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Introduction
One of the great things about organising the Gunslinger shoots is that I sometimes get some fantastic invitations. Shortly after announcing to the various Gunslinger supporters that we were looking to start holding events in the North Island I was talking with Tracy Short (of Dead Eye Dicks) and he mentioned he'd make a call... It was clear this event was going to be a bit different.
Firstly, this was a massive location - ideal for long range shooting. Secondly, this was to be quite a social venue. And thirdly, numbers were limited to ten shooters, so needed to be invitation only. Being the first North Island shoot it would also be a trial; logistically bringing a trailer full of targets up from Canterbury, changes to competition scoring to now be primarily based on points, and a more stable frame for the Hostage target.
As expected there was no shortage of acceptances for the invitation to compete, and two days were planned: Practice Day Friday 21 October
Competition Day Saturday 22 October
Tony, Darryn and I arrived on the Wednesday night, and with direction from one of the owners the course was set out on the Thursday. There were three sectors of firing points; one based on shingle at the car park of the house, another about a hundred metres from the house on a mound poking above the waist high tussock, and a third about a kilometre from the house on a knob in close cropped pasture. Targets were placed at ranges from 295m out to 1751m, with most between 500m and 800m - which was the natural orientation below the ridgeline on the opposite side of the valley.
Weather on the Thursday started with drizzle, but the views were still magnificent. We had free range of a valley running down from the house. The farm map and activity board was updated to show where we were shooting and even with a six kilometer safety zone we were still no where near the farm boundaries.
Practice Day dawned clear and the particiapants arrived throughout the day. Shooting was initally from sector two in the tussock and firing across the valley. Everyone seemed sighted in and most of the targets got a hiding. As usual the deer and coyote proved very popular.
In the afternoon everyone moved down to sector three to take on the Dirty Harry stage. By now the wind was gusting up to 21 mph. Even so, hits were made by most at 1042m, 1080m, and 1094m. And Darryn made a personal best with 'his' .308 hitting the 1157m target three times. A few shot at the full sized IPSC at 1608m but the ground wasn't showing any bullet impacts so it was impossible to see what adjustments were necessary.
The Competition Day dawned ominously with high cloud rolling in. The competition started at Sector 1 with the short 295m stage of The Good, The Bad, And The ugly. This had three firing points; at the first firing point take one shot prone at the 6" round target, then move to the second firing point and take one shot standing then drop to a knee for the third shot (both at the full sized IPSC target), then move to the third firing point for two shots from prone at the 6" round. In the loose gravel thisproved to be a lot harder than expected.
Light rain was falling by the time the second stage was started, but the cloud was also significantly reducing visibility. None-the-less a few people got to shoot The Eiger Sanction - a 28" high auto reset popper, from three firing points. Part way through Tracy's turn the targets became obscured by the cloud and rain. After waiting about an hour it became clear the weather wasn't going to improve, so the remaining competition was cancelled.
Early on the Saturday afternoon, four 15" round targets were placed out on the grassy paddock to allow those who had stayed some shooting in the lower visibility. Targets were at only 343m, 408m, 462m, and 485m, and in my case provided an opportunity for some practice using the AI supressor on my .338LM AWSM.
For Tony, Darryn and I this had been the culmination of a week travelling the lower North Island looking at possible shooting sites, and making a few other shooting related visits. Despite the competition being cut short I for one felt it had been a great few days, made all the better for the hospitality we had been shown.
Once again a location had been opened to target shooters, and for that I thank not just the site and Tracy Short, but the other shooters who all travelled a long way. And a special thanks to Matt who made a two hour round trip to Taihape for a bottle of cream (and some batteries for his LRF), and for Andrew for baking a great apple crumble.
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www.deadeyedicks.co.nz
Not much walking at this event! Everyone stayed at the lodge and most firing points were just a few minutes walk away.
This site location is very remote, so all participants were required to stay on-site. The hospitality was simply outstanding - fantastic meals, great company, and a lot of very funny jokes (particularly from Tracy).
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Trial
This event was a trial of some items introduced to reduce time on setting out and packing up a course, and also increasing the amount of stages that can be shot in a day - basically increasing the amount of shooting time and possible participants at a Gunslinger event.
Gunslinger PLRS now has a trailer fitted out to carry targets and gear required for a competition - that's over a tonne of equipment, including more than 40 metal targets. The slide out shelves worked well and items are now easier to access without removing other targets. And getting disc brakes added was definately worth it.
Firing Points used to have ribbon markers showing just the name of the stage. The markers are now A4 sized sheets describing the targets, the actions to be taken, and the associated scoring (English on one side and French on the other). In the high winds these flapped around making a hell of a racket, so the next version will be of a heavy cardboard.
Scoring used to be a combination of points or fastest time. Most stages are now based on just points and printed score sheets make results a lot easier to record and faster to tally.
The Hostage target used in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, had been updated with a more stable base so that it would take the impacts of the .338s, and this worked well.
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Set-up was done on the Thursday. The full-sized IPSC target has a mercury switch connected to a camera flash to provide a visible indication of a hit.
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So what DO you do when you leave your state of the art Vector range finder binoculars behind? Tracy tries out his new 1x power binoculars (note they come with a "neck band" too).
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The last group out on the Sunday morning; Andrew, Darryn, Christian, Tony, Shane, and Brian. |
Competition Day about 10:00am. The cloud has rolled in and visibility dropped to less than 200m. |
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Legal: In consideration for
being permitted to attend this practical long range shooting event, the
competitor is agreeing to the following:
The competitor holds a current firearms licence, including any
endorsements applicable to the firearm being used.
The competitor expressly assumes the risk of taking part in the match,
which includes; instruction in the use of firearms, the discharge of
firearms, and the firing of live ammunition.
The competitor agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend Gunslinger
PLRS Limited, its staff, and the match location owner, from all fault,
liabilities, costs, expenses, claims, demands or lawsuits arising out
of or connected with the competitors presence at and / or participation
in the event; the discharge of firearms by the competitor or other
competitors; the competitors presence on or use of the event location.
The competitor understands, and will at all times abide by all event
Standard Operating Procedures, Course of Fire and any other rules and
procedures stated by the Match Director or Range Officer/s.
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