Oct 18, 2014 4 min read

There are a few changes coming up in the retail stores that deal in firearms.

In Greene County, Will Orndoff has built a new building behind his popular store in Graysville. Orndoff has been running a store for years that is attached to his home.

But he needed more room both for stock and for the numerous trophies he has to display, some of which have come from his African hunting trips.

The new store will be right next to the parking lot that he has used since opening his business.

I have sent many people looking for hard-to-find reloading components to Orndoff. He has more bullets, primer and power than any other store. He manages to keep us shooting.

The other sporting good store that is moving is the IWS facility just north of Sheetz on Route 21 between Waynesburg and Masontown. The store not only retails firearms, but also is the manufacturer of certain handguns, bullets and ammo.

I believe they produce .38, .357, 9mm, .45 Colt and .50 Smith & Wesson. These bullets are hard cast, not the soft-swagged bullets from other manufacturers.

The harder lead bullets prevent leading of the bore if the loads are kept reasonable. I have been shooting their loads for over a month and find them as accurate as any others and better than some.

The store is moving about five miles to Carmichaels. Since ammunition is hard to find, IWS should do well.

Ace Sporting Goods on Route 19 is doing some remodeling.

Don’t expect to go to Ace and find everything where it was. Things have been moved around.

I know grocery stores move things things around so shoppers have to spend more time in the store. The theory is that the longer the shopper is in the store, the more they will buy. But in the case of Ace, many people like to window shop for long periods of time anyway.

• It won’t be long until many shooters will be utilizing bench rests to zero in their rifles.

We are all influenced by those who come before us who we also respect. I admit that I was an avid reader of Jack O’Conner. I hunt with a .270 and like to sight my rifle like O’Conner recommended.

His idea was the gun should be sighted in at four inches high at 100 yards. His opinion was that it enabled the shooter to aim dead on at long ranges and still not shoot over the game’s back when it is closer.

Trajectory will vary dependent on the cartridge. His idea was the bullet would strike three inches high at 100 yards. It would be slightly over three at 200 yards and about three inches low at 300 yards.

Sighted in this way, a steady hold will hit the animal without worring about a high aim.

As for me, I tend to sight in a bit lower, holding at 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards. With the .270, .243 or many other modern rounds, you can still expect a hit out to 300 yards with a hold in the middle of the deer’s chest.

The problem lies more with the shooter than the rifle when a miss does occur. I have watched shooters stand and throw shot after shot at a buck when there is a tree beside them. Instead of shooting in a standing position, why not lean against the tree?

You leaned on it all morning, why not use it as a gun rest now?

I am not ashamed to admit that most of my deer have been shot using some sort of rest.

It might be a blow down, a round bale of hay, a fence post or a commercial rest such as the Harris.

Whatever it was, it was a lot better than standing there with the reticule in a 40-inch wobble while I stood there trying the shot offhand.

It doesn’t matter how you sight, where you place or impact if you can’t hold the rifle steady.

Rather than worrying about the accurate rifle, learn the trick that steady the rifle use by those who have learned.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.