Re: Results Odessa FV 200yd F-Class August 1st
Had a great get-together; reminds me of younger days. Lotsa new and semi new faces and names to put together, which is not my strong suit lately. SniperOne brought the Club some humdinger steel gongs and we got a start at getting them rigged for use. I expect we'll have it all up to speed by next match. Much, much appreciated.
Christened a new/old gun; something from my dim and distant past. Last time I shot it was in the first Carlos Hathcock Match; inherited it when my eldest Brother passed on last year. STP had been doing some ladder testing on it, but I got antsy and preempted it for this match with an untested load (actually two untested loads, neither of which are the real deal for this one, yet...). But the gun definitely wants to shoot, and for a bipod foray, not bad, not bad at all. It's an older M700 BDL Varmint .222Rem, totally original and unbedded; and wears, for now, one of my $80 Tasco Varmint/Target 6-24X42 MilDot scopes. Unless it acts up, will continue to do so. Even without any substantial load development, it promises to shoot far better than I can. Once it's up to speed, I might like putting into the hands of a <span style="font-style: italic">real</span> shooter and having a look-see at what it can really do.
I'm turning it back over to STP to complete working his magic for at least the next two matches. That's how much ammo I still have made up for the .223, and there's no reason to let it sit upon the windowsill; especially when the new protege is in STP's capable hands.
For those who are wondering, we shoot these matches twice a month (first Saturday each month, then the Sunday second weekend following) whenever the snow hasn't driven us indoors; and yes, we shoot in the rain (we cheat though, we have the covered firing line and concrete pad). Taken as a whole, it's an outstanding opportunity to put your equipment through its paces under nearly all conditions. It might seem as if, "It's OK, there are plenty of matches, I can hold off..."; but that's not it at all. We are having far too much fun to be blase and let it pass us by. Each opportunity lost is lost forever; so get your young asses out here, BWAGO!
The atmosphere is intended to bypass the stress of formal competition, while offering an opportunity to get those comp skills off the ground and into at least an intermediate gear. As far as challenge is concerned, the target is the great equalizer. Nobody's cleaned it yet, although we've had a couple of glancing blows taken at it the last few matches.
But the camaraderie and spirit of helpful competition is of exactly the tone I had hoped would develop. Whenever I have participated in assisting with comps, I have always avoided any sort of palpable awards. They bring out precisely the wrong spirit and attitude. Our comps are about bringing us all along as an ensemble; and so far, that's just what's happening. I am very gratified, and I hope it stays just so.
After match, I brought out the old DCM Garand. It had been languishing in my locked gun cabinets for over a year and I could hear it whining through the locked door (to which I had lost the danged keys) to come out and play. Well play it did, even met a new friend. I took advantage of the outing to replace the front sight with the Match Rifle hooded sight and ring insert, and add the 1" butt pad extension. The 1/2Min rears go on next, followed by final sight registration to get everything onto the sight adjustment center line. But for the moment, she fell right on target on the 200yd gong without any fiddling or tuning. The conditions in the cabinet were less than ideal, and once she came out into the full light of day, I am ashamed to say, I noted some rust spots. This will not do, and will be addressed pronto.
Our outing was also brightened by the appearance of a delightful young lady named Jenny, and JDA Sr's affable Irish Setter AKA Duke; who has become a fast friend to us all.
Days as good as this one, you count on one hand.
F T/R (Target Rifle) is confined to .308 and .223 calibers, and is fired from an attached support, most usually a bipod, whose weight is counted when the rifle meets weight restrictions.
Open has an upward chambering limit (I think it may be .338LM, but don't quote me), is fired off separate support, most usually an adjustable rest, and has a top weight limit of 10Kg (about 22.5lb). Both classes permit a rear bag. I think there may be a lower weight limit for F T/R, but again, don't quote me.
I know of no ammunition restrictions other than that it has to be lawful to be legal.
Greg