Ruger M77 UM (update on current results)
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Well, we are usually on some type of berm and the targets are are also elevated from the pits. That makes the mirage worse as it really gets going a few feet off the ground.
There are days when it looks like you are shooting in a river. Mirage can be your friend as it will indicate the wind direction and strength much better than the wind flags, up to about 5-6 MPH then the mirage just goes away as the wind increases. It also is a great indicator of an impending letoff as the wind reduces; if mirage appears, beware; it means the wind is dying down or shifting.
There are days when it looks like you are shooting in a river. Mirage can be your friend as it will indicate the wind direction and strength much better than the wind flags, up to about 5-6 MPH then the mirage just goes away as the wind increases. It also is a great indicator of an impending letoff as the wind reduces; if mirage appears, beware; it means the wind is dying down or shifting.
Sidewinder
Bearcat
Speechless. Threads like this should come with a warning. My head just exploded and now I have to clean the computer screen. :shock:
I have always been fascinated with the upper eschelon of LR shooting. You guys amaze me.
How did you get your start? Was it through military service or did you just pursue this like most of us do when we get passionate about a hobby.
I've only been a member of a range that was over 300 yards once. And at that place, all of the long range targets where set at various heights along a mountain side. This was the NCSA range on the Pala Indian reservation in northern San Diego county.
The owner/operator was a retired, er... scratch that, formerly active Marine. Those guys never really seem to retire. Some of the young guns from Pendleton came out one time to bring him hatches from a Bradley fighting vehicle to use as targets.
They proceeded to break out a Barrett M82A1 and show us what our tax dollars had taught them. We had a bunch of guys shooting rams in the BPCR class and they all traded off guns for a few rounds. They actually did pretty well with the old single shot 45 and 50 cal rifles.
Great post. Look forward to following this thread.
Sidewinder~~~~~
I have always been fascinated with the upper eschelon of LR shooting. You guys amaze me.
How did you get your start? Was it through military service or did you just pursue this like most of us do when we get passionate about a hobby.
I've only been a member of a range that was over 300 yards once. And at that place, all of the long range targets where set at various heights along a mountain side. This was the NCSA range on the Pala Indian reservation in northern San Diego county.
The owner/operator was a retired, er... scratch that, formerly active Marine. Those guys never really seem to retire. Some of the young guns from Pendleton came out one time to bring him hatches from a Bradley fighting vehicle to use as targets.
They proceeded to break out a Barrett M82A1 and show us what our tax dollars had taught them. We had a bunch of guys shooting rams in the BPCR class and they all traded off guns for a few rounds. They actually did pretty well with the old single shot 45 and 50 cal rifles.
Great post. Look forward to following this thread.
Sidewinder~~~~~
Sidewinder, I thought I had warnings on this thread. I hope you have some duct tape and a good squeegee to clean your screen.
My story is very boring, I was not in the military. I hove shot rifles and handguns for over 45 years now and been handloading for over 25 years. I have competed in Palma and high power over 20 years ago and then drifted into IPSC for several years and went back to rifles. Service rifle and more recently F-class as I age.
There is nothing magical about LR shooting, all you need is the desire to do it and the courage to show up at matches knowing that your manhood is about to be handed to you on a plate alongside your ego. This step eliminates the vast majority of shooters; everybody thinks they are great shots and that their equipment is topnotch.
Once you get over the initial shock, which is very easy because all the shooters will be happy to help you and answer all your questions, you can decide if this is for you. Then you set some goals, and you take steps to reach these goals. Again, most people cannot do that, it requires motivation.
So today, I took a rare day off work and drove to the club to which I belong to change out the scope on my M77 UM and to develop a new LR load with a different bullet. It was HOT today with temps over 100F. There were very few people at the club, only the die-hards were there. I unloaded all my shooting junk, set up a handloading station a one of the tables and went to work. I had done all my homework before showing up so I just established a baseline with the current scope on a card board using 3 rounds, removed the old scope, replaced it with the new one, boresigthed it and it was dead on for elevation with the first bullet. I added 3 MOA of left windage and the second shot was right in the group shot with the other scope. Five bullets to to the job, I could have just used 3 but I splurged.
This is what the rifle looks like now with the Weaver T-36. I think it has a certain look to it.
Next I went to work with the rifle and a chronograph looking for the velocity that I wanted with the bullet. I reached it in 7 rounds. On the last one, I then loaded 3 more rounds and ran those 3 shots over the chrono. The ES was 14, the SD was 6, for 4 rounds. I wanted to do more, but the heat was really getting to me and I was doing loading, shooting, chrono and recording and it was hot. Did I mention it was hot?
So after that I put away the chrono, loaded 5 more rounds the best I could with my load and shot those 5 rounds for groups at 100 yards, with about 30 seconds between shots. That is about the cadence at which I shoot my matches. I dropped shot #3 a little bit as the heat was really getting to me, but recovered #4 and 5. This is the group the load in the rifle produced at the end of the exercise. (No, I will not post the recipe, that's only good in my rifle and you won't find these bullets at any store.)
I am happy with the load; it has the velocity that I wanted with the accuracy needed. I will tweak it a little bit more over the next few months, but for right now, this is definitely good enough for F-class LR.
Sidewinder, you live in Texas, one of the most rifle-friendly places on Earth. Look around you, there are lots of places to shoot LR. PM me if you can't find anything.
My story is very boring, I was not in the military. I hove shot rifles and handguns for over 45 years now and been handloading for over 25 years. I have competed in Palma and high power over 20 years ago and then drifted into IPSC for several years and went back to rifles. Service rifle and more recently F-class as I age.
There is nothing magical about LR shooting, all you need is the desire to do it and the courage to show up at matches knowing that your manhood is about to be handed to you on a plate alongside your ego. This step eliminates the vast majority of shooters; everybody thinks they are great shots and that their equipment is topnotch.
Once you get over the initial shock, which is very easy because all the shooters will be happy to help you and answer all your questions, you can decide if this is for you. Then you set some goals, and you take steps to reach these goals. Again, most people cannot do that, it requires motivation.
So today, I took a rare day off work and drove to the club to which I belong to change out the scope on my M77 UM and to develop a new LR load with a different bullet. It was HOT today with temps over 100F. There were very few people at the club, only the die-hards were there. I unloaded all my shooting junk, set up a handloading station a one of the tables and went to work. I had done all my homework before showing up so I just established a baseline with the current scope on a card board using 3 rounds, removed the old scope, replaced it with the new one, boresigthed it and it was dead on for elevation with the first bullet. I added 3 MOA of left windage and the second shot was right in the group shot with the other scope. Five bullets to to the job, I could have just used 3 but I splurged.
This is what the rifle looks like now with the Weaver T-36. I think it has a certain look to it.
Next I went to work with the rifle and a chronograph looking for the velocity that I wanted with the bullet. I reached it in 7 rounds. On the last one, I then loaded 3 more rounds and ran those 3 shots over the chrono. The ES was 14, the SD was 6, for 4 rounds. I wanted to do more, but the heat was really getting to me and I was doing loading, shooting, chrono and recording and it was hot. Did I mention it was hot?
So after that I put away the chrono, loaded 5 more rounds the best I could with my load and shot those 5 rounds for groups at 100 yards, with about 30 seconds between shots. That is about the cadence at which I shoot my matches. I dropped shot #3 a little bit as the heat was really getting to me, but recovered #4 and 5. This is the group the load in the rifle produced at the end of the exercise. (No, I will not post the recipe, that's only good in my rifle and you won't find these bullets at any store.)
I am happy with the load; it has the velocity that I wanted with the accuracy needed. I will tweak it a little bit more over the next few months, but for right now, this is definitely good enough for F-class LR.
Sidewinder, you live in Texas, one of the most rifle-friendly places on Earth. Look around you, there are lots of places to shoot LR. PM me if you can't find anything.
Big Bubba":3ds2itvx said:
I just shot my first match today (60 rounds in 3X20 format) with the new scope and the new load. Started a little iffy, but I did well overall. This is one incredible rifle and that load is wonderful, very accurate and pleasant to shoot, in a 17 pound rifle. Expert rating is definitely in sight now and if all goes well, in a few more matches, I will be going for LR master.
It was definitely hot and humid today, so the bullets flew higher and faster but it was definitely uncomfortable out in the sun. The wind varied quite a bit, but this bullet is great, it held in there. I only popped one 7 today and it was my fault. I had about six 8s and in this wind, that is excellent for me. I would love to leave all of them behind.
Rugerhunter
Bearcat
Wow,
That totally blows me away too. No need to post the formula, but just for kicks, would you post the bullet weight and velocity?
Just because I'm curious.
Good Job
Jeff
That totally blows me away too. No need to post the formula, but just for kicks, would you post the bullet weight and velocity?
Just because I'm curious.
Good Job
Jeff
I have not been at this site in a few months now, as I have been very busy. Just a quick update for those who care, I have reached Expert in F-class LR (800/900/1000 yards) with my Ruger M77 UM. It took longer than I expected because work got in the way. Now I am in the hunt for Master in LR and that will be difficult.
