I know this isn't a real AAR but I had nowhere else to put it.
Yesterday we journeyed about 2 hours south to the new CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park (http://thecmp.org/competitions/talladega-marksmanship-park/) and spent most of the day shooting on their newly installed state of the art e-target system. As you should know Project Appleseed is a CMP affiliated organization and we were there in red hats and instructor shirts getting some trigger time and 7th stepping anyone who would talk to us. Shooters are a friendly bunch of folks. They'll even offer to let you shoot their tricked out varmint rifle at 600 yards without you having to ask. Ask me how I know. ;)
A few of my observations from "Wreck and Rusty's excellent adventure";
- This place is fabulous. They just opened two months ago and everything is new.
- Every line is covered and paved except for tactical pistol pits. NO MUD, WET FEET or anything else, ever.
- The 100 yard range and the long range have electronic targets. This means no walking to check holes. You could do a 2 day KD here in 1 day.
- On the long range 200, 300 and 600 yards there are toilets not more than about 50 yards from any position. This is important to some of us "senior" instructors. For others, maybe less so.
- The clubhouse has 3 huge meeting rooms with full AV facilities, a Creedmor gun store and CMP offices.
- The folks running the place are terrific and very friendly to Appleseed. Our brochures are prominently displayed in a rack with theirs. Thanks AR Mike.
Now some warnings
- Make sure you check the range hours so you don't show up 3 hours early to shoot. Ask me how we found this out.
- There is a VERY STRONG tendency to break your NPOA after every shot to look at the monitor since feedback is immediate. Resist it if possible. I could not. ;D
- Bring lots of ammo. Since there's no walking you can go through an ammo can in a hurry. Changing targets (aka pasting holes) is two pushes of a button.
- We shot maybe 4 hours total and I probably went through 250+ rounds spread over 5 rifles.
- Don't go into the gun store. You will find things there, like a Springfield Super Match M1A (list price $3,800), and they will prey on your mind long after you leave the range. The force is strong with this one.
Below are some pictures I took and I'm sure Rusty has some as well. If you have a chance to go to Talladega you really should take it. BTW, it's only about 4 miles from the speedway. Double your pleasure if you're a race fan when NASCAR is running.
Started at the 100 yard range to verify rifle zeros. Rusty and I each took 5.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/20150812_134345_zpsiax9jdfg.jpg)
Standard come-ups work. Results of my 200 yard sighter with my M1A. Experimented with COT vs 6 O'clock hold.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/20150812_164629_zpskwlj5yop.jpg)
Add 1 click up and rotate the hood. I ended up taking off the .5.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/20150812_163140_zpsbqbgjewm.jpg)
Eight shot string with the M1A at 600 yards. It's 11 MOA from 300 to 600 yards or 22 clicks on my rifle. The outside diameter of the 7 ring is 36 inches. The X ring is 1 MOA, 6 inches.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/M1A%20600%20Yards_zpsfqriyrss.jpg)
Rusty at 600 yards.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/20150812_174343_zpsc5ayikfc.jpg)
Debut of the tactical range cart so you don't have to carry 4 or 5 rifles and the rest of your gear about 200 yards from the parking lot to the line. Cleverly camoflaged as a used baby jogger from craigslist. ;D
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/Ramblinwreck77/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega/20150812_153514_zpsbihxaqpk.jpg)
See the whole slide show at the link below.
http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/Ramblinwreck77/slideshow/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega (http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/Ramblinwreck77/slideshow/Appleseed%20Events/CMP%20Talladega)
I hope everyone gets a chance to make it to Talladega soon. I plan to be there frequently since it's only about 1.5 hours from my house.
http://thecmp.org/competitions/talladega-marksmanship-park/ (http://thecmp.org/competitions/talladega-marksmanship-park/)
Wreck
This was a great field trip. I'm glad I could get some time off work to go.
The facility is fantastic. It's all new and the technology is amazing. Being able to gather data on four rifles with no walking was great. :)
If you're in the area, it's worth stopping in. According to the Operations Officer, it will be closed on NASCAR race weekends. With the overwhelming traffic, their employees would not be able to make it to work.
I gathered a few pictures, but I'll be a bit before I can post them. Sometimes work interferes with Appleseed!
Hours: (subject to change)Quote**New Summer Hours (July/august)**
Monday & Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday & Thursday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
**RANGE Hours (September)**
Monday & Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday & Thursday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m.- 5 p.m.
**RANGE Hours (october-June)**
Monday & Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday - Saturday, 8 a.m. -5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
I had a chance to shoot the Inaugural D-Day Match at Talladega (Garand and EIC), and it is most certainly a wonderful shooting facility. Shooting under a cover without worrying so much about sunscreen, ticks, mud, and all the other fun things we find on most firing lines is definitely a nice feature. The electronic targets are also very cool! No walking and pasting, no pit duty, just shoot and score! It's just about the only way to shoot at 600 yards without bringing friends and radios along to man the pits and pull targets, which is great!
As many are likely already aware, there is a one day Basic Highpower Clinic coming up in a couple of weeks (August 29 and 30) at the CMP Marksmanship Park, which looks to me like it will be a great event. The clinic is lead by Donnie "Top" Heuman, a former member of the Marine Marksmanship Team and coach for the Army Marksmanship Unit. As I understand it Sara Rozanski will also be helping to coach; Sara is one of the top Service Rifle shooters in the country.
QuoteOur Range Master, Donnie "Top" Heuman, will be hosting a High Power Clinic on Saturday 29 August. Instruction will begin at 8:00 am with approximately 1 hour of classroom instruction. From 9:00 am to 5:00 pm the clinic will be firing on the 200-300-600 yd range electronic KTS targets working on various competition techniques including rapid fire drills and a practice 800 aggregate match with sighters. Entries are limited to 20 participants. Lunch and 200 rounds ammunition will be provided.
Register online now here https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php...
Following the clinic on Sunday will be the first 800 point aggregate NRA Across the Course match. Both of these should be excellent events, and I'm already signed up for both. Hope to see more of you there!
Top Heuman is a good guy and very supportive of the Appleseed mission. :)
I had Sarah as a coach when she was with Team Remington. She is an excellent rifle coach. I'm glad that she is down at Talledega and is able to shoot in competition again after a period of not being able to, due to her job. There is no question that Top knows his stuff too.
If any of you can make that clinic, I think that you could get something from it.
If those 200 yard targets were standing, you guys did a great job with the M14. Heck even if they were prone, you still got valuable data.
Good luck,
Mike
I plan to be there. I think every Appleseed instructor who wants to teach KD could benefit from a class like this. The entry fee is steep but includes 200 rounds of ammo for whatever caliber you're shooting and the free shoot the next day.
Hope to see more of y'all there.
Wreck
Quote from: Agrivere on August 14, 2015, 01:30:20 PM
I had a chance to shoot the Inaugural D-Day Match at Talladega (Garand and EIC), and it is most certainly a wonderful shooting facility. Shooting under a cover without worrying so much about sunscreen, ticks, mud, and all the other fun things we find on most firing lines is definitely a nice feature. The electronic targets are also very cool! No walking and pasting, no pit duty, just shoot and score! It's just about the only way to shoot at 600 yards without bringing friends and radios along to man the pits and pull targets, which is great!
As many are likely already aware, there is a one day Basic Highpower Clinic coming up in a couple of weeks (August 29 and 30) at the CMP Marksmanship Park, which looks to me like it will be a great event. The clinic is lead by Donnie "Top" Heuman, a former member of the Marine Marksmanship Team and coach for the Army Marksmanship Unit. As I understand it Sara Rozanski will also be helping to coach; Sara is one of the top Service Rifle shooters in the country.
QuoteOur Range Master, Donnie "Top" Heuman, will be hosting a High Power Clinic on Saturday 29 August. Instruction will begin at 8:00 am with approximately 1 hour of classroom instruction. From 9:00 am to 5:00 pm the clinic will be firing on the 200-300-600 yd range electronic KTS targets working on various competition techniques including rapid fire drills and a practice 800 aggregate match with sighters. Entries are limited to 20 participants. Lunch and 200 rounds ammunition will be provided.
Register online now here https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php (https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php)...
Following the clinic on Sunday will be the first 800 point aggregate NRA Across the Course match. Both of these should be excellent events, and I'm already signed up for both. Hope to see more of you there!
The 200 yard targets were definitely NOT standing although I know there are people who can shoot that stage that well standing. I'm not one of them. ;D
Wreck
Quote from: jmdavis on August 14, 2015, 02:08:41 PM
I had Sarah as a coach when she was with Team Remington. She is an excellent rifle coach. I'm glad that she is down at Talledega and is able to shoot in competition again after a period of not being able to, due to her job. There is no question that Top knows his stuff too.
If any of you can make that clinic, I think that you could get something from it.
If those 200 yard targets were standing, you guys did a great job with the M14. Heck even if they were prone, you still got valuable data.
Good luck,
Mike
Thanks for the writeup guys!