What a week and a half!
First off, let me preface this with Project Appleseed will surely get one to the level they need to be at, to be prepared to participate in one of these events. But there is a lot more that one needs to practice to be competitive at one of these events.
Small Arms Firing School (SAFS) match:
This is a very cool little match shot on the 200 yard line, where shooters that have not earned any leg points, can have an opportunity to earn some leg points towards "distinguished" status. I did very well on slow prone (99-3X), but standing ate my lunch. The class that is held prior to the match, was of little value to me, as Project Appleseed does a more in-depth intro of the 6 steps of firing a shot, steady hold factors, and NPOA. But the match was fun.
CMP Games:
These are a lot of FUN, as the word "games" implies. I shot in 4 of the GSVMM matches, using my M1 Garand for all 4. I was able to get very proficient in the use of my M1. Standing position was eating my lunch. I did not have a "solid" standing position, but learned a lot, and have a fundamental position now, to "work from" and practice.
M1 Carbine match:
This is a BLAST! Shot at 100 yard line like we do our AQT's. Hasty Hasty sling, and just a fun match.
Vintage Sniper Match:
My friend and I shot this with my 1903A4, of which had a perfect 300 yard zero prior to the match. Well, in the hotel, I decided to count clicks to mechanical zero on the optic, and lost count on Elevation. Thank God I did not touch the windage dial. Well, we get 5 minutes for unlimited sighters, and we needed every bit of that. First shot, low in berm under number board, as were a few others. Few quick spins on elevation dial (not kidding, not enough time to do IMC), and I was over the berm. Cut that in half, and was finally on paper. Something to work with, now I can do IMC, and get her dialed in. Think I put up a 98 in slow prone at 300. Next we move back to 600, I was exhausted, and trigger control suffered, only put a mid 80 score up at 600, but my buddy was able to get a mid 90's score. This was a VERY fun match. Shot off sandbags, and your buddy calls wind, and shots for you. We missed a medal by 4 points. Pit boss was laughing at me when I got to pits, he was amazed that I was able to get her dialed in so fast! I attribute that to the Riflemans Dance and IMC all the way! Who zeros a new scope at 300 yards! LOL
Service Rifle NRA High Power Team match:
50 round match, that your teammate is expected to assist with. My teammate and I were new to this, so we were not much help to each other. I did get to score for some distinguished shooters, and learned more from watching them make wind calls (via mirage), then anything else all weekend (with exception of finding my fundamental standing position). Fun match, looking forward to shooting again next year.
Creedmoor Cup (2400 Aggregate match)
This is NRA High Power across the course. I used my match grade service rifle for this. 20 rounds standing slow fire at 200, 20 rounds Rapid seated at 200, 20 rounds Rapid Prone at 300, and 20 rounds Slow Fire Prone at 600. Did not do too bad, considering it was my first time doing this. Wind is a big deal at 600, ours was pretty much a constant 1/4 value wind, but knowing when it is a "boil", is the key here. Knowing when to shoot, or when to wait for a constant condition is the key. Rifleman's DANCE is key here. I would take a shot, and it would be an X! Next shot would be left, in 7 ring? So, I would question myself...was it me? My position? Breathing? NPOA? OR.....was it the wind. I'd second guess myself, and send another round. Guess what, now a 6 at 3 O clock! I need to learn to TRUST my position, and work on the wind.
I was prepared for the most part equipment wise. What I will be getting for the next match:
WIDE front sight post (mine is .062, going for a .072)
Packable chair (for use in the pits, and for scoring) My cart is not a chair (although I thought it was)
What I learned, that started to work for me:
CENTER MASS hold (vice 6 o clock). I found my scores went up, when I used a center of mass hold.
Standing position: lots learned here, basically needed to start from scratch on this position.
Equipment/Logistics: You MUST be very familiar with your equipment, where it is stored in your cart, etc.
Data Book: A MUST for across the course type shooting, nice habit to get into on the 200 yard line stuff.
What I did right:
Bought once Cried Once. Equipment that is reliable is a MUST. Scope, stand, coat, cart, sling, etc. If contemplating getting into NRA High power, get with a distinguished shooter, and buy what he/she tells you to buy, or wait till you can afford it.
What I FAILED at:
Practiced prone, and prone is EASY. I should have in retrospect practiced 80% of shots (dry and live) standing, and 20% in Rapid. That caused severe drops in my scores.
Physical Conditioning: I remember when I did my first KD at Ramseur, I was bitching about the 2 minute prep periods (Toy and Fred), I am THANKFUL for that now, and see the value in getting things done in that 2 minute prep. Walking briskly from the pits to 600 yard line, then having a 2 minute pre-prep, and a 2 minute prep, before live fire was tough. But, I got used to it eventually. There were no "5 minute Bio breaks", no "stopping the line" because "my sling is not on", etc. These matches move quickly, and take a lot of time. Lunch breaks?! LOL, Bring your lunch, or you will be hungry!
If even remotely thinking about doing this type of shooting, get to a KD first! Make sure you can qualify 4MOA at 400 yard line, and you will have a "starting point". After that, get with a NRA High Power High Master, or CMP distinguished shooter for a gear list, and some advanced training/tips.
I'm ALL IN on this discipline now, why did I wait so long?!!
Ran into several Appleseeders, saw a young man that did his first Appleseed at Ramseur 2 years ago, go distinguished on Sunday! He attributed that to Appleseed, and the discussion of CMP competitions at that Appleseed.
Ran into a shoot boss, that is also distinguished, never shot a rifle competitively, until an Appleseed, and is a distinguished shooter now, and works with the CMP.
This was a GREAT time, and I highly recommend anyone to get into it. Just consult with those that are already doing it successfully, before you buy anything. There are several of those people here on this forum.
Respectfully,
Chris
Will post a Google Drive link to pics, and some videos this evening.
Thanks for the good review. You are making astoundingly fast progress as a shooter. I attribute it to the amount of intelligent thought you put into it.
I learned a ton at my first CMPEG as well. THe primary lesson taken away was that standing stage wins competitions. You are on track for success on your next trip. G/L! :)
It was definitely a fun match, and it was great to meet navybowhunter and several other Appleseeders at this event. For those who may not be aware, until two years ago I'd never owned a rifle, and hadn't shot one is over 30 years. Appleseed got me started down this path, and I haven't looked back!
Personally I had hoped to earn my Master NRA card at these matches, and while I put up some decent scores, they weren't quite where I wanted them to be, so that goal remains to be accomplished. For me, standing remains my Achilles heel, and it continues to get the most attention when I practice. If I can ever learn to shoot decent scores standing I'll be very close to where I want to be, and hopefully get my Distinguished Rifleman badge.
As navybowhunter said, I would definitely encourage anyone who wants to improve your shooting to bring your rifle and try some Highpower events. It can be humbling at first, as the 10 ring on a 600 yard target is 2 MOA in size, and looks REAL small when you're looking at it from the firing line, but if you bring a open mind and a teachable attitude you can learn a great deal about yourself and about how to become a better marksman. You could not swing a dead cat at Butner without hitting a High Master, and without exception I found everyone at the match to be extremely helpful and open to giving advice to newer shooters.
Actually watched Emil Praslik (coach of the AMU Service Rifle team and the coach for the US Palma team) spend half an hour or more talking to the dad of one of the junior's in the match about how to improve her shooting. When you can get that kind of shooting knowledge straight from the source, you'd be crazy not to listen and take it to heart.
All in all it was a fun week for me, and I look forward to seeing more of you again soon!
Agrivere
A Google Drive link to what I was able to capture:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxT3dg1kPb6CfmIzVExndGZSVUhVV041cXNoVHgzQ2c0T19fNzQ5N19fSk9LQzVmeTM4cmM&usp=sharing