09-29-2011, 04:49 AM
I've had to deal with the same safety considerations during sniper comps where one of the stages had 3 firing positions. The RO's had to confirm that the team's weapons were clear in-between each position, and it was a limited time event. I also had the rail-mounted brass-catcher on my AR10, making it even more fun. Even with the above limitations, I smoked all the bolt gun times by about 2-3 minutes. There were a lot of guys who were approaching the stage like a "take your time, precision rifle, we have all day" stage, and they didn't even clear the first position by the time the 5 minutes was up. I started shooting at the 3rd position at 2:36.
I approached the stage like a 3-gun stage, only with extended distances out to 450m with extreme wind conditions, from alternate positions (standing barricade, standing base of tower, & seated behind tree log). It was the funnest stage of the competition. I had dope on decals on the turrets, so dialing was extremely fast and straightforward. Almost every other team had far superior calibers than I did, with a semi-auto .308, but some forgot where their zeros were on the turrets, and others had issues that were painful to watch. I think a lot of guys figured they didn't need to dial dope for wind since the targets were closer than 600m or 700m, but the wind was really bad, as the range was on the coastal beach. The organizers also placed the targets among beach vegetation, so you couldn't see your impact register for corrections, and it was overcast the whole match, so trace was rarely seen, especially at closer distances. That's one of the main reasons why I like field stages, totally distant from a pristine flat-range environment (where you can insulate your equipment and methods from nature and Mr. Murphy).
With an auto-loader in real-world or competition, you need to really become proficient with clearing the weapon quickly, as well as dealing with malf's. As soon as you encounter a malf, diagnose, and perform immediate or remedial action. That GAP AR10 ran like a champ for me throughout FinnSniper 2008-zero issues. Last year, I scooped up a ton of sand with one of my 7.62 Pmags, even though I kept the protective covers on them in the pouches. It screwed my .260 AR10 up bigtime for our final stage with that sand. A lot of bolt guns had problems in that deep, beach sand as well. The thing with bolt gun malfs is that the action is open and accessible, so you can easily clear them usually with your fingers. You can't reach into most auto-loaders, especially the AR.
I prefer competitions where the RO's have already vetted the participants for big boy rules, and hot weapons rule the road, but you simply can't do that with a lot of unknown shooters. There are so many shooters who have not learned proper safety, and they don't think twice about sweeping you with their muzzle, or even keeping a muzzle trained on you inadvertently. I have 4 extra holes in my body as a result of such negligence, and I was already anal about muzzle awareness before that incident. I turn into a skunk real quick if I see some safety violations like that.
Once I vet shooters who prove they can maintain the safety circle, trigger finger discipline, selector discipline, and such, I don't care what direction they are facing on the range. I do totally understand and support organizers or trainers in whatever safety protocols they have, since it's their way or the highway, and I won't let that stop me from gaining added experience in employing my tools in different or challenging scenarios. Let us know how the match goes...
I approached the stage like a 3-gun stage, only with extended distances out to 450m with extreme wind conditions, from alternate positions (standing barricade, standing base of tower, & seated behind tree log). It was the funnest stage of the competition. I had dope on decals on the turrets, so dialing was extremely fast and straightforward. Almost every other team had far superior calibers than I did, with a semi-auto .308, but some forgot where their zeros were on the turrets, and others had issues that were painful to watch. I think a lot of guys figured they didn't need to dial dope for wind since the targets were closer than 600m or 700m, but the wind was really bad, as the range was on the coastal beach. The organizers also placed the targets among beach vegetation, so you couldn't see your impact register for corrections, and it was overcast the whole match, so trace was rarely seen, especially at closer distances. That's one of the main reasons why I like field stages, totally distant from a pristine flat-range environment (where you can insulate your equipment and methods from nature and Mr. Murphy).
With an auto-loader in real-world or competition, you need to really become proficient with clearing the weapon quickly, as well as dealing with malf's. As soon as you encounter a malf, diagnose, and perform immediate or remedial action. That GAP AR10 ran like a champ for me throughout FinnSniper 2008-zero issues. Last year, I scooped up a ton of sand with one of my 7.62 Pmags, even though I kept the protective covers on them in the pouches. It screwed my .260 AR10 up bigtime for our final stage with that sand. A lot of bolt guns had problems in that deep, beach sand as well. The thing with bolt gun malfs is that the action is open and accessible, so you can easily clear them usually with your fingers. You can't reach into most auto-loaders, especially the AR.
I prefer competitions where the RO's have already vetted the participants for big boy rules, and hot weapons rule the road, but you simply can't do that with a lot of unknown shooters. There are so many shooters who have not learned proper safety, and they don't think twice about sweeping you with their muzzle, or even keeping a muzzle trained on you inadvertently. I have 4 extra holes in my body as a result of such negligence, and I was already anal about muzzle awareness before that incident. I turn into a skunk real quick if I see some safety violations like that.
Once I vet shooters who prove they can maintain the safety circle, trigger finger discipline, selector discipline, and such, I don't care what direction they are facing on the range. I do totally understand and support organizers or trainers in whatever safety protocols they have, since it's their way or the highway, and I won't let that stop me from gaining added experience in employing my tools in different or challenging scenarios. Let us know how the match goes...