Del Norte and Zia Monthly Matches, New Mexico

We have a grill. Everyone I asked thought it was a good idea to buy one, so I did. I have hamburgers buns and chips. If anyone wants to eat something else, feel free to bring it, and we'll cook it. See you guys tomorrow.
Reid
 
Scores from today's match. 80 points possible.

1st Curtis 50.5
2nd Reid 45
3rd Rick N 40
4th Jessie 38.5
5th Charlie 37.5
6th Ron P 37
7th Bruce 36
8th Adam 22.5
9th Steve 10 (.223)
10th Landon 9 (.223)

Thanks everyone for coming out, and for all of your help.
Reid
 
I am a fresh recruit that plans on coming out to one of the June match's. Since I only have 1 long range scope that has been bouncing back and forth between my .308 M700 and my AR I need to decide which gun to bring. Any inputs from the vets? I will be driving up from Clovis and we only have a 300yd range here so my dope card might be sketchy at best. This would also be my first shooting match so I apologize in advance for any novice tendencies. DNGC June 15th, Zia June 22nd...is that correct?
 
I would focus on the 308 if it were me.......we can help you with the dope, just try to bring a good Velocity and know your BC, we will have enough guys that would be happy to set up a ballistic program and help you true it up prior, you'll leave with good dope:)


Dates elude me right now but there are calendars in the appropriate gun clubs website but those sound right....Zia will be the third Sunday in June


CJW
 
JL406 You have the dates for the ranges reversed zia is the 15 which is fathers day and del norte is the 22

Make sure you read the first post and the 8th post of the the tread for the info about the matches that will get you the information you need.

JBM - Calculations is a free ballistic calculator on line that you can make charts up then print you can also get programs you can run on you smart phone like "shooter" or knights armament are just a couple.

One of the problems I see with some of the new shooters are they do not have a good 100yd zero with the ammo they are using for the match so if you can get that squared away on your home range then make a couple cards up you will be in good shape.

Sean
 
Hey guys, Here's a post from LUKE who was an RO at the SHC. Some good info for the new guys and the old guys w/ CRS, like me...

2014 SHC Lessons Learned - RO Perspective - by LUKE
As an RO I had the opportunity to watch every shooter run through my stage, and I took some general observation notes:

• Have a plan before you step up to the line - many shooters didn't think through the entire stage and were slow adapting to the movement, different positions, etc.

• Max load your magazine no matter how many shots you think you need - had people load the minimum of 9 rounds only to have misfires and need to reload mid-stage

• Don't bring extra junk to the line - People were carrying rear bags, backpacks, shooting sticks etc. from position to position and didn't even use the stuff they brought. Waste of time.

• Memorize your come-ups before you start shooting - had people trying to find their dope on a big dope card during shooting. Could have easily marked the three different come-ups on the back of their hand, side of the rifle stock, etc.
• At least 1/3 of the shooters would try to close their bolt at the beginning of the stage and have the magazine & rounds hang up and prevent the bolt from closing without some fiddling. Every time it happened it was with a Rem 700 action and Accuracy International 10rd mags. The bottom metal must not hold the magazine very well and the front of the mag drops down and causes the rounds to catch on the front of the magazine well. Had zero feeding problems from Remington BDL's, Sako TRG's, Savage's, Accuracy International's, etc.
• Don't forget what the status of your rifle is. People would open the action prior to moving, and forget to close it when they set up again. The rifle won't fire without the bolt closed, if it's on safe, or if you closed the bolt on an already fired cartridge....
• Know your wind/elevation hold-overs. People burned a lot of time messing with knobs when a simple hold-off would have sufficed.
• Don't compromise marksmanship fundamentals in favor of time - I saw some funky unnatural shooting positions because people were in a hurry, and didn't take a couple extra seconds to get set up solidly.
• Know the course of fire before you shoot! Many people put two rounds into each target even though it was a 1 shot per target stage. Most other stages were 2 shots each.
• Always press check when loading. Lots of misfires because of bolt over-ride when initially loading the rifle, or on semi-autos the bolt not seating fully.
• Don't tell the RO you're ready until you are..."Shooter ready.....oh wait, I can't get my bolt to close....."
• Inexpensive factory Savage rifles shot as well as custom high end rifles...
• Know where your ammo is and be able to reload quickly - I can reload an internal box magazine with rounds off a stock pack way faster than the guy with a DBM that has his mags buttoned up somewhere out of reach, and can't even get the mag to seat properly because he's unaccustomed to reloading on the fly.
• Use your sling for support! I had ONE guy use a sling for extra support the entire match.
• Wait to see your bullet impact before reloading/adjusting knobs - people in a hurry didn't take time to spot their misses and kept making the same incorrect wind holds shot after shot.
• Harris bipods are way faster and easier to adjust on the fly than Atlas bipods. Atlas bipods are great for static slow fire, but on the move they are really slow and clumsy.
• One turn elevation knobs and zero-stops are essential! People trying to count turns on their elevation adjustments under stress is not pretty.
• Use a suppressor on long range guns. Don't even need to elaborate on that one.
• Check your parallax and set it for the targets you're engaging. Too few people took the time to make sure their parallax settings were in order.
• Stay calm and don't get flustered. People would get out of breath and miss shots because they weren't calm and collected.
• Use supports & barricades to your advantage. We had large straw bale supports and most people would rest just the bipod on them instead of throwing the entire rifle across them and leaning on them for support.
• Just about every shooter broke their position to dial their knobs between shots and check dope cards. Get set up and keep your face on the stock.
• I don't think I saw one shooter use a spotting scope to check downrange wind during the 30min prep time. Most used Kestrels for wind measurements at the firing line but that's it.
• Be careful of bullets stuck in the barrel. Had 2 shooter have their reloaded ammo seat too far into the lands and pull the bullet out when they unloaded. Bad stuff happens if you don't catch that...
• Be sure to check your density altitude before firing. The shooters that did were usually spot on with their elevation adjustments.
• Calculate the percentage of wind hold value at different ranges. Wind averaged 10-15mph - guys were usually holding about 1 mil for wind at 580yds but it turned into about 2 mils at 940. Wind holds aren't linear.

Here's the link so you can add to or just checkout the updates. http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-2014-shc-lessons-learned-ro-perspective.html
Rick
 
JN406,
Terrel, and Winner gave you good advice. Pick whichever of your rifles shoots the best, and get your dope squared away. We will be more than happy to help you with whatever you need, just let us know. If you need to verify zero at Zia cominng up from your altitude, I have no problem with that. Frankly, I'm getting away from the first stage being a cold bore shot anyway. I will be putting on a shoot every third Sunday at Zia each month. And Sean has his match schedule at Del Norte posted every other month on this thread. Please come up and shoot, and we'll help you out all we can. We encourage new shooters into the sport. I plan to bring a spare rifle and ammo just in case we have any shooter's rifle go down, they can finish the match. And we will be BBQing every shoot throuout the summer at Zia. Please come out and enjoy, you will have a great time.
Thanks,
Reid
 
Well, I was so focused on going to the Steel Safari next weekend that I almost forgot about the Zia match, but it just occured to me that the Zia match is the following weekend. So, I just put together a COF for that following weekend's Zia shoot, Sunday, the 15th. So far, the plan is 7 stages worth roughly 15 points each, (some stages worth more, some woth less), for a total of 100 points. The plan is to run multiple stages together if a bunch of people show up, or to run them one at a time, if only 10 or so guys show up; either way, we are covered, and should finish in a reasonable amount of time. Minimum round count will be 51 rounds. There is one satage only that you may have to shoot additional rounds which could put the round count up to about 60, but all other stages are limited round count. So, bring about 60 rounds, and you should be good. As always, bring more if you want to practice afterwards.

I have a few stages that are meant to mimic stages from recent matches we have competed in, (Steel Quest, Butch's Belly Match, and the 2014 Sniper's Hide Cup to be specific), the others are the usual Zia format. No real barrel burner stages, just the one stage that may require additional rounds, (depends on how well you can shoot that one), it's sort of an earn-your-points deal. Should be a fun and chalenging match, and again, we will BBQ afterwards.
Thanks,
Reid
 
From the guys I've talked to, it doesn't look like there will be much of a turn out because of Father's Day, but we will still have a match regardless. Hope to see you guys there.
Reid
 
We had a pretty low turnout. Most likely due to the fact that it was Father's Day. Fun match though, and I think everyone enjoyed it. Thanks to all for helping out, I really appreciate it! We had seven stages with 49 round count for a total of 100 possible points. Here are the results:

1 Rick C. 75
2 Reid. D 60
3 Charlie R. 55
4 Rick N. 48
5 Buce A. 47
6 Curtis W. 46

Thanks to all for comming out. Hope you had a good time. Make sure to make the Del Norte match next weekend. I'm sure Sean will have a great match for us, he always does!

Thanks,
Reid
 
Almost forgot, next weekend at Del Norte Sean is doing a team match. I believe he is going to have the teams go first, (AR and precision rifle shooters), then anyone else who is just shooting by themselves will go afterwards. I will let Sean post the details, but everyone, be sure to make this shoot. It will be fun!
Reid
 
Reminder for the june 22 match at del norte will have the team class and the individual class shot on the same day


Team Class
Precision Rifle Shooter (open class rifle no larger then 300 win)
Carbine Shooter (semi auto rifle chambered in 223rem /5.56 77gr max, feed from mag, with a scope of at least 4x, no bi pod, only one optic)

The teams will meet at 8:00 am
Teams will be started 15mins apart and scores will be a combination of hits made and total time to complete the entire course
The total course will be about 3/4 mile and is relatively flat for the majority of it
We will sign up faster teams to start first which will help keep the match running on time. Any teams that are caught by a following team will be timed out. There will be bonus points awarded to the teams for completing the COF faster then other teams

Round count: Precision shooter will need 60 rounds. The carbine shooter gets unlimited rounds to hit approx 30 targets my carbine shooter in my team will have 100 rds with him.

Then after the teams start we will have the normal individual shooters start. Not sure yet, but teams may be able to go back and shoot the individual COF after they shoot the team class if they want.


l
Thanks Sean
 
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Sean,
Your team match was great! Very well done. I look forward to more of them.

The next Zia match is July 20th. So far the plan is for 7 stages with the total point value of 100 points, total round count of 46 rounds. I have 7 really great stages planned for you all. Hope everyone can make it. This should be a really good match, with a lot of variety, and chalenging stages. Hope to see you all there.
Reid
 
biggin69, Zia matches will always be the third sunday of the month, so the next match is August 17. Be advised, we are going to begin starting over due to the heat. Instead of starting at 9:00am, we are moving to 8:00am. Hope you can make it.
Reid
 
Results from today's match, 100 points possible:
Curtis W 75.5
Wes R 68.5
Aaron S 66
Justin B 56.5
Rick N 53
Ron P 50
Reid D 46.5
Steve A 41.5
Brandon 37.5
Toby H 25.5
Travis H DQ'd
 
All,
The Del Norte Match is this weekend, Sunday August 10. Be sure to make it out for another great match.

Sunday, August, 17 will be the next Zia match. At this point I am planning for 8 stages, 49+ rounds, (there is an earn your points stage, so more than 49 if it takes you more rounds to get to the point where you start earning points), probably bring about 60 rounds. 100 points total. We are starting an hour early now, so start time will be 8:00am. I think this will be a really good match, with a lot of variety between stages. I will post more if things change.
Reid
 
Zia match this Sunday. 47+ rounds, (still have the earn your points stage, so bring about 60 rounds, and that should be plenty). 8 stages. start time is 8:00am. See you all there.

Del Norte last weekend was a fun match. Low turn out though. Guys, come on out to Del Norte, these are great matches! We went all the way out to 1000 last weekend, it was great.
Reid
 
I'll have to meet someone at the gate tomorrow morning, but I plan to attend.

I went to Raton last weekend to bag my limit on mosquitos. I figured that everyone was at the Del Norte match as there was not much central NM representation at Raton. I don't know where everyone was, but it must have been important.
 
This month's scores:

Patch total possible points = 100
1 Rick C. 77
2 Curtis 69 We'll give the tie to Curtis since he forgot his bipod and shot the whole match without it
2 Ron P. 69
3 Reid 65
4 Rick N. 62 (.223)
5 Jason 60
6 Brandon 58
7 Jesse 55
8 Randy 54 FNG
9 John 40 FNG
10 Adam 7

Good shooting guys, it was a pretty challenging match. Thanks for all the help. Everyone pitched in to spot and all that. It is appreciated.

Reid
 
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Great match......yup I own three Atlas bipods but not one of them made the trip with me, shot everything off my pack which was a fun twist.

We had a couple new shooters which was great to see......if you have been thinking about coming out don't hesitate were all about helping everyone improve!
 
Thank you Acadamy. I'm glad you all liked it. I've been trying hard to put on the best matches I can think up, and I feel like this last one was one of the best one's I've done. Glad to year that the shooters liked it! Got a lot of good feed back this time, in fact , no negagtive, so I gues I did something right.
Thanks,
Reid
 
Great match......yup I own three Atlas bipods but not one of them made the trip with me, shot everything off my pack which was a fun twist.

We had a couple new shooters which was great to see......if you have been thinking about coming out don't hesitate were all about helping everyone improve!
 
Cwinner has agreed to come up with the course of fire for next time, September. I'm sure he will have a great COF for us. glad to see the two new guys too! That's great to have new interest in the sport. Please come back next time. As Curtis said, we will help you guys all we can! Really want to encourage new growth in the sport.
Thanks,
Reid
 
Forgot to mention, Rick N. got it done with a .223! Good job Rick!

Another well thought out and well run match. Thanks Reid.
Shooting with a .223 70g Berger has it's advantages....I didn't have to shoot w the muzzle brake bangers on the timed prone line! Nice twist Reid. LOL.
It was a little tough on the 820yd shots though.....
See yu all Sept. 14 at Seans' Del Norte Match.
 
Thanks Rick! Glad to hear the positive feedback on the match; I try, I really do. Glad to hear that I got this one right! From what I gathered from all the shooters, this month was really good, so you may see this match again some time down the road, when we're running out of ideas for a match, we may just re-visit this one.
Thanks,
Reid
 
Yes, everyone, be sure to make the next Del Norte match. These are really great matches, and Sean has really been changing it up lately. Mark these on your calendar for sure.
Reid