DCRA National Matches NSCC Aug Debrief Here!

[TacticalTeacher]

It is with great enthusiasm I return to report on the good fun I experienced at the DCRA National Matches in Shirley’s Bay or Kanata or Nepean depending on which part of Ottawa or Eastern ON or Western Quebec you are from

You know it’s coming, If you want to be great, Be Grateful!

* I’m grateful for the community we have built in Garrison Petawawa, I miss all of you. I miss the Petawawa GC President, I miss the PRS clinic MD Ryan , I miss the Rimfire CRPS MD Rickster67, I miss my Butts Officers, I miss the shooters from all over ON and QC
* I’m grateful to the DCRA office staff who mad everything about the matches super smooth, Pierre, Kathy, Scott, BarryP
* I’m grateful for the FPO SeanG for doing the best he can with what he was given
* I’m grateful for ColinM for stepping up and throwing down, otherwise I woulda had to do that job....lots of gratitude, and I gave ya a bolt face sticker!
* I’m grateful for my crafty skill set since that megaphone got fzcked up and it was an easy fix, ColinM , you are off the hook. It’s all good,

* I’m grateful for all the OSA shooters for laughing at my jokes on the firing line
* I’m grateful for my sniper partner John@ since you have now elevated your game, you can help me develop our community of LR shooters in raising their game(s)when we get back home to Garrison Petawawa
* I’m grateful for all the CAF shooters for putting up with my banter at the pistol ranges, you folks were patient and accommodating to this old phart
* I’m grateful to my coaches and mentors who gave me the confidence to thrive (and not merely survive) during the most chaotic stages of the pistol matches
* I’m grateful for CPO2 Brad Browne for our conversations on how to improve the matches and better serve the CAF members and civilian shooters in the future
* I’m grateful to the other members of our Sniper Team: The Mirror Commandos, you guys where there when I needed you....warmest thanks

My dear Garrison Petawawa shooters, you have know for all these years the purpose of grooming your PR shooting skills and that’s my intention: to get you ready to shoot these PR or Service Conditions matches in Connaught Ranges...trust me, it’s a super endeavour.

Now to repack the truck and join Kombayotch and RyanMcle and Emeyer3 in Meaford LRSC for the Steel Challenge.

We have a freaking awesome community here!

Cheers, Barney

PS: my shooting landed me in the middle of the pack. Not bad for not shooting AT ALL during the season. One of these seasons I can get practicing for these matches!

[john@]

Thanks Barney, It was my pleasure to shoot with you, and reap the benefits of your experience and wind calls.

Anyone who has shot Barney's PR matches at Petawawa should seriously consider shooting the Nationals next year. If you are in the Ottawa / Gatineau region, even more so (10 mins off the 417).

I had a great time and I learned a lot. My familiarity with the 4 Matches we shoot at Petawawa (200m, 300m, 500m and 600m) was a good foundation for the ones we are unable to shoot. 400m at a moving target was awesome, I was surprised at how well I did for my first time . 700m and 800m deliberate fire, similar to the 600m and a bit more challenging, but with a good spotter you can walk the rounds onto target (+ at 800 you get points for missing lol "harassing fire").

My biggest concern was what it would be like shooting beyond 600, whether my ballistic calculator dope would be good, it was. Whether I would be able to see the target well enough with my entry level 10x scope, I was. Whether my ammo would be all over the place with the wind, which was strong but consistent the whole time, once I got dialled in I was on target, more or less.

All in all I was happy just to get rounds on paper.

Definitely a game changer, I'll be upgrading some equipment, but the big takeaway is more focus on reading the wind.

View from 900m


Gear at 100, waiting for walk back.


Shot the 200 in the rain.

[sgmacken]

That's awesome the 2 of you were able to shoot together at Connaught. I really miss shooting SR there as it taught me how to move quickly and efficiently from FP to FP, and where I learned to be a Butts Officer under the tutelage of TimK. So long as the school year start date aligns, I'll be there next year! See you guys at Pet the end of the month.

[Levon12345]

But the big takeaway is more focus on reading the wind.

You're not kidding. Shooting 600m with a C7 in the designated marksman matches was a lesson in bold wind calls. ~36 inches left.

[Shelldrake]

Coincidently, I was on the same target lane as Tactical Teacher and John@. We scored and pulled each other's targets.

So, my first sighter for the 400m mover match was just to the right of the V. So far, so good.
My second sighter hit the Fig 11 target on the left side of his helmet. That would be about 3.5 MOA high, and about 1.5 MOA to the left of what is expected.

What would you do?

This is what I did: I did a quick check to make sure the scope dope was correct, and to quickly check that all was still tight. I disregarded the second sighter, and since I already had 2.5 MOA of left wind, I put another 1/4 MOA left on.
The spotter and I we looking hard for swirl and trace on the first shot. It was a miss, but the splash was high and left.
The match as a struggle, and I ended up having to aim low and right of the stick in order to get hits. Ended up with 8 hits, so not bad considering.

For the remaining matches, it was a struggle but managed to get ok scores until the 800m match when thing just got a bit much with a wonky wind and elevation zero.

Got home and took the scope off. One of the front screws on the rail had the head of the screw broken off, and was sitting in the screw hole in the rail. It must have snapped off with that first 400m sighter, and that was enough to affect the zero by quite a lot.

I subsequently removed the rail, and it looks like there may be a slight bow in it. Perhaps this bow was enough to stress the screws until it snapped?
Anyway, I'm going to get a new rail and ditch this one. I've lost confidence in it.

All good fun and looking forward to next year.

[TacticalTeacher]

Shelldrake:

I was wondering why we had such a rapid breakdown of your zero. I was gonna suspect a loose base screw since I’ve seen that kind of base screw shenanigans at my matches. Glad you pounced on it.

A little suggestion from my mentor KeithC of the www dot milcun dot com Marksmanship Complex is in order. He told me years ago to always suspect scope bases were vulnerable to wonky manufacturing processes. So when opening a package of the new scope base, always dry fit (no screws yet) that base to the receiver contour to ensure solid contacts points versus out of round or out of contouring machining.

Then start screwing from one end to see if there is any imbalance or teeter tottering of said one piece rail....

Hope this helps all you PR shooters out there!!

Cheers, Barney

[Shelldrake]

Then start screwing from one end to see if there is any imbalance or teeter tottering of said one piece rail....

Yep, with the two rear screws in, the front of the rail is about a half milimeter up in the air.

I bought this one with the rail already installed. The rail came loose twice over a span of a year. That should have told me something (it did, but I didn't want to listen).

An el-cheapo Weaver rail I have lying around has solid contact, front and rear, so it pretty well confirms the other rail is trashed.

I will be ordering an MDT rail soon.

See you in October,
Dave

[TacticalTeacher]

Now for those of you who are financially challenged and have to deal with a rail that’s in need of tweaking, here’s a simple fix.... glass bedding that goofy rail, as along as the screw holes are aligned....you are Good to GO!

Prepare the receiver top surfaces with release agent, such as PAM Cooking spray or neutral shoe polish wax or carnauba wax or masking tape! Prepare more surfaces for the over squeeze of JB weld bedding material. It’s cheap and plentiful and easily sourced. Better yet, select the JB Quick rendition and just work faster.

Just a dab is all you need beneath the “high side” of the rail. Ensure you treat the screw holes and screws with release agent too. Then screw down that rail at the same time cleaning up any over squeezing JB resin with a rag soaked with Acetone.

Now that rail is forever committed to that receiver!

There you go, now you know the expensive fix (new rails) and the cheaper fix (glass bedding or resin JB Weld) that rail to solve its shortcomings!

Hope you learned something new!

Cheers, Barney

[TacticalTeacher]

You're not kidding. Shooting 600m with a C7 in the designated marksman matches was a lesson in bold wind calls. ~36 inches left.

All wind reading experience is never wasted. One day with a greatly tuned PR rig, you can compare the difference after shooting with your issued C7 and Elian rig! Great learning opportunity! Glad your teams were out there!

Okay, silly and cheesy suggestions......go and thank your TrgO. They never hear any AARs...

Cheers, Barney

[Viper26]

Now for those of you who are financially challenged and have to deal with a rail that’s in need of tweaking, here’s a simple fix.... glass bedding that goofy rail, as along as the screw holes are aligned....you are Good to GO!

Prepare the receiver top surfaces with release agent, such as PAM Cooking spray or neutral shoe polish wax or carnauba wax or masking tape! Prepare more surfaces for the over squeeze of JB weld bedding material. It’s cheap and plentiful and easily sourced. Better yet, select the JB Quick rendition and just work faster.

Just a dab is all you need beneath the “high side” of the rail. Ensure you treat the screw holes and screws with release agent too. Then screw down that rail at the same time cleaning up any over squeezing JB resin with a rag soaked with Acetone.

Now that rail is forever committed to that receiver!

There you go, now you know the expensive fix (new rails) and the cheaper fix (glass bedding or resin JB Weld) that rail to solve its shortcomings!

Hope you learned something new!

Cheers, Barney

Good tip Barney!
I've done that to all my rifles and it works very well. The only exception is my NSCC rifle. It's glued and screwed and never removed Eliminate as many variables as you can. For clean-up, WD-40 on a q-tip does a nice job.
Mike