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Member Link Up shooting at manatee gun range, Florida

Seems like 11/11 works for the three of us.

Being a holiday weekend, it will probably be packed but so be it.
 
10:00 should be groovy!

I haven't been there since the new rules have been initiated. How long does the qualification at 300 yards take before you can move to 600 now?

And is it for every rifle i bring with me?
 
10:00 should be groovy!

I haven't been there since the new rules have been initiated. How long does the qualification at 300 yards take before you can move to 600 now?

And is it for every rifle i bring with me?

It is for every rifle but the qual only takes a few minutes.
 
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It is for every rifle but the qual only takes a few minutes.
Good to know!

I am loading up now.

Trying to be disciplined and only bring Three or four rifles

I have a couple of pistols I have neglected to shoot since acquiring them and, as noted, trying to be disciplined...

You know they have a 5 stand area there too! Lots of fun getting my ass kicked by the shotgun pro's.

But not tomorrow!

Self discipline!

That's the goal!
 
Haha, I have tried to refrain from going gun crazy tomorrow and am only bringing three long rifles. One only has about 25 rounds for load development but the others I will bring a bit more ammo for.
 
Great getting out with James and Jon yesterday. Beautiful day and a good one to get some trigger time.

My take on the club since the changes is grim. The Slob factor during the last few years of Gunny Pitts tenure was palpable and clearly, the defacto coup that resulted first in his ouster, then the 1-1.5 year limbo that ultimately resulted in the complete demo and reconstruction of the club into its present format is as sad as it is surprising. Surprising in the extent of the change there.

Range officers and office staff openly carrying side arms is new and frankly, odd. I'm not intimidated or stifled by openly armed people but I have never seen Range Officers so equipped!

The new rules aren't especially onerous.

I didn't make the time to use the pistol range but I like the layout, flexibility and extended range available there now.

The three tiered public rifle line will take some getting used to but it has its uses.

The 600 yard line, once I qualified with the three rifles I brought there yesterday, was challenging. It would be nice to get my loads refined to eliminate some of the guess work when impacts fly into the grassy foreground or background.

You can't go home...

Sure as hell. That club was the shit for a long time. That time has surely passed.
 
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While the lack of rules and structure is great for experienced shooters with a modicum of common sense; idiots inevitably arrive to screw things up for everyone else. I don't begrudge Manatee too much for the new restrictions which help keep the range from being forced to shut down. Perhaps it will keep the idiots away and mitigate the damage caused by any idiots who still arrive.

Are we still planning to go back on 11/24/18?
 
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I haven’t seen a range where the staff isn’t armed. However, I have only been here just over a year and I missed pretty much everything Manatee used to do. I do wish they had the 1K yd range open. Plus I wish they had berms at different distances to verify loads.

Going to Manatee to just shoot 600 yds is not that fun and will do it once in a blue moon. I am hoping JTAC Ranch will be affordable and hope that it has more steel targets laid out at different distances.
 
Tagging along here as I'm also in the area. Have 1 rifle qualified for the 600 yd but have yet to shoot on that line.
 
Ditto...
I spent a grand on brass, custom dies to build a .338 LM and then abandoned the project after Manatee confirmed the 1K yard range was never coming back. 600 yards just isn't a challenge to be worth the the near two hour drive each way for me.

I had never heard of the JTAC range- so thanks for posting that up. Is it for real gonna happen? I'd love to get back to building that .338 for my son!
 
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Ditto...
I spent a grand on brass, custom dies to build a .338 LM and then abandoned the project after Manatee confirmed the 1K yard range was never coming back. 600 yards just isn't a challenge to be worth the the near two hour drive each way for me.

I had never heard of the JTAC range- so thanks for posting that up. Is it for real gonna happen? I'd love to get back to building that .338 for my son!
JTAC was supposed to open Feb 2018 but was deleayed due to permits. They finally got them and are currently working on moving dirt. They posted that they are going to open Feb 2019 on their Facebook page.
 
Which range do you run the PRS match? 600?

I'm interested in how they run that there now that the 1000 yard range is closed.
Manatee Precision (PRS) is shot on the back 600 yard range. The berm is actually about 630, so that is the farthest distance. A few targets will be setup on the side berms to get varied distances.
 
I can't go this Sunday as I already have plans in the morning but I will be heading out there within the next week or two.
 
Bringing back the dead. Manatee is bringing back the 1000 yard berm. They say, it will be open January 1. I do not know if they will reopen the 600 on the main line. I would have to assume that they will
Some of the bench rest guys say they will but it is yet to be determined.
I can not see them moving from the back 600 to the front main line.
Only time will tell
 
Bringing back the dead. Manatee is bringing back the 1000 yard berm. They say, it will be open January 1. I do not know if they will reopen the 600 on the main line. I would have to assume that they will
Some of the bench rest guys say they will but it is yet to be determined.
I can not see them moving from the back 600 to the front main line.
Only time will tell

That will be nice since JTAC is going extinct
 
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I would expect some sort of "qualification" with every rifle, optic, caliber combination you intend to shoot 600/1000 given the old requirement to do so when they changed layouts years ago. I haven't been since they shut PRS and F-class down, so my knowledge may be dated.