Rumpshot's Revenge III

[Rod]

Wonder if anyone will have a wifi card that will work that far out...streaming video from the site? Be a first for this group.

[308Mike]

Wonder if anyone will have a wifi card that will work that far out...streaming video from the site? Be a first for this group.

Bring your Pringles can........

A couple years ago, we used channel 18, PL 12 (war of 1812).

[ShadyDexter]

I'll be there.

[Rumpshot]

Gratuitous bump back to the top.

Met a neighbor over the last two weekends that works with metal. He volunteered, sorta, to attempt to make up a couple of clanger targets. Will work on him again this Saturday about that project.

I also have resurrected some old correspondence with a fella down Sierra Vista way. They do some loooong range .22 plinking. 200 meters!!!

The following quote is not from the guy in Sierra Vista, but the original source of the game. Add a year to the dates on the project below.

22LR, Buffalo’s, and 300 yards

Shooting a 22LR at 300 yards is a lot like shooing a 45-100 at 1000 yards. Mix this with the fun and sounds that come off a reactive target and you have a combination that is hard to resist. Most people think that anyone really expecting to hit anything at 300 yards with a 22 is a little left of center. That may be true but don’t tell the members of the Oconomowoc Sportsman Club (OSC) this, they do it every Monday night.

OSC has run two eight-week Buffalo leagues over the past two summers. Starting about 3 years ago, we had a rifle league that started with great promise with many in attendance.

More...

One could shoot a whole league night for fifty cents worth of ammo if you so desired. We all loved seeing those buffs go over at 300 yard with a 22. From the trigger pull its bang…..delay….tumble……then that wonderful metallic ding. I set no restrictions on guns, scopes, action types or the type of sight bring. Single shots, autos, and bolts showed up, but the single shot rifles really caught the hearts of the shooters. We had a pair of Stevens, a stock 44, and a Walnut hill, in addition a BSA Martini soon arrived. Participants shot from the bench because I wanted people to be successful and have fun. People laughed, got to know each other, and used their club more than they ever had.

We learned that ammo was one of the biggest factors in accuracy. Shoot the good stuff or weigh out Federal lighting or CCI blazer (another excellent Lee Shaver suggestion). The now discontinued Federal 900 is just deadly at this range. High velocity ammo seems to work the best. High power scopes work well (everyone was looking for Unertals) so you can make wind corrects within your string as the wind changes the reason being you can see your hits. For internal adjustment scopes most everyone needed about 0.030 of back ring shim to raise the back of the scope to hit at point of aim at 300 yards. The Burris Signature rings work great for this. Just use their offset inserts to raise the back of your scope 0.030 you can split it between the front and back ring with 0.015 up in the back and 0.015 down in the front. If you adjust for an impact 18” high at 30 yards you will be close at 300.

At the end of 8 weeks I asked if everyone wanted to continue another 8 weeks. I was informed that if we didn’t they were all planning to hurt me. At the end of the first year I kept hearing all winter “I’m joining that buffalo league next year.” Our course of fire is 20 buffalo’s from the bench starting at about 3:30 in the afternoon. On several nights we ran almost to dark to get everyone through. What were we going to do with more people? I asked for more buffalo’s, which again were gladly provided. We then built a high rail so we could double our shooter capacity. Well year two is over and our numbers have increased to a point where we are running up against dark again to get everyone through.

Speaking of dark it is interesting that at dusk things get weird, there seems to be cold spots that create different bullet deflections. Also the hill at the end of the range with the berms on each side makes the corners shoot different. I am always nervous shooting the first couple of buffs till I get out of that corner.

The first year we had four perfect twenties for the whole 16 weeks out of about 220 sets shot. Last year we had about 10 perfect twenties shot out of about 440 sets shot. We also added odd week cross-sticks rather than bench shooting which added another degree of difficulty. This has been well received even with the creek and crack of old bones getting into position.

By what I have told you and what you can see in the pictures you have what you need to start your own league. There is a set of standardized rules but we ran the first year with no rules at all. I can forward our current rules to anyone who would like them. Included here is a tracing of the buffalo with scaling information. Just enlarge the drawing on a copier until the buffalo length meets the distance you want to shoot. We also have several buffs on what we call swingers. They just hang there for people to get sighted in on so we can keep the line moving for score. We do have a clean’em up command for any buffs not downed in a scoring string. When the command is give to clean’em up the shooters already sighted in and ready to score make quick work of what is left standing. This keeps many of the shooters around to just play.

In closing I am willing to talk to anyone about getting a buffalo league started at his or her club or local range. Just drop me a line at cbgregg@charter.net. In the December 2004 issue of The Single Shot Exchange, Greg Cameron talked about the shooting range of the 21st century and what it will take to be successful. I don’t know Greg but I like the way he thinks. Many of the things he pointed out were part of our success. I am part of the clubs board of directors so maybe it was easier for me to get support. However, the board never once offered any resistance to our insanity only encouragement and very positive feedback. My reward was seeing guys drive an hour and half to get to there week after week. I saw women joining us to shoot. I saw great smiles and laughing coming from shooting benches. I saw fellow club and non-club members pitching in with set up and tear down. And what I see in this is the health of my club, something that is important to me and I hope important to all shooters.

I have the whole thing in a word doc that I can email anyone interested in starting something like this up locally.

I would really like to get it going in Paulden, but still have about 4 1/2 years til I can devote the kind of time it will take.

Hopefully, my neighbor and I can get a couple of buffalo silhouettes cut out and do some "Trials" work at the RR III.

The earlier post still applies, if you have some steel targets, bring 'em.

[Flintlock Tom]

If'n we shoot the buffler, do we get ta' keep the hide 'n horns?

Still scratchn' my head over the 22lr part, though.

[Rumpshot]

If'n we shoot the buffler, do we get ta' keep the hide 'n horns?

Yup, but YOU have to skin it...

[AZRedhawk44]

I'll be there. Same location as last year, right?

Okay if I bring an appleseeder or three?

[Rumpshot]

I'll be there. Same location as last year, right?

Okay if I bring an appleseeder or three?

Same location as last two years.

Bring some appleseeders along. All are welcome young and old, male and female, ...well you get the picture.

Glad to see you on The Gun Counter, AZRedhawk44.

[Rumpshot]

Here is some sunrise sunset data for Chino Valley.

U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department


Sun and Moon Data for One Day
The following information is provided for Chino Valley, Yavapai County, Arizona (longitude W112.5, latitude N34.7):

Saturday
8 November 2008 Mountain Standard Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:31 a.m.
Sunrise 6:58 a.m.
Sun transit 12:14 p.m.
Sunset 5:29 p.m.
End civil twilight 5:56 p.m.

MOON
Moonrise 2:09 p.m. on preceding day
Moonset 1:53 a.m.
Moonrise 2:36 p.m.
Moon transit 8:42 p.m.
Moonset 2:56 a.m. on following day

Phase of the Moon on 8 November: waxing gibbous with 75% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

First quarter Moon on 5 November 2008 at 9:04 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

If you like to look at stars, it might be a bit too bright with the moon that illuminated. On the other hand it will be a great time to look at the moon.

Weather info from Prescott Airport Nov 8, 2007.

Temperature:
Mean Temperature 58 °F / 14 °C -
Max Temperature 75 °F / 23 °C
Min Temperature 42 °F / 5 °C
Moisture:
Dew Point 29 °F / -1 °C
Average Humidity 37
Maximum Humidity 60
Minimum Humidity 18
Precipitation:
Precipitation 0.00 in / 0.00 cm - - ()
Wind:
Wind Speed 3 mph / 5 km/h (SSW)
Max Wind Speed 9 mph / 14 km/h
Max Gust Speed -
Visibility 10 miles / 15 kilometers

[Rumpshot]

One more possible enticement.

Mrs. Rumpshot has suggested that she would be willing to take 2 or 3 ladies shopping at two craft shows in Chino Valley on Saturday 8 November. That would allow those ladies a respite from the manly displays of marksmanship prowess that will take place. More ladies could join in the shopping, but a second vehicle would need to be employed.

If your wife, sister, or lady friend of your choosing were to attend and be concerned about the duration, here is the solution.

Of course if said lady friend were more interested in flinging lead, she is also most welcome.