Zak Smith

I am convinced Sam's real purpose in posing that question was for it to take over my brain the rest of the ITRC.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I guess this means I'm shooting Trooper !?!?!

Ok. I just edited "in" the latest and greatest version, with quite a lot more material than the first time. Unfortunately, I had to split it up into 3 posts.

Brightness, Magnification, and Objective Size Most modern tactical scopes will have similar image brightness during the day, but differences at twilight and low or no-light can be dramatic. There are three main factors which affect low-light brightness: lens quality, magnification, and objective lens diameter. The easiest way to increase brightness is to dial down the magnification on adjustable scopes. There is an inverse relationship between magnification and image brightness. This is another good reason to choose an adjustable magnification scope. The second two factors affecting brightness are characteristics of the scope itself. Given two scopes with the same lens quality, the one with the larger objective lens will be brighter simply because it can focus more incoming light from the target area through the scope's lenses. Finally, lens and lens coating quality is critical to image brightness. Higher quality lenses and coatings will pass through more light and less brightness will be lost through the scope itself. There is a trade-off to be made between objective size and mechanical considerations. A scope with a 80mm objective will gather 4x more light than a 40mm objective, but it will be much heavier and will require extremely high mounts to clear the objective bell over the barrel. Mechanical considerations favor the smaller objective, and a lower sight over bore distance is preferable since it reduces the mechanical offset. (A US Optics SN-3 with a 58mm objective lens. Photo by Frankie Icenogle used with permission.) CONCLUSIONS The following is the end-point I've arrived at after going through all of the above. A practical long-range rifle shooter who wants to shoot MOR, sniper, tactical, and field matches should pick a scope with the following features: 1. Variable magnification in the 3-18x range. Low power is useful in low light, on close targets, and on movers. Higher magnification helps for target ID and sight picture at long range. Scope must have parallax and focus adjustment. 2. Knob "clicks" no more coarse than 0.5 MOA. The standard clicks of 0.25 MOA or 0.1 MIL are great. 0.1MIL is about 1/3 MOA. Clicks in this range are fine enough to allow precise specification of elevation for small targets. 3. The elevation knob should have a zero-stop set up to allow either no clicks below "0" or up to a couple MOA "below" 0. The zero stop helps to prevent the shooter from being a full knob-turn revolution off from where he intends to be, and is easier to check settings in low light conditions. 4. The reticle must be of a first focal plane configuration. The FFP reticle allows use of reticle features at any magnification setting, which is useful for target location, tracking of moving targets, fast engagements, spotting, and low-light. 5. The reticle should have angular features in units useful for both hold-over/under and windage hold-off. Typical units would be 1/2 MOA hash marks, or 0.2 or 0.5 MIL hash marks. The Horus H25 reticle appears busy, but is ideal for rapid engagements of multiple targets at different distances. 6. The angular units of the reticle features must match the angular units of the knobs' "click" values. There is no reason to have two different "systems" in use on the same scope. If the clicks are in MOA, the reticle features should be in MOA. If the reticle is in mils (e.g. Horus or Mil-dot), the knob clicks should be in mil units. 7. Field-adjustable illuminated reticle. The illuminated reticle dramatically improves sight picture in some low light environments. The ability to adjust the brightness in the field is critical to prevent wash-out with a super bright reticle setting. The downside of an illuminated reticle is that it can indicate the presence of the shooter. 8. Objective size. A good compromise point is a 44-50mm objective provided that the scope has very high quality lenses, such as those from Schmidt & Bender or US Optics. A larger objective size in a scope with lower quality lenses may be less bright than a smaller objective with high quality lenses. A Note About Cost Many people balk at spending $1000 or more on optics. This is misguided. High quality optics are one of the best places to spend money in a precision rifle system. Along with the rifle action, stock, and mounts, these costs are fixed over the life of the rifle. The cost of training, ammunition, and barrels dramatically eclipses those fixed costs. To illustrate the point, let's analyze the cost of training with a high-end factory precision rifle (AI-AE) using a top of the line S&B or US Optics scope for 5 years. A rifleman with a moderate but regular training schedule might shoot 3000 per year. If he is shooting 308, a realistic barrel life might be 5000 rounds until the groups increase beyond his spec. Over the 5 years, that will be 15,000 rounds and 3 barrels. For ammunition cost, we will use a conservative cost from what reloaded ammunition might cost. Rifle cost $2500 (AI-AE minus the first barrel) Scope cost $2100 FIXED COSTS -----> $4600 3 barrels $1800 15,000 reloads $6000 CONSUMABLE COST -> $7800 This comparison doesn't even include the cost of formal training, match fees and travel costs. If you plan on shooting regularly to achieve a superior level of proficiency, it makes sense to buy the best rifle and scope you possibly can. Picks Based on the above list, there are basically three choices that meet all of them: 1. US Optics SN-3 3.2-17mm 2. Schmidt & Bender PMII 3. (Caveat) Leupold Mark 4 "FF". The M1 version of this scope has no zero stop. The M3 version of this scope has a zero stop, but coarse 1 MOA clicks. Good Shooting & Stay Safe. $Author: zak $ $Date: 2005/09/01 03:43:54 $ $Revision: 1.18 $

Tac Scope JP CTR02 20" med, used old SS carrier, TA11 ACOG, JP SRTS M1S90 stock SV 40 Limited

4:12 AM

It's called: ITRC.

Ok, why should they be limited to 30 rounds?

In total-time matches like Tiger Valley, I could see Tec-Loaders on the shotgun being the biggest advantage, considering how much time is spent loading the shotgun.

That can happen NOW on any stage involving a pistol.

395 PF rifle, 190 pistol? In for a penny...

Being "helpful" is not a good selection criteria for Tactical. For example: it would be "helpful" to have a spotter and ammo-carrier, to use multiple optics, a comp'd pistol and shotgun, to shoot different rifles on different stages, etc.

By the way, the rest of the pics are here: http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/RM3GM-2005

1. Eliminate Tac Iron. People can run iron sights if they want to. Modern assault/battle rifles use optics nowadays. Virtually every rifle you see in US service on CNN has some sort of optic. A rifle's capabilities are substantially increased with an optic, and they have proven durable in the field. Outside of budgetary limitations, there is no reason to not have an optic on a rifle for serious use. Irons as primary are obsolete, and a Tac Iron class would be a competition relic of a past era. 2. Agree with Kelly. Design stages with no regard to Open. Tell them to bring a real holster. With regard to the Open class itself... I think there is a debate to be had about what is "Tactical" or "Practical" and what is not. That soldiers overseas are using dual-optic setups (on ACOG or LaRue SPR mounts) and optics on shotguns (ask SinistralRifleman for the picture) is de facto evidence that these have tactical, not just game, use. Likewise with bipods on Tactical rifles. I am against it because they are generally a pain in the butt to have on the rifle and they get in the way except when you're shooting with the bipod. But maybe if the competitor carries it on the rifle or his person for the whole match... ? 3. Agree with Kelly. 4. For scoped He-Man for the same arguments from #1. If we are using modern weapons, it is incongruous to leave the sighting technology ancient. If you want a 1911/M1A class, then set up a "WWII" side-class, sort-of like the USPSA Single-Stack division.

Your rifle stage rocked. Thanks!

It was not my rifle. Outside of a couple stovepipes when running the low-mass system on stage 1, my CTR ran perfectly.

[ link to LARGER image ]

I wish I would have, but I never got to see it.

[ link to LARGER image ]

And here's the infamous gas tube incident-- [ link to LARGER image ]

My RM3G report is posted here: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=1879987 I will edit this top post to contain the content as soon as I can post more than 4 images in a single post.

Suggest using a muzzle device...

dadman, You are referring to the AR15 brake? Sure, it helps a lot. Major difference, yes. The MSTN QCB comp is louder than an A2 but quieter than a JP BC comp.

Team on Team The Team on Team shoot during the afternoon of the last day involved the carbine shooter engaging an array of 5 targets at 200 yards, and then the rifle shooter engaging a 8" plate at 500 yards, running head to head against another team in single elimination. The catch was all weapons started unloaded and the team had to load loose rounds into the rifles or their magazines from a bowl! We were pretty dialed in, and we made it to the semi-finals, coming in 3rd place. [ link to LARGER image ] About $50k in rifles??? [ link to LARGER image ] Egg Shoot The final even was the 500-yard egg shoot, where each competitor got one shot at an "egg" at 500 yards, and the winner would get a rifle at the awards banquet. We had just shot the team on team, and the wind was tricky, coming from 10-11'o'clock with 8-18 mph. Overall Results. 30 teams finished the match. The high score was 5847 and the low was -2772. Glenn and I managed 4826 for a 7th place finish (an improvement on 13th last year). Colorado teams placed 3rd, 6th, 7th, 15th, and 16th. Chad Peterson & Kurt Kisch won. Glenn and I were in the 3-way tie for the helicopter event; three teams had 3 hits each. The prize was drawn at random and we didn't get it. The egg shoot was won by Tate Moots. [ link to LARGER image ] [ link to LARGER image ] Equipment. Rifle: I shot a Accuracy International AWP in 308, 24" bbl, with the AI brake. The scope is a US Optics SN-3 3.2-17x44mm with the Horus H25 reticle. Ammo was Lapua 155gr. Carbine: Glenn shot a 24" Bushmaster Varminter with 50gr VMAXs from Black Hills. The scope is a Leupold 3-9 MRT. High Intensity Carbine: Glenn shot a Bushmaster Dissipater with a rail system installed and a TA11 ACOG. Pistols: I shot a Glock 19, and Glenn shot a 17. The tactic this year was to pack light, bringing only what you'll absolutely need in the 60 minutes. But bringing back-up gear is a good idea. [ link to LARGER image ] Rest of pics here: http://demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/ITRC-2005