MattBurkett

Kelly, 1. There was a slight discussion on slings in the Buchanan interview. Yeah, it could have gone more indepth. I really wanted slung secondary transitions to HG in there for the tac guys, but, we just ran out of time. 2. Everygun seems to be different and I wasn't sure how I could show that. FYI now I can since we have the availability of a camera that can shoot through the scope! Would have been so cool for the video. 3. I agree. There just isn't as much cool stuff to show or talk about with the irons. There are about 40 more discussion points that I would have liked to bring up, but, we were already at four and a half hours of final. Could probably make another 10 hours of rifle stuff, just don't know if there is enough market for the details. Thanks for the review! Matt

So they weren't say to shoot slow. They were saying fast and smooth. That I can agree with. Rhino, .2 or .02? SERIOUS difference between those. .02 big deal, .20 bad deal.

Duane, BREATHE. In/out/in/out slowly. It's okay buddy. FYI on your sig line ad Zen or they never will get it.

They do a nice job. Saw Rob's gun and it does look great. Would recommend a smaller contour than he got on the barrel though.

No problemo. :-)

After my initial knee jerk reaction to the new rule book, the following has come to light. The idea was to make the holster areas significantly easier to administrate for match directors. This is of course going to cause some issues. They said they are doing the best they can and here is some additional info for you guys. Just got off the phone with IDPA HQ and learned the following information: 1. Paddle holsters are not defacto illegal. See D. Pouch Style covers paddles. 2. Kydex, plastic, leather, etc are considered normal holster making materials. 3. Magtubes are measuring the tube from front edge of the tube to the top of the front edge. The Comp-tac locking paddle that I enjoy so much may or may not be legal under the new rules when finalized. We will have to wait and find out. New revisions to the rule book will be posted in the next few weeks. Then there will be time to time to contact IDPA about concerns and then any mods maybe made and final rule book will be printed. They are working on it, if you have a question please call them like I did. So let them know what you think about how to make the changes more understandable. Please email info@idpa.com with your ideas.

"How fast can I shoot his" but "How slowly can I shoot this?" Sorry, but, I don't know a single GM that has ever said that.

Average round count seems to be about 20-35 rounds on a stage. Don't think they want it to be too brutal on the limited guys.

FYI I really hate VFG's. They seem to do nothing beneficial and only get in the way. If you have a laser/light package or something I can see their use, but, for 3 gun IMHO they are pretty pointless. If someone can give me a good reason to use one I would love to hear it - other than they look cool. How are they faster or more stable or whatever?

Kelly, Thanks for the compliments. :-) BTW did you watch PSV 6? What did you think? FYI - I was shooting my tactical 16" JP in that match with a 4 lb trigger. It does have a tuned gas system - shorty. Now I prefer an 18" with a long gas tube. It just seems to have less vibration or shake than the shorty gas systems. I like the 16" for portability esp. in hallways. I like the slightly longer gun for longer shots like we have at the MGM. The 16 is better off hand most of the time but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Sometimes having the comp a little further away from you can be a big help and keep some of the blast off the skull. I also like running the longest handguard I can on the gun. It just gives me more options on how to mount bipods, grip it, and use it for a rest on barricades etc. Take care, Matt

Kimel, Leave a lot of room on that shelf. A whole bunch of stuff is coming up. Not sure after the SG video what is going to happen then. Probably a full 3 gun tape and a separate series on LRR/MOR since they are very different. Just not sure if the market will support that or not. Actually having a viewing of another video wed. that is unannounced at this time and may release this month. FYI it is an IPSC pistol video with some of the coolest helmet cam footage, umm IMO, well ever. A couple of the stages look like DOOM the video game. Should be on final edit Monday or so. Still trying to figure out a title for it. May send out a couple of preview copies just to get some helping in naming it. Interested? hehehe Call me. :-)

Thanks everyone! Glad you like it. Stewart, we are getting to work right now on the SG video - filming towards the end of the month for a Feb/Mar ship date. Take care, Matt

.223 and the 6mm will make the targets go ding but not clang. 6.5 is about the minimum caliber to be effective at 2900 fps to knock larues down at distance. Remember you don't even start shooting a rifle until about 700 yards. Thats when life gets interesting. 10 shot mags are a must since they stick out of the gun for quicker reloads. 4 shot mags would probably just drive you crazy esp. since nearly all the comps are 5 round positions or more.

I wish all of our troops were with their families especially for the holidays. Happy New Years and come home safe. Our wishes and prayers are with you and yours. Thank you all for your sacrifices for this fantastic country! The Burkett Family

Umm, sorry to bring this up but what is one of the Safety Laws? FINGER off the trigger when not pointing at a target. Solves the weight issue. :-)

After getting trained up on the HV ret, there is nothing faster nor more accurate. Definetely worth the extra cash. FYI I don't get paid by them to say that either. I have taken 14 shooters that have never shot past 300 yards and gotten 1st round hits at 700 on a 12" plate with the HV ret using holdovers. Try doing that with a mil-dot - hell just try explaining the Mil-dot math to them and translate it into 1/4 clicks! Take care, Matt

Get the AR mag basepads from http://www.arredondoaccessories.com/A_3gun.cfm Watch the downward pressure on the front end of your AR. Do some testing first to find out if it causes an impact change downrange. I don't care for the foregrips unless there is so much crap on your front end that you can't get a hold of it - IE: IR laser/Flashlight/Secondary sights etc... Good luck, Matt FYI Viking slings RULE

Usually the door gets splinter immediately following a loud BOOOOOM when the breaching charge goes. :-) CS see you there. Are you with Chandler (AZ) as a sniper? Getting my AW back pretty soon and going to do some practice next month. Want to go? hasta, Matt

Looking like Feb. for the Shotgun Vid to ship. :-) Crossing my fingers of course with the shotshow and everything else going on. FYI looks like it may be another monster 2 disc set. :-) CS you are absolutely correct. I think the gunshots are going to be SLIGHTLY louder than the tearing of velcro in the middle of a GF. There are a lot of tactical things like that we should discuss sometime. Paint it black-add velcro-it's officially tactical now!!

Check out: http://www.snipershide.com/tacticalcompetitions.php

Shred, Remember though that that includes movement. Most static stages run a 12 or so. :-)

Thanks Nick! FYI has anyone found the footage of Alan Samuel using the M-60 E3 at the RM3g? Check Part 2 > sponsor links > machineguntours ROCKING! hehehe FYI just for reading this, you can see some new helmetcam pistol footage at: http://burkettvideo.com/test/fophelmet.htm This is helmet cam footage from the killhouse over in Fayetteville, NC at the FOP 3 Gun. I haven't publically released this footage yet, so please don't post the link anywhere. Of course you can have your buddies look at it if you think they would like it. Hasta, Matt

Okay, pick up a 700 PSS. AICS Chassis 3 10 rd. mags 65" pound torque wrench - get it with the stock Larue Base and rings Scope of choice either a Leupy or an HV Bi-pod Sling That will get you through most of the matches. Add additional accessories as you can. Most are listed below in the article. Here is an article that you may have missed from 2003 on LRR shooting. I am currently running a AIAW with a USO HV 25. Hope it helps. Merry Christmas, Matt •••••••••••••••••••• Last year I ventured into long range shooting. Quite an interesting experience! Hope you enjoy the article! Why should a pistol shooter care about Long Range Rifle (LRR)? As you go through the learning process, it will increase your knowledge base about the science of shooting. In particular, the information about ballistics and reloading from the LRR will significantly change the way you understand pistols. Pistol shooters also tend to lose sight of accuracy – no pun intended – which is the primary focus of an LRR shooter. Besides, it is a real kick in the butt to learn something new, especially a sport that is as difficult as LRR matches. Lessons I have learned in the last year. In 2003, I started shooting long range precision rifle competitions. This started with the MGM IronMan and the MOR or Manually Operated Rifle Nationals and continued on to the Sniper National Championships at RiflesOnly in Kingsville Texas. I use to think that 500-600 yards is a long shot. Little did I know that you really don’t even start shooting a rifle until you are over 600. Lets get started with the equipment I have tried out and what I am using now. What I decided to work with for the 600 yard targets at the MGM IronMan was a custom upper from ASA in .223 with a 26” barrel and a triangular handguard that weighs about 3 pounds by itself. It just didn’t end up shooting as well as I wanted with the ammo and optics I had available so I ditched it at the match and borrowed a Remington 700 PSS in .308 with a Leopold on it from Mark Buchanan. Worked pretty well and Mark had his dope down for the range. Got 7 out of 10 hits on the long range targets with a gun I had never shot before. Thanks Mark! Ended up winning the match with a new shotgun from Bevin Grams of Grams Engineering, a borrowed LRR, a borrowed Trijicon TA-11. The first LRR I tried was a Blaser LRS. For a factory gun, it is an incredible rifle, very fast bolt throw, and extremely accurate but there are a few disadvantages to it for competition. It has the 10 round magazine capacity that is almost mandatory to be competitive in the sniper competitions. The only issue is getting the mags in and out of the gun. It is just not designed for fast magazine changes. The straight pull bolt is amazingly fast to operate but you have to keep the locking collet extremely clean or it can jam up on you. The only other issue is the weight of the rifle. This has been reduced in the LRS 2 – the replacement model of the LRS I was shooting. The main problem I have with the new design is that only 5 round magazines are available for it and the possible unreliability of the bolt mechanism. The scope that was on the rifle didn’t do the job I needed it to, either. First major lesson learned about shooting a rifle – Glass is everything. When I flew to the MOR match and tested the gun after landing it hit almost 2 feet to the left at 100 yards. The scope that was on it was from a company that doesn’t exist anymore so no reason to mention who it was. I borrowed a rifle from James Darst and it was a Remington 700 in 6.5 x .284 with a Night Force scope on it. This was my first real introduction to the NightForce scopes and how wonderful they are to use. Ended up 2nd overall and thought that I would have to look at shooting more LRR matches. I had been looking into some different scope systems including the Horus Vision products and from their website I called up Jacob Bynum with Rifles Only. First time we talked on the phone we pretty much acted like long lost friends. He already knew who I was since his wife (Lisa) had bought him my videos for Christmas. What a great guy with an incredible knowledge of sniping. He made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, fly over and take a five day class and shoot my first sniper match. I told him that I didn’t have a rifle to shoot his train up with and he generously offered his personal AI. Now if you don’t know what an AI is, it is the standard issue sniper rifle of almost every NATO country except the US and sells for about 5K! I asked him about recoil and he started laughing, Then said that it was suppressed and I didn’t need to worry about it. He had one of the first generation Horus scopes on it. If you aren’t familiar with the Horus set-up, it is a scope that has a mil lined reticle. It is based on hold-overs and tied to the pda software Atrag. More information can be found on the website http://www.horusvision.com There are two basic concepts in long range shooting. The standard way is to adjust the turrets to the range you are shooting. For example if you have your .308 sighted in at 100 yards and then laser a target at 560 you would look at your range card and then dial in the adjustments needed to hit it. On the Horus, you range the target then either refer to a range card or the Trag software and use a line in the scope to hold over. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Someone could write a book on the differences. I have tried and actually like both of types. I think the choice of scope and reticle should be dependant on what kind of competition you are entering. If you can, try both and see what you like better. The train-up at Jacob’s was awesome. Here is a some information from the train up and my first sniper competition that I thought would be interesting to include. ••••••••••••••••••••••••• Well, we have been working our butts off over here. If you had told me last week that I would have been shooting at 681 yards on a moving target and hit it I would have said you were nuts! I was 7 for 10 on it! I had some serious issues at other distances. From my 3 gun shooting, my focus on a scope stays entirely on target. With the Horus reticle and using line three and below you need to spot the target, look to the number in the scope, follow the line back to your lead/wind call then shoot. When it is done right, it rocks! Takes a bit of learning but when you get it down, wow. No adjustments, just put the right hold over and lead/wind in and pull the trigger. Pretty damn trick. Check out the H25 lighted reticle if you get a chance. Here is what we covered in the last couple of days – short list and definitely not all inclusive: A small list of a few of the things we have covered. Proper positioning. Wind/temp/alt/BP/etc. Angle shooting Weak hand prone, kneeling, standing off a barricade Offhand Shooting out to 1000 yards with .308 and 1720 with .338 Ranging with lasers and Mil-dots horus reticle system Proper rifle cleaning How over cleaning damages a rifle Use of a sniper log book and data tracking Proper rifle cleaning and not over cleaning Proper use of scope power at distance – low as possible Sitting/standing/kneeling/squatting/offhand/several variations of each Low light shooting Night Shooting at 400 on a mover Moving targets from 100-680 Trapping versus Leading moving targets Rapid bolt work/loading and keeping your head on the gun Importance of Follow through Learning trace (following the path of the bullet) while spotting Team communications Situational awareness Team shooting with five snipers and multiple targets/Communications Multiple static target engagement with a 400 yard mover Urban shooting positions including windows and rooftops High angled fire Continuous wind correction and effects of atmospheric conditions on bullet flight Stress fire – run 200+ yards and engage 5 targets from windows out to 617 yards Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of class, then the sniper competition. There is so much to learn that a week is way too short of a class. Sure does help bring you up to speed on the stuff in the crash course train up. Long range rifle shooting is a combination of technology, technique, and art. You could definitely spend a lifetime learning it, but taking a class with Rifles Only will absolutely shortcut that process! I can’t give enough kudos to the staff of Jacob, James and Thomas at Rifles Only. They really care about helping the students improve and push them enough to get fantastic shooting out of them but not too much to have the students lose confidence. No student is left behind, yet they still cover the information fast enough as to not lose interest. That can be a daunting task for the instructors and they have done extremely well. We finished up with the long range rifle training on Friday and the final event the Rangers ran was pretty grueling. We have been training with 5 Rangers for the last week along with several officers and a top Cowboy shooter. I have been getting a crash course in what the Ranger snipers have been doing for a while. They are a fantastic group of guys that make me proud of our Army. Their last event was about 2800 yards of running with shooting from 10-12 locations. Try hitting a golf ball (hanging from a string) at 100 yards after humping your rifle and gear 500 yards! Two of the five got it, which I thought was down right awesome. Well the match and the training is over. I personally did better and yet worse in many ways than I thought I would. Talk about a frustrating experience. One bullet moved me from first to fifth over all. Even after missing the 400 yard cold bore shot Saturday morning and losing 100 points for that round, I was leading until the Saturday evening night shoot. Then I got a little behind. Had a rough time with the 400 yard mover. Still not sure why the dope was wrong on the scope as I dialed the amount in called by the Palm Trag2 software. According to Thomas all my shots were just underneath it with the right lead. The 500 yard cold bore the next morning pretty much sealed my fate when it was dead center and an inch low. I am wondering if some of the dope issues were do to the significant weather changes during the week. It had cooled off 25 degrees and that may have had a serious affect on the velocity. It was difficult to hang in there mentally after Sunday’s Cold Bore Shot that I felt put me way back. Another rule of competition is to never ever give up until the last shot is fired. You never know what is going to happen. Jacob and staff must be partially insane with some of the events they had us do in the competition. Weak shoulder mover from the sitting position at 100 yards off a barricade. BTW the target was only six inches wide by four inches tall. We shot 29 separate events from 1 to 20 rounds each in two and a half days. It is a butt kicking, tough, tiring match and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Everyone at the match did a great job, was safe and there were no injuries which makes it a complete success. Ended up 5th overall. All in all it has been an amazing time learning the new techniques in an art that is somewhat similar to pistol shooting and yet so vastly different. Some of the lessons from pistol shooting carry over like compressing the time it takes to make an acceptable shot and when it is necessary to crank it up and work that bolt and get bullets down range. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I shot my second match at http://tacproshootingcenter.com/ and used a Tubbs 2000 from McMillan. It is an absolutely beautiful rifle. Had to tape some padding to the stock to shoot weak shoulder since the gun is really designed to shoot one sided (you order the gun for right or left handers). Had some problems with it. One minute it would shoot great, next it would seem to throw the rounds. Not sure if it was a problem specifically related to the demo gun I was borrowing or if the platform is just very position dependent. I had put down a deposit for one and cancelled the order when I was informed that it would take 10 months to get it built due to their military contracts. I still would like to have one to test it out more extensively. This was a team match and I partnered up with Todd Hodnet whom I had met in my first train up. Todd shot a great match and won overall top gun and I took third. My third match was at Rifles Only and used Jacobs rifle again. Didn’t do as well with it as the first time. Ended up 9th. Little did I know, more frustration was waiting for me at the first Rifles Only Sniper National Championship. The fourth match of the year was the finals. You had to have competed in 3 matches to get invited. The match was listed as 24 hours of hell. That was pretty much right on the money. I wouldn’t wish that match on someone. It was brutal. Have I said how tough that match was yet? It was down to 30 degrees at five in the morning. Didn’t help that I didn’t get to check my data the morning of the match since my rental car got broken into. Didn’t get anything stolen at least, but it cost me the chance to get local on site data. Ended up 15th after some stupidity. Loaded 6 rounds in the dark for a five round stage. Cost me a stage DQ. The real bummer was finding out that it was the best event I shot. It was the 300 yard mover and I shot about a 4” 6 shot group. Still feel like an idiot when I think about that one. He had us do almost everything in that match. We started at 1000 yards and shot the closest target at 35 feet at a 70 degree angle from the third floor of the tower. I shot a new gun in this match, a Remington 700 mil-spec with a 5R barrel. Here are the specs on my kit that I shot at the Nationals. Remington 700 Stainless special with mil-spec 5r AICS 1.5 chassis system from accuracy international MGSS titanium suppressor 3 10 round magazines 1 5 round magazine Harris 6-9” swivel bi-pod Harris Med Harris Long Nightforce 5.5-22 NPR2 Butler Creek flip up scope caps Bubble level Bedded by Kodiak Precision Muzzle braked by Kodiak Precision Accuracy International Sling Accuracy International Hand Stop Jewel Trigger set to 1 pound Leica 1200 Scan Laser Rangefinder Neucon Laser Rangefinding Bino’s Hydrastorm Matrix Backpack Palm 100 Atrag 2 software www.perry-systems.com software StoneyPoint shooting stix Black Hills 175 grain .308 match ammo Spec-ops dragbag www.3gungear.com sniper bag system Original Swat 9” side zip boots 511 tactical pants Gore-tex jacket Engle Ballistics compression garments Dewey Cleaning supplies Butch’s Bore Solvent •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• To wrap this up, it was an amazing year learning the LRR. Finding out what it takes to be competitive in the sport was daunting but very worth it. Thanks to everyone that has helped me out in the last year and I look forward to seeing all of you at a match this season.

Understanding requires no shirt.

RANT MODE ON: I see people show up with darn near everything at a sniper match. Of course they understand that they are not going to do as well as someone that is well equipped. Same thing happens if you take a crappy car to a race - you are probably going to get beat. Why does the sport have to have limits? Anything other than $? Why do we have to base it around the lowest common denominator as a contestant? It wouldn't be nearly as fun with crappy equipment and you would sure piss off the people that have invested the time and money in their gear and training to compete. Believe me the gun is not the most expensive part of the equation - practice and time run way more. "I can still play golf with my Wal-Mart clubs. That’s how the ranges/courses stay in business." I am betting if you have Walmart clubs, you are not a competitive golfer. You can still shoot any sniper match with your walmart 30-06 and leupold scope (also available at Walmart). If you want to shoot, buy or borrow the best you can afford and go do it. FYI the gear is meaningless if you can't shoot just like with golf, racing or any other competition/sport. My favorite complaint by people on the east coast is that matches should never have shots at 1K since they can't practice them at any local ranges. Guess what? If you move to where you can and you will be able too. Rant mode off: Beer time FYI: Jimmy Clark Jr. wins most of the real sniper comps with a Remington 700 *customized of course, Leupold scope, Bushnell Laser rangefinder, and does all his math on the back of a plastic board. He is an awesome shooter/spotter and one hell of a guy. He would beat damn near anyone there with anything as long as it grouped.