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So took the family down to Arena today for the open range event at their 2,200yard UKD range. This is the cool range with the three conex containers stacked on top of each other with the platform to shoot off of and the steel targets out to 2,200 yards.
We shoot off the berm instead of the containers for ease of setup. I finally broke down and bought a "pop up" sun shade tent dealie this summer and we used it there in June to good effect.
Today the winds were fricking howling all day and we had to take the pop up down around 11am because it kept lifting up and almost taking off. The guys next down from us left there's up and about an hour later lost it. You know the wind is bad when the sun shade staked down so well one of the legs BENDS AND BREAKS. This wasn't a cheap one either. Needless to say we were glad we took ours down earlier. Made for crappy shooting conditions with the constant wind and no shade at all there.
At times the holdover for wind to get on steel at distance was pretty great. A .50 cal which is assumed to plow through hurricanes, required at least a 1 foot right holdover to ring steel at 900 yards. A car that is fun to shoot up at a hair under 1,300 had to be held at the front right of the car to get hits on. The effect on the .308's was worse.
I broke down a few months back and bought a decent spotting scope, but this was the first time the family was using it. As you probably know spotting at distance and under bad conditions is an acquired skill. So got a lot of "no call" and pitched more than a few rounds doping the wind at the far distance targets.
I went over how to make a range card with my son and had him draw one out along with guestimates of ranges that he could come with only using the Steiner binoculars, his rifle scope and his Mark I eye ball. He was within reason on the estimates as far as people new to range estimation goes. Then we used the Bushnell laser range finder to get accurate numbers on each and he wrote those in parenthesis next to each estimate.
The highlight of the day was not shooting the car at 1,300 yards but when we brought my wife's AK out. This is a stock side folder Arsenal SGL with a cheap side receiver mount and a 3X30 ACOG.
There was a few targets at between 200 and 300 yards, then there is a draw/ravine and then the next closest target after the ravine is 468 yards. My wife was the first to get the range for that and it was earlier in the day with the good wind gusts as well. After she figured the best aim point with the ACOG for the range, she was achieving 80% hit rates. A small pack was used as a rest. Ammo was Wolf, nothing special.
Later in the day when the wind was no value (but blowing the crap out of us!) my son started ringing the 468 yard target with the AK and achieving a similar hit rate. OK says I, I've hit that far before with an AK, after he's done I'll have to show him up so this doesn't go to his head LOL.
Well damn, he says "I'm going to switch to the next berm on the left." I glance at the range card- "That's 621" I say. "I'll try it" he says.
After a few corrections and finding the sweet spot with the ACOG, he rings the 621 yard target with the AK maybe 30% of the time.
Yes, that "100 yard gun" that every ignorant arse redneck claims won't hit crap past 100 yards after which they immediately scream "MURICA!" was ringing steel at 621 yards with crappy stock ammo and a 17 year old shooting it.
Later it had a 40 something shooting it who achieved similar results.
Couple of the good ole boys there at the shoot took a looking but not being obvious type of notice. I simply said loudly "Damn, 621 yards with an AK that everyone calls a 100 yard gun!"
And here a "kid" and a woman who hasn't trained regularly in years is pushing the rifle past it's supposed limits. A source of pride for me, not in myself but in the fact they have both listened, learned and been teachable all these years.
Crap, I even bought them a nice dinner on the way home! LOL
BTW, the Arena facility is absolutely awesome if you have not been there before you need to go. You can rent a cabin there on the property which is nicer than the Days Inn in nearby Blakely for about the same money. The guy that runs the range is super helpful and knows his stuff. You can drive right up to the shooting spot which is convenient. We stayed at a cabin this time and it was pretty comfortable- as much as the Days Inn but much quieter and SAFER!
Arena website-
We shoot off the berm instead of the containers for ease of setup. I finally broke down and bought a "pop up" sun shade tent dealie this summer and we used it there in June to good effect.
Today the winds were fricking howling all day and we had to take the pop up down around 11am because it kept lifting up and almost taking off. The guys next down from us left there's up and about an hour later lost it. You know the wind is bad when the sun shade staked down so well one of the legs BENDS AND BREAKS. This wasn't a cheap one either. Needless to say we were glad we took ours down earlier. Made for crappy shooting conditions with the constant wind and no shade at all there.
At times the holdover for wind to get on steel at distance was pretty great. A .50 cal which is assumed to plow through hurricanes, required at least a 1 foot right holdover to ring steel at 900 yards. A car that is fun to shoot up at a hair under 1,300 had to be held at the front right of the car to get hits on. The effect on the .308's was worse.
I broke down a few months back and bought a decent spotting scope, but this was the first time the family was using it. As you probably know spotting at distance and under bad conditions is an acquired skill. So got a lot of "no call" and pitched more than a few rounds doping the wind at the far distance targets.
I went over how to make a range card with my son and had him draw one out along with guestimates of ranges that he could come with only using the Steiner binoculars, his rifle scope and his Mark I eye ball. He was within reason on the estimates as far as people new to range estimation goes. Then we used the Bushnell laser range finder to get accurate numbers on each and he wrote those in parenthesis next to each estimate.
The highlight of the day was not shooting the car at 1,300 yards but when we brought my wife's AK out. This is a stock side folder Arsenal SGL with a cheap side receiver mount and a 3X30 ACOG.
There was a few targets at between 200 and 300 yards, then there is a draw/ravine and then the next closest target after the ravine is 468 yards. My wife was the first to get the range for that and it was earlier in the day with the good wind gusts as well. After she figured the best aim point with the ACOG for the range, she was achieving 80% hit rates. A small pack was used as a rest. Ammo was Wolf, nothing special.
Later in the day when the wind was no value (but blowing the crap out of us!) my son started ringing the 468 yard target with the AK and achieving a similar hit rate. OK says I, I've hit that far before with an AK, after he's done I'll have to show him up so this doesn't go to his head LOL.
Well damn, he says "I'm going to switch to the next berm on the left." I glance at the range card- "That's 621" I say. "I'll try it" he says.
After a few corrections and finding the sweet spot with the ACOG, he rings the 621 yard target with the AK maybe 30% of the time.
Yes, that "100 yard gun" that every ignorant arse redneck claims won't hit crap past 100 yards after which they immediately scream "MURICA!" was ringing steel at 621 yards with crappy stock ammo and a 17 year old shooting it.
Later it had a 40 something shooting it who achieved similar results.
Couple of the good ole boys there at the shoot took a looking but not being obvious type of notice. I simply said loudly "Damn, 621 yards with an AK that everyone calls a 100 yard gun!"
And here a "kid" and a woman who hasn't trained regularly in years is pushing the rifle past it's supposed limits. A source of pride for me, not in myself but in the fact they have both listened, learned and been teachable all these years.
Crap, I even bought them a nice dinner on the way home! LOL
BTW, the Arena facility is absolutely awesome if you have not been there before you need to go. You can rent a cabin there on the property which is nicer than the Days Inn in nearby Blakely for about the same money. The guy that runs the range is super helpful and knows his stuff. You can drive right up to the shooting spot which is convenient. We stayed at a cabin this time and it was pretty comfortable- as much as the Days Inn but much quieter and SAFER!
Arena website-
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