Nowadays when you hear the word Creedmoor it's often in reference to the 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridge, and I've heard that some call Palma shooting "Creedmoor Shooting".
I thought I'd post a little about the original Creedmoor shooting and the types of rifles we use nowadays. Maybe someone will find it interesting. The original Creedmoor range was on Long Island in NY state and was owned originally by a fellow whose last name was Creed. It was the site of the first American international long range rifle match in 1874 against the Irish, who were the dominant shooters in long range at the time.
Nowadays the NRA still holds Creedmoor matches, held at 800, 900, and 1000 yards and shot on the TR targets, but with single shot black powder rifles. The rifles are nearly the same, except modern rules allow the rifles to weigh up to 15 lbs, and have any safe trigger weight ( original matches used 10 lb rifles with 3lb triggers ).
These rifles are very different to shoot than modern precision rifles. Follow through is even more important as the bullet's barrel time is about the same as a .22 LR, but the recoil is way more stout. Most shooters are using 540gr bullets at about 1330 fps, so much like a shotgun slug but with a 0.5 BC. We generally go subsonic before 300 yards.
The projectiles are very wind sensitive. About 1.2 minutes per mph of wind at 1000 yards for a full value wind so a slight miscalculation can turn an X into a 6. Head/tail winds have probably 5x influence in the vertical when compared to a modern .308 projectile.
The rifles are supported by crossed sticks in the front, but must be supported by the shooters hand in the rear. No sand bags or grounding of the rear hand or rifle, so keeping steady is a skill for sure.
I recently shot at the 1000 yard World Championships at Ben Avery in Phoenix Arizona. A special match with 4 days of shooting where all targets are at 1000 yards. It sure was more fun than practicing in the rain here in BC
Unfortunately there is not a huge amount of Canadian interest in this stuff. I've never seen another Canadian at the BPTR matches I've been to, so I am generally "team Canada".
Here are my Creedmoor rifles. The top is an 1874 Sharps chambered in .45-100 with a 6x scope. This rifle shoots 540gr paper patched bullets with a 100gr charge of Swiss Fg. The second is an original 1878 Sharps Borchardt that was rebuilt in the 1990's. Although it's almost 140 years old it shot well enough to make high expert in Colorado last year. It's chambered in .45-90 and shoots a 535gr bullet at about 1330 fps. The bottom rifle is an 1885 highwall that shoots a 540gr paper patched bullet at about 1320 fps.
Chris.
I thought I'd post a little about the original Creedmoor shooting and the types of rifles we use nowadays. Maybe someone will find it interesting. The original Creedmoor range was on Long Island in NY state and was owned originally by a fellow whose last name was Creed. It was the site of the first American international long range rifle match in 1874 against the Irish, who were the dominant shooters in long range at the time.
Nowadays the NRA still holds Creedmoor matches, held at 800, 900, and 1000 yards and shot on the TR targets, but with single shot black powder rifles. The rifles are nearly the same, except modern rules allow the rifles to weigh up to 15 lbs, and have any safe trigger weight ( original matches used 10 lb rifles with 3lb triggers ).
These rifles are very different to shoot than modern precision rifles. Follow through is even more important as the bullet's barrel time is about the same as a .22 LR, but the recoil is way more stout. Most shooters are using 540gr bullets at about 1330 fps, so much like a shotgun slug but with a 0.5 BC. We generally go subsonic before 300 yards.
The projectiles are very wind sensitive. About 1.2 minutes per mph of wind at 1000 yards for a full value wind so a slight miscalculation can turn an X into a 6. Head/tail winds have probably 5x influence in the vertical when compared to a modern .308 projectile.
The rifles are supported by crossed sticks in the front, but must be supported by the shooters hand in the rear. No sand bags or grounding of the rear hand or rifle, so keeping steady is a skill for sure.
I recently shot at the 1000 yard World Championships at Ben Avery in Phoenix Arizona. A special match with 4 days of shooting where all targets are at 1000 yards. It sure was more fun than practicing in the rain here in BC
Unfortunately there is not a huge amount of Canadian interest in this stuff. I've never seen another Canadian at the BPTR matches I've been to, so I am generally "team Canada"
. Here are my Creedmoor rifles. The top is an 1874 Sharps chambered in .45-100 with a 6x scope. This rifle shoots 540gr paper patched bullets with a 100gr charge of Swiss Fg. The second is an original 1878 Sharps Borchardt that was rebuilt in the 1990's. Although it's almost 140 years old it shot well enough to make high expert in Colorado last year. It's chambered in .45-90 and shoots a 535gr bullet at about 1330 fps. The bottom rifle is an 1885 highwall that shoots a 540gr paper patched bullet at about 1320 fps.
Chris.
My local range is only 200 yards, love to find a place where I can stretch their legs
