Sniper match @ ARPC

[Wallygator]

This Is all I know

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[SonicBlue03]

Interesting.

Brings up a question I have. Are .50 BMG rifles still the mainstay guns in events like this, or is it a smattering of all types? How popular are the .338 Lapuas or .416 Barretts in tourney events like this, or are there other calibers that tend to be more prevalent?

 

[jasonk]

I'd be very surprised to see a 50 or a 416....or even a 338.

308's, 243, 260 and the variants of those are most prevalent at "sniper" matches these days.

A 50 isn't good for accuracy, speed or positional shooting....now it is good for exertion though

 

[SonicBlue03]

The only other practical use for an "anti material" rifle round, besides removing engine blocks from random cars on I-5

Why do you think those other rounds aren't really represented? Is it a cost thing, or just general interest in them?

 

[PDXGS]

Can anyone answer some questions I have regarding this match?
-I'm not a member of the Albany club...can I shoot this match as a guest and, if so, does anyone want to sposor me as their guest?
-At what time does this end...I must be back in PDX at 6PM for a previous commitment.
Thanks,
Jorge

 

[Wallygator]

Can anyone answer some questions I have regarding this match?
-I'm not a member of the Albany club...can I shoot this match as a guest and, if so, does anyone want to sposor me as their guest?
-At what time does this end...I must be back in PDX at 6PM for a previous commitment.
Thanks,
Jorge

I believe anyone can shoot, you don't need a sponsor. Just call the number listed in the flier, and he will answer any questions that you have.

 

[speelyei]

So Positional I take to mean standing, seated, or prone, but what is exertion?

 

[PDXGS]

So Positional I take to mean standing, seated, or prone, but what is exertion?

Run around, get your heart rate up and then shoot....think mini biathlon!
Learning to shoot between fast heartbeats is a skill I have yet to acquire.
Some say getting in good cardiovascular shape helps....but every time I think about it I have to lie down until the feeling passes!

 

[speelyei]

Just got home, had a blast. I hope this becomes an annual event. Excellent job by the range officers, organizers, and good shooting by the competitors. The exertion stage and the positional was some of the more fun I have had in a tactical type match. Thanks!

 

[Wallygator]

Just got home, had a blast. I hope this becomes an annual event. Excellent job by the range officers, organizers, and good shooting by the competitors. The exertion stage and the positional was some of the more fun I have had in a tactical type match. Thanks!

I had a lot of fun also. It was nice meeting you, Next time I think I'll ditch the AR for a larger bolt gun. Hope to see you at some other match sometime.

 

[SULLY]

Well crap. I was there and didn't get to meet you guys. It was a good day. I did not shoot today. But I definately will next time. Glad to here you guys had fun.

Jason

 

[speelyei]

ahhhh Wallygator! Now I know somebody here on the forum! It was fun shooting with you guys, and I will keep my eyes peeled for another match. Sully, are you sure I didn't meet you down by the plywood cut-outs?

 

[SULLY]

We might have talked. But I don't think I ever officially met anybody. I hope they do another one soon. I would definately enjoy going out and shooting with you guys

 

[terrylf72]

OH BUGGER... I missed it. totaly forgot about it..

 

[GO-FASTER]

It was alot of fun wish they would have more there

Shawn ( LongHair )

 

[Wallygator]

It was alot of fun wish they would have more there

Shawn ( LongHair )

You meant to say "the guy with the long pony tail that WON"

 

[speelyei]

Yes, nicely done Shawn.

 

[PDXGS]

You meant to say "the guy with the long pony tail that WON"

No kidding!

Great shooting guys! I learned a ton about precision shooting, shooters and their gear....one big take-away was to showup to the next match with more honed skills and a bolt gun!
Some questions...
1. What's a good starter bolt rifle....I'm thinking a Rem 700 in .308
2. Is this the right caliber? I already reload .308 so I'm thinking it is...
3. What's the more common choice in glass? what's the more common scope power, brand etc.,variable power?
4. Is an out-of-the-box 700 accurate enough? What needs to be "fixed" by a decent gunsmith-and who is the gunsmith of choice in Oregon/Washington
5. What scope mounts are preferred?
6. What bi-pod?
7. Other than lots of practice -any other suggestions?

Thanks for helping a n00b out...
Cheers,
Jorge aka George

 

[speelyei]

Hey George, were you in our group, too?

Well, here's my two cents:

Some questions...
1. What's a good starter bolt rifle....I'm thinking a Rem 700 in .308

Remington 700 is the standard. There are a ton of parts and modifications and aftermarket support for these rifles, and I sort of wish I had gone the 700 route...
Another popular option is a Howa 1500, which is what I have, and I have been very happy with it. Almost any bolt action manufactured has a "tactical" model or has been converted into a bull-barelled precision rifle by someone somewhere.

2. Is this the right caliber? I already reload .308 so I'm thinking it is...

It's a popular caliber, that's for sure. There's a lot of reloading info, and .308 components are pretty common. There are calibers with higher BC's, certainly, and a guy could get a headache trying to sort out all the pros and cons.

3. What's the more common choice in glass? what's the more common scope power, brand etc.,variable power?

Nighforce, Leupold, and all the regulars, Bushnell, Burris, etc etc etc...
I suppose it depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to learn to range distance with your scope, a mil-dot or milradian reticle is a must. If you plan to hunt or shoot at a variety of distances, a variable power would be nice, but it can complicate range estimation slightly. In the precision shooting community, spending twice the price of the rifle on the scope is common.

4. Is an out-of-the-box 700 accurate enough? What needs to be "fixed" by a decent gunsmith-and who is the gunsmith of choice in Oregon/Washington

It would probably be accurate enough, and there are a few little things you can do (upgrde the stock, etc) to help. Some common modifications are: lapped lugs, receiver face trued, free-float the barrel, bed the action, upgrade the trigger.... I can't even remember all the stuff those guy do to their rifles. There are a lot of good gunsmiths to choose from. check out snipercentral.com and snipershide.com, there are a few 'smiths with a real following on those sites.

5. What scope mounts are preferred?

if you want to shoot out to 800 or 1000 yds, you may need to get a 20 MOA base, dpending on the amount of adjustment in your scope. Any beefy rings are fine, I bought the heaviest Leupold rings I could find, they seem fine. Burris makes a really heavy scope ring, as does Warne, but they seem like overkill to me. A lot of guys lap their scope rings, too.

6. What bi-pod?

The Harris or the Versa-pod are popular, but a lot of guys just use the Bi-Mart knock-offs.

7. Other than lots of practice -any other suggestions?

Yes, but I'm too tired to prattle on tonight.

-Craig

 

[speelyei]

on mel's snipercentral.com he reviews a lot of rifles and scopes and gives price ranges, so that's pretty beneficial.

It's entirely possible to "build" a rifle that's capable of shooting <MOA by ordering a barreled action in your choice of barrel contour, caliber, and manufacture. They are listed on Gunbroker frequently. Then order a custom stock, Bell and Carlson, McMillan, HS, etc, and bolt them together. You can order a stock with aluminum pillars and bedding blocks, and a large vareity of grips and stock configurations. Pick a scope in your budget, some rings and bases, and go sight her in. Mel also has a tutorial that's a little more involved... building a tactical-style rifle based on a Savage/Stevens action, when complete it runs about $800.

As far as other suggestions:
I don't know what you already know but...

-these guys live and die by Minute of Angle. If you're not familiar with it, a google search will give you all the info you need.

-pick a load and stick with it. If you are already loading for .308, 175gr SMK HPBT and IMR 4064 are a widely used combination.

-when you find a load that let's you shoot groups less than 1"@100yds from a bench, use a chrono to find the speed of your load. Then you can develop a drop-chart. Here's an online program that will get you started if you don't have a ballistics program. This will give you a ballpark drop-chart, but don't expect it to be spot-on.

-Learn to estimate range with the mil-dot or milradian reticle in the scope. It's surprisingly simple, but it takes a lot of practice to be precise and accurate. There is a lot of info online, and some scopes come with instructions on how to do it.

-get a notebook and start keeping notes on your shooting. There are a variety of pre-fab and military issue ones available. Currently, I just use a plain ol' notebook. I am going to start taking better notes, but I currently log:
Day, date, atmospheric conditions, wind, and what caliber and load I am using. Then I log my estimated range, the scope correction I estimated (according to the drop chart), and if I hit or missed. Then I use a Laser range finder (if one's available) to double check myself. If I have to hunt and peck to get on the target, I log how many tries, and the final, succesful scope correction.

-cut out several 24"x24" pieces of plywood and find somewhere you can set them up between 100 and 700 yards apart, at unknown distances. See what you can hit...

this is what I've been doing for the last year or so. I have succesfully hit targets over 1000 yards away and missed targets as close as 100 yards away. There's a lot to keep track of, but man is it fun. Some days I can hit anything I point at, and other days I have missed everything and ran out of ammo. The competitions are a fun way to keep motivated and to learn a lot from other people. The West Coast Tactical was really hard, but really fun, and I learned a lot. I took last place, but I still felt it was a success... after all, I did hit some targets under pretty challenging conditions and pressure. The ARPC match was much more low-key and I had a great time and learned a lot there, too.