Oct 28, 2017 5 min read

Any person who is addicted to the John Wayne westerns should remember his telling a lady he secretly admired windage and elevation. For whatever reason, that line has stayed in my memory with all its other collected trivia and bits of nonsense. My favorite line is his greatest, when he faces Ned Pepper in “True Grit,” remember, “Fill your hand, you S.O.B.” This does pertain to the mood I’m in. Not that I am comparing myself to the Duke, although when I have a cigar stub in my mouth and a cowboy hat on I could be a short version of Clint Eastwood.

That windage line reminds me of accuracy as it pertains to rifles. A bullet that is confined within the gun’s barrel rotates around its center form. When it leaves the barrel, it rotates around the center of mass. If the shooting is to be accurate, then they better be the same. While I doubt if any bullet can be made where that is exactly so but miraculously they come very close. It is one of the many reasons why the perfect group from a rifle has yet to be shot. It might be almost perfect but not quite. This is just one of those things that is out of the reloaders, or for that matter, those that shoot factory ammos control. It is by trial and error that the shooter finds the one that matches his rifle and shoots the best.

It is in the manufacture of bullets, and the improvement in that little piece of copper and lead we send down range and into the target, that has seen accuracy grow by leaps and bounds. This is not to say there hasn’t been improvements in the rifles we shoot. Hoping as we do that every bullet sent down range will go into the same spot, creating one of those one-hole groups we carry around in our wallets. This group proves that our rifle shoots one-hole groups. The person showing his fantastic group fails to realize that it might be nothing more than the result of good old lady luck. The good lady giveth and taketh away. The shooter must also remember that day when four shots clustered together like a frightened covey of quail but that fifth one went astray at least one inch from the others. It’s more realistic when that one-hole group can be repeated at least four times out of five. Then your favorite firearm could be called a one-hole shooter. Well, maybe.

Today’s rifles are more accurate. The steel is better and quality control from the use of lasers helps. But there is little doubt that the old ones received more handwork. Instead of slam-bam it is done, the human being examines the finished product with an experienced eye rejecting it if it wasn’t put together right. The old Model 70s barrels were hand-lapped creating a smooth finish. Today, the shooter thinks his rifle needs a break in period where it is cleaned every few rounds. Those old Winchesters didn’t need this treatment. There is no question that bedding methods are better today but actions on standard rifles tend to be rough and gritty compared to those of long ago. The worst of all are those utilizing stainless steel actions.

Just recently, I had the privilege of shooting an all-stainless rifle in 6.5 Creedmore from a well-respected manufacturer. I was repelled by the roughness of working the bolt. Lawyers have created a world where safeties are so rough one can hardly get them in the fire position and triggers that require a sumo wrestler to get them to release the firing pin. This despite the fact we are all told never point the rifle at something you don’t want to shoot. There is no cure for stupidity in people despite all our efforts. Some people will figure out a way to shoot something other than game or the targeted tin can despite all our best efforts.

Then there are those who think they can compensate for bad shooting by acquiring a bigger and more powerful chambering in their rifle. They shot a 95 pound whitetail in the big toe and it ran away. Now the 30-06 they were using wasn’t big enough, so they rush to the store and buy an ultra-magnum, thinking an identical shot placement with that behemoth will solve their problems. If they couldn’t shoot the 30-06 they certainly won’t do better, and will probably do worse, with this hard-kicking grizzly bear round. Well, my problem is I just have too much time on my hands to think and watch TV these days.

Well, it’s the end of this tale so I guess a good man always knows his limitations, or maybe you prefer go ahead make my day.