Rocky Mountain Regional

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jackrabbit
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Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by jackrabbit »

We are loading up to head out after lunch. They are doing the 1000 yard no spotter shoot today, but I didn't think I was hand enough to figure that one out. Will be shooting long range tomorrow and mid range on Sunday. It has been a photo finish as I am just finishing harvest. We have about 10 acres left, which we will finish in the next hour, and then will be done for the year. Yahoo!! What better way to celebrate being done than to go to shooting match!
Wish me luck,
Cody
Woody
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by Woody »

Luck!!

Woody
Richard A. Wood
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desert deuce
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by desert deuce »

Yessir, good luck Cody and we will be watching for an after action report when you return from Byers, Colorado, the best little match on the lone prarie.
Sometimes you get the chicken, and sometimes you get the feathers!
jackrabbit
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by jackrabbit »

I will try to take time to write-up a better report on my experiences this weekend tonight after work, but right now I wanted to say it was a lot of fun and very well ran. I got the pleasure of getting to shoot with Eron for the long range on Saturday and really learned a lot. The winds were quite strong on Saturday and it made a lot of changes. I don't think anybody was able to keep all record shots on the target. It was the first I had shot at 1,000 yards and was really an eye opener. These guys that do this well are really talented. The social event on Saturday night was very relaxing and enjoyable and the meal Robert Garibay put together was super. The pulled pork, brisket, and spicy sausage was out of this world. Needless to say, I ate a lot more than I should have. It was a really fun weekend and a big thanks to all that put so much work into making it such a success. Folks that didn't make it really missed out.
take care, Cody
gunlaker
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by gunlaker »

It was a truly awesome experience to shoot this match. Shooting in Byers has redefined the word "wind" for me :-). I've shot ip here in Kamloops in what I think are some pretty tricky winds, but nothing close to as violent as what I saw here. On one of the relays when I was in th pits, the target next to me had its frame hit a few times so it was weakened. A gust of wind snapped the target frame in half and blew the target and upper half of the frame out of the pits. :D

This was my first long range match and only my second BPTR match so I didn't expect a whole lot. I shot the 1:16 twist .45-90 PP rifle with Dan's chamber for the long range matches, and my .40-65 Shiloh for tye midrange. The winds were not super crazy for the money match and I was please to place in the middle of the pack. I did get off paper several times. :-) . The subtlety in wind reading required to get a really good score at long range is something I have an appreciation for now.

In the Creedmoor match Jim coached me to a pretty decent score at 800, but then the wind came in strong from the North and seemed to switch between 12 o'clock and 1:30 as far as I could tell. I could be wromg because I was pretty lost to be honest. It was like sending six year old to university :-). I couldn't tell a 20 mph wind from 25, and the suble dirction changes were lost on me. It was humbling experience.

When it cam to midrange I was a little disappointed at my 300 yard score but that was only a hint of the horrible-ness at 500 when I couldn't see the reversals and my score was obliterated. At 600 i reverted to something Wes showed me in Worland, but the winds were much stronger here so I didn't know if i world work. At at that time the wid was predominantly a strong tail wind that was switching back and forth. I held off on shooting until the tail winds were constant and read mirage entirely to do my windage. I based the windage entirely on the stength and direction of the mirage and managed to shoot the second best 600 yard target at the match so it made us feel pretty good that we figured something out. I was shooting with another new guy named Judd. He was great guy to shoot with and we had a blast. Shooting with Jim, Ollie, and Jack was a lot of fun.

It was a really great time and I'm glad to have met a really great bunch of people.

Thanks to Eron and Robert for putting on this excellent match. I'll definitely be back next year.

Chris.
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Don McDowell
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by Don McDowell »

Paper patch and Eynsford seemed to have a good time this weekend in Byers..Wind switches galor, good times amongst great shooters.
Those that forego this match are only fooling themselves.
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desert deuce
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by desert deuce »

That Robert is quite a Chef Extraordinare for sure. It is a good thing you feasted after rather than before or during the match. Robert would make millions in Denver if he could just bring himself to open a BBQ Restaurant, his is the best.

Eron is a world class competitor that knows how to run a world class match and keep if enjoyable. He makes it look easy. But, I know for a fact he puts a lot of work and effort into making it go.

Thanks Cody, thanks Chris for the great reports on your first run at the long range stuff. I believe, from my experience anyway, that Byers is where you learn to shoot Phoenix and especially Raton. If you want to learn to shoot Long Range you have to make the pilgrimage to Byers. There is a lot of truth to the old saying that, " if you want to learn how to shoot in the wind you have to shoot in the wind. " And Byers occasionally provides that opportunity. :roll:

I had to laugh one time, somebody asked a shooter coming off the line at Raton one breezy day why he shot a 45-100 with 550 grain bullets? Just as serious as sin the fellow looked the inquisitor right in they eye and replied, "so I can see my misses." :wink: Something to think about. :)

Good job at 600 Chris, obviously you learned a few things at 300 and 500. Remember I warned about that 500 target, it is a jim dandy for sure.

Waiting to hear more about the match and the experiences had.
Sometimes you get the chicken, and sometimes you get the feathers!
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Don McDowell
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by Don McDowell »

Saturday, the 1000 yd was particularly interesting as not only was the wind having fun teasing people, as the cold front approached, but also the smoke from the fires was settling in with the higher humidity and seeing the targets from the line was something of a challenge on that last relay. Wind conditions went from about 14 pts on one side to 6 on the other, and right in the middle of the whole dang show, shoot 3 at zero..
15 round matches are a lot of work.
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gunlaker
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by gunlaker »

Don I had a really hard time getting a decent sight picture at 1000 yards on that relay. I opened my rear sight as far as it would go, which is really not normal for me. When the relay was over I realized that I had my dark sunglasses on :mrgreen:

Chris.
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Don McDowell
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by Don McDowell »

Chris I had to switch to the yellow lenses, otherwise those targets just didn't show up very good.
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desert deuce
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by desert deuce »

Gang, here is a RECUERDO (memory) from Byers past in the event you missed it. As I said, from my experience, Byers is where you learn to shoot Phoenix and Raton. 8) Looking back, I wonder if Eron and I subconsciously collaborated to entertain Hugh Wilson while he was precariously perched on the scorers stool. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Shooting Byers Required More Than Concentration

Post by desert deuce » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:22 am

Looking back at the Byers Match last week end reminds me that Long Range BPCR Target Shooting is really about the memories that are created for/by the shooters. Byers was an unforgettable match, top notch too. Jimbo (The Resident Philosopher Saturday Night) summed it up to those present about 11:00 PM Saturday night while the hard core were relaxing around the glow of a gas lantern behind the 1,000 yard line. It went something like this: "You know gents, this is why I like Long Range BPCR the best. Sitting around camp, drinking good whiskey with good friends that share a common interest in a most difficult sport seems to bring out the best in folks and those that shoot this are simply the best of the best." Well, no one present disagreed with his logic.

Then there were the visual impressions. The side flaps on Kenny's Beagle Eared shooting cap being blown straight up, Bryan Youngbergs reddish beard and hair blowing uncovered in the wind, actually that may have provided him some advantage in judging conditions. But the best of all was Eron. Now, if you can't visualize written words and don't have an active sense of humor, read no further.

The 1,000 yard firing line at Byers is quite elevated. It was Eron's relay to shoot 1,000 yards, I was going to spot for him and as I approached his firing point from below after returning to the line from the pits I could feel the wind intensify as I stood on the covered concrete firing line. Eron is eternally optimistic and loves a challenge so I am curiously waiting to hear his strategy for going forward.

Now, visualize this: Eron is standing on his shooting mat to keep it from blowing away, his wrist rest is over on it's side, his knees are slightly bent, he is bracing slightly hunched against the wind, he is steadying himself on a concrete shooting bench with his left hand while he firmly grips his rifle in his right hand. The expression on his face was something like this... :shock: He has on his boonie hat, the brim of which is blown flat against his head. His Knobloch shooting glasses are blown out of battery to one side. His shorts have caught a severe up draft and look something like a wind sock for an airfield. Hugh Wilson is on the scorers stool trying to figure out how to keep the score sheets from being carried away along with the weighted clipboard while keeping his cap in place and his demeanor clearly reveals he is thinking we are all crazy to think we can shoot in this stuff. Eron looks :| at me and says, over the roar of the wind, "You know what? If we can keep them on the paper we just might win this thing?" His visual and verbal resolve conjured up impressions of Washington's second crossing of the Delaware.

So, I gingerly laid out my shooting mat and adjusted the spotting scope as close to the ground as I could. It took both hands to steady the scope enough to see the target. All flags were pointing upward and when the command to commence fire was given the wind really began in earnest. I noticed my heavily weighted wind indicator was teetering on the concrete surface and I mused to myself that this was going to be interesting. We worked from mechanical zero on Eron's Browning 45-90. Everywhere from 5-6 left of zero to 10-12 right of zero. There were some tense moments when the bullet strike on the backstop would be wide of the target but luckily or should I say fortunately those were 'woodies' where the bullet did hit paper but were deflected by the wooden target frame behind the target.

About shot eight I noticed a small rock in my peripheral vision slowly sliding up hill to my left, Eron was in the rifle at about 7-8 minutes right of zero and as I saw the flags agree with the rock I simply said "twelve". Eron did not move from the rifle, he simply wheeled the windage knob and fired. A hard gust at the backstop indicated a wide hit. We tensely waited and were greatly relieved when the target came up as an X. Pucker factor anyone?

Each shot was a separate match. Sight settings, conditions and score values recorded each shot. When Huey announced shot 15 for score was an 8 we three were all relieved. Eron rolled over on his shooting mat with a big grin on his face and said, "Boy, now that was fun!" More than his words was the look on his face, :D , priceless.

Yep, all 15 record shots cut paper for score. But what it took to arrive at that moment and those memories will last a lifetime.
Sometimes you get the chicken, and sometimes you get the feathers!
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desert deuce
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by desert deuce »

Byers September 2020 is next month. Wish I could be there. Here is a memory of Byers past.
Sometimes you get the chicken, and sometimes you get the feathers!
GrumpyBear
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Re: Rocky Mountain Regional

Post by GrumpyBear »

Thanks for sharing that story D.D., the Good Lord willing I will be there next month.
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