Fish, Hunt & Ride | Spring 2017 FHRSPRING-2017 | Page 21

Be quiet Sight in new rifle with a handful of shots out there BY ALLEN MACARTNEY BY SHEILA ASCROFT IF YOUR ATV isn’t paid off yet, or you’re just not in the mood to buy a fancy new electric one, there’s another way to quiet down your hunting vehicle. Install a silencer or muffler. There are a several different designs, some universal, others that only fit specific ATVs. The EXSound ATV “extra silencer with muffler” sells at Canadian Tire for about $250. This is an add-on to the original silencer to reduce those ear-popping decibels without altering the vehicle’s performance. But it only fits on Polaris RZRs with an angled (at 45 degrees) original silencer. Cabela’s stores and website offer the Kolpin Stealth Exhaust System 2.0, with heat shield, for less than $200. Its universal design will fit any ATV or UTV running with a four-stroke engine. The System 2.0 is described by the company as “an innovative high-flow/low-restriction spark-ar- resting muffler with a smaller diameter for a better universal fit.” While it promises at least 50 per cent noise reduction, it has had varied reviews. The Canadian online shop, FortNine.ca, offers a variety of “slip-on” silencers that won’t scare away game and don’t sacrifice power or performance. It ships out of Calgary and Montreal with prices from a few hundred bucks to more than $1,000. The Silent Rider (www.atvsilenc- er.com) out of North Carolina ships to Canada. It claims up to a 60 per cent reduction in exhaust noise. An aluminized steel silencer has a heat shield and, more importantly, is designed to fit around most racks, hitches and dump beds. Customers include not just hunters and recreational riders, but game wardens, ranchers and police. www.fishhuntandride.ca IT HAPPENS EVERY spring at the range. A shooter unpacks a new rifle and prepares to sight in the firearm. The shooter takes out a large case of cheap ammo, and starts blasting away at the targets. Too often by the day’s end the rifle still isn’t shooting true. The targets look like they’ve been sprayed by a shotgun. There’s a better and cheaper way to sight in a new rifle. Read on. Start by making sure your scope has heavy-duty rings to hold it securely to the rifle. Inexpensive rings work loose quickly, destroying any hope for accuracy. Then, shoot the right ammunition – the kind you intend to use in the field or on the range. Rifles react differently to different ammunition. If you’re going to shoot deer, pick a good cartridge you inten d to hunt with, and zero in your rifle with it. What we’re saying here is avoid cheap ammunition for sighting in. It is inherently inaccurate – not good for this crucial job. Here are common sense steps to accurate shooting. Bore-sight the rifle either at the store (good) or at the range (best). Bore-sighting will align the scope and barrel so you’ll at least put the first shots on the target paper. Then choose a day with light wind to sight in the rifle – that way you’re not contending with wind drift on top of all the other factors. At the range, mount your rifle on a secure rifle rest or vises. This takes the human element out of the job, because people move and shake. Good rifle vices cost about $100 or borrow one from a friend. If you still can’t get one, set up the rifle on sandbags and take lots of time to settle any body movements. Sandbags are more stable than a bipod, and stability is what you need. Start by centering the crosshairs and shooting a single bullet at a target 50 metres away. This bullet will be fired through a cold barrel, which affects accuracy differently than a hot barrel. Most hunting shots will be cold barrel, so when sighting in, pause for many minutes between shots, allowing the barrel to cool. Look through the scope to see where the bullet hit the target. Then adjust elevation and windage turrets if needed. Take another shot after five minutes or so, this time through a slightly warmed barrel. Observe where that bullet hit, and make adjustments. After several shots your bullets should be close to dead centre. • THREE PUBS IN ONE! Distinct rooms provide something for everyone. Call to book! • MINGLE with friends • LIVE MUSIC Fridays & Saturdays • HIGH-DEF TVs and PROJECTOR SCREEN for sports! • HOT DISHES & COLD BEER! • GREAT SPORTS & LIVE MUSIC BOOK OUR PARTY ROOMS Now move to a 100-metre target. Fire a single shot at the target and observe where the bullet hits. You may not have to adjust your scope (either elevation or windage) much to account for the greater distance. Fire another single shot in several minutes, and make any necessary adjustments to your scope. When your bullets are hitting the target, finish sighting in by shooting a group of three bullets. Fire them slowly over a period of 15 minutes so the barrel doesn’t heat up and change the point of impact. If they’re tightly clustered where you want them, voila! Celebrate! An accurate rifle should be sighted in at least annually, and perhaps as often as every several months, depending on use. If you drop the rifle or knock the scope when travelling, head back to the range and sight it in again. ONE GREAT LOCATION! TEAM SPONSORSHIPS 3320 McCarthy Rd. Ottawa, ON 613.680.4411 www.moosemcguires.com • Moose McGuire’s is a popular family-owned neighbourhood pub in Ottawa South. • Serving the freshest and tastiest pub fare in the city. An always- delicious and reasonably-priced 5-star experience. FISH , HUNT RIDE | 21