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After some online research, and discovering that Dan Newberry himself conducts the course, Ive decided to give their day clinic a try before beginning my F-T/R endeavor. Looks like a ton of fun! I have some things on order prior to scheduling the course in January. ANyone else have first hand experience with Bangsteel.com?
I hope to go down next fall. Check out the Facebook page. Should be a great learning experience.
I think someone posted earlier this year they had attended training with Dan. I could be mistaken but I thought Dan had posted to the thread also. Let's us know what you think I would also like to go.
Definitely will! I emailed him a few days ago and gave him my equipment list and load data. Sight unseen, he suggested I up my charge weight given my brass, primer, and bullet combination. Went to the range today and shot two of the best groups of my life, .181 and .222 with a stock 10 FCP-SR in .308, making all of my load development to date with this rifle (99 rounds) an effort in futility. This guy really knows his stuff! And mine, apparently. This should be awesome! I'm stoked.
Dan is good people. The thread was by DrThunder88 I think. And Dan did post. I'm up there for their semi-monthly matches regularly. Actually was there this past Saturday for one. My buddy took top 308 with an FCP-SR that day too.
This is the thread from when he went.
http://www.savageshooters.com/showth...ight=Bangsteel
Awesome, thanks for the link!Quote:
Originally Posted by upSLIDEdown
Man I'm stoked for this course. Ive been planning on attending a day clinic during the week, but I'm starting to think that with my limited long range experience, that it would be in my best interest to attend the two day course. My free weekends are few and far between, but this is one of those things that will last a lifetime. I have a 20MOA base on the way, 200 pcs new brass as well as an anti cant device. Once all that is installed Ill get my 100yd zero and practice shooting from prone (since all my experience is benchrest with rear bag for load development). Ive never even tried a shot beyond 234 yds at a 6x6 railroad plate with my AR15, nor beyond 100 yds with this .308.
A level rifle, a solid zero, and repeatable turrets are paramount. Otherwise, it's not all that different from shooting from a bench with a rear bag. You'd be surprised what you can learn in a day class, that said, 2 is always better than 1! Haha
I bought my first savage 308 , have very little experience with rifle shooting just handgun competitions. I took a one day course with Dan at the end of Oct. and was hitting all steel out to 1000 yards with no problems. Even hit steel at 1200 yards with holdover. I need lower rings so I can dial in 1200 yards. Dan was a great instructor. This is my first post and I am now a long range junkie.
Hah, see? Proof positive right there. That's awesome.
It really was a great time. Having someone who knows his stuff teaching you really accelerated my learning curve. I could see wasting a lot of ammo and a lot of trips to the big range trying to figure it out myself. Dan's got a knack for figuring out trajectories and calling wind. The first made it easy to start building drop data and the latter made it easier for us to hit the targets. I still need a lot of practice with wind calls as my F-class and Rockcastle experiences showed, but getting hits and learning how to correct for misses was deeply gratifying and made the pursuit addictive.
One thing I might suggest is, if you haven't already, start getting used to shooting off the bipod. It is a bit like yoga insofar as you don't think about how much of your body you'll be using when you're getting into and out of as well as holding the position.
Next item on the to do list is whip up about 20 rds each of my proven loads and shoot prone off the bipod as I have just now finally finished load development for this rig. Sage advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrThunder88
Great place to shoot! You will need a 9-13" swivel bipod with notch adjustments. Or if you only have 6-9", he has extra carpet you can put underneath to raise it. Dan will have you hitting 1000yd steel the first day.
The only time I needed that much bipod was trying for the mile gong, but it was at a significantly elevated position relative to the firing position. My .243 was too high for my rear bag with the 9-13" bipod for most of the roughly flat shooting throughout the course. The sandbag you see under my rifle in the first photo of my write-up is to help me load it, not to increase the height. My subsequent experiences have led me to find a 6-9" works the best for me out to 1000 yards with the legs extended one notch. It's probably a matter of individual ergonomics and ballistics.
As Charlie says notches and a swivel are must-haves for sure.
Depends on where they put the mats. Charlie and I shoot there regularly, and the 900 and 1000 yard plates definitely benefit from height of the 9-13 there. I run 6-9s at most other places though.
Last week on my way back to FL from PA i had the displeasure of having an alternator/battery failure while traveling south
on I 77 just a few miles north of Wythsville VA. AAA sent road service to me which got me patched up enough to make it
to a motel in Whythsville. Next day as he was replacing the alternater, i asked the guy who was a hunter, if he'd ever heard
of Bangsteel as i knew it was in that area. He had never heard about it and could offer no information as to where it was.
From where we were id think if you listened hard you could hear the shooting. Some day on my way thru that area id like
to stop and see the place.
Sounds like you were right at it. He's just north of Wytheville, in Bland. It's actually held on a working cattle farm, so there isn't necessarily shooting every day though.
And they don't really have a sign out by the road! Getting there is something of an adventure in and of itself.
Well, my bipod is a 6-9, no notches, and I built a 3" tall shooting block today out of an old 2x4. Should work well on the uphill shots. My load is a tack driver @ 100yds, can't wait for this course. Heading out to the neighbors on Monday and shooting 300yds (for the first time ever at that distance) to see how the load holds up. This journey has been extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I'm still in disbelief that a $600 rifle is capable of sub 1/2 moa accuracy out of the box. Tickled is the word.
After that, F-T/R here I come!
Sounds like a plan. You'll be ok with a 6-9 on most shots. They have a few sand bags you may be able to put under the front end to raise it if you need. Your block may work too, as long as it's stable. As long as you've got a solid load at 100yds and a scope you can dial, the rest is just math. ;) Dan will get you on target at distance with no trouble.
Man what a great time! I shot way better than I thought I would. No equipment failures, only shot at the wrong plate once, and managed to put regular hits on all the plates out to 1k. 37 degrees, raining, about 4-5 mph intermittent winds. Just finished torquing and swabbing the rifle. The other shooter brought an HS precision model 10. No failures on his end either. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Definitely bring a 9-13 bipod if you plan on attending. I'm using bags under my 6-9, and doing fine. But I wish I had a 9-13.
Awesome! Told you you'd have a great time and be ringing steel at 1k in no time! Dan and the guys up there are great people. You shooting tomorrow too? I'll be there next weekend for the match as long as I don't end up having to work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Front Royalty
Ahem... I TRIED to warn you... ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Front Royalty
Quote:
Originally Posted by upSLIDEdown
Yep, getting ready to meet up with the guys now. My schedule keeps me pretty busy on the weekends, I only get one free weekend a month and that usually goes to the girl friend. My element chassis should arrive Thursday, and I'll take her to the local range after that. Then I'll be looking to schedule a visit for a match in the future.
Today didn't go quite how I'd have liked. We quickly noticed that my scope doesn't track properly between 35 & 45 minutes of elevation. We spent about an hour bouncing from 400, 600, 800, and 1k only to find that the elevation was not repeatable from yesterday. Looks like the scope will be heading back to Vortex. I was able to participate in the full day, just didn't get near the consistency I had at distance yesterday. So that threw quite the wrench in my day. That being said:
Shooting with Dan and Forrest was an awesome experience. We met at the Subway both mornings at 10am, and were shooting by 1130 as well. We shot for about 4 hours each day, which definitely is longer than it sounds when laying on rocks in 37 degree rain. What an awesome time! I learned a lot about wind, the effects of different theories such as spin drift, Coriolis, and vectoring. It was nice to try my load beyond a couple hundred yards and verify its effectiveness. I wish I lived closer to them because I would frequent the matches they hold. I feel like I got my moneys worth out of the class, and Forrest even let us shoot his .243 competition rifle. It was a Remmy 700 action in an AI chassis, topped with a SWFA fixed 12x mil dot. Took 4 shots with it at 1k and ringed it each time. They couldn't speak highly enough of the 12x SWFA, and suggested I give one a try. Might just do that.
I think I met a Charlie today. Short gray hair?Quote:
Originally Posted by upSLIDEdown