Well, not quite yet.
But, I am dropping my model 41p Remington Targetmaster rifle off at a gunsmith today to tap the barrel for bolt holes to allow me to attach a scope.
I took it out shooting a couple of times and at 40 yards using the iron sights my old eyes just can’t do what they used to do. I was able to put 17 of 18 shots within 3 inches of the center, but that’s really not very good. You couldn’t reliably kill squirrels with that sort of accuracy.
It’s really sort of sad. I remember shooting 40 yards or more at squirrels and nailing them just about every time with this gun. It’s not the gun. It’s my eyes. I just can’t focus with the iron sights like I used to. Even with my glasses I can’t hold the sight on target.
I think I know why too. And it is definitely age related.
I used to be able to focus my eyes very precisely. Using iron sights on a rifle you have to be able to keep the front sight and the target in focus at the same time, or at least quickly adjust your focus from one to the other. I can’t do that anymore. Now if I’m focused on the target, even with my glasses the front sight is a little blurry. If I focus on the front sight, the target is blurry. And if I try to focus on the front sight and then quickly focus on the target, by the time I refocus, the gun has shifted slightly.
I did some online research into shooting and age and this appears to be a relatively common thing that happens when shooters get into their forties and fifties. I see a whole lot of posts about shooters getting scopes for this reason.
That’s because scopes focus both the target and the reticle in the same optical plane by design. That way you can keep a crisp view of the crosshairs superimposed on a crisp view of the target. Which I just can’t do anymore with the iron sights.
So, off to the gunsmith. I dunno how long it will be before I get it back. I’m not going to buy an expensive scope, just about any scope will do I think. I’ll probably end up spending less on the .22 scope, including the tapping of the barrel, than I spent on my Condor scope (which was $150 or so).
Man, this getting old sucks.
2 users commented in " My ancient .22 gets new eyes… "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHmm….
So I took my gun to the gunsmith to have the tapping done so I can mount a scope. He’s a guy about my age who does his gunsmithing from his house. His son was practicing the cornet when I got there.
So he opens up the case and sees the .22 laying there. “That’s a beauty.” he says. I figure he says that to all his customers. But it feels good anyway.
Of course I can’t help myself, I have to respond. “You should have seen it when I first got it.” I reply. So I quickly relate the story of the gun’s history, the rusted barrel, the muddy and grimy stock, and all the work I put into it to make it look like that. The squirrel and rabbit hunting. Maybe he’s just being a good salesman, but he seems to really appreciate the story.
“So, why do you want to put a scope on it?” he asks.People who know me know that I’m not a very sociable person. Just telling the story of the gun is the most revealing personal comments I’ve made to a stranger in probably more than a decade. Something about him makes it really easy to talk to him.
“Well, to be honest, I just can’t seem to shoot it anymore. I took it out last weekend and at 40 yards I just couldn’t zero in on the target. I think it’s my eyes.”
He laughed. “I know what you mean,” he said, “same thing happened to me.” He then described exactly the situation I was struggling with, the difficulty of acquiring the target cleanly, the focusing problems, the blown up group size… “It’s what happens to us.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why I’m looking for a scope. I just don’t see any point to owning a gun I can’t shoot as well as I think I should.”
He nodded and we talked a bit about how to mount a scope, what kind of scope I would want, etc. But then he said “Have you tried a peep sight?” He pulled a .22 rifle out of his gun safe. “This is what I did to my .22 when I had the same problem.” The gun had a peep sight and a shrouded front sight. “Really works for me.”
So we talked some more and the more we talked the more I realized I really didn’t want to put a scope on the .22. I just wanted to be able to hit my targets again. He suggested that I think about it and look at some possible sight options and if I decided to replace the sights with peep and shrouded sights, that would be fine with him too.
So now I’m probably going to pursue the new sights instead of a scope. After all, if I can shoot the way I want without a scope again, that’s actually preferable to putting a scope on it. I have always been somewhat pleased with my shooting prowess with that gun with no scope, and I guess I’d prefer to be able to say I’m using iron sights still.
Funny how that worked out. I think the iron sights will actually make him less money too…
I think I’ve discovered that my .22 isn’t the “41p” model. I thought it was because that was the gun that looked the most like it was identical to mine. But the “p” in the model number, I think, means “peep sight” and mine doesn’t have the peep sight, so I think mine is just the 41 model.
Leave A Reply