'get yer Sniper on...
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Same here. Another year says I before I am finally totally set up the way I want and have reloads perfectly tailored for the rifle... Still working on the little things like muzzle brakes, bolt handles, etc.
The "Big Ed's pizza" Team is running two teams in this event this year. Two of us in the ETM division, and two in the Regular. Me and shooting buddy with a bit of Army experience doing ETM. My son and another buddy doing the regular. He has had recent surgery, so ETM out of question and my son has never competed before - so that should be interesting.
In ETM class, we're restricted to .308 and .223 - So my partner is running my big 308 as our primary to let me focus on spotting for him. I'm running a big .223 (Krieger space gun) as the secondary weapon, since it seems there is a requirement for secondary to shoot from more positions and with possibly tighter time constraints (based on previous years' AARs) The 223 shoots 80 grain Sierras from specially modified magazines to 800m - so it is a viable option I'm glad I had in the locker.
We're permitted to pitch a tent on day one and leave sleeping gear in it for the three days - but must carry all else. (except water, which will be provided) So I've become an afficianado of Mountain Equipment Co-Op's selection of freeze dried food. And we've tweaked gear and did a bit of training carrying 3 days of ammo and food and found it doesn't leave much space for clothing changes. Can't wear too much or risk overheating during moves - and can't carry too much because of weight and bulk. A couple base-layer changes of merino-wool and focus on the old axiom "travel light and freeze at night." Kentucky in January won't be as cold as we've trained in for the past couple weeks... but we're expecting it to be wet and windy, which may be worse. Luckily, Goretex has been invented since the last time I did crap like this in the Army! And boots nowadays are killer awesome compared to the "old days." (Seriously, if the Army had Danner boots and goretex back in the day, I might have considered staying around!) And if we're cold - so will all the Americans! The cold and wet will be the "suck" and we will embrace it!
We're trying to focus on the shooting - there's no points for being fast, or even comfortable - you just have to meet the timings to avoid DQ. Good ranging, wind-doping and basic marksmanship - trigger pull when you're dehydrated a bit and cold. We're good at that stuff and hoping to do well and have a bit of fun.
In ETM class, we're restricted to .308 and .223 - So my partner is running my big 308 as our primary to let me focus on spotting for him. I'm running a big .223 (Krieger space gun) as the secondary weapon, since it seems there is a requirement for secondary to shoot from more positions and with possibly tighter time constraints (based on previous years' AARs) The 223 shoots 80 grain Sierras from specially modified magazines to 800m - so it is a viable option I'm glad I had in the locker.
We're permitted to pitch a tent on day one and leave sleeping gear in it for the three days - but must carry all else. (except water, which will be provided) So I've become an afficianado of Mountain Equipment Co-Op's selection of freeze dried food. And we've tweaked gear and did a bit of training carrying 3 days of ammo and food and found it doesn't leave much space for clothing changes. Can't wear too much or risk overheating during moves - and can't carry too much because of weight and bulk. A couple base-layer changes of merino-wool and focus on the old axiom "travel light and freeze at night." Kentucky in January won't be as cold as we've trained in for the past couple weeks... but we're expecting it to be wet and windy, which may be worse. Luckily, Goretex has been invented since the last time I did crap like this in the Army! And boots nowadays are killer awesome compared to the "old days." (Seriously, if the Army had Danner boots and goretex back in the day, I might have considered staying around!) And if we're cold - so will all the Americans! The cold and wet will be the "suck" and we will embrace it!
We're trying to focus on the shooting - there's no points for being fast, or even comfortable - you just have to meet the timings to avoid DQ. Good ranging, wind-doping and basic marksmanship - trigger pull when you're dehydrated a bit and cold. We're good at that stuff and hoping to do well and have a bit of fun.
Gunnerlove
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island
I like the three classes. March and shoot all day then eat and sleep indoors. I like it.
I've been to this match. Don't start your competition series with this one ;-) It's a killer!
BEP Canadian Team participated in the Mammoth Sniper Challenge in Park City Kentucky on 3-5 January 2014. I told a few folks that an AAR was enroute - so here it is.
I've used "That Guy" and "Regular Guy" in place of names to protect the identities of my shooting buds - these are not their "CGN" identities, just some nicknames from patches. Apologies if there is a "That Guy" and "Regular Guy" on the board.
no pictures.
The Two-man teams for this trip were "That guy" and myself, and "Regular Guy" with my son. My son had done a few practice days, even one at 600y with the ORA. And he's pulled targets with the DCRA before. One day shooting steel on the 1000m range and learning what a mil-dot is, etc. But this was his first actual competition. And what a start! I wouldn't recommend Mammoth as a "first" match. I'll start by saying that none of us made it anywhere near the top of the prize list on this outing. It was a recce - and Holy Crap, did we learn some stuff. And now the boy's thinking he might need to get a PAL and buy himself a .308!
We drove over 14 hours on Thursday 2 January to get to Southern Kentucky. Google says it's a 9h 38min drive from my door to Mammoth Resort in Park City, KY. Snow and ice in Ohio changed that! We were planning on arriving shortly after 1500h and doing registration and setting up our tent before 2000h. Blizzard weather in Michigan and Ohio and ice on I-75 delayed our arrival until 2045h. But they were still there doing registration at the resort- so we didn't need to line up in the morning to do THAT, at least. (We had a small hiccup at the border - we got inspected, as you'd expect with an SUV with four guys and a bunch of guns going into USA... but our paperwork was in order. The hiccup was that "Regular Guy" had packed some oranges in his travel lunch, and citrus fruit isn't allowed to travel into USA from Canada. Which is odd, since it probably came from there...)
Kentucky was unseasonably cold. Just below freezing and a light coating of snow. The sort of weather we trained in on 30 November and 01 December last year. At least it wasn't too wet. Friday night was COLD. Saturday afternoon it warmed a bit. And Sunday was actually pretty nice, until blizzard number two came along for our drive home...
Thursday night we registered and found out our squadding. We squared our kit away, and got a bit of a sleep in the hotel. We got up at 0600h to go and set our tent up and leave our sleeping gear in the tent. Back to the hotel for the 0800h competitor briefing. In the briefing, we divided up into our squads and met our Range Officers.
"Regular Guy" and my son were in the "regular" division. They stayed in the hotel each night, and drove everywhere. They shot as individuals but were permitted to spot for each other. We didn't see them at all after the briefing. They shot the same matches as us - with some variations since they were shooting as individuals instead of a team.
"That Guy" and I were in the "Extreme Tough Man" Division - So we had to stay out in our tent, and march everywhere we went. Marching was on the clock and had to be completed at a 3mph pace. (It sounded easy enough - but with gear and up hills, not so much...) We shot as a team, and had to identify a primary and secondary shooter at the outset. "That Guy" was primary with my big 308, figuring I could spot for him at bigger distances, and I was secondary - since with my 223 gas gun I could make up time on some stages. And the secondary shooter often had some conditions imposed on him such as position shooting or barricades, etc. where my experience would be handy. (There is a third "Tough Man" division - who marched everywhere, but didn't camp out. We figured the marching was going to be way harder than the tenting - so why bother with the mere "tough" when we could be "extreme" tough. We were right about the marching being the tough part...)
After the 0800h briefing, "That Guy" and I set out on foot with our squad, carrying everything we needed for three days of competition, except for the tent we set up and our sleeping bags in that tent. We opted to leave our foam mattresses behind at the hotel instead of carrying them. (Only bags and liners were allowed to be left in the tent - if we wanted sleeping pads, we'd be carrying them)
Each march was timed, and had to be completed at a pace of 20 minutes per mile. There was a fair amount of paved pathway,but generally it was dirt track, and in some cases muddy - which was frozen in the morning, and muddy in the afternoon. And a LOT of long uphill slogs. The marches varied from 2-4 miles. And when three stages were all in one general area, all the squads got together and did 1.3 miles on the clock before switching around ranges.
I made time on every march on the first day, with a couple minutes to spare. 3 mph is a practiced pace - and we made up a bit of time shuffling faster downhill to make up time for the slogging uphill. I was the absolute LAST guy to make it across the finish line every time, aside from a few who didn't make it at all. (The march back to the tent after shooting was on the clock, too!) And aside from the spreading out of the fast versus the slow - the marches were essentially supervised, with safety vehicles - so no navigation was required.
I'll describe shooting stages at the end.
On Friday night, "That Guy" and I pulled into the tent site and brewed up some boiling water and made some dehydrated meals and coffee and warm Gatorade. We messed with our gear, changed clothes and hit the sack before 1800h (Yes - you read that right, 1800h). We were warm enough, although without mattresses, we could feel the cold ground sapping a bit of heat... And we were getting in and out of the bags every couple hours for pee breaks (big time hydration during daytime and middle-age ganging up to defeat the possibility of a long restful sleep...) No open fires were permitted, but there was a burn barrel at the other side of the "camp" and I suspect a lot of the Americans spent a lot of the night huddled around it instead of sleeping. We had good sleeping gear, plus we were pretty whacked - so straight to bed.
In the morning we were as well rested as anybody. 0415h wakeup. Slow getting out of bag and into clothes - Quick snack of a "Clif" bar and get ready to go. 0500h start time. We carried about half the weight of the day before. We were allowed to leave anything we wanted in the tent during Saturday. So Sunday's meals, clothes and ammo, as well as un-used ammo from Friday all stayed behind.
In spite of the lightened load - the march was still tough on me early Saturday. Legs were cramped a bit and shoulders a bit sore. It was dark, and we had to cover 3.6 miles in 72 minutes in the dark - to be at shooting site for first light. The first 3/4 mile was downhill, then a level patch, then a LONG uphill slog, and it changed from paved to dirt. It's surprising how much you heat up, even when it is 10 degrees below freezing. It pays to stash your warm clothes in your gear and freeze a bit before you move -- that warm gear is NOT needed when you're moving.
I made it 1.5 miles and lost it on an unseen patch of smooth ice. I had hit numerous little patches of ice in tire ruts,but no room to slide because of the ruts. I managed to find a big patch, about 2x3 feet and it sent me to the ground. Hit my right palm, elbow and hip. Got up, shook it off and took another 30 steps when my left ankle turned over in a big rut. That was a game-ender. Perhaps I could have pushed ahead, and maybe even made time - but it didn't seem likely - and no sense gaming up the ankle for work the next week. As it turns out - stopping was a good choice. I was 500y behind the next guys, with 2 miles still to go - and they made it with only a minute to spare. "That Guy" was ahead of them, and made it with several minutes to spare. (I'm writing a few days after we returned, and can still feel a bit of stiffness in legs - as well as the hand/elbow/hip soreness -- and I pretty much slept all day Monday and a lot of Tuesday before coming back to work)
So that was the end of Big Ed's Pizza Team for the "Extreme Tough Man" division. Even though we were out of the running, we shot the matches on Saturday and when it came time for awards, we picked up a few prizes at the end of the line (nice prize table!) We had a lot of down-time during the shooting. There were 10 teams in our squad, and with 8 minutes per team, we had time during each relay to boil up coffee or hot Gatorade waiting for our turn. With a banged up hip and hand, I found some creative ways to get up and down from the sitting or laying down on the ground. And we didn't shoot at all Sunday - since we tore the tent down and moved back into the hotel with "Regular Guy" and the boy- we slept in while they shot in order to rest up and leave right after awards instead of staying another night. It turns out that was a good move. I was stiff and sore, but fairly well rested for what turned out to be another horrific drive in another blizzard.
We left after the awards at 1645h - and it was another LONG drive home through a blizzard in Ohio and morning rush hour ice-storm congestion in Canada. We dropped "That Guy" off at my place at 0930h Monday so he could get in his car and drive another hour home from there. Then I dropped "Regular Guy" off in the other end of the city and finally made it back home for good at 1000h.
The shooting:
In general - The RO started by christening the ground, explaining the particular requirements for that stage and pointing out all the targets to the teams. Then a brief question period was permitted. If distances were known, or lasers were permitted, no extra prep time was provided after targets were identified and questions answered . If it was a milling stage, all teams had a 15 minute milling period between this briefing and the first team firing. All teams stayed back in a staging area away from the firing after milling so they couldn't continue using glass while other teams shot. Although there was a distinct disadvantage to shooting FIRST, since you had less time to square away your plan and work out sight settings, etc. Primary and Secondary had different targets, the primary generally being further away, and the secondary often having some kind of challenge to shooting such as a barricade or strange position. Only 4 shots permitted per target to get a hit. Only one shooter at a time, 6-8 targets each. And 8 minutes per stage per team.
Stage 1:
8 targets for "That Guy" (primary gun with me spotting) and 6 for me. We were on a high ridge overlooking a golf course. My targets were arrayed in the foreground between 500-600y. "That Guy's" from 600-1100y. A laser was provided. We struggled to get "That Guy" onto one target, then he had to switch position to fire from atop a pile of two truck tires (certain targets had to be hit from the tires to be eligible) He suggested that I should start working on closer targets to make up points before we ran out of time. We ran out of time just as I chambered my first round. No hits - but two NEAR misses, the RO told us. Estimating distances was not a problem But I gotta say that the distances were deceiving. They looked much closer over the open ground than they were. (It was tempting to second-guess the laser) There was perhaps 10 degrees of slope to the closer targets, and much less as the distances got greater coming up the opposite slope. Not a factor. (in the next stage, by comparison - the distance was known - but across a wooded valley, 750 y looked much further than the 1100y target did across the open space in this first stage...) Apparently this was the biggest SUCK of all the matches. I wonder if we could have done better if we had "warmed up" on some of the others first... Some teams did mediocre. Most did less well.
Stage 2:
(We switched primary/secondary roles for this - We were required to switch for 2 stages of our choice - and we figured this was a good one for me to make points)
I had 4 targets to choose from - all within 30y of each other across a deep wooded valley. They told us the range - 783y to the biggest one. No indication if the others were closer or further. Bigger one worth less points than smaller ones - 16 shots, and get as many points as you can on any of the plates. 10 shots from prone, and 6 from atop a wooden wire spool. Our plan was to ring the cheap target as many times as I could and don't get too cocky - cheap points better than no points. Then "That Guy" would fire down a track at some smaller targets arrayed between 175-205y until time was up. He had the usual condition of 4 shot maximum per target, but a stipulation that after hitting each one ONCE, he must go through a second time with the rifle canted (on a rest) 90 degrees. This was tough for left-handed "That Guy" with my right-handed AR. He got three fast and good hits on the first pass, and that was it.
Stage 2 was our success story for me - when I took the big 308 from "That Guy" 20 minutes before firing, the first thing i did was spin the windage dial cap off. Problem was it was frozen to the dial, and the windage dial spun all the way out counter-clockwise. Holy ####! Well - I knew it was going to say "0" when I put it back - but how many revolutions was that going to be? The scope is on a picatinny rail - so it is not shim-centred for mechanical zero. And there are 7 revolutions of the dial ---so was it 3 from the left side, or 3 from the right side to the zero. I vaguely remembered it had less movement on the left when I bore-sighted it last - so I turned it to "0" three revolutions from the left side of mechanical stop. I yanked the bolt out and did a quick bore-sight to a tree in the valley to confirm (a complete revolution would take it 12 inches off to the side... so I figured that would be easy to see...) I was confident.
Anyway - when we went up to fire, I called light to no wind and rang the gong on the first shot. Kudos for Leupold Tactical Scopes for repeatability! I rang it with all but one of my prone shots - and "That Guy" spotted that one off to the right by an inch - and we pulled it back into the steel for the rest of them. Then up onto the wooden spool and rang it with 4 out of six shots from that rest.
Stage 3:
The first one Saturday morning after dropping out of tough-man. We milled before shooting.
In stage three, "That Guy" had to fire at least one shot from up in a hay loft in a barn, through wooden slats. He could come down and fire the rest of his shots out the back of a GMC Jimmy. He had 8 targets at ranges 600-850y, including the "bonus" at 850 (this distance was provided).
I had 4 targets along a tree line I had to engage from the back of a car with blown out windows.
We decided I would get into the car and start hitting what I could until he made his way up to the loft. Then I had to get out of the car and behind him before he could fire - but I could spot from below and behind - and he would just stay up there, getting what he could during the time, instead of moving back down.
I hit three, including a first shot hit on a steel groundhog silhouette - then bailed from the car into the barn behind "That Guy's" muzzle and called for him to go live.
Stage three was "That Guy's" success story. He headed up into the loft and set up on the bonus target, the only "known" distance target. When he was clear to fire, he rang it with his second shot and moved on to a closer target. The second target was one we'd milled, and he rang it on his first shot.
Stage 4:
Stage 4 is called Katie's Bridge. Both shooters fire in turn from a wooden platform suspended by ropes from a frame. The shooter must be on the platform, with his feet allowed to hang over - but not touch the ground. The "spotter" can (try to) stabilize the platform by pushing against it with his feet - but not so far as to be rigid up against the frame. A laser was provided. The concept of ranging, and then spotting while holding a platform steady for a shooter to set sights and fire is interesting. Steadying the platform was actually the priority. "That Guy" got some of his longer targets on this and then handed over to me and I squeaked in two of my targets before time.
"That Guy" is also calling this stage a success. he got a couple really nice hits while firing off of a swinging and swaying shooting platform. Timing is everything. The benchrest guys ought to try this sort of platform....
Stage 5:
Primary on top of a platform, secondary directly underneath. Only one fires at a time. It was a milling stage, so we each had range cards made up. We decided to switch for this as well. "That Guy" fired first at a couple closer targets while I re-did some milling on the more distant ones. After he bagged a couple, I took over and worked from distant to close and hit three of mine. I started with 720y on a big silhouette, and saw splash low and right. I corrected and got a 2nd round hit. I got a first round hit on a 500y 10 inch hanging circle. "That Guy" then called me onto my closest target, which was a peculiar shape, with trees in the background, so no splash.
That was it.
The Good:
I got first round hits on at least one target on every stage I was able to fire.
"That Guy" got some good distant targets, including a cool one one from a hide in a hayloft!
We pulled it together after ice jammed up the 308's windage dial (and got a first shot hit at over 700y)
Our plan and preparation for the "tough man" component was sound and (fitness notwithstanding) held us in good stead in the climate and conditions.
Our dope for my 155gr loads was right on the money. I had known zeros for all of our training facility's known distance ranges, plus lasered targets at 740m and a 1000m steel plate. My iPhone app called "Shooter" filled in the gaps and it is right on the money. (It lets you correct for velocity by adding in up to three known data points from your own shooting - way better than JBM online and iSnipe)
Brewing up hot Gatorade during downtime is rejuvenating. You can actually feel the goodness and warmth flowing through your veins.
The Bad:
We need to train this out and work faster to get all out targets in 8 minutes. This is NOT a relaxing pace, even if you bust all first shot hits - and NOBODY was doing that. More speed in changing targets, ranging and communicating.
The Ugly:
MAN do we ever need to get in shape. Especially me. Holy ####.
Gear Lessons:
1. I fell in the dark. We noticed a lot of guys running with headlamps. I was a bit dismissive, since previous experience with these was a whole lot of lighting up the cloud of breath I was making. But in the case of Mammoth 2014 - a headlamp may have prevented a fall and accompanying minor injuries. Solution - surprise, surprise - our prize package contained two Petzl headlamps. Solved.
2. The Leup mk4 scope on my .223 was better in the cold then the older tactical scope on the 308. The 308 scope is a 4.5-14x50 LR Tac which has dial caps. The cap froze on the windage dial causing problems when I removed it. Not planning on spending money to solve this - just be aware and extra effort to keep clear of snow and ice when re-capping.
3. We carried gear in British style webbing from early 90s. Better weight distribution than Canadian stuff (from that era), and enough room for everything. We figured distributing weight around waist was good instead of loading up a rucksack on our shoulders. But pouches around waist inhibited arm movement when marching (we think swinging arms might actually help keep pace) and carrying rifles or slinging them SUCKED after a while. Since there are no tactical requirements - the big backpacks with integral rifle pouches look like better options. Very popular amongst other teams. Kamran at Coretac sells these.
http://www.coretacsolutions.com/products_ES_G4M.htm
4. We spotted using our riflescopes. Trace/sworl was almost non-existent - even good glass was having a tough time with it in the cold. The big glass and tripod arrangements are too cumbersome - and the 14x and 25x Leupold scopes were great. One concern going into the match was our ability to get behind shooter using rifle as spotting scope --- this was not a problem - but being able to spot at all under the circumstances in some matches was tricky due to positions and time. Overall - spotting using rifles was adequate. BUT --
We also milled using scopes. We saw other teams using compact 20-40x Leupold spotting scopes with milling reticles. Overall a much better system than mildots in rifles. Finer increments, and more stable. Also better glass for spotting than the riflescopes. And light and compact compared to my 60x "Celestron." Since weight is not as big a problem as bulk - these fit the bill, and with backpacks instead of webbing, they carry just fine.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/41...-focal-tactical-milling-reticle-armored-black
5. We heated water using hexamine tablets under an old canteen cup. Slowly. We still think this was the best weight/space option compared to even my lightweight Whisperlite International stove and small fuel bottle. (my canteen cup has a sleeve which reverses as a "stove" and the whole thing fits in a pouch with socks stuffed in it, taking up virtually no space.) But we'll examine packing options and compare again. The "Jetboil" stove was very popular, and self-contained within the cooking vessel. Good for this application, but not as good as Whisperlite at altitude, and limited to pressurized fuel vessels.... My thought is to compare Whisperlite to hexamine and save expense of another damn stove. I might be able to cram the whisperlite into a tin of some kind if I apply myself to the problem. Still nowhere near as compact as the fuel-tabs.
6. I had a mix of different layered garments. And I gotta say - the merino wool blend stuff is the cat's ass compared to everything else. With a whole year to go - I will consider swapping out some of the other stuff with more of this. Seriously - it was the lightest and smallest next-to-skin layer I carried - and it was just as warm or warmer than the other stuff. Carrying extra "bulk" layers not a good option. Gotta have a good base layer to keep the outer stuff reasonably dry. Change the base layer daily. If outer layers get too sweaty - dry them somehow, or die. MEC has this stuff. Different versions to suit different wallets. The pure merino is off the scale expensive. The stuff I found the best price/value was at Costco.
7. I liked my Goretex smock, and no complaints. But NEED to thin out layers before marching. And lose the smock for marching if not raining.
8. I liked the goretex trousers for keeping dry while shooting and waiting. Again - not for the march.
9. I liked the Leica 1600B laser. I didn't use it since they provided lasers in stages they were permitted, and you had to use theirs. But I threw a few beams out to double check ranges AFTER shooting - and the Leica is WAY better than the Swarovskis they provided. 8x magnification and a fine enough reticle to hit decently small targets at all ranges. The display was clearer, too. We think the Swarovskis may have been running low on battery juice - but they seemed faded and difficult to read against the snow. They were also slower to register than the Leica.
10. I liked mildot-master. Very fast. Not as fast or accurate as laser - but they're bang on if you spend the time to mil accurately. And if you can't use a laser and you have to choose between spending time milling well, or spending time using a pencil to do the math -- well, you decide....
11. Our Danner Boots were the BOMB. No complaints.
12. The sleeping pads might have been a good idea. First of all for sleeping on. And since we'd have had to carry them at least on Friday - they'd have been useful as a place to sit on while waiting to shoot (especially waiting in the cold after sweating our parts off on the march to a shooting site), or even as shooting mats in the cold. They're bulky, but not heavy at all. With a backpack as opposed to webbing, the mat could easily have been rolled up and tied onto it.
13. The goretex bivvie bags were also the BOMB. I have a two bag system (bag with exterior liner) good for -15 to -25 and the goretex bag still fits in the valise with the two bags stuffed in. Good way to manage humidity around bags. Also handy knowing if crap happens to the tent while you're away that the bag is inside that goretex shell. A layer of used gear inside goretex but under the sleeping bag was handy insulation from ground cold - and clothes were still wearable in morning.
