Paule

Robbie Wright (R&R Racing) is working on a new knockdown rifle target that can be reset from the shooting position(s). He says it works well and resets easily using paracord out to 200 yards. I haven't seen it, but he is planning to start using them in some local matches to work any bugs out. A good way to test shotgun reloading skills and moving target skills would be a good old fashioned duck flush stage. Incoming targets for 90-120 seconds and most broken targets wins. Besides the no BS factor. it would be a hoot to shoot. Duck Flush always makes me smile, no matter how many clays hit the deck unshot.

Lots of great ideas. Thanks, Kurt, for broaching the subject. I would offer a few thoughts. First, multigun stages are fun when sprinkled through a match, but a steady diet can slow matches to a crawl and the chances for DQs seem to go up exponentially. Requiring that a single gun be unloaded at start tests gun handling skills under stress and removes the chance to DQ for a safety that gets bumped throwing down a perfectly good gun, or a gun that bounces out of position. (Who really does that, anyway? You never know when you might find a full mag for it). Second, novelty guns can add a bit of fun to any stage, but think about whether they need to be on the clock, or off. Depending on the condition and reliability of the loudenboomer in question, either may be appropriate, but don't randomly penalize shooters by making them shoot an unfamiliar weapon that has seen it's best days. Off the clock it's an exciting way to start a stage. On the clock it's a crap shoot where snake eyes comes up all too often. By example, the machine gun nest at RM3G a few years ago was plagued by malfunctions that had material effect on many scores, and slowed the stage dramatically. Shooting it off the clock and starting the timer when that part was done or when the MG broke would have been more fair to shooters and much faster for the match as a whole. On the flip side, Stage 1 at Ft Benning was a template for how to use a fun gun as part of the timed portion of a stage. Read the wind, center the scope and squeeze. Do that correctly and you are off to the rest of the stage. Third, my two cents on longer range rifle targets and difficulties scoring them. I love rifle stages, the more shots required the happier I am. But having a dozen or more targets scattered downrange makes verifying hits difficult. Short of an electronic target system that would give an audible signal to the shooter and a visual to the RO when a target is hit, less targets is the only good alternative. Having three or four targets that are shot from multiple locations is a great way to boost target counts and provides a better way of scoring them than requiring the shooter to outline a target shooting order and then try to remember it when the buzzer goes off. With only a few targets, it should be possible to assign each target to a spotter. Spotters would watch their target only and call hits as they see them, also tracking the number of times hit at each shooter position. This way the shooter can engage in any order and should get more consistent calls of hits. Additionally, the RO can concentrate more on the shooter as he/she moves through the various shooting positions.

For anyone on the fence, this match is consistently top rate. The stage designs are always interesting and challenging and evidence that much thought goes into them each year. Smooth running and always seems to finish on time (or early). If you have wondered, but never attended, give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

We have been a Timney distributor for awhile and have had their AR triggers since they formally announced them at SHOT this year. The first run of AR triggers they made had a short disconnector engagement, which caused some of them to double. We had a half dozen or so that did, many that did not. As far as I know, all of these were replaced by Timney and I doubt if there are any left in dealer stocks. Timney never took them off the market. They did redesign the hammer geometry slightly to cure the short disconnector engagement problem. At the same time, they installed two new wire EDM machines, just to make components for the AR triggers. They were forthright in admitting that they had no idea how much demand they would see for these triggers and didn't want to be continually backordered to their customers. A lot of folks asked for a solid shoe trigger as well. Didn't like the skeletonized original model for whatever reason. So Timney designed another shoe and had to go through the same testing with that. Meanwhile, orders kept coming, in ever increasing numbers. It has taken them a good while to catch up. While we don't have any with 20k across them yet, we do have several with 4-6k on each. They are as good as it gets for a drop-in single stage trigger. The 3lb version weighs consistently between 2 lb 13 and 2 lb 14 oz. Great for a competition gun, too light for some applications. The 4 lb model is a better choice for all around use, and a heavier model is coming for departmentally blessed applications. The reasons I like these triggers are simple. Timney has been making precision triggers for a lot of guns for a long time. They know how to make triggers that break cleanly without monkeying with sear engagement. I have checked a bunch of them and all have had full sear engagement and no preceivable creep. Also, the design is very tidy inside the housing, with no places for a popped primer to get wedged into a corner and cause a malfunction. I have fixed this problem quite a few times at matches for other shooters using other triggers. Have tried to induce this failure with the Timneys with no success. Finally, these have the shortest reset of any single stage AR trigger I have shot. If you could isolate the sensation to just the trigger pull, it would seem like a good 1911 trigger to most folks. We sell JP and CMC triggers too. They are good units (we had doubling problems with the early CMCs too, a different issue than the Timneys), and I have heaard of, but not seen personally of similar issues with the early JP drop-ins. The CMC 2-stage is a great drop-in in that category. In our demo rifles we have examples of all of these and routinely let folks try them out to determine what they like best. My favorite trigger for SBR shorties is still an Accuracy Speaks single stage. I have two that have served me well for years. Still going strong. We don't sell them, but I recommend them often. Try to get an opportunity to shoot any of them before you buy. They are all different and have different feels to them. You will not know what is best to your liking until you try it.

Erik, Give me a shout if you want to truck pool down to Matt's place. I shot with him back there in May, truly an awesome facility. I think Sharon and I are going again in early September, but I can be coerced about any time, I can use all the long range practice I can get. I have 500 yds here and 1k an hour away at Oak Ridge, but that is a pit range, pretty formal. Predator Ranch is like going to long range heaven. The 50 cal range can go out to 2k, and the shooting positions that are permanent are at 400, 700, 1000, 1400, 1700. Nice big raised cedar decks with tin roofs for shade. Corsicana is hotter than s**t in the summer so they are a godsend. The new UKD range is 1150 yds, targets have to be ranged as distances can be changed regularly. I can't wait to try that. When I was there the steel wasn't there yet. I think Matt said he has 20 some self-setters there for it now. BTW, don't forget the lowly .243. Happens to be George Gardner's favorite, with 115 DTACs. Good brass, lots of selection if you want to smack sage rats or coyotes beyond the plinkers' reach too.

The match was outstanding. Big congratulations to Robert and Co. for a flawless presentation. Stages were thought provoking, challenging and fun, but not gimmicky. No gotchas. Plenty of risk/reward enticements. Lunches were delivered to the squads. Way cool idea and they were good. Shooting was done before noon on Sunday and Awards were being presented by 1:30. So many prizes I had to ship them home (after shooting like crap to boot!) Did I mention how well the match ran? AMAZING! Mark your calendars for next year, July 12-13, 2008

R&R now offers rifle resetters with the splash guards on a separate stand to keep them from falsing when the guard is hit. I shoot mine a lot with 308 and the only problems have been when I didn't stake them securely. I use 10" spikes fore and aft and they stay put well. I do tend to move them around some though, so I can't say what several hundred impacts would do to loosen the moorings.

Timney redesigned the engagement for the disconnector awhile back. They also put in two new EDM machines just to cut AR hammers. They started shipping the new design in Mid-May. According to them, they got less than 30 triggers back that doubled due to the short disconnector engagement. There were probably 3-4 times that many of the early ones that were not installed correctly (they have instructions, but who reads those?) and had function issues as a result. We have been selling the new ones for a month and a half, and I have a test subject with about 3k rounds through it. No negative feedback so far. It is by far the easiest to fit drop-in. They are coming out with a 4 lb version which will have a little more margin for error than the 3 lb model. An LE version that can't easily be tinkered with is coming too. Gotta keep the lawyers happy...

I really like the R&R Racing flash targets for portable rifle targets. They are easy to transport, fast to set up, and very durable. I have a half dozen frames and a variety of target faces, all the way from mini poppers with a 4" circle in the center to 12" circles that I can move with a 77gr at 600 yards. We set them at random distances and stake down with nail spikes. I spray the cards with flourescent paint and they are very easy to see hits, even shooting alone with iron sights. I also like the MGM speed plates though it is easier to miss hits without a spotter. They are less expensive, but have no protection if you are prone to shooting up bases. Either work great as a substitute for a real plate rack for pistol shooting too. Self resetting is a plus too. By far the most expensive part of rifle targets is steel for the faces that will hold up. Certified AR500 plates that I have show no wear after literally thousands of impacts, including 300WSM and 300WM. Some early AR500 that I had was 40 pts lower on the Brinnell scale showed marks almost immediately, even from .308 WIN. I have tried making frames to use on non-flat ground. I hope you come up with a better solution than I could. Main problem I had was that single contact point legs would always get beaten into the ground during use. Once the base was no longer "level", the target would not function correctly and had to be repositioned. Now I use targets designed for flat ground and make flat spots with a shovel when necessary. Always good to see new innovation. Hope you come up with a better mousetrap.

Words can't do justice to the spirit of Stewart Lewis. He truly lived life to the fullest. Sharon and I were lucky enough to squad with Stew the first year at Ft Benning and at the SMM3G last year. He was one of those rare individuals who instantly connects with people. We were friends before the first stage was done, brothers by match end. I am saddened to hear he has passed. Stew, may your steel always fall and your hits all be "A's". Godspeed, my friend.

These are worth a look if you do it very much. http://www.letargets.com/html/traps.html

Keep in mind that it will be a 1st focal plane reticle, so the reticle will appear to 4 times bigger at the highest magnification, idea being it will be an "aiming blob" at 1x for close tagets, even to 100 yards, but open up and be much more defined as the magnification increases. The reticle design is one Ed has been working on for 20 years or more and a lot of thought has gone into it. Not for 3-gun though, his target market is combat shooting. The horseshoe is sized to bracket a typical man torso. From what I have seen, and from range reports, it works well. Ed is working with a large optics manufacturer in China. Far from the early junk, there is a lot of high end consumer optical glass coming out of China now. Take a look at all the new consumer camera lenses from Nikon. A lot are made there now. If the quality is consistent, this will be a nice scope. We plan to T&E some from the first batch inbound.

thread drift on - Steve, your results are atypical. With good ammo you should easily have moa capability. Please don't settle for what you have. Find out what the issue(s) is and start enjoying your Colt. Feel free to email me directly if I can offer suggestions on trouble shooting this. - thread drift off

$.02 from someone who has all of these and more. JP triggers are very nice when installed correctly. A lot of folks install them and some get it right. John and Co. do a great job of it and if that is what you want, get them, or someone with the same patience and attention to detail to do it for you. Drop-ins... The JP drop-ins I have used were not quite as good as the original JP, but still good. The CMC drop-ins are good triggers, especially the two-stage. A number of the single stage ones have had doubling issues, CMC has replaced them. Culprit was/is purported to be out of spec disconnector springs. I have heard that JP experienced some of this too, but have not seen theirs do it personally. When the CMCs go it is almost like a 3-shot cam, except you get 2, then 3, the 1, then 2, etc. Kind of a variable burst f/a cam. As to the Timney, they have been in the AR trigger business for all of a month. Probably too soon to determine if they "support our sport". Will they hold up? Given Timney's longterm reputation, good chance they will. We are normally cautious about promotion of new stuff we haven't fully wrung out. To date, I have nearly 2000 rounds on one of these and another 400 or so on another. As in all things, time will tell. Observations: The pull weight is very consistent. Both started at 2# 12 oz. After 50 rounds or so they settled into 2# 9-10 oz. and have stayed there since. Overtravel is minimal, just enough to be reliable, and reset is short and positive. The break is crisp and typical of a good single stage. Install is very easy, total time if you are used to seetting up AR triggers is under two minutes. One thing I really like about them is that there are not many nooks and crannies for debris to get under things and stop them from functioning. The other thing that sets these apart from others is the tensioning screws that hold the assembly in place. Therre are two set screws that tighten against the bottom of the well in the lower receiver. These serve to hold the housing securely with tension against both the lower and the hammer and trigger pins. Once in place, the pins can't walk or rotate, and no special retainers are necessary. My sense is that this is one of the reasons that the pull weights are so consistent, shot to shot. Measuring with a digital trigger scale the variance is less that 2/10s of an ounce over 10 tests. I would not put this into a gun that was ever to be used for any serious social work. The pull is too light, just like a competition JP is too light. If you are the cautious kind, and don't need a trigger immediately, wait a few months and see how these review. My guess is they will get high marks, and not needing to send your lower off is a big plus too.

LE Departments can get 550's and 551's. The 556 will be a popular one for civvies who like the SIGs and can't get the restricted models. The compatibility with AR mags is a nice bonus too. Not sure why you would want one for 3-gun, they are heavier, but the parents are great weapons, hopefully the 556 will do them proud.

Just say no to paper on the longer shots! Too slow to score and paste. How about one stage that includes a tannerite "target"? Guaranteed to bring a smile to every shooter who hits one. Sam, let us know if we can help with steel targets, etc.

I've had a Specter DR for a few weeks and it is starting to grow on me. I'm still learning the muscle memory for the lever to switch from 1x to 4x, but the 6moa red dot for 100 yds and in, and the TA11-style ranging stadia with 1.5moa dot for 100 yds and farther, is looking like an all worlds solution to me. I get to try everything that comes out and this is the first in awhile that has stayed on a gun for more than a week or so. I still love TA11's, but I'm weakening with this one.

It's a game? with game rules? Otherwise, who would choose to not use a bipod on a rifle for longer range targets?

Perfect practice will always beat perfect equipment. But better equipment can make a bigger difference for the average shooter than it might for a top shooter. My favorite analogy is the golf story about Lee Trevino. Before he became bigtime, he used to hustle for pocket money on the public courses in Dallas. One of his favorite games was to bet an unsuspecting newcomer that he could beat him using only a Dr Pepper bottle for a club (back in the day when glass bottles were the norm). Now he could certainly play a lot better with a good set of clubs, but he was a wizard with a pop bottle. On a good day, I would wager that Tiger could beat at least half the other PGA pros with only a seven iron.

<Thread drift on> tnek and PacMan, you must be looking in the wrong places for your DR's. Our first shipment has come and gone (I did force myself to keep one). Supposed to have more before years end. <Thread drift off> If the question is still 16 versus 18", here is what I see every day. Reliability, accuracy, speed. These seem to be the most important features that everyone wants. Not always the same order, but reliability is almost always 1st. 16" barrels with mid-length gas systems are more reliable than 18" rifle-length barrels. Both work fine, but the 16-mid is closer to the sweet spot and is easier to tune. Note: 16" barrels with carbine-length gas systems are not the same animal and will not perform well compared to mid-length 16's. 16" barrels are more accurate than all longer barrels of the same quality. Shorter means stiffer, less vibration, etc. 12.5" barrels are often so accurate it's scary, but that's another story. If 3-gun matches had shots longer than 400 yards the story would change, but 400 seems to be the outer limit, and the original question was out to 200 yards. It is sometimes easier to hold a heavier gun steady when your heart rate is up, but that is what practice is for, learning how to control variables. 16" barrels are handier in close quarters, have lower "swingweights", and are faster for many folks to reload. (Easier to keep one up on your shoulder with a shorter, lighter barrel). I can't speak to velocity in 16" barrels other than the ones we do, but I haven't tested any commercial .223/5.56 of 50gr or more that didn't easily make minor PF.

Hey Sam, Looking forward to seeing you again! Sharon and I are still looking for a place to practice here in Chatt, so look for us in the sloooow lane. We are making up for it with cool shirts though. Just got our first shipment of Spectre DR's in so I may shoot a brand new scope too. How stupid is that!?!? Mark, Don, and Co., Thanks for having this match again. Great last year and looks to be even better this time. Been practicing my Lewinsky kneeling stance for the low / high walls. I can never remember which ones I need to shoot under... maybe I need to figure that out before I shoot!

Sounds like your OS may have swapped the process out to virtual mem and never brought it back. I'd stop it and try again. Media Player 9 does this occasionally too. Hope this helps...

The new 2 moa Aimpoint dots are good too. The small dot is good at longer ranges and you can turn up the power and bloom it out to 6-8 moa for a very bright close up sight. Eotechs work well too, especially with a riser mount to raise them 1/4" or so.

Bushmaster dropped these. They were made by Rock River though and they are selling them at least until they run out of parts for them.

S&W doesn't make these, they contract for them. The package was designed to appeal to LE departments that are already buying lots of S&W pistols and like one-stop shopping. A lot of departments are still deciding whether they want rifles or not in their arsenals, but LEOs keep clammering for them, so this gives them an easy path to purchase with a name brand that their brass recognizes.