variable power scope go for a 3 power, not a 4 power. Three power scopes, in general, have more adjustment built into the scopes than 4 power. Fixed is best. I think a good 6.5 x 20 would be nice. But, be sure to check how much adjustment is available when purchasing a scope.

I was advised that shimming is not good for a scope as it puts angled pressure on the scope.

I hope someone here can comment on this advise I was given. To me it makes sense.

Sophie:
Congratulations on getting your gear together. Do you know which model of 64 rifle you got? Is it a sporter model (i.e. 1416?), or one of the MS models? The sporter models can be used in either class (hunter and standard). The MS models are only usable in the standard class.
Anyway, have fun with it and practice as much as possible. Hopefully there is an active club in your area with a lot of silhouette matches.

Enjoy,

SteveM.

Steve, this one is the MS model. From its looks, I figured it would be in the standard class. I still have a hankering for the hunter class so may still end up with a CZ, but I reckon I'll spend some time learning to shoot on this one before I take that plunge.

Timfinle, I've read the same thing about shimming scopes... that you need it to get the scope on a converging axis with the bore, and that it is less than desireable because of the stress it puts on the scope. One solution was addressed on Eric Brooks' CZ 452 site, and that is to use Burris rings with an "eccentric insert kit".... essentially rings with pre-measured shims that give the right tilt relative to the bore but avoiding stress on the scope by keeping the scope parallel to the inside diameter of the rings.

Read about it here:

http://www.cz452.com/

You'll have to dig around a bit.... it is on the FAQ page. The rings and inserts are:

http://www.natchezss.com/brand.cfm?cont ... N=90663783

http://www.natchezss.com/brand.cfm?cont ... D=BU626019

From what I read, it sounds like Eric has his rear ring set up with a 0.020" insert under the rear and a 0.005" insert under the front to get the right tilt. What I don't know is whether or not that requires shims in the top of the rings, or if the 0 insert is all you need there. eeleater (on this forum) uses a similar set up... maybe he can help sort it out.

BKL Tech makes drop compensated mounts. But for the last word in mounts Marvin Pearson (metalhead) makes the finest around. Functional works of art and they can be had with drop compensation built in.

Kitty

Sophia,

I'm using the rings you're talking about. When you get a .010 or whatever, it is a pair of inserts for the top and bottom of the ring. Whatever is added to the bottom is subtracted from the companion insert for the top. No additional shims are required.

There is an article in the archives on this website that talks about how much you want to jack up the back of the scope. Remember that the farther the rings are apart, the less effect that a given shim will have.

Sophia,
I have been shooting smallbore silhouette for 30 years, and have not seen a scope yet that was capable of going from chickens to rams without having to shim the rear ring. Those that are capable of doing it, the elevation adjustment is just about top out, which is not very stable, especially if you have to make wind corrections.
Must of the shooters in Texas have the rear ring shimed, and they are winning a lot of matches, normally a piece of beer can alluminum, or two pieces of a bussiness card will work fine.
The Burris rings will also work, if you don't mind spending 3 or 4 hours at the range trying to adjust them correctly.
Regardless of what the idea is out there, shiming the rear rings, will not put that scope on any kind of stress to not make it shoot or adjust correctly.
Evelio
I know I will never hear the end of this, but it is the truth.

Evelio: I'm surprised at your report of scopes topping out. My three Weaver T-24's have WAY more than enough elevation adjustment to go the 8 or 10 MOA from chickens to rams. I must also report that I know a guy who bent not one but two scope tubes trying to shim. I've never shimmed a scope and don't know what he did (wrong) but it seems to be a hazard at least.
Not arguing. I'm a lawyer and I refuse to argue during my recreation time. I guess I'm just asking whether you've had problems with the Weaver and advising people to know what they're doing before trying shimming.