How Big Is Your Pumpkin?

bill97222 · Jul 29, 2013

I attended the June shoot at Douglas Ridge and I've now got the bug.

I swapped my scoped 10/22 for one with tech sights and I've been practicing trying to improve on my 174 AQT.

I'm getting close... shot a 200 untimed last weekend.

The Appleseed instruction for open sights advocates the "pumpkin on the fence post" sight picture, and that's all well and good... if your shooting pumpkins on posts... or bullseyes... but we're shooting various sized silhouettes and the prime scoring area is a bit below what I would call center of mass... so that sighting scheme (the 6 o'clock hold) is not optimal.

Would I be better off sighting my rifle so that my shots hit on top of the post at 25 yards and holding slightly below center of mass on all of the targets... or should set my sights for a 6 o'clock hold on the smallest "400" yard target and eyeball my point of aim accordingly on the larger targets?

Kimber Custom · Jul 30, 2013

It is a double edged sword. By using PoP you have a clearly defined hold point and your target isn't obscured by the front sight -therefore more accurate; and yet you have found the fly in the ointment. Scaled targets aren't really set up for PoP and therefore CoT is better. The issue with CoT is you don't have a precise spot to hold that front sight. Pick your poison.

The best solution is to use PoP and make an elevation adjustment between stages. Assuming you are sighted in on the 1" sighter squares then you would want to make a 4 MOA adjustment up for stage 1, come down 3 MOA for stage 2, back to zero (down one more MOA) for stage 3 and down another 1/2 MOA for stage 4. However, that isn't necessarily practical.

Enter Kentucky windage: set your sights for stage 4 (the money stage) and hold into the target a bit for stage 1 & 2. (Remember that 1/2 MOA is 1/8" at 25m so I would use the same hold for stage 3 & 4)

We will be back at DRRC Sept 14 & 15; hope to see you there :s0155:

beavernation · Jul 30, 2013

So this may not be the answer you were looking for but here is my solution! I was able to get my Riflemans patch last summer with the Tech sights but my eyes have changed a bunch in a year and it is really difficult to "set the pumpkin on the post". I agree with ya though about where to put you POI but Kimber's advice sounds solid about adding some Kentucky windage for the larger targets in the strings. Good luck finding the sweet spot, my new wife and I will be at DRRC in Sept. !!!!!

bill97222 · Aug 9, 2013

Well, this is working out well.

I sighted in with the 6 o'clock hold on the smallest target last week and practiced a bunch down at the 50 foot pistol range, then I went out to the woods yesterday and using Appleseed AQT targets at 25m (measured) I shot an untimed 234 with my Tech Sights and backed it up with a timed 224.

Then to prove that I'm egotistical and stupid and incapable of leaving well enough alone, I pulled out the scoped 10/22 that I scored 174 with at Douglas Ridge 7 weeks ago and shot a 170... DOH!!!

I guess it all goes to show that practice and coaching will only take you so far using a poorly fitted rifle with insufficient eye relief... she's a fine plinker and I can do just fine on the standing and sitting stages but I just fall apart in the prone because of the fit issues.

Before I left the woods yesterday evening I put up two paper plates and gave it a go prone from 100 yards (measured)... using the scope I didn't lay a round on the paper... I dunno where they went... then using the Tech Sights and holding on the top of the plate since I didn't wanna mess with my 25m zero I shot a nice centered group that measured 3-5/8"... so I'm there... I'm a 4 moa shooter if I shoot my best.

Kimber Custom · Aug 10, 2013

Huzzah! It sounds like you've done it perfectly. You took what you learned and persisted until you got it. I look forward to presenting you with your patch. Well done.