(Author's note: will continue through time to edit these articles to redact archival content and insert images where they belong)
Author: Fred
A Guided Tour of the RWVA Home Range, During the Rifleman Boot Camp!
« on: 05 September 2006, 05:34:14 »
Those of you who have never been to the RWVA home range in Ramseur, NC, can now take a tour, courtesy of Ted's excellent photographs taken during the Boot Camp.
RWVA's range is actually divided into two ranges. Range 1 is the 500-yard long rifle range with popups targets at 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards (you'll see pics of one later). In addition, there are berms at 25m, 100m, 200 meters, and 300 meters. The Range 1 firing line has a capacity of nearly 50 shooters (20 for the RWVA Highpower match on the first Saturday of each month at noon, fired at 200 - 500 yards). There's a 75-foot-long shelter for shooters on the firing line.
Range 2 is the 25m rifle-marksmanship training range, with additional berms at 100 yards and 150 yards. The firing line has a capacity of 48 shooters, altho the most ever firing at one time has been 46 (what a sound 46 rapid-firing center-fire shooters make!) at the Appleseed shoot last February. The shelter on the Range 2 firing line is 150' long, and covers the entire firing line, unlike on Range 1.
So, let?s start the Tour on Range 2, just as you would if you came to participate in a rifle marksmanship event like the Boot Camp.
The first picture is of the Range 2 firing line, and was taken early in the day, probably the first day, as the mat is lined up straight, like newbies line them up, and not on a slant, as riflemen line them up!
Other indications this is before things really crank up: the firing line is clear of brass (later in the day, there'll be plenty of empty brass around...); there are no targets up; and the sun is fairly low in the August sky, not yet the blazing inferno it will be in just a few hours.
Our shooter on this point is meticulous. Notice how neatly everything is lined up. Notice also two important pieces of his shooter?s kit - the pen and notebook laying prominently out on his point, ready to record sight data, aiming points, scores, etc.
Downrange, the still target-less 25m berms loom ominously in the shade. Beyond, thru the gap for the range road and just above it, you can see the 100-yard berm (for shooting the 100-yd AQT - makes a real believer out of ya!) and, in the distance, beyond the far swath of green and right up against the treeline, the 150 yd berm...
Registration/sign-in has started, as evidenced by the RWVA chamber flag in the rifle. Since the targets are not yet up, it indicates the time as between 8:30 and 9 AM of the first day of the Boot Camp.
Someone has already advised the shooters to put range-supplied rubber mats in front of their position to keep down dust from muzzle blast, as you can see by the sheet of rubber just in front of the concrete. Dozens of rifles firing make enough smoke to obscure the targets, without the need for more dust in the air!
In the second picture, Ted has swiveled to his left for a shot down the firing line to the north.
In the foreground is a brass collection bucket, soon to be filled (scrap brass is recycled for the range fund).
One shooter is carrying cardboard downrange to serve as a backer for his target.
The shooter in the foreground has been here before: you?ll notice his mat is laid out on a slant! And he is busy getting his equipment ready, not standing around like the newbies in the background (OK, maybe they already have their stuff ready, right?) [to be continued - PS: clicking on a picture makes it MUCH larger.]
* RWVA Early AM R2 Boot Camp.jpg (79.67 KB, 424x640 - viewed 61 times.)
* RWVA Boot Camp R2 early AM.jpg (89.27 KB, 640x427 - viewed 55 times.)
« Last Edit: 05 September 2006, 05:35:57 by fred » Logged
New RWVA bumpersticker: "Ornell Fuggett Lives!
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New RWVA Instructor shirt: "The beatings will continue until the marksmanship improves!"
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fred
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A Guided Tour of the RWVA Home Range, During the Rifleman Boot Camp, part 2
« Reply #1 on: 05 September 2006, 06:09:45 »
In our next picture in our pictorial tour of the RWVA range, Ted has captured a shot straight down the Range 2 firing line. Since he's nearly at one end, you get an idea of how long a 150' firing line is - nearly twice the distance to 25m targets!
In the near foreground is the firing point of the shooter in picture #1. Guarantee, that large blue-gray 'mat' is not range supplied! This fellow has staked out a lotta room for himself. In the far distance, the first mat you see is that of the shooter who's been at the RWVA range before, and knows to lay his mat out on the proper slant.
If I'm not mistaken, that's Andre in the foreground, being modest when pictures are being taken. He never mastered his SKS (shown in the second picture), but he learned the basics, and was quite a help on the firing line during the weekend Appleseed, coaching the newbies. During the boot camp, he fired an M1A borrowed from his buddy, and believe he shot Rifleman. (SKSs are good rifles for marksmanship training - accurate, decent sight radius, usually decent trigger, fairly cheap - only thing: those open sights are for younger eyes - past 45 or 50, and most will have trouble keeping that rear sight in focus...but you can add a peep on the rear to make things right.)
The blue-gray building to the left, with the deck, is the RWVA clubhouse/classroom (later you'll see pics inside during the class before shooting began on the first day of the boot camp).
Looks like the trash bin next to the deck needs emptying!
In the far background, you see the large side berm for Range 2. On the other side, about 50 yards north, is Range 1, its north side defined by the trees in the background.
The shelter is really heavy-duty. The concrete at this end is 10' wide; on the north half, it's two feet wider, still. The shelter overhangs the line by two feet both front and back, which reduces effects of blowing rain considerably. If you've shot on a range with 6- or 8-feet of overhead cover, you'll appreciate 14- to 16-feet of overhead cover, from both sun and rain.
Picture Two show Andre's SKS on the line. Still see no empty brass, so pic is prob taken early, like the first three. The SKS is technically not in compliance with the RWVA safety rules. The bolt is locked back, the safety on (can't see it, but it's likely), the mag release pulled (required only for SKSs) - but the RWVA chamber flag is laying on the mat, not where it should be, in the chamber. Hope the line officer gets there soon!
But again note the two important tools for learning marksmanship: the pen and notebook, ready at hand. Also note, in anticipation of a hot day, the two bottles of ice water and what appears to be a neckerchief (for wiping off sweat, of course).
The shooter on the far side, another RWVA-veteran, has brought an absolute necessity for learning to shoot a rifle - elbow pads! (OK, not absolutely necessary - necessary only if you want to avoid sore or raw elbows Smiley) Note, as a veteran, his mat is properly laid out - on a slant. Bet Andre soon has his laid out on a slant, too.
The third pic shows one of the rifle racks on Range 2 - plenty of room for rifles on it, too. All the rifles appear to have proper chamber flags inserted (I see just a speck on yellow, on the near one). [to be continued - as before, click on a picture to make it larger.]
* RWVA boot camp R2overview.jpg (92.91 KB, 640x427 - viewed 52 times.)
* RWVA boot camp R2 SKS.jpg (95.5 KB, 640x427 - viewed 50 times.)
* RWVA Boot Camp R2 Rack.jpg (87.14 KB, 640x427 - viewed 49 times.)
« Last Edit: 05 September 2006, 06:21:21 by fred » Logged
New RWVA bumpersticker: "Ornell Fuggett Lives!
RWVA.org"
New RWVA Instructor shirt: "The beatings will continue until the marksmanship improves!"
TEXAS! #2 on the Appleseed Hit Parade!
fred
FRED (nobody is like Fred)
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A Guided Tour of the RWVA Home Range, up to Range 1
« Reply #2 on: 05 September 2006, 07:04:42 »
Okay, now we're up to Range 1, arguably one of the finest rifle ranges around.
Take a good look at the first picture. In the foreground, the railroad ties mark the 25m line - unusual in that it is sunk into the ground - ie, below ground level! That's so you can shoot at 100 yards, the next berm in the picture, without being blocked by a berm at 25 m.
The first row of numbers, hardly visible over the top of the 100-yd berm is at the 200-yard berm.
The row of numbers in the middle of the picture is at 300 yards, and the row at the top is at 500 yards.
The NRA field rep, on first viewing this range when first constructed in 1991, was initially speechless. When I asked his opinion, he stammered "great range - reminds me of some of the ranges I've shot on in Europe". He probably didn't expect something like this in backwater Randolph County, NC, huh? Smiley
The sun being out, and the angle what it is, this pic is taken late in the afternoon on one of the early days of the boot camp.
For a contrast, look at the second picture, taken on a cloudy-rainy day as the tropical storm passed over. You can see the line of targets for zeroing at 300 yards. In contrast to the first photo, which was a telephoto, this one appears to a 'normal' appearance of the range. The low contrast on a cloudy day looks far different than on a sunny day, right? And it was a LOT cooler this day, too. Note the dark RR ties, the backstop at 25m, wet from the rain.
Looks like some 100-yd AQT targets were left up on the hundred-yard backboard...And that's a Quick 'n Dirty AQT to the right at 25m...
The third picture in this series of downrange shots could be titled 'little man, big range' as a single shooter appears dwarfed by a pretty big range. But he's actually part of a three-man team (his two mates are to the right, out of the pic), so he's not alone, against the targets. Which, this being the 'downrange' advance team event, and no popups in sight (they would have been at 200 yards), looks like they have just finished knocking them down before rushing the top of the 100-yd berm. You can see the number boards at 200 and 300 pretty clearly... The sun being out suggests this may be on the first two or three days of the boot camp...
* RWVA Boot Camp R1 overview2.jpg (90.67 KB, 424x640 - viewed 52 times.)
* RWVA Boot Camp R1 Cloudy.jpg (86 KB, 640x427 - viewed 49 times.)
* RWVA Boot Camp R1 mid PM.jpg (98.17 KB, 424x640 - viewed 49 times.)
« Last Edit: 05 September 2006, 07:11:42 by fred » Logged
New RWVA bumpersticker: "Ornell Fuggett Lives!
RWVA.org"
New RWVA Instructor shirt: "The beatings will continue until the marksmanship improves!"
TEXAS! #2 on the Appleseed Hit Parade!
fred
FRED (nobody is like Fred)
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A Guided Tour of the RWVA Home Range, Range 1 (continued)
« Reply #3 on: 05 September 2006, 07:31:13 »
Let's start with viewing the full-size AQT targets used for zeroing at 300 yards, as seen in this telephoto shot from the Range 1 firing line, so they show up nice and clear. It being a cloudy day with light rain, the contrast is low.
Note the single rogue popup sticking up over the berm above the number "10", with a metal silhouette hanging to the left of him (as a decoy to pick up hits when the popups are up, too!). Also there's a popup head showing above the 200 yard berm in the lower left of the pic. Head shots at 200 yards with iron sights? Try 'em in rapid fire, like our boot camp people did!
The 400-yard contour-hugging wood target frame is in the very top of the pic.
The next pics show the Range 1 firing line, as it appears downrange. The second in the series is a telephoto, prob from 300-400 yards, judging by the elevation. Low contrast means clouds, so this was on the zeroing at full distance day, or maybe the full-distance AQT day. Since the shooters are all downrange, checking their targets, the firing line is vacant. The match director must be doing his job, out on the target line with the shooters, instead of lazing about while everyone else goes downrange! Smiley
The frist in the series seems to be taken from the same spot, but in normal lens, to show the actual size of the F/L from (I'd bet) 400 yards away. Followed by the next photo with a slight wide-angle, pushing the F/L back in the distance while showing more of the foreground. On a damp day, that grass really looks green...
The last photo is the most interesting to me. Taken at 300 yards (as shown by the number boards in the foreground, and taken in wide angle, emphasizing the forefront of the scene, it shows the range in such a different perspective that at first I didn't recognize it. But it sure does look good! [to be continued - as before, click on a picture to make it bigger!]
* RWVA Boot Camp R1 300zero.jpg (86.94 KB, 640x427 - viewed 56 times.)
* RWVA Boot Camp R1 normal.jpg (85.21 KB, 640x427 - viewed 39 times.)
* L tele.jpg (74.34 KB, 640x427 - viewed 31 times.)
* L wide5.jpg (86.64 KB, 640x427 - viewed 37 times.)
* L wide.jpg (84.96 KB, 640x427 - viewed 37 times.)
« Last Edit: 05 September 2006, 07:40:41 by fred » Logged
New RWVA bumpersticker: "Ornell Fuggett Lives!
RWVA.org"
New RWVA Instructor shirt: "The beatings will continue until the marksmanship improves!"
TEXAS! #2 on the Appleseed Hit Parade!
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