I wanted to do some more 500 yard testing with my '44 Tula PU Sniper and my match loads. I wish I could get set up for 600 right now, to mimic the Vintage Sniper Match, but I'm going to have to wait. At my neighbor's pit, they've been moving things around, a lot. However, as it turned out, they unknowingly created a perfect 500 yard range for me, where I can fire from a very large/tall hill top, to a berm out in the field. As it turns out, from the flattest spot on the hill, where I can set up my bench, it's 506 yards.
Yesterday, the weather was beautiful. However, it was a little windy, at a steady 13mph, with gusts up to 23mph, from the right. I set my scope for a little over 400 meters and let rip with seven rounds of the match ammo I brought with, hoping that at least five would hit the paper with the wicked crosswind. As it turned out, they all hit the paper, but just over a foot to the left of my point of aim. The seven rounds measured exactly 5 inches, center to center. I was shocked!
Now, wanting to get a more centered grouping that would actually count for a "score", I tried again, today. However, the wind was even worse and from the same direction (22mph, with gusts to 29mph). This time, I took a few sighters on some water jugs that I had set next to the target, on the same berm. It took two sighters, then two hits in a row on the jugs and then I proceeded to fire ten rounds into the target board, using the 3" sticky target as a POA (hard to see through a 67 yr. old, 3.5x scope that's half the size of a toilet paper roll!). As you can see, it's not as nice of a group as yesterday's, but still pretty good, given the conditions.
Now, if we ever get a dead calm day (highly unlikely, where I live), I would like to try it again.
John
Yesterday, the weather was beautiful. However, it was a little windy, at a steady 13mph, with gusts up to 23mph, from the right. I set my scope for a little over 400 meters and let rip with seven rounds of the match ammo I brought with, hoping that at least five would hit the paper with the wicked crosswind. As it turned out, they all hit the paper, but just over a foot to the left of my point of aim. The seven rounds measured exactly 5 inches, center to center. I was shocked!
Now, wanting to get a more centered grouping that would actually count for a "score", I tried again, today. However, the wind was even worse and from the same direction (22mph, with gusts to 29mph). This time, I took a few sighters on some water jugs that I had set next to the target, on the same berm. It took two sighters, then two hits in a row on the jugs and then I proceeded to fire ten rounds into the target board, using the 3" sticky target as a POA (hard to see through a 67 yr. old, 3.5x scope that's half the size of a toilet paper roll!). As you can see, it's not as nice of a group as yesterday's, but still pretty good, given the conditions.
Now, if we ever get a dead calm day (highly unlikely, where I live), I would like to try it again.
John
