3rd Time High Power

So, I shot my 3rd match.

357-2x out of 500.  This match used three different targets:  200 yards for standing/seated, then 300 reduced for prone and 600 reduced for slowfire prone.  Much like the Legacy match that was my first match.

Standing was awful.  49-1x.  Seated improved, from improved control of my front leg elevation via my trigger-foot under my supporting leg.  84-0x.  Rapid prone suffered from a change in ammo, to a box that was left out in sunlight and a different batch of bullets with different OAL.  Center of group shifted 3 MOA down and left, and the group blew out from my customary 3-4 MOA to almost 6 MOA in size.  Score on rapid prone was 62-0x.  Slowfire prone was 162-1x.  Took some doing to get myself back onto a proper zero after the fiasco with the alternate ammo.

Lessons learned:
- Don't change ammo through the match.  Use the same load recipe or retail manufacturer.
- Don't leave ammo in the sun.  It can contribute to variable points of impact of otherwise consistent ammo.
- The M14 does seem harder to shoot standing than the AR-15.  I really need to work on standing, more.

Goals:
- More standing practice.  Rimfire at 6MOA increased squares to begin with, then transition to centerfire using the targets we bought as a group.
- Reloading discipline.  Same brass with same bullet with same powder charge with same primer, to the same OAL, and take enough of that one load to complete the match.

2nd time High Power

So, I shot a CMP match at the Buckeye Joe Foss range a few weeks ago.  This time I shot a 411-4x out of 500, and used my M14 rifle.

Interestingly, as my body position transitioned from horizontal (prone) to vertical (standing), my groups got worse.  Part of this was probably due to the gusting winds that I estimate exceeded 15mph and pushed the muzzle sideways... but I also think some of it is inherently due to the different designs of these rifles.

The AR has sights that are very high above the bore.  This lends itself to very upright shooting positions without canting the upper torso, and the pistol grip gives improved control over the horizontal twist of the gun in wind.  At least, that's my working theory right now.

I'll test that theory sometime later this summer, and take both rifles out for some testing during the windy monsoon season here.

Anyways, I'm happy to see my scores climb 44 points from one time to the next.  The breakdown was disappointing to me, though:  184, 96, 77, 54.  The standing just murdered me, and I had 3 shots escape the bull entirely, though still on paper just outside the 5 ring to the bottom left (the wind was coming from my left and I would push into it, only to have it let off as I squeezed the trigger).

I'm thinking that in high wind, I need to "squeeze" less and firmly pull, more quickly.  From standing, at least.

Seated was quite blatantly a lack of practice on my part.  Bad NPOA, stringing my shots down and left.  More seated dry-fire practice is in order.

Shooting another match in Payson this weekend, so I think I can add another 30+ points.  Haven't decided if I'll shoot the AR-15 with the new NM 0.050 front sight post, or the M14 again.  Probably the M14, but we'll see.