First NRA High-Power Across the Course Match
(A part 2 continuation of this story)
Once I had gathered all of the equipment that I thought I would absolutely need for my first match (web sling, rule books, shooting mat, etc) I set out to load some ammunition that would be suitable. Premium, off the shelf ammo, like Black Hills or Federal, would have worked fine for my rifle in this match, but the whole purpose for me was to get into competition High-Power shooting with as little investment as possible. Unfortunately, due to the 1/9" twist rate of the barrel on my AR15, I am not able to utilize the heavier and more accurate bullets out there for the .223 platform. The loads I did come up with however, were a 62grain Sierra Game King BTHP bullet for the 200 and 300 yard stages and a 69grain Hornady Match BTHP bullet for the 600 yard stage. I loaded both of these bullets in some once fired Lake City brass, using H355 powder and CCI No.450 small rifle primers.
The course of fire for the match I had decided to shoot in consisted of:
Once I got to the range and started looking at the other shooters setups I knew right off the bat that, as far as equipment was concerned, I was fairly out-classed. Many other shooters in the Service Rifle category were shooting various accurized versions of the the AR15 A2 platform, with the vast majority featuring White Oak Armament uppers. However, I was not discouraged and I committed myself to shooting to the best of my ability. I don't have too much experience or practice at this point anyways, so my rifle is not likely going to be my weak-point.
The first stage was OK. I have minimal experience shooting in the proper standing position for precision target shooting but was able to pull off a fairly decent score for a first timer. Standing at 200 yards I managed a score of a 134-1X, which means 134 points total with 1 "X-Ring" hit. The second stage was in the sitting position and things improved quite a bit; I scored a 161-1X.
The third stage, shooting rapid fire prone, went a tad sour for me. All of my previous shooting competition experience is with IPSC pistol shooting, where the name of the game is to clear the course in the least amount of time possible. This usually results in some truly rapid fire, and the targets are a lot closer and a lot easier to make hits on. They are also usually reactive, so you instantly know when you get a good hit, and conversely you know when you miss. This is COMPLETELY different, and my mindset was not easily changed. When the targets went up, I proceeded to fire at a pace that was not conducive to accuracy. I was one of the first ones to get rounds down range and I was easily the first one to fire all 10 rounds, and that netted me a score of 142-0X. Time limit shooting in a scenario like this is something that I really need to work on. A more appropriate cadence of fire, I later found out, is to get on target, take a full breath in and out, fire at you're natural respiratory pause and repeat. This is most definitely something I will practice, probably with an egg timer and a .22 conversion kit at my local indoor range.
The fourth and final stage of fire was slow-fire in the prone position at 600 yards. This is where I really found the weak link in my equipment. I know I am not the best shooter out there, but I also know that I have fairly good fundamentals. My rifle has a 1/9" twist, not the best choice when it comes to 600 yard shooting, mostly due to the weight limit it places on the projectile that you can accurately shoot with it. Most of the people out there will shoot 600 yards with 77grain or even heavier bullets. These heavier bullets are more resistant to wind deflection and other environmental influences. My barrel forces me to choose something in the 73grain or lighter class of bullets, and with all I could find at the local gun store being 69grain I figured it was my best bet and it's a projectile that I know will do the job fairly well. The other downfall of my rifle is the fact that the barrel is not free-floated, meaning the there are external forces physically pushing on the barrel from the hand-guard and sling loop. When shooting in the prone position with the sling, the method of stabilizing the rifle is to disconnect the butt-stock portion of the sling and create a loop. You then put that loop around your support arm, above the bicep in such a way that it automatically cinches down around your arm with forward pressure on the sling. This, very effectively, pulls the gun into your shoulder and gives you a very, very stable platform to shoot from. With a free floated barrel there is absolutely nothing contacting it that will torque it in any way, shape, or form and it is the most accurate option available. As a result, I was only able to pull off a score of 128-0X. What was disheartening was the fact that I would be able to fire a round, hit the 9 ring, fire again, hit the 10 ring and then my next shot utilizing the same hold would be a miss.
As a result of this match, I have decided that the first modification I am going to make to my rifle will be a service rifle float tube. At a total investment cost of $105 from White Oak Armament, if I want to be at all competitive on a tight budget, I can't afford not to.
Once I get the float tube, I will be posting another installment on this blog thread with both a walk-through of the installation and a review of the overall improvement (if any) that it nets me.
.
The first stage was OK. I have minimal experience shooting in the proper standing position for precision target shooting but was able to pull off a fairly decent score for a first timer. Standing at 200 yards I managed a score of a 134-1X, which means 134 points total with 1 "X-Ring" hit. The second stage was in the sitting position and things improved quite a bit; I scored a 161-1X.
The third stage, shooting rapid fire prone, went a tad sour for me. All of my previous shooting competition experience is with IPSC pistol shooting, where the name of the game is to clear the course in the least amount of time possible. This usually results in some truly rapid fire, and the targets are a lot closer and a lot easier to make hits on. They are also usually reactive, so you instantly know when you get a good hit, and conversely you know when you miss. This is COMPLETELY different, and my mindset was not easily changed. When the targets went up, I proceeded to fire at a pace that was not conducive to accuracy. I was one of the first ones to get rounds down range and I was easily the first one to fire all 10 rounds, and that netted me a score of 142-0X. Time limit shooting in a scenario like this is something that I really need to work on. A more appropriate cadence of fire, I later found out, is to get on target, take a full breath in and out, fire at you're natural respiratory pause and repeat. This is most definitely something I will practice, probably with an egg timer and a .22 conversion kit at my local indoor range.
The fourth and final stage of fire was slow-fire in the prone position at 600 yards. This is where I really found the weak link in my equipment. I know I am not the best shooter out there, but I also know that I have fairly good fundamentals. My rifle has a 1/9" twist, not the best choice when it comes to 600 yard shooting, mostly due to the weight limit it places on the projectile that you can accurately shoot with it. Most of the people out there will shoot 600 yards with 77grain or even heavier bullets. These heavier bullets are more resistant to wind deflection and other environmental influences. My barrel forces me to choose something in the 73grain or lighter class of bullets, and with all I could find at the local gun store being 69grain I figured it was my best bet and it's a projectile that I know will do the job fairly well. The other downfall of my rifle is the fact that the barrel is not free-floated, meaning the there are external forces physically pushing on the barrel from the hand-guard and sling loop. When shooting in the prone position with the sling, the method of stabilizing the rifle is to disconnect the butt-stock portion of the sling and create a loop. You then put that loop around your support arm, above the bicep in such a way that it automatically cinches down around your arm with forward pressure on the sling. This, very effectively, pulls the gun into your shoulder and gives you a very, very stable platform to shoot from. With a free floated barrel there is absolutely nothing contacting it that will torque it in any way, shape, or form and it is the most accurate option available. As a result, I was only able to pull off a score of 128-0X. What was disheartening was the fact that I would be able to fire a round, hit the 9 ring, fire again, hit the 10 ring and then my next shot utilizing the same hold would be a miss.
As a result of this match, I have decided that the first modification I am going to make to my rifle will be a service rifle float tube. At a total investment cost of $105 from White Oak Armament, if I want to be at all competitive on a tight budget, I can't afford not to.
Once I get the float tube, I will be posting another installment on this blog thread with both a walk-through of the installation and a review of the overall improvement (if any) that it nets me.
.
