I wanted a good base gun to start some precision shooting out to mid-range distances. I decided on a Howa in 308 with an Archangel stock direct from Howa. 20" Heavy Barrel with threaded muzzle. It's HEAVY (11-lbs plus scope and ammo, so around 13-14 as it sits), which should make it an even better bench gun. I really only hunt shooting houses on green fields anymore, so I'll put a few does in the freezer with it each year too.

I put a set of dual dovetail Leopold rings on it with my Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50. Took it to a range on my way to MS last week and shot a few to get it dialed in and see what it could do.





I started off with a box of Winchester 150GR cheap ammo to break in the barrel just to be sure. It started out about 2 MOA but got tighter and tighter as I sent them downrange.

Next up was some Hornady Match 168gr BTHP. At 100, they did OK at about 3/4 MOA. That was nowhere near what I wanted out of this gun so I can say I wasn't very happy at that point.



Luckily I had picked up some Hornady Superformance 165GR SST to try.



Sending a few of those down range the POI was a little different, but after a couple rounds it started stacking them tight. Here's 5 shots at 100yds. Now that's what I was looking for!



Rolled the crosshairs right 3 clicks and down 1, then tried a single shot on a new target.



I shot a few at 200yds and they were 5" low and grouped well, but by then I had put around 50 through the 308 and (2) 243s so I saved some for another day.

Looking forward to getting back to the bench with some other brands and some hand loads to see what it can do.



Here's my 9 year old at 50yds with his R700 Youth 243 and Nikon 3-9x40.



Here's my 13 year old at 200yds with his R700 Youth 243 and his new Vortex 4-16x50 he got for Christmas. 1.25" right and 1" high isn't bad for one that young!



Next day he bagged a doe at 260yds from a shooting house by himself. Couldn't be more proud of how well they're both doing. Looking forward to more range time with both of them this year!

Good shooting and great pics!

Well done Dad.

that will do right there ...

Should be a fine rig for the shooting house. I might take that rest along too.LOL

Cool! and a bamachem sighting too!

Them boys are ready. Make sure you know they understand all the safety precautions when handling their firearms too. Most important keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and treat every gun as if its loaded.

Sweet

For sure. They have been learning safe gun rules since they were little bitty. Clayton has killed 9 in the last 4 years and Aidan has put one in the freezer already. I'm just glad they enjoy getting outside with me.

I'll post what I did with my kids concerning gun safety for any new dads out there reading.

With all mine they carried a BB gun for one and sometimes two years. It gave me the opportunity to teach them gun safety and gun handling with them actually doing the handling. That way they could practice always keeping the gun in a safe direction and the worst thing that could happen is they could shoot my eye out.Most likely I would get a light sting in case of a bad accident.

After the BB gun we graduated to a single shot shotgun with Squirrels, with me carrying the shells or treating them like Barney Fife with one shell in their pocket.

We also did a bunch of shooting things to drive home how much destruction the gun would cause.

Be safe everyone and have a great new year with the kids and guns.

Good post. I did a lot of the same. First year was a Red Ryder, empty so it didn't make any noise. For my boys, that was at 5. Next year they got a Crickett 22 to carry, unloaded (age 6). They each carried that for 2 years (6 and 7 yrs old), unloaded with a single 22 round in their pocket just like you. At the end of a hunt I'd let them shoot something. We did plenty of practicing with the 22s and still do for precision shooting, practicing breathing, shot placement, etc.

Fourth year (age 8) they graduated to a 243 youth Rem 700. Max range that first year with the 243 is 75 yards with a 3-9 scope. Year 5 I will let them go to 100 or just over. Year 6 they're about 10 years old and I'll let them shoot out to 150 and at that point it's a good time to upgrade the cheap scope that comes on the package rifle. At this point, they still sit on my knee and I help them hold steady when they shoot (shooting house only - no other shots allowed).

By 12 I was still sitting with my oldest and my youngest boy got his 243. If one came close my youngest had first choice. Later in the year at 12, I started letting my oldest sit by himself for maybe 2 hours at a time and I'd be the next field over with a radio. This year, he's 13 and killed 3 this season, his best at 260 yards while sitting by himself. As far as I'm concerned, he's doing great.

When we go to the range, we will spend a good hour or more shooting 22s before we shoot anything else. Single shot crickets are great for this. We have precision contests at 25 and 50 yards and I get into it with them. They love to try to beat their old man at shot placement. It can be really fun too. Once we get to the deer rifles, they've smelled a little burning powder and got in the mindset of slowing down and making shots count. This has worked well for me so far.