Thread: Taupo range

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @Maca49,
Curly was at the range last time I was there in August. He still drive his little van about cleaning up and still walks like a man 20 plus years his junior.
Regards Grandpamac.

Yep , I've seen him about up at the range too , helped him empty the bins last time I was there - He's nearly taken me out a couple of times in his Van on the road!

But good to see the old bugger still up there doing it.

He's even had a road named after him here in Town now in one of the new industrial areas - Curly's Way.

"No Rush Positions" , where you have 2 mins. to fart and wriggle into a position using fitted tight jackets/slings/boots/gloves/ lightened triggers and kneeling rolls etc. Then 7 mins. to fire 5 shots it must be tough to be in such a hurry.If shooting long range great but unfortunately the great unwashed hunt at much shorter distances.
I have shot animals from 5mtr+ and missed them at 5 mtr+ , when you have mere seconds to think and act, shooting at a 3D target which won't stand in the right plane or hang around for you to get into a comfortable position . I've seen target shooters aim for the front and hit it in the arse or aim at the shoulder when quartering away unable to angle a shot in .
The old adage of "train as you mean to fight" is what hunters need to do . But unfortunately no one wants to do it as it can show how bad we are , I see it all the time , and even the so called longer range shooters don't want to practice lest someone sees just how bad they are.Shooting at more than a 12" target at any range is just preening.
If you really want to practice you would need to shoot at multiple distances on a fast clock & something like Speed Steel/Dueling trees etc against someone else but its too hard!.

@Tankd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FwPglonDlg


I have been running hunter class field / practical competitions for a whole bunch of years. Not too hard for a bunch of our competitors.

Here is a suggestion allow them to go into a competition where they don't know how many rounds they will need , the distances they will/are shooting at , the time they have to complete it or where the targets are only the place to shoot from or even the number of targets .That is stand here and shoot.
And see what happens?.
OK bed time I must be hale & hearty for work.Tommorow

Originally Posted by Tankd

Here is a suggestion allow them to go into a competition where they don't know how many rounds they will need , the distances they will/are shooting at , the time they have to complete it or where the targets are only the place to shoot from or even the number of targets .That is stand here and shoot.
And see what happens?.

You set it up, let me know, and I'll be there to shoot?

Originally Posted by Tankd

Here is a suggestion allow them to go into a competition where they don't know how many rounds they will need , the distances they will/are shooting at , the time they have to complete it or where the targets are only the place to shoot from or even the number of targets .That is stand here and shoot.
And see what happens?.
OK bed time I must be hale & hearty for work.Tommorow

You clearly haven't shot at any of Simons events, even the "easiest" stages of just standing here and shoot will challenge anyone who hasn't done that kind of event before.

They may not be an exact replica of a hunting scenario but Simons style of event is fantastic for learning safe gun handling and getting to know your gear and how to use it effectively.

I'd say 90% of gun owners/hunters would find that kind of shooting event a pretty humbling experience, I've certainly seen a lot of people humbled and been made a fool of myself more than once.

Originally Posted by Gillie

@Tankd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FwPglonDlg


I have been running hunter class field / practical competitions for a whole bunch of years. Not too hard for a bunch of our competitors.

Thanks for that @Gillie,
Watched the clip and the Dougie one. Wish we had that type of shoot 40 years ago. The closest we had was a standing shoot at a NZDA deer target with a 5 second exposure. This was on the old Roy's Hill Range near Hastings. The range had a markers gallery and gear for two targets per shooter. Later some of the counterbalanced targets like ones on the current Seddon Range were installed. Alas the Roy's Hill Range is long gone.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac

Dougie competed a couple of our events. The video was our Hihtitahi Challenge - a very cool event. One where my biggest regret was that i never got to compete it myself. Hiking, observation, first aid, distance judging, shooting, flora/fauna, navigation - it challenged a whole range of hunting skills. Unfortunately, after 5 years of running it we never got enough competitors to make the match break even cost wise. Pretty sad for us as we really enjoyed running it.
@Bagheera competed that match just about every year we ran it.

Originally Posted by Gillie

@grandpamac

Dougie competed a couple of our events. The video was our Hihtitahi Challenge - a very cool event. One where my biggest regret was that i never got to compete it myself. Hiking, observation, first aid, distance judging, shooting, flora/fauna, navigation - it challenged a whole range of hunting skills. Unfortunately, after 5 years of running it we never got enough competitors to make the match break even cost wise. Pretty sad for us as we really enjoyed running it.
@Bagheera competed that match just about every year we ran it.

Greetings Again Gillie,
I spotted that the shooting was only part of the event. Was most impressed to see a Silva compass in use and correctly aligned with due North, pretty much a lost art these days I would imagine. Still can't get myself to completely trust anything that runs on batteries or needs to be charged much less communicate with a satellite. They are wonderful until they don't work.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Tankd

"No Rush Positions" , where you have 2 mins. to fart and wriggle into a position using fitted tight jackets/slings/boots/gloves/ lightened triggers and kneeling rolls etc. Then 7 mins. to fire 5 shots it must be tough to be in such a hurry.If shooting long range great but unfortunately the great unwashed hunt at much shorter distances.
I have shot animals from 5mtr+ and missed them at 5 mtr+ , when you have mere seconds to think and act, shooting at a 3D target which won't stand in the right plane or hang around for you to get into a comfortable position . I've seen target shooters aim for the front and hit it in the arse or aim at the shoulder when quartering away unable to angle a shot in .
The old adage of "train as you mean to fight" is what hunters need to do . But unfortunately no one wants to do it as it can show how bad we are , I see it all the time , and even the so called longer range shooters don't want to practice lest someone sees just how bad they are.Shooting at more than a 12" target at any range is just preening.
If you really want to practice you would need to shoot at multiple distances on a fast clock & something like Speed Steel/Dueling trees etc against someone else but its too hard!.

I feel like you've completely missed the point of this discussion.

This is about having somewhere to shoot and zero without having to be worried.

If what you're describing is what you're wanting to do , there are clubs for that kind of thing , Service Rifle , @Gillie 's practical rifle events , TLRS Long range shoots , etc.

If you're talking about being lightning fast at 5m , perhaps you should buy some assless chaps? I hear the Cowboy action dudes are into that kind of thing.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings Again Gillie,
I spotted that the shooting was only part of the event. Was most impressed to see a Silva compass in use and correctly aligned with due North, pretty much a lost art these days I would imagine. Still can't get myself to completely trust anything that runs on batteries or needs to be charged much less communicate with a satellite. They are wonderful until they don't work.
Regards Grandpamac.

The use of a compass is pretty well lost these days mate , Hell I have a hard time remembering Mag Variation conversions these days!

Machine gun auto
Magnetic to grid add (20 degrees is close enough)
Grandma Skuxx

Grid to magnetic subtract.

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Machine gun auto
Magnetic to grid add (20 degrees is close enough)
Grandma Skuxx

Grid to magnetic subtract.

Greetings Chur Bay,
I always found it easier to place the needle on the 20 degree point and then the readings are in true degrees. The Recta compass I have been using for years makes this very simple. Saves cocking up the calculations, important for someone that gets left and right muddled from time to time.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Masperjay

The use of a compass is pretty well lost these days mate , Hell I have a hard time remembering Mag Variation conversions these days!

Did 2 seasons of orienteering. Lot of the courses were 3/4 in pine forest so you had to be able to operate a compass and map. Line of sight just didn't work. Alright, the distances between points weren't great but skill with the compass saved a lot of time back tracking.

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Machine gun auto
Magnetic to grid add (20 degrees is close enough)
Grandma Skuxx

Grid to magnetic subtract.

I remember that from Basic too bud