AAR - WEARE, NH, JUNE 4-5, 2011

[Firewall99]

DRAGONFLIES ARE FREE

Ninsho ran into time issues with his rented brick saw at home, so he asked me to Shoot Boss this event.  I'm glad he did!

This was one of the best Appleseeds I have ever had the pleasure to attend, anywhere.  The club, Goffstown Fish & Game, is one of the nicest clubs in the state.  Everything is well thought out.  The clubhouse, with real bathrooms, was nearby and well-appointed.  The target backers came standard.  So did the grass.  Dragonflies, which are harmless, were everywhere, so there were very few mosquitoes.  There were even some huge, Monarch butterflies.  It was just, well, sweet.

If "Weare, NH," ever shows up on the Appleseed schedule again, as I'm sure it will, grab it.

The weather both days was ideal, despite dire NOAA warnings of precipitation which never happened.  It was sunny and about 70 degrees with a gentle breeze.

We had 5 shooters the first day and three the second.  Alas, none shot Rifleman.

Only one shooter, Cindy, stuck it out for both days, and she was shooting within a hair's breath of Rifleman at the end.  She cleaned her final Redcoat target.  Cindy has all the characteristics of a Rifleman.  She is not a quitter.  She will be back and earn her patch.

We had two retired LE officers, one a Captain and an instructor.  Both were swell guys and contenders, but with only one day to shoot, they did not make Rifleman.  The AQT is notoriously non-discriminatory.

Several of the shooters took advantage of our new Rifleman Opportunity Card, buying an RWVA membership which I endorsed so they can shoot Appleseeds free of Appleseed fees until they earn their Rifleman patch.

[Ninsho]

Glad to see the shoot went well.  Cindy gets closer every time, she'll make it at one of these shoots, she already has the attitude of the Rifleman.

[Firewall99]

Cindy sent me a thank you letter.  I post it below because it is instructional for people who need to use scopes.  Rifles by nature require a bit more fitting than pistols to get right.  This is especially true when using a scope. 

Hi John,

[A] sincere thank you for letting me sample your T-Rex.  I am really impressed with your scope.  It is larger than 1", and I could see so clearly + quickly with no vignetting without moving my cheek weld each NPOA change.

If you have time, please e-mail me the name & model of that scope.

I'll be glad to give you that information, but not without a little instructing first.  We discovered a lot when you shot the T-Rex just that one time. 

First, part of the reason you saw a full field in my scope was because the T-Rex stock, which has over a 15" pull, just happened to fit you perfectly.  So the first thing we learned is that you have a longer pull than most people.  "Pull" is the distance from the inside curve of the trigger to the inside curve of the butt of the stock.  The average pull of 10/22 stocks is about 14".

So the first part of the fitting solution is to find some way to extend the pull on your rifle.  Before you start buying a new stock, however, please note that one can adjust for non-optimal pull by increasing or decreasing the amount of offset to the target.  If the pull on a rifle is too short, you should reduce your normal offset by facing slightly more toward the target.  Try that first.

Secondly, we discovered that you were still experiencing vignetting with your scope. 

There is an invisible "magic marble" or sphere anywhere from 3" to 4" back from the scope eyepiece (called the "ocular" lens) that one must get their eye into in order to see the full field of the scope.  The magic marble is bigger when the scope is at the lesser magnification and the reverse is true at greater magnification.

One way or another, one not only needs to get one's eye inside the magic marble, but also get it centered.  That is sight alignment for a scope.

The answer therefore is not necessarily a new scope, but to adjust your scope on your rifle so it is the correct eye relief distance from your eye.  This usually means just loosening the rings and sliding the scope forward or back so that you see a full picture field in the ocular.  If there is not enough travel in the rings on the scope, then you may need to change which slots of the rail your rings will use.  In rare cases, one might have to find a Picatinny rail to provide enough slots from which to choose.  Be sure to test your new eye relief distance in prone before you tighten everything.

Solve the pull problem first, then tackle the scope placement/eye relief problem.

Cindy continues,

And most importantly: you have no idea how excited was when I was able to [clean] the redcoat target Sunday afternoon!  For me it is an awesome breakthrough on my way to Rifleman.  I will make Rifleman! 

Hopefully I won't hold the record for the greatest number of events attended before making Rifleman.

Once again, I thank you for your commitment to turning America back into a nation if Riflemen.

Keep your powder dry,

    Cindy

Don'cha gotta love this girl?  It doesn't matter one twit how many times it takes as long as you get there in the end.  By the end of the day Cindy was doing everything perfectly.  She got all the 6 steps, changed her NPOA for every target, took a pre-breath, and fired each shot in the Rifleman's Cadence.  It was a marvel to see.

Cindy, I sure hope you catch the Orange Hat when it comes your way.  It's already in flight.