The Thursday kind of Wednesday

Wednesday isn't my most favourite day of the week however it's way better than Tuesday and massively better than Monday - It marks the downhill run to the weekend you see, and so deserves to be well thought of. The good thing about today, this particular Wednesday, is that I have Friday off and so this Wednesday is actually my Thursday, whilst still being Wednesday at the same time; It's a Thursday kind of Wednesday therefore.

I spent the first part of today at the hospital but I don't want to talk about that just yet. I came home and after some work calls and emails decided it was time to get my load out squared away for the weekend -I'm shooting a two-day practical shooting event this weekend as I've written previously.

The load out, the equipment I'll take, is quite basic for this event. It's a rimfire rifle competition so there's not a lot of technical gear required - Basically the firearm, spare magazines, ammunition and a shooting bag. Ok, a few more things that that, but not much.

There's the rifle I'm shooting above, pictured just now in a corner of my back yard. It's the CZ 515 .22LR and so far it has proved to be a great rifle system. I've put countless rounds through it and am yet to have a magazine feed issue or jam-up which is unusual for most .22LR's.

I'm running the Aimpoint 1:1 red dot scope on it which is great for run and gun stages but the 1:1 scope means there's no magnification so at longer range it's a liability. It's an ultra fast rifle to shoot though so what points I lose at long range, only a couple stages of the event, I'll gain on the closer-range run and gun stages through the time saving. (Scoring is done by dividing points by elapsed time to gain a hit-factor as the score, comstock scoring method, so faster times are rewarded.)

You can see one of the magazines inserted and two more affixed to the barrel shroud; This is done for ease of access through the run and gun stages meaning I can drop the spent magazine, grab and insert the fresh one without fumbling through pockets...A good time-saver.

You will probably note the pink rubber bands around the base of the magazines also; It's there for identification purposes and to make them easier to see once I've dropped them on the ground. This event is held in scrub-land, the outback, rather than on a developed range and so they can be hard to find. Just a little trick I picked up a while ago.

Above is a shot of what I'll be seeing through the scope. The red dot is adjustable from 1 MOA down to almost nothing and the intensity diminishes as it's adjusted down also.

For run and gun stages I'll shoot with the larger dot, full intensity and with both eyes open. It's a basic point and shoot scenario. Whatever the dot is sitting on is basically where the bullet will land. Of course, shooting skill comes into it, it's not a laser-guided targeting system. If the operator pulls the shot when triggering the bullet will stray. The red dot simply allows for fast target acquisition. This is similar to what military and law enforcement operators use in close-quarters, room-clearing and the like, although laser dots are utilised also.

During the longer-range stages I'll drop the dot-size down to very small and shoot the best I can although I'll not excel due to the lack of magnification as mentioned. The smaller dot is required as the 1 MOA dot may totally obscure the target making aiming impossible. These stages will be shot using the bipod and shooting bag you see in the top image and in the prone position.

Just a note on the target sizes...Most of the targets at long range are slightly larger although some are incredibly small. There will be a KYL rack stage (know your limits) with three racks set at 25m, 50m and 90m. Each rack has eight targets hanging on it with the largest being 20 centimetres in width (0.787 inches) and the smallest of 4mm in width (0.157 inches). That's very narrow, roughly the width of two matches.

The KYL stage is designed to be diabolical for all the competitors and it's going to be a nightmare for me with no magnification; At 90m I won't even be able to see the targets. The 50m range will be fine generally, although still difficult.

Essentially the shooters will have a time limit or two minutes to hit the targets in any order they like, but must only hit each target once. After two misses the stage will end whether there's remaining time or not. If you do the sums that 5 seconds per shot over the 24 targets which is not very much time. No one will clean this stage - It's designed that way.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I've got my kit packed and am ready to roll on Friday; All I need to do is throw the guns in and leave. I say guns because I'm taking my shotgun for a little fun too. As one of the event-organisers I have to be there Friday to set up and I'll grab some photos and all for a post next week...After we set up on Friday we'll have a play with the shotguns shooting clays.

For now I better get back to pretending to work for my day-job on this glorious Thursday kind of Wednesday.

Later y'all.


Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.

Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209



0
0
0.000
24 comments
avatar

I used to practice with my old Savage .22LR by shooting at spent 12 gauge shells at 50 yards. With iron sights they were just a red blur that the front post mostly covered, I was never happy with my results. Does the red dot still do better than that at the longer ranges? I'm curious, what rounds are you going to be using for the event?

Best of luck to you this weekend! I'm going to go try and sort out what day tomorrow is, it's still Tuesday and we're already talking about the weekend...

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

The red dot is probably better as one can drop it down in size, although the intensity goes with it. At 50m I was hitting the 4mm targets (54 yards) in practice a few weeks ago although I had the dot down to its smallest and it was very faint. On a very bright day it might not be possible to drop down that far. Still, on the run and gun stages I'm going to kick ass which will build points for a buffer because I'll lose points on the longer range stages.

There's the rounds I'm using. They have worked really well so far and whilst the coating is bloody annoying they seem to cycle and feed well.

FxX5caie56ynwsjysm2XuNozdMysq1YNDRbt9X9VeerNm1981Q9QbBM9uafCTypu7HDXKrjfzSLrGhE3e9HkhSntdvtXJEFWuxwVuG9nuYwY.jpg

Yeah, Tuesday there, 1420 Wednesday here...For me it's never too early to start talking about the weekend though. :)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Coating? Why do the rounds have a coating? If what I saw when I looked those up was correct, those are subsonics? I can understand why you're using subs, I just half expected yall to be running a really hot round instead.

Run & gun sounds like a it'd be a blast, I'm going to have to find me one of those events around here. You a fan of the modern technique or more of a point shooting approach?

Weekends are never bad to talk about, I just have enough trouble keeping straight what day it is even without the time difference making things more interesting.

0
0
0.000
avatar

It's like a wax coating which helps them run properly but it makes the rounds a little slippery to handle. A pain in the ass, but necessary and fairly common to.22LR rounds. These SK Rifle Match are pretty good, the best I tested and I'm yet to have a jam or mag-feed issue so I'll take them into competition on the weekend based on that. Ballistic data below.

image.png

I like run and gun...So many shooters will never get to do it although as I'm an IPSC shooter I do it almost weekly with my handguns and often with my rifles also, like I will be this weekend. I vary my style depending on the event or requirements. In IPSC the point shooting approach wins competitions as the scoring is comstock which divides the points gained minis penalties and divides it by the elapsed time to get the hit-factor which is the score. So, being a little less accurate, but super fast wins events. Point shooting is also much easier with dots which is why IPSC race guns all use them.

I'll be honest though, I'm less about winning events in that way, and more about being a brutally effective shooter. I lean everything I do with guns towards practicality, meaning that I need to be able to take what I'm doing into the field and be effective. That's why I don't shoot my race gun much...A handgun designed specifically to be super-fast in IPSC shooting. In the field, with a spec of dust in it they start to fail.

IPSC is in almost every country in the world and I know you can do it in the States so I'd say maybe hit the IPSC website https://www.ipsc.org/

0
0
0.000
avatar

Interesting, I would have thought the wax would add to the fouling a good deal. I have some Federal match .22LR rounds but they lack the wax coating. Do you notice that much of a difference?

I grew up reading about IPSC competitions but just never made it to one. I'm with you on the practicality, what works in real world situations differs a bit from competitions. Squirrels and targets sure don't behave the same...

This isn't fully relevant but our discussion reminded me of my last trip to the range. The guys at the table next to mine were firing an AR pistol with optics at the same target I was firing up with my .22 (at roughly 100m). While all my rounds hit the target they were managing 6ft groups...their lack of concern about this and their approach to shooting in general has me baffled as to why they were there and what they hoped to accomplish.

0
0
0.000
avatar

The coating can foul up the rifle a little and I'm not a fan of it but it tends to help the way the gun runs. In competition it becomes important I guess. I also have uncoated rounds, but they aren't as good for competitive use.

My range is different to most. It's a practical range meaning there's no shooting line and long rows of benches, just a few. We have a village complex and all sorts of barricades and obstacles. It's designed around IPSC and practical shooting and is a military range, military run, and prioritises military personnel. So...6ft groupings...Lol...Not really a thing at my range although I know what you mean, seen it before. Why bother right?

If you YouTube Keanu Reeves at Taran Tactical that's what I do, but at much greater range as well as close up stuff. I'm a practical shooter at heart. You should check out IPSC up your way. It's a good form of shooting, challenging and hones required skills. (Being an effective shooter is a requirement to me.) 😁

0
0
0.000
avatar

Shoot small, miss small. Mel Gibson's advice to his son in the Patriot. My Dad had that idea, too.

I've targeted lots of shotgun shells. Cheap and plentiful.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Not bad advice at all. In my case it was my granny teaching me...

Dad would just take us down to the Kentucky River when it was getting out of the banks to shoot 'plastic ducks.' The river would pick up tons of trash and carry it downstream, made for great practice with moving targets.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I'm sitting here trying to type with my first finger on my right hand extended-it's dammed awkward. I'd love to get my hands on that rig and punch a couple of rounds through it.

I've only tried the laser dot system once, on a pellet pistol. I put maybe 50 through it and got reasonably comfortable with it. I'd really like to try it a little more.

You know what's funny about what I typed above? Wrong hand. I'm left handed now and my muscle memory is still so strong that I imagined that gun in my right hand. Damn. 50 years (almost exactly).

So how does the CZ eject? Does it spray right or back? That's really important to us left handed shooters. You haven't lived until you've had a few ejected cases melted to your cheek.

I'm really hoping for you to have a huge fun weekend. Since my superpower is the ability to declare the weekend I say you call it started and you can bitch about having to work a day on the weekend (Thursday).

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hey mate, been a while. :)

It's a side-rear ejector really, sort of sideways but slightly backwards and I doubt you'd get them in the face shooting lefty. It's a good little shooter and the weekend should be fun. I'm looking forward to it.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Don't know much about rifles but that sure looks neat and awesome have a great weekend shooting 👍

0
0
0.000
avatar

It's a nice little shooter and the weekend should be good, I'm looking forward to it. Been a tough few weeks so a little bit of relaxation time is welcome.

0
0
0.000
avatar

By reading your last blog i do think this is well needed enjoy buddy stayed chilled 😊

0
0
0.000
avatar

Good luck with this one G! I know this is so off topic, but I love the floral arrangement in the background of the 1st picture, it looks awesome! I just had to say it lol

!ENGAGE 20

0
0
0.000
avatar

Faith is the gardener in the household, I'm the heavy-lifter, but she does all the design and most of the work. This area is where our fire pit is and we have many good nights spent there around the fire, eating, listening to music and relaxing. It's a nice place to sit in the day and read whilst sipping cool drinks too as we have one of those massive shade umbrella things that pops up. She's done a good job with the area.

0
0
0.000
avatar

She did a very good job, she has great taste! How is she feeling now?

0
0
0.000
avatar

She's on the mend...More focused on her mum now though. Typical Faith, that's how she rolls. I'm still keeping an eye on her though, and she has an appointment with the surgeon next week, a follow up. Should be good.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Good luck with that, Faith is such a strong woman!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for your engagement on this post, you have recieved ENGAGE tokens.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Red dots are very popular on rifles in the States. They're getting popular on handguns as well. Eotech holographic sights are reallllly cool too.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I have one on my race gun (handgun) and love it, although I don't shoot that gun much these days. They have their uses and once one is proficient they can be a lot of fun. I'm primarily a long range shooter and am a one eye shooter usually at range...It's sometimes difficult to do the two eyes open thing, but I practice a lot and am reasonably good at it. I like red dots generally...Expensive buggers though. (For a good one.)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Sounds like great fun, but may have to be spray and pray at those long distance and no scope! My eyes don't work well with iron sights that far any more. That's gonna be the challenge for sure. Sounds like this would be one of those ideal scenario's for the scope on top and the 45 degree mount for the red dot.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yes, the scope and the 45 degree dot is a perfect combination and one I have run on a couple guns. The thing is that this CZ 515 isn't mine, it's a mates and so I'm stuck with what he has on it for the weekend. I'll smash the comstock stages though, literally obliterate them, which should get some banker points for those I'll drop in the longer range ones. It'll be fun.

0
0
0.000