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Firebase Ripcord Afteraction

Started by 1shot, June 17, 2007, 07:50:57 AM

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fred
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Firebase Ripcord Afteraction
<< on: 20 August 2006, 06:40:45 >>
   
     I've said it often enough: You can't lose at one of our RWVA rifle-shooting events.

     A bunch of people show up, you're happy you're seeing more people learning to shoot.

     Only a few people show up, and you're really happy, cause there's so many more targets for you.

     Ripcord was one of the latter, slightly more than ten people on the line.

     Of course, the weather did not cooperate. We were expecting extreme heat, body-wilting humidity, and real back-in-the-'Nam weather.

     Sheesh! What we got was a fairly nice day, temp in 80s, humidity there, but not oppressive. What a bummer!

     Hope it's not going to be like that for the Boot Camp! Smiley

     We started, as is now traditional, with the Classification AQT, to find out who would go to the bunker line, and who would be the Colonel's driver (much safer and more comfortable).

     Fred, determined to do good on it, let one go, standing, that was instantly classified as "wild". Looking downrange, nothing seen in the white - could it have been totally off the paper? Quite conceivable, he thought. Going downrange to get the bad news, he was miffed to find the 'wild' shot just in the corner of the 5-ring at 7 o'clock. Guess he needs some practice calling his shots!

      Fred dropped a point each in the 2nd and 3rd stages for the high Classification score of 240. Son of Martha turned in a 215, and KOMA squeaked in a 210. With six shooters, that's a 50% qualified Rifleman rate, about as high as it's ever been.

     We then glued up some 1-inch stars, three per shooter, and had 20 rds and 60 seconds to knock 'em all off the cardboard. Again, Fred was the only one to totally clean them off, which other competitors credited to his thousand-round practice session of the preceding days... Smiley

     Then up to the 500-yard Range 1, and the opening of the "Firebase Ripcord" popup events.

     To warm everyone up, we marched down to the 100 yard berm, scaled it, and engaged every popup at 200/300 for multiple exposures. It gets your adrenaline going after all the 25m stuff, for sure!

     Then back to the firing line, and the 'bunker' event, where you leave rifle and mags in your 'bunker' (your spot on the line) and go up to the parking lot to get in the 'chow line'. When the alarm is given, to shouts of "they're in the wire!" you race to your spot on the line, take up position, and start cranking them out. Information and belief has it that Fred was, in the process of getting to his spot, kinder-and-gentler hollering in Wildman's ear to "move outta the way!" en route to his rifle...

      Eight shot the speed shoot, and as is now traditional, heat impacted the scores, plus One-Zero bringing out his favorite 'bunker' target, where a steel plate is put in front of one of the 200 popups, and you have a narrow opening to snake your bullet thru to the target. On that target, you either scored, or settled down for a seemingly-endless number of shots before it would go down. (The 200s were mostly head shots, not easy with or without metal in front of them.)

      Fred turned in the winning score of 24 secs, having the good fortune to hit the bunker on the first shot (whew!).

     The 4-man counterattack event was won by Wildman, KOMA, Son of Martha, and Rick with a time of 2:42, to the jeers of the mis-named "Winners" team (which Fred and others were on) Smiley.

      In the perpetual battle between the 'naturals' and the 'golf coursers', the 'naturals' were on top for this shoot, and the top of the 100-yard berm was overgrown with vegetation so high you were in the shade when you laid down. Smiley It was near impossible to get a line of sight on more than one target laying down, so most people elected to stand or sit on top of the berm. In addition, for most of the day the 200 yard targets were hiding behind plant growth, until the .223 shooters gradually chopped it down so we could see the targets! Cheesy Grin

     (I have it on good authority that the range will be back in the hands of the 'golf coursers' by the time the first shooters arrive for the Boot Camp next week.)

     Fred's been to a lot of these shoots, and he's seen the popups disappear in the light and heat, and he's seen them disappear in winter mist and fog - and even occasionally in rain. But the 300s this time were REALLY hard to see when the sun was out, but when the sun went behind clouds (one of the factors knocking the temp down) they popped out like they wanted to be seen. Unfortunately, Fred shot when the sun was out, and had to shoot where he thought the targets were...

     Eleven shot the 'Sniper' event, with a three-way tie between KOMA, Son of Martha, and Cabinboy - each with perfect, one-shot kills at 200, 300, and 500 yards.

     O Boy! Sudden death shoot-off! To keep it miserable for the contestants, we started them at 200, where one was eliminated (to protect egoes, no names will be mentioned - but Fred and others had "200 yard" problems all day); at 300, the second was eliminated, and KOMA went on to down the 500 target just to show everyone it was no fluke that he was the event winner.

     One new event was to shoot the speed shoot as a 3-man team event, only standing! That's right, 4 targets at 300, and 4 heads at 200, the clock ticking! The winning team turned in 24 seconds, pretty respectable...believe one of their members took the 300-yard targets out with 4 shots - four hits!

      Everyone got to shoot all he wanted, and we finished up with some daylight left, itself uncommon...

     Son of Martha rendered up a poem of Kipling's with some interesting lines (and hard to believe he wrote 'em over a hundred years ago):


The Gods of the Copybook Headings
[the reference is to early copybooks as used in schools; in other words eternal truths then taught by the educational system - would that they taught them today, right? The 'gods of the market' refers to fads and foibles of society...what we would today call liberalism, since it currently controls American marketplace thinking]

...They [the Gods of the Market] promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

...we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

...we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will bum,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return.

     
But I've got to say, when it comes to Kipling, here's some more you should like:

...When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .

When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!
<< Last Edit: 20 August 2006, 23:38:29 by fred >>    Logged
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Re: Firebase Ripcord Afteraction
<< Reply #1 on: 20 August 2006, 21:28:55 >>
   
Fred's right 10 shooters and the game is on, its a SUPER time for thoes who suit up and show up. One never knows what the turn out might be so come to every one!

We like to keep a score sheet for the various event held at the RWVA range, somebody needs to have braggin' rights but make no mistake everyone who shows up for one of the action packed days is a winner and that's no bull.

The team that beat Freds team (the Winners) Cry was called the Beavers. The Beavers really showed their teeth.
Cool Grin Wink

If you weren't their we know who you are. You were missed hope we'll catch you next time.
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Re: Firebase Ripcord Afteraction
<< Reply #2 on: 20 August 2006, 23:10:01 >>
   
Gee I sure wish I could have made that one.  Cry Oh well hopefully after the boot camp Mrs 4liberty will be hooked Grin even more and will be asking for more trips to the home range...
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Re: Firebase Ripcord Afteraction
<< Reply #3 on: 21 August 2006, 00:11:12 >>
   
No way we're having a baby during this event next year!
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Re: Firebase Ripcord Afteraction
<< Reply #4 on: 21 August 2006, 07:57:17 >>
   
Quote from: fred on 20 August 2006, 06:40:45
<major cut...>

     One new event was to shoot the speed shoot as a 3-man team event, only standing! That's right, 4 targets at 300, and 4 heads at 200, the clock ticking! The winning team turned in 24 seconds, pretty respectable...believe one of their members took the 300-yard targets out with 4 shots - four hits!


Ouch!  I hate that I missed that - I really like the standing shots.  Hopefully this event will stick around and resurface at some other times.  Shooting standing forces a careful exection of proper front sight focus, trigger squeeze, breath control, and of course follow through!  It's a great training tool that carries over well to other positions.

Well, at least I was doing something rifle related, as I was helping run a long range match (600 & 1,000 yards) over at Butner.  Smiley
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