Can you hit your target?

The honest answer for me is no. At one of our local rifle competitions with movement, timed events, etc., my personal goal has been to complete every stage with no misses. In the 2 years I've had this goal, I have yet to accomplish it. I find myself shooting when sights are misaligned, getting tired and yanking the trigger, etc.

 

Obviously a loaded question. In good light and calm winds with my trusty .270. Absolutely. In blowing dust and 25knot gusty winds at dawn.....nope. I used to pull the trigger on a weapon that would almost certainly hit dead center by the third round at any range out to 18,000 yards...... but it was radar tracked and computer corrected. And with a 56lb charge of Explosive D you really didn't have to get too close.

 

Sign up for an Appleseed and the good folks there will teach ya how to make the shot more often than not...Then they'll teach ya how to teach folks how to hit a 20" target at 400 yards.

 

+1

 

I don't like tea! and I'm not a good rifleman either, I could probably hit a teacup from prone at 100, but thats about it. It would take me 3-4 shots for the 400 target, but once hit the next shots would be easier.

wg

 

20 inch target at 400 yards? There was no mention of target size or shooting position... 20 inches is pretty big for scoped rifle shooting prone.

 

Thanks Jim, I was just being realistic

wg

 

I can usually do fairly well. If its not a known distance, I'd laze it. I also ballistically chart all my reloads with bullet drop and come up MOA out to 1000 yards.

 

So I looked up Appleseed and saw that the nearest site to Portland in the near future is Castle Rock, WA. The range is only 25 m for that site and others that I saw, even out as far as Idaho. I only gave the Appleseed map a cursory look so I may have missed something. I'm also under the assumption that even our best shooting schools such as Thunder Ranch and Magpul are oriented towards close range tactical shooting.

In light of this article, if you or your child was headed to the armed forces, where would you go or who would you talk to in order to obtain, in advance, experience and instruction in 200-500 meter shooting with an M16/AR15 platform?

 

In Central Oregon. In the National Forest in the Ochocos or the Maurys or the BLM in the Christmas Valley area. One advantage of the Ochocos is you will have the opportunity to shoot over hilly terrain and at targets above or below you. You would need a weekend from Portland, but if you have never been out there you won't be disappointed.

 

Thunder Ranch has a couple distance rifle courses but some of the distances are enough(700+ yards) they recommend a larger caliber like .30-06 or .308. Look at ranges like Tri-County Gun or Douglas Ridge. They have disciplines and competitions that should work. There might not be a class but there would be people who are knowledgeable.

 

A small styrofoam coffee cup at 126 yards standing using my .50 cal Plains style cap and ball Hawkin. No problem did it many times in competition.

400 yards with my M1 Garand Standing maybe 75% sitting or Prone 95% With my Ruger M77R in 30-06 Standing 50% Sitting 75-80% and Prone 95%+

 

Thanks for the tips and clarification MA Duce and Drew. I'll definitely be checking into those places.

 

Well, you can also check out service rifle competitions for good range shooting.

For those who have never done it, it is essentially what the "Appleseed" thing is all about, four strings of 10 rounds different ranges with a reload in between. And contrary to what Appleseed types will tell you, you can do it with a bolt action service rifle, with clips to reload the mags...

 

I don't think that anybody has ever said that you can't use a bolt action at an Appleseed. I use mine there regularly.

W44

 

Today, I seriously doubt that I could hit at 400 yards. When I was in the Army I don't recall ever missing those distance targets. The furthest ones were out at 600 meters and I was one of the very few who would knock them down. I was actually wondering why it was that I was hitting all the distant ones consistently bt missing the close ones. A friend of mine gave the answer to that question some years later. When he was in the Army, he did target duty out on the range. The close in targets had huge holes in them while the distant ones did not. There was a very good chance that when you did "hit" your close target the bullet would not make contact and so there as no knock down.
Today, I could not hit it with a good pair of glasses as I would not be able to see one of the 3 things that you need to see - front sight, rear sight and target.

 

I'm reminded of a naval encounter off the coast of Vietnam one foggy morning. It went like this:

The USS Turner Joy, a destroyer with three 5"-38's spotted a target off the coast of North Vietnam.
Assuming it friendly, a radio call was put out:

"This is the USS Turner Joy, Please identify yourself."

No response.

Signal lights were used:
"This is the USS Turner Joy, identify yourself, friend or foe."

No response.

Signal lights again:
"This is the USS Turner Joy, identify yourself or we will commence firing"

Answer:

"This is the Battleship USS New Jersey, You may fire when ready!"