Shooting is a perishable skill and mine took a hit. Maintaining the family ranch has been more important than rifle practice for a while. Our pine-forested areas are taking it on the chin from beetles. Starting from Labor Day last year, I felled & cut up 46 trees in late 2023. So far in 2024, I’ve done 69 more trees, including 8 this past weekend. So…I took a break from chainsaw duty on Sunday afternoon. I doubt I’ve shot since August 2023, maybe earlier.

I hung three 10” steel plates at 300-350 yards and four 12” plates at 400-450 yards, with 50-ish yards of lateral separation between each plate. I planned to shoot from a barrier, one shot per target, bouncing between plates. But winds were bad. The Kestrel indicated 7-18 mph highly-variable winds in just 15 seconds, from my 2-3 o’clock. Enough to even shake my kneeling position. The yellow flag on the tripod says it all. A 10-round string sucked. But so did 6 and 8 round strings. My hit ratios were only 1 of 3. Ugh. Three plates are in the upper right part of this picture, but they are hard to see.



So I tried a dot drill down wind. I sucked. Went back into the trees, and set up in a shallow ravine that’s partially protected by trees. The ravine is only 75 yards long, but it offered some hope versus the open prairie. Winds weren’t as strong in the ravine, but the swirl was still bad. I recorded video off my phone & tripod of the 10-round strings. I must figure a way to compress the video before I can upload it to an image posting site. Dot drill strings #1 through #4 weren’t good, and I ran out of 1” pasters. Then I found a couple of alternative 1” target pages in my target stuff. I decided to just shoot quickly to deal with the switching winds, and let things fall as they may. Shot from prone, front bipod, rear bag, on loose sandy soil. The sand wasn’t so bueno in keeping the bipod steady and loaded properly.

Rock River AR15, 24” Doublestar barrel, NF NSX 3.5-15x scope, Surefire SOCOM mini, Hornady Match 75 BTHP. The barrel isn’t the best, and it’s getting a little long in the tooth, but it still does OK.

String #5 --– 30 seconds from touching shoulder on the buttstock to the last shot. 18 seconds from first to last shot.



String #6 --– 40 seconds from touching shoulder on the buttstock to the last shot. 24 seconds from first to last shot.

Thanks for that post, fritz. I am shocked that you haven't shot since August.

As usual, you motivated me to do something similar. I hadn't shot a 10rd session of any sort, since assembling the current iteration of my rifle, so I did a dot drill yesterday.

11.5" Rosco barrel with an OCM5 silencer, shooting 75gr FTX, using a 14x Leupold. Fired from the prone off bipod and bag, rolling back onto my haunches between each shot. Expectations weren't high, considering the barrel, but I was relatively pleased. The composite 10rd group measured 2.625", with two right-side outliers responsible for opening it up. I will certainly revisit it in the future, to see if those two shots were indeed "outliers". Not too bad for an 11.5" barrel I gave about $115 for.

The 6x5 drill is on my to-do list, with the Colt 901. I can't afford the ammo for that right now, so I did a 6x5 with my go-to AR, at100m, for fun/practice.

62gr Frontier FMJ, 11.5" Rosco, Elcan Specter 4x, OCM5 silencer, off a bipod and bag.

I got up between each group. The conditions were rainy (no cover), which made for some poor visibility on shots four and five in each group, due to the steam off the can, and the "gunsmoke" lingering in the wet air.

The smallest group was right at 2"
The largest group measured 5.25"
The composite 30rd group was 6.25"
The tighter groups were 1, 2, and 5
The crap groups were 3 (low outlier) and 6 (high outlier)

If you take those two outliers out of the equation, the overall group size drops to 4.5". I'd be pretty happy, putting 30rds of 62gr FMJ into 4.5" at 100m, with 4x magnification. I'll try it again in better conditions, to see if I can make that a reality.

I’m trying to implement the shooting advice of Regina Milkovich & Jake Vibert (shooters) and Jacob Bynum (shooting instructor).
- Get off your butt – reduce shooting from a bench rest, especially with mechanical front rests and heavy rear bags with bunny ears.
- Get off your belly – reduce prone shooting, especially banging away at just one target.
- Shoot from multiple positions.
- Shoot from positions with compromised stability.
- Shoot at multiple targets.
- Shoot on the clock.
- Shoot in the wind.
- Get out of your comfort zone.
- Emphasize technique, not equipment.

This practice is inspired by a PRS tie breaker stage, and is similar to last week’s not-so-great results.

Kneeling position from the spool. Five 12” steel plates, from 275 to 347 yards, 51 yards lateral dispersion from farthest left & right plates.

Winds were easy at the start, 3-4 mph from my 2 o’clock. I confirmed dope for FGMM 69 from prone, cold clean bore. At 305 yards, 4 impacts in a tight 1” group a touch right & high of center. At 275 yards, 2 impacts on top each other. At 347 yards, 3 impacts in a 1.5” group a touch right & high of center. Yeehaw, dope is close, hold my beer.

Then the wind picked up. Still 3mph on the low end, but gusting up to 14mph. Ugh. Wind holds ranged from just right of center to 1/2 plate off the right edge. The stronger gusts did shake my shooting position.

The drill was shoot right-to-left, close-to-far, one impact per plate, then repeat. 10 hits total. Dial elevation for 305, hold elevation for other distances, hold wind. First try was 14 shots and 45 seconds. Then 12 shots and 43 seconds. Then 11 shots and 40 seconds, then 11 shots and 38 seconds. No clean runs, but a step in the right direction.

The next drill is inspired by an NRL stage. 15” or 16” round plate at 400-ish yards. 8 shots total – 4 from wobbly pallet on end, 4 from prone next to pallet, alternating between positions. IIRC the first day this stage had a time of limit of 120 seconds, the second day had a time limit of 90 seconds. Many shooters timed out on the second day.

My drill was a 12” round plate at 305 yards. 10 hits required – 5 hits from each position, alternating between positions. It took me 13 shots to get the 10 hits – 2 shots each on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th times from the pallet. 135 seconds total. The pallet position is a less-than-comfy crouch position to shoot from -- too short for standing, too tall for kneeling. Wind gusts made the pallet position suck. Prone was a piece of cake. I did only one run of this drill.

Continuing to play with the Rock River AR15 and its the Doublestar bull barrel. Cleaning with wet patches is indicating the throat is getting a little rough, as there's additional resistance for maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch after the chamber. From here on out I must continue good cleaning practices, so a carbon ring doesn't develop.

365 yards prone, 12" target, FGMM 69. I estimated breezes at 4-8 mph from my 7-8 o'clock, based on my walking trips to/from the target to repaint steel. Pretty moderate conditions for here. My shooting positions were among a few 20-30 foot tall trees, with lots of 50-60 foot tall trees behind me -- so I couldn't feel the wind. Pasture grasses left over from last summer are stiff, providing little wind feedback near the target. Couldn't see my own bullet trace.

3-1/8" vertical dispersion, 8" horizontal -- 14 shots in a row. Holding vertical of a touch less than .9 MOA. I'm good with that for an older, 2nd tier barrel.


I looked at the ballistics tables for dope, but didn't dial elevation. My first 3 shots had no indications of impact locations....WTF??? Oh, the scope's turret is still set for the 100 yard zero, dipshit. Dial elevation, hold off left of target, hit left edge. OK, game on. Start the timer, start ripping shots. 13 of 13 impacts in 29 seconds.

"Practice what you suck at"....the advice of good coaches & instructors. On to shooting from barriers. We have few larger trees in the pasture that I hang steel, so it took a bit of searching to find ones with decent branches to shoot from. After minor trimming....#1. Almost perfect height for a standing position.



Now to confirm elevation dope for 365 yards. Unfortunately, I tend to throw rounds about 1 MOA high when shooting from barriers, especially with a rifle supported only by one bag in the center of the stock. I suspect I apply downward pressure from the cheek weld. 1st test shot -- about 1 MOA high, and just left of target due to holding too much wind. OK, timer on.

1st shot was a miss (#$@% high and left again), then 10 hits in a row. 41 seconds total for the 11 shots. 6-3/4" vertical dispersion, 6" horizontal dispersion. At roughly 2 MOA, better performance than I've done in a number of matches that had tree stages. Down the road I'll try this tree with a bolt action.

Tree #2, which also required trimming a bunch of dead branches, plus one good one. One live branch blocks the previous tree's 365 yard target, so I switched to a different 12" target at 442 yards. I thought this tree wouldn't be as good as the last one, but it also works well. Not quite perfect standing height, as I must crouch a couple of inches.



As before, I confirmed dope with one shot. Again, just left of target -- holding a touch too much wind. Again, 1 MOA higher than intended -- sheep dip technique. Start the timer....

Again, 1st round miss, then 10 impacts in a row. 43 seconds. 5-3/4" vertical and 7" horizontal. A little under 2 MOA. I good with this, so it's back to working beetle kill trees.

My neck of the woods has been in a multi-day wind pattern. The Wyoming I-80 corridor must be sharing the love. So instead of more barrier practice, I decided to show how wind drift affects bullet flight. Based on forum comments -- any gun forum -- few shooters have a good handle on this issue. I see folks post "crosswinds were bad today, but I was still able to hold in the black part of the paper target". Uhmmmm, riiiight. If one is holding on the black, or on-plate with steel targets, there was a breeze not a wind.

I took a shooting break right after lunch, before the afternoon winds got ugly. Rock River 24", FGMM 69, SOCOM mini, from prone, clean cold bore, 5 rounds, 12" plate at 335 yards. I didn't run a timer, but shots were likely spaced out in a 6-8 seconds per each interval. I held 2 MOA right of the right edge, even with the bottom of the target hanger -- elevation dope was spot on. Wind from my 3 o'clock.

1.5" vertical and 7" horizontal dispersion. A little less than 1/2 MOA vertical, yeehaw. Total bullet wind drift of 9.5" to 16.5", which JBM equates to winds of 11-18 mph.



More to come for the 15 rounds on the target in the background....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: fritz,

On to the 18" high by 24" wide plate in the background. Same rifle, FGMM 69, prone, 375 yards. And the winds just picked up. 15 of 15 hits, 3.5" vertical, 14" horizontal variation. About .9 MOA vertical, and I'm good with such results. I aimed center of plate, 3 MOA of right edge. Same relatively casual firing rate of 6-8 seconds each.

Total bullet wind drift of 17.75" to 31.75", which JBM equates to winds of 15-28 mph. Note that this drift is for air Density Altitude of 8,000 feet. At lower elevations, wind drift will be higher for the same wind speeds.




It's one thing to shoot from a bench, with mechanical rests and/or heavy bags, at a range that's protected from wind. And then there is shooting in field conditions.

On to the 470 yards with the same 18x24 plate. From this shooting position the wind was coming from my 4 o'clock. Wind-blown dust was making it a little challenging seeing the target clearly. The wind was loud enough that even with electronic muffs, I heard impacts on maybe half of my shots.

I held center of plate vertically, 5 MOA right of the right edge -- which was effectively putting the 4 MOA windage subtension on the right T-post. Firing rate was likely 8-10 seconds between rounds. Slower, as I was trying to spot impacts and listen for hits.

I landed 18 of 20 rounds. 4.75" vertical and 17.5" horizontal variation. I saw one miss land to the right, when the wind died down. I'm fairly certain one miss landed to the left, with a big gust. Right at 1 MOA vertical accuracy -- quite good in such conditions IMO. Total bullet drifts for the impacts were from 26.5" to 40". JBM indicates wind speeds of 14-24 mph. Absolute wind speeds might be 10% higher, given the 4 o'clock wind direction.



Impact locations averaged 2 inches higher than I expected, which is about 1/2 MOA. Possible explanations:
- Dope was off. Possible, but not likely. MV and DA were good, and JBM does well for me.
- I was yanking shots high. Possible for a few shots, but not likely for the entire group.
- Mirage or dust in the wind messed with my aiming vision. Possible -- not ideal conditions. Although I didn't have a nice orange dot to aim for, I have quite a bit of practice in aiming for the center of white-colored plates.
- I was starting to see the effect of right-hand wind changing the bullet flight from a right-hand-twist barrel. I didn't run the calculations, but I think this is part of the equation.

This barrier is a 4x4 post, with two heights to shoot from -- this time high kneeling. Targets of 310 (right), 340 center, and 350 yards (left). I forgot, but maybe 40 yards spread side-to-side. Target sequence:
- from right side of post -- right, center, left, center, right
- from left side of post -- R, C, L, C, R
Need 10 hits, must hit target to move to the next one. 12" diamond, circle, and square.

Winds of 15-20 mph from 3-o'clock, varying constantly, occasionally calming down briefly to 8-10 mph. In other words, tough shooting, even at moderate distances with generous targets. All shots required holding off target to allow for wind drift. FGMM 69 with a 24" barrel.

For the first & second runs I shot with left knee down and right knee up -- known as reverse kneeling. This way I can sorta put my right elbow on my right thigh to support the buttstock. This generally works well if I have a large pump pillow under my right arm, but I'm not going there today. With the crosswinds this position wasn't all that stable.

1st run -- 95 total seconds -- 19 rounds fired to get all 10 hits. Ugh.
2nd run -- 90 total seconds -- 19 rounds fired to get all 10 hits.

For the third & fourth runs I shot with both knees on the ground, body squared to the target -- know as the Lewinski. I felt noticeably less moved by the winds.
3rd run -- 80 seconds -- 16 rounds for the 10 hits.
4th run -- 70 seconds -- 14 rounds to get 10 hits. Both sides took 30 seconds, with 10 seconds to switch positions.

For grins I went to prone with bipod from the same distance. Since I didn't switch any positions, the total time is automatically 10 seconds faster. Did this only once.
R-C-L-C-R-R-C-L-C-R

50 seconds and 13 rounds. IIRC 2 the misses were right of the targets, meaning that the wind died down a lot for those 2 shots. My wind judging skilz are rusty.

Next up is my 7-level movable barrier. My B-I-L calls this the "field furniture". It looked a lot nicer before the cattle started rubbing against it. 320 yards to a 12" round plate. 2 hits required from each level, must hit both to move on. Same 15-20 mph winds from the right. I shot all rounds squared to the target & dam -- standing & Lewinski kneeling.



I shot this only once. And oops, I didn't correctly hit the timer start button. 20 rounds to get all 14 hits. Good thing I didn't download my 20-round mag to 19. Not the prettiest target, but not the easiest drill. The wind appeared to be picking up on average, due to a number of impacts in the 10-11 o'clock region.




That AR15 weighs 15.5 pounds without ammo. A 24" barrel with a 6" can isn't the easiest thing to take in and out of small "windows". Especially one handed, as I moved the bag with my left hand and moved the AR with my right hand -- buttstock in shoulder pocket and right hand on grip. But it reasonably replicates what occurs with a precision bolt action rifle during a match.

Thank you for the continued contributions, fritz. I see you're back in the saddle in a big way!

I was finally able to pick up the ammo required for a 6x5 with the LE901. I hope to do it soon.

The weekend's drill -- five 12" plates sorta-kinda in a row, near-to-far twice, dial only one elevation, must hit all targets. Rock River AR15, FGMM 69. Goal of 60 seconds.
#1 - 276 yards, sorta-kinda at 11 o'clock
#2 - 355 yards, at 1 o'clock
#3 - 419 yards, at 11:30
#4 - 479 yards, at 12 o'clock
#5 - 503 yards, at 1:30

Set the targets on Saturday after lunch. Storm approaching rapidly from the west (my 6 o'clock), and a small time window to shoot. Winds were a highly-variable 8-15 mph from my true 11-1 o'clock in advance of the storm. I shot from prone to confirm dope & hold overs.

First go of 5 targets -- 32 seconds, 7 rounds. As with subsequent runs, I dialed elevation for target #1, then held over via reticle for #2 through #5.
Then 10 targets -- two runs of near-to-far. 55 seconds, 13 rounds. All my misses were on targets #4 and #5. Winds made for a challenging drill.

From prone, only the top 1" of the plate and top hanging strap of target #2 is visible. A ridge about 100 yards before the target blocks the view. I have to hold the reticle at the dirt on the ridge where I think the target is, then the bullet flight clears the ridge and drops into the plate. Shooting from a higher position on the spool, roughly the top half of the plate is visible.

*****

Sunday after lunch, with better conditions. One bag on the spool, kneeling, no other rifle support. Winds 1-8 mph from my 7-8 o'clock.
First and best go of 10 targets -- 60 seconds, 14 rounds. Misses on the 3rd through 5th targets. Two subsequent tries were slower with more misses.

Given my time constraint, I felt I did OK, but nothing special. I've shot similar match stages many times with bolt actions -- smaller close targets (#1 thru #3), more time. Sometimes such stages go well, sometimes not so much.

fritz the motivator!

I got out toady, and did some shooting with the timer in play.

Six targets; ten rounds. Five rounds with the 14x Leupold mounted, from a bipod and bag, to establish a baseline group.

Then swap to the Elcan on 4x for one shot per remaining target with the timer in play. Timer placed on the ground by the muzzle; rear bag held in support hand; press the button, and roll back onto haunches to wait for beep. On the beep, get down behind the gun, place the bag, and engage.

100M. 5rd group target size: ~1.5MOA. Remaining five targets: ~5MOA each. 11.5" Rosco barrel.

Round 1
Hornady Black 75gr BTHP
baseline group 3.25"
composite group of five single shots 2.50"
11.27 seconds to first shot
18.70 seconds total time

Round 2
Black Hills MK262 mod1-c
baseline group 2.25"
composite group of five single shots 1.25"
7.49 seconds to first shot
18.44 seconds total time

Round 3
Black Hills MK262 mod1-c
baseline group 2.25"
composite group of five single shots 2.00"
7.41 seconds to first shot
19.89 seconds total time

I should add that the five single-shot targets were on the same backer. There was no significant transition involved.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KSGM,

Next up was a go a longer distances. Intended to place the 16" plate at around 660 yards, but the cattle did a number on that T-post. The T-post at 605 yards was listing heavily to port, but I was able to get it back to vertical with just my hands, then sunk it again with the plate. Winds now 1-8 mph from 8 o'clock. Shooting from prone.

I held a touch left of the plate's 9 o'clock point and shot. No call. Held on the left point -- thought I saw a low impact, right of the plate. Held further left, dialed up 1 MOA -- possible impact left of plate. I'm struggling, as the ground is just damp enough to hide impacts. Hold 9 o'clock point again -- impact, centered left-right on the plate, but about 1 MOA lower than POA. Craptastic. I'm not walking out to the target to repaint, then increase scope elevation by 1 MOA, so I just ran with the elevation being off.

So now my impacts are 2 MOA lower than dope, the wind is just enough to make it difficult to put rounds on the narrow-ish bottom quarter of the target. I'm seeing rounds slide just left and right of the string of impacts on the target's bottom quartile. 20 rounds shot, 10 impacts. 6.25" vertical at 605 yards, and a bunch of misses at approximately the same height on the target. Hold points for the hits on steel ranged anywhere from the orange center dot to a couple MOA left of the 9 o'clock point. Disappointing, actually.




Over the next few weeks I will evaluate the results. I know the barrel is getting longer in the tooth. Last week's cleaning revealed a small, but noticeable carbon ring in the throat. Generally more carbon fouling on the barrel in total, too. Things to consider:
- Unless my scope just crapped out, POI at 605 yards was 2 MOA lower than predicted by JBM. I must chrono this batch of FGMM 69, as my first thought is that MV is down. I've been shooting the same lot number of ammo for a few weeks now -- no POI issues out to 400-ish yards. But I didn't have my best results on the 500-ish yard targets of this past weekend, so maybe that's an indication. I'm comfy that the lower POI wasn't due to my technique shortcomings. When I throw rounds, it's almost always high.

- Regardless of the FGMM 69 muzzle velocity results, I need to check other consistent loads for this barrel. Hornady 55 Vmax & 75 HPBT Black. If the MV is down across all loads, then it's likely a sizeable chunk of barrel erosion exists in the throat.

- If MV checks out with the chrono, then a scope ladder test is in order.

- The suppressor was on tight, so that's not the issue.

- With past barrels that have gone tits up, the average MV definitely decreased, and then I noticed significant vertical stringing beyond 300 yards. With right at 1 MOA vertical for the 10 rounds on the plate, vertical stringing wasn't bad. But.... I can't be completely certain about the 5-6 rounds that just missed the plate.

I have a better barrel in the basement -- a Wilson Combat 20" super sniper. This Doublestar barrel may soon become a tomato stake.

I re-engaged yesterday, and made a change that increased the difficulty.

I first did one more round as before, but with some regular-ol' 55gr XTAC...

Round 4
PMC XTAC 55gr FMJ
baseline group 2.00"
composite group of five single shots 3.50"
7.36 seconds to first shot
18.57 seconds total time

I then added three detached targets to the mix. One about 10m left of the original array, one 10m right, and one about 10m aft and 5m right. Same types of targets that are on the central backer that's been in use, but alone on their own posts.

So now the five single-shot engagements require more disruption of the firing position, and they actually proved a bit hard to see, as everything is down in a shaded and somewhat sun-dappled woodline, and the shooter is out in the bright sun.

The five single shots were performed thus: first shot on one of the targets in the original array; second, third, and fourth on the new detached targets; and fifth at another target on the original array. I performed the new drill twice, mixing up the order of engagement of the three detached targets between the two runs.

Round 5
Hornady Black 75gr BTHP
baseline group 3.25"
composite group of five single shots 4.00"
10.90 seconds to first shot
33.10 seconds total time

Round 6
Hornady Frontier 62gr FMJ
baseline group 5.00"
composite group of five single shots 2.25"
9.72 seconds to first shot
31.46 seconds total time

This proved to be a pretty neat exercise in target detection. It would be very cool to do the same thing, but have those three detached targets placed by a buddy just before your run. The pressure of the clock would be quite nerve-wracking, if you went in totally ignorant to those target locations. There would be much more of an element of luck involved.

Another 10-shot group.
Wilson Combat Protector S rifle with SAI 1-6× scope; ammunition IMI 77 grain OTM, LR, Mod 1; 50 yards; bipod on bench rest.





It doesn’t demonstrate much except for the difficulty some of us have in maintaining a consistent tight group for 10 rounds. The “flyer” at the bottom was the last shot fired.