First frigid shooting trip of the winter...American Eagle ammo tested, more CCI SV = sub MOA!

Today, Brad and I hiked to our favorite shooting location and set up for 3 hours of trigger time. Having learned from last winter, I brought two tarps and laid one on top of the other to keep the moisture from coming through as our body heat melted the snow beneath. Weather was OK for shooting - no wind and 27 degrees F, with cloud cover. Notice the difference one month makes in conditions. You can click on the pics to make them larger.

I admit, I definitely prefer warmth and sunshine, but I enjoy shooting too much to wait for warmth.

We began by setting up targets side by side at 50 yards and shooting for group size with CCI SV. This activity never gets old. In the image below you see my first five 5-shot groups. My best came in at .44" (sub MOA) measuring center-to-center. And yes, they're all five-shot groups even though several appear to be 4-shotters. Note, the extreme low/left impact was a flyer from one of Brad's groups on the target next door. At this stage of the game I'm convinced my gun will still outshoot me and I plan to see more sub MOA groups as I improve my own performance and invest in better glass down the road.

I brought along a box of American Eagle 38gr High Velocity CPHP ammunition I picked up recently with the object of testing it through my gun. The first thing I noticed was the sharp report in comparison to the CCI SV, courtesy of the sound barrier. A full-on concentration 5-shot group landed 1.03" center-to-center. A few more groups would probably have produced at least one tighter group, but upon inspection the American Eagle (AE) had some obvious blemishes to the bullets which make me doubtful it'd ever match the CCI SV for precision. Notice how much higher it grouped compared to the CCI SV above. As expected - with higher velocity - at 100 yards it also grouped several inches higher than the CCI SV. Later, at 130 yards, we noticed the AE spun our steel knockover targets with more authority than the CCI SV. I suspect the AE is a decent hunting round, with sufficient accuracy to do the deed.    

We spent a little while at 100 yards also, doing our best to put tight groups on paper with the CCI SV. My best 100-yard group came in today at 1.375" center-to-center. I'm convinced better glass will help me improve in the future at 100 yards. The reticle mostly obscures the orange dot at this distance, 9X feels just shy of perfect, and the image just begins to haze. What other excuses can I come up with?    

It's good to have a friend who's into the sport and anxious to get to the range. Nice to have a shooting partner and competitor. Brad managed to shoot very well, despite a gloved trigger finger numb from the cold. It'll be mid-January before we hit the range again...shucks.