Edmonton Winter Service Rifle match

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diamondcutter13

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Edmonton Garrison Shooting Club is going to host some winter Service Rifle matches in January and February (ARCTIC FOX I & II). They will be based on DCRA Matches 1-8 and fired in winter conditions with X-Country Skis or Snow Shoes on. 30 January is the first match (ARCTIC FOX I) and is primarily a shake-out for the range staff and club members, attendance will be very limited. ARCTIC FOX II will be in end-February and the eventual aim is to build some skills to conduct a military style Biathlon at Edmonton Garrison. It is the intent to run a very informal clinic by a qualified ski coach (last year's coach for the CFCST) on techniques and winter positional shooting (TBC) on both events. Both events are learning events and the big prizes are handshakes and a pat on the back.

As a heads up for those who are not familar with Edmonton Ranges the Service Rifle matches the Edmonton Garrison club will run are pretty austere. There is no shelter so dress appropriately. The matches are organized in the spirit of actual "Service Conditions," most of the members are CF soldiers. There are no 12 minute deliberates from shooting mats. It will be cold, quick, and dirty and it will involve lots of hiking back and forth through the snow on skis or snowshoes (separated by relay). On the upside, there is no butts duty either as the butts are fixed when not using the automated target system.

Those interested can PM me or check out the CF Community Gateway site below. If there is space available for the January shoot I'll email you back but I am out of town until 21 Jan 11.

Edmonton Garrison Shooting Club site and event poster:

http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/Edmonton/EN/RecreationandLeisure/Clubs/Pages/ShootingClub.aspx

Warning Order and Course of Fire (subject to change):

http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/Edmonton/SiteCollectionDocuments/EN/CRA/Arctic Fox I.pdf

Warning Order

Situation – ARCTIC FOX I is an Edmonton Garrison Shooting Club Service Rifle Match that will adapt traditional Service Rifle matches to winter conditions in a Military Ski/Biathlon syle. The matches can be done with Snow Shoes also.

Mission – EGSC will host ARCTIC FOX I 2011 at the Edmonton Garrison ATS3 Range 30 Jan 11.

RV – 0900 hours 30 Jan 11 at Range Control gate

Administration
Matches adapted from DCRA Matches 1-8, shot in winter conditions, in winter gear
You will need a service rifle as described in DCRA - NSCC 2010 rulebook.
Ammo: 90 rounds minimum
You must have:
Match fees - $10 members, $20 non-members – NO PAY, NO SHOOT
CRA card/membership or permission to attend – Club Members must be paid up for 2011
Your Service Rifle, ammo, minimum 2x 5 round mags, and equipment in support
A sling for the rifle that will allow hands free carry while skiing or snowshoeing
Eye protection
Ear protection
Either X-Country Skis or Snowshoes and equipment in support
You should have:
Good winter clothing – dress for conditions
Webbing, Tactical Vest, or Rig to carry magazines in
Winter Whites (optional)
Your rifle zeroed and ready
Your equipment fit, trialed, and ready
 
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Filip said:
we gotz to do this in Ontario next winter...
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Look up the OSA:

OSA SPRING SCHEDULE COMING SOON...

The following dates have been set and you can register for these events by emailing Keith at milcun@sympatico.ca

Date Event

15 January OSA Snowshoe & Shoot

12 February OSA Snowshoe & Shoot

12 March OSA Snowshoe & Shoot (or Boot & Shoot)
 
Winter Service Rifle Matches AAR

Had a great time in Edmonton today with our experiment of adapting the DCRA matches 1-8 to winter conditions, in winter mobility gear, aka snow shoes and skis.

Conditions were a brisk -25 degrees :( with no wind and lots of bright sun at the Edmonton Garrison range. We had 4 brave shooters come out including one first timer. This exercise was a trial match to tune the course of fire and match conditions for our end February shoot and because it was only a trial we took it pretty easy and only got through match 1-5. We also took a break between the 200 and 300 meter mound and experimented with some positions adapted to deep powdery snow for both snow shoes and skis.

Find below a few observations from today:

Firearms and Optics
we had 3 ARs and a Swiss Arms out as follows, all in 5.56mm.
C7A2 clone with an EO Tech 552
C7A2 clone but running irons
Swiss Arms Classic Green with an Elcan C79
AR with a Leupold 3-9, stainless heavy barrel

None of the guns had any issues with stoppages in the dry -25 weather, none of the optics had any fogging problems including the Elcan. The EO Tech's AA batteries sputtered after a few hours (right at the start of the snap at 200:mad:) but I do not think they were new when I started. I like the EO Tech but not for this stuff. A low power optic will replace it eventually (likely a NF or DR). Most of us ran very dry guns, I think I had used CLP last but I rarely go nuts about cleaning.

Techniques
The shooting mounds were quite hard and compact so they presented little challenge to the positional shooting techniques one would use normally but the match conditions detailed that one must wear their snow shoes or skis for all matches. This forced some adaptation of the standard positions but did have the benefit all allowing the shooters to experiment with using poles as improvised shooting bipods in the standing or kneeling.

Both skiers tried to use the poles to support the standing but getting them set quick on a run down is difficult. Big old school baskets on the poles are better than sporty little x-country poles for deep snow supports. Both skiers found the kneeling a little more painful than usual with skis on. Both skis and snowshoes made the kneeling less stable but overall on the hard mound it was pretty much business as usual.

During or break between match 4 and 5 we went over to the deeper drifts and experimented with positions in the softer powder and needless to say the prone is pretty much a non-starter without a supporting platform like a snowshoe or a day bag. Even the kneeling was difficult in soft, deep snow due to the supporting knee sinking in and toppling the shooter over, so for both skis and snowshoes the quickest, most reliable position to avoid a faceplant or turtle maneuver was the squatting. The bulky winter kit and chest rig I was wearing actually helped make the squatting a little more stable.

Equipment
two of us wore pretty much issue kit and two wore civy stuff. Everybody was experienced with operating in the cold so there was no drama about how to do drills with big gloves etc. Cool guy Oakleys (Flak Jackets) fogged up continuously as soon as I put up my face mask so I used my Oakley Amber snowboard goggles for some of the shooting. Worked great, no issues.

Two guys used snow shoes (issue CF, old type) and two used skis. Of the two skiers one used totally old school wood, cable bindings that fit perfectly with his CF issue mukluks. They were 30+ years old but functioned beautifully. His only comment was that he would have preferred a fatter backcountry or bangy board ski if rucks and deep snow were a factor. The other skier used civy cross country boots, bindings, and skis and had no issues but had to wear yellow shoes :p.

There were no epiphanies for the snow shoe guys except that we lagged behind the skiers in the run/ski down and lacked the poles but there was nothing stopping us from getting some trekking poles to experiment with. We wanted to keep it close to real "service conditions" so did not go nuts with stuff we know we could not really fight in (all four guys are serving soldiers with operational tours).

Everyone used some kind of two point sling that allowed a hands free carry for the run downs and I used the CTOMS sling which allows a very tight cinch up and very quick release to a shooting position. Love it! Needless to say a single point sling would not work with your gun flopping around while you skied.

The shooting was lacking (except for the ex-Queen's medalist with us) as we did not take the results down range too seriously and mainly used this as an opportunity to shake out our zeros for the end February match which will be the real deal.

Overall I had a great time getting some exercise and playing in the snow, thanks especially to Jay T for driving all the way up from Wx to shoot with us! Last Sunday in February will be the real match for us, PM me if interested. Our eventual plan is to work this into an annual series of SR matches for Dec, Jan, and Feb with an actual Military Patrol/Biathlon event thrown in there somewhere (March this year? Depends on the snow.)

I'll post the warning order for February in the events calender.

cheers,
DC13
 
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:sniper:Had great time!! Some of the stuff I learned from this outing. mustasche hairs will freeze to the butt of your rifle and pull out. :D My iron sights were not as accurate as I thought. Which reminds me to go find my front sight tool. The skiers had a little advantage in the speed department on the run down but they had to modify their kneeling so much that it was uncomfortable for them and not the sturdiest. At -25 my rifle worked flawlessly, so did the Swiss arms rifle.

Big thanks to DC13 for inviting me out. I am looking forward to the end of Feb for another go at this. Those that missed this outing missed a great time! oh ya and all you big tough infantry guys that were supposed to come out, there was 3 EME guys and only one Infanteer on the mound. :nest:

See ya on the mound!!!
 
Our second Winter Service Rifle match kicks off this Sunday. Should be fun. For any of you who registered I was out on the range this week an the snow is still quite deep between the mounds and has a hard crust on top. Skiers will get by ok with the right wax but snowshoes will be my choice this weekend. Weather looks alright too.
 
Jay T said:
Man wish i was coming. it is that whole family thing. When your wife works midnights you don't have much choice but to miss out on a good time. DC13 have a great time Wish I was there.
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That sucks Bro, I just found my snowshoes, and I'll actually be there tomorrow
 
Wish I could be there too, trying to get our Unit RA revved to do something similar next year. Maybe even sooner, will be at Burwash next wkn and forecast is for 20cm of snow... :D
 
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