CFB Petawawa PR Clinic/Match 09-10 May 2015 - Debrief here!

[TacticalTeacher]

This year, with the increased demand to host PR Matches at CFB Petawawa, I've set up a working programme that will allow new people to get into the game quickly AND compete in a formal match ALL in one weekend.

With the formal Match taking place of Sunday, the instruction portion of the clinic has been compressed and a most helpful/desirable/sought after/ begged for "walk back" system has been put in place. This allows newbies and experts to obtain or confirm their zeroes or come-ups or settings for these ranges.

This new format allows shooters to participate on either day. So those who want the instruction and "walk back" of Saturday session are welcome. And of course those who want to come and shoot the Match on Sunday are equally free to do so.

Now with the new program, the Matches we can shoot are :

* 200 yard Rapid Follow Up
* 300 yard Agony Snap
* 500 yard Snap
* 600 yard Deliberate

Where

CFB Petawawa Bravo Range. But we will gather betwen 0800 and 0830 across from the Base Firehall (S-105). Once you show your ID at the main gate, make a quick right and you will see the Fire Hall. Look to your left and you will see a white bldg with 5 garage doors (P-141 Bldg) . We will be meeting in that parking lot. Then we will all convoy to Range Control for your Access Passes.

When

09-10 May 2015 Sat & Sunday

Cost

$50 for both days or $25 for the Sunday Match, if that works for you

Where to Stay

About 10-15min from range control (and right by Kelseys) http://www.petawawaqualityinnandsuites.com/
2 min from base with several fast food/pizza options close by http://www.petawawariverinnandsuites.ca/


Material Focus

Everything I'll be teaching you is based on the PR matches fired by the ORA at Mons Range, CFB Borden. And I should know, I WAS the MATCH Director for the season of 2014! :D

Here's the breakdown of this new hybrid weekend.....

Precision (read: Sniper) Rifle Clinics background information can be accessed, downloaded, and read down below:


The Precision rifle clinic prepares the shooter for competitions patterned after the course of fire shot by the DCRA or Dominion of Canada Rifle association at their Annual Prize meeting for Service Conditions held every year at CRPTC or Connaught Range and Primary Training Center near Shirley's Bay in the Kanata/Nepean area. The course of fire can be downloaded in PDF format at www.dcra.ca

These matches are shot monthly by the ORA or www.ontariorifleassociation.ca at CFB Borden , ON. The ORA follows the DCRA rulebook and course of fire . The purpose of this clinic is to prepare the competitor to shoot these matches.


Precision / Sniper Rifle Kit to Bring:

* A safe precision/sniper rifle in at least .223 Rem caliber and larger. .308 Win is a common platform
* Hand operated target turrets on your optic already mounted to your rifle. 4.5 x 14 scopes are common. 6.5 x 20 scopes are seen frequently. 8 x 30 scopes are great optics for these matches. Scopes with a parallax adjustable side focus work well. Adjustable objective scopes work too, but more annoying to work with while in the prone position. Just don't show up with the stereotypical 3 x 9 coin operated hunting scopes because you will be wasting your time (and money)

* At the Sep 2013 Clinic we had some hunting scopes on the line, they were super frustrated with the coin operated turrets. I warned them, but they insisted. Now they are wiser from this experience. Please; go to school on their experiences.


* Suggested scope choices:
- Bushnell Elite 6400, 6500, Sightron
- Leupold Mark 4 LR/T, Vortex Viper PST, IOR Valdada, Nikon, Vortex Razor, Zeiss
- NightForce, US Optics, Premier Reticles, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski

* Rear bunny, sand bag, mono pod style rear rests work, too.
* Notebook to record your sight settings
* Anemometer (Kestrel-style) hand held wind gauges
* Spotting scope and tripod
* Rucksack, 3 day pack, Assault pack to carry your kit around the range
* Snacks, granola bars, nuts, fruit, extra fluids
* 200 rounds of safe, tested, reliable ammunition for your rifle (hopefully chronographed already)
* Sunscreen, bug dope, ballistic glasses, hearing defenders
* Extra food and water (someone always forgets)
* Screwdriver set - compact enough?
* OH Shzt Kit (if you don't know, I will teach you)
* Rain gear or appropriate foul weather gear
* Shooting mat / folding rifle case
* Ensure your rifle is zeroed for 100m

Itinerary for the Weekend


Saturday AM:

* Gather across from Base Fire Hall
* Proceed to Range Control and Obtain Access Passes
* Travel to Bravo Range and Park, Briefing at Range Bldg
* Instruction on Kit, Rifle, gear, partners, wind reading, etc
* Zeroing at 100 yards maybe 200 if we are fast

Saturday PM:

* Zeroing at 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards
* Impromptu lessons on windreading, spotter/sniper comms, detection and correction

Sunday AM:

* Gather (not sure if we will meet at Range Control, more instructions TBA)
* Registration for Match at Yankee Range Bldg
* Score Card distributed, Butts set up, Staff assigned, Targets inventoried and prepared
* Relays squaded, shooter/spotters paired up if need be
* Range Safety briefing by RSO
* Conduct of the Match

Sunday PM:

* Continuation of the match
* Clean up of range (firing points and butts)
* Statistics being entered and winners determined
* Range March Off


Questions?

* Ask me right here in this thread. Others might be curious with the same concerns.

Registration?

* EMT of $50 gets you a spot on the roster for both day, but you can shoot the single day for $25
* NO maximum cap for these Match/Clinic weekends

EMT Information:
Name: Tactical Teacher
Question: What is your Original CGN handle?
Answer: hungry (all low caps so I cannot mess things up)
Email address: hungry556 AT bell.net

Somewhere in the EMT, remind me of your CGN handle and which clinic it's for (CQB, PR, or M14)



Cheers and keep helping the noobs out there!

Barney

[schumy]

I've been reading through last September's thread and one guy was commenting that this clinic is not for noobs. If i want to get the most out of this course, what kind of knowledge should someone have before the clinic and what kind of prep should be made?

[chalkriver]

I disagree as Barney starts off with the basics and builds on that . Have a scope with target turrets and lots of good ammo with you .

[klatham]

I was a PR noob last year when I went there.

I can share some of my lessons learned. The important thing is to be familiar with your gear, your rifle, scope, spotting scope, rear bag. Get some experience shooting prone and make sure your scope is adjusted for the proper eye relief while prone shooting(different than the bench). You will get to see lots of other gear as it is part of the clinic. I picked up a Savage 10TR for the clinic and put a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x44 scope on it. It now has a sunshade on it that I wish I had had for the clinic.

I started reloading for the clinic and a lot of my prep time for this clinic was spent on load development. In hindsight, it may have been better to get more trigger time in practicing at distances. It is very important to have your DOPE already worked out beforehand. I was not prepared with this at all and there is little time to figure this out at the clinic. It is helpful to be able to chronograph your ammo so you can run your load through a ballistic calculator. This will give you your rough DOPE and should get you pretty close.

I was a bit frustrated at the 500, because there is a field expedient sighter which tests the ability of the spotter and the shooter. You shoot into the berm and use this to calculate your DOPE. That is not easy and there is no time on the line to pull out a ballistic calculator. Having the table printed out and taped to the stock of your rifle and in your log book would be very helpful.

I was pretty clueless about spotting too and that seemed to be one of the most nebulous aspects of the course. A big problem I had was that my spotting scope was pretty bad. We managed to use a really good one at the 600 yd match and it kind of clicked. Being able to see the bullet in flight is key. Spend some time reading up on spotting and if you can get some experience beforehand, it will make your experience at the clinic more valuable.

Some of the guys that come to the PR clinic, come every year and are really experienced. Don't feel intimidated though as they are glad to help you out.

All that being said, I started from nothing and made around 25 headshots in a row at 600yds at the end of the course. I certainly left with a smile on my face.

No matter where you start from you will learn quite a bit, and you will have a great time doing it.

[TacticalTeacher]

Those are all valid points made. Remember that these clinics are just that; clinics. They are not a course. A course like PR work is best delivered by the real pros like Rob Furlong's school or Keith and Linda at Milcun dot com or Earl Green of Phase Line Green or Scott at TDSA.

I am a match shooter (nothing more) and a match director so I know how to get you ready for a competition/match. I'm not getting you ready to deploy overseas (that takes months, not a weekend).

There is a danger in this hobby or any hobby to focus on the physical tool/object/ item as the destination to arrive at. Think of my adoration for my LRB M14 or my Barrett MRAD from 2013 when I was kindly provided the MRAD by Wolverine Supplies to showcase across the country.

Instead my job is to get you to realize that this hobby /sport of ours is just a journey that all of us are on. Maybe a learning journey, maybe a competition journey, maybe a social journey, possibly a journey to build community. All these journey(ies) are bigger than we are and that's the mystery and wonder of life! Hey, I told you I was a Religion Teacher....

The clinics are merely a stepping stone. It could be your FIRST stepping stone or maybe your 7th stone. I've got folks who have been to SEVEN of my clinics and they keep coming back and learning / networking/ socializing/ laughing/ bonding / living/ sharing (insert your personal motivation here). Now they have become dear friends. What's not to like? You get more than just the material at my clinics. Hey, I'm only a Religion Teacher!

My clinics are a journey of learning. Don't stop learning. One thing I learned in the PPCLI, the people who know everything will get you killed. That's the danger of believing you have nothing else to learn out of life. Never stop learning. Reach for more. If you corner me at the clinic and ask whether to learn Tac Rifle from either Rob Furlong, Earl Green, Keith Cunningham, or Scott at TDSA; my answer will be, "YES".

Make your firearms the tools along the journey of learning. At your sunset, you will look into the mirror with NO Regrets!

Hop on board!

Barney

[Kevin M.]

Good stuff!

[Buzzballer]

Super interested in coming up for this, Kevin are you, woody or Vvviking planning on making it up to this weekend?

[Kevin M.]

I'd have loved to, but we just got work out west, so we likely won't be able to attend this one Dev.... As much as I would have liked to.

A bit further down the road perhaps.

[koesdibyo]

Ill start making plans to attend Barney

[Buckarooben]

Hey I am real interested in the buildup of info and back to 600, and would cut off my brothers arm to get some practical training, just not worried about the comp! Is there still room for one more ex soldier in the Sat clinic?