Bit of a follow up.


Shot another match in February where I improved quite a bit. Had some stages that I shot nearly clean, and within my squad I had a few stage wins. I also managed to zero a few stages as well with some awkward positional requirements that I did not adapt to well.

But all in all I noticed improvement and I did not embarrass myself.



Then I shot a match a few weeks ago........ holy hell the wind was terrible. I got my ass completely kicked. The entire day was an exercise in frustration. I kept my spirits up because getting mad NEVER produces good results on the range but after the fact, it was a kick in the balls.

I am looking forward to someday shooting a match where the wind is somewhat stable. So far every match I have shot has been a gusty day with steady winds between 5 and 10mph with gusts to 15 or 18 mph. Not helpful when shooting a 223 in a game where 6mm and 6.5mm bolt guns are the typical competition.


But I am learning every match. On the technical side, I watched several videos from Kestrel representatives and technicians and I now know that several of the ways that I was using my kestrel for atmospherics were not best practices.


I also learned how to better utilize the Applied Ballistics functionality built into the kestrel. I will still be using Strelok Pro for some shooting applications, but a Kestrel is really a must have for extended range shooting where first rounds hits are a must and you don't have a margin of error or the luxury of shooting ahead of time to figure out your dope for that day and those wind/temp/density altitude conditions.

It's been a rough year for trigger time -- many competing priorities, with too little time. I'm slowly chipping away at forest cleanup at our ranch, and have finally returned to an erosion ravine for target setup. This isn't long range, but it's definitely training ground for matches with stages that combine close-to-mid distance carbine targets with long distance precision rifle targets.

In August our area was pounded with a gully washer rain storm. The main seasonal creek bed flowed hard for awhile, flushing a bunch of debris down stream. I clogged up the starting part of the following ravine pretty well with felled trees and branches, so it didn't run that hard with water. Good thing, because if would have been a bitch to remove a logjam in its tightest parts.

This ravine is steep and narrow for its lowest few dozen yards, just before it empties into the main creek bed. The upper portion isn't as steep or deep, and runs a little straighter. There are currently 20 t-posts for steel targets. I could add more, or put up temporary paper targets. I suspect the ravine is a little over 100 yards long, but I haven't measured it.

I intend to use the area for subsonic & suppressed shooting. First time through was with a Wilson Combat Glock pattern 9mm AR. It was absolutely great. I now need more steel and more hangers.

The start of the ravine, from the center of the main creek bed. From a kneeling position, target #1 is visible below the leaning tree.



Target #1, from just over the top of the leaning tree.



Targets 1 and 2.



Targets 3 and 4, from just above #2.



Targets 4 and 5, from next to #3.



Targets 5, 6, and 7 -- from next to #4.



Targets 7 and 8.



Targets 8, 9, and 10.



Targets 10, 11, and 12 -- from next to #9.



Targets 12, 14, and 16.



Targets 13,15, and 17 -- from next to #12.



Targets 16, 17, and 18 -- from next to #15.



Targets 16, 17, 19, and 20.


Hangers are from Rogue Shooting Targets. Steel is a mix of JC Steel and Rogue. On first pass, I think the 8" and 10" plates are best for the upper portions of the ravine. Where I have limited sight distance, a few of the targets can be 6" or 7".

I can burn up a bunch of ammo here in a short time.

We're not supposed to be envious, but I am.

Nice setup.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Nice setup.

Thanks. Lots of work has gone into it. And a bunch of trial and error.

But wait....there's more. I'm also re-developing our longest and widest erosion ravine. It has run a few times in major rainstorms, however the untold truckloads of branches, logs, and yucca clogging it upstream seems to have ended the washouts. I still have a handful of big dead trees along its banks to fell, but it's almost back again to a usable training area.

Here's a pic from 2015 -- the upper end of the ravine. Just upstream and left from here lies tons of branches, trunks, and yucca.



And a pic from August 2022, during a SF postal match. The pic was taken only a few feet from the above 2015 photo, but looking downstream. I sunk a few new T-posts to hold steel targets this week, however the ground is getting a bit too firm & dry in places to add all the planned t-posts. Eventually I expect 25+ t-posts over the length of the ravine. I marked a number of new post locations with survey stakes. It will be easier to sink posts in spring, when the ground is wet.

For scale, the tall target is 35 yards from the funky-shaped tree.


I futzed around with a 22lr upper with a few of new and existing targets in the lowest 40-ish yards. Mongo like. A lot.

I felled 5 dead trees in the long & wide ravine over the weekend -- 2 old monsters trees still to go. The ground was softer this time, allowing me to sink 8 or 9 new t-posts. I believe there are now 30 target positions, spread out over the length of the gulley.

I set targets on 5 positions in the lower third and plinked away with a 22lr AR15 upper. 100 rounds didn't last very long. I took this picture from a low kneeling position, below a branch -- all 5 targets are in view. When standing and walking up the ravine, only 2 or 3 targets are visible at any time.



Looking down from the ravine's rim....



In some ways, these erosion gullies are even more fun than my long-distance open-range setup.

Very cool, fritz!

Are you going to host competitions?

quote:

I believe there are now 30 target positions, spread out over the length of the gulley.

That is too freaking cool! It's a dream of mine to someday have enough property to have my own backyard range, but you've just set the bar at a whole new level. It's probably for the best...I'd go broke on ammo.

Thanks, guys. Tons of work has gone into getting things this far. Ixnay on the competitions -- we have understanding neighbors on surrounding land, but not THAT understanding.

I gotta hand it to you two -- RichardC and 92fstech -- for the Sigforum postal match thread. For the past 2 years I've been challenged on a number of fronts, and shooting took a back seat. The postal match prompted me to shoot a bit at shorter distances, when life priorities didn't allow dedicating much time to longer range rifles. One of these years I'll get the family ranch into better shape, and thus have additional time to burn more ammo. Or maybe not...seems that there's always something to do.

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I now realize that placing a full compliment of targets up either ravine is an unlikely situation on any given day. I don't like to leave targets up, because the cattle eventually make a mess of things. Replacing t-posts and barriers is just an ongoing & irritating task. So I'll probably just set up and shoot a maximum of 10 or 12 targets on a training day, and just continue to work a portion of a ravine. I likely do need to invest in a few more steel plates and hangers, because lugging them across the property from one training area to the next isn't my favorite activity.

FWIW, JC Steel's slotted hook targets are the loudest and clearest ringing plates I have. The 8" round with the top hanging tab was substantially louder than the report of my suppressed 22lr.

Nordic Component 9.25" 22lr AR15 upper.....The factory flash hider seems to be fixed to the barrel like Excaliber in stone. I must make a trip to my local 'smith, so I'll let him work his magic. It appears that Nordic really crushed the crush washer.
*****
Took the Nordic upper to my 'smith today. Like me, he tried to remove the flash hider with a Magpul Amorer's Wrench, while the entire upper was in a vice. No go. So he disassembled the upper, put only the barrel in a vice, and the FH came right off. No crush washer, no lock tight -- the FH was just torqued to the barrel with a little extra oomph. Oh well, neither one of us wanted to put much vice pressure on the aluminum upper, and risk bending it.

But now the 22lr suppressor will work, and I can be "vewy vewy quiet".

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I also received the package from Rogue Shooting Targets -- a pair of used hangers from their pistol range, and a bunch of steel shims that position the square steel tubing over the t-post. I think I can bubba engineer the square tubing and the shims, but the challenge will be the J-hook bolt that holds the plates. Rogue's bolt source is gone, so it's off to hardware stores for some more in-depth bubba engineering.

Oh crap, I just deleted my prior post.

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

Well.....things change. It's the year of rain up the wazoo. Flooding, erosion, hail damage. Can't win for loosing. Yet another storm hit our ranch yesterday afternoon --just before I returned with the new ATV, after its initial break-in tuneup/service. At least 1.5 inches of rain in 15-ish minutes. Could have been more rain, as the wind made the rain gauge list heavily to starboard. Lots of pea sized hail. Hail of around 1" in diameter did a number on much of my 4Runner, which was parked at the ranch during the ATV service shuttle process.

The following pictures are of the gully that I show in the above posts on 11/1/2022. This gully was "protected" with tons of felled trees & branches, in multiple piles a few hundred yards upstream. If it weren't for all the organic mass upstream to slow the water flow, this section would have washed much worse. Gullies without the wood mass upstream are worse. Gullies where the water flow overpowered the wood mass are badly flooded and eroded.

Ugh. Yet again, shooting takes a backseat to land management. This first picture is about the same place as the shots from 11/1/22. The second picture is looking the opposite way -- down stream.

Time to get the breathing going again for long range shooting. Just cuz rifle bullets do fly farther than 100 yards.

This is with a Rock River receiver set. The Doublestar 24" bull barrel is getting long in the tooth, but still hanging in there for now. Muzzle velocity has decreased by about 50 fps and the throat needs regular cleaning to avoid building up a carbon ring. The barrel might shit the bed next range session, or it might just hang on for many more hundreds of rounds. I have a replacement barrel in the wings, however need to see if I also have a new gas block and gas tube.

587 yards, prone, bipod, rear bag. Elevation is a touch off, due to the lower MV. Full size IPSC target. FGMM 69. Winds were pretty steady. I figured the effective cross winds were 6-7 mph. Actual wind speeds were 10mph or a touch more. I held windage of 2 MOA right of the right edge of plate. 9 rounds, 6 inches of vertical & only 2.75 inches of horizontal dispersion, right at 1 MOA.

I thought results were pretty decent, especially given that mirage was getting nasty. Lots of dust in the air -- down drafts from nearby rainstorms, and craploads of pollen from just about every pine tree in the area. This AR15 wears an older NF NSX 3.5-15x scope, and it is no longer state of the art.

Same rifle & ammo as the above post, different day. 660 yards, 11 rounds, 7.25 inches of vertical dispersion -- just a touch over 1 MOA. Winds were around 5 mph, fishtailing from 11-1 o'clock. Prone, bipod, rear bag. Mirage on this hot & humid day wasn't a whole lot of fun. Nor was the sweat running down into my eyes.



It's now become something of a game -- how long will this barrel continue to shoot well, before throat erosion turns it into a heavy tomato stake. I'm generally shooting only 50-60 rounds on any given range day, but that's enough to produce noticeable carbon rings in the throat. I'm using a lot of patches to clean the bore after each shooting day.