M39 Range trip

I finally got the chance to take the m39 out to a proper rifle range. Unfortunately, no matter how much brush they had cleared away, they wouldn't allow my surplus ammo, which meant $1.05 a round, which meant making every shot count.

The range had good shooting benches (ambidextrous) with plenty of sandbags and two gongs at 200 yards. I was going to start short, and stretch out to the end of the range, but then I realized I had already sighted the m39 in, so what the hell?

I slinged (slung?) up and fired off elbows and iron sights at the 200 yard gong. 5 shots later I figured out where to aim for my 300 yard zero, and had a few hits on the gong. Until now the gong had been quiet for the 30 minutes we had been there, so some spectators took note when the gong came to life, and started looking around for the shooter. I handed the m39 to a friend who wants his own m39, to let him have a few shots at the gong, and he managed 1/3 before he handed the rifle back to me. I noted the spectators had moved to behind our lane, loaded three rounds and tried to focus.
*boom* *PANG*
*boom* *PANG*
...focusss... squeeeeze...
*boom* *PANG*

:D

Three in a row is good enough for me, now to make some groups.

After one group of three a older gentleman approached behind our bench and commented, "Nice Finn!" I stopped shooting and talked to him about m39s and the history surrounding them. In the conversation he mentioned that with an m39 he had, he could that would put 5 shots into a nickel at 200 yards. I told him that he must be a better shot than I, and asked if I could bother him to shoot a group with my rifle to eliminate me as a source of inaccuracy. He was happy to oblige.
Shots were made at 50 yards using iron sights.

After the first shot (green group, far right) he gave me some pointers, and I shot the next shot into the center and the following below it. Satisfied in my abilities, we spoke a while longer about competitions before we parted.

I then took aim at the 100 yard target.
Three three-shot groups at 100 yards off bags using iron sights.

Red group was first, and made me remind myself of the tips I was given.
Blue group was the best at 1.31"
Green group was three shots, and they all felt good, but I appear to have either missed the paper entirely, or threaded a needle almost perfectly. I stared at the two holes long and hard, looking for the slightest trace of a second projectile, but found nothing conclusive. It seems more likely that I'd miss than make a shot like that. :X The two(?) shot green group measures 0.82"

Not bad.

Not bad at all. :)

After those groups I fired off the last bit of my expensive ammo at the 200 yard swinging small gong, having grown tired of the 8" gong. Then I switched to my AR and pegged the two gongs off irons for the rest of the time.

That *PANG* sound doesn't seem to get old.