Category Archives: Shooting

Action Shooting Club -April 14, 2012

Beautiful day in Castro Valley for the Action Shooting Club match. I’ve been so busy with the new job I’ve not been back since December. My goal is to try and shoot a clean match, no misses or ‘mikes’ or any penalties which I do despite it taking me way to long to clear an array of steel targets in the second stage. Some great new shooters are out today too so the competition should only get tougher in Production class. Today I finish Third yet again.

Stage One is called ‘Len’s Donut’ for the circle you need to shoot through at the start. Five hits on a small area in between no shoots. I did ok to start off the match on this one.

Stage Two is called “Which Way”. For some reason I choke yet again on the small steel and it takes like 12 shots to down 8 steel targets. I make up the rest of the stage shooting paper fast but still the time kills me.

Stage Three is called “No Donut” for the modifications made to stage one now sans donut. A fun stage I did ok on.

Stage Four is the National USPSA classifier. I think it’s just called ‘Six’. I take it slow and manage it in 5.67 seconds.

Action Shooting Club

Back to the Action Shooting Club. Haven’t competed in eight months so didn’t expect to do too well. Somehow I managed to take Third yet again.

The first stage was called ‘Don’t Forget the Plates’ which I choked completely. Somehow had my front sight buried in the the middle of one little steel plate and inexplicably sent five shots over the top of it before realizing I needed to hold a little lower. After that I managed to get through with a single mike.

Stage Two was unnamed. Very fun stage with two close dynamic targets and then short sprints to three more close arrays of targets. I aced this stage winning it for Production Class.

Stage Three is “Occupy Chabot” which was pretty straight forward. It used the old classic targets with no steel or no shoots. I rushed one array for a single mike.

And the last stage was the USPSA classifier called “Easy Street” I did ok on this one, probably qualifying at my current C level.

Zero Check

Went to the range today to check the zero on two of my rifles. Going hunting next week back at the Diamond C ranch again. I’m hoping to use my bow but like to have a rifle handy in case this year turns out to be anything like last year.

Went up to Los Altos Rod and Gun Club off of Skyline. Had one of those perfect range sessions where I only need to take three shots with each rifle and I’m good to go. Started off with my Sako M85 Stainless Hunter in 30.06. I have added the Leupold CDS Turret to the 4.5-14 scope indexed for the Hornady Superformance 150gr SST load.

First shot just outside the circle and second in the same hole. I shouldn’t have looked through the spotting scope as the prospect of shooting a one hole group is usually enough to get you too excited to finish it off. Third shot just to the left for a .410 inch group.

 

 

 

 

Second up is my prized Cooper 52 Custom Classic in .270 Winchester. Trying out some hand loads with 140gr Nosler Accubond bullets over 53.5grs of IMR4831 for 2910fps. My CDS scope is indexed to the same load at approx 2900. All three shots in the circle for a .896″ group. I wish every day at the range went this well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 years later

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of John ‘Moses’ Browning‘s incredible .45 caliber pistol, the venerable “1911” which just might be more popular now than it ever was. I have been meaning to secure a top notch .45 and finally have in my Les Baer Custom Carry. I have tried every .45 I can and so far none compare to the Les Baer guns I’ve shot. Not even close. I shot 150 rounds today at Reed’s Indoor Range and am about halfway through the 500 round break in period. The gun is super tight and Les guarantees 3″ at 50 yards.

On this target at 15 yards I was able to keep 22 of 25 in the ten ring and 18 X. The cheap Fiochi ammo I bought for the break in is actually super hot so the errors are all mine. After I get used to it I imagine I’ll be able to improve on this a great deal.

If you want a great custom .45, and you live in California, I don’t think you can find a better one. Les has gone to the trouble to get 10 of his guns approved for sale here. Thank you John Browning and thank you Les Baer!

The Action Shooting Club

Had a great time shooting back at TASC again. This time I did a little better than usual shooting clean all day with no miss penalties. The usual suspects and some new ones also rose to the occasion so I finished fourth. I shot too slowly on the first stage and a failure to seat my mag on stage three cost me a lot of points.

Stage One is called ‘Must Get Milk’ you engage paper targets from the first box, then run to the second for steel, and then enter the barricades for some closer targets. A fun stage but went a little too slow and had a couple extra shots on steel.

Stage Two is “Out of Sight” I shot this one very well. The last array of targets has a head shot that you really need to focus on. I took three shots at it and scored the two I needed.

Stage Three is “Soup or Salad” where you have to start with an unloaded gun, holding a plastic knife and fork. Had a great plan on this one but didn’t seat my third mag and then took too long to fix it. Finished with getting all my hits though.

Stage Four is the classifier “Six in Six” which is three separate strings shooting the same three targets within six seconds. The first is at a great distance, six shots mandatory reload and six more. At this distance few of us got a shot in past the reload and I elected to just try for six hits. Second string is six shots strong hand. Last string included here is six shots weak hand. I did ok with 13 hits. A lot harder then it looks!

TASC: Third Again

Competed at The Action Shooting Club Saturday. We had a great turn out with over 40 competitors. I think Top Shot has sparked some interest in our sport. It was a beautiful day and the stages were a lot of fun. I definitely need some practice if I’m going to ever be competitive in Production class. I ended up third again behind the usual suspects.

Stage one is ‘Mixed Nuts’ which is paper and steel targets on each side of a barricade. The start is with an unloaded gun. I took my time on this one and managed to get all the steel targets with my first shot.

Stage Two is ‘Bendit Len’ which is designed I imagine with one of our lefties in mind. Most stage designs favor right handers so this one has us all contorting to shoot around the left hand side of barricades. Also starting with an unloaded gun. I stumbled a little on the start of this one and then rushed the finish which gave me a couple misses.

Stage Three is nice maze of mostly close shots that ends with a series of paper and steel. No-shoot and hard cover targets on this stage force you to slow down a little a little to make your shots and avoid penalties. I shot this one clean although a little too slow.

Stage Four: ‘It’s Not Brain Surgery’ is the classifier. A new one we’ve not shot before. Start with loaded gun on a table and then engage three targets two shots each all head shots. I missed once on the last target even making up a shot. It had so much tape on it I thought I saw two holes.

Back to TASC

Back to The Action Shooting Club match this weekend. My last time shooting handgun was at the very wet Bay Bridge Charity Classic back in October. I felt pretty good for having not shot in so long taking third in production behind the usual suspects.

I was pleased to shoot the classifier really well, probably my best classifier score to date.

Stage one is ‘Namby Pamby Land’ designed by Len to ease us all back into the competition with what is supposed to be a simple stage. I focused on accuracy and although I took second in this stage the slow time really hurt me overall.

Stage Two is ‘Clear The House’ a nice straight forward stage with some steel. I took third in this stage for Production.

Stage Three ‘Can You Count’ is the Classifier. I shot this very well and took first in Production for this stage.

Stage Four “Limited Point of View’ I had some issues with this stage, hitting the last steel but not putting it down so hitting it again. Then didn’t seat them mag properly on the following reload and had to clear a stovepipe during the last array.

Classifier Match at The Action Shooting Club

After five months away I finally made it back to the Action Shooting Club match. This match was all USPSA Classifier stages. This gives people the ability to quickly achieve a classification for a new Division. Typically we have only one classifier stage in a match, the scores of which are submitted and determine your classification for competition.

I had just made C shooting my Glock 34 in the Production division back in May so my goal was to try and be smooth and improve my percentage. I was doing really well initially and took first in El Presidente, probably the most famous qualifier. The afternoon is where I had a couple extra shots at steel and one miss. Overall I felt pretty good taking fourth in Production. We have our Bay Bridge Charity Classic in two weeks at Richmond which will be a fun shoot.

Stage One: “El Presidente” (CM 99-11)

Stage Two: “Fluffy’s Revenge 2” (CM 06-05)

Stage Three: “On Any Given Sunday” (CM 09-12)

Stage Four: “Six” (CM 08-03)

Stage Five: “Pucker Factor” (CM 09-04)

SCI Club 200 Yard Shoot

Saturday I went to the annual 200 yard shoot hosted by my local chapter of Safari Club International. We usually have about 15 guys show up to sight in their rifles for hunting season at the Chabot 200 yard  range which we have to ourselves for the day.

I started out with my prized Cooper which I received last year in time to take my best Blacktail Buck to date. I had the rifle custom made in .270 winchester and waited almost two years for it to arrive.

I had bought some of the new Federal .270 with a 110 gr Barnes Tipped Triple Shocks which are rated at 3400 fps. This load was very interesting as it approximates the extremely flat trajectory of the .257 Weatherby out of a .270 Winchester. This load sighted dead on at 200 is only 5″ low at 300 yards and with a slightly higher adjustment could be a great deer load out to 400. My main concern is can the twist on my barrel stabilize such a light bullet. After a few groups I think the answer is, not well enough. I was able to shoot a couple 2″ groups however it’s not as accurate as I had hoped. The rifle is so accurate with more typical .270 loads I’ll probably just go back to 140gr Accubonds.

Next up was my Sako 85 in 30.06. This is a great all weather rifle and my go to gun for when I don’t want to carry the Cooper around, like in rain or snow. I have it set up for the Barnes 180 gr Triple Shocks so that it’s legal for pigs in the California A Zone which does not allow lead in an attempt to help save the endangered California Condor.

The Sako always seems to deliver great accuracy. It was also my best group of the day at 1 1/2″. Many of the guys out there shoot nice groups but I’m always curious how far they are off from their ‘Point of Aim’. While I’m trying to shoot under 2″ at 200 yards, most all of my shots all day were within 3 of my Point of Aim and most were under 2.

My last rifle of the day is my Sauer 202 in .300 Weatherby. This is a finicky gun for some reason. I took a nice elk with it in New Mexico only after coming up with a good handload. Today I’m just sighting in a box of 180 gr Nosler Partitions. It does about what I expected which is around a 3″ group at 200 yards. Still all three shots are within 2″ of my ‘point of aim’ and it’s still a great elk rifle with that level of accuracy.

Was a great day, always enjoy shooting with these guys as many of them have exotic hunting planned for the fall. I shot next to Mike Borel our chapter president. He always does some amazing groups with his Browning A-Bolt in .280 with a carbon fiber wrapped Christensen barrel. He’s off to Switzerland for Ibex this fall.

Winning Production Class!

Today at the Action Shooting Club match, everything came together for me to win Production class. Everything included a low turn out and the guy that usually beats me having a complete meltdown, but I did shoot very well so I’ll take it! We had six short stages which made it a lot of fun.

Stage one was simply paper targets and some steel shot in between barrels. You have to slow down a little not to hit the white no-shoots. Was a good start.

Stage two was very interesting, it featured turning targets on both sides of a barricade and you could score up to six hits on each. The drop turning targets disappear after they drop so misses are not counted against you, however you get the points for hitting them. Here is where you really need to play the game. Your score is your sum points divided by your time. I elected to not shoot the turner on the right and got six hits on the one on the left in about six and a half seconds.

Stage three was the USPSA classifier. Three paper targets with black areas that don’t score and one steel target. You shoot each of the paper twice and the steel must drop to score.

Stage Four was a simply a build out of stage two with more targets on both sides and targets shot through the ports in the middle. I aced this one getting good hits and in a farily good time.

Stage Five is really what won it for me. The guy taking the video forgot to hit the button so the video starts while I’m already shooting. Four paper targets are behind steel cover and you need to shoot each three times. The mover has a white no-shoot next to it and must also be shot three times. This is where everyone fell apart and I managed to win this stage getting two on the moving target without hitting the no shoot.

The last stage was pretty simple. Just paper targets but next to no-shoots so it slows you down a little. The last three are behind hard steel so you need to shoot in between them.

Overall I shot really well and it put me in position to win. I think it’s probably been a year since winning production as there have been some very competitive shooters out there. It’s always fun regardless of where you finish.