Good Gear

Short of a date with a beautiful woman with a great personality, there is nothing like going to the range with exceptional gear.

Today I spent most of the morning testing a new rifle stock from SISK rifles and a new riflescope from Nightforce. Both impressed me. The S.T.A.R. rifle / rifle stock from Sisk is designed so that it can be adjusted to any shooter no matter their size or position. The concept is so revolutionary that instead of giving Sisk a patent, they granted him a book of patents. Not only is the stock adjustable for the user, it can also be configured to best suit the mission. It even has a mount to attach your suppressor to when it is not attached to the barrel. (I get to take credit for that idea.) If you are a die-hard tactical long range shooter and are looking for a highly adjustable and versatile rifle stock, you need to check out the S.T.A.R.

The new Nightforce riflescope was just as impressive but coming from Nightforce who would expect less. It is their new SHV 4-14X 56mm scope and it it also much more affordable than other Nightforce scopes. It weighs 27 ounces and is less than 15 inch along. Eye relief is between 3.1 and 3.5 inches and the reticle is in the 2nd focal plane. The adjustments on this scope were as precise as any I’ve turned. They delivered as close to 0.25 MOA per click as I could confirm with a rifle that was shooting five shot groups of about 1/2 MOA. (If it had not been for that gusting crosswind!) The best part is that this scope retails for less than a grand.Considering my favorite Nightforce scope – the 2.5 – 10X Compact – sells for about $ 1700.00, the SHV is a steal.

Of course there is no way to test a rifle or a scope like this without good ammunition. I tried several loads today and one of the most consistent performers was Buffalo Bore’s 150 grain spitzer .308 Winchester Supercharged load. It averaged 0.855 inch for five, five-shot groups at 100 yards. Average velocity was 2959 fps (from a 20 inch barrel) with a maximum deviation of 33 fps and a standard deviation of 14 fps.

Now, if I could just arrange a date with the perfect woman…My wife gets home at about 6:30 PM this evening; anyone want to volunteer to babysit?