LATEST EVENTS / NEWS:
SHOOTING WITH YOUR RIFLE CANTED OR COMPLETELY ON ITS' SIDE
One person once told me he would not shoot until he got into a stable position and could pick his shot. Well in a competitive match or a hunt - one will have to shoot when the situation presents itself whether you are in position of not. Time, wind and other factors will force us to shoot in positions wherein we are not comfortable.This morning (July 10, 2011) I went to the Armscor range while everyone was in Davao doing the Duterte shoot (wish I were there - Randell T. has been sending pictures via our FB account) and tested shooting my rifle canted and completely horizontal (ie. lying on its side wherein the elevation becomes the windage and the windage becomes the elevation).
First things first, question is why would a sane person do this?
Answer could possibly be one of the following:
I first test fired my 16 inch special edition Armscor rifle at 25 and 50 meters with CCI Std Vel (Gerry Kaimo group buy - thank you) and was hitting right on the dot. With me that morning were Dante Elloso and Boy De Leon..and they were wondering what I was doing (being the eldest of the group - they politely did not question or laugh at me, they probably thought I was a bit insane). I then got a sandbag of sorts -my clutch bag ( yes I do carry a clutch bag guys and I am not gay - no offense to the third sex some of my best friends are gay).
Several things came out of this trial:
Next came slanted or canted. I thought that at 25 meters there would be no real change. Was I wrong. With the rifle and scope canted to the right my shots were one inch to the right of where I was aiming. Fired several and again it was consistent - nice grouping pa. I noticed that is was easier for a right handed person to cant to the right then canting to the left (this may be a personal thing like a tailor asking where one positions the family treasures before cutting your pants). With the left cant it was the same one inch to the left though. Results were as follows:
Have fun, be safe, and shoot far.
Johnny G.
First things first, question is why would a sane person do this?
Answer could possibly be one of the following:
- You are a hunter who has to shoot in all positions (hence you are practicing the 1000 shooting Kamasutra positions to make you a good hunter),
- You are shooting from the sewers and the opening is not large enough for the scope/rifle vertically and there is no more headroom (war fantasy), or
- You are joining a LRRP shoot namely the LRRP Bolo Cup match where in an insane course designer incorporated this positions into course number two.
I first test fired my 16 inch special edition Armscor rifle at 25 and 50 meters with CCI Std Vel (Gerry Kaimo group buy - thank you) and was hitting right on the dot. With me that morning were Dante Elloso and Boy De Leon..and they were wondering what I was doing (being the eldest of the group - they politely did not question or laugh at me, they probably thought I was a bit insane). I then got a sandbag of sorts -my clutch bag ( yes I do carry a clutch bag guys and I am not gay - no offense to the third sex some of my best friends are gay).
Several things came out of this trial:
- My hits were three inches down and three inches to the left (this was at 25 meters) with my rifle and scope lying on its left side. I shot several times to confirm this and it was consistent, so fellow shooters find your point of impact (or dope) for this position. I was using my vortex scope with EBR recticle and found that if I placed the target on the preceding lines or hash marks I get the shot on target (I had to go one down and one left on my reticle.)If you lie left then the shot will be left and down. Did not try lying right - it may also be down and right, but I did not test this so I cannot state it as a fact. It will have to be tested further, it may be right and up for all I know.
- The other item was getting the rifle to steady at such an awkard position. I had to hold on to the scope ( not the barrel mind you) to steady the rifle. I suspect and hope that the horizontal slot of the course two barricade will allow the forearm of my rifle to rest on the barricade otherwise I will have to support the rifle fully (possibly a sling could help - Mike de Guzman where are you). This will be one of the main problems in the shoot.
- Third was getting your head in the right position without the butt touching your shoulder. Had to improvise here as this will vary from shooter to shooter, scope to scope, and rifle to rifle... those with critical eye reliefs will suffer, those with generous eye reliefs will still have it diificult - oldies like me with glasses will even have it more difficult (make sure your glasses don't slip - had to keep adjusting)
Next came slanted or canted. I thought that at 25 meters there would be no real change. Was I wrong. With the rifle and scope canted to the right my shots were one inch to the right of where I was aiming. Fired several and again it was consistent - nice grouping pa. I noticed that is was easier for a right handed person to cant to the right then canting to the left (this may be a personal thing like a tailor asking where one positions the family treasures before cutting your pants). With the left cant it was the same one inch to the left though. Results were as follows:
- At 25 meters, a right handed cant affects significantly the windage genrally moving the hit one inch to the direction of the cant.
- The elevation was pretty insignificant at 25 meters but I guess will become more and more significant as we shoot further.
- For this position- do try it out and get comfortable (with the horizontal position there is no way you can get comfortable) choose whethere it is easier for you to cant right or left. Getting comfortable will make a big difference.
Have fun, be safe, and shoot far.
Johnny G.
ZEROING YOUR SCOPE FOR LONG RANGE SHOOTING
Being Range Master I have seen a lot of people run out of "MOA" (or turns on their turrets) on their scopes when shooting long range (300 meters) despite the fact they did have a lot of turns on their turrets in terms of elevation (internal scope adjustments) and their scope did have the capability of extending out to long distances. The main problem was their method of zeroing their scopes.
The usual method - which I will call the factory method - is if a scope has let us say 68 MOA of elevation or 68 clicks of internal adjustment on the turrets (like the Vortex Vipers), most shooter would zero the scope in the middle of the ajdustments meaning they would have 34 moa down and 34 moa up. This is the factory adjustment wherein the crosshairs sit comfortably at the center of the elevation and windage parameters. Using this method you will have only 34 moa up to compensate for long distances and you will have 34 moa down which is kind of useless since we don't need that at all unless you zero at 200 and we have targets at 25.
The method which I use - am not saying it is the best but will call it bottoming out - is as follows. I first set the turret to the bottom giving me all 68 moa upwards (which is what is needed for long range shooting) then I do anywhere from 5 to 7 moa forward (that will give me 63 to 61 moa for upward elevation). With that set, I then carefully adjuts my mounts (I have the 11mm cuts on my rifle similar to the CZ's and Anschutz rifles) by putting the front mounting ring all the way forward as much as possible, then I move the rear mounting ring until the scope is zeroed (Usually you start from the rear . Sound difficult, but it can be done with a little cheating - I use shims. I would only recommend shims on a rimfire and not on high power rifles as the recoil is minimal (notice i did not say absent). Shims can be made out of your favorite soda can. Why soda can - because the aluminum can is consistent in terms of thickness, does not rust, and is easy to cut and shape aside from being almost completly free. The choice of soda can is up to you - I use Coke Zero, others have used Sprite, regular Coke - and I have not seen the difference (am being comical here). Get the can cut off the top carefully as one can cut oneself and then with the body open it up and cut the aluminum into strips the size of the widht of your rings. Please get rings which have a lower section and an upper section - fit the aluminu strip into the lower section and place your scope over it and put the upper section on and tighten.The other method of shimming is to inser the shims between the rifle and the rings - I prefer to insert the shims between the scope and the rings. Fire the rifle at ten meters and then check and adjust. You adjust in two ways namely: 1. moving the rear rings forward and 2. adding more shims ( mine has three for one scope and none for the other - i just had to move the rear ring).
It is time consuming but well worth it. To hit at three hundred I do four full rotations of my turret or 48 moa up or 192 clicks if your scopes adjustments are 1/4 moa (this was using high vel which I have now stopped using - I use std vel now), and if anyone fools around with my scope I just bottom it out and add five moa or was it 7 moa...
I hope that was clear - will try to make pictures to help visualize the process. Also please member when putting the rifle to rest to turn the turrets to the middle so as to let the springs rest otherwise we are straining them unnecessarily specially with the method wherein we bottom out elevation.
Other items in zeroing which I have noticed namely the following:
I hope I did not confuse you fellas.. just a my humble opinion in reference to zeroing scopes.
Happy Long Range shooting - johnny garcia
The usual method - which I will call the factory method - is if a scope has let us say 68 MOA of elevation or 68 clicks of internal adjustment on the turrets (like the Vortex Vipers), most shooter would zero the scope in the middle of the ajdustments meaning they would have 34 moa down and 34 moa up. This is the factory adjustment wherein the crosshairs sit comfortably at the center of the elevation and windage parameters. Using this method you will have only 34 moa up to compensate for long distances and you will have 34 moa down which is kind of useless since we don't need that at all unless you zero at 200 and we have targets at 25.
The method which I use - am not saying it is the best but will call it bottoming out - is as follows. I first set the turret to the bottom giving me all 68 moa upwards (which is what is needed for long range shooting) then I do anywhere from 5 to 7 moa forward (that will give me 63 to 61 moa for upward elevation). With that set, I then carefully adjuts my mounts (I have the 11mm cuts on my rifle similar to the CZ's and Anschutz rifles) by putting the front mounting ring all the way forward as much as possible, then I move the rear mounting ring until the scope is zeroed (Usually you start from the rear . Sound difficult, but it can be done with a little cheating - I use shims. I would only recommend shims on a rimfire and not on high power rifles as the recoil is minimal (notice i did not say absent). Shims can be made out of your favorite soda can. Why soda can - because the aluminum can is consistent in terms of thickness, does not rust, and is easy to cut and shape aside from being almost completly free. The choice of soda can is up to you - I use Coke Zero, others have used Sprite, regular Coke - and I have not seen the difference (am being comical here). Get the can cut off the top carefully as one can cut oneself and then with the body open it up and cut the aluminum into strips the size of the widht of your rings. Please get rings which have a lower section and an upper section - fit the aluminu strip into the lower section and place your scope over it and put the upper section on and tighten.The other method of shimming is to inser the shims between the rifle and the rings - I prefer to insert the shims between the scope and the rings. Fire the rifle at ten meters and then check and adjust. You adjust in two ways namely: 1. moving the rear rings forward and 2. adding more shims ( mine has three for one scope and none for the other - i just had to move the rear ring).
It is time consuming but well worth it. To hit at three hundred I do four full rotations of my turret or 48 moa up or 192 clicks if your scopes adjustments are 1/4 moa (this was using high vel which I have now stopped using - I use std vel now), and if anyone fools around with my scope I just bottom it out and add five moa or was it 7 moa...
I hope that was clear - will try to make pictures to help visualize the process. Also please member when putting the rifle to rest to turn the turrets to the middle so as to let the springs rest otherwise we are straining them unnecessarily specially with the method wherein we bottom out elevation.
Other items in zeroing which I have noticed namely the following:
- Do not try to zero stating at 50 meters - it is quiet difficult and you will use up a lot of rounds and not even get it on the paper at times. Start at 10 meters, then 25, then 50 - you will spend less bullets and understand your rifle an scope better.
- Can't get to zero at 10 or 25 meters and have a range which only allows you to use 50meters like the PNSA range - try shooting the top and bottom of the paper and see if the bullet appears on the sheet. If not try shooting the four edges - the top center, the bottom center, the left side center and the right side center. If you still can get it in try the four corners. If that doesn't work then check your screws.
- Screws- a lot of people, me included have at least have this happen to them at least once, or twice, or thrice.... so I talk with experience here folks. You can not zero because the bullet goes all over the target despite using good bullets, a good rifle, and a good scopes - answer: you've got loose screws somewhere. Check the following:
- Action screws - specailly after a through cleaning or if it has come from the factory - loose action screws will give your rifle an erratic pattern.
- Check your mounting ring screws - they must be tight - really tight...no movement.
- Check your scope screws - again tight and when finalized in terms of zeroing - use locktite (blue) on the scope screws and moutning ring screws.
I hope I did not confuse you fellas.. just a my humble opinion in reference to zeroing scopes.
Happy Long Range shooting - johnny garcia
BR50 PNSA MATCH
LRRP got an invitation to join a BR50 Match - A challenging accuracy game at 50 meters with 50 shots in 30 minutes on a table with one sandbag. Sounds easy... You may think it is but it is an extremely challenging, addictive, fun search for the ultimate fifty meter accuracy. A different rimfire match from our rough and tumble games. Please do definitely join - the invitation for all LRRP participants is below .What is this BR 50 animal ? Here's an article on it.
"Meanest Game On The Continent"
'What's so tough about the target-shooting game called, BR-50? Alot!
......by Lee McFarland
BR-50. It stands for benchrest - -50 shots, and a whole lot more.This brilliantly challenging little game, has since its' inception, generated more interest among serious accuracy shooters than its' inventor could have ever dreamed. BR-50 has grown up! Evolving from a one-club game, into an international accuracy shooting sport - it is complete with State, Regional, and National matches; individual club and national championships; an official national ranking system of top shooters; and a fever of devoted following by some of the sharpest eyes and meanest trigger fingers in the arena of target-shooting today. So what's just so tough about this little game - that it successfully challenges (and even humbles) some of the biggest names in accuracy shooting?
Well, first consider this: BR-50 is shot benchrest-style by airguns at tweny-five yards, or 22 rimfires at fifty yards. As most of us already know, different ammo can shoot differently, in different rifles. This is particularly true of .22 rimfire. So the first requirement is finding a good rifle/scope combination - and then, doing alot of test firing to determine what brand and type ammo shoots best from yours. Once you've figured that out; consider that this 'devilish' BR-50 sport is shot nearly year 'round, in all kinds of weather, at ranges all across the U.S. from California to New York (as well as several other countries). Depending on which range you're at, and what time of year - you now have to figure out if certain lot numbers of your chosen ammo will perform better than others, in the bitter cold of an Indiana winter - in the sweltering heat of a mid-summer Texas day; and so on.
Next, consider the target itself - and how it's scored. Each official BR-50 target sheet (they're printed in special green ink) contains fifty - count 'em, fifty - individual bulls-eyes. These are divided into ten grids of five 'bulls' each. At the top of each full target sheet, is a handy sighter target. The little bulls-eyes each measure just slightly larger than a twenty-five cent piece. The center area of each bull (known as the mothball) measures considerably less than the size of a dime. In fact, it's only about half the size of a dime. A shot placed in this center 'mothball' is worth one hundred points. A shot that breaks into the next ring out (which is precisely the size of a dime), is scored fifty points. A shot that hits outside that, but doesn't break the outer ring of the bull, gains you twenty-five points. Any shot that does break across the outer ring of the bull, drops the score to ten points. Now, here's where it begins to get tough. Any shot that hits completely outside the bull, is given a score of minus 25 points!
Basically, the game of BR-50 is played like this: You can shoot as many 'practice' rounds as you like, into the area at the top of your sheet during a match. When shooting for score however, one and only one shot is fired at each individual bull. After each shot - you move to the next bull, reload, and fire again. If they all went in the center, of course - you would have a perfect 'possible' score of five thousand points. That has never happened. Now, for the second tough point. In the official rules of BR-50, rule #10 requires "worst-edge' scoring. In other words, if a shot hits in the 100 point area, but any edge of the bullet hole breaks completely through the green ring of that area, the score drops to fifty points! Then there's rule #10A. It says, if a shot falls too close on the line to tell if it breaks the ring or not - it automatically receives the lower score. So if you can't clearly see the shot is 'in' - it's considered 'out', and is scored that way.
Once a match begins, most competitors start shooting at the first bull in the upper left-hand corner of grid #1 and continue across the top row, firing one shot at each, and so on. If there is any wind of course, you either compensate for it, or wait it out - making that decision as best you can, with each successive shot. When the match is completed, you've fired fifty shots - one each, at fifty different bulls - hopefully hitting more 'hundreds' than not. Now, the third tough point. All official BR-50 matches are 'timed' events. Once the match starts, you have thirty minutes to complete the shooting of your target. That's right! Fifty shots, at fifty seperate bulls, from a distance of fifty yards (rimfire) - in only thirty minutes! Starting to sound tougher all the time - isn't it!?
As they say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet". It gets worse. Let's suppose you don't quite finish shooting your target sheet before time runs out!? Well now: rule #9 states that any bulls you don't shoot, thus leaving them 'blank' - are scored minus 25 points each! And it gets tougher yet when you encounter rule #11. Let's say you forget where you are on your target during a match. Absent-mindedly, you you fire two shots into the same bull. Guess what!? Rule #11 says you just lost another fifty points! God forbid you should really screw up and fire fifty-four or fifty-five shots into the gridded area of your target sheet. If you haven't scored lots of 'hundreds' you could end up with a negative point total!
And now, for the good news. The sport of BR-50 is a helleuva lot of fun. It was also designed to be 'relatively' inexpensive to participate in - and in most cases, it is that, too. If you live anywhere near one of the ranges currently holding BR-50 matches, and you own or have access to an airgun or rimfire rifle with a scope; you can drive to the range, shoot up a box of ammo in practice and one in the match, pay your entry fee (they vary from club to club), and have a great time and learning experience with some of the friendliest guys and gals in the sport - all, for less than it would cost you to take your wife and in-laws out to dinner at the local Ritz.
On the other hand, if you have a little more money to spend, and want to improve your chances of shooting some competitive scores (assuming you can shoot ) - you can pick up a decent medium-priced target or benchrest model rifle; top it off with a good 12 power, 24 power, or 36 power scope; purchase an adjustable front rest and rear sandbag; stock up on a few boxes of match grade ammo - and you're ready to seriously compete for the national championship.
All officially sanctioned matches at each club, reward the top ten scores with "champoints" - with ten going to first place, down to one champoint for tenth place finishes. These champoints put you in contention for the individual club championships, and put you on the road to being ranked nationally among the fine shooters of BR-50. Yours truly, has had the good fortune of being ranked among the top half in the national standing - although I've been at it less than a year and still have a great deal to learn about this kind of shooting.
Being relatively easy to get started at, and as much challenging 'fun' as it is - BR-50 should not be taken lightly among the shooting competitions that exist today. Each match is held under some very safe and disciplined practices; guided by specific rules set forth by BR-50 International; and the targets subjected to some rather precise scoring procedures. In other words, this isn't some weekend turkey shoot. So if you've read this far, and begun to entertain the idea that - you'll locate the nearest club with a BR-50 schedule - snatch up your average .22 squirrel rifle with the low power scope - rush over there next Sunday and proceed to impress everyone - then be prepared to be humbled! Maybe even embarrassed!? For one thing, you can't even see the bullet-hole a .22 makes in a BR-50 target, at fifty yards - with anything much less than a 10 power scope. And, some of the match grade .22 ammo used widely at these matches, is in high demand, and can retail for up to eight bucks - for a box of fifty. And it does make a difference what (ammo) you shoot.
The best way to introduce yourself to this challenging sport, is to attend a registered match at the range closest to you, that is currently competing in BR-50. You can watch a match in progress; see how it's shot and how it's scored - then, talk to some of the current shooters, and get a feel for whether you'd like to try it yourself. Also, you can contact BR-50 inventor and competition co-ordinator, Larry Brown in San Diego, and for a small money order, get on the mailing list for BR-50's monthly report, known as the "Hot Sheet". Published in it, are the last 30 days match results from each club - including the "top ten" shooters' scores; type rifle used; what scopes; as well as what ammo was used. The 'Hot Sheet' also updates BR-50's National Ranking each month, naming the top 100+ competitors and their 'performance factors'.
Once you become familiar with BR-50, you owe it to yourself to try it firsthand. You'll not only become addicted to the challenge of the target - but you'll soon understand why they call it, "the meanest game on the continent".
@ copyright 1993 Lee McFarland
Indianapolis, Indiana
This was taken with all due credits from Rimfire Central as written by Lee McFarland.
The invite and the scoring system plus a sample target practice sheet is below
To download the practice sheet - click here.
To download the scoring system - click here.
"Meanest Game On The Continent"
'What's so tough about the target-shooting game called, BR-50? Alot!
......by Lee McFarland
BR-50. It stands for benchrest - -50 shots, and a whole lot more.This brilliantly challenging little game, has since its' inception, generated more interest among serious accuracy shooters than its' inventor could have ever dreamed. BR-50 has grown up! Evolving from a one-club game, into an international accuracy shooting sport - it is complete with State, Regional, and National matches; individual club and national championships; an official national ranking system of top shooters; and a fever of devoted following by some of the sharpest eyes and meanest trigger fingers in the arena of target-shooting today. So what's just so tough about this little game - that it successfully challenges (and even humbles) some of the biggest names in accuracy shooting?
Well, first consider this: BR-50 is shot benchrest-style by airguns at tweny-five yards, or 22 rimfires at fifty yards. As most of us already know, different ammo can shoot differently, in different rifles. This is particularly true of .22 rimfire. So the first requirement is finding a good rifle/scope combination - and then, doing alot of test firing to determine what brand and type ammo shoots best from yours. Once you've figured that out; consider that this 'devilish' BR-50 sport is shot nearly year 'round, in all kinds of weather, at ranges all across the U.S. from California to New York (as well as several other countries). Depending on which range you're at, and what time of year - you now have to figure out if certain lot numbers of your chosen ammo will perform better than others, in the bitter cold of an Indiana winter - in the sweltering heat of a mid-summer Texas day; and so on.
Next, consider the target itself - and how it's scored. Each official BR-50 target sheet (they're printed in special green ink) contains fifty - count 'em, fifty - individual bulls-eyes. These are divided into ten grids of five 'bulls' each. At the top of each full target sheet, is a handy sighter target. The little bulls-eyes each measure just slightly larger than a twenty-five cent piece. The center area of each bull (known as the mothball) measures considerably less than the size of a dime. In fact, it's only about half the size of a dime. A shot placed in this center 'mothball' is worth one hundred points. A shot that breaks into the next ring out (which is precisely the size of a dime), is scored fifty points. A shot that hits outside that, but doesn't break the outer ring of the bull, gains you twenty-five points. Any shot that does break across the outer ring of the bull, drops the score to ten points. Now, here's where it begins to get tough. Any shot that hits completely outside the bull, is given a score of minus 25 points!
Basically, the game of BR-50 is played like this: You can shoot as many 'practice' rounds as you like, into the area at the top of your sheet during a match. When shooting for score however, one and only one shot is fired at each individual bull. After each shot - you move to the next bull, reload, and fire again. If they all went in the center, of course - you would have a perfect 'possible' score of five thousand points. That has never happened. Now, for the second tough point. In the official rules of BR-50, rule #10 requires "worst-edge' scoring. In other words, if a shot hits in the 100 point area, but any edge of the bullet hole breaks completely through the green ring of that area, the score drops to fifty points! Then there's rule #10A. It says, if a shot falls too close on the line to tell if it breaks the ring or not - it automatically receives the lower score. So if you can't clearly see the shot is 'in' - it's considered 'out', and is scored that way.
Once a match begins, most competitors start shooting at the first bull in the upper left-hand corner of grid #1 and continue across the top row, firing one shot at each, and so on. If there is any wind of course, you either compensate for it, or wait it out - making that decision as best you can, with each successive shot. When the match is completed, you've fired fifty shots - one each, at fifty different bulls - hopefully hitting more 'hundreds' than not. Now, the third tough point. All official BR-50 matches are 'timed' events. Once the match starts, you have thirty minutes to complete the shooting of your target. That's right! Fifty shots, at fifty seperate bulls, from a distance of fifty yards (rimfire) - in only thirty minutes! Starting to sound tougher all the time - isn't it!?
As they say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet". It gets worse. Let's suppose you don't quite finish shooting your target sheet before time runs out!? Well now: rule #9 states that any bulls you don't shoot, thus leaving them 'blank' - are scored minus 25 points each! And it gets tougher yet when you encounter rule #11. Let's say you forget where you are on your target during a match. Absent-mindedly, you you fire two shots into the same bull. Guess what!? Rule #11 says you just lost another fifty points! God forbid you should really screw up and fire fifty-four or fifty-five shots into the gridded area of your target sheet. If you haven't scored lots of 'hundreds' you could end up with a negative point total!
And now, for the good news. The sport of BR-50 is a helleuva lot of fun. It was also designed to be 'relatively' inexpensive to participate in - and in most cases, it is that, too. If you live anywhere near one of the ranges currently holding BR-50 matches, and you own or have access to an airgun or rimfire rifle with a scope; you can drive to the range, shoot up a box of ammo in practice and one in the match, pay your entry fee (they vary from club to club), and have a great time and learning experience with some of the friendliest guys and gals in the sport - all, for less than it would cost you to take your wife and in-laws out to dinner at the local Ritz.
On the other hand, if you have a little more money to spend, and want to improve your chances of shooting some competitive scores (assuming you can shoot ) - you can pick up a decent medium-priced target or benchrest model rifle; top it off with a good 12 power, 24 power, or 36 power scope; purchase an adjustable front rest and rear sandbag; stock up on a few boxes of match grade ammo - and you're ready to seriously compete for the national championship.
All officially sanctioned matches at each club, reward the top ten scores with "champoints" - with ten going to first place, down to one champoint for tenth place finishes. These champoints put you in contention for the individual club championships, and put you on the road to being ranked nationally among the fine shooters of BR-50. Yours truly, has had the good fortune of being ranked among the top half in the national standing - although I've been at it less than a year and still have a great deal to learn about this kind of shooting.
Being relatively easy to get started at, and as much challenging 'fun' as it is - BR-50 should not be taken lightly among the shooting competitions that exist today. Each match is held under some very safe and disciplined practices; guided by specific rules set forth by BR-50 International; and the targets subjected to some rather precise scoring procedures. In other words, this isn't some weekend turkey shoot. So if you've read this far, and begun to entertain the idea that - you'll locate the nearest club with a BR-50 schedule - snatch up your average .22 squirrel rifle with the low power scope - rush over there next Sunday and proceed to impress everyone - then be prepared to be humbled! Maybe even embarrassed!? For one thing, you can't even see the bullet-hole a .22 makes in a BR-50 target, at fifty yards - with anything much less than a 10 power scope. And, some of the match grade .22 ammo used widely at these matches, is in high demand, and can retail for up to eight bucks - for a box of fifty. And it does make a difference what (ammo) you shoot.
The best way to introduce yourself to this challenging sport, is to attend a registered match at the range closest to you, that is currently competing in BR-50. You can watch a match in progress; see how it's shot and how it's scored - then, talk to some of the current shooters, and get a feel for whether you'd like to try it yourself. Also, you can contact BR-50 inventor and competition co-ordinator, Larry Brown in San Diego, and for a small money order, get on the mailing list for BR-50's monthly report, known as the "Hot Sheet". Published in it, are the last 30 days match results from each club - including the "top ten" shooters' scores; type rifle used; what scopes; as well as what ammo was used. The 'Hot Sheet' also updates BR-50's National Ranking each month, naming the top 100+ competitors and their 'performance factors'.
Once you become familiar with BR-50, you owe it to yourself to try it firsthand. You'll not only become addicted to the challenge of the target - but you'll soon understand why they call it, "the meanest game on the continent".
@ copyright 1993 Lee McFarland
Indianapolis, Indiana
This was taken with all due credits from Rimfire Central as written by Lee McFarland.
The invite and the scoring system plus a sample target practice sheet is below
To download the practice sheet - click here.
To download the scoring system - click here.
LRRP SPLENDIDO LONG RANGE MAR 27 2011 Match
The first real LRRP long range match was held last Sunday in the dusty, windy, and otherwise fantastic Splendido. The whole course was an exercise in clicking your scopes from Stage one's three inch targets starting at 50 meters all the way up to 150 meters in increments of 25 meters. Stage two where larger plates from 3 inch to 4 inch to 6 inches at 150, 175, 200, 250, and 300 meters. All of this shot awkwadly from sandbags in a semi sitting positions. No one minute for 5 shots relays - shooters where given a fixed time to shoot their 25 rounds per stage all in one go. So you had to go into position, load, adjust your scope and shoot - then do it all over again for 25 times - sounds easy, looks easy, but it ain't easy. On the overall results - top gun Randy Paronda kind of fumbled in Stage one but later made up for it magnificently in Stage two. Randy was using a Sako fitted with a LIja Barrel, Bushnell 4200 scope, and Lapua bullets. Incidentally this is the same gun used/borrowed by the 2nd and 3rd placers. No folks it is not the gun - the shooters are good, they work as a team, they share notes.... way to go...The fun started the day before the shoot with people coming over to the range to get their dope. Boy did we discover a lot of things; namely:
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What did I learn from all of this.... well one I wish I were as young as Randy my current idol at 39 years of age..two - i have to get in shape, three - we need more of these matches.
I had a lot of fun....
Thanks to Cong Jack Enrile (LRRP Chairman) for the range, Mike Micabani for the range prep, "Crazy" Joe Guerrero for helping bring up the targets to Splendido and for the loan of his timer, Mike De Guzman for his timer and radio, My cousin Gerry Kaimo for the drinks, sacks, and his able bodied assistant Rollie, my driver and all around assistant Ben, Anton Lorenzo (LRRP President), Doc Cinco and the PNP range officers Elly and Bonnie, and the range boys at Splendidio.
Pictures to be posted once the others send in theirs... great show guys!!!
- Splendido is 350 meters above sea level your zero and point of impact shifts - if you where zeroed in Armscor or Langhaya your point of impact will shift in Splendido specially when you go out beyond 150 meters. Most of our notes where usless specially with the small targets, we had to rebuild our notes through trial and error- I did anyway.
- Change of light and tempreture affected the hits. By 4 pm all my shots where hitting higher ( i had zeroed in mid morning) and I would have to click one MOA on all points to get into the target. The theory here is the temp dampens the ignition or explosion thereby reducing velocities and making the bullets strike higher. Both Randell and myself where experiencing this. Randell was using CCI std vel, I was using wieghed and sorted Armscor High Vel. ( I hit the three hundred meter 6 inch plate and it fell during practice - the popper also feel mind you - no one hit the 300 during the competition!) The top guns where using Lapua at 30 bucks a pop....mine were 2.80 a round. The light at it's brightest seemed to affect our perception of the target as well as locating the target which would take and eat into our time. Making the targets red instead of white was easeir for us to spot - me thinks all competitions should have red or flourescent green to make it easier to spot the little targets.
- Randy was the first shooter - he in effect showed that if you are good - you are good - no matter what time you shoot. This I guess is subjective as I guess it depends on ones bio rythms or the fact that shooters try to shoot more or less at the time they zeroed to try to get the consistent shots. What I did was when I noticed that my shots where off, I adjusted immediately. On the 2nd stage, I would pick the rows where I could see my bullets hit then adjust - hence I went for the 150, 200, and 175. The 250 targets had no near backstop and one could not see where they bullets impacted if you miss. Dispite this dear friend Joey Racaza was the only person to hit the 250 meter targets during the competition. He in effect had the farthest officia shot for the day - great shooting Joey. Although during practice - people were hitting the 300 meter targets - talk about pressure.
- Zeroing was driving dear friend Randell Crazy - he had zeroed at about 2 in the afternoon then by 4 his zero's changed. This was when the theory of the tempreture came in. Randall decided wisely to leave his zero's at the original marks, I adjusted but only in the second stage after having lost it in the first stage. Being of a tropical climate - we never realized that the altitude and temp would affect our zeroing that much.
- Wind - boy did this throw a monkey wrench with a lot of shooters. And it always does - to me the elevation is technical the reading and adjustment to the wind is an art form and the only way to learn is to shoot in the wind. Luckily 22 ammo is cheaper than most other rounds.
d
What did I learn from all of this.... well one I wish I were as young as Randy my current idol at 39 years of age..two - i have to get in shape, three - we need more of these matches.
I had a lot of fun....
Thanks to Cong Jack Enrile (LRRP Chairman) for the range, Mike Micabani for the range prep, "Crazy" Joe Guerrero for helping bring up the targets to Splendido and for the loan of his timer, Mike De Guzman for his timer and radio, My cousin Gerry Kaimo for the drinks, sacks, and his able bodied assistant Rollie, my driver and all around assistant Ben, Anton Lorenzo (LRRP President), Doc Cinco and the PNP range officers Elly and Bonnie, and the range boys at Splendidio.
Pictures to be posted once the others send in theirs... great show guys!!!
ARMSCOR - LRRP Feb. 2011 Short Range Match
A two stage match with movement and swingers to bring more tactical exercises to our sport. Since last year, our courses have been rather timid and now we add movement and freestyle shooting to our short range courses. In this match we will also allow for the first time the use of slings.
The Courses of Fire designed by Major Tuliao and Johnny Garcia should prove both challenging and enjoyable. Major changes in the match are the following:
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· There will now be six medals (three for top manuals and three for top semi-autos) instead of our top three medals
- The introduction of our Silhouette target for 2011
- · The use of slings will be allowed
- · Movement and freestyle shooting
- · Swingers and activators
- · No mats or sandbags will be provided – pushing our shooters to be more independent and shoot anywhere and any position type of shooter.
- · Bipods can be removed and put back on when needed provided that they can be done in one minute and do not hold up the match.
- · Registration will be open as long as we can accommodate without having to shoot in the dark. If we accept your registration but are not able to accommodate you on the firing line – your money will be refunded on the condition that you return the bullets and are on the range.
Please note that we experimented with a pro timer to see if we can shoot with score over time, unfortunately the regular pro timers do not seem to record the 22 rifles consistently, unless we hold the timer close to the barrel. We are in the process of testing other timers to see if we can up the levels in our competitions.
Cong. Jack Enrile Jr. ( LRRP Chairman) has approved our motto of DEC instead of DVC (Diligentia, Vis, Cerelitas – latin for Accuracy, Power, and Speed). DEC stands for Diligentia, Eminus, Cerelitas – Latin for Accuracy, Distance, and Speed ; which we feel is more appropo for our discipline.
So for this match we have two stages namely:
Shooters - enjoy and DEC to all of you. This will be a challenging short range shoot – believe you us (the Major and Me!).
Major Tuliao Johnny Garcia
Some Notes for the Weekend.
Problems with zeroing, here is a link to a simple zeroing technique http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2007/11/four-shot-sight-in-for-hunting-rifles/. Browse around the website given and you'll pick up a lot of things to keep one busy on the range.
Wear your earplugs and safety glasses. How many times have I heard "it's only a 22 and I am using a bolt rifle" - well, a friend of mine who has been with PNSA for quiet some time and his daughter (who shoots 22 rifle) have started to get a little deaf. Apparently the 22 blasts don't give you ringing sounds like the 45 or 9mm pistols when you shoot with out earplugs, but they still do damage to your ears in the long run. So use your plugs and suffer the consequences later. Don't say I did not warn you... As for the eyes, as a rangemaster there is the constant fear of a round going off as it is stripped off the magazine just before the bolt closes and the bullet strikes the ramp. This can happen for bolts or semi- autos. It can also happen to the guy beside you and you get the shards in your eye from his rifle. Lesson safe shooting wear your earplugs and glasses.
ARMSCOR Prototypes first batch in the bodega. Just came from Armscor today and was informed the first batch of the prototypes are ready and they seem better than mine... auuughh! They even have a gas escape hole which mine doesn't. They are all three pounds crisp (trigger pull) so you don't have to go to a gunsmith for a trigger job, unless you want it lighter (at your own risk). Saw two fluted ones - beautiful, unfortuantely also taken. The consuelo de bobo on my part is that I have the protoype magazine quick release courtesy of Manny Liamzon plus I had my rifle retuned by them to bring it to the three pound pull since I intend to do a lot of shooting, running, crawling, and competing with mine. Right now my rifle wieghts 9 pounds borken down as follows: Barrel, receiver, bolt - 5.2 pounds, stock - 2.4 pounds (the new ones will be a tad lighter - mine being the prototype is full of masilya (epoxy) while we were doing the adjustments, Scope with rings 1 pounds (or was it 1.125), Harris bipod .4 pounds.
New LRRP rules with Anton Lorenzo. I just finished revising our rules this time based on the IPSC rifle rules. Have given them to our LRRP president Anton for review. The whole idea is that we get this approved by PPSA and them perhaps Cong. Jack Enrile can endorse this to the IPSC body (after all they have Action Air - why can't they have Long Range Rimfire). Hopefully we can use this rules by the end of Febuary this year.
Possible Motto. Will propose this to the LRRP Chairman Cong Jack Enrile. PPSA and IPSC have DVC or Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas (Latin for Accuracy, Power , Speed) the elements of their discipline. Am proposing ours be DEC Diligentia, Eminus, Celeritas (meaning Accuracy, Distance, and Speed). If anyone can help me come up with the Latin Phrase of "striking from a distance" that would be terrific and we could add them to our logo.
Next Short Range Match - will be in the third week ( a Sunday) of Febuaury ( Febuaury 20 guys). It will be a Short Range Match, this time using a timer - in effect score over time. How fast you can get into postion, let off 5 rounds, and still be accurate - will be the name of the game. After this I will complicate our courses. Be advised gentlemen.
Remote Electric resettable plates - yes I am working on this. If anyone has any ideas it would be appreciated. So far we are looking at a balanced popper which is held up by magents - upon being it, it goes to it's balanced state which is level indicating a hit. Plan to use a motorcycle engine solonoied (i really am terrible in spelling) to push it back mecahnically into position thereby resetting it. Once I figure this, the next part is to do it by remote control via the air waves. We need this for the medium and long range matches to speed up the process.
Wear your earplugs and safety glasses. How many times have I heard "it's only a 22 and I am using a bolt rifle" - well, a friend of mine who has been with PNSA for quiet some time and his daughter (who shoots 22 rifle) have started to get a little deaf. Apparently the 22 blasts don't give you ringing sounds like the 45 or 9mm pistols when you shoot with out earplugs, but they still do damage to your ears in the long run. So use your plugs and suffer the consequences later. Don't say I did not warn you... As for the eyes, as a rangemaster there is the constant fear of a round going off as it is stripped off the magazine just before the bolt closes and the bullet strikes the ramp. This can happen for bolts or semi- autos. It can also happen to the guy beside you and you get the shards in your eye from his rifle. Lesson safe shooting wear your earplugs and glasses.
ARMSCOR Prototypes first batch in the bodega. Just came from Armscor today and was informed the first batch of the prototypes are ready and they seem better than mine... auuughh! They even have a gas escape hole which mine doesn't. They are all three pounds crisp (trigger pull) so you don't have to go to a gunsmith for a trigger job, unless you want it lighter (at your own risk). Saw two fluted ones - beautiful, unfortuantely also taken. The consuelo de bobo on my part is that I have the protoype magazine quick release courtesy of Manny Liamzon plus I had my rifle retuned by them to bring it to the three pound pull since I intend to do a lot of shooting, running, crawling, and competing with mine. Right now my rifle wieghts 9 pounds borken down as follows: Barrel, receiver, bolt - 5.2 pounds, stock - 2.4 pounds (the new ones will be a tad lighter - mine being the prototype is full of masilya (epoxy) while we were doing the adjustments, Scope with rings 1 pounds (or was it 1.125), Harris bipod .4 pounds.
New LRRP rules with Anton Lorenzo. I just finished revising our rules this time based on the IPSC rifle rules. Have given them to our LRRP president Anton for review. The whole idea is that we get this approved by PPSA and them perhaps Cong. Jack Enrile can endorse this to the IPSC body (after all they have Action Air - why can't they have Long Range Rimfire). Hopefully we can use this rules by the end of Febuary this year.
Possible Motto. Will propose this to the LRRP Chairman Cong Jack Enrile. PPSA and IPSC have DVC or Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas (Latin for Accuracy, Power , Speed) the elements of their discipline. Am proposing ours be DEC Diligentia, Eminus, Celeritas (meaning Accuracy, Distance, and Speed). If anyone can help me come up with the Latin Phrase of "striking from a distance" that would be terrific and we could add them to our logo.
Next Short Range Match - will be in the third week ( a Sunday) of Febuaury ( Febuaury 20 guys). It will be a Short Range Match, this time using a timer - in effect score over time. How fast you can get into postion, let off 5 rounds, and still be accurate - will be the name of the game. After this I will complicate our courses. Be advised gentlemen.
Remote Electric resettable plates - yes I am working on this. If anyone has any ideas it would be appreciated. So far we are looking at a balanced popper which is held up by magents - upon being it, it goes to it's balanced state which is level indicating a hit. Plan to use a motorcycle engine solonoied (i really am terrible in spelling) to push it back mecahnically into position thereby resetting it. Once I figure this, the next part is to do it by remote control via the air waves. We need this for the medium and long range matches to speed up the process.
Food for Thought - Rangemasters reflection after the match by jcg
The Jan 23 LRRP match was designed with the following items in mind:
- To introduce the starting positions/procedure wherein one started with a modified port arms with the butt touching the hips- this being both an IPSC rifle and an international rifle starting procedure, thereby forcing the shooter to approach international levels this early.
- Positioning the targets in areas where one would experience the largest bullet drops within the confines of the Armscor range forcing the shooter to adjust and do his calculations instead of merely shooting at 25 and 50 meters regularly thereby forcing the shooter to be more agile.
- Spreading the targets to force the shooter to swing properly.
Know your bullet drops specially for the short ranges
For Item two, only the top guns took readings with laser range finders of the course and computed their bullet drops - end results, high scores. There is no excuse for not testing your dope every ten or five meters for the 50 meter or 75 meter ranges (most ranges have a 50 meter bay. They not only knew or estimated the ranges of the target rather well but they also had their bullet drops and they adjusted to it. Some shooters used their reticles to adjust completley for the different ranges, others even adjusted their parallax, while others simply used high velocity rounds and had flatter trajectories (Even I am thinking of switching to High Vel rounds for a flatter trajectory) . Remember the ten ring is only 1.25 inches in diameter and for subsonic loads zeroed at 50 meters you have a rise at 25 meters of .71 inches and a drop at 75 meters of 3.96 inches. These extremes can knock you out of the ten zone specially in the more difficult positions. By knowing your dope and adjusting to it you get to hit the ten ring more as proven by the top shooters who do their homework. Who are these guys - they are the shooters with the little notebooks. Be careful of these guys, their good!
Item three issues where mentioned earlier in item one; namely as you swing out to your strong hand side with out swinging your whole torso your grip, your hold, your tension of the rifle weakens - while if you swing to your weak side without swinging your torso you grip, your hold and your tension on the rifle strengthens and you can get better shots. To simulate this point a fist straight out with your strong hand (let say right hand) tighten your grip and swing it to your left and you will feel your have a stronger hold of your arm - more control; swing it to your right and you will feel that you have a weaker position meaning less control and force of your hand. The solution - look at the group of targets and address the furthest one on your strong side - swing to the weak side to target one and you will have a very strong and rigid hold on the rifle. Then swing using your hips and move your whole torso - this should give you consistent pressure on the rifle from target to target.
The other item I must mention is that a lot of the top shooters had fantastic cheek welds and had the stocks for it. A lot of the lesser shooters had what I would call chin welds which are not very stable and when swinging cannot give you a consistent sight picture and hence more parallax problems and less accuracy - you combine this with the different ranges and the bullet drops and you have a very good recipe for low scores. Solution - raise that cheek comb in your stock- it has to be rigid otherwise any small movement will affect your shot specially with the long shots or the precision shots - believe you me i had a wobbly cheek piece and my shots were very inconsistent until I secured the cheek piece.
Item three issues where mentioned earlier in item one; namely as you swing out to your strong hand side with out swinging your whole torso your grip, your hold, your tension of the rifle weakens - while if you swing to your weak side without swinging your torso you grip, your hold and your tension on the rifle strengthens and you can get better shots. To simulate this point a fist straight out with your strong hand (let say right hand) tighten your grip and swing it to your left and you will feel your have a stronger hold of your arm - more control; swing it to your right and you will feel that you have a weaker position meaning less control and force of your hand. The solution - look at the group of targets and address the furthest one on your strong side - swing to the weak side to target one and you will have a very strong and rigid hold on the rifle. Then swing using your hips and move your whole torso - this should give you consistent pressure on the rifle from target to target.
The other item I must mention is that a lot of the top shooters had fantastic cheek welds and had the stocks for it. A lot of the lesser shooters had what I would call chin welds which are not very stable and when swinging cannot give you a consistent sight picture and hence more parallax problems and less accuracy - you combine this with the different ranges and the bullet drops and you have a very good recipe for low scores. Solution - raise that cheek comb in your stock- it has to be rigid otherwise any small movement will affect your shot specially with the long shots or the precision shots - believe you me i had a wobbly cheek piece and my shots were very inconsistent until I secured the cheek piece.
Know your limits in terms of scope power
Another item to be mentioned are the different scope powers (zooms like 6X, 8X, 10X, 14X). Shooters were all over the place, some even adjusting in mid firing. When choosing the scope power for the course (yes you must choose one for each course you take!) think of these two sayings: the more power you use the more magnified the target is and the more magnified your errors will be the other saying is use the most powerful zoom possible. One has to reconcile both sayings. For beginners use the lowest possible so you learn to develop your marksmanship skills first. Remember World War Two snipers mostly had 4 power scopes and did very well. The more experienced you are and the better you become, the more power you can use. The longer you train at the lower levels the better you will be. There are three factors you have to contend with when using the zoom, first is the course design - the more zoom you have the less speed you have in terms of swinging into the other targets, it is always a compromise between magnification for speed in a course wherein the multiple targets are spread out, worse if they are hidden.The second is your ability to keep from being disoriented - again a compromise, too powerful and most shooters will hit the same targets and miss out on others, any distraction like a possible jam, and tight bullet when pushing the bolt in can make you lose your target and you end up shooting another target instead. Some shooters shoot with both eyes open initially to sight in, others count targets - once disoriented they start from the first target and count to where they feel they left off. The third factor is what stage in your rifle development you are in - as I said if you are a beginner stick to lower power and get those shots in and swing in easily so you have more time to focus on accuracy instead of looking for the target. If you are experienced and you can sight in more easily - this means you can spend more time looking for the target as once you find it you settle in so fast and shoot that you can afford to use more power on your scope. Incidentally one top shooter was using 14X , the other 6X and the other 8X. I was using 6X. Bottom line - analyze and know your limits - this is a thinking mans game.
I hope I have not confused you - just wanted to give you a little food for thought.
Happy Shooting Guys...
I hope I have not confused you - just wanted to give you a little food for thought.
Happy Shooting Guys...
AN AFTERNOON WITH JOEY RACAZA
Dec 12, 2010 - a day before the JACK ENRILE - PPSA NATIONALS - LRRP match. Was setting up the range for the match and lo and behold Joey Racaza (who redid his schedule just to meet up and shoot 22 LR Long Range) comes over. By way of background Joey (probably a distant relative of his more famous namesake Jayjay) is one of our few experienced center fire shooters ( he has shot in Northern Europe, Greece, and other places - he shoots essentially in Mindanao at targets anywhere from 100 to as far as 800 under windy conditions) and shoots everything from 22 LR to 308's and 30-06's. Before going prone to shoot - he gives me a metal target (brought all the way from Mindanao) with two metal shilouttes the first with a square hole in the body which the shooter must shoot through and hit the second target five inches away... great gift for us here in Luzon - shows you how far off the Southern guys are in LR shooting.
Joey helps me set up the range - we pick the windy spots, he gives tips on safety and from there we went prone and hit targets out to 126 meters. He was using a CZ with a stock made from sunken lumber - imagine how heavy it was, and a china made scope. He tried out the course and offhand this were his comments:
Joey helps me set up the range - we pick the windy spots, he gives tips on safety and from there we went prone and hit targets out to 126 meters. He was using a CZ with a stock made from sunken lumber - imagine how heavy it was, and a china made scope. He tried out the course and offhand this were his comments:
- When he shot the course all positions for him started standing with rifle at port position and butt stock touching the hips ( for the short courses) - we have to get used to it as this is the way they do it abroad.
- Range finders - in all competitions they are not allowed to be used within the shooting box - but shooters can use it in the stands and do their own approximations.
- The Tagaytay course spececially the third stage with targets out to 126 meters in erratic winds gusting up to 18 miles per hour was a very good course. It is in essence per Joey like shooting highpower rifles from 700-1000 meters. A very good and inexpensive training ground.
- Don't let shooters zero their rifle on the match, they should have done this before the competition - otherwise there will be no such thing as a cold bore shot. This will give the shooters discipline to always go with a zeroed rifle.
- Possible long distance target sizes - 200 meters 6 inches, 300 meters IPSC diamond, 400 meters 4 by 4 feet.
- His other comments - we will have to keep the long range courses shorter (in terms of bullets) initially , perhaps 25 rounds or make automatic electric resetting targets. The sport will grow and we will have to either shorten the courses or speed up the processing time when more shooters join us. With less bullets we can give the shooter more shooting time and less waiting. With this growth in numbers we will have to be strict on safety otherwise an accident can ruin the sport.
On Long Distance Rimfire shooting...
After doing the course and setting up all the safety rules, we got down to business and started plinking away at the long distance targets... Joey would spot for me and in the process I had very good long distance rimfire lessons. Some notes which Joey shared with me.
At the end of the day - I learned a lot. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks... This old dog has learned some. Thanks Joey Racaza - hope to see more of you.
- Click into the target using your turrets for elevation, don't use the reticle for distance shots unless you have to, meaning unless speed is of the essence. It is better to click into the target. Scopes with nice turrets have the advantage, clicking into the target using the turret is more accurate then guesstimating the finer points in your reticle. The turret can can fine tune you in. Usually the first moa from 50 will set you up for dead center for 75, then it gets harder - the only way to know is to set up targets (paper) at 50, 75, 100, 125, etc. all the way to 400 if need be. I was clicking away and hitting. It made life easier once you get the hang of it.
- Use the recticle for windage - reason is that wind is erratic and if you use the turrets you will have to constantly turn them if you want to a shot off. If you use the recticle, you can adjust fast and take advantage of a lul in the winds easliy.
- He uses Hi-velocity . Reason is that unless your scope has a lot of turns or MOA and you have canted mounts; you may have a hard time getting the elevation for the 200 and above shots like 300 and 400 (meters). The flatter trajectory is an advantage. You get more wind drift from a hi vel bullet, but as long as it is consistent this is easier to deal with then finding an expensive scope with a lot of elevation.In Mindanao they had to be resouceful and use what they had - mind you the Hi Vel bullets where all Armscor.
- Zero in at 100 not at 50. Again this gives you more leeway out to 200 - 400 meters. Both his High Power and 22's are all zeroed at one hundred. Zero at a hundred and check your drops and clicks every 25 up and down, meaning at 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, etc all the way up to 300 if possible.
- Keep a log book. Know scope, rifle, ammo, and environment conditions - most people will get dope only on the bullet drop with their rifle, barrel, and scope. Add the environment to it too. Altitude if possible, time of day, heat or temperature, wind estimates, angle - keep all of this in a shooters (aka snipers) log book. He was so emphatic on this he tore a page of his log book for me to copy. You don't have to buy one - you can make one. He uses a China scope but knows it so well and keeps notes (as he has so many combinations in terms of rifles and scopes) so that he in effect shoots them all well.
- Keep your barrel clean - He cleans his barrel after every shoot. This again is his habit for both HP (High Powered) and rimfire rifles.
- Weight - for long distance shooting weight counts in steadying the rifle. Get heaviest one you are comfortable with.
- Lapping the barrel - this is another article all by itself... and may not come out as it can be dangerous and you can wreck your barrel - just polish it by shooting a lot!
At the end of the day - I learned a lot. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks... This old dog has learned some. Thanks Joey Racaza - hope to see more of you.
READING MATERIAL ( HOMEWORK )
Check out the articles in the following links:
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/sniper-school-101-part-1-before-you-go-to-the-range/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/gold-medal-rifle-shooting-usamu-rifle-team/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/sniper-school-101-part-1-before-you-go-to-the-range/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/gold-medal-rifle-shooting-usamu-rifle-team/
SPORTS VALLEY TACTICAL RIMFIRE LRRP DEC 5 2010 MATCH
Two historical points in this wonderful and exciting event. First, was the creation of two divisions; namely the Semi-Auto Rifle Division, and the Manual Rifle Division. The Semi-Auto being self explainable while the Manual Rifle Division is composed of bolt, lever, pump, and single action rifles, essentially anything that requires manual operation to reload the chamber and make the rifle ready to fire. The second was that this was the first medium range match (25 to 120 meters) to be held here in the Philippines plus the fact that it was an all steel (3 x 3 inch square plate- must fall to score) match. We had the firstLRRP president Anton Lorenzo attending the shot and taking pictures together with our other shooter/photographer Dr. Alvin Agustin.
The first stage was deceptively simple with three plates placed between 29 to 35 meters in calf high grass. Shooter had to take the plates out standing, kneeling, sitting, squatting, and prone. With the squatting and the prone it felt like taking out a lion in high grass. One had to look for the white outlines to be able to spot the targets. Shooting box was underneath a tree, making this stage not only challenging but rather lovely. Only one out of the 22 shooters perfected this stage - Good young Lester Carigo - watch out for this person - got a lot of potential.
The second stage was on a grassy knoll wherein 5 plates out at 25 -27 meters spaced almost 10 meters apart had to be shoot again with the five positions mentioned earlier. This forced the shooter to rotate and look for the plates which where arranged in an arc. This was done with no shade and the full force of the sun added to the shooting difficulty. This was the easy part of the match.
They both looked easy but we had two persons who perfected it namely Lester Carigo and the Champion Vicenco Galahad, but for others it was unnerving missing a shoot and knowing you missed a plate in from of the whole crowd. Talk about pressure.
The first stage was deceptively simple with three plates placed between 29 to 35 meters in calf high grass. Shooter had to take the plates out standing, kneeling, sitting, squatting, and prone. With the squatting and the prone it felt like taking out a lion in high grass. One had to look for the white outlines to be able to spot the targets. Shooting box was underneath a tree, making this stage not only challenging but rather lovely. Only one out of the 22 shooters perfected this stage - Good young Lester Carigo - watch out for this person - got a lot of potential.
The second stage was on a grassy knoll wherein 5 plates out at 25 -27 meters spaced almost 10 meters apart had to be shoot again with the five positions mentioned earlier. This forced the shooter to rotate and look for the plates which where arranged in an arc. This was done with no shade and the full force of the sun added to the shooting difficulty. This was the easy part of the match.
They both looked easy but we had two persons who perfected it namely Lester Carigo and the Champion Vicenco Galahad, but for others it was unnerving missing a shoot and knowing you missed a plate in from of the whole crowd. Talk about pressure.
STAGES Three, Four, and Five - the longer and more difficult stages...
The third stage required you to start from a box then move about 2 meters or so and position yourself against a slope. From there aside from preventing yourself from sliding you had to fire at five plates at distances of 69, 77, 80, 85, and 90. Shooters went into all sorts of contorsions. George Chua the first shooter came up with his own frog prone Position (he got first runner up with the new Armscor MIG 22 Semi-Auto - way to go George!), some shooters went side saddle, one shooter (Brian) went barefoot digging his toes into the ground just to get the perfect shot (he was the 2nd runner-up - guess he can't endorse Nike or Addidas here folks). The shooter on the left folks is sixty plus year old Eli shooting his beautiful Anschutz and actually tieing for first place - he lost in the shoot out. Did I mention that the first two plates where on ground level and the others where up a hill (slope anlges come into play here folks). You shot this five times for a total of 25 rounds. One of the fellas had a bull barrel Winchester 52 - luckily he was young and very muscular. No one perfected this stage (possible was 250 - highest score was 210 by Eli).
Stage four - assuming you were still breathing by the time you got here was fairly simple. Five plates at approximately 110 meters- shoot this five times with the first two relays done either kneeling or sitting, while you could choose any position for the three remainng relays. Again no one perfected this stage the highest being 170 over 250 (Randy Paronda - who actually tied for third with Brian Sto. Domingo but was not there for the shoot off). Here we had diagonal winds coming in specially in the afternoon. In the morning you had heat and in the afternoon tempretures went down and so bullet drops plus the wind made life difficult.
Stage 5 - the long shot a 3 inch plate at about 120 on the steepest angle we had anywhere between 25 to 30 degrees. Only five guys hit- two on their first try Brain and Randell Tambangco for a 100 points each, Three on their second try (Eli, Vicencio, and Randy) for 60 points, and Randell again on a Semi- Auto on the third try for 40 points.
We ended the match with cars on the range and Atty. Lawrence Bagwan pitching in his spot light on the targets so that those in contention would get a fair chance despite Lawrence also being a contender himself - talk about sportsmanship. Thank you Lawrence. Gives me an idea for a night shoot.
We had two shooters whose scopes had moved, we had a shooter using bamboo with rubber bands as makeshift bipod on a Whinchester 52.
Thanks to the PPSA and NROI for officiating (Doc Singco, Bong Belmes, Curt (forgive me for I forgot your last name)), dear friend Mon Morales for handling the difficult Stage 3, my cousin Gerry Kaimo for help in registration and spiritual support, Mayor Gacula of Tatay (extremely nice person and shooter) for donating the wonderful LRRP trophies, and the gentle Randell Tambongco who started all of this with an idea and got all of us together to make it work. Thanks Randell.
For a first try - I must say it was great! We all had a good exhausting time whether we won or lost, we gained new friends and a better perspective and respect for long rang rimfire shooting.
We are all looking forward to having more of this.
Stage four - assuming you were still breathing by the time you got here was fairly simple. Five plates at approximately 110 meters- shoot this five times with the first two relays done either kneeling or sitting, while you could choose any position for the three remainng relays. Again no one perfected this stage the highest being 170 over 250 (Randy Paronda - who actually tied for third with Brian Sto. Domingo but was not there for the shoot off). Here we had diagonal winds coming in specially in the afternoon. In the morning you had heat and in the afternoon tempretures went down and so bullet drops plus the wind made life difficult.
Stage 5 - the long shot a 3 inch plate at about 120 on the steepest angle we had anywhere between 25 to 30 degrees. Only five guys hit- two on their first try Brain and Randell Tambangco for a 100 points each, Three on their second try (Eli, Vicencio, and Randy) for 60 points, and Randell again on a Semi- Auto on the third try for 40 points.
We ended the match with cars on the range and Atty. Lawrence Bagwan pitching in his spot light on the targets so that those in contention would get a fair chance despite Lawrence also being a contender himself - talk about sportsmanship. Thank you Lawrence. Gives me an idea for a night shoot.
We had two shooters whose scopes had moved, we had a shooter using bamboo with rubber bands as makeshift bipod on a Whinchester 52.
Thanks to the PPSA and NROI for officiating (Doc Singco, Bong Belmes, Curt (forgive me for I forgot your last name)), dear friend Mon Morales for handling the difficult Stage 3, my cousin Gerry Kaimo for help in registration and spiritual support, Mayor Gacula of Tatay (extremely nice person and shooter) for donating the wonderful LRRP trophies, and the gentle Randell Tambongco who started all of this with an idea and got all of us together to make it work. Thanks Randell.
For a first try - I must say it was great! We all had a good exhausting time whether we won or lost, we gained new friends and a better perspective and respect for long rang rimfire shooting.
We are all looking forward to having more of this.
NEW LRRP STANDARD TARGET 2010
Due to the increasing number of LRRP competitions and the increasing number of participants plus the fact that we try to deliver the scores as fast as possible (without too much errors), the LRRP in discussion with the PPSA has decided to come up with a target that is easier to score, add up, and fair to the shooters. Result is the New LRRP STANDARD TARGET 2010 - still to be tested. This has the same measurements in terms of circles as the SniperHide TQ 3 target used in the short matches in our case that is the single std 25-50 target (SGLSTD25-50) - all downloadable in our target section of this site. The "X" in the center of the ten ring has been replaced by a "10" and the white circle within the black ten area has also been removed. The new 8 ring is the 9, 8, and 7 ring of the old target. The new 5 ring is the 6 and 5 ring of old. The dimensions are the same. If you miss the ten ring with five shots you get 40 points if all hits are in the eight ring, which is competitive and allows the shooter to make up on the other targets. If you hit the third ring the five ring then you kind of plummet and really have to hustle or practice to catch up.
The target also has a little score box where the scorer only has to circle the number of hits on each ring and the basic scores per ring are there. All one has to do is add up. Again the rule is that you just have to make your bulet hole touch the line to get the higher score. It also incorporates a space for the scorers signature and the the shooters signature.
Hopefully this new target will prove successful and gain acceptance in time for 2011. Click here to download the New LRRP Standard Target for 2010.
The target also has a little score box where the scorer only has to circle the number of hits on each ring and the basic scores per ring are there. All one has to do is add up. Again the rule is that you just have to make your bulet hole touch the line to get the higher score. It also incorporates a space for the scorers signature and the the shooters signature.
Hopefully this new target will prove successful and gain acceptance in time for 2011. Click here to download the New LRRP Standard Target for 2010.
Rimfire Metal Targets
With the ranges getting longer and the shooters getting better, we have started to resort to metal targets to make our life simpler or so we think. Metal targets allow us to shoot without having to keep on going back and forth to check our hits. If properly done they reset themselves. Armscor sells some of the first resettable targets we used. From there we then made spinners. Then came some heavy duty gravity resettables like the one shown here. The idea is to use this for 100 meters and above. Once the target is hit it tilts and one can see the tilt because of the shine or glint from the steel as the moving plate reflects the suns light off its unpainted part. This came about as hitting a plate a two hundred meters, one at times cannot hear the all familiar or unfamilair "ting" of bullet hitting metal - specially when the wind is against you or your eyesight is bad.With this gravity resettable target you can even adjust the wieght so it takes it time to reset gently - allowing us to enjoy the glory of hitting the plate until our next miss. This is just a practice target though, we can't use it for matches as a slight movement caused by an all familiar hit on the edge can cause arguements. At the end of the day for matches such as the SPORTS VALLEY TACTICAL RIMFIRE MATCH (check it out in COF section) we use the tried and tested falling metal target. If it does not fall, there is no score and therefore no arguement. If you need the plans for the gravity rest target in the picture. Email me through the forum and will send you the photos so you can copy and have it made for your shooting pleasure - not for matches though.
TUNING THE CZ TRIGGER PULL
BY GERRY KAIMO
Got this email from my cousin good ole Gerry Kaimo (a shooter, writer, and possibly a lover if someone can get him a date) on how he fine tuned his CZ using 45 firing pin springs and a little elbow grease. I asked his permission to share his experience and this is his e-mail to me. Thanks Gerry for sharing.
Johnny,
I used up two cal.45 springs to do this, as you have to be careful about how many coils you use up.
Take note: The spring cannot be used in it's entire length. You need to cut it down to 3/4 then work your way down.
A Caveat: be careful about what type of hammer you use to take off the pin, the one closest to the butt end and take off just this one pin. The trigger mechanism will swing down, giving you access to the spring. Be very careful about a small bearing that is between the second and third pins. If you open the mechanism too much, there is a chance you will take the sear off it's position and that little ball will fly to kingdom come. You only need access to the trigger spring, so please be careful about what pin you remove. Like I said, only one pin, the one closest to the butt end is what you want. If you have a pin puncher, then the job will be easy. But when returning the pin, do it slow and easy, as the other end may be off position and you might bend the pin. Never hammer too hard, and protect the gun barrel and it's finish. If you are not a gunsmith but have experience with tools, reminder: a slip of the ball pein hammer or tack hammer (try to avoid using a carpenters hammer. Too big for the job.) You can also use a concrete nail to start to remove the pin then a thinner nail to drive the pin out. Then the hard part comes. Measuring the spring for the trigger pull you will be comfortable with. Too light and if a fly sits on the trigger the gun goes bang. Too long a spring and the bolt will NOT come out of the gun anymore. The spring will lock it down. So about half an inch plus about four-to five could should be your starting point. The longer the more room for testing. Too long, though, and the bolt gets stuck.
As soon as you have the spring in, return everything to it's place and start to return the pin slowly little taps, about an inch from the top. and protect your rifle's finish by putting some protective material around the area of the gun you are working on in case your hammer slips. At least you don't dent the gun, which can be depressing. At any rate, this is how you go about doing the spring thing, and it may take four to five tries and cut the coils one by one (thanks to Johnny for that advice) till you get the pull you are comfy with. Too soft and if you bump the butt end on the floor the gun goes off. WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS WITH LIVE AMMO. Just listen for the hammer to go down or not go down) Too hard and you can return that heavy metal coil they put as part of the the 452's original parts. Go slow, tap the pin back slowly. Check the other side of rifle to see whether the trigger mechanism may be out of pace. Press it in and up and you will be fine. Here is the URL that guided me. I hope it helps you. Pictures are a smith's best friend, and this link has them, especially with a new gun. Good luck!
URL: http://fuzzylimey.net/projects/452triggermods.html
Johnny,
I used up two cal.45 springs to do this, as you have to be careful about how many coils you use up.
Take note: The spring cannot be used in it's entire length. You need to cut it down to 3/4 then work your way down.
A Caveat: be careful about what type of hammer you use to take off the pin, the one closest to the butt end and take off just this one pin. The trigger mechanism will swing down, giving you access to the spring. Be very careful about a small bearing that is between the second and third pins. If you open the mechanism too much, there is a chance you will take the sear off it's position and that little ball will fly to kingdom come. You only need access to the trigger spring, so please be careful about what pin you remove. Like I said, only one pin, the one closest to the butt end is what you want. If you have a pin puncher, then the job will be easy. But when returning the pin, do it slow and easy, as the other end may be off position and you might bend the pin. Never hammer too hard, and protect the gun barrel and it's finish. If you are not a gunsmith but have experience with tools, reminder: a slip of the ball pein hammer or tack hammer (try to avoid using a carpenters hammer. Too big for the job.) You can also use a concrete nail to start to remove the pin then a thinner nail to drive the pin out. Then the hard part comes. Measuring the spring for the trigger pull you will be comfortable with. Too light and if a fly sits on the trigger the gun goes bang. Too long a spring and the bolt will NOT come out of the gun anymore. The spring will lock it down. So about half an inch plus about four-to five could should be your starting point. The longer the more room for testing. Too long, though, and the bolt gets stuck.
As soon as you have the spring in, return everything to it's place and start to return the pin slowly little taps, about an inch from the top. and protect your rifle's finish by putting some protective material around the area of the gun you are working on in case your hammer slips. At least you don't dent the gun, which can be depressing. At any rate, this is how you go about doing the spring thing, and it may take four to five tries and cut the coils one by one (thanks to Johnny for that advice) till you get the pull you are comfy with. Too soft and if you bump the butt end on the floor the gun goes off. WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS WITH LIVE AMMO. Just listen for the hammer to go down or not go down) Too hard and you can return that heavy metal coil they put as part of the the 452's original parts. Go slow, tap the pin back slowly. Check the other side of rifle to see whether the trigger mechanism may be out of pace. Press it in and up and you will be fine. Here is the URL that guided me. I hope it helps you. Pictures are a smith's best friend, and this link has them, especially with a new gun. Good luck!
URL: http://fuzzylimey.net/projects/452triggermods.html
LIST OF MATCHES FOR DECEMBER 2010
1. Dec 5 Armscor Range – Short range (SR) shoot (25-50 meters) – to be held concurrently with the Battle of the Gun Clubs – so be early if you want to park near. This will be a 50 round shoot composed of two standard exercises one at 25 meters, the other anywhere from 25 to 50 meters to be taken in 5 positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, prone without support, and prone with support. Par time is 5 shots in one minute. Reg. fee is 500 pesos with bullets provided. Good for beginners.
2. Dec 5 Sports Valley Range (Sports Valley Tactical Rimfire Match) – Medium range (MR) shoot (25-120 meters) – all plates to be shot at different distances. This will be a 100 round shoot composed of five stages. Targets are 2 to 3 inch rectangular plates – must fall to score. Par time is five shots in one minute. Reg. fee is 600 pesos no bullets provided, but food is provided. Good for the more experienced shooters.
3. Dec 12 Splendido Taal (Jack Enrile Cup/PPSA 2010 Nationals)– Medium range (MR) shoot (25-126 meters) – combination of paper targets and metal plates. This will be a 100 round shoot composed of standard exercises and some long distance metal stages. Again plate must fall to score. This is a wonderfully windy range wherein the shooter will be shooting at angles having to compensate not only for the angles but also the unpredictable and strong winds. Good for experienced shooters and an eye opener for beginners – we will coach beginners if necessary. Should the high power rifles finish early this will give a chance for those who want to try poppers at 200 meters.
4. Dec 19 Armscor Range - Short range (SR) shoot (25-50 meters) – to be held concurrently with the 1911 Club match. This will be a 50 round shoot composed of two standard exercises one at 25 meters, the other anywhere from 25 to 50 meters to be taken in 5 positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, prone without support, and prone with support. Par time is 5 shots in one minute. Reg. fee is 500 pesos with bullets provided. Good for beginners
2. Dec 5 Sports Valley Range (Sports Valley Tactical Rimfire Match) – Medium range (MR) shoot (25-120 meters) – all plates to be shot at different distances. This will be a 100 round shoot composed of five stages. Targets are 2 to 3 inch rectangular plates – must fall to score. Par time is five shots in one minute. Reg. fee is 600 pesos no bullets provided, but food is provided. Good for the more experienced shooters.
3. Dec 12 Splendido Taal (Jack Enrile Cup/PPSA 2010 Nationals)– Medium range (MR) shoot (25-126 meters) – combination of paper targets and metal plates. This will be a 100 round shoot composed of standard exercises and some long distance metal stages. Again plate must fall to score. This is a wonderfully windy range wherein the shooter will be shooting at angles having to compensate not only for the angles but also the unpredictable and strong winds. Good for experienced shooters and an eye opener for beginners – we will coach beginners if necessary. Should the high power rifles finish early this will give a chance for those who want to try poppers at 200 meters.
4. Dec 19 Armscor Range - Short range (SR) shoot (25-50 meters) – to be held concurrently with the 1911 Club match. This will be a 50 round shoot composed of two standard exercises one at 25 meters, the other anywhere from 25 to 50 meters to be taken in 5 positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, prone without support, and prone with support. Par time is 5 shots in one minute. Reg. fee is 500 pesos with bullets provided. Good for beginners
ARMSCOR 36 GRAIN SUBSONIC BALLISTIC TABLE
Figured out the bullet drop/table for the ARMSCOR 36 grain subsonic. Tried it out to 110 meters and it was on the dot. Though I would share it with you should you guys wish to test it out also or make a copy.
The ballistic program (free download) can be taken from http://www.ballisticsimulator.com/download.htm
It is relatively easy to use and gives you all that one needs. The whole trick was figuring out the ballistic coefficient (BC) for a 36 grain Hollow point without having to do the physical velocity measurement at two points. Went into internet research scanning via google, rimfire central, and other sources and found one that was helpful.I even had to check what our average temperature was in terms of fahrenheit and found it to be 82 degrees. I then was able to get the rest of the data from the ARMSCOR website (muzzle velocity, head weight, and drop at a 100 yards). I plugged it in and found it it did not match, then I realized the ARMSCOR data was in yards and I was in meters. Switched to yards and I was only off by something like .7 of an inch of sorts. From there I had to figure out the relationship to my scope reticle - which I was able to do. The test came when I had to shoot a 100 meters for the first time at a 2 x 3 inch plate of all things. I brought out all my computations and took the shot. Guess what - the figures where right. Continued to shoot from 100 -115 and the computations so far have been good. Hope to try it all the way out to 200 before the year ends. Please note that for any ballistic chart one has to tailor fit it by testing against one's rifle due to differences in barrels length, rifling, etc., but it is a good start and gets you there. Was scared to use subsonic thinking I would have too much drop for long shots but from the table it iisn't so bad and with the right equipment (offset mounts and good scope) can be done. It is a good bullet, accurate for my needs, and now even better with a ballistic chart to accompany it. Click here to download the table.
The ballistic program (free download) can be taken from http://www.ballisticsimulator.com/download.htm
It is relatively easy to use and gives you all that one needs. The whole trick was figuring out the ballistic coefficient (BC) for a 36 grain Hollow point without having to do the physical velocity measurement at two points. Went into internet research scanning via google, rimfire central, and other sources and found one that was helpful.I even had to check what our average temperature was in terms of fahrenheit and found it to be 82 degrees. I then was able to get the rest of the data from the ARMSCOR website (muzzle velocity, head weight, and drop at a 100 yards). I plugged it in and found it it did not match, then I realized the ARMSCOR data was in yards and I was in meters. Switched to yards and I was only off by something like .7 of an inch of sorts. From there I had to figure out the relationship to my scope reticle - which I was able to do. The test came when I had to shoot a 100 meters for the first time at a 2 x 3 inch plate of all things. I brought out all my computations and took the shot. Guess what - the figures where right. Continued to shoot from 100 -115 and the computations so far have been good. Hope to try it all the way out to 200 before the year ends. Please note that for any ballistic chart one has to tailor fit it by testing against one's rifle due to differences in barrels length, rifling, etc., but it is a good start and gets you there. Was scared to use subsonic thinking I would have too much drop for long shots but from the table it iisn't so bad and with the right equipment (offset mounts and good scope) can be done. It is a good bullet, accurate for my needs, and now even better with a ballistic chart to accompany it. Click here to download the table.
Nov 27 Saturday LRRP match is moved to Nov 28 Sunday
The LRRP match held in Armscor this Nov 27 Saturday was moved to Sunday Nov 28. Venue will still be in the Armscor Range. Sorry for the short notice.
Nov 21 ARMSCOR LRRP 2010 Match WriteUp
The Nov 21 Sunday match was a blast. We had thirteen shooters (despite the number of simultaneous shoots going on in and around Metro Manila) and a lot came in with souped up Ruger 1022's with match barrels. The courses were the Civilian Standards at twenty five and the Regular Standards at fifty (meters).
This specific match was plagued by jams. A Kimber bolt rifle whose owner won in the first match (but I think with a beautiful Sako) was acting up with failures to eject consistently and the owner had to constantly tilt the rifle to cause the extracted shell to fall out. It seems to be a problem with the magazine of sorts - so Kimber guys out there check it out. Some of the match Ruger 1022's had their share of problems -either double feeds or failure to go to chamber. A double feed is fatal on a 1022 with five shots required in one minute. The owners will be switching back to their bolt guns for the next match.
We got two beautiful rifles with hand made DIY (do it yourself) stocks owned by Lester Carigo and Lawrence Bagwan. Lester making a light laminated stock with an Anschutz configuration and Lawerence with a very well thoughout hardwood stock (it took him a year to complete as it was a constant use and adjust process). Both rifles had CZ actions. Lester now has many "pards if you can make me one...".
Lester Carigo (CZ) on his second outing with the LRRP came in first, with Julius Agcaoili coming in second also with a modified CZ, and Lawrence Bagwan (CZ) and Boy De Leon (with a 1415 Anschutz) tied for third. Note both Lester and Lawrence have only one 22 and are focused on it. Have not interviewed Jules and Boy - but as a friend of mine (Raul Arambulo) says "beware of the man with one gun" and boy is it true in this case.
First timers for this match were Lawernce Bagwan, Boy De Leon, Chito Clemente, and Christian Kabigting - welcome to LRRP guys! Gundog aka Carlos San Jose (notice the reversal) came despite having a shoulder with bursitis, he couldn't shoot because of the pain, but was there to cheer, malign, make kanchaw, and brighten up the shoot - Thank you Gundog. Other Honorable mentions: Stage one ranking as follows: Lester Carigo, Lawrence Bagwan, and Jojie Sanvitores; Stage two ranking: Lester Carigo, Randel Tambongco, and Julius Agcaoili; fastest trigger ( as requested by GunDog ) - Doc Alvin Agustin.
The match was delayed a bit due to rain, but that soon cleared up and we were back on track. After the match we had a fun shoot and set out the Know Your Limits targets out at fifty meters. Of the total group that stayed behind Lester Carigo and Doc Alvin Agustin tied for first place with both having scores of 65 - all the rest including myself, well we did not know our limits - we are human, what can we say. To break the tie, Lawrence Bagwan suggested we set up the spinners at seventy five meters with each one taking five shots in one minute (LRRP par time) and the one with the most hits wins. No rezeroing, no sighters - we go in cold. First to go was Doc Alvin with 2 out of five hits. Lester the man of the day came in with 3 out of five hits winning the fun shoot. Funny thing is that after the two guys, everyone else was hitting five out of five ( after asking Lester what the bullet drop was). All in all we had fun and have found new friends. My Armscor prototype did not jam and was performing beautifully, i guess she is starting to mature. Manny thanks to Armscor Shooting Ranges, Major Tuliao and Bob Sajot for all the support.
This specific match was plagued by jams. A Kimber bolt rifle whose owner won in the first match (but I think with a beautiful Sako) was acting up with failures to eject consistently and the owner had to constantly tilt the rifle to cause the extracted shell to fall out. It seems to be a problem with the magazine of sorts - so Kimber guys out there check it out. Some of the match Ruger 1022's had their share of problems -either double feeds or failure to go to chamber. A double feed is fatal on a 1022 with five shots required in one minute. The owners will be switching back to their bolt guns for the next match.
We got two beautiful rifles with hand made DIY (do it yourself) stocks owned by Lester Carigo and Lawrence Bagwan. Lester making a light laminated stock with an Anschutz configuration and Lawerence with a very well thoughout hardwood stock (it took him a year to complete as it was a constant use and adjust process). Both rifles had CZ actions. Lester now has many "pards if you can make me one...".
Lester Carigo (CZ) on his second outing with the LRRP came in first, with Julius Agcaoili coming in second also with a modified CZ, and Lawrence Bagwan (CZ) and Boy De Leon (with a 1415 Anschutz) tied for third. Note both Lester and Lawrence have only one 22 and are focused on it. Have not interviewed Jules and Boy - but as a friend of mine (Raul Arambulo) says "beware of the man with one gun" and boy is it true in this case.
First timers for this match were Lawernce Bagwan, Boy De Leon, Chito Clemente, and Christian Kabigting - welcome to LRRP guys! Gundog aka Carlos San Jose (notice the reversal) came despite having a shoulder with bursitis, he couldn't shoot because of the pain, but was there to cheer, malign, make kanchaw, and brighten up the shoot - Thank you Gundog. Other Honorable mentions: Stage one ranking as follows: Lester Carigo, Lawrence Bagwan, and Jojie Sanvitores; Stage two ranking: Lester Carigo, Randel Tambongco, and Julius Agcaoili; fastest trigger ( as requested by GunDog ) - Doc Alvin Agustin.
The match was delayed a bit due to rain, but that soon cleared up and we were back on track. After the match we had a fun shoot and set out the Know Your Limits targets out at fifty meters. Of the total group that stayed behind Lester Carigo and Doc Alvin Agustin tied for first place with both having scores of 65 - all the rest including myself, well we did not know our limits - we are human, what can we say. To break the tie, Lawrence Bagwan suggested we set up the spinners at seventy five meters with each one taking five shots in one minute (LRRP par time) and the one with the most hits wins. No rezeroing, no sighters - we go in cold. First to go was Doc Alvin with 2 out of five hits. Lester the man of the day came in with 3 out of five hits winning the fun shoot. Funny thing is that after the two guys, everyone else was hitting five out of five ( after asking Lester what the bullet drop was). All in all we had fun and have found new friends. My Armscor prototype did not jam and was performing beautifully, i guess she is starting to mature. Manny thanks to Armscor Shooting Ranges, Major Tuliao and Bob Sajot for all the support.
PPSA BOARD accepts LRRP and approves Basic Rules
Last Tuesday Nov 16, 2010, JcGarcia presented to the PPSA board LRRP's current status and requests. The PPSA Board approved the acceptance of the LRRP into the wings of PPSA, approved it's basic rules, approved suggestions for incoming officers list, as well as provided seed funds for the incorporation of the organization. We now await the board resolution and are very grateful to the PPSA board and Cong. Jack Enrile for all the support.
LRRP lecture series during the Nov 2010 Gunshow
During the Gunshow aside from explaining to the gun population the development of the Armscor Prototype, dear friend Rosey Labayog of the Clark Eagle Range and the Steel Challange Philippine competiton invited us to give a talk in relation to his own lecture entitled "The Future of the Shooting Sports". We did a tandem here with JGarcia supportting Rosey during his lecture as his propsman and Rosey supporting us during our turn. Lecture turned out very good and we had several follow ups from the audience after the talk. Some where compleately amazed as how far the 22 could be shot and others pleasantly surprised that they now had something to look forward to aside from plinking. We asked those interested to visit us on the range before buying or to bring their old rifles and we would show them what we do. Prediciton- there will be more 22 addicts by the end of the year.
Check out the articles for the LRRP powerpoint presentation and look over the galleries for pictures of the lecture.
Check out the articles for the LRRP powerpoint presentation and look over the galleries for pictures of the lecture.
Nov 13 2010 ARMSCOR - LRRP Demo Match
Despite the gun show and the lecture series - LRRP and ARMSCOR (thank you ARMSCOR and Major Tuliao) still had the time to hold a demo shoot for several supposed newbies to the sport.
First of all, welcome Joe Geurrero ( who placed third) and we hope to see more of you.
Second, welcome Randall, Stephen, George, and Jojie (Jojie and Stephen got first and second respectively) newbies to LRRP but fantastic Shiloutte shooters (SS) in their own right. All with Beautiful rifles ladies and gentlemen. It was better than the gun show. The SS guys who usually shoot something like a round every 30 seconds adopted to the 5 shots per minute and the four position shooting. Bottom line - they liked it and will participate (cross training) so you guys out there better practice. The competitions just got tougher despite them being a bunch of nice guys. Nice thing about it is they are very willing to share their knowledge - thank you Randall and your group. Your guys are always welcome. Thanks also to Gerry Kaimo and his son Miguel for participating and bringing people to help out in stats and for keeping old foggies like me company.
Check out the galleries for pictures from this event.
First of all, welcome Joe Geurrero ( who placed third) and we hope to see more of you.
Second, welcome Randall, Stephen, George, and Jojie (Jojie and Stephen got first and second respectively) newbies to LRRP but fantastic Shiloutte shooters (SS) in their own right. All with Beautiful rifles ladies and gentlemen. It was better than the gun show. The SS guys who usually shoot something like a round every 30 seconds adopted to the 5 shots per minute and the four position shooting. Bottom line - they liked it and will participate (cross training) so you guys out there better practice. The competitions just got tougher despite them being a bunch of nice guys. Nice thing about it is they are very willing to share their knowledge - thank you Randall and your group. Your guys are always welcome. Thanks also to Gerry Kaimo and his son Miguel for participating and bringing people to help out in stats and for keeping old foggies like me company.
Check out the galleries for pictures from this event.
PPSA ORAGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE ENRILE CUP-2010 NATIONALS
LRRP was invited by Rommel Cabungcal to participate in the PPSA organizational meeting for the Enrile Cup - 2010 PPSA Nationals. Together with the Tierra Del Fuego Gun Club the accredited club of the range ( of which jcGarcia is a member of) they allocated a 200 meter range to LRRP beside a concrete road - how lucky can we get (if it rains we are safe from all the mud - at least our cars are). We at LRRP will be doing an occular and the NROI has generously again assigned range officers to us. Me thinks this will be a very good shoot for those who will attend. Course of Fire and dates to be announced.
To see pictures of the meeting check out the galleries.
Mel leading the way in the organizational meeting.
To see pictures of the meeting check out the galleries.
Mel leading the way in the organizational meeting.
LRRP Competition Schedule, first LRRP medal made and awarded, Armscor Special Edition Protoype
The Birth of a New Discipline... 2009 - 2010
The first competition took almost a year of dreaming, reading, and drooling before we got underway. We were a bunch of shooters who had 22 caliber rifles and wanted to shoot. Added to this was the fact that the US had a recession and so some of their Center Fire shooters went into RimFires in an effort to keep on shooting and have more air time ( time spent shooting equated to number of rounds fired ), with a whole lot of less expense. As one American put it -
"Had a blast foolin' around with the long range 22 stuff. All this was done with match style iron sights. Shot off a Harris bi-pod with a sand bag under the rear. I only used Wolf Match Xtra for this test. What I did was get on the center of the target and then go back to the 100 yard target. At 100 yards I had used a drywall square to mark off every inch up to 81". From 100 to 200 yards when I came back to the 100 "scale" target the group was at 21 inches. When coming back from 300 yards the group was 43" high @ 100 yards. When coming back from 400 yards the group was 73" high at 100 yards. I wasn't real thrilled with the groups @ 400 yards. Winds during the day ranged from 3-8 mph switching. I was unable to keep a group on an 18" Shoot-n-C. However all shots were within a 36" circle. I did try one other different kind of ammo but the mirage was bad enough that I couldn't see the 22 caliber bullet holes @ 400 yards. I would describe the difference in difficulty with a 22lr going from 300 to 400 yards about the same as the difference's with a centerfire going from 600 to 1,000 yards. Next I plan to try several different types of ammo for accuracy at 50 yards and then repeat the test with the most accurate ammo for the rifle.
Semper Fi " from Joe -1st Infantry Div. (Big Red One) '74 - '77 ,NRA & NMLRA Member
Comments like that together with web sites like www.6mmbr.com and SnipersHide.com, plus the overall affordability of the sport convinced us despite Cong. Jack Enrile's comment of the 22 being a wimp's rifle to actively see what we could come up with. We thought why not create it into a sport wherein we could compete and shoot every weekend, stores would bring in more gear dedicated to the sport (scopes, bipods,etc.), permits would be easier, ammo would improve, new ranges would be created, and we would have fun... This is a respected sport in the US and in Europe - so much for wimp rifles.
My partners in crime would initially be Sonny Marin, Mike Reidenbach, and my son Sandy. We gathered enough data on the web and asked around. Lo and behold, we found out that shooters from Butuan and Davao in the Southern Philippines were already shooting as far as 200-250 meters and some had staged competitions. In the North of Luzon there where a lot of 22 plinkers eager and waiting for someone to organize the sport. We tried shooting in Splendido ( with Cong Jack's permission of course allowing wimp rifles on his range ) and had a wonderful time going from 25 meters all the way to 200 meters. End result - we were addicted. Jack even allowed us to set up shop during the PPSA Pioneers shoot to showcase the new and hopefully upcoming sport. Then came the elections and the gun ban and everything had to be stored away except for our dreams - mine anyway. Our last shoot for 2009 was December 29 a couple of days before the start of the gun ban.
Come 2010, Sonny and I argued as to how to promote a sport without any inherent rules and structure. We decided that if we truly wanted to promote a sport, the way to go would be via PPSA which had an organized structure and our friend Cong. Jack Enrile. Jack agreed as this would bring families to the ranges and be the foundation for both Center Fire and Olympic shooters - it would be an affordable way to shoot and have fun. We were presented to the PPSA board with the best endorser one could every have ( Jack ) and were assigned Anton Lorenzo ( PPSA Rifles ) and Doc Cinco ( NROI ) to help us come up with the rules. Meetings thereafter where held in my office ( ESI BPO facility in Yakal Makati ) and so the first rules where drafted to be presented for approval of the PPSA board subject to revisions of course. Both Anton and Doc gave us very good insights and helped us align our rules with that of the PPSA.
"Had a blast foolin' around with the long range 22 stuff. All this was done with match style iron sights. Shot off a Harris bi-pod with a sand bag under the rear. I only used Wolf Match Xtra for this test. What I did was get on the center of the target and then go back to the 100 yard target. At 100 yards I had used a drywall square to mark off every inch up to 81". From 100 to 200 yards when I came back to the 100 "scale" target the group was at 21 inches. When coming back from 300 yards the group was 43" high @ 100 yards. When coming back from 400 yards the group was 73" high at 100 yards. I wasn't real thrilled with the groups @ 400 yards. Winds during the day ranged from 3-8 mph switching. I was unable to keep a group on an 18" Shoot-n-C. However all shots were within a 36" circle. I did try one other different kind of ammo but the mirage was bad enough that I couldn't see the 22 caliber bullet holes @ 400 yards. I would describe the difference in difficulty with a 22lr going from 300 to 400 yards about the same as the difference's with a centerfire going from 600 to 1,000 yards. Next I plan to try several different types of ammo for accuracy at 50 yards and then repeat the test with the most accurate ammo for the rifle.
Semper Fi " from Joe -1st Infantry Div. (Big Red One) '74 - '77 ,NRA & NMLRA Member
Comments like that together with web sites like www.6mmbr.com and SnipersHide.com, plus the overall affordability of the sport convinced us despite Cong. Jack Enrile's comment of the 22 being a wimp's rifle to actively see what we could come up with. We thought why not create it into a sport wherein we could compete and shoot every weekend, stores would bring in more gear dedicated to the sport (scopes, bipods,etc.), permits would be easier, ammo would improve, new ranges would be created, and we would have fun... This is a respected sport in the US and in Europe - so much for wimp rifles.
My partners in crime would initially be Sonny Marin, Mike Reidenbach, and my son Sandy. We gathered enough data on the web and asked around. Lo and behold, we found out that shooters from Butuan and Davao in the Southern Philippines were already shooting as far as 200-250 meters and some had staged competitions. In the North of Luzon there where a lot of 22 plinkers eager and waiting for someone to organize the sport. We tried shooting in Splendido ( with Cong Jack's permission of course allowing wimp rifles on his range ) and had a wonderful time going from 25 meters all the way to 200 meters. End result - we were addicted. Jack even allowed us to set up shop during the PPSA Pioneers shoot to showcase the new and hopefully upcoming sport. Then came the elections and the gun ban and everything had to be stored away except for our dreams - mine anyway. Our last shoot for 2009 was December 29 a couple of days before the start of the gun ban.
Come 2010, Sonny and I argued as to how to promote a sport without any inherent rules and structure. We decided that if we truly wanted to promote a sport, the way to go would be via PPSA which had an organized structure and our friend Cong. Jack Enrile. Jack agreed as this would bring families to the ranges and be the foundation for both Center Fire and Olympic shooters - it would be an affordable way to shoot and have fun. We were presented to the PPSA board with the best endorser one could every have ( Jack ) and were assigned Anton Lorenzo ( PPSA Rifles ) and Doc Cinco ( NROI ) to help us come up with the rules. Meetings thereafter where held in my office ( ESI BPO facility in Yakal Makati ) and so the first rules where drafted to be presented for approval of the PPSA board subject to revisions of course. Both Anton and Doc gave us very good insights and helped us align our rules with that of the PPSA.
My Guardian Angels - Maj. J. Tuliao and Bob Sajot of ARMSCOR
In the meantime, we were given tacit approval to hold and test competitions. Enter ARMSCOR and my two guardian angels - Major Jun Tuliao and Bob Sajot (they are in the picture on the side - that's me Johnny Garcia in the center). I knew that aside from the rules and PPSA the only way to get this off the ground was to hold continuous competitions just as in the early days of the PPSA. First break came with the BOLO TUASON CUP ( July 4 2010) and Major Tuliao Bob Sajot despite their busy schedule gave me one bay plus all the support I needed. This was a one day fun shoot held during the Bolo Cup. Sonny and I plus the NROI together with ARMSCOR did a show and tell and soon we had people coming to our bay wanting to shoot at our targets and listening to our explanation as to what it was all about. We tried the single shot prototype and here was the birth of the magazine feed LRRP - ARMSCOR prototype - but that is another story in itself. Exhausted Sonny and I went home that day wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.Sent out the pictures and comments via the web- like glock talk Band of Glockers, and got very good responses.
Second break came when again Bob and Major Tuliao asked us to set up a competition during one of their gun club shoots ( Aug 29, 2010 ) plus also for the Marcos Cup ( Sept 17-18 2010 )- we were going places!. Sonny had a new job so I was by myself essentially. Set up the courses based on Snipe's Hide monthlies with a 50 round standard course and 23 round tactical course. We had about 15 shooters that day and I would have died if not for my son Sandy at stats and dear friend Mon Morales assisting us through out the day. Major Tuliao and Bob had prepped everything well and assigned some warm bodies ( range crew ) to assist us.
By Sept 7, 2010 the prototype rifle arrives and I had to get it ready for the Marcos Cup. Assisting me aside from my two guardian angels where Kenneth Pante and Ryan of Senator Marcos's office. When asked how big was my party - I mentioned a party of one -just me plain old Johnny Garcia- I was the stats, the show and tell fella, the overall range officer, the entertainer of sorts, etc. - such is the life of one pushing a sport. George Chua COO of ARMSCOR so graciously assisted me and went on to win second place with my prototype! Here we had 17 participants and a Senator who came out of his way to greet us and try parts of the course. Senator Bongbong Marcos promised us a longer range next time - thanks Senator.
In all the shoots, we had people who shot, people who watched, people who asked, but all in all we had people who were interested and are starting to gear up for the future matches. Looks like this sport has a future and a big one at that, the way things are going!
Second break came when again Bob and Major Tuliao asked us to set up a competition during one of their gun club shoots ( Aug 29, 2010 ) plus also for the Marcos Cup ( Sept 17-18 2010 )- we were going places!. Sonny had a new job so I was by myself essentially. Set up the courses based on Snipe's Hide monthlies with a 50 round standard course and 23 round tactical course. We had about 15 shooters that day and I would have died if not for my son Sandy at stats and dear friend Mon Morales assisting us through out the day. Major Tuliao and Bob had prepped everything well and assigned some warm bodies ( range crew ) to assist us.
By Sept 7, 2010 the prototype rifle arrives and I had to get it ready for the Marcos Cup. Assisting me aside from my two guardian angels where Kenneth Pante and Ryan of Senator Marcos's office. When asked how big was my party - I mentioned a party of one -just me plain old Johnny Garcia- I was the stats, the show and tell fella, the overall range officer, the entertainer of sorts, etc. - such is the life of one pushing a sport. George Chua COO of ARMSCOR so graciously assisted me and went on to win second place with my prototype! Here we had 17 participants and a Senator who came out of his way to greet us and try parts of the course. Senator Bongbong Marcos promised us a longer range next time - thanks Senator.
In all the shoots, we had people who shot, people who watched, people who asked, but all in all we had people who were interested and are starting to gear up for the future matches. Looks like this sport has a future and a big one at that, the way things are going!