I'm 72 and new to long range shooting. At age 4 my grandfather and I to the Trinity River to shoot turtles, snakes and beer cans with his Savage
.22/.410 over/under. He left that rifle to me in his will I have it to this day. I own several hand guns from which I have learned some basics, but shooting rifles will be a challenge. That's OK...that's what I signed up for.
I am aware of only one rifle range in the DFW area with lanes >800 yards - Extreme Tactics and Training Solutions in Waxahachie, TX (which is 70 miles south of my home in McKinney, TX). So while I can zero my rifles at the many indoor ranges (a couple which have 100 rifle lanes), there aren't publicly accessible ranges with enough length to validate indoor practice shooting. I have 3 AR-platformed guns: an 18" CMMG .556, an 18" Aero Precision .308, and an Aero Precision 20" 6.5 Creedmoor. I purchased Nikon Monarch and Black glass individually configured for each of these guns - why Nikon? Not too expensive, good glass (from my camera experiences) and very similar reticles which should serve to transfer my learning curve from scope to scope.
I frequently shot turtles and snakes at a water treetment plant pond with a .22 carbine during my pre-military college days, qualified on an M-16 during basic training, and then shot an M-1 carbine with my detachment commander (to burn up ammunition) while stationed on Mindanao in the Philippines. Stepping up to the .308 and 6.5 CM will be interesting.
I work out weekday mornings with a 50-year-old former Army Ranger. Like me, he has had back surgery to fuse together multiple vertebrae (him - the after effects of too many jumps from perfectly good airplanes. Me - the consequence of falling from a rotten Teakwood tree while stringing seismic data cable in the jungle along the Thai/China border in 1972). We commiserate about our ailments, and he occasionally discusses pistol techniques with me. My eldest son, now a CWO and Blackhawk pilot, will PCS from Fort Bragg to Fort Hood this spring. Once there he and I have agreed to rendevous at the Waxahachie rifle range. For 8 years he was an enlisted Chinook maintenance chief in the Army's 160th SOAR, and spent 7 tours in the sandbox, during which time his "customers" - SEALS and Delta operators - took him shooting and gave him insightful shooting tips From his 160th experience he talked me into buying an ACOG (a 3.5 x 35 with its reticle set up for the .556). I'm interested in learing how to use it - in the 200 to 350 yard range I suspect - even though I've promised to give it to him once he settles in at Hood. That's OK. My unassisted eyesight (20-20) allows me to follow a golf ball 300 yards, track and recognized the difference between an 85 mph fastball and a 75 mph 12-to-6 curveball. So my eyesight should allow me to be able to accomplish 300 yrd shots in the near term, then step out my distance incrementally over time. See...at 72 I still plan to be doing this for a while yet.
Thanks for letting me bore you. I am a long-time Corvette Forum member. With help and advice from other Forum members, I built up the power/drive train of my 20-year-old C5 to achieve 600 rwhp and 520 lb/ft; installed a killer 900 watt, navigation head unit w/5 channel stereo; and installed a custom leather interior. I like to learn new skills. So I look forward to learning some of the complexities of long-range shooting from the experienced members of this group.
John
aka the Lone Star Lizzard
.22/.410 over/under. He left that rifle to me in his will I have it to this day. I own several hand guns from which I have learned some basics, but shooting rifles will be a challenge. That's OK...that's what I signed up for.
I am aware of only one rifle range in the DFW area with lanes >800 yards - Extreme Tactics and Training Solutions in Waxahachie, TX (which is 70 miles south of my home in McKinney, TX). So while I can zero my rifles at the many indoor ranges (a couple which have 100 rifle lanes), there aren't publicly accessible ranges with enough length to validate indoor practice shooting. I have 3 AR-platformed guns: an 18" CMMG .556, an 18" Aero Precision .308, and an Aero Precision 20" 6.5 Creedmoor. I purchased Nikon Monarch and Black glass individually configured for each of these guns - why Nikon? Not too expensive, good glass (from my camera experiences) and very similar reticles which should serve to transfer my learning curve from scope to scope.
I frequently shot turtles and snakes at a water treetment plant pond with a .22 carbine during my pre-military college days, qualified on an M-16 during basic training, and then shot an M-1 carbine with my detachment commander (to burn up ammunition) while stationed on Mindanao in the Philippines. Stepping up to the .308 and 6.5 CM will be interesting.
I work out weekday mornings with a 50-year-old former Army Ranger. Like me, he has had back surgery to fuse together multiple vertebrae (him - the after effects of too many jumps from perfectly good airplanes. Me - the consequence of falling from a rotten Teakwood tree while stringing seismic data cable in the jungle along the Thai/China border in 1972). We commiserate about our ailments, and he occasionally discusses pistol techniques with me. My eldest son, now a CWO and Blackhawk pilot, will PCS from Fort Bragg to Fort Hood this spring. Once there he and I have agreed to rendevous at the Waxahachie rifle range. For 8 years he was an enlisted Chinook maintenance chief in the Army's 160th SOAR, and spent 7 tours in the sandbox, during which time his "customers" - SEALS and Delta operators - took him shooting and gave him insightful shooting tips From his 160th experience he talked me into buying an ACOG (a 3.5 x 35 with its reticle set up for the .556). I'm interested in learing how to use it - in the 200 to 350 yard range I suspect - even though I've promised to give it to him once he settles in at Hood. That's OK. My unassisted eyesight (20-20) allows me to follow a golf ball 300 yards, track and recognized the difference between an 85 mph fastball and a 75 mph 12-to-6 curveball. So my eyesight should allow me to be able to accomplish 300 yrd shots in the near term, then step out my distance incrementally over time. See...at 72 I still plan to be doing this for a while yet.
Thanks for letting me bore you. I am a long-time Corvette Forum member. With help and advice from other Forum members, I built up the power/drive train of my 20-year-old C5 to achieve 600 rwhp and 520 lb/ft; installed a killer 900 watt, navigation head unit w/5 channel stereo; and installed a custom leather interior. I like to learn new skills. So I look forward to learning some of the complexities of long-range shooting from the experienced members of this group.
John
aka the Lone Star Lizzard
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