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High Powered Biathlon

GuerrillaTactical

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 10, 2008
111
0
Ft Collins
Anyone know of a high powered biathlon where the trails aren't groomed, the targets are far and no spandex required. Over-whites preferred.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

When we were setting up the Raton deal the original plan was to do it in the metro area . What Mike found out was the land owners that were open to his kind of thing kept bringing up those 2 evil words , lawyer and contract . Thats why we ended up at the Whittington Center .
What about up at Gillete ?
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

Oh just thaught also You may give Drake a call and see where they do there winter training deal . Maybe they can help .
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

When I was running the AK NG marksmanship Unit, we did just that. Units competed against each other in using their M-16s and the old military slats.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

In Finland the reservists used to use fullbore rifles in Biathlon competition until the 1980ies. Then some ISU/UIT types wanted to move to .22Lr. The reservists did not. They do not shoot biathlon anymore because nobody was interested in rimfires.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

The ASC guys did an event in January one year that was about as close to an "extreme" biathlon as has been done in some time. I think the fact that they haven't done another one, speaks for itself.

I'd give it a whirl.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

For any type of field match, it comes down to two main factors: venue and manpower. There are knobs you can turn to reduce the personnel required (at some expense to other factors) but the venue is usually the hardest part for practical/field long-range matches. We have enough long-range interest up here I bet we could make it happen if we just had an appropriate venue.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

Gillette is pretty much out of the question. Im not working for SureFire anymore and they are going to want $1000 a head or something retarded like that.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

Just don't end up getting buried in an avalanche you trigger yourselves...; there's quite possibly a very practical reason why Biathlons are fired with rimfires...

Just offhand, I'm thinking this light bulb has glimmered more than once before. My primary question is, why isn't it glowing big and bright afterward?
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

I would be "in" for this also. Southern Colorado would be a nice place to host this type of event. Also, I am working with Tony at TAB gear on a a new and improved Biathlon sling that would work perfectly for this type of application.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

There is a run and gun in Pecos Texas the second or third Saturday in August every year. I've run/walked/crawled in 4 of them.

It is a roughly 6 mile run through a west Texas ranch with 4 or 5 shooting stages throughout the run. You carry your own water, rifle, and ammo and if your gun breaks, you better be able to fix it with what you have. The stages range in distance from 50 to 300 yards using steel targets. The Texas brush prevents the shooter from shooting from prone about half of the time. The competition favors an AR type rifle rather than high power, however it is the closest thing that I could think of to what the original poster is looking for. Scoring is about 50/50 running/shooting.

The trail is not groomed, but it is marked by PVC poles every 150 yards or so to help runners not end up in an impact area. Secondly, there are no straight lines through the cactus, so 6 miles is considerably shorter than the distance you actually have to transit. I can attest to the lack of grooming by the scream that I have to stifle in the shower after the match as every poking plant in Texas seems to have jabbed my legs during the run.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

I used to do summer biathlons, unfortunately my running days are gone. The idea of a winter biathlon with high power rifles sounds great, but not likely to catch on. From a logistical and personnel point of view the task is huge. Summer would at least be more do-able, and location is so much easier, don't need snow for example. I'd wish anyone well who tries to pull his off and would love to see it succeed, but...
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

Used to be common in Sweden. UKD targets, etc so quite fun.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

man power seems to be taken care of, bring your kid. Some motoX races do that over here, if you are racing at your "home" track you must bring a marshal to be allowed to enter.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: COURAGEWOLF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've always wanted to do biathlon. Seriously been considering it for a long time but have never heard of anyone doing it locally. </div></div>

might give these guys a look at Washington Biathlon Assoc.
http://www.wabiathlon.org/
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

This is my first post on this forum, and I registered just to say that I would be SOOOOO into this if we could put it together.

I really don't think the logistics would be all that hard. There really aren't all that many people using the backcountry in CO during the winter. A few skiers and bilers but it would not be hard at all to set up a fun course that didn't get in the way of any great skiing spots.

What we need.

- Public land. Yea, no fees, no hassle. We'd just need to be careful to set it up right. I know of a few spots around Aspen that would work great. The thing is, if you're firing into S facing slopes that have no snow on them, you can be pretty damn sure there won't be any skiers on them.

- A few snowmobiles for access.

- Steel.

I think thats really about it.


One thing to think about. Biathalons are usually cross country skiing, which is well, sort of, uh, boring, and maybe a little on the light in the loafers side. Instead, we should set it up so that we can do "real" skiing, with alpine touring bindings. Those are basically alpine bindings that can unlock in the heel so the toe pivots freely like a xcountry binding, so you can hike around easily. We should have to ski both up and down steep hills. Mandatory cliff jumps with a rifle on your back would possible one of the more awesome things ever.

Oh, and gunshots aren't going to set off any avalanches. Ski patrol uses bombs that are a lot louder than any man portable rifle to set off slides. The concussion of the explosive will trigger a slide in the immediate area, but secondary releases nearby caused by the sound are extremely rare, and if the snowpack is that touchy, well we shouldn't be out there in the first place.

There are some issues that would make this more difficult. I wouldn't be involved unless everyone had an avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe, and knew how to use them. I think a mandatory group practice session on rescue techniques would be a good idea. Also, we would need to make sure that if we are crossing avy slide paths, only one person is exposed to that danger at a time, and when ever someone is in a spot that could slide, there are at least 3-4 people in a safe zone nearby watching and ready to rescue them in case any thing goes wrong.



I've been dreaming about this for a long long time. I'd love to see a strictly downhill skiing event with pistol targets as you're skiing down, along with another even where you hike all over the place with skis on and shoot with rifles.


However, I'm not sure there are enough people who are both good enough shooters to make this fun and challenging, and who are also good skiers with avalanche safety gear and who know how to use it. Still though, it would be SO fun.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Buck Rogers</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is my first post on this forum, and I registered just to say that I would be SOOOOO into this if we could put it together.

I really don't think the logistics would be all that hard. There really aren't all that many people using the backcountry in CO during the winter. A few skiers and bilers but it would not be hard at all to set up a fun course that didn't get in the way of any great skiing spots.

What we need.

- Public land. Yea, no fees, no hassle. We'd just need to be careful to set it up right. I know of a few spots around Aspen that would work great. The thing is, if you're firing into S facing slopes that have no snow on them, you can be pretty damn sure there won't be any skiers on them.

- A few snowmobiles for access.

- Steel.

I think thats really about it.


One thing to think about. Biathalons are usually cross country skiing, which is well, sort of, uh, boring, and maybe a little on the light in the loafers side. Instead, we should set it up so that we can do "real" skiing, with alpine touring bindings. Those are basically alpine bindings that can unlock in the heel so the toe pivots freely like a xcountry binding, so you can hike around easily. We should have to ski both up and down steep hills. Mandatory cliff jumps with a rifle on your back would possible one of the more awesome things ever.

Oh, and gunshots aren't going to set off any avalanches. Ski patrol uses bombs that are a lot louder than any man portable rifle to set off slides. The concussion of the explosive will trigger a slide in the immediate area, but secondary releases nearby caused by the sound are extremely rare, and if the snowpack is that touchy, well we shouldn't be out there in the first place.

There are some issues that would make this more difficult. I wouldn't be involved unless everyone had an avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe, and knew how to use them. I think a mandatory group practice session on rescue techniques would be a good idea. Also, we would need to make sure that if we are crossing avy slide paths, only one person is exposed to that danger at a time, and when ever someone is in a spot that could slide, there are at least 3-4 people in a safe zone nearby watching and ready to rescue them in case any thing goes wrong.



I've been dreaming about this for a long long time. I'd love to see a strictly downhill skiing event with pistol targets as you're skiing down, along with another even where you hike all over the place with skis on and shoot with rifles.


However, I'm not sure there are enough people who are both good enough shooters to make this fun and challenging, and who are also good skiers with avalanche safety gear and who know how to use it. Still though, it would be SO fun.
</div></div>

Buck,

I've participated in biathlon events as you desicribe many times in the Norwegian National Guard. I served many years in a ski patrol unit with elite skiers, biathlon stars and arctic mainiacs. Eirik Kvalfoss '84 olympic biathlon champ, Ketil Andre Aamodt alpine star(I tought him to shoot), Erling Kagge ( he has cross country skied to the north pole, south pole alone and climbed Everest..) to name a few. A typical competition are shot with HK G3's or sniperrifles. Skies are military telemark skies with steel edge, not as specialized as you describe. Otherwise full military equipment. The track is usually more rugged than the typical biathlon track. In other words, a fall can be hard. I once bent a G3 so hard the bolt would not move in the receiver. The G3 hit a tree, I missed.. :). The length of the track varies from 10km to 20km and there are 2 - 4 shooting stages with 5 shots each. Targets usually are steel self marking targets like these in different configurations: http://www.folldalmek.no/selvanviser.htm Hits are shown very positive and there are a judge behind each shooter counting hits. No need to mark targets. It's a lot of fun and with all the winning egoes in my old unit there are a lot of prestige in winning :)

One thing is for sure. In a competition like this using sniperrifles the scope has to be carried in a protective case. Any scope mounted on the rifle going downhill skiing is crushed sooner or later. An old style Mauser M98 comp.rifle with a qd siderail mounted scope is suddenly a very competitive rifle :)

Just for fun. Kagge on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erling_Kagge
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

This would be great if it could be pulled off. Would the NRA or one of the Outdoor channels be open to sponsoring/hosting such an event??? Just asking.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

I can attest to the Pecos run and gun. I about killed myself running this last year. There are alot of logistics going into one of these events. But it is very fun and if anyone gets a chance come to Pecos in August.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: G-TAC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think I might have to take a vacation to Norway! How are the gun laws there? </div></div>

Very practical,

however you are better of just going there and then run the shoot with a borowed G3 or AI rifle or perhaps even a Sauer rifle,

more authentic that way.

Us swedes are a bit more closeminded as regards to "rifles or war", don´t ask and I won´t tell.

/Chris
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

Norwegian rules:

http://www.dfs.no/filestore/PDF-DOC-RTF-mm/Regelverk/Regelverketforskifeltogskogslp2007.pdf

Skifelt = ski fieldtarget shooting
Skogsfelt = running fieldtarget shooting (summer)
Grovfelt = high power field target
Finfelt = 22lr, ISSF biathlon rifles and Sauer SSG3000/STR with 22lr conversionkit
AG3 = G3
Løype = total lenght track
Sløyfe = track ( 2km track between shooting, etc )
Tillegg pr bom = penalty pr miss

Peanalty can also be an extra 200m run in a panalty sling istead of added time.

All shooting is unsupported with sling. Rifles can use biathlon harness. No extra slings on G3.

Sprint event has to have first shooting prone, second shooting standing.

All cross country skiing are "classic style". No skating.

The 2010 Norwegian championship is held in middle of March. About 100 starters is expected.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

I've got some land near susanville ca that might work if there is interest.the season seams almost over, maybe next year.
 
Re: High Powered Biathlon

High power biathlon folks. I have a potential spot ready to go. I am curious to know what distances would be interesting to the group. What size steel at each distance? Is 4 MOA too much? How about 2 MOA? I like a mix of distances 100m to 1000m.

We have a valley that has an established road bed that can be used. We can keep it flat or include a serious climb if that is interesting.

We are presently setting classic track at a distance of about 6 miles. There is room for more distance and long shots.

If you help specify what would be good, I will try to get it done. We can set a course that is self-service most of the time, and well staffed during events.

My rifle preference is a korean M1 Garand with iron sights.