M14 Forum

Bamban

I am back in Texas after spending 6 days in Puerto Rico. The range in Camp Santiago looks great, all grass covered, the target carriers ran well, and the host group put on their best.

The turn out was decent, we shot from targets 17-32 and 4 relays.

The conditions are some of the most challenging ones I shot lately. The scores reflect the conditions. The entire weekend there was but one score over 190 at 600, shot with a match rifle. Mine would have been the other one. The match result was a heartbreaker though. I shot the winning Service Rifle Champion score but I could not the take the trophy home. The official winning score was only 746-9X, my score was 736-14X, BUT AT 600 I SHOT NOT ONE BUT TWO Xs on the target to my right. Even just one crossfire the trophy would have gone to TX with me, with the X count tie breaker.

Had the two crossfire were on my target, my score would put me 3 points behind the match rifle winner.

Lessons learned all over again. I was on the 2nd target on the low end and no hospital targets posted. 60 year old eyes are not what they used to be, so I did not even bother to spend lots of time trying to read my number board, I just counted 1-2 from the L and shot. Well the target on my L had terrible pit service, on the two occasions I crossfired the target on my L stayed down way too long that I lost tract and counted 1-2 from the L and fired.

In the team match after the Regional we shot 10 rounds at each stage across the course with no sighters. A slight consolation I shot the highest score overall, match rifles included. Again, not a great one, but good enough for the high.

The wind ranging from 8-15 with directional changes from 3 o'clock to 1 and at times just between 1 and 11. The directional changes were the killers. In one of the strings at 600 I got burned for 6, preceded by 3 Xs in row. Strategy is the key, most of the time you can't wait the conditions you like with how the wind was changing. The conditions were conducive for people who can favor L or R. I am one of those people who just can't favor, I had to click in slow fire prone.

300 has its own surprises as well. I saw a lot of groups strung out from the center to the 8 ring, including one of mine. This is where the sighters came in handy. I shot the first sighter under one condition and waited till the last few seconds and fired the other sighter when the wind was opposite and bracketed the wind. In one of the strings I went for the full value correction and use the wind to my face as the gauge as to the direction and value and favored, though I am terrible at favoring. Almost cleaned it.

Overall, it was rewarding just trying to figure out the wind and got some favorable results sometimes. Number 1 gun still shoots, despite the 4700 round count.

Here are some pictures of the range.




One of the things I did when I was overseas most of my career, I tried to sample the local cuisine. Puerto Rico is famous for its Lechon, a whole pig roasted till the skin is crispy crunchy. Here is a restaurant my buddy Ray and I checked out.


Almost forgot I also crossfired in the LEG match. A 10 no less. Not my weekend to win - on to the next match with the 14

tonyben

Thanks. Sorry to hear of your disappointment. You did good though!

Tony.

82nd ABN

Congrats Nez there is always next year. I am sure it wont sit well for a few weeks but don't worry, you are a camp!!!!!

Middkid

Can you explain this for me?
Thanks
Middkid

lowell66dart

Thanks for posting. I don't know anything about all that but it sure seems like fun.

Willy1

Still, good shoting Nez, That would have been a fun shoot.

Dave P

"I SHOT NOT ONE BUT TWO Xs on the target to my right. "

That's too bad , Nez. Most of us have done that - it is pretty easy if you lose mental focus.

But, you weren't competing against the match rifles, were you? If so, that is totally unfair. But, I have seen it done. Sad, because AFAIK the nra matches started with service rifles only.

jameydan

Not Nez, so he can chime in if I describe something different.

Favoring is where you hold left/right/up/down instead of moving the sights. To do it well means you have decent eyesight for the sight picture, and you can call your shots very well. You "hold" a vary small amount in either direction, sometimes almost "thinking it" left or right is enough.

I rarely favor windage in individual matches (regular technique in team matches), but will often change my sight picture for elevation instead of clicking elevation. That is just my personal quirk. You can do it for elevation - just need to be consistent and call your shot well.

(I use CoM hold or some variant for 200-1000yds).

jameydan

Nez,

I like your apparent plan of destination shooting. It would be cool to cover some of the neat ranges in our county.

Over at NM.us, there is a match director for the range on Kodiak Island, AK

Just givin' ya an idea :)

Bamban

JW,

I would love to go back to Alaska, I spent a year in a remote site called Cape Lisburne, 220 miles North of the Arctic Circle. We used to shoot in the middle of the night, well it was not quite dark at night in the summer.

Next destination is the Hawaii Regional.

Flying and shooting a 14 is PITA, the 11 pound limit on ammo is exactly 9 twenty round boxes. Maybe I can pre-ship ammo from the lower 48s.

82nd ABN

One of these days I am going to travel and compete in some of these matches. Especially the one in PR. Man I miss landing in San Juan. I would go downstairs if I had the time and get a cuban and literally break my neck looking at the babes. Man I love the Caribbean clothing or lack there of. Nez I am as I write vibrating my very first batch of brass. I am on my way brother. I was planning on shot show next year but PR sounds much better to me. I may have to stay a couple of extra days an hang around the casinos.

Bamban

Congrats on your reloading. I would love to hear some great news on how the reloads shoot in those SM rifles of yours.

PR is a hoot. Plan on going next year, there were about a dozen NY shooters who flew down and they were already talking about the 2013 matches. Sadly though none of them were shooting the 14. I mentioned your name to them, they are waiting for you to show up in their local matches.

art7

I always referred to Hospital targets as ones that give the guy on the end an opportunity to cross fire, like the rest of us. It never ocurred to me that they also define the end of the line, to avoid cross fires, like for your case.

Sorry to hear you didn't take gold.

Are you shooting the rectangualr aperture, or just a lens?

Art

Bamban

Still the astigmatism corrected lens you provided. The rectangular aperture is going in for testing shortly, I wanted to proof test the corrected lens first in a few matches as a single variable to avoid confusing the results.

The corrected lens proved their worth in the last 6 matches I used one, less eye fatigue after laying down in prone for 22 slow fire shots. How I wish I were young again with great visual acuity.

bd111

Well, if nothing else, looks like a good time was had by all. Had to suck if the pit relay next frame over wasn't getting its target back up when you're trying to concentrate on wind flags. I guess pits savvy is one of the differences between a local or regional match and the nationals. Points lost aside, it was an achievement to stay that close to the top bolt-gunner under the conditions. You'll get to shoot against him again.