Request Dust Off
Well-Known Member
I shot the 200 Yard Highpower Match at Gonzales May 25th.
This was my first Highpower Match.
I got to see the 600 yard rifle range at Palo Alto while there for a vintage rifle match. I'd bet 600 yards is a bit intimidating to most people with a scoped rifle, at least most shooters in our area. NRA High Power is shot using open sights. 600 yards with open sights is a safer bet on shooters being intimidated.
I decided to start with a 200 yard reduced course match at the Ascension Parish Sheriff's range in Gonzales. Your still shooting 200 yards, the reduced refers to the targets. They are scaled down to make up for ONLY shooting 200 yards. It was just easier to embrace the 200 yards than 600 yards in my case.
The other thing I decided on was using one of Louisiana Shooting
Associations AR15s that was configured for match shooting. I put out $5 for
use of the rifle & also bought the required ammo. I was able to use a
shooting coat which is designed to do several things. I'm not sure all of what
it is doing but it is about as close to being vacuum packed as I have ever
been. I have never had a cast but wearing the shooting coat had me thinking
this is what a cast must feel like or an Anaconda. The feeling was a bit new
any way I describe it. There is a zipper on the arm you can unzip if you want
to bend your arm at the elbow.
I got there, joined the South Louisiana High Power Club & entered the match. Joining SLHP was not a requirement but I plan on entering more matches and supporting the club. Dan Zelenka starting coaching me on whatever he could. Dan is the guy that offered to get some of us going & it
worked. Having a good coach is one key to success. Dan can talk the talk,
walk the walk and mentor someone at the same time. I have done some
things competitively without the benefit of coaching. I can honestly say I
probably appreciate Dan's coaching more because of not having a coach at
times.
Of course the first order of the day was safety. The first issue addressed
was safety. It was spoken about adimently & with great passion by the guys
that would end up down range in front of the targets. They are literally
trusting their lives to your ability to follow the rules of safety. They pile into
Nissan pickup & drive in front of a dozen guys with AR15s. Reminded me of
the Taliban every time. I did buy some chamber flags there so all the safety
talk did reach me.
The match consist of relays, targets, positions, rapid & slow fire. Mix in
some prep time & sighting in time and you almost have everything that comprises the 58 rounds you shoot.
Relay is the the group you shot with. I was relay 3 target 12. I had to be careful to shoot the correct target. They are numbered but I had to make sure I got it right. Best way to not only lose points but give them to someone else is to shoot a 10 on the target of the guy next to you.
The course of fire is 10 offhand, 10 sitting, 10 rapid & 20 slow prone shots.
Rapid and slow is sort of misleading. Rapid is shooting from loaded magazines with no feedback from the target. 10 shots are taken & then the target is scored. Slow is single loading rounds with enough time to check where each shot hit the target. You can make corrections between each shot. That is where the spotting scope comes in.
Before shooting there is prep time. Here is where you get your self & equipment to the line. Once it is all in place you can get your rifle & get into
position, dry fire, get you natural point of aim, etc. Next you get 2 sighting
shots. I think of them as fine tuning shots, the guys next to you are using
setups they have worked out through past events. Things went pretty well for me when sighting in. Of course the guys in the Nissan come paste over the 10 & the X so I'm not confused by the next ten shots being 7 through 9's. It is only during the scored shots that sweat covers my glasses making the rear ghost ring look like a bubble blower. To make it more challenging you have to rise before shooting rapids so reestablishing your position is a big factor.
In the vintage rifle match I was able to make all 10 shots during rapid fire, deal with some problems & finish early. This time I only got off 9 shots during sitting. 10 seconds less made difference. I could have probably squeezed the last one in, but decided safety was the ruling factor. Still a 7 would have been better that a zero. I put it out of my head & concentrated on what to do next.
Off hand and prone seem to be easier to contend with for me. Sitting is just not a natural position to achieve in shooting for me. I have very little experience in the sitting postion. I should make the easiest gains here though with some work on that position. It definitely felt contorted at times.
When I'm just shooting & have an eyeglass problem I stop, correct it & resume shooting at my leisure. During a match you can't stop to fix certain problems. Something ends up suffering.
Having everything worked out is the key to shooting these events for a newcomer. Having your position is probably the biggest factor. My postion tended to fly out of the window during scored shots. Getting into the flow of the match & not psyching yourself out is a must.
I ended up shooting a 250-1X out of 300 in the vintage rifle match shooting
an M1 Garand with a loose front sight. The 200 yard reduced match put me at a 426-3X shooting shooting a match AR. I had some problems in each one yet both are right at 85% of the total points. That has to indicate something I'm sure. It also implies that the equipment is not the biggest factor. You see some weird looking hardware at these events though.
X's are nice but only tiebreakers in the scheme of things. 500-0 beats 490-20X. You have to go for the X's, they are the center of the target. 1 guy had 17 X's yet did not win. Mr. Zelenka took top honors again. I'd rather he tell his score as I know I'll get it wrong.
I'd recommend trying these events to any one with even a slight bit of interest. I've met some good guys & already learned alot. I got to go to 2 different ranges & even had some good outdoor cooking.
Everyone is willing to help the other guys. That is probably one of the most appealing aspects. For me it is more about personal goals. I will set a goal based on my past perfomance. It has nothing to do with beating this guy or that lady. Oh, that lady shot in the 450s with 6X's.
Sincerely,
Request Dust Off
This was my first Highpower Match.
I got to see the 600 yard rifle range at Palo Alto while there for a vintage rifle match. I'd bet 600 yards is a bit intimidating to most people with a scoped rifle, at least most shooters in our area. NRA High Power is shot using open sights. 600 yards with open sights is a safer bet on shooters being intimidated.
I decided to start with a 200 yard reduced course match at the Ascension Parish Sheriff's range in Gonzales. Your still shooting 200 yards, the reduced refers to the targets. They are scaled down to make up for ONLY shooting 200 yards. It was just easier to embrace the 200 yards than 600 yards in my case.
The other thing I decided on was using one of Louisiana Shooting
Associations AR15s that was configured for match shooting. I put out $5 for
use of the rifle & also bought the required ammo. I was able to use a
shooting coat which is designed to do several things. I'm not sure all of what
it is doing but it is about as close to being vacuum packed as I have ever
been. I have never had a cast but wearing the shooting coat had me thinking
this is what a cast must feel like or an Anaconda. The feeling was a bit new
any way I describe it. There is a zipper on the arm you can unzip if you want
to bend your arm at the elbow.
I got there, joined the South Louisiana High Power Club & entered the match. Joining SLHP was not a requirement but I plan on entering more matches and supporting the club. Dan Zelenka starting coaching me on whatever he could. Dan is the guy that offered to get some of us going & it
worked. Having a good coach is one key to success. Dan can talk the talk,
walk the walk and mentor someone at the same time. I have done some
things competitively without the benefit of coaching. I can honestly say I
probably appreciate Dan's coaching more because of not having a coach at
times.
Of course the first order of the day was safety. The first issue addressed
was safety. It was spoken about adimently & with great passion by the guys
that would end up down range in front of the targets. They are literally
trusting their lives to your ability to follow the rules of safety. They pile into
Nissan pickup & drive in front of a dozen guys with AR15s. Reminded me of
the Taliban every time. I did buy some chamber flags there so all the safety
talk did reach me.
The match consist of relays, targets, positions, rapid & slow fire. Mix in
some prep time & sighting in time and you almost have everything that comprises the 58 rounds you shoot.
Relay is the the group you shot with. I was relay 3 target 12. I had to be careful to shoot the correct target. They are numbered but I had to make sure I got it right. Best way to not only lose points but give them to someone else is to shoot a 10 on the target of the guy next to you.
The course of fire is 10 offhand, 10 sitting, 10 rapid & 20 slow prone shots.
Rapid and slow is sort of misleading. Rapid is shooting from loaded magazines with no feedback from the target. 10 shots are taken & then the target is scored. Slow is single loading rounds with enough time to check where each shot hit the target. You can make corrections between each shot. That is where the spotting scope comes in.
Before shooting there is prep time. Here is where you get your self & equipment to the line. Once it is all in place you can get your rifle & get into
position, dry fire, get you natural point of aim, etc. Next you get 2 sighting
shots. I think of them as fine tuning shots, the guys next to you are using
setups they have worked out through past events. Things went pretty well for me when sighting in. Of course the guys in the Nissan come paste over the 10 & the X so I'm not confused by the next ten shots being 7 through 9's. It is only during the scored shots that sweat covers my glasses making the rear ghost ring look like a bubble blower. To make it more challenging you have to rise before shooting rapids so reestablishing your position is a big factor.
In the vintage rifle match I was able to make all 10 shots during rapid fire, deal with some problems & finish early. This time I only got off 9 shots during sitting. 10 seconds less made difference. I could have probably squeezed the last one in, but decided safety was the ruling factor. Still a 7 would have been better that a zero. I put it out of my head & concentrated on what to do next.
Off hand and prone seem to be easier to contend with for me. Sitting is just not a natural position to achieve in shooting for me. I have very little experience in the sitting postion. I should make the easiest gains here though with some work on that position. It definitely felt contorted at times.
When I'm just shooting & have an eyeglass problem I stop, correct it & resume shooting at my leisure. During a match you can't stop to fix certain problems. Something ends up suffering.
Having everything worked out is the key to shooting these events for a newcomer. Having your position is probably the biggest factor. My postion tended to fly out of the window during scored shots. Getting into the flow of the match & not psyching yourself out is a must.
I ended up shooting a 250-1X out of 300 in the vintage rifle match shooting
an M1 Garand with a loose front sight. The 200 yard reduced match put me at a 426-3X shooting shooting a match AR. I had some problems in each one yet both are right at 85% of the total points. That has to indicate something I'm sure. It also implies that the equipment is not the biggest factor. You see some weird looking hardware at these events though.
X's are nice but only tiebreakers in the scheme of things. 500-0 beats 490-20X. You have to go for the X's, they are the center of the target. 1 guy had 17 X's yet did not win. Mr. Zelenka took top honors again. I'd rather he tell his score as I know I'll get it wrong.
I'd recommend trying these events to any one with even a slight bit of interest. I've met some good guys & already learned alot. I got to go to 2 different ranges & even had some good outdoor cooking.
Everyone is willing to help the other guys. That is probably one of the most appealing aspects. For me it is more about personal goals. I will set a goal based on my past perfomance. It has nothing to do with beating this guy or that lady. Oh, that lady shot in the 450s with 6X's.
Sincerely,
Request Dust Off
