Re: SHWW Group
Random thought for you WW guys…
So I’m sitting at work bored as hell and getting sucked further into the web and I stumbled across snowshoe biathlon.
I have been wanting to give biathlon a try but the opportunities are few and far between to attend one of the local intro courses. Also while I have not tried cross country skis... I for one am a train wreck on downhill skis so that has put some hesitation in the back of my mind.
Last year wife and I got into snowshoeing and are enjoying it, matter of fact she will be participating in a SGC Foundation sponsored 5K snowshoe thing this weekend. She has been wanting to do more shooting but to be honest she likes to plink around with things that either break or move and I lose her attention rather quickly when I’m laying prone for two hours and logging data for each shot…she just doesn’t get my OCD appreciation for LR shooting lol.
So all of this got me thinking about the possibility of a family friendly activity that would involve playing in the snow as well as shooting and well the dots came together with the notion of snowshoe biathlon. While this is not 100% an original idea the sanctioned version that I found rules for are much more regulated and restrictive than what I had in mind. I’m thinking something geared more towards folks who drive pickup trucks and not Subaru’s with” wag more bark less” stickers on them
My interaction (granted very limited) with some of the local Biathalon folks more or less gave me the impression that they are not really "Gun people" even though a rimfire is part of the sport.
Offhand here is what I’m thinking and bear in mind I have only been thinking about it since this morning so I’m sure there are many flaws to work out.
-Obviously there will be a need for suitable winter wear but unlike biathlon I see no need for spandex superhero costumes.
-Snowshoes will be needed but they range in price from 50.00-300.00+ and can be rented from most area REI’s cheap enough to allow folks to try this without committing to buying gear.
-.22 rimfire rifles would be used and I think to simplify the format just dividing them into two classes one with and one without optics. Aside from that it should be open to any configuration a person has that can be carried slung with a range flag in the chamber safely.
- I think reactive targets would be the most fun. Specifically thinking the rubber type targets that are cheap, last a long time and they are lightweight /easy to set up. Haven’t thought out any specific course of fire or scoring but perhaps alternating stages with paper targets scored for group size would be a good idea. Again haven’t put much thought into details but offhand what I’m imagining is a scoring format that would involve the time of each participant from start to finish as well as points deducted for missed targets at a given stage or points added for target score on paper stage.
Example of course of fire and scoring:
Lets just say we have for arguments sake we have a 3K course. Pairs of shooters would start off a line and follow the course to the first stage at 300 yards. When you get to the first stage you would have 5 reactive targets of various size and shape at varying distance let’s just say 25yd to 75 yd . This stage would require shots to be taken from standing position using trekking poles as shooting sticks. Next stage set further down the line would have a row of 10 targets at same distance lets say 50 yds fired from prone. Next stage 10 rounds on paper target scored for points fired standing with sling. Next stage would have 10 reactive targets some hidden some not and of various sizes with different point value based on difficulty these would be indicated by color code from 1-3 points. 5 rounds for this stage, any shooting position allowed. First shooter to tell RO “Shooter Ready” will get to take first shot. During this time the other shooter can be sighting in his/her shot but that may also be the shot the first shooter is taking and each target can only be hit once so if shooter one hits a target the second shooter is set up on he/she would have to find another. Conversely if shooter one misses shooter two can take the shot for points. Final stage would be two paper targets and 10 rounds. Target at 25 yds will count for face value of score and target at 75 yds will be scored triple value.
Each participant’s time will be recorded as they cross the finish line. Scores from each stage will be totaled for points (added or deducted for missed shots) and this will be added to the time. So if the time is 20:10 and the score from shooting is 340 (max possible based on course of fire above) the total score would be 20:10-3:40=16:30 Not sure if this format of scoring would be practical but its what came to mind offhand.
OK so am I just suffering from too much boredom at work or would something like this have any appeal to anyone else? Main goal is to get out and enjoy the snow, get the family involved and work on marksmanship in a physical and dynamic setting and not require a huge investment in specialized gear/equipment.
Haven’t even gone as far as locations but I would think this would be easier to put together than some of the LR shoots given the relatively short ranges and small caliber rifles being used. Also there is nothing definitive about any of this so I’m interested to hear suggestions on how the above outline/format could be improved.
R/
A06