Palm Bay KDC 4/29/2017

[PHenry]

Success at last!

I was apprehensive about running another event at this venue owing to logistics inherent to the range. However, with the new electronic targeting system and a kinder, gentler rifle director it went well. Out of 9 shooters, we got 5 Full Distance Riflemen - better than 50%. Engineershooting would never have accepted less than 100%, but old PHenry is rusty and needs more KDs per year to achieve that level of success.   

We lost Stoneknives, who was forced to depart early, but hope he can make another soon. We are already planning one for next April at Palm Bay now that we know we can get five FD AQTs in per weekend or more if we stay later on Sunday.

76 year old Jack took high score on Sunday with a 45/50 (hits count scoring). Kyle came in second with a 43. Then ThreeO'eight with a 42 on iron sights! Rounding out the line was Guntukian and I squeaking by with a 40/50. Dry fire is what we need more of. The shooters insisted old PHenry shoot and God bless them for it. After a scathing AAR post from years ago, I resigned myself to instructing at KD to make sure everyone gets the individual attention they deserve.

The usual class session Sat AM and then to 25M range to verify zeroes and display proficiency in standing as there is no way to shoot in prone at 100 yards. Then on to the 600 yard competition range to begin at 100. We did some sighters from 100 to 400 and then shot each stage for score. Nobody important made score on Sat so we knew we had our work cut out for us on Sunday, but everyone rallied and applied persistence. We shot a FD AQT from 100 to 400 again with sighters, but then pulled a Ramblinwreck and went from 400 to 100 with no sighters to see if everyone recorded their DOPE as instructed. All rounds on target so clearly they listened.

Man that electronic scoring system is slicker'n snake snot - lemme tell ya. You can see your hits in real time on your stupid phone or a tablet and the range has plenty to lend. We even had old "Bob Who" posted at the target line to oversee our performance. He never even flinched!

I'd like to thank The Mennace and Guntukian for all of their help in setting it up in advance and ThreeO'Eight for arriving early to assist Dennis in setting up teh 25M range and marking the lines on the 600 yard line. Next time I hope more folks bring .30 cals so we can shoot at 600.

All in all, a success and a darn good time had by all. I will post more pics as time allows.
In Liberty,
PHenry

[Cable___Guy]

PHenry, Top notch instruction this week. Thanks again.
What a venue! The electronic scoring is amazing ,instant and accurate feedback. Ask a certain master instructor just how accurate  a hit or miss can be. This was the first Kd I have ever shot on FLAT GROUND,  Gary even pulled a wagon with extra water for all.
Now the wind and my poor wind calling skills were put to the test and found lacking. Always room to grow and This is a self improvement program.  Dennis As soon as you get next years on tips we will all be signed up.

Great shoot.

Added a sample of what the Electronic target looks like. If only my others looked as good as this one.

[308LIBERTY]

I agree with Todd. Soon as the next one if official, I'm signing up.

PHenry, Top notch instruction this week. Thanks again.
What a venue! The electronic scoring is amazing ,instant and accurate feedback. Ask a certain master instructor just how accurate  a hit or miss can be. This was the first Kd I have ever shot on FLAT GROUND,  Gary even pulled a wagon with extra water for all.
Now the wind and my poor wind calling skills were put to the test and found lacking. Always room to grow and This is a self improvement program.  Dennis As soon as you get next years on tips we will all be signed up.

Great shoot.

[Guntuckian]

After the problems of the last KD at this venue, we knew we had some work to do.  So, Malabar, TheMenace, and I worked carefully with PHenry to make sure that the problems of the past didn't repeat.  A Rifleman Persists!  It was definitely worth the effort to make sure that we got it right, this time!

To do this, lots of behind the scenes activities went into making this a great KD.  To get the electronic targets done, we took an old PHenry KD target from the prior KD, repaired it manually with pasters and whiteout, scanned it on a large format printer/scanner, to create a 1:1 sized PDF, sharpened the PDF with PhotoShop, and emailed the PDF to Silver Mountain Targets and worked carefully with them, too, as they created an electronic image, so that everything would be scaled perfectly.  It was!

We printed out test targets using a large format printer, and tested the system just days before the KD, too, to make sure that everything would work OK.  TheMenace and the club's Rifle Director tested the electronics and printed out targets very carefully, with live fire, to make sure that no bugs remained.

We also made sure to have a "Water Wagon" to carry bottles of spring water in an ice chest for our KD shooters, too, during the KD!  The heat previously had taken a huge toll on our KD shooters.

It was all well worth it.  This was a truly epic KD Clinic, with an opportunity to learn how to shoot at KD distances under high wind conditions that shifted multiple times during each course of fire.

The wind, according to the National Weather Service, peaked at 28 mph gusts on Saturday with sustained winds of 20 mph that shifted continuously from 3 to 9 o'clock.  The mid-range and down-range flags were even pointed straight up and straight down, at times.  Dry grass dropped at shoulder height would go straight up as often as not.  This was an excellent opportunity to learn to read the wind in order to make those 300 and 400 yard stage 3 and stage 4 hits.

Pictures to follow.

-- Gary

P.S. Using a M4-gery clone with a 16" barrel, and using Federal XM193LC 55 grain ball ammo in the green ammo can from Walmart (the 420 count ammo can), I found I had to vary my hold from -6 MOA to +6 MOA, to Zero MOA when the wind died, to keep my hits in the black on Stage 4.  Half value, full value, zero value winds all occurred multiple times during each course of fire.  I learned a tremendous amount at this KD.  It really pulled all the loose ends together for me, in terms of learning how to read the wind, and still make hits.  A 30 cal would have been much more forgiving, but I wouldn't have learned nearly as much!

[Guntuckian]

Pictures!

[Guntuckian]

More pictures!

[Guntuckian]

Even more pictures.

[Guntuckian]

Pictures!

[Guntuckian]

Range Detail Pictures.

[Guntuckian]

The one miss I had in this Stage 4 was due to a down draft.  The mid-range flag was pointed straight up when I took the shot.  It was pointed straight down right after the shot.  A down draft evidently occurred during the shot.  Pushing my 5.56 XM193LC 55 grainer DOWN!  The grid lines for these Silver Mountain Targets are on a 1 MOA grid at all distances.  This makes it super easy to make your sighter corrections.

[Guntuckian]

This incidentally shows my hold off in Stage 3.  The miss was when the Range Flag was indicating a 9 o'clock wind, and the wind suddenly died.  You read the flags and you place your bets.  A wind flag is a lagging indicator.

[Guntuckian]

For future reference, on an Android phone, when you want to take a snapshot of a web screen, such as your eTarget from the WiFi server, you do a double button press, pressing DOWN on Volume while simultaneously touching your power button.  SNAP.  Your webscreen image picture is taken and then stored in Screenshots on your Android phone. 

-- Gary

[B.C.]

Good times indeed. Congratulations to those that took home a score in the high winds, well done my friends, well done. The electronic targets are a modern marvel to be sure, I wish we had a similar set up at my home range in St Augustine. It was amazing to see your hits in real time so quickly after depressing the bang switch. As with every event I attend I left with more knowledge than I came with....and for that, I thank you. Special thanks to those who set this event up, The Menace, Gary and also thanks to the range rifle director. Only one lingering question remains: when can we do it again? Enjoy the few pictures I took below. Now, back to life between Appleseeds. Until next time my friends and fellow countrymen. 

[Nashville Stage]

The electronic target holders are interesting. How do you calibrate the position of the paper target on the backer with regard to the sensors?

Also, do you know what the additional sensor on the lower-left corner (the one that is spaced in front of the backer) is for? Does that enable the recording of velocity?

[Nashville Stage]

For future reference, on an Android phone, when you want to take a snapshot of a web screen, such as your eTarget from the WiFi server, you do a double button press, pressing DOWN on Volume while simultaneously touching your power button.

That's interesting. On my Android phone (Note 3), I simultaneously hold the button at the bottom of the screen & the power button for about 1 second. I'm sure there are some other input combinations as well, since not all devices have a physical button at the bottom of the screen.

[PHenry]

The electronic target holders are interesting. How do you calibrate the position of the paper target on the backer with regard to the sensors?

Also, do you know what the additional sensor on the lower-left corner (the one that is spaced in front of the backer) is for? Does that enable the recording of velocity?

The backers are "tuned" and show exactly where to place a standard NRA target. We then center our Army D target repair centers on the NRA target and it is accurate to well less than a millimeter. The second mic in lower left corner measures velocity. The software lists the hits and the velocity of each round, in order. It is nothing short of amazing.

[Ramblin' Wreck]

Looks like y'all had a blast literally and figuratively. I really regret that family obligations pulled me out at the last minute but Rusty and I managed to squeeze off a few rounds at Talladega on Saturday before I had to bug out about 2 PM to make a family event. I'd love to come down next time you have an event there. 


The e-targets look really nice and the display actually looks simpler than the ones at CMP Talladega. The only downside of the e-targets is the almost overwhelming desire to look after every shot even on stages 2 and 3.  Rusty and I encourage shooters to turn the displays downward even during sighters and only look after firing the string to keep them from breaking NPOA to see where the REAL group is.


Wind is a real challenge. If you think wind at 400 is bad go to 600 with a 55 grain bullet when the near flags at 200 indicate full value from the left and flags at 600 show full value from the right. The last couple of KD events we've done we were fortunate enough to have a CMP RSO who is a 3-time Camp Perry winner with his partner in the Vintage Sniper match present. He has come speak with the shooters about how to read wind and mirage. Talk about drinking from a fire hose.


We've done enough KDs at Talladega now that we've learned some do's and don'ts when doing an E-KD. Instead of harping on shooters to determine come ups or BSZ holds and WRITE IT DOWN at every distance all day we do the first AQT with sighters, including at 600 yards, and the next one without. Those who failed to WRITE IT DOWN are usually lost as a ball in the tall weeds on #2. We then go back on #3 and shoot each distance with sighters again and this time they usually do WRITE IT DOWN.


If y'all are up for a drive, we have two 2 day KD events upcoming at Talladega in June and July and a 1 day on 8/11 before an IBC. The July event is instructor-only and we'll be staying at a local lodge/campground on the river for some afterhours fellowship. It's a long drive from Florida and the I-O event is in July (I know the heat doesn't scare guys from Florida) but the line is covered with a concrete shooting surface (no fire ants), restrooms close enough to go between stages, e-targets and NO WALKING.


Hope to see my Florida brothers soon.


Wreck

Success at last!

I was apprehensive about running another event at this venue owing to logistics inherent to the range. However, with the new electronic targeting system and a kinder, gentler rifle director it went well. Out of 9 shooters, we got 5 Full Distance Riflemen - better than 50%. Engineershooting would never have accepted less than 100%, but old PHenry is rusty and needs more KDs per year to achieve that level of success.   

We lost Stoneknives, who was forced to depart early, but hope he can make another soon. We are already planning one for next April at Palm Bay now that we know we can get five FD AQTs in per weekend or more if we stay later on Sunday.

76 year old Jack took high score on Sunday with a 45/50 (hits count scoring). Kyle came in second with a 43. Then ThreeO'eight with a 42 on iron sights! Rounding out the line was Guntukian and I squeaking by with a 40/50. Dry fire is what we need more of. The shooters insisted old PHenry shoot and God bless them for it. After a scathing AAR post from years ago, I resigned myself to instructing at KD to make sure everyone gets the individual attention they deserve.

The usual class session Sat AM and then to 25M range to verify zeroes and display proficiency in standing as there is no way to shoot in prone at 100 yards. Then on to the 600 yard competition range to begin at 100. We did some sighters from 100 to 400 and then shot each stage for score. Nobody important made score on Sat so we knew we had our work cut out for us on Sunday, but everyone rallied and applied persistence. We shot a FD AQT from 100 to 400 again with sighters, but then pulled a Ramblinwreck and went from 400 to 100 with no sighters to see if everyone recorded their DOPE as instructed. All rounds on target so clearly they listened.

Man that electronic scoring system is slicker'n snake snot - lemme tell ya. You can see your hits in real time on your stupid phone or a tablet and the range has plenty to lend. We even had old "Bob Who" posted at the target line to oversee our performance. He never even flinched!

I'd like to thank The Mennace and Guntukian for all of their help in setting it up in advance and ThreeO'Eight for arriving early to assist Dennis in setting up teh 25M range and marking the lines on the 600 yard line. Next time I hope more folks bring .30 cals so we can shoot at 600.

All in all, a success and a darn good time had by all. I will post more pics as time allows.
In Liberty,
PHenry

[Guntuckian]

Since the winds were never under 12 mph, I never even got the spotting scope out for reading mirage.  I had it in the water wagon, though, with the little Vanguard tripod that fits in a cargo pants lower pocket.  And, I have used it at this range previously when shooting prone over 600 yards.  But, mirage only gives about a 1.5 MOA correction, max, in windage and elevation, and usually even less.  The value of reading mirage is simply to get a more precise wind speed estimate in Appleseed style shooting.  And, to determine wind direction more precisely, by  rotating into the direction of  the wind  with the spotting scope.  My hold in prone with a loop sling is typically about +/- 1 MOA in both windage and elevation.  So, reading wind is really the key to KD success.  I usually can hold within a 2 MOA x 2 MOA box, for a 4 MOA group total.  On a bipod, I can do about +/- 0.5 MOA, and, on a gimbeled joystick rest, I can do about +/-  0.25 MOA, at least at 100 yards with a precision 22, using wind flags and midrange anemometer and waiting for wind conditions to repeat, when shooting with the F-class small bore guys.

I fired all stages 2 & 3 at Rifleman's Cadence, after using my support side eye to glance quickly at the wind flags without breaking cheek weld just before verifying NPOA.  On stage 4, though, I held cheek weld and checked the wind flag before each shot.  That was how I spotted the twirling flag pointed straight up before the shot, and the twirling flag pointed straight down after the shot I missed.

Our range tablets have auxiliary batteries, too, to run for the whole day with no screen saver kicking in.

-- Gary

[PHenry]

This was most definitely the most wind old PHenry has ever shot in, but I stand by my assertions in class. Unless you are skilled in doping the wind - make no correction at all. If you do make a correction, be very frugal about it. Misses are far more often a consequence of human error, than mechanical or wind. The biggest issue I had with the wind was in its pushing my little bird-body around like a rag in the breeze.

Also, shooting .30 caliber makes it less of a concern. 

[Ramblin' Wreck]

Yeah, bringing enough gun helps a lot. 

Also, shooting .30 caliber makes it less of a concern. 

[Nashville Stage]

Yeah, bringing enough gun helps a lot. 

Is this enough gun? 

[Ramblin' Wreck]

Whatever you can manage standing on stage 1. 

Yeah, bringing enough gun helps a lot. 

Is this enough gun?