Shot sharpshooter, October garand match and data books.

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Finch

It was a beautiful fall weekend here in PA for shooting. Bright and sunny, in the mid 50s and the leaves are at their peak of color!

Saturday was NRA high power with my A2. I surprised myself by shooting an 88% which was the first time I shot over the Sharpshooter threshold (84%) while I still have to maintain an 84% average over 240 rounds if I can get an 85 in the April match I should make the cut. At least according to my math. I have several months to practice before April roles around, I better get to work.

As far as the Garand match I did better (232/300) than my showing at York earlier in the month but I have yet to beat the fi score I had when I first took this rifle out (252/300). Had some cramping in my support hand which resulted in me canting the rifle a bit which hurt my prone scores but I think I did ok. I’ll see if I can find a little better hand position for the next match. I’m also going to replace the turner sling that has been on my rifle for several years now with a John Weller sling I picked up at Camp Perry and see if it helps.

In off hand I broke one before I should, into the left corner of the target which was a bad start to the string. But, I kept them on target for the rest of the the match.

This weekend’s matches were also the first where I attempted to use data books. The results were varied but I think I will keep it up. For Highpower it’s very difficult to see the .223 holes so for walk and paste I will probably snap a picture of the pattern and document it after the match. For the Garand match it is easier to see the holes so I was able to document the shots in slow fire. At least until I dropped my pen in off hand! I think its valuable info to gather especially to track windage and elevation changes across matches. I use a creedmoor book for service rifle and a custom impact book for JCG. Once I have a little more experience with the books I’ll write a full review.

Next month is our armistice day match so ill be taking the 1917 out.

Fall Match at York Rifleman

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Finch

I took a trip back to York Rifleman for their fall Garand Match. They shoot a full 200 yard match with pits. It’s a very well run match, I very much enjoy shooting with these folks.

The weather was perfect for shooting even if it was a little warm for October (high of 86) otherwise a light wind from behind and sunny.

I worked the pits first as I have for the past few matches with pits.

I’m ashamed to confess I pulled one too soon in my haste to provide speedy service. Lucky for us our shooter didn’t fire while we pulled and we got it right back up. It’s important to wait for a call if you can’t see the shot.

I shot first after the pit change.

I felt great in slow prone and did fairly well 92/2x I did OK in rapid prone 74 I jerked to the right a little. But oh boy did I screw up in rapid pone, misses and 6s all over the place.

My scorer suggested I work on shooting at my natural respiratory pause with dry fire. This was good advice. I’ve stuck some white pasters with black dots around my office and I’ll work on my natural pause. I’m in decent shape for the prone stages and my Winchester is performing well. All and all this isn’t a bad place to be.

York shoots a spring match I’ll be back for sure. Except for Camp Perry this is my favorite match to shoot.

September ’13 Garand Match

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Finch

I only made it out for the Garand match this month, a cold kept me home from the Service Rifle match. It was beautiful, sunny and in the mid 60’s for the first relay. The fall sun made for some challenging conditions. There was an significant glare off my rifle, it was a challenge to keep on target. There was a an abnormal amount of smoke on the range as well.

Factoring the conditions I was happy with my performance, I dropped a 5 in rapid prone and a miss in off hand but I went home satisfied.

As far as the conditions go, I my opinion it’s just part of the game, sometimes it rains, sometimes it’s hot, cold, sunny, dark. I think these conditions underscore the need for a good natural point of aim. With a good NPOA it’s easier to keep rounds on target even if seeing the target is a challenging.

August Service Rife And Garand Matches: Making progress

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Finch

First home match since Camp Perry! Shot service rifle on Saturday and JCG on Sunday. For service rifle I brought my front sight down a click, as I had been just a little high on the MR-31 targets we use for slow prone. This paid off and I gained a few points. I came 5 points from making “sharpshooter” and I had one miss in off hand. So in theory, I just need to get that last one on target and I’ll be there.

For JCG I took the hard lesson I learned about slowing down in rapid prone to heart and did better. Some sloppiness in off hand hurt my score at but all and all I’m happy with my results. Excluding Perry my scores seem to be improving it’s good to see my name in the middle of the results instead of the bottom!

2013 Camp Perry National Matches

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Finch

Early Thursday morning I took the 461 mile pilgrimage to Camp Perry for the 2013 National Matches.

This was my second time attending the matches so things made a lot more sense this time!

I shot in the morning relays this year instead of the PM relays. While it hurt to wake up so early it was a good decision. It was cooler, its done by noon so I had more time to goof off and both days we beat the afternoon showers. It was also nice to be there for colors, while I was in the pits I didn’t “see” anything but it was pretty cool to hear the countdown echo across Viale, the cannon and a live bugler. It might be corny but it got me excited for the day.

Great weather both days, only stoppage was for some low flying airplanes just before prep for slow prone. For the Garand Match we were delayed for a while waiting for the fog to burn off. I was in the pits at the time which wasn’t so bad, just lounging around drinking “pit coffee” and BSing.

As far as my performance I made the same mistake twice in a row in rapid prone. After posting my personal best in slow prone for both rifles I rushed rapid, which is typically my best, and lost points I shouldn’t have. I learned a lesson the hard way, slow down and take your time in rapid!

The upside is I have a good base to work with, a good rifle, a good load, and a decent position I just have to clean it up a bit. I can work with this.

Otherwise I had a great time, I can’t wait until the next match! If you are thinking about going you absolutely should check out the post below for a “step by step” on how it all works.