jblomenberg16
Grandmaster
I had a great experience today at my first ever match! INGO member tmysak talked me into going to the Sycamore Valley Gun Club for an NRA Highpower match today.
I'd first like to compliment that club on the nice facilities, and the very warm welcome. Everyone there was very helpful, and eager to make my first experience a good one.
I brought with me two rifles, with plan A to shoot my K.I.S.S AR-15. I have about 1000rounds through it now, and really feel comfortable with it. It is an HBAR Middy with A2 stock and Detachable Carry Handle Irons. Shoots very well with factory M193 ammo. Plan B was to shoot my H&R M1-Garand.
We got to the range and saw several Garands, M1A/M14s', and a couple AR's. tmysak talked me into shooting the Garand since he was going to shoot his Gap Letter IHC. I agreed, figuring that with it being the 66th anniversary of D-day and all, it would be a fitting way to remember the significance of the day in our history.
My score today was a very humbling 215 with 1x out of a possible 500 (50 rounds in 4 stages). Most shooters shot high 300's from what I saw, with a couple up into the 400's without too much trouble.
Now, to be fair, I had very low expectations of myself today. First, it was my first ever match, and second, I only have about 100rounds of trigger time with my Garand, so we still have a while to get to where I feel really comfortable.
I did learn a lot today. First and foremost, matches are fun! I can't wait to shoot another one! Second, it isn't a race. Except for the rapid fire strings, there really is no reason to get in a hurry. I finished every stage in about 1/2 to 2/3 the allotted time, and probably could have scored a bit better if I had taken my time. Third, I need to practice a lot more, especially in the standing and seated positions. I'm intending on getting to an Appleseed this summer, and today reaffirmed the need to go and learn proper technique.
I also made some typical rookie / noob mistakes. Part of them I can chalk up to planning to shoot the AR instead of the M1. First, I only brought with me 50 rounds of 30-06 for the Garand, thinking that would be enough for the 50rd match. I didn't know that there was opportunity for sighters before the actual match started. Luckly I was able to procure a bit more to finish the match. Second, I learned a very valuable lesson about the Garand...alwasy make sure your gas plug is tight! I really struggled in the Standing stage. To the point that the spotter told me that I should check the plug because I was all over the place. It wasn't even finger tight, meaning my front sight was pretty much free to move. I also noticed a lot of elevation problems during my sighting shots. After 4 rounds I realized that at some point I had change the eleveation drum and not moved it back to the setting that I've zeroed at.
But, all in all it was a great day! I was able to put more rounds in the scoring rings than misses, albeit I still didn't score well. I had one in the X ring, and more than a couple in the 10 ring today. A few 9's to go with that means that there is the potential there. With practice and technique I can probalby add 50-60 points if not more to my score pretty quickly.
I'd first like to compliment that club on the nice facilities, and the very warm welcome. Everyone there was very helpful, and eager to make my first experience a good one.
I brought with me two rifles, with plan A to shoot my K.I.S.S AR-15. I have about 1000rounds through it now, and really feel comfortable with it. It is an HBAR Middy with A2 stock and Detachable Carry Handle Irons. Shoots very well with factory M193 ammo. Plan B was to shoot my H&R M1-Garand.
We got to the range and saw several Garands, M1A/M14s', and a couple AR's. tmysak talked me into shooting the Garand since he was going to shoot his Gap Letter IHC. I agreed, figuring that with it being the 66th anniversary of D-day and all, it would be a fitting way to remember the significance of the day in our history.
My score today was a very humbling 215 with 1x out of a possible 500 (50 rounds in 4 stages). Most shooters shot high 300's from what I saw, with a couple up into the 400's without too much trouble.
Now, to be fair, I had very low expectations of myself today. First, it was my first ever match, and second, I only have about 100rounds of trigger time with my Garand, so we still have a while to get to where I feel really comfortable.
I did learn a lot today. First and foremost, matches are fun! I can't wait to shoot another one! Second, it isn't a race. Except for the rapid fire strings, there really is no reason to get in a hurry. I finished every stage in about 1/2 to 2/3 the allotted time, and probably could have scored a bit better if I had taken my time. Third, I need to practice a lot more, especially in the standing and seated positions. I'm intending on getting to an Appleseed this summer, and today reaffirmed the need to go and learn proper technique.
I also made some typical rookie / noob mistakes. Part of them I can chalk up to planning to shoot the AR instead of the M1. First, I only brought with me 50 rounds of 30-06 for the Garand, thinking that would be enough for the 50rd match. I didn't know that there was opportunity for sighters before the actual match started. Luckly I was able to procure a bit more to finish the match. Second, I learned a very valuable lesson about the Garand...alwasy make sure your gas plug is tight! I really struggled in the Standing stage. To the point that the spotter told me that I should check the plug because I was all over the place. It wasn't even finger tight, meaning my front sight was pretty much free to move. I also noticed a lot of elevation problems during my sighting shots. After 4 rounds I realized that at some point I had change the eleveation drum and not moved it back to the setting that I've zeroed at.
But, all in all it was a great day! I was able to put more rounds in the scoring rings than misses, albeit I still didn't score well. I had one in the X ring, and more than a couple in the 10 ring today. A few 9's to go with that means that there is the potential there. With practice and technique I can probalby add 50-60 points if not more to my score pretty quickly.
