The class went very well, at the last minute the DTA crew had to reschedule to the October class, so we were down to 4, but that just gave everyone a little more room to relax and take their time during the range sessions.
Calibration and zeroing worked out to be very smooth. The camera system from Keith at http://www.TargetCam.net worked great at 1350m, even with the small antenna. We'll be adding more cameras for the October class, it really improves the ability to precisely locate hits at these distances. Using the laser boresight to calibrate scopes is very quick and painless, plus it saves expensive ammo for more useful exercises. The SiteLite SL-150 green laser works fine, even in AZ sun, though it's at its best at dusk.
Pretty much everyone settled on FFS, at least by the end of the class. We run it on a Trimble Nomad, but no matter what PDA you choose, at some point power becomes an issue. FFS has a feature to output the trajectory tables in 500' or 1000' density altitude bands as a CSV file, which I then load in Excel to format and print, then laminate as backups to the PDA going down totally. While Trimble has a 12v accessory plug charger that you can use in your car (or in my case, off the quad), what if you are in the field for a while with no access to power? How many spare battery packs do you want to carry?
In my case, I've settled on an Anker Astro3 external 10,000mAh battery, which will recharge the Nomad twice. A Nomad7 solar panel from GoalZero charges the Astro3, plus there is a charger for 4 AA batteries, and three will run the Nomad using the optional battery holder. For practical purposes, I can run this system for weeks in the field with no concerns about having access to an outlet.
We are working on the possibility of doing this class on the East Coast, at a W. Va. location. If you have any interest in taking this class back East, please send me a PM and I'll put you on the contact list. I'm teaming up with Ashbury Precision Ordnance on this and another project, a .375 CT system that looks pretty promising. Captech/Jaimison is on board to produce ammunition to spec, the rifle is on its way to me for final long range testing and load development (you can see it here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashbury-Precision-Ordnance/131725820215093?fref=ts ).
Another nice reason to use FFS is the ability to GPS locate targets and FFP's. This feature is very handy when you revisit a shooting location. It's now possible to export the location files from FFS to programs like OziExplorer, or import a location file for use as a target or FFP. OziExplorer has a CE version I'm running on the Nomad, and you can link a waypoint to a .jpg, so I'm taking photographs of the targets from each FFP, linking the photo to the waypoint and when you are in the field, you can used the photo to help orient yourself to the range and targets you have stored in FFS. Pretty cool.
PR Urban starts Monday, then its a week of high speed filming for the next season of Gun Stories. More sunscreen please. Nothing like keeping busy here at Gunsite.
Calibration and zeroing worked out to be very smooth. The camera system from Keith at http://www.TargetCam.net worked great at 1350m, even with the small antenna. We'll be adding more cameras for the October class, it really improves the ability to precisely locate hits at these distances. Using the laser boresight to calibrate scopes is very quick and painless, plus it saves expensive ammo for more useful exercises. The SiteLite SL-150 green laser works fine, even in AZ sun, though it's at its best at dusk.
Pretty much everyone settled on FFS, at least by the end of the class. We run it on a Trimble Nomad, but no matter what PDA you choose, at some point power becomes an issue. FFS has a feature to output the trajectory tables in 500' or 1000' density altitude bands as a CSV file, which I then load in Excel to format and print, then laminate as backups to the PDA going down totally. While Trimble has a 12v accessory plug charger that you can use in your car (or in my case, off the quad), what if you are in the field for a while with no access to power? How many spare battery packs do you want to carry?
In my case, I've settled on an Anker Astro3 external 10,000mAh battery, which will recharge the Nomad twice. A Nomad7 solar panel from GoalZero charges the Astro3, plus there is a charger for 4 AA batteries, and three will run the Nomad using the optional battery holder. For practical purposes, I can run this system for weeks in the field with no concerns about having access to an outlet.
We are working on the possibility of doing this class on the East Coast, at a W. Va. location. If you have any interest in taking this class back East, please send me a PM and I'll put you on the contact list. I'm teaming up with Ashbury Precision Ordnance on this and another project, a .375 CT system that looks pretty promising. Captech/Jaimison is on board to produce ammunition to spec, the rifle is on its way to me for final long range testing and load development (you can see it here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashbury-Precision-Ordnance/131725820215093?fref=ts ).
Another nice reason to use FFS is the ability to GPS locate targets and FFP's. This feature is very handy when you revisit a shooting location. It's now possible to export the location files from FFS to programs like OziExplorer, or import a location file for use as a target or FFP. OziExplorer has a CE version I'm running on the Nomad, and you can link a waypoint to a .jpg, so I'm taking photographs of the targets from each FFP, linking the photo to the waypoint and when you are in the field, you can used the photo to help orient yourself to the range and targets you have stored in FFS. Pretty cool.
PR Urban starts Monday, then its a week of high speed filming for the next season of Gun Stories. More sunscreen please. Nothing like keeping busy here at Gunsite.
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