Most of us have a rifle or two we have hardly ever shot. We may have a serious rifle we shoot, but what about our Lee Enfield, or Mauser, or Garand, or M14, or SKS?
The Ontario rifle Association is presenting a number of shooting dates in Southern Ontario dedicated to shooting “fun” rifles. We will use a military range such as Camp Borden (near Barrie) and/or Winona (near Hamilton).
I think some guys are reluctant to come to an organized shooting day for fear they will perform badly. Suppose they can’t even get their rifle on paper?
Here is what we will do.
The day will start with plinking and sight zeroing at a 4 foot square target, with each shot being marked with an orange spotter. We will try to have front sight adjustment tools on hand so rifles can be properly zeroed.
For all prone shooting you can use an improvised rest, such as an ammo can, sand bag or shooting kit. The rule is that your forward hand must be holding the rifle, but your arm/wrist can be laying on a rest. No bi-pods.
All shooting will be at targets big enough that you should not miss the paper. You will probably miss the bull a few times….
Once everyone has plinked and zeroed, we will shoot a 10-shot prone slow fire match at 4 foot target with a nice black aiming mark.
Then we will shoot a 10-shot rapid fire at the same target. 10 shots in 45 seconds. This is real easy with a semi-auto, so long as you can reload quickly (semi-auto has a 5 shot limit, except the Garand with 8). Guys shooting a Enfield like this match because they are usually the only rifles with 10 shot magazines.
Then we move closer and shoot a 10 shot sitting snap target. The target pops up for a 3 second exposure – 10 times. Plenty of time to reload between shots. I have shot this match with a single shot rifle. We allow an extra delay between the 5th and 6th shot so magazines can be re-loaded. Personally, I just put a handful of ammo in my pocket if I have a 5 shot mag and load singly once the mag is empty.
At the same distance we shoot a moving target (at walking speed) from the sitting position. Magazine reloading procedure is same as the snap.
Then we move closer and shoot from the standing position. Course of fire will be a standing snap and a standing mover. Again, any rifle will work since there is plenty of time to reload. You can use a single shot Martini-Enfield as easily as a M14.
Record keeping of scores is optional. If you want to turn in your score and see how you did compared to others shooting a similar rifle – fine. And maybe you will win a fine bottle of Chateau Plonk 2009.
Shooting Notes:
I have shot this match with many different rifles. Last year I shot it with a Norinco SKS and won all but one of the matches. I was just as shocked as the other shooters, who were all convinced they would kick ass with their #4s, or Swedish Mausers.
This kind of shooting brings together a number of shooting issues. First, the rifle has to be well-zeroed. A good zero may be more important than a tight group. My SKS shot a bigger group than most of the other rifles, but it was well-zeroed, so my shots were around the bull.
Our new course of fire starts with plinking/zeroing , so rifles should be well zeroed. After the deliberate match, there is time to make a final little tweak if necessary.
Only the rapid fire match emphasizes magazine size or reloading smoothness. I have shot it with a Ross, #4, Mauser, SKS, Garand, Martini Enfield, Springfield, Win 94 30-30, and M14. All but the #4 required the magazine to be topped up during the match. With a stripper clip, this is real easy and fast. With a single shot you can still get 6 or 7 shots off. The bull is quite big, so all you have to do in 45 seconds is to fire aimed shots and reload once.
In the other matches I have tried various techniques and have found that the most reliable way to make sure I get to shoot all 10 shots is to shoot all the rounds in the mag and then load single shots from my pocket thereafter.
Do you have a milsurp you want to shoot? Or a hunting rifle? Lots of good shooting and good shooting practice from prone, sitting and standing.
If you are interested, pm me with your real email address and I will keep you advised of shooting dates.
The Ontario rifle Association is presenting a number of shooting dates in Southern Ontario dedicated to shooting “fun” rifles. We will use a military range such as Camp Borden (near Barrie) and/or Winona (near Hamilton).
I think some guys are reluctant to come to an organized shooting day for fear they will perform badly. Suppose they can’t even get their rifle on paper?
Here is what we will do.
The day will start with plinking and sight zeroing at a 4 foot square target, with each shot being marked with an orange spotter. We will try to have front sight adjustment tools on hand so rifles can be properly zeroed.
For all prone shooting you can use an improvised rest, such as an ammo can, sand bag or shooting kit. The rule is that your forward hand must be holding the rifle, but your arm/wrist can be laying on a rest. No bi-pods.
All shooting will be at targets big enough that you should not miss the paper. You will probably miss the bull a few times….
Once everyone has plinked and zeroed, we will shoot a 10-shot prone slow fire match at 4 foot target with a nice black aiming mark.
Then we will shoot a 10-shot rapid fire at the same target. 10 shots in 45 seconds. This is real easy with a semi-auto, so long as you can reload quickly (semi-auto has a 5 shot limit, except the Garand with 8). Guys shooting a Enfield like this match because they are usually the only rifles with 10 shot magazines.
Then we move closer and shoot a 10 shot sitting snap target. The target pops up for a 3 second exposure – 10 times. Plenty of time to reload between shots. I have shot this match with a single shot rifle. We allow an extra delay between the 5th and 6th shot so magazines can be re-loaded. Personally, I just put a handful of ammo in my pocket if I have a 5 shot mag and load singly once the mag is empty.
At the same distance we shoot a moving target (at walking speed) from the sitting position. Magazine reloading procedure is same as the snap.
Then we move closer and shoot from the standing position. Course of fire will be a standing snap and a standing mover. Again, any rifle will work since there is plenty of time to reload. You can use a single shot Martini-Enfield as easily as a M14.
Record keeping of scores is optional. If you want to turn in your score and see how you did compared to others shooting a similar rifle – fine. And maybe you will win a fine bottle of Chateau Plonk 2009.
Shooting Notes:
I have shot this match with many different rifles. Last year I shot it with a Norinco SKS and won all but one of the matches. I was just as shocked as the other shooters, who were all convinced they would kick ass with their #4s, or Swedish Mausers.
This kind of shooting brings together a number of shooting issues. First, the rifle has to be well-zeroed. A good zero may be more important than a tight group. My SKS shot a bigger group than most of the other rifles, but it was well-zeroed, so my shots were around the bull.
Our new course of fire starts with plinking/zeroing , so rifles should be well zeroed. After the deliberate match, there is time to make a final little tweak if necessary.
Only the rapid fire match emphasizes magazine size or reloading smoothness. I have shot it with a Ross, #4, Mauser, SKS, Garand, Martini Enfield, Springfield, Win 94 30-30, and M14. All but the #4 required the magazine to be topped up during the match. With a stripper clip, this is real easy and fast. With a single shot you can still get 6 or 7 shots off. The bull is quite big, so all you have to do in 45 seconds is to fire aimed shots and reload once.
In the other matches I have tried various techniques and have found that the most reliable way to make sure I get to shoot all 10 shots is to shoot all the rounds in the mag and then load single shots from my pocket thereafter.
Do you have a milsurp you want to shoot? Or a hunting rifle? Lots of good shooting and good shooting practice from prone, sitting and standing.
If you are interested, pm me with your real email address and I will keep you advised of shooting dates.
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