DPMS SASS Range Report

[CajunAR]

Hey guys, been a lurker around here for quite awhile so i figured i'd contribute. Picked up a DPMS SASS about a month ago and finally finished breaking her in today in prep for shooting my first F-Class match next month.

Here's a crappy cell pick of the rifle topped with a 6x24 bushnell banner i had laying around

Decided to take my first ever timed as well as first prone shots preparing for the upcoming match. This is the 22 shot group i put together (8:31 1st to last round, need to work on pace better to hopefully tighten that spread)

I know for some of you guys this isn't nearly the precision you're used to, but i was quite happy with the results at 100yrds given the number of new to me variables.

These 22 rounds were rounds 78-100 of the break-in. Needless to say, if the accuracy improves as some tend to think around the 200-250 round mark, i'll be VERY excited. No doubt the gun will outshoot me. Now just to get all my ballistics and wind stuff figured out to 600 so i can give the F-class shoot a good attempt.

 

[KillShot]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

Hey, man, it's a start and while that group may not win a competition it's certainly good enough to kill a game animal or the fabled zombies that people like to fantasize about. Practice makes perfect and the more you shoot, the tighter your groups will get. Best of luck on the range!

 

[Awesymoto]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

good shooting for the first time out with a gas gun!

 

[WldWldWest]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

Good shooting, What Ammo are you using? As I've found out in my SASS it makes a world of difference, 168's and above for mine shoots extremely well, 150's or lower are all over the place.

Doug

 

[GoBig]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

good enough shooting...nice rifle!

 

[CajunAR]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

@Doug For this trip and my first competition i'm going to be shooting the 168gr FGMM. They had a really good sale going on at Cabela's ($19 a box) so i picked up a few boxes to finish my break-in and compete with.

I should have the rest of my reloading stuff for .308 for Christmas then i'll be working up my own loads with probably the 178gr Hornady AMax's.

 

[gstaylorg]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

If you have the time before your comp, I would suggest getting yourself some targets and trying a few practice rounds at 600 with the different types of ammo you're thinking of using and see what gives you the best results. I put two of the Shoot-N-C 18" targets on 2'x4'x1/4" sheets of plywood, which are held up by a pair of green metal garden stakes and clamps.

Prior to use, I black out the yellow lines and numbers (which make it hard to see .308 holes at 600 yd), leaving only the red bull as my aimpoint. You can also use this exercise as a means to get dope on your setup so you'll hopefully be very close on your two sighters at the comp. If you're way off to start, you may end up giving up points you don't need to lose. Before my first comp, I ran through this exercise several times with the two loads I had in mind to use. I shot either 3x20 rounds/target, which is probably what you'll shoot in the comp, or 3x15 rounds to save a little on ammo. Then I determined the actual score I would have shot had it been a real comp (X ring = 3", 10 ring = 6", 9 ring = 12", etc.). In addition to helping you get your setup dialed in, his will also help you decide in a statistically meaningful way whether one loads performs better than another. It only takes a couple hours to go through this. I wait 15-20 min between "rounds", to let everything cool down, then do another "round". Below are pics of the target boards I use (1st pic) and some recent practice targets (2nd pic, pardon the mess on the 3rd target, it was getting hit with shrapnel from a guy shooting steel next to me). On these three, I actually colored in the inner ring with a red Sharpie, but I usually just black all of them out. In any case, good luck at the comp, I'm sure you'll have a great time and learn a lot. It's very addictive!

 

[CajunAR]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

i would LOVE to get some more practice at 600, unfortunately i'm not a member at the club with 600 where the match will be shot. I'm a member at a local club and am limited to 100 yards there. I may join the other club next year some time, but i have to make sure i'll enjoy the long range and get bit with the bug (which i'm 99.999% certain i will) before i switch clubs to one that is nearly 45 minutes longer of a drive than my current club.

For the time being i'll just have to work on all my basics and do some nice come up sheets for the different conditions i think i'll see so that i'll have all the math done so when i get on the line i can dial up/hold what i've calculated and see where it goes from there.

 

[KM375]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

http://www.horusvision.com/img/pr_4_cats.gif

I have used targets like these to train and check dope on 100 meter ranges. by using the same aiming point on the bottom of the target and dialing in all of your yard line dope to about 800 you will see if you or your reticle is canted. In certain situations when given a rifle overseas and all we had access to was a 100m range I could check my dope based on measurements between three shot groups. It was an improvised way to check dope on a rifle without having access to a long distance range, and comparing it to known factors in the log book.
Nothing compares to actually putting rounds down range at distance with all of the external factors, but its making the best with what you have.

 

[gstaylorg]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

Although it won't help you all that much with things like wind adjustments, the good news is that what you're doing at 100 yd should at least get you in the ballpark. Remember, the black on the 600 yd target is <span style="font-style: italic">4 feet</span> in diameter (see below). That's <span style="font-style: italic">4 eff-ing feet</span> (LOL). So try to think positive that you will get on with the dope you are working up at 100 yd. But as I'm sure you know, the farther you are from the X-ring on your sighters, the more you will have to adjust on your first shots for score and the more points it may cost you in the process.

One tip that may help when you get to the line is to take advantage of your "fouling" shots. You get a couple shots to foul the bore at the start of your first relay. Although these only go into the dirt (targets are pulled during fouling shots), you definitely can use them to your advantage. Pick a dirt clod or some other easily visible aiming point and try to spot how close your POI was to your POA with the foulers. If you can estimate the distance between the dirt backstop and the actual target itself, this can help get you closer to being dialed in even before shooting the sighting shots, particularly if your 100 yd estimate is a little off. In any case, I hope you have fun with it and best of luck to you in your first outing. Let us know how everything works out.

NRA No. MR-1FC - F-Class target Center based on the MR-1 target for use at 600 yards. To be pasted over the
MR-1 target.
Aiming Black (inches) Rings in white (inches)
X ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.00
10 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00
9 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.00
8 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.00
7 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.00
6 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.00
5 ring . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.00

 

[RADcustom]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

What part of the state are you in?

 

[CajunAR]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

@RADCustom, i'm near the Baton Rouge Area. Shoot at Hunter's Run here locally.

 

[RADcustom]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

Let me know if you ever make it north to shreveport. Long range ally runs out to 1000yrds.

 

[CajunAR]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

Once i get alittle game going at 600 i'll probably make some trips out to LRA. I've read about it here and there, but never really looked into it.

 

[RicosRevenge]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

I'll be at Hunters Run in Mid-January... we always go there to pop some clay before heading to the duck camp in Krotz Springs. Didn't know they had a rifle area! May need to bring a couple extra toys!

 

[CajunAR]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

@Ricos, yeah there is a 7, 25, 50, and 100yrd berms setup as soon as you drive in the gate on the right. It's kinda an after thought for most members as it's MOSTLY a shotgun sports club (which coincidentally, i've never shot clays while out there) but quite a few folks go out there fairly regularly.

 

[SHO~BIZ308]

Re: DPMS SASS Range Report

What scope are u using