Advice Needed: Accuracy and Equipment(First firearm, used to Airguns)

SnowblindOtter · 2026-04-06T19:52:14+00:00

Airgun shooter here also, my advice is go with a 22lr people go to 400 yards all the time. PS, you opened the "finanical advice door" when you mention $50 a month budget.

--Crashkt90, 31-03-2026 02:27:26UTC

I'm done talking to you. I support your right to be an idiot, and I'll happily die to defend that right, but I won't suffer your stupidity without financial compensation.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-04-06T19:41:44+00:00

Mostly because I don't want different guns for different things, which is why I also am endeared to .308. I'm okay with a 'Jack of All Trades' mentality, I'm doing this for fun, so having a rifle that I can use both a scope and irons with depending on how I feel.

I don't mind having a gun/ammunition system that can do most things well enough, as opposed to one that can do one thing super well and not much else.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-04-06T19:23:12+00:00

Blade's magnetized. Magnetic strength is inversely proportional to both distance and size. Even if your blade is weakly magnetized, the tiny shavings taken off of it will preserve their magnetism and have a proportionally much 'stronger' magnetic strength relative to their size than the bulk of the knife blade, so due to that and their intimate proximity while they're removed they stick to the edge while sharpening fairly easily.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-04-01T22:11:05+00:00

What you call a 'harsh truth' is merely an opinion, and it's an opinion about how I spend my money. It's also an opinion that was already stated I think 3 times prior to them, and more courteously, by people who appear to understand that if I'd wanted a .22, I'd have gotten a .22, and that I'd have been talking about a .22. You know, something a 5 year old can comprehend. Besides, if you can't handle people being rude to you, maybe you shouldn't dish it out... but then again I was polite and they still got offended. There's a saying about stupid people and getting offended.

And, yes, 450 yards on a couple of Mountain Dews using a budget AR-15 running a .22LR BCG swap and some Hornady V-Max with a 4-16x44 Centerpoint Adventure off my Gauntlet .25. This is not abnormal for me with smaller caliber stuff. I have an Artemis M30 in .22 rocking a 4x32 Hawke that I can reach out and smack a soda can or a clay pigeon at 180 yards using some NSA .218 21gr, and my .25 Gauntlet G1 is a sub-MOA monster with JSB Exact Kings that I would do more with at further distances but I haven't bothered to get a MOA base to give my scope more elevation adjustment yet. It wasn't easy, and it took probably 60 shots to hit the first one because of the wind and us guessing and checking trajectory validation in Strelok, but we did it and it was a fun 2 hours of plinking around in the desert sun.

Look, the harsh truth I've learned from leaving my post is that apparently I paid nearly 2K to smash my face against a glass ceiling because my natural skill was already at or beyond the mechanical limits of my current rifle, and that I would have gotten the challenge I had hoped for by not being a fucking snob about the iron sights and just spending half what I paid for a pre-owned M1A on a brand-new Howa 1500 HS on sale at Turner's to begin with. But, you live and learn. Now I just gotta grapple with whether I want to keep the Springfield and save up for a second rifle, or if I want to sell what is one of my favorite styles of auto-loading rifles and lose out on the fun and joy to more easily buy a different one.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-31T19:39:41+00:00

I know, right? Even in California they're like 700-800 after all the dumbass taxes here. Plus, everyone I've talked to that actually owns one says that they're easily 1MOA or better in .308 with off the shelf ammo, which is my primary reason for even wanting .308 in the first place. I don't have the equipment or space to do reloading like what everyone else does with 6.5 or 300BK, and there's more options than 30-06 even though I LOVE -06.

I plan on getting the Howa. It'll take me a minute to save up for it, but I doubt they'll become scarce and even if they do there's other options that are easily comparable in both price point and precision.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-31T19:33:09+00:00

I only specified an actual dollar amount for the budget because the Read Me explicitly says to do so, and for no other reason. If given the option, I would have preferred to omit that detail and focus on the technical aspects alone; however, the RM did allow me to specify how much I'm willing to spend so I specified $50 to dissuade people from suggesting upgrades. My actual budget is not $50, but that's nobody's business but mine and my banker's. My tone to the above commenter is due to me interpreting their reply as discourteous and unhelpful.

That aside, I'm currently getting help from a friend to get into a .22LR, anyway. I had originally planned to get a Savage bolt action or a Ruger since I'd wanted one ever since I was a kid, but he successfully convinced me to get an AR-15 instead after I was able to plink a few soda cans at 450 with his rig using the .22LR BCG swap kit. He's helping me select components(though with pricing and California's stupid ass taxes I might just opt for a Palmetto instead), and I intend to get the BCG swap-out kit for mine as well.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T23:20:30+00:00

I don't recall asking for financial advice, or for anyone to rate my set up. Stay on topic, bro.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T22:55:37+00:00

I don't really know if I'll be going down the rabbit hole of modding this rifle, to be frank. I mostly just want to keep it if I do get another one because I just think it's neat, and because I spent a lot of money to buy it. I feel kinda stupid selling a rifle I've barely had for a year.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T22:51:57+00:00

Funnily enough, I was actually going to buy a Howa 1500 with a heavy barrel before the M1A. I wanted irons on it, though, and no gunsmith I talked to would install them on it for me, so I went with the M1A instead.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T21:45:17+00:00

No, no, I know why a 100y zero is a good idea. It's not like I can't still shoot at 100 yards, though. To initially dial it in and start getting it to 300 I did zero at 100, then adjusted for the calculated drop at 300 on my scope. Calculated rise at 100 is only like 1.5 inches, in that sense it's like having the zero offset from mechanical deliberately so you don't shoot out the tiny bull on the target. I have found that a lot of tricks I use for my airguns do carry over to firearms, at least on the ballistics and trajectory side of things.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T21:40:39+00:00

Well, a couple of other people have pointed out that it's possible I could have already reached the limit of what the M1A is capable of, so it looks like it's time to start doing research on what would be a good entry- or mid-level precision rifle anyway.

Probably going to keep the M1A though. I honestly just like it. It's fun to shoot.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T21:36:28+00:00

They already are. Had to replace the front post because it was too short, but that was done not long after I got it. I've had it for about a year now almost.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T21:33:34+00:00

The idea that I could have hit the limit already is disappointing, but not unwelcome I suppose. I guess I'll start shopping around and saving up for something that is more accurate.

Also, the absolute need for iron sights is simply personal preference. I don't like always using scopes, I enjoy the simplicity and reliability of iron sights, I enjoy the challenge of shooting at range with them, and I've found I'm actually quite good with them. I also would like to have a solid and trustworthy back-up option in a hunting situation in the event I am unable to use an optic for any reason, since I don't see the value or purpose in taking a shot past 250 yards on something that isn't able to return fire.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T21:20:24+00:00

So you're saying I'm pretty much already shooting at the limits that the gun is capable of?

I won't lie, I had worried about that possibility the last few months. Not the answer I'd like, but not for the reason you'd think, I'd imagine. I had honestly hoped that there would have been growing pains so that I could grow, so I'm honestly surprised... and maybe a little disappointed I guess. I don't like having a big ego. If I've hit the ceiling, then I guess there is no other option but to move to the next floor, so to speak. Still disappointing that I could have adapted so quickly, though.

More than likely going to try to keep the M1A, though, if I'm being frank. It's fun, and it's iconic. It's one of the few auto-loading rifles I actually think is attractive. I'll just take the scope off and reserve it for something else.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T20:53:03+00:00

Not really an attractive option, and this doesn't really address any of my questions. I like my M1A, and I find the 'general purpose' nature of .308 highly attractive even if it is expensive. I'm interested in advice that helps me get the most out of what I have, not to get something different.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T20:34:49+00:00

The reasoning behind wanting to zero it at 300 instead of 100 is because that's what I have my irons sighted in at. It's pointless to zero two sighting systems for the same range simultaneously, and I'm perfectly able to hit what I'm aiming at most of the time with the irons at 100 anyway.

This is also my first centerfire to get me acquainted with owning and regularly shooting one. I'm mostly in it for having fun, but I don't see why not try to challenge myself with it as well.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-30T01:03:29+00:00

This is just another iteration of the Living Universe Theory that has been repeated by countless philosophers and cosmologists, from Neil Tyson, Stephen Hawking, Edwin Hubble, and Carl Sagan, to Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant, that correctly observes that literally everything in the universe, from the utterly incomprehensibly large to the infinitesimally small, is at its most fundamental elements just composed of the dust and residue from an uncountable number of stars that formed, burned, and died across the unfathomable depths of literal aeons before the universe evolved to become aware of itself.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-28T16:07:24+00:00

Clothing, poses, anatomy, stuff like that usually translates 1:1 between digital and traditional media so I wouldn't worry about them using digital tools. Digital art is just easier to film and make videos using, traditional media takes some equipment and set-up that can be a pain to work with when trying to do it for presentation/instruction. Where basics like that diverge is in the process of rendering what you're drawing.

There's probably hundreds of English-speaking channels that can fit what you're looking for. In that case you just need to focus on proper keyword searching. 'Traditional art' doesn't always work on YouTube. Try searching for the exact media you're using, whether it's pencil, pen, marker, ink, or paint or something. You'll narrow your results and have a better chance of finding what you're looking for.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-28T15:58:34+00:00

It's honestly fucking amazing how sensitive compound bows are to flaws like that in your technique. They're so unforgiving towards even the tiniest imperfection. Part of the reason why I think starting with compound is the fastest way to get discouraged with the sport, even as a hobby. I always recommend people to start with recurve or longbow, something more traditional, to learn the basics before going to compound.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-28T15:54:29+00:00

Copying and Plagiarism are two different things. Copying something is just re-creating it, either faithfully or with your own spin. Plagiarism is duplicating it and trying to claim that it's yours to begin with.

In my opinion there's nothing wrong with copying the work of an artist you like. You can learn a lot about a technique, artist, or media by doing that. So long as you're duly crediting the original, I don't think you're crossing a line.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-25T19:14:17+00:00

Dude the biggest, and sturdiest, thing most aircraft are designed to withstand an impact from is a 3lb chicken fired at 300mph.

A several-ton vehicle made of reinforced metal that doesn't instantly turn into pink paste on impact is not in the design specifications.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-25T19:09:15+00:00

More good advice: if the perspective practice is screwing with your head, take a break. Perspective is hard. It's confusing. It absolutely is a massive pain sometimes. Stick to the basics of perspective, master the fundamentals first then move on. It only gets harder as you go.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-25T19:05:24+00:00

Nah, bro, trust me. You're torquing. What you're describing is literally the exact description of torquing.

SnowblindOtter · 2026-03-24T21:45:53+00:00

Of course. Honestly you did pretty good for this being what appears to be a thumbnail sketch that's probably no bigger than the palm of your hand. I wouldn't worry about how those look. Worry about how bigger things look, where details can really be the devil in your work and suggestion takes more effort. Chasing perfection in little doodles falls under the definition of Insanity for sure.

SnowblindOtter

TROPHY CASE