Tag: recreational shooting

August 8 – Bowling Pin Match

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Sunday, August 8, Tucson Rifle Club, Action Range. Classifying starts at 0800 (8AM).

Pistols only, .38 Special caliber or heavier. (We may start a .22 class in October.)

Course of fire:

Five standard bowling pins placed on a 4′ x 8′ table approximately 42″ high. For “Major” calibers (.40 S&W or higher) the pins are placed 12″ from the front edge of the table. For less powerful calibers, they are placed 18″ from the back edge. They are spaced 18″ apart across the 8′ width of the table.

The shooter starts from the “low ready” position, 25 feet from the front edge of the table. At the sound of the timer, shoot all five pins off the table.

Each shooter will have five timed solo runs to establish a handicap. After all shooters have been timed, shooters will be paired off in competition. Slower shooters will receive a handicap advantage. Two tables, two shooters. At the sound of the first beep, the slower shooter begins. At the sound of the second beep, the faster shooter begins. Whoever clears their table first, wins. Best two out of three determines the set winner. This way revolver shooters have a chance against semi-autos, stock guns have a chance against race guns. I determine the handicap delay. If I think you’re sandbagging, I’ll disqualify you or adjust your handicap to suit.

This is a double-elimination match. Losers from the first round will compete against each other, winners will compete against winners. Competition will continue until there is only one shooter left who hasn’t lost twice.

Cost to shoot is $10 for the first gun, $5 for each additional gun. A dollar from each entry goes into a pot. At the end of the match, a random drawing will occur. Out of those still present, someone will win the pot. The winner of the match just gets to be king of the hill for the month.

If you lose both sets in three games each, you’ll still have fired a minimum of 55 rounds. Trust me, you probably won’t be clearing a table with only five rounds, so bring enough ammo.

Hope to see you there!

(No match in September – I’ll be at GBR-V!)

Sorry About the Hiatus

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Saturday I made a trip to the range with the M25 and the 5R, and today was my 15th wedding anniversary.

The reloading problem is taken care of, as is the scope mounting issue, but my first handloads for the M25 weren’t all that stellar. I also tried out some new handloads for the .38 Super. Berry’s 124 grain hollowpoints don’t work very well with the feedramp on the Witness. 1,300fps though, and nice, tight little groups when it did feed.

I did Vicious Circle Thursday night, and got all gun-geeky afterward with Aepilotjim discussing handloads. I’m a little concerned that the loads I’m testing are a bit too stressful for the M25. I started off with 45.5 grains of Reloder 15 in a Lake City “LR” case – the case used for the M118LR round – under the Lapua Scenar 155 grain BTHP, touched off by a CCI #34 military primer. It’s a very slightly compressed load, and if my chronograph is to be believed it yielded an average velocity of 2890fps and a standard deviation of 16.4 out of the M25, and 2920fps and a standard deviation of 10.8 out of the 5R.

My standard load for the 5R is 46.4 grains of RL-15, same bullet, Lapua case and CCI benchrest primers. THAT load over the same chronograph, produces 2790fps out of the 5R with a Sd of less than 10fps. The difference being that the latter load out of the 5R typically groups well under 1MOA at 200 yards. (I busted some rocks out at a laser-measured 650 yards just for fun with that load.) The Lake City-cased load grouped about 1.75MOA. Out of the M25, a bit over 2MOA.

Part of the performance difference, both velocity and accuracy, may be reduced case volume due to the use of a small-base sizing die and military brass (the M118LR brass is not supposed to be as thick as standard Lake City 7.62 brass, but still). The smaller case dimensions after sizing may also adversely affect bore concentricity out of the 5R, too. The military “magnum” primer probably has some effect as well. However, Jim pointed out that Reloder 15 is a much slower powder than is normally recommended for the Garand/M-14 gas piston design. I did a little research previously, and the standard powder for the M118LR load is Reloder 15, but in the Sandbox they discovered that high temperatures were causing the standard load to be too hot for the M-14 based rifles, and this resulted in bent op-rods. The correction was to reduce the powder charge. The M118LR uses a 175 grain Sierra Matchking bullet. I’m using a 155 grain bullet, and pushing it a LOT faster. Hmmm….

The plan is to try to find one load that both rifles like. That might not be possible, I acknowledge, but it’s my intention to try.

The Bowling Pin Shoot was a Success

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It took a while to get the thing off the ground (where hopefully it will stay) but I had eleven people show up to shoot it, and it ran from 8:00AM until after 1:00PM. We had shooters of all different skill levels, and everyone shot a LOT and (I think) had a good time. The overall winner was a fifteen year-old kid shooting a Sig, who started off slow, but got FAST towards the end. To add insult to injury, he won the drawing for the prize pot, too! If anyone took video of one of the head-to-head matches and wants to forward it to me, I’ll post it.

I need new tables now, though. I think they took more hits than the pins did!

T-Minus 60 Days and Counting

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I’m making my hotel reservations today. Since Reno is just 15 hours away (and I’m bringing enough stuff to make a GREAT “junk-on-the-bunk” spread) I’m driving as usual, but getting to Reno isn’t really that expensive if you must fly.

Dallas to Reno: $339

Knoxville to Reno: $440 (OK, that one’s a little spendy)

LA to Reno: $169

Baton Rouge to Reno: $420

Cleveland to Reno: $324

Indianapolis to Reno: $358

Seattle to Reno: $234

Orlando to Reno: $328

Hey, if reader and commenter Phil R. can come all the way from Cambridge Oxford, England to attend, you can come from wherever you live! As Mr. Completely says:

The Gun Blogger Rendezvous is like no other event as it’s all about the gun bloggers themselves. We don’t have a big name celebrity speaker where the attendees sit in the seats and are basically spectators. That’s not to say that there won’t be some really interesting people there, though. Last year Alan Gura was there, and we all got to learn a lot about the legal stuff he’s been up to lately from an insider’s perspective.

The Rendezvous is not a side event for some other much larger happening like the NRA convention. No, at the Rendezvous the attendees themselves are the reason to be there. The discussions in the hospitality rooms go well into the night every night of the Rendezvous.

Sure, during the day we get in plenty of shooting, including rifles and pistols at targets out to 1,000 yards, Steel Challenge against the clock, even with a bit of coaching from Molly Smith, who’s not only a blogger, but is also the Steel Challenge Pre-Teen World Champion! Plans are also underway for some Cowboy Fast Draw practice under the watchful eye of Quick Cal Eilrich. Quick Cal is the “Intergalactic Fast Draw” Champion (Not really, I made that up, but if it DID exist, Cal would win it!) in addition to numerous National and World Championships. I am also looking into some range time at a new indoor lead-free range in Reno that rents guns, including FULL AUTO goodies! Interested? I thought you would be!

So c’mon, make your plans now! I want to meet you, or see you again!

July 11 – Bowling Pin Match

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Sunday, July 11. Tucson Rifle Club, Action Range. Classifying starts at 0800 (8AM).

Pistols only, .38 Special caliber or heavier.

Course of fire:

Five standard bowling pins placed on a 4′ x 8′ table approximately 42″ high. For “Major” calibers (.40 S&W or higher) the pins are placed 12″ from the front edge of the table. For less powerful calibers, they are placed 18″ from the back edge. They are spaced 18″ apart across the 8′ width of the table.

The shooter starts from the “low ready” position, 25 feet from the front edge of the table. At the sound of the timer, shoot all five pins off the table.

Each shooter will have five timed solo runs to establish a handicap. After all shooters have been timed, shooters will be paired off in competition. Slower shooters will receive a handicap advantage. Two tables, two shooters. At the sound of the first beep, the slower shooter begins. At the sound of the second beep, the faster shooter begins. Whoever clears their table first, wins. Best three out of five determines the set winner. This way revolver shooters have a chance against semi-autos, stock guns have a chance against race guns. I determine the handicap delay. If I think you’re sandbagging, I’ll disqualify you or adjust your handicap to suit.

This is a double-elimination match. Losers from the first round will compete against each other, winners will compete against winners. Competition will continue until there is only one shooter left who hasn’t lost twice.

Cost to shoot is $10 for the first gun, $5 for each additional gun. A dollar from each entry goes into a pot. At the end of the match, a random drawing will occur. Out of those still present, someone will win the pot. The winner of the match just gets to be king of the hill for the month.

If you lose both sets in three games each, you’ll still have fired a minimum of 55 rounds. Trust me, you probably won’t be clearing a table with only five rounds, so bring enough ammo.

Hope to see you there!

Yup I Need a Small Base Sizer Die

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When I took the M25 to the range a couple of weeks ago, I noted that my handloads would NOT chamber. I thought I hadn’t sized them quite enough, as I didn’t have the rifle to test them in, nor a case gauge to measure them against.

That was not, no pun intended, the case. As the first commenter noted, the chamber on the M25 is cut smaller than SAAMI spec. The base of the reloads measure 0.470,” which is correct for a SAAMI-spec chamber. The base of the Black Hills commercial stuff I bought measures 0.464.” That .006″ is enough to make the difference between a round that will chamber and one that won’t. Unfortunately, my standard RCBS dies won’t size tighter than 0.470″ so I’m stuck. I need a small-base die, or I won’t be reloading for the M25.

Damn, and I was hoping they’d both shoot the same ammo. I should’ve known better.

Anyone out there familiar with RCBS’s small-base X-die? That looks like something I might buy.

Range Report: Ted Brown LRB M25, Part 1

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I finally took the M25 to the range today. I had 100 round of 175 grain Sierra Matchking reloads, 40 rounds of Black Hills 175 grain BTHP Match, and about 18 rounds of Black Hills 168 grain Match. I used the 168 to get on to paper, then shot some groups at 200 with the 175 grain Black Hills for a baseline. Then I ran a couple of groups of the same ammunition through the 700 5R just to compare.

The best group out of the M25 was right at 2″ at 200 yards, strung vertically, about 1.5″ wide. The 700 5R did about as well, though its dispersion was more horizontal. I ran some of my handloads through the 5R to compare, and the group sizes shrank just a bit, but that rifle really prefers the 155 grain Lapua Scenar bullet.

Remember back in 2007 when I wrote that post on reloading? I said in it:

Once the case is sized and decapped, wipe it clean with a rag or a paper towel to get the lube off. Again, PUT THE FIRST CASE IN YOUR GUN TO MAKE SURE IT WILL CHAMBER. Either that, or buy a case gauge.

When I did these rounds I didn’t have the M25, and I don’t have a .308 case gauge.

Guess what? I didn’t size them enough. They fit in the 5R just fine. They stick in the M25 chamber just short of being in battery. And I mean they stick. I had to use my foot to operate the mechanism to get the cartridge out.

Guess what I’ll be ordering right after I finish this post?

I need new scope rings, too. I wrote LaRue Tactical about the rings I have, and was advised not to use them with the scope base that comes with the M25. That base, manufactured by Sadlak, has a groove down the center of the Picatinny rail to allow the shooter to use the iron sights, but the LaRue rings have an abbreviated engagement surface, and it only makes contact with the Sadlak base at its corners. I can already see where those tiny contact patches have worn from recoil. THAT can’t be conducive to accuracy.

I took the M25 over to Black Weapons Armory here in Tucson, Friday after work to see if I could find anything that would allow me to move the scope back another inch. They had a lot of options, but none of them would work. Everything commercially available has cross pieces spaced four, five, six, or seven slots apart, but the Sadlak base has slots eight, nine, and ten spaces apart. Right now I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I’m not taking it to the range again until I have new rings on it.

UPDATE: Solution found. It’s not optimal, but it’s acceptable. Sadlak’s extended rail for the M25 is (supposedly) available now, not in August as previously advertised. I’ll order one on Monday, and I have an order in for another set of Burris Xtreme rings now.

Advanced Warning – Tucson Bowling Pin Match

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Sunday, June 13. Tucson Rifle Club, Action Range. Classifying starts at 0800 (8AM).

Pistols only, .38 Special caliber or heavier.

Course of fire:

Five standard bowling pins placed on a 4′ x 8′ table approximately 42″ high. For “Major” calibers (.40 S&W or higher) the pins are placed 12″ from the front edge of the table. For less powerful calibers, they are placed 18″ from the back edge. They are spaced 18″ apart across the 8′ width of the table.

The shooter starts from the “low ready” position, 25 feet from the front edge of the table. At the sound of the timer, shoot all five pins off the table.

Each shooter will have five timed solo runs to establish a handicap. After all shooters have been timed, shooters will be paired off in competition. Slower shooters will receive a handicap advantage. Two tables, two shooters. At the sound of the first beep, the slower shooter begins. At the sound of the second beep, the faster shooter begins. Whoever clears their table first, wins. Best three out of five determines the set winner. This way revolver shooters have a chance against semi-autos, stock guns have a chance against race guns. I determine the handicap delay. If I think you’re sandbagging, I’ll disqualify you or adjust your handicap to suit.

This is a double-elimination match. Losers from the first round will compete against each other, winners will compete against winners. Competition will continue until there is only one shooter left who hasn’t lost twice.

Cost to shoot is $10 for the first gun, $5 for each additional gun. A dollar from each entry goes into a pot. At the end of the match, a random drawing will occur. Out of those still present, someone will win the pot. The winner of the match just gets to be king of the hill for the month.

If you lose both sets in three games each, you’ll still have fired a minimum of 55 rounds. Trust me, you probably won’t be clearing a table with only five rounds, so bring enough ammo.

Hope to see you there!

Tucson – Bowling Pin Shoot, Mother’s Day, 5/9

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Yeah, I know, what planning.

Anyway, it’s at the Tucson Rifle Club Sunday morning starting at about 8:00 AM.

Handguns only, .38 Special or larger/more powerful caliber. (No .22 class yet, sorry.)

Course of fire is five (5) standard bowling pins placed on a table approximately 42″ tall, spaced 16″ apart. For “major” calibers (.45 ACP, .357 Magnum, etc.) the pins are placed 12″ from the front edge of a 48″ deep table. For “minor” calibers (.38, 9mm) they are placed 16″ from the BACK edge of the table. Shooter starts from the low-ready position, 25′ from the front edge of the table. At the sound of the buzzer, clear all of the pins OFF the table.

The competition begins with each shooter running five tables, timed. Worst time is thrown out, the remaining four are averaged. That’s your dial-in.

After all the competitors have their dial-ins, it’s bracket-racing time. Two shooters, two tables. The differential between the dial-ins of the two shooters is programmed into the timer. Slower shooter starts on the first beep, faster shooter on the second beep. Whoever clears their table first wins. Best two-out-of three runs decides that matchup. The next pair then steps up.

If you lose two matchups, you’re done for the day. Minimum course of fire, 45 rounds. Whoever is left standing at the end is the winner (of the admiration of the other competitors.)

This means if you’re slow and steady with an iron-sighted wheelgun, you might be able to beat the guy with the 20-shot compensated racegun with reflex optics who can’t miss fast enough to win. He HAS to wait for that second beep.

Entry fee is $10 for the first gun, $5 for each additional gun. One dollar out of each entry goes into a pot. At the end of the match there will be a drawing and one lucky shooter (still in attendance) wins the pot.

I’m going to try to run this match monthly, second Sunday of the month. This one just so happened to fall on Mother’s Day. Dammit. Hope to see you there.