Posted by Dave Groves on May 29, 2017; 10:55am
URL: http://oldforum.flyshooter.com.au/Aust-V-s-Texas-tp5709315p5709332.html

G'day Mike and Joe,
                                     If there's anything we can do to help from here, please just ask, there are a few tools we use to run the event that make it very simple, the time calls and Anthony's score sheet make it so easy to administer that it is now an enjoyable and low stress event to run. I have some paper based tools that allow me to track nominations, equipment sharing and do a bench draw to prevent "lefties" and "righties" bumping shoulders when there isn't much space between benches. All this is available electronically to provide.

How many competitors do you think you might get to your shoot? How many benches do you intend to run?

Last September we had just less than 50 individual shooters (ten shot both classes) and that is just a little below average for the last few years at the Pro-Cal Challenge (Canberra's September event)

We are lucky to have a target crew of young blokes, the four of them average less than ten minutes to change the targets driving a little Suzuki Sierra that has been decked out for shooting and just happens to work very well to get the team to the 500m mark and back in quick time. One goes along and pulls the shot targets, two go along and put up the targets for the next detail whilst checking that they are in the correct order, and the fourth fellow paints out the splash plates. They run the targets like a well oiled machine and make it easy to run the shoot and allow the organisers to concentrate on the important stuff like catching up with friends and running a fun shoot.

We have a scorer, check scorer and data entry person in the scoring hut, (thanks Russ, Sue and Mike respectively) The scorer identifies the shots (making any line calls) and measures the group, check scorer adds up the total and the data entry person inputs the scores into Anthony's score spreadsheet which provides the results. Scores are posted throughout the day, we try to post the running tally after each target (A, B, C, D and E)

Targets are numbered according to the local clubs system, but generally along the lines of:
1 (bench)
3 (detail)
W (Warmer)
Using this sort of process with minimal writing the targets are easily tracked in the scoring hut.

Our "splash" plates are a mix of Bisalloy 500 and 600 grade steel which resist everything we throw at them (we tested the 600grade for the manufacturer with a .338 Lap 300gn Sierra at 100m and it didn't dimple the surface) which we paint with spot marking paint that surveyors use on work sites, a good coat at the start of the day and then a touch up each target change to cover the splash from that firer's sighters. I can measure them if you like (no idea off the top of my head). Good splash plates make a big difference, we battled with a substandard set for a few years and welding up chain hooks and hangers during the shoot (thanks to Paul Deehan on many occasions) gets pretty old pretty quick!

We run 4 details these days, once upon a time it was unusual for somebody to shoot two classes but now that people like to shoot two classes, running 4 details allows two friends to shoot two classes each and spot for each other.

Personally my tactic is to run quite a few shots through on the Warmer target (10 minutes allowed, unlimited rounds allowed) to ensure that my barrel is fouled and that I am confident of my elevation setting for the target, with such a small 10 ring, having a good "waterline" on the target makes a big difference.

For my "business" targets (8 rounds allowed, 3 on splash plate, only 5 on target) I will wind  some windage on my scope and favour the side of the splash plate that the wind is predominantly coming from so that I reduce the risk of missing the splash plate. Once I'm on the splash plate,  if my initial wind call was correct and conditions are looking pretty stable I might go straight "up" to the target, otherwise I might fire another sighter to confirm windage and then go up, if conditions aren't changing too much I might not use my second and third sighters, keeping the option up your sleeve to have another sighter if things change isn't a bad thing in my book!

That's a little bit of info, if I think of anything else I will let you know.

As I have said above, if there's anything we could possibly do from here, please just ask.

Cheers

Dave Groves.
Canberra.