rifleguy

Just to add a bit of detail to Kelly's explanation on the CQB reticle. I have done range work with my AR out to 400 yards and my different hand loads. I then determine the holdover for each load using the mil hash marks and keep that data in my data log. During a match, you can then use either the inside / outside of the horseshoe or the ranging circles to determine distance of your target (if UD), take a look at your load data and then use one of the mil marks as your holdover. It is rare that I need to use the mil marks in competition, but nice that I could put them to use. I agree that there is a bit of extra "stuff" in the reticle, particularly the 500 and 600 ranging circles (unless you shoot MGM) and the mil marks over 10, maybe even 5. But, the mil lines are a holdover from the MP8 reticle Valdada sells in their longer distance tactical scopes. I am finding as I get used to the reticle, I am relying more and more on the horseshoe to frame the target for the quick shot and less on the dot. After talking to one of the original designers of the reticle, the local dealer here and the Valdada importer, that was the intent of the design.

lucas, Cactus Tactical has the Valdada 1.1- 4. Their web site is: www.cactustactical.com.

The Yavapai Recreation League was formed after the Sundog Shooters Association lost their range about a year ago. Some members got together, purchased the land and built the range this year. It just started operation in November and is ironing out the kinks of a new operation. In this era of ranges closing, it is amazing that a group of people could put together the funds, gather the energy and overcome government bureaucracy to get a fair size range up and running in less than a year. disclaimer for legal purposes: The YRL has no affiliation or is not an incarnation of the defunct Sundog Shooters Association. And no, I have no affiliation with the YRL as other than a guest.

I have been dinking around with the CQB reticle for the last week or so. The horseshoe is 10 MOA on its inside edges, 18 moa on its outside edges, (at 100 meters) so it is incredibily quick to "frame" a paper target or even a steel plate out to 100 yds. The trick (or difficulty) has been transitioning to the 1 MOA dot when going after distance targets. I had been using a Leupold CQT with a 3 MOA dot, which was too big for plates at 300 yds. The CQT was a big disapointment as far as match usage. I have been keeping the illumination on while using to train myself to use the dot correctly. It could be bigger, (2 MOA), but I think once I am used to it, it will work out pretty well. The reticle size is fixed at any power, so at 4 power and 300 yards, you see a 6 inch dot on a 10 inch plate, so it worked fine this week on plates so far with the illumination on. We will se what happens over time as I try to use it without the illumination, whether the 1 moa dot gets lost or not.

Kelly, which reticle on the Valdada 1.1-4 are you using; the CQB or the 4A 1 moa dot? I have been looking at the CQB and am wondering how quick it is on transitions when shooting distance targets with the CQB 'horseshoe" in the reticle.

Cy, it takes less than 30 minutes using a file and some 2 part epoxy to modify the M1 bolt to ghost load. Its a simple home gun smithing job. I did it to one of my later M1's the first of the year and it has functioned flawlessly so far. At least 2000 shells through it so far.

I went to 4 3 gun matches this year: the MGM Iron Man, SMM3Gun, RM3Gun and the WC3Gun. IMO, the best was the RM3gun, the stage made best use of the natural terrain at Raton, there were realistic, common sense rules about scope usage and there was some REAL rifle stages (no hosing at 10 yards targets). Cabins were cheap to rent and the on site restaurant was cheap and food was decent. One downside that comes to mind: there was a group of people and several individuals who were allowed to "shoot through" the match for some reason. This causes some delays to regularly scheduled squads who were trying to stick to the time schedule as these shoot throughs would show up and try to bypasss those who were waiting. Next, I enjoyed the MGM Iron Man, really for different reasons. The stages were the ultimate test of man and equipment. Where else do you have a 10 minute maximum time on a stage? Are you and your equipment in good enough shape to get through? The rifle stages had good long distance targets also. Lunch was provided each day and the match fee was incredibly cheap. On the downside, some of the stages had endless repetition of targets to get to the 1000 round match goal, which was unnecessary to me, anyway. Mike can do away with the 1000 round goal and have a better match. SMM3Gun had the best prize table, lunch was available on site (for a price). There was some decent long range rifle shots as well as multi gun stages On the downside, the list of scopes for rifle is limited to what Furbee feels is correct and is not being kept up to date with current technology. He is way behind the power curve on scopes. He needs to open the rules up similiar to what others have done. WC3gun I have mentioned earlier. Poor range preparation in combination with higher than normal temperatures ruined the match for most there.

I did not stay for the WC3Gun banquet due to prior commitments, but I am glad to hear that they are calling it quits. The match was a disapointment all around. The facility was absolutely primitive, no provision for shade and the roads were undrivable requiring long, long walks to some of the stages carrying all of your equipment. The heat was oppressive ( 105 with 40 - 505 humidity) with little or no support by the match people. Of course, they did offer to sell water at each stage instead of offering it to prevent sun stroke. The stages were very bare bone with little in the way of props. All in all a wise decision to hang it up, the match had been passed by and it was no longer worth the cost in time or money.

Guy, I prefer the 2 day setup to allow for some downtime and to minimize the time spent at the location. As an example, the 4 day setup for the WC3gun (counting the 2 hour shooters meeting and the closing banquet) basically means a person takes off a week of work counting travel time. Most of us can't afford to be away from the job that long and the down time during the actual match is to long. I liked the RM3gun setup, if the team shoot could have been on the 2nd day and prizes first thing Sunday morning, it would have been perfect.

Matt, do you have approximate dates for this yet? And what is the location? Given the plethora of matches already taking place in different disciplines, the time frame and location would play a big part in driving attendance. But, of course, you already knew that.

Louis, the CQB reticle is very new, out only 2-3 months. Perhaps that is why it is not yet listed on the Valdada site. I do see a picture of it on the cactus tactical web site in the 4 x 24 M2 section.

Valdada USA's web site is www.valdada.com, the SW'ern dealer is www.cactustactical.com and DS Arms also sells the Valdada line under their house name via their web site.

I enjoyed the heck of the RM3g match. I have to echo the comments on the stage design and facility. There was no square range mentality when setting up the stages, heck, they even used the top of the berms in several of the stage designs. And being able to use old abandoned buildings in other stages, where else can this be done? I have attended the SMM3G and the MGM Iron man Match this year and this one is at the top of the list. The MGM match had a lot of target repetition, but it tests you in different ways: physically (stage times inthe 100's of seconds) , mentally ( can you manage 3 guns and 100's of rounds of ammo each stage), etc. I have to say this match was head and shoulders above and was done from a tactical standpoint. The stage design looked easy, but there was something to think about in every stage. I personally saw people go to stage 4 with 30 and 40 round magazines and then not be able to get a good position on the rocks. Starting leaning inthe front of the helicopter and thennot being able to transition from side to side because of a 20 inch barrel AR. Little things likr that that kept people on their toes. I have to echo Kelly's comments on the Valdada 1.1 - 4 scope. The best thing going now with variable power is the Leupold CQT, but it was designed with a 14 mm objective. WTF, did they run out of glass at the factory? The Valdada is 26 mm allowing a decent field of view and the new reticles rock. You can go with the new CQB quick acquisition reticle or the standard donut crosshairs in the second focal plane. These things will be all over the place in the next year. There is nothing like them going right now given their ability to work close inor at distance targets.