Quote Originally Posted by Malleus View Post
This seems appropriate: http://i.imgur.com/E8rYe.jpg
Well I feel like a jerk! Sorry guys, I have not been on this site in quite some time.

Long story short the big day came back about a month ago. He had been pretty busy up until then and I didn't want to throw a wrench in things with a huge distraction.

He ultimately chose the McGowan. Once we got to the range and he got it sighted in, I was able to get 2 rounds just slightly over lapping at 100 yards which is extremely good for me. His shooting was about the same as well. The rifle definitely likes 175 SMK's as I had hoped. Because i'm definitely no expert shooter, and it has been quite some time since he last fired a rifle anything like this, I strongly feel that it'll shoot much tighter than either of us were able to accomplish that day.

The Shilen on the other hand, I unfortunately have not sighted in yet. The day we went to the range I made it about him and kept him pretty busy between the McGowan and my AR-15. Since then I have just been waiting for a low to no wind day while not working to go and get it sighted in properly. I could do it whenever, but I would rather not try to get a good zero while fighting windy conditions.

To anyone considering electronic ear muffs, I can definitely recommend the ones that I went with for this project. You definitely still hear a report with them, but it really isn't all that loud either. And once you've heard a shot from a .308 without them, the difference is pretty substantial. If you are someone with a good amount of hearing loss as my friend, they really are worth every penny. With the amplification they also provide for non-damaging sounds, he was able to hear me talking in a very low whisper from ~10 feet away. He could even hear his feet crunching in the grass at the range. It has been years since he could hear sounds like either of those. So again, they really are worth every penny, for multiple reasons.

To all of you, thank you so much for your support and continued interest. Although in a way it's ongoing as I haven't been able to zero the Shilen yet, this has been a project that has absolutely been worth every last penny.