Egg Shoot Q&A

Here are some of the questions folks are asking about the EGG SHOOTS and my answers:

“My varmint rig is a 22-250 with a 4-12 scope. I have a 36X scope on my other rifle. Should I put it on my 22-250 for this event?”

Only if you have enough time to get to the range a couple of times before the event and get sighted in. The day of the event is no time to be sighting in a new scope. But in this game, as in all target shooting, there is no substitute for “good eyes”. A 36X scope is nice, but I’ve won my fair share of Egg Shoots with 18-24 power scopes. Especially at 200 yds. If you don’t have time to put higher power glass on that rifle, bring it as it is. A 12 power scope will work, and don’t forget, it’s a fun shoot!

“The only factory rifle I have that I feel; is accurate enough is a 308 Winchester”

I would guess about 20% of the various Egg Shoots have been won with 308 rifles. Bring it! You might just surprise yourself.

“I’m going to purchase a new rifle to compete in the FACTORY class. What do you recommend?”

This is a tough one. Certainly we have all seen just how accurate Savage rifles are. But that said, the CZ, Sako and Browning rifles are right with them. Remington, Rugers and Winchesters can be forced to shoot, but not as easily as the afore mentioned brands. Now, if you want to do some looking around, and you can find a nice condition Remington 788 in 222 or 22-250, these guns SHOOT! Or if you are really lucky, an old Sako A1 in 222, 223, 22PPC or 6mmPPC. Man, talk about a benchrest gun right out of the box. But if I was going to go out and buy a new rifle just for this event, it would be a Savage Model 12 in 223 with the new low profile laminated varmint stock………Put a Weaver T-36 scope with a 1/8minute dot on it and take home trophies!

“What’s the best caliber for Egg Shooing?”

This is pretty easy. In the custom barrel rifles, the 6BR is just about untouchable. Excellent bullets are available in 6mm and Lapua makes just about perfect 6BR brass. Fill it with 32 grains of Vit 135, put a 65-68 grain “anything” bullet on top, set it off with a BR small rifle primer and have at it. It just don’t get any better! For factory class, the 223 is hard to beat. Good bullets are available, great brass is in every catalog and recoil and barrel wear are cut down to a minimum. Very easy to load for and very easy to shoot.

“Why are there no semi-automatics at the shoot?”

A few years ago a fellow was shooting his AR-15 Bushmaster on the other range. He wandered over to see what we were doing and he decided to give it a try. His rifle had a 3-9 Tasco scope and a 16″ combat type barrel. He proceeded to hit 15 Eggs with 15 rounds and won the shoot! Since that day, I’ve not seen another semi on the line. But it proves they can shoot. I would think using a semi in the hunting class with a 9X limit scope at 100yds would be great fun. I have a full blown, custom Olympic Arms AR-15 that I’m going to work up some 200 yd loads and compete with next year at 200……….Stay tuned!

“What is the best barrel to buy for a Custom rifle?”

I get asked this question all the time. I’ll simply give you my opinion, and that’s all that it is, an opinion. I’ve had tremendous good luck with Kreiger barrels. I’ve never had a bad one. And I can’t say that about any other brands. Recently I’ve bought a couple of PacNor barrels. One in 25 caliber for a 257 Ackley hunting rifle I built and another in 20 caliber for a 20 Tactical “Walk Around Varminter” I built. Both barrels shoot extremely well. But I’ve not used PacNors in a target weight barrel yet. Others on the line have and report very good results. All the rest, Shilien, Hart, Boughton, HS, etc make good barrels. You see them used on BR guns all the time. But with the success I’ve had with Kreiger, why would I chance trying something else. I went with PacNor simply because they had the barrels I wanted in stock and Kreiger wasn’t making 20 caliber barrels at the time.

“What’s the best scope for Egg Shooting?”

If money is no object, the best adjustable with at least 32X on the top. Burris, Leupold and Nightforce are the best in the world for variables. But we’re talking $500 and up! Why a variable? At some shoots, when the mirage is real bad, you might need to turn down the power a bit and these scopes are the only ones that won’t shift “point of impact” more than a “minute of egg” when you change power. If you are on a budget, and simply don’t want to spend a ton of mulah, the Tasco or BSA FIXED power 24X target series scopes are excellent. By being fixed power scopes, they don’t have any problems with the variable parts being cheaply made and causing issues. Stay away from the 36X version. 24X seems to be the most power you can get in a cheap scope without the image looking like you are seeing it through the bottom of a Vaseline jar!

The best all around scope for the money, period, is the Weaver T-36. Fixed power, 36X, excellent target turrets with 1/8″ clicks. all for under $400. It can be had with fine cross hairs or an 1/8 minute target dot. Winning Egg Shooters are using both reticles.

Let’s talk about “clicks” for a minute. A scope with REPEATABLE 1/8″ clicks is the way to go. But bad 1/8″ clicks are no better than a good scope with 1/4″ clicks. That said, be sure that your clicks are accurate. I have a closet full of scopes that the turrets just are not accurate enough for egg shooting. Think about it. If you have a scope that is supposed to click a 1/4″ over at 100 yards, but it is really moving a 1/2″, out at 200 yards that will be 1″. You will be just missing a Grade A Large chicken egg! What do good Egg Shooters do. They “Hold Over”! Unless your reticle is WAY off the target during sighting shots, don’t touch the turrets. Learn to hold over where the gun is shooting. This is where a good cross hair is an advantage over a target dot. Sometimes my gun will be putting all its shots at 2 o’clock, just outside the cross hairs. I don’t adjust for this, I simply hold at that point and fire my string. Works for me! You might want to try it.

Well, that’s it for now………Get them factory rifles out of the closet, get down to the range and practice…………See you at the Egg Shoot!