Richard.Howe
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2003
- Messages
- 887
Blowing stuff up: A Range Report (more pics added)
So, today I headed down south -- to Midwestern Colorado -- to participate in the annual Gateway Dynamite shoot.
The drive only took about 3 hours from Meeker, and once we started south from Whitewater, these were some typical road trip views:
(my favorite one)
This dynamite shoot was a fundraiser for the local fire department and EMS. You pay a $6 range fee and $1 per shot. Every time you miss, half goes to the FD/EMS and half goes into a pot. If you hit the dynamite, you take the pot.
The reactive targets were 2" x 3" and ranged from 75-125yards (Freestanding Hunter class):
...to 400 yds (Hunter Benchrest class -- no varmint contour and maximum of 6x magnification optics), 600-750yds (Unlimited class -- anything goes, but no .50s or .416s) and 750-1000yds (Big Dawg class -- bring a Howitzer if you want). The white targets you see in the photo above are 10" white paper plates to help shooters locate and identify specific targets. The "can" was fastened to the top of a stake behind the plate. At 800+ yards, even a 10" plate looks mighty small:
We started the morning with a normal NRA safety moment:
I decided to shoot Unlimited class (moved up to Big Dawg at the end of the day), and was lugging my Robar'd Winchester M70 .308, HS Precision stock, with a Lilja 26" bull barrel, topped by Badger rail & rings, and a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 6.5-20x50. This gun can make 1/2" groups -- when I do my part -- at 200 yards using either A-MAX handloads or FGMM 168gr. SMK-HPBT factory loads. I was spotting for a buddy in this photo.
The rangemaster said the targets were 2 inches by 3 inches -- but they could have been 3 inches by 3 inches. They looked symmetrical through my 20x scope. That target size, at those ranges, means a lot of 1) skill, 2) quality machines, 3) wind reading and weather compensations, and 4) luck were all involved.
My gun is good for 1/2" at 200yds. So, wind notwithstanding, my 500yd groups have hovered in the 1-1/2" to 2" range. A 3" square target at 600 is therefore not unrealistic even with my down-to-earth rig. 3" square at 800 to 1000yds with an experienced competitor and a $15k dedicated setup is quite doable.
(spotter's view of the target area from over the shoulder of this guy shooting a custom 7mag -- those lower targets are for the Hunter Benchrest Class. The upper ones are Unlimited at about 700yds. You can't even see the Big Dawg targets in this photo since none were marked with plates.)
I was well-equipped for the task -- but check out the gear some of the other competitors brought to the table. Note angle of inclination on most of the guns...
(Shilen-barreled 7mm mag w/42x Nightforce)
(416 Barrett w/ Nightforce)
(338 Lapua Armalite AR-30M)
(30-416 Rigby AI with 36" x 1-1/4" dia. bbl-- this was one neat rifle, and an awesome wildcat)
("Tubbesque" bolt-converted .223)
(6mm-284 in a nice McMillan with carbon-sleeved barrel)
(custom 6.5-284 in McMillan -- the rifle in the foreground is a custom Weatherby 338-378 magnum -- it won the shoot last year with a guy named Dale on the trigger)
(VX-III topped RRA with a Gemtech can -- not exactly the most appropriate long-range shooter, but I'm thinking he brought this to the line because it was so darn cool -- his son shot an FN P90 5.7x28mm at the Freestanding line)
(completely hand-made 6.5-284 -- this older guy was amazing)
(the handmade 6.5mm in action)
Some have asked for more photos -- here's all I got:
(mystery rifle -- never got to talk to the guy)
(I love this picture of the baby with muffs on, and Mom toting a rifle)
(from-behind partial view of the firing line and target area)
(misc. rack of Big Dawg class guns)
(Rem 700 .300 Win Mag in an Accuracy International stock w/ Nightforce target glass. This was the only Remington I saw in Unlimited or Big Dawg all day.)
(another friend shooting his Winchester M70 25WSSM -- this is his antelope gun -- this guy had just as much success as the Wall Street bunch, and was a really super nice fellow)
(another friend of mine shooting a bone-stock Savage 10FP .308 with Pentax glass -- he was one of the first to break sticks on Unlimited)
The weather was awful and not all that conducive to long-range shooting. My little old .308 hung right in there with the big-money shooters, but we all struggled with crosswinds that pushed us off target as much as 4-6 feet at 1000yds, rapidly changing temperature and humidity, and rain. No one was able to really find the groove today, but it was a great learning experience for most.
Every once in a while, we got the desired result:
The explosions were strong enough to feel in your chest. The chargess went off like tannerite would, but the Fire Department rep said it was dynamite and that each target had a single stick cut into quarters inside it. I do know that .22-250s and .204s were lighting these things off at 500yds.
It was awesome to see a big white puff downrange, and then hear the strong report a few seconds later...
What an awesome day -- I can't wait for next year....
Rich
So, today I headed down south -- to Midwestern Colorado -- to participate in the annual Gateway Dynamite shoot.
The drive only took about 3 hours from Meeker, and once we started south from Whitewater, these were some typical road trip views:
(my favorite one)
This dynamite shoot was a fundraiser for the local fire department and EMS. You pay a $6 range fee and $1 per shot. Every time you miss, half goes to the FD/EMS and half goes into a pot. If you hit the dynamite, you take the pot.
The reactive targets were 2" x 3" and ranged from 75-125yards (Freestanding Hunter class):
...to 400 yds (Hunter Benchrest class -- no varmint contour and maximum of 6x magnification optics), 600-750yds (Unlimited class -- anything goes, but no .50s or .416s) and 750-1000yds (Big Dawg class -- bring a Howitzer if you want). The white targets you see in the photo above are 10" white paper plates to help shooters locate and identify specific targets. The "can" was fastened to the top of a stake behind the plate. At 800+ yards, even a 10" plate looks mighty small:
We started the morning with a normal NRA safety moment:
I decided to shoot Unlimited class (moved up to Big Dawg at the end of the day), and was lugging my Robar'd Winchester M70 .308, HS Precision stock, with a Lilja 26" bull barrel, topped by Badger rail & rings, and a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 6.5-20x50. This gun can make 1/2" groups -- when I do my part -- at 200 yards using either A-MAX handloads or FGMM 168gr. SMK-HPBT factory loads. I was spotting for a buddy in this photo.
The rangemaster said the targets were 2 inches by 3 inches -- but they could have been 3 inches by 3 inches. They looked symmetrical through my 20x scope. That target size, at those ranges, means a lot of 1) skill, 2) quality machines, 3) wind reading and weather compensations, and 4) luck were all involved.
My gun is good for 1/2" at 200yds. So, wind notwithstanding, my 500yd groups have hovered in the 1-1/2" to 2" range. A 3" square target at 600 is therefore not unrealistic even with my down-to-earth rig. 3" square at 800 to 1000yds with an experienced competitor and a $15k dedicated setup is quite doable.
(spotter's view of the target area from over the shoulder of this guy shooting a custom 7mag -- those lower targets are for the Hunter Benchrest Class. The upper ones are Unlimited at about 700yds. You can't even see the Big Dawg targets in this photo since none were marked with plates.)
I was well-equipped for the task -- but check out the gear some of the other competitors brought to the table. Note angle of inclination on most of the guns...
(Shilen-barreled 7mm mag w/42x Nightforce)
(416 Barrett w/ Nightforce)
(338 Lapua Armalite AR-30M)
(30-416 Rigby AI with 36" x 1-1/4" dia. bbl-- this was one neat rifle, and an awesome wildcat)
("Tubbesque" bolt-converted .223)
(6mm-284 in a nice McMillan with carbon-sleeved barrel)
(custom 6.5-284 in McMillan -- the rifle in the foreground is a custom Weatherby 338-378 magnum -- it won the shoot last year with a guy named Dale on the trigger)
(VX-III topped RRA with a Gemtech can -- not exactly the most appropriate long-range shooter, but I'm thinking he brought this to the line because it was so darn cool -- his son shot an FN P90 5.7x28mm at the Freestanding line)
(completely hand-made 6.5-284 -- this older guy was amazing)
(the handmade 6.5mm in action)
Some have asked for more photos -- here's all I got:
(mystery rifle -- never got to talk to the guy)
(I love this picture of the baby with muffs on, and Mom toting a rifle)
(from-behind partial view of the firing line and target area)
(misc. rack of Big Dawg class guns)
(Rem 700 .300 Win Mag in an Accuracy International stock w/ Nightforce target glass. This was the only Remington I saw in Unlimited or Big Dawg all day.)
(another friend shooting his Winchester M70 25WSSM -- this is his antelope gun -- this guy had just as much success as the Wall Street bunch, and was a really super nice fellow)
(another friend of mine shooting a bone-stock Savage 10FP .308 with Pentax glass -- he was one of the first to break sticks on Unlimited)
The weather was awful and not all that conducive to long-range shooting. My little old .308 hung right in there with the big-money shooters, but we all struggled with crosswinds that pushed us off target as much as 4-6 feet at 1000yds, rapidly changing temperature and humidity, and rain. No one was able to really find the groove today, but it was a great learning experience for most.
Every once in a while, we got the desired result:
The explosions were strong enough to feel in your chest. The chargess went off like tannerite would, but the Fire Department rep said it was dynamite and that each target had a single stick cut into quarters inside it. I do know that .22-250s and .204s were lighting these things off at 500yds.
It was awesome to see a big white puff downrange, and then hear the strong report a few seconds later...
What an awesome day -- I can't wait for next year....
Rich
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