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Osage Orange
Sharpshooters Notes for
Schedule 2. The symbols '$$' indicate an entry fee will be charged and ammunition will be issued to all competitors. 3. All matches at the Dalton Range shoot the CMP Garand-Springfield-Military Bolt Rifle (G-S-M) 'B' course of fire (5 sighters and 50 rounds for record), except March 15, July 19, and August 16. 4. All matches at the Aim Rite range are 30 rd. matches, plus 5 sighters. The Aim Rite matches are not registered with the CMP. Please note that the time varies somewhat on these dates, and one of them is a Sunday. Entry fee will be $5. 5. The JCG matches in May and October may fill to capacity. Pre-registration is advised (see web page for form). All other matches are same-day registration. 6. The activities on March
8 are classroom activities only. 8. Juniors (aged 19 or under) may shoot for free, including ammunition.
Saturday March 1 we have a work day at the Aim-Rite range in Miller. We have to build and rebuild target frames using scrap lumber. If you can make it, show up at 9 am, bring a hammer, screw gun, and anything else you think will help. This doesn’t look like a real big job, since maybe 3-5 of the frames need rebuilding, so if you have other plans, please don’t feel too guilty. OOS Annual
Highpower Rifle Positions Clinic Beginners Match Beginners Match "Part Deux" What if you’ve never shot before, can’t make the clinic but want to shoot in one or both of the matches? No problem, just let me know about it and then show up at the match. We’ll find someone to coach you, and it should work out. It’s a game, the point is to have fun, and we all appreciate that. Aim Rite Range Directions Fun Shoot The schedule called for three matches for score and then three matches of shooting at money, but in light of the considerable chance for inclement weather, the shooters voted to begin the day with the money matches in lieu of the score matches, and was that a good decision or what? Shooters started out by shooting 3 shots in the standing position at a normal SR-1 target with a dollar bill stapled in the middle. A hit on the dollar allowed the shooter to keep the money, and additional hits earned additional dollars. The second game involved shooting from the prone position at a $5 bill stapled to a target that had been turned to show only the white with the money stapled in the middle of the field of white. Hit the bill and keep the money. Finally, shooters stapled up another target, again reversed to show only white, and the range-master stapled a $10 bill behind the target, in one of the corners, parallel to one of the sides of the target. The shooter had 8 shots from the prone position to attempt to perforate the unseen $10 bill. Since the $10 bill was not visible, the shooter had to try to put shots near the corners of the target, hoping to perforate the bill behind it. Some actually did hit the money, and they earned the right to keep it. Finally, we shot one target for score from the standing position at 50 yards. Only this time the lowest score won (misses were worth 10 points), and the ranking of shooters determined the order in which they could choose a prize from the prize table Les Welch took honors here, and he was allowed first trip to the prize table. Each shooter brought something to give away as a prize, and all the prizes were arrayed on a table, whereupon shooters were called up in order of their finish in the reverse-scored standing match. Les Welch contributed to the prize table some hand-made cedar boxes for .22 match use, and nobody checked to see what he home with him, but it’s clear he contributed more than he took. Other hand-made items included a bunch of cleaning racks and a beautiful pellet trap from Steve and Paul Kemm. If you haven’t attended the fun shoot, you don’t know the quality of expert woodworking the Kemm boys contribute. Again, here are two guys who contributed much more than they took home. We also had lots of ammunition (of various types and sizes), scope bases and rings, a NASCAR collectible model car, clips, bandoleers, and a few other things my poor brain can’t remember. It was a prize table worth viewing, that’s for sure. But you had to be there to see it. Some Additional Thoughts on Reloading I would also like to add a few additional comments on brass preparation. These comments are not meant to illustrate or indicate right or wrong, merely what I do and why. In particular, all my .223 caliber 600 yard loads are loaded on the single-stage press, from start to finish. I shoot only three different loads in .223: and one is a 100 yard practice load using the 52 grain Sierra Matchking bullet. Another is a match load for 200 and 300 yards using the Sierra 77 Matchking bullet, and the final one is a load with the 90 grain JLK bullet for shooting at 600 yards and beyond. The most important point to make is that I shoot a very hot load at the 600 yard line, and over the years I’ve had some primers puncture or blow out of the case. (The loads for the other yard lines are mild, are taken right out of the Sierra manual, and have never given me any trouble.) I have solved my problems at 600 yard with three changes: first, (obviously) I decreased the powder charge (duh!); Second, I went to moly-coated bullets (debatable importance if you read Rifle Accuracy Facts by Harold Vaughan). Third, I never re-use a piece of brass at 600 yards. Apparently the loads I shoot are hot enough to stretch the primer pockets, and further use with the same load can cause primer pocket failure. On the other hand, these same pieces of brass work just fine for three or five additional firings with mild loads such as my 200/300 yard loading. I shoot once-fired surplus brass, and the first thing I do (after cleaning) is run it through my Hornady re-sizing die; then I trim it, process the primer pocket, and lightly deburr the flash hole. For the 2000 pieces of brass I bought in November, that takes about a month working after dinner, but what else can you do in December and January? Then, during the shooting season, I will use a case only once for my long-line loads. After that it goes in a can to be reloaded for the 100, 200 or 300 yard line. From this point on it will probably be reloaded another 4 or 5 times, then I will discard it, usually because of the neck splitting or cracking. Maybe the main point of the reloading clinic should be that if you do things by the book, everything will be fine, but if you insist on hotrodding or pushing the limits a bit, you should be prepared to also alter your techniques to re-introduce safety as the first ingredient. Any questions?? Contact... |