Sarah and I made the cross-country roadtrip to Warrenton, NC for the first ever Guardian Long Range Two Day Team Match. This is our second trip to Frontline Defense USA. Paul Smith has gone above and beyond to build a chunk of North Carolina woods into a top notch range. Gary Larson continued to demonstrate his ability to put together a spectacular match in order to support a very worth cause. The Guardian matches serve as a charity fundraiser for Bethany Christian Services and to my knowledge, this arrangement is unique in the shooting and charity communities. Continue reading Guardian Long Range April Fools Team Match at Frontline Defense USA→
On a cool dark Michigan morning, I found myself driving up highway 66. I was not quite sure what I was looking for since this would be my first trip to the Marksmanship Training Center. Locating a range for the first time can often be like an easter egg hunt. Thankfully GPS coordinates (+44.482147, -85.178525) for MTC were posted on the registration page.
This year I had the pleasure of competing in the 2016 Sniper’s Hide Cup. The “Hide Cup” was shot on private property near Colville, WA. The location is notable for being the most scenic I have ever shot in. There were lush mountain sides and deep valleys. One hundred and forty eight shooters turned out to brave the weather for two and a half days of “field” shooting. Continue reading 2016 Sniper’s Hide Cup→
Learning points for those who have not shot a night match before, in no specific order:
1. PHYSICALLY AND VISUALLY verify that your rifle is clear. It’s way to easy to have a cartridge find it’s way into the chamber. Don’t take chances. Complacency kills.
2. Some type of headlamp is incredibly useful for administrative tasks. Loading mags, picking up brass, setup, teardown and score keeping. Its awesome to not have to dig a light out of your pocket every time you need it and keeping your hands free helps.
3. Illuminated reticles are a must. Very often we run into lighting conditions where you can see the target you need to engage, but your fine FFP reticle is just too fine to see against the shot-up steel. Continue reading Lessons of the night match.→
This year was Woody’s first Precision Rifle Series match. While it was a great match to shoot and went relatively smoothly, we kept hearing how great the DMM matches are. It didn’t take much talking to convince my shooting partner Nick, to take a ride back down to New Hill, North Carolina.
Normally a ten hour drive to a one day match requires two nights in a hotel away from home and two travel days. This can be a little bit of a strain financially and on vacation time for those of us who work non-standard schedules. However, Woody’s DMM isn’t the normal match. Instead of “squadding up” and shooting each stage of the match as a complete squad, Woody’s assigns each two man team a “tee time” prior to the match day. You arrive before your tee time. Checkin in, then shoot each stage in order. You finish and go home. One important thing to note is that the DMM match is a “team” match. Both shooters will shoot on each stage during the allotted time for a combined score. There are no separate scores. As we would see, teamwork was critical. Continue reading Woody’s Designated Marksman Match 05.03.14→
Bright and early Friday morning I found myself loading gear into a rented minivan with two other shooters, heading east for North Carolina and Woody’s Precision Rifle Series Match at Woody’s Rifle and Hunting Club in New Hill, NC.
Woody’s is well known for their Designated Marksman team matches. 2014 was the first year for the Precision Rifle format. This match was an individual effort match and qualified for points in the Precision Rifle Series. Continue reading Woody’s Precision Rifle Series Match 2014→
