Background: I have been shooting precision rifles for the last few years, long range shooting has been a motivator all along. But in Sweden in general, there are few chances to go beyond 600 meters, and pretty much every range is limited to 300 meters. The furthest I had ever shot before this past weekend was 795 meters. Its also of some value to state that I consider myself to be of good physical fitness, I work at the local hospital and there is seldom a slow day, I have been an avid mountainbiker since I was 15 and I still ride my bike to work every day, year around unless its pouring rain. I dont drink or smoke.
The competition, NM Langhold (roughly translates to the Nordic Long Range shooting championship) is held annually in the mountains around the small village of Bjoneroa in Norway by match director Christian S who I figure have a background in the Norwegian Army. This years competition would span over two days and about 50 competitors came to the venue. This years venue had targets set out beyond 1300 meters. I knew it was a tough competition, both physically and mentally, but I never knew just how tough it would be.
So, after a 7,5 hour drive from my home up to Bjoneroa in Norway, we slept on the floor of a gym and at 04:00 it was time to get ready to go out. Safety briefing was at 05:30 and then it was time to hike up the mountain, it was -21 C when we started out, and it was a 1 hour and 45 minute hike to the top, where we would start shooting. The hike for the first half hour was on decently plowed backroads, and after that it was time to put on snow shoes and continue the hike.
The thing is, that at 05:20 when we loaded our gear out to my car, which we were going to use for the short drive to the other side of the town, we quickly found out that the car would not start. Apparently a night outside with temperatures reaching as low as -30 C proved to be too much for my poor BMW. So in a fit of panic we threw the regular gear into another competitors car and headed out. It just so happens that I forgot my damn snow shoes in my car, as this is not regular gear to me, in fact I had never even used a pair of snow shoes prior to this weekend. By the time the safety briefing was over, there was no time to go and get them. So I was handed a vintage pair of old snow shoes from one of the RO guys, these were something from the WW2 era and they were made from wood and straps, they were bad, but they would have to do. The mountain was covered in 4 feet of snow, and it would be impossible to get around up there without the damn snowshoes.
Anyhow, back to the hike up the mountain, I really cant remember that I have ever been so cold in my life, it was crazy. My hands were completely numb and I started to get scared of frostnip, which some people got during the day. But after a while the sun came up and the temperature rose to about -7 C which was comfortable by comparison.
Safety breifing (day two)
The scenery on one of the stages, forgot which one (6?). There are targets where the arrows point, at 1090 meters and 970 meters.
Needless to say, the scenery was epic, the Norwegian countryside is nothing short of amazing.
After shooting the first 6 stages on top of the mountain, were I managed to hit steel at both 970 meters and 1090 meters it was time to hike back down, about 45 minutes or so, to the other 5 stages of the day. By now it was lunchtime and I had spent at least 4 hours with the damned snowshoes strapped to my feet. It was rough, and it started to get painful. But I pressed on and did my best to try to score some more hits, but fatigue was starting to get to me, and some stages had more than a bit of PRS-influence to them, which meant planning, milling and alternating targets which would have been tough on a regular day at the range, in these conditions, they proved to be way too much for my brain. So I figured that I would try to stick to the fundamentals, and maybe score some hits that way. You know, build a good position behind the rifle, shoot well. or at least as good as possible, but it all just proved to be too much. The pain and fatigue had gotten to me, and I hit nothing.
Here I am, trying to hit a small steel plate at about 515 meters:
On my way out to the last stage, my body was a blob of pain, every step was a struggle and after a while, I figured that if, and only if, I make the hike out to the last stage, I might not have the power to get back down the mountain, let alone shoot worth a damn. So I figured I have had enough, after a long brake with some heated MRE and water, I started to make my way back down the mountain. By now I had been up on the mountain for over 8 hours, and it was another hour or so to get down from the mountain, back to the cars and then back to the gym for more food and sleep.
I fell a sleep by 21:00 or so, completely knocked out from fatigue.
The next morning, my body was a mess, and it was no small struggle to make it down roughly 15 steps indoors to get to the showers. All I felt was pain, crippling pain, mixed with feverish weakness. To even contemplate going out on the mountain again, now in -25 C to hike up a steeper trail up another mountainside was completely out of the question. Hell, I felt lucky to have made it down the mountain just yesterday. And I was still worried that the car would not start, and we were supposed to drive back home that same afternoon. So I stayed back in the gym for the day, eating, sleeping and trying to get the car to start back up again. I estimate that about 5-6 other guys had also dropped out of the competition by now, most of them from fatigue and some with signs of slight frostnip.
I can only salute the guys that not only made it back out to the mountain on day two, to stay competitive and to actually make hits on steel beyond a 1000 meters on day two in those conditions are admirable, and down right bad ass.
By 15:30 most of the guys were back in the gym, and the winners was declared. I feel nothing but huge respect to everyone that was part of this competition, from the director, to the RO:s, the catering and naturally all of the competitors.
I hope that Christian and his friends will keep doing this competition for years to come. It is an awesome experience, however I have a feeling that I wont be there again, for me, it is just too damn hard. But now I know. I dont just talk and dream, I go places and try stuff. I learned a lot this weekend, and first and foremost I learned some of my limitations.
This plate measures 12"x12" if my memory serves. You did not have to shoot at it, there were plates at shorter ranges, but I was there to shoot long range, so I tried. This plate was placed at 1090 meters, and two out of the three shots I took at it were hits, made with my Remington 700 Police, chambered in 300 winchester magnum, using handloads with Hornady ELD-X 212 grain bullets and Norma MRP powder.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks again to everyone involved.
(Pictures are borrowed from social media, if anyone is offended by this, I will remove them)
The competition, NM Langhold (roughly translates to the Nordic Long Range shooting championship) is held annually in the mountains around the small village of Bjoneroa in Norway by match director Christian S who I figure have a background in the Norwegian Army. This years competition would span over two days and about 50 competitors came to the venue. This years venue had targets set out beyond 1300 meters. I knew it was a tough competition, both physically and mentally, but I never knew just how tough it would be.
So, after a 7,5 hour drive from my home up to Bjoneroa in Norway, we slept on the floor of a gym and at 04:00 it was time to get ready to go out. Safety briefing was at 05:30 and then it was time to hike up the mountain, it was -21 C when we started out, and it was a 1 hour and 45 minute hike to the top, where we would start shooting. The hike for the first half hour was on decently plowed backroads, and after that it was time to put on snow shoes and continue the hike.
The thing is, that at 05:20 when we loaded our gear out to my car, which we were going to use for the short drive to the other side of the town, we quickly found out that the car would not start. Apparently a night outside with temperatures reaching as low as -30 C proved to be too much for my poor BMW. So in a fit of panic we threw the regular gear into another competitors car and headed out. It just so happens that I forgot my damn snow shoes in my car, as this is not regular gear to me, in fact I had never even used a pair of snow shoes prior to this weekend. By the time the safety briefing was over, there was no time to go and get them. So I was handed a vintage pair of old snow shoes from one of the RO guys, these were something from the WW2 era and they were made from wood and straps, they were bad, but they would have to do. The mountain was covered in 4 feet of snow, and it would be impossible to get around up there without the damn snowshoes.
Anyhow, back to the hike up the mountain, I really cant remember that I have ever been so cold in my life, it was crazy. My hands were completely numb and I started to get scared of frostnip, which some people got during the day. But after a while the sun came up and the temperature rose to about -7 C which was comfortable by comparison.
Safety breifing (day two)
The scenery on one of the stages, forgot which one (6?). There are targets where the arrows point, at 1090 meters and 970 meters.
Needless to say, the scenery was epic, the Norwegian countryside is nothing short of amazing.
After shooting the first 6 stages on top of the mountain, were I managed to hit steel at both 970 meters and 1090 meters it was time to hike back down, about 45 minutes or so, to the other 5 stages of the day. By now it was lunchtime and I had spent at least 4 hours with the damned snowshoes strapped to my feet. It was rough, and it started to get painful. But I pressed on and did my best to try to score some more hits, but fatigue was starting to get to me, and some stages had more than a bit of PRS-influence to them, which meant planning, milling and alternating targets which would have been tough on a regular day at the range, in these conditions, they proved to be way too much for my brain. So I figured that I would try to stick to the fundamentals, and maybe score some hits that way. You know, build a good position behind the rifle, shoot well. or at least as good as possible, but it all just proved to be too much. The pain and fatigue had gotten to me, and I hit nothing.
Here I am, trying to hit a small steel plate at about 515 meters:
On my way out to the last stage, my body was a blob of pain, every step was a struggle and after a while, I figured that if, and only if, I make the hike out to the last stage, I might not have the power to get back down the mountain, let alone shoot worth a damn. So I figured I have had enough, after a long brake with some heated MRE and water, I started to make my way back down the mountain. By now I had been up on the mountain for over 8 hours, and it was another hour or so to get down from the mountain, back to the cars and then back to the gym for more food and sleep.
I fell a sleep by 21:00 or so, completely knocked out from fatigue.
The next morning, my body was a mess, and it was no small struggle to make it down roughly 15 steps indoors to get to the showers. All I felt was pain, crippling pain, mixed with feverish weakness. To even contemplate going out on the mountain again, now in -25 C to hike up a steeper trail up another mountainside was completely out of the question. Hell, I felt lucky to have made it down the mountain just yesterday. And I was still worried that the car would not start, and we were supposed to drive back home that same afternoon. So I stayed back in the gym for the day, eating, sleeping and trying to get the car to start back up again. I estimate that about 5-6 other guys had also dropped out of the competition by now, most of them from fatigue and some with signs of slight frostnip.
I can only salute the guys that not only made it back out to the mountain on day two, to stay competitive and to actually make hits on steel beyond a 1000 meters on day two in those conditions are admirable, and down right bad ass.
By 15:30 most of the guys were back in the gym, and the winners was declared. I feel nothing but huge respect to everyone that was part of this competition, from the director, to the RO:s, the catering and naturally all of the competitors.
I hope that Christian and his friends will keep doing this competition for years to come. It is an awesome experience, however I have a feeling that I wont be there again, for me, it is just too damn hard. But now I know. I dont just talk and dream, I go places and try stuff. I learned a lot this weekend, and first and foremost I learned some of my limitations.
This plate measures 12"x12" if my memory serves. You did not have to shoot at it, there were plates at shorter ranges, but I was there to shoot long range, so I tried. This plate was placed at 1090 meters, and two out of the three shots I took at it were hits, made with my Remington 700 Police, chambered in 300 winchester magnum, using handloads with Hornady ELD-X 212 grain bullets and Norma MRP powder.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks again to everyone involved.
(Pictures are borrowed from social media, if anyone is offended by this, I will remove them)
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