Long Gong rimfire shoot

[wildcard6]

There's a long-running rimfire shoot at SSAA Para branch in Adelaide called XRRS [eXtended Range Rimfire Silhouette] and because I'm interested in what other forms of long-range rimfire shooting are out there, I came across Long Gong Challenge on YouTube one day. The idea of another shoot format appealed to me, because shooting the same thing all the time can become repetitive. We already have two variants using metallic silhouettes that we throw in for fun, or to extend the match if we get through quickly, but the chance to have something really different got me thinking. Well, about $400 later, we now have a rack very similar to the image posted below. The cost of building the rack, including targets, brackets, paint and steel piping for the supports was around $400, so it's well within range of any club wanting to set one up. STS targets in Adelaide already had 200mm rimfire gongs listed, they had to special-order the 150 and 100mm rimfire gongs, but they only cost $50 for the two. The original format calls for a 300 yard shoot although 200m works very well too. That's 73.3% of 300 yards, so it's a good range to try things out at before committing to the full 300 yard version.
The link below shows the layout at SSAA Para branch during an XRRS match. The editor got the ranges wrong though. It should say 100m, 200m and 300 Yards, but you'll get the idea of what we're doing for XRRS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_6ocq7SfY0 [search XRRS 300 Yard Range views]
There may be other clubs interested in shooting long range rimfire matches that can't afford the metallic silhouettes required for XRRS, but Long Gong is much cheaper, and set-up and take-down are super easy. PLUS, there's no target resets required during a match!
In practice, it's bloody good fun and almost fast-paced by comparison with XRRS. That KLANK you get when the gong is hit is great, because the 200mm gong doesn't move much, but when you hit the 100mm gong, the hit is all about movement - that target really dances!
Hitting the 100mm gong at 300 yards is a REAL challenge, no sh*t. I surprised myself by hitting it three times during one 10-shot string - the only one to put a bullet on it that day!!

[JohnV]

My 22 Brno can hold 1 inch at 100 meters the last time I shot it that is , from a bench using a rest and rear bag . It may need the bedding redone because it's sat in the safe unfired for years . Zeroed for 300 I could hit the 6 and 8 inch gong at 300 as long as there was no wind . Cross wind is the big killer for a 22 rimfire . Another problem is the trajectory angle coming down at 300 makes it harder to hit them than it appears . The danger space is reduced compared to a flatter shooting cartridge . Can I just bring my 223 lol.

[bladeracer]

My 22 Brno can hold 1 inch at 100 meters the last time I shot it that is , from a bench using a rest and rear bag . It may need the bedding redone because it's sat in the safe unfired for years . Zeroed for 300 I could hit the 6 and 8 inch gong at 300 as long as there was no wind . Cross wind is the big killer for a 22 rimfire . Another problem is the trajectory angle coming down at 300 makes it harder to hit them than it appears . The danger space is reduced compared to a flatter shooting cartridge . Can I just bring my 223 lol.

If you can see the impacts of your misses you only need one shot to read the wind, make the adjustment, and you shouldn't have any trouble hitting the gongs. I rarely have such feedback shooting on grass, so I have a gong set up at 100m-ish for a wind read to save ammo when extending further.

At 300m the trajectory is about 22mm drop per meter of distance, a little over one-degree from horizontal. At 500m it's coming down at about 2.5 degrees from horizontal. At 700m it's dropping at almost 100mm per metre. It's worth knowing this as I'm often shooting at hill slopes rather than purpose-made berms. If you see a splash of dirt just off the right edge of the gong you might think your elevation hold is perfect. But if the slope is such that the bullet actually hit the slope 5m behind the gong, then it probably sailed overhead and you need to drop 100mm off your elevation hold as well.

[wildcard6]

Bladeracer, you're spot on. In summer the backstop shows impacts quite well but sometimes there's no indication at all and I deduced that the bullet went just over the top, but hit the dirt right behind the target. Spotters to the side think the bullet went through the window (ram targets).
I once shot a 200 yard paper target match using 200m dope and I had a nice group 200mm above my point of aim!

[bladeracer]

Bladeracer, you're spot on. In summer the backstop shows impacts quite well but sometimes there's no indication at all and I deduced that the bullet went just over the top, but hit the dirt right behind the target. Spotters to the side think the bullet went through the window (ram targets).
I once shot a 200 yard paper target match using 200m dope and I had a nice group 200mm above my point of aim!

Yes, it would have been awesome if the US had properly (not just their military, scientific and medical industries) transitioned to metric decades ago, then we wouldn't have some people shooting in yards and everybody else shooting in meters It's why I prefer to refer to yard ranges in meters still, they're not round numbers but at least you won't have two different measuring units floating around your mind. At LERAA we were shooting at 200yd, 300yd and 500m, that's just silly I think - it should have been 180m, 275m and 500m - forget yards entirely.

I've watched Mark Else (Mark and Sam from WA) shooting extremely long distances for years and he is often shooting from a plateau down into a paddock, essentially like shooting at a hill slope. You see his bullets hitting around the target so they look very close, but when you see the target view and see how far behind/short of the target they're falling you can really see how much he is adjusting his elevation. You need to be able to visualise the slope behind your target as a plane aligned with your line of sight.

I cleared a small area of grass last year where I can shoot between about 280m and 410m when the grass is is low ( when the paddock is tall I can't shoot much closer than 350m as I can't see the targets through the grass on the high bits). Distances which make it difficult to see the misses splashing the dirt up when shooting .22LR. It works fine when I have somebody spotting for me. I don't like that though, I think an important skill in shooting is knowing whether your shots are on target, without relying on somebody else. But it is really helpful when you're learning this stuff. I can extend this position to right on 500m by shooting from a neighbour's paddock, but then I can't see it again until I'm 1000m away, shooting through the tops of tall trees swaying in the breeze. So I need to find somewhere I can gather DOPE within that 500m to 1000m region so I'm not spraying bullets across the hillside.

I've just bought a new phone specifically so I can put it up at the targets and video call it from my shooting position on my old phone so I can see my impacts. But they've sent me the wrong phone so it has to go back now. On a tiny screen I doubt it'll show me dirt impacts at any sort of distance though so my shots will still need to be fairly close to the target to see them.

[Peterwho]

My 22 Brno can hold 1 inch at 100 meters the last time I shot it that is , from a bench using a rest and rear bag . It may need the bedding redone because it's sat in the safe unfired for years . Zeroed for 300 I could hit the 6 and 8 inch gong at 300 as long as there was no wind . Cross wind is the big killer for a 22 rimfire . Another problem is the trajectory angle coming down at 300 makes it harder to hit them than it appears . The danger space is reduced compared to a flatter shooting cartridge . Can I just bring my 223 lol.

If you can see the impacts of your misses you only need one shot to read the wind, make the adjustment, and you shouldn't have any trouble hitting the gongs. I rarely have such feedback shooting on grass, so I have a gong set up at 100m-ish for a wind read to save ammo when extending further.

At 300m the trajectory is about 22mm drop per meter of distance, a little over one-degree from horizontal. At 500m it's coming down at about 2.5 degrees from horizontal. At 700m it's dropping at almost 100mm per metre. It's worth knowing this as I'm often shooting at hill slopes rather than purpose-made berms. If you see a splash of dirt just off the right edge of the gong you might think your elevation hold is perfect. But if the slope is such that the bullet actually hit the slope 5m behind the gong, then it probably sailed overhead and you need to drop 100mm off your elevation hold as well.

Blade, Have I misunderstood the last paragraph? 300m x 22mm = 6600mm or 6.6m. This seems high to me. I’m tempted to do a 300m shoot at Kariong for 22lr on the weekend and would appreciate any guidance offered. Many thanks Peter

[bladeracer]

At 300m the trajectory is about 22mm drop per meter of distance, a little over one-degree from horizontal. At 500m it's coming down at about 2.5 degrees from horizontal. At 700m it's dropping at almost 100mm per metre. It's worth knowing this as I'm often shooting at hill slopes rather than purpose-made berms. If you see a splash of dirt just off the right edge of the gong you might think your elevation hold is perfect. But if the slope is such that the bullet actually hit the slope 5m behind the gong, then it probably sailed overhead and you need to drop 100mm off your elevation hold as well.

Blade, Have I misunderstood the last paragraph? 300m x 22mm = 6600mm or 6.6m. This seems high to me. I’m tempted to do a 300m shoot at Kariong for 22lr on the weekend and would appreciate any guidance offered. Many thanks Peter

At 300m distance the bullet is coming into the target with a rate of fall of 22mm per meter. If you set up two sheets of paper, one at 300m and one behind it at 301m the holes in the rear sheet will be 22mm lower. And I see that was wrong, it's closer to 30mm per meter.

Your bullet drop at 300m will depend on what range you zero the rifle at first. And I would strongly suggest you shoot some groups at distances at least out to 200m to gather some DOPE, but if you use a BC of .135 (assuming a 40gn bullet) you should be able to calculate your drop fairly closely, though wind conditions on the day will affect it as well. You really don't need to know the drop in meters or inches, just in minutes or mils - whichever your scope uses. Zeroed at 200m I would dial up 35 minutes, with a 50m zero I would dial up 52.5 minutes.

[Peterwho]

Blade,

Thank you very much. Your explanation is so succinct and crystal clear it’s brilliant, especially to a novice.

Best wishes

Peter

[madang55]

and.........what MOA rail are we talking. I know I'm going to need a handle on the top turret to wind that much with a 0MOA rail.

[bladeracer]

and.........what MOA rail are we talking. I know I'm going to need a handle on the top turret to wind that much with a 0MOA rail.

It depends on what ranges you want to zero and reach out to.
At a minimum you need to be able to zero at your closest distance. My RPR I prefer to be able to zero back to 50m for hunting so the standard 30-minute rail has been fine for me while still letting me dial out to around 300m. My long-range rifle I zero at 200m so I can dial out past 500m. I use an adjustable rail on this one but I'd have to check what I have it set to currently - at a guess it's probably setup around 50 minutes.

The rail doesn't affect how much you have to dial the turret, that is down to your zero distance and the distances you're shooting. For example, a 180m zero for me requires 82 minutes of elevation at 460m (500yd). Quarter-minute clicks gives me 15-minutes per revolution of the turret - five full turns plus seven minutes more, I don't need any kind of "handle" for that. I guess you could put a servo motor on it though

The further you are shooting the more adjustment you require. To go from a 200m zero to 300m is only 25 minutes, one turn plus ten. To go from a 50m zero to 300m is about 53 minutes, three turns plus eight.

I have some scopes that use eighth-minute clicks, which is annoying. Only 7.5 turns per revolution, which does get a bit confusing, and is unnecessary for a .22LR.

The simplest and cheapest adjustable rail is around $100 I think. It's a two-piece rail (with or without rings). The rings attach to the top piece of the rail, which is held above the bottom piece which is fixed to the rifle. You adjust screws between the two pieces to centre the windage and zero with the turret fully down. You have to shoot a group, remove the rail, adjust the screws, reinstall, shoot another group, and so on. It does take time but once you have it set up you shouldn't need to touch it again ever. You should be able to do it in less than ten tries, even less than five sometimes. If you have a lathe you could use over-size rings, say 35mm or 40mm and machine offset inserts to add cant to the scope, but I think this would be even more painful to zero. Or you can buy a fully adjustable rail with click adjustable windage and elevation, but these are in the realm of $700 to over $1000. In between those you can use the adjustable rails that are marketed toward setting up digital scopes for around $200. This is what I'm using currently, once you're zeroed you don't need to touch them again, but you can zero these with just two or three groups much like zeroing any scope conventionally, shoot a group, mark the mean centre, dial the mount to move the reticle onto the mean centre, fire another group to confirm.

[madang55]

See, now that's what I call information. I've downloaded, printed and laminated and will start working on it. I don't think I will need to go to adjustable rails, just the 30. Zero at 50, dial to 200 and get some practise started. All I have to do is find a 30 rail suited to my CZ.
Cheers

[bladeracer]

The simplest and cheapest adjustable rail is around $100 I think. It's a two-piece rail (with or without rings). The rings attach to the top piece of the rail, which is held above the bottom piece which is fixed to the rifle. You adjust screws between the two pieces to centre the windage and zero with the turret fully down. You have to shoot a group, remove the rail, adjust the screws, reinstall, shoot another group, and so on. It does take time but once you have it set up you shouldn't need to touch it again ever. You should be able to do it in less than ten tries, even less than five sometimes. If you have a lathe you could use over-size rings, say 35mm or 40mm and machine offset inserts to add cant to the scope, but I think this would be even more painful to zero. Or you can buy a fully adjustable rail with click adjustable windage and elevation, but these are in the realm of $700 to over $1000. In between those you can use the adjustable rails that are marketed toward setting up digital scopes for around $200. This is what I'm using currently, once you're zeroed you don't need to touch them again, but you can zero these with just two or three groups much like zeroing any scope conventionally, shoot a group, mark the mean centre, dial the mount to move the reticle onto the mean centre, fire another group to confirm.

An example of the cheapest version (this one is for a dovetail) - https://www.eliteoptical.co.uk/sportsmatch-30mm-rifle-scope-rings-for-weaver-picatinny-bases.html

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The two side screws at the front are for windage adjustment, elevation adjustment is done by two vertical screws at the back (you have to dismount it to access the screws).

An example of a $1000 click-adjustable rail (I'm not sure this one has windage though) - https://www.scopedout.com.au/Cold-Shot-M.O.A.B.-MOA-Adjustment-Base-Gen-4

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And the $200 style that I use - https://www.extravision.com.au/collections/pulsar-rifle-mounts/products/click-adjustable-mount-zeroing-block

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And my testing of it - https://enoughgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16310

You _must_ centre your windage turret first, _before_ winding your elevation all the way down - otherwise the erector tube inside the scope will be hitting the inside of the scope tube. Same thing when you have the elevation dialled way up, you won't be able to use much if any windage adjustment. Centre the windage, wind the elevation all the way down, then zero the scope only using the rail. This will give you all of your scope's elevation adjustment to use for shooting. You'll want to have already decided which ammunition the rifle likes but you should never have to alter this setup again. I have taken the ZBLite off a few times but I don't recall whether it held zero okay, I can't see any reason it wouldn't as it mounts to a pic rail.

I strongly suggest zeroing the windage at close range to minimise any wind, I do it at 50m, then extend to my zeroing range to zero the elevation. It's very handy if you can set up targets at 50m and your zero range so you can confirm windage hasn't moved when you make your elevation adjustments on the mount, especially with the first style of mount that requires dismounting to adjust.

I should mention that if you have a grid reticle or one that gives you low holds as well as high holds then you can zero out further and use the reticle above the crosshair for closer shots. One of my Visionking scopes has a double reticle that can be used similarly - personally I find the reticle too busy and it can get confusing.

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Also, an SFP scope allows you to adjust your reticle to change your holdovers, something that FFP scopes can't do. For example, when practicing at 460m from a 180m zero, rather than dial all the way up to 82 minutes, I'll usually just wind the scope back to 4.5-power which quadruples my 15.4-minute reticle holdover to 61.6 minutes, dial in 20 minutes on the scope, and hold on the top of the duplex post (the .223 600yd holdover).

[bladeracer]

See, now that's what I call information. I've downloaded, printed and laminated and will start working on it. I don't think I will need to go to adjustable rails, just the 30. Zero at 50, dial to 200 and get some practise started. All I have to do is find a 30 rail suited to my CZ.
Cheers

If you have enough scope adjustment you should be fine without a canted rail, you only need about 30-minutes of adjustment to go from 50m to 200m so anything with 60 minutes of adjustment would do. My VK 10-40x56 only has 42 minutes of adjustment so is hopeless for long-range .22LR. On the 30-minute RPR rail I can't zero it any closer than 100m unless I shim the front ring.

The CZ probably has a dovetail so the first example of mount I showed could be an option to start off with. Trawl Ebay, Temu and other such places as the price can vary considerably for the same item. Lots of places do branded 30-minute rails for the CZ but prices start around $200, I prefer unbranded options.

[madang55]

I'm reading all this and in the background I think I can hear Richard Wagner's "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" playing.

[madang55]

PM'd you. Actually the 3rd option is available on that site now for $139 plus delivery. If it works on my CZ, might be a winner.

[bladeracer]

PM'd you. Actually the 3rd option is available on that site now for $139 plus delivery. If it works on my CZ, might be a winner.

Have a read of that thread I posted of my testing with it. I can't fault its precision of manufacture but it does fall short in some areas, though they really aren't significant as I haven't had to adjust it since I set it up.

[madang55]

Great stuff. Did you manage to get the mount with the 200mm rail? Same website?

[bladeracer]

Great stuff. Did you manage to get the mount with the 200mm rail? Same website?

No, I never did. I think it'd be more useful to screw a longer rail on top of the short one so it extends further back over the rear, we really don't need it to be any longer out the front.

[gunderson]

I used to stuff about shooting a gong 250ish meters with the 22lr, standard velocity rounds, didnt have a big minute picatinny rail or anything so the holdover was interesting haha..

[bladeracer]

I used to stuff about shooting a gong 250ish meters with the 22lr, standard velocity rounds, didnt have a big minute picatinny rail or anything so the holdover was interesting haha..

Yes, most of my practicing is just by holdover, I only dial in when I'm really trying.

[bladeracer]

Got some gear from STS today, 4", 6" and 8" gongs for practicing the Long Gong, and a rimfire Know-Your-Limits set.
Have to weld up some hanger frames for them now.

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[bladeracer]

Whacked together some very cheap hanger frames for them, just 10mm round bar with 6mm round for hooks.

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Got some gear from STS today, 4", 6" and 8" gongs for practicing the Long Gong, and a rimfire Know-Your-Limits set.
Have to weld up some hanger frames for them now.

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[madang55]

Very cool. I will keep to getting on paper consistently. If that works I will look at getting more adventurous. Mt CZ loves the Eley and Fiocchi out to 75m, so hopefully they will behave at 200. I have also just found a stock maker in Geelong so I will be getting some bedding done.

[bladeracer]

Very cool. I will keep to getting on paper consistently. If that works I will look at getting more adventurous. Mt CZ loves the Eley and Fiocchi out to 75m, so hopefully they will behave at 200. I have also just found a stock maker in Geelong so I will be getting some bedding done.

I still haven't managed to test these targets. Been very, very windy here and we're mainly cutting up the fallen trees from last month and repairing the fences still. Hopefully we can some reduced winds soon.

[bladeracer]

I did finally manage to get out for a bit of practice on these gongs today. First I had to clear five trees on the plantation track to get into the back of the block, which wasted a lot of my time as I wanted to get back early as Rose was taking her mum out tonight. The first fallen tree, somebody had come out, cut up the main trunk and taken the firewood, leaving all the branches still blocking the track - I really don't understand some people.

I sprayed the gongs white, walked them up to the top fence of the paddock, then ranged some spots down the bottom to see where I might shoot from. Took the ute down there, ranged back to the targets, but was 18m short, so I moved the ute to the edge of the dam and ranged the targets at 275m. But my line of sight only clears the ridge in the middle by about one metre. The mirage was horrible.

The RAR Target was already zeroed at 200m so I wound it up 18 minutes and put 70rds through it on a separate 150mm gong trying to get a feel for the wind, with no real success. The wind was swirling around bouncing from one side of the target to the other. I was also being tricked by being in a still hollow with the wind howling through the trees over my head when the wind I was actually firing through was very different, in direction and strength. I was making hits, though I couldn't hear most of them over the wind, but luck with the wind played a large role in them I feel. Then I switched to the RPR, dialled up 46 minutes (50m zero) and put 175rds on (mostly near) the 150mm and 200mm gongs. I think all I really learned from today's effort is that I need to find a better place to practice

Rose just told me that she was at a neighbour's place while I was shooting. They were listening to me and were surprised I was bothering as the wind where they were was gusting heavily. I think I'll have to go to my mate's place where I practice with the .303 as he has a nice section there that runs along the lee of a ridge where the wind seems to pass over the top of the line of fire.

I did record video but I've watched it back and it's blurry beyond use, no idea why. The S21 Ultra has a bunch of cameras and apparently it automatically swaps through them depending on what you're doing. I have no idea how it works and it failed me dismally today. I thought I had video so I didn't bother going up to take photos of the targets. Out of 245rds I probably had no more than 50-odd hits on the 150mm and 200mm gongs.

[bladeracer]

I noticed that there was no breeze at all this morning so went out for a practice. Was doing much better, until the sun came up and heated the hillside, then the mirage killed the fun I started missing despite good sight pictures, but when I started seeing bullets hitting two-feet away I realised it was definitely a mirage issue.

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I opened with my first shot of the day hitting the 150mm gong I'm using for warming up (I can see most of the misses hitting the dirt behind it) though the next nine were all around it with no hits. I can't help seeing the gongs as teddy bears with the "ears" for the bolts, so I'm thinking it should be called the Three Bears Shoot

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Do "ear" hits count if they're outside the circumference of the circle?

I put 80rds through the RAR Target and 160rds through the RPR this time. I'm just working on hitting the gongs for now so I've been doing 15rd mags dropping five on each gong and scoring them as 1pt, 2pt and 3pt. My best so far I think is only 9pts - 2, 2, 1 (I'm not writing anything down, just trying to keep track in my head). The 8" gong is not too difficult once you've got a wind read, the 6" gong is challenging as I doubt the rifles group as tight as 150mm anyway (I must remember to take a board up to get some group sizes), the 4" gong is a real struggle. I really think a rear bag is going to be essential for that one so I've strapped one to my pack now.

I've put 485rds on these now (though a lot of those were on the separate 150mm gong while getting wind reads and zeroing) without having a bullet drift far enough to hit another gong. Until I stopped for ten minutes to reload the mags. The wind shifted three minutes during that time and my first shot on the 8" gong hit the 6" gong instead. So I think I'll have to open up the spacing a bit just to be sure.

I don't know how many shots I fired at each target with each rifle yesterday (or today for that matter) but I counted yesterday's hits before I painted them this morning - 22, 7, and 1 on the 8"/6"/4" gongs, another 7 on the separate 150mm gong, and one on one of the 120mm gongs. Today's effort was 28, 9 and 3 (one of the "9" was aimed at the other target though so counts as a miss), I forgot to count how many were on the separate 150mm gong, and I also used a 420x240mm plate when I was checking wind. At one point I think I put eight in a row on the 8" gong, I was doing very well early on, once the ground heated up it became very frustrating.

Of all the cases of CCI SV I've been through I was surprised to get a bent round yesterday while loading mags. I can't imagine how they got that in there as it was very difficult to remove and the plastic trays are very fragile. The box was undamaged.

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I straightened the bullet enough to get it out, then loaded it behind four good rounds to see how it would fly. The four good ones were all close to the 150mm plate, the bad one I didn't see an impact in the field of view at all.

I'll have to keep an eye on the wind and if I see it's calm I'll dash out again.

[wildcard6]

For anyone wanting to shoot Long Gong and record scores, I put a WORD document on the Long Gong Facebook group page that can be printed as an A4 page with room for five shooters per page. Each shooter has five lines for scoring. A week from today is the monthly XRRS shoot at Para range in Adelaide and after the main match we have what I call a 'Chaser' shoot - something a little different that adds variety - and this month will be a few rounds of Long Gong. We'll be shooting it at 200 METERS instead of 300 yards to get people used to shooting it and to give a better chance of hitting even the smallest gong. It's for fun, not serious competition.

[bladeracer]

For anyone wanting to shoot Long Gong and record scores, I put a WORD document on the Long Gong Facebook group page that can be printed as an A4 page with room for five shooters per page. Each shooter has five lines for scoring. A week from today is the monthly XRRS shoot at Para range in Adelaide and after the main match we have what I call a 'Chaser' shoot - something a little different that adds variety - and this month will be a few rounds of Long Gong. We'll be shooting it at 200 METERS instead of 300 yards to get people used to shooting it and to give a better chance of hitting even the smallest gong. It's for fun, not serious competition.

I did download the scoresheet but I haven't actually tried shooting the ten-round competition yet, still just concentrating on getting hits.
Just heading out to my mate's place for another practice so I'll try 200m first and see how that goes.

Forecast was for 36C I think but it's only 23.4C under the veranda currently (1130) and doesn't feel as warm as yesterday. But there's zero breeze where I am, I'm hoping it'll be the same at his place.

[bladeracer]

I did download the scoresheet but I haven't actually tried shooting the ten-round competition yet, still just concentrating on getting hits.
Just heading out to my mate's place for another practice so I'll try 200m first and see how that goes.

Forecast was for 36C I think but it's only 23.4C under the veranda currently (1130) and doesn't feel as warm as yesterday. But there's zero breeze where I am, I'm hoping it'll be the same at his place.

I walked the targets out to 200m, pulled out some ragwort on the way back, then dialled the scope down 18 minutes to a 200m zero. I burned most of the first mag trying to get a hit somewhere. I held on the middle gong and eventually had a ding on the left gong telling me that my elevation was on.
The wind was horrendous, swirling up the valley. Across one magazine I'd be switching from a three-minute right hold to a three-minute left hold, just hopeless. Which was a shame as (at 200m) I put three consecutive bullets on the 6" gong then jumped to the silhouette and put the fastest five rounds I possibly could onto it hoping I'd found a lull in the wind. I knew I pulled one badly but the other four were in a horizontal string across the target, about 35mm tall and 190mm wide. Including the wayward shot the group is 200mm so it could've been really nice without wind. I would've done much better staying home and shooting here this morning I'm sure.

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Then I just played with trying to read what the grass at the target was doing so it wasn't a totally wasted session. The 8" gong is 3.5 minutes at 200m so it was just large enough that I could mostly follow the wind across it as it changed speed and direction, and most shots aimed at it were hits despite the wind. The 6" gong was much harder as a wind change was a miss, with no feedback of whether it went off the left edge or the right edge in the grass. The 4" gong was pretty much impossible today so I didn't waste much ammo on it. Only 85rds in the one rifle today, then we did some car maintenance. The car said it was 39C on the way home (I don't trust car temp sensors) but the veranda said it was 36.8C when I got home, pretty warm but with a light breeze wasn't too intolerable.

If it's calm tomorrow I'm going to try to get the chores sorted early and get out for some more practice. Forecast seems to be 37C tomorrow and 36C Monday which tends to mean no wind.

[bladeracer]

Had a fun session today, despite the heat. It was hot but under the trees it was pretty pleasant. The trek up the hill and back to check targets was a workout in the heat though

There was a breeze but it was fairly steady and as it shifted it didn't jump about so I could follow it around pretty easily. I put a few mags on the steels with the RAR Target then I thought I'd drop five on the silhouette, but only had four left in the mag. At 275m the four went into 126mm, which is excellent but I doubt it's indicative, just luck I think. Then I loaded a 15rd mag with Eley Edge and saw how that shot. It might have a slightly higher BC as they were a couple minutes high. When I had it hitting the 8" gong I loaded a 10rd mag and put those on the silhouette, into 219mm, which is probably a more realistic representation. Just larger than the 203mm 8" gong but it probably means that I should be able to put at least 90% of them on the 8", 70% on the 6", and 40% on the 4" gong - _if_ I have a good handle on the wind. The Eley Edge is good stuff but is discontinued and I'm almost down to my last 1000rds. It might have a slight edge in accuracy over the CCI but not enough to matter I think, my misses will still be due to the wind far more than the ammo.

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Then I swapped to the RPR and put two 15rd mags on the steels before going up top check the paper target. I was intending to patch it out and group the RPR on paper as well but the Target's group was good enough that I decided to keep it for analysis. I had forgotten to take more paper up with me so I brought the targets back and set up the Know-Your-Limits rack (10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 30mm, 40mm, 55mm, 70mm - the 10mm and 15mm plates are tough, even at close range) at 28m for Rose to practice on. I had a play with the RAR Compact to ensure it was zeroed while she was walking down to me, then I grabbed the RPR and tried the iron sights. I had no issue at all hitting the 70mm and 55mm plates at 28m, but I couldn't see the smaller ones at all against the dry grass so didn't even try those. Rose burned a few mags on them with the Compact (I've told her that she needs to be able to hit the 40mm plate every time to be confident of clean head shots on rabbits), then I gave her the RPR with iron sights and she blew my mind. She had no issue at all hitting the first four every time, and the 20mm plate more than half the time, with iron sights. She was hitting targets I couldn't even see

295rds between us for the session.