How to Set Up a Hunting Rifle With Craig Boddington

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Doesn’t’ matter if I’m hunting whitetails on my Kansas farm or planning a major hunt in Africa or Alaska. Wherever, it might come down to just one chance. Must make it work. It’s primarily up to me, but it’s important to have an appropriate rifle that is reliable when the chips are down.

Choosing the Proper Rifle and Optic Pairing

Choices. If, like many, you have just one or two hunting rifles, then your choice is simple. Provided the power is adequate for the game you’re seeking, you can skip this step. If you’re like me, you have multiple choices. Maybe, also like me, you have well-loved rifles you haven’t used for a while. Crying from the depths of the safe, “please take me.” Often, I agonize over the choice. Usually, this is overthinking. For any situation, there are dozens of suitable options. Few are perfect but, if you have confidence in your choice, you’ll be fine.

Especially if you’re headed into an unfamiliar situation, such as a first elk hunt, first safari, whatever, try to get some idea of the terrain and most likely shots. When in doubt, go versatile. Excepting the largest game, there isn’t much in the world that can’t be handled with an accurate rifle from .270 to fast .30. With sights, too, best go versatile. The style today is extra-large scopes. However, close or far, there isn’t much that can’t be done with a 3-9X or 3.5-10X scope.

On a Sitka blacktail hunt on Kodiak Island, I went terribly wrong. Imagining close shots in thick brush, I chose a .35 Whelen with a 1.75-4X scope. Late in the season, I found open slopes, cover beaten down by wind and rain. So many deer, close stalks were impossible, other deer in the way. The .35 Whelen and its small scope were outclassed. Alaskans I was hunting with had it right: Flat-shooting rifles with bigger scopes, .25-06 up to magnum .30.

I missed the biggest buck of the week. We relocated him, bedded on a ridge at 375 yards. An impossible shot with my rifle and scope. I gratefully borrowed hunting partner Jake Jacobsen’s .300 Win Mag.  By staying versatile, it’s hard to go wrong. 

One final comment about choices. Make yours early, with plenty of time to fix problems. Just before a hunt is a poor time to get a new rifle or scope. If necessary, plan far ahead. Yeah, I’m one to talk. Test guns frequently arrive at the last-minute. Often, I scramble with scope mounts, ammo, occasional mechanical issues. That’s my life. Don’t do it to yourself!

Clean and Inspect

Okay, decision made. Time to take Old Betsy out of the safe…or New Elizabeth out of the box. Start with a thorough cleaning. Get all the gunk out of both action and barrel. Time for function checking. Yeah, I know, it worked fine last season, but Mr. Murphy lies in wait. Whatever can go wrong, will. And don’t forget the first corollary to Murphy’s Law: Always at the worst possible time.

Check Screws

Okay, safety, trigger, action functioning as they should. Next, check screw tension. Ring, mount, and action screws. Any screw can work loose, and I’ve had test guns come in with loose or overtightened screws.  Often, it’s necessary to remove the scope to check mount screws. Do it! On rings and mounts, I use a torque screwdriver and recommended torquing between 15 to 25 inch-pounds. It’s not a bad idea to do the unmanly thing and check the manufacturers specifications for this data. Too much tension and you’re sure to break off a screw or strip out a receiver or crush a scope tube.

On action screws, overtightening is as bad as loose, as you can suck the action down into the stock and skew the bedding. You want the action screws torqued to between 45 to 65 foot-pounds depending on the stock specifications.

Thoughts on Ammuntion and Bullet Selection

We’re talking about hunting, not winning matches. Ultimately, it’s the bullet that does the work. Consider the size and toughness of the game you’re going after and choose a hunting bullet—not a match bullet—designed to perform on that size of game. On deer-sized game, I like bullets that expand quickly; on larger animals, penetration is more important.

Often, it’s difficult to cut through the advertising hype and understand how a bullet is designed to perform. Sheer bullet weight makes up for a lot of sins in construction. If in doubt—especially on larger, tougher animals—take a step up in bullet weight.

There’s no telling what load a given rifle will shoot best. You often must compromise between accuracy and the bullet performance you want. For hunting, bullet performance always wins. A deer’s vital zone—the chest cavity—is not a small target. So, although we Americans tend to obsess over accuracy, field shooting is usually not a matter of extreme precision. Rather, getting steady enough, fast enough, to take advantage of a fleeting opportunity and hitting a large target. On small deer, a volleyball. On elk, a basketball. Teeny, tiny groups give great confidence but it’s okay to sacrifice accuracy to ensure proper bullet performance.

Handloads Versus Factory

I don’t have a strong opinion. Factory loads today are amazing, and most brands offer a choice of bullets…at least in popular cartridges. That said, I’ve had the rare misfire with every brand of factory ammo, never from one of my handloads. I trust my handloads, although I wouldn’t hunt with anyone else’s loads.

I often hunt with factory ammo, sometimes for convenience, usually as part of my job. I enjoy handloading, and working up a load for a hunt is part of the fun and anticipation. I won’t say I can always beat factory loads, but handloading offers a wider bullet selection, and I can usually whip up a load that is as fast and groups as well as a factory equivalent.

For hunting, I handload a bit differently. Forget optimum accuracy and highest velocity. Absolute reliability comes first so, for hunting, use only new or once-fired brass, full-length-resized. Avoid maximum loads. You don’t want sticky extraction in the field. You may get best accuracy by seating your bullet to just kiss the lands, but don’t do that with hunting ammo. Sacrifice accuracy and seat your bullets a bit deeper to preclude getting a bullet stuck in the lands. If you’re really OCD, you can waterproof your handloads with lacquer. I don’t plan to hunt underwater, so I’ve never done this, never had a failure to fire, even after days of rain.

At The Range

These days, long-range shooting is all the rage, more of us learning how to dial the range, and using wireless to interface smartphone and scope. All good. Except: Just before a hunt is a terrible time to learn any new system. Think of a hunt as a final exam that you can’t cram for. Start early, budget lots of range time. Especially if you’re dealing with heavy recoil, lots of short sessions. If you have enough time, you can master new technology, but it’s essential to work with it and practice.

A problem for many is access to long-range targets. I can’t fix this. Paper and electronically-generated ballistics can’t be relied upon until verified at actual distance. Of course, this depends on how far you intend to shoot. Considering target size, you can chronograph your chosen load, enter speed, BC, and environmental data into a ballistics app, zero as directed at 100, and probably be good on game to at least 400 yards.

These days, some people want to shoot twice that far. The greater the distance, the more can go wrong, and the more little things matter. Much past a quarter mile, it’s increasingly essential to verify data by shooting at actual distance. If this is not possible, then you must accept limitations.

Once you’re confident in your data and zero, the rifle is ready. Are you? One of the biggest mistakes I see is shooting only from the bench and calling it “practice.” Or, almost as bad, being married to one shooting position, such as prone off a bipod. Steady positions are good, to be mastered, but field shooting is dictated by terrain, vegetation, and animal movement. So be creative, get away from the bench and practice from as many impromptu positions as possible. Off sticks, over a pack, against a tree or fencepost. You want your rifle to be a familiar friend, easily sliding into a wide array of positions. However, much good practice can be done with a .22, saving ammo, noise, and recoil.

The Last Session

Now you and the rifle are ready. At the last pre-hunt range session, I verify zero one last time from a cold barrel. Then I like to clean the barrel and fire a couple of fouling shots. Just one more step, but it’s important, and Mr. Murphy is watching to see if you omit it: Run every cartridge you’re taking on the hunt through the magazine and into/out of the chamber. I’ve had factory cartridges that were sticky, and plenty of handloads. If cycling isn’t smooth, either fire those cartridges to get rid of them, or put them aside. Don’t take them.

Plus One More

If you travel to your hunt, insist on a sight-in session on arrival. Doesn’t matter if it’s a mountain hunt where you expect to shoot at distance; or a baited black bear hunt where the shot will be within 20 yards. It’s inexplicable, but even in your own vehicle small zero shifts are common. In airplanes, Lord knows what anti-gun baggage smashers do. With after-dark arrival, I’ve done a lot of zero checking by headlights. Not checking on arrival is a mistake. Mr. Murphy is watching. 

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