dt1

+1 Rifles Only. Take the PR 1 & 2 combo course if you can. You won't believe what Jacob, Frank and Lindy can teach you to do with your bolt rifle in a week's time.

If you're getting a USO SN3, take a look a the Gap reticle. I've got one and love it. Not too busy and very functional. Full hash marks at 1mil half hash lines at .5mil.

This is the best advice you'll get when purchasing optics, whether its a rifle scope, spotting scope or binoculars. What are you going to use your rifle for? Group shooting off a bench, any of the options listed in the initial post will work just fine for the rifle mentioned. If you're planning to shoot in matches or training where your kit will be banged around and put through the wringer, save up and get something that'll last. Several good options have been suggested in this thread. Another good source to research is Sniper's Hide Forum. Go to the Optics forum and read away. I've regretted many "go fast" things I've bought for firearms through the years, but I've NEVER regretted spending $ on top quality optics. That said, Leupold has a very nice reputation for quality and durability and their warranty is outstanding. David

No problem Bryan. Be careful regarding function though, I know lots of people who've had problems with fabricated 308 mags trying to get higher capacity. See you Friday.

Actually his ol' lady is making him go out of town on Tuesday for Thanksgiving, so Randal and I are going to re-arrange all the targets in the shoot house Wed afternoon

Hey Mike, Glad you'll be able to make it. You'll be happy to know that each stage box now has a timer in it! I won't have to interrupt your match to go to your truck 2-3 times to get your timer! See you Saturday. David

What type of shot distances are you considering for the rifle stages Greg? Looking forward to shooting this match! David

We have a "heavy metal optics" class at our rifle match at Steel City in Birmingham. I specifically wanted to include this division because I thought there would be a good many people who'd like to shoot their AR-10s, but didn't want to be restricted to iron sights (myself included). We structured the scoring of our match to put 308's on equal footing with 223's and for the most part, it's worked. At our big match last March, there were 2 308's in the top 5 spots in optics. The class has had varying degrees of interest but, suprisingly, is almost always has the fewest # of shooters of the four classes we shoot (minor optics, minor irons, HM optics, HM irons). This was a suprise to me. Perhaps with more people picking up the DPMS 308's there will be more folks shooting them with scopes in competition. David

Nope, it'll be the usual board of fare, 6 stages medium to close and one long range stage with steel scattered out between 100 and 350yds. Alan, it'll be good to see you and Jack. Tod, unless it rains, you'll probably be able to shoot the whole match w/o getting your clothes dirty. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather, you never know this time of year......... David

Hey Folks, Just a reminder, we'll be shooting rifles at Steel City in Birmingham, AL on Saturday, November 29th. Registration starts at 8:00 and the match will begin at 9:00 sharp. 7 stages, 150 - 200 rounds. Match usually winds up mid afternoon. We'll try to put some Ft. Benning type stuff in the stages to use as a tune up. Unfortunately no 500yd shots at flash targets, but we'll have plenty of steel at distance to whack at on the "long range" stage. Any questions, give me a call or e-mail. Dave Tapp 205-492-7529 dkjtapp@aol.com

I've used both Remington and necked up Lapua 243 for my 260 Remington. Doesn't make any difference re accuracy, Lapua brass has lasted longer making it worth the extra $ to buy and neck up.

You're gettin' old Jack, can't hump your gear anymore? You looked to be in pretty good shape when I saw you in Shreveport..........

Never heard of a Remington SR-25. They're made by Knights. Some people have re-chambered SR-25's in .260 Remington or 243, but I haven't heard of one in 7mm-08.

Guys, this match and others like it, are not equipment races where magazine capacity, detachable or not, is much of an advantage. Most of the long range stages last year consisted of 3 or 4 steel targets that were 200 to 700 yards away. You had 3 minutes to range them and were permitted two shots each to hit them. Of course it is nice to slap a 10round AICS magazine in your bolt rifle and forget about anything but hitting the targets, but single loading a rifle with an internal magazine really isn't that much of a disadvantage. Good shooter single loading an internal magazine rifle beats a pretty good shooter with a detachable magazine EVERY time in a match like this. Knowing how to hit long range targets with your rifle is so much more important than whether or not you have a detachable magazine.

That's great news on the magazine management issue Bobby, definitely in line with other matches of this type. Should make everyone happy. It still is definitely a shooting match, not a magazine capacity match. PM sent to you regarding help, happy to assist in any way! David

I think they're off hand aren't they?

Doesn't matter. You don't need a gas gun Jeff if that's what you're wondering. The way it was set up last year, just single loading a bolt rifle worked fine.

Wow, you learn something new every day. I've always used a razor blade and have been thankful that I didn't cut my fingers wide opened!

There were a couple of stages with 600yd + shots, one at a man sized steel target at 1100yds. The rest were between 200 and 500yds and I don't believe you could actually get prone for any of them so the difficulty factor was pretty high. You really need to know where your rifle hits at 10yds to 1000yds and everywhere in between. As with any first match, Bobby, Bill and the guys putting it on learned things this past year that will make the '09 match even better. One of the problems last year was that the targets were difficult to range with your range finder, but that issue has been corrected. Down time between stages was a bit high but that, also, has been addressed. I've discovered these type matches have a personality of their own, not quite what we encounter in 3-gun or mulitgun. They'll challenge your ability to shoot your pistol quickly and accurately, then move to long range precision shots with your rifle. It would really be a blast to shoot this thing with some of you guys! David

I shot this match last year and it was GREAT. It will be even better this year with the tweaking that will be done vs last year. If you've been looking to shoot a field precision rifle/handgun match, you should really consider attending this one. Dave Tapp

Would definitely be interested. It would be helpful to know the format details. David

Yeah, it's been a DQ free 12 years of shooting for me until this past weekend. Leaving that match early was kind of like being put out of your misery...........

The 2009 Steel City Tactical Rifle Championship will be held on the weekend of May 30th and 31st at Steel City Range in Birmingham, AL. I met with the range board last night and they approved the use of the range for an extra day and also will allow us to utilize several of the other large deep bays for this year's big match. Like last year, the match will have a one day format, the shooters can pre-register to shoot either Saturday May 30th or Sunday May 31st. We'll cap pre-registration at 150 (75 per day) which will allow us to add an extra stage or two over last year. It'll be a fun, full day of rifle shooting. Look for registration details in the Dec-Jan timeframe. I'll post more information at that time. The match was a ton of fun last year, we had over 100 shooters and it filled up several weeks out. The two day format should allow us to accommodate more shooters. The match fee might be a little higher than last year ($50) due to us using the entire range, but will be very reasonable, designed just to cover expenses. Sponsors were generous last year and I'll keep you posted on what we get to give away this year. Information about the match and range can be found on the Steel City website (www.scssa.org) or send me an e-mail or PM. The May match will be the "biggie" for 2009. We hold a standard tac rifle match on months with a 5th Saturday. The next two will be the last Saturdays in November '08 and January '09. Hope to see you in Birmingham for some rifle blastin' soon. Thanks, Dave Tapp

Wow Jack, it got kind of quiet after your first post If you want to shoot an outlaw match with lots of trigger time, come shoot rifles with us at Steel City in Birmingham. We have 'em on months with a 5th Saturday, the next big one will be in May '09. One day format with 150 -200 or so rounds. See you in Shreveport. David Tapp

Depends on your thought process for prizes. As stated above, many MD's try to build prize tables for each division with each table being roughly proportionate in value to the number of shooters in that division. Shooters visit the prize table in order of finish, the top finishing shooters get the best prizes. We had a big rifle match in Birmingham last Spring, sponsors were generous, and we raffled everything off so everyone had a chance at the good stuff. Everyone paid the same match entry fee ($50.00) so everyone had the same chance at the prizes. Neither is right or wrong, just different ways of doing things. Also, imo, neither way will really attract more or less shooters. The manner in which the prize table is handled will affect very few people's decision to attend, some, but not many. The quality of the match is what will attract shooters.