In case you missed it!

Cola Warrior Northwest 2: Will you be my Valentine AAR

Needs more pichers.

Thank goodness for HDLS

Are all the pictures still hanging out at the airport?

Last we heard, he got on another plane!

They've been absorbed by the Mormons

He got out of snowy SLC on the third attempt this evening. Dramatization:

neat HT forum
who won this silliness?

Anyone know or have binary operators contact?  I tried adding him on Facebook.  Assuming he made it back home alive I wanted to bug him for CWAR pics.

He posted a bunch of pics in the CWNW AAR thread in GD.

I was told I won a wind chime for "most time spent up at the range freezing their ass off"...apparently @JohnStoner has it currently.
Considering I'm still shivering I can't wait to hold it and hear how it sounds!  

You're coming to West right? I'll bring my PRS spotting gear for you if you like

The correct verbiage was supposed to be "most winburnt". We felt the wind chimes would be good to trigger any range related PTSD you may have from all that wind!

I'll definitely be there and would love to check out your set up, thanks!



LOL!  I think all the fast skiing I do at high elevation has desensitized me to the wind a bit.  
Next time we're building a better burn barrel though...the one at the range was a smoldering, smoky mess.  

Posting this here as well as in the GD thread for those who might avoid GD...

CWNWII Range Officer AAR

Raise your hand if your rifle didn't function 100%.  There should be a lot of hands in the air right now...  
I witnessed a shocking number of rifle malfunctions at this Cola, many more than at any other Cola I've RO'ed or attended.  Bitterly cold weather is no friend to your rifle guys...so remember it for next time and fix your shit.
-Failures to chamber the first round out of a fully loaded mag for the first few rifles each morning was common.  Confirm that you can chamber a round from one of your fully loaded mags before attempting to use it in a match please. Use your charging handle and slingshot the hell out of it if you have to but make sure you're chambering a round with authority.  Your rifle is a tool not a trophy so treat it like a rented mule and make sure it works right the first time.  I don't know if the cold had anything to do with it but I do know that plastic doesn't flex as much and steel contracts in cold temps.  This can affect magazines and springs.
-The next individual I see at a Cola Warrior gently putting a fully loaded mag into their rifle with the bolt closed and not tugging on it to confirm it's locked in is going to be heckled mercilessly for the rest of their run after they go to fire their first shot and their mag drops out on the ground.  There's no louder sound on the range than the click of a hammer falling on an empty chamber and the thud of a fully loaded mag hitting the frozen Northern Idaho tundra because you never confirmed it was seated.  Stop doing this, it's annoying.  Next time I may even grind that mag into the ground so you don't forget to do it when you go to insert your second mag.  This is basic shit folks...stop screwing it up.  
-Failures to eject because of underpowered ammo, or undergassed rifles was also common.  Ammo issues made for some frustrating times at the range for too many of you.  We aren't in England, you don't need to shoot a straight pull AR.  High quality light loaded target loads that are insanely accurate in 80 degree weather don't always run well at 15 degrees.  Hotter ammo may not get you half inch groups at 100 yards consistently, but they will probably run more reliably at a range in Northern Idaho in February.  Knowing the temps we would see up there I opened up my gas system an extra click to avoid this issue, but if you don't use an adjustable gas block or bcg you've got to up the gas in the system by running hotter ammo in cold temps.  Prior planning prevents piss poor results...
-Know what your particular rifle needs in the way of lubrication in different temperatures and conditions. Every rifle is different and it's up to you to figure out what works and what doesn't in your specific rifle. This can only be done by trial and error.  Sorry, no easy fixes here.  Pretty good rule of thumb...lighter oils for very cold temps and a mix of oil and grease for moderate to high temps.  I cleaned my guns thoroughly and used ALG Go Juice, a very light oil, and they both ran fine.  Oh, and remember, dirty guns have more friction and mechanical friction is your enemy in the cold.  Clean your damn guns...
-Shooting medium to long distances in the wind sucks.  The only way to get better at it is to go out and shoot while it's windy.  It sucks.  Do it anyway.  Another rule of thumb...heavier bullets buck the wind better than light bullets.  Common knowledge right?  So go find some heavier loads that your rifle likes and learn how to shoot them in the wind.  It's what separates the great rifle shooter from the average rifle shooter.  Be great.
-People who dialed for distance and knew their drops did best by a large margin, people who held over with hash marks and knew their ammo did alright, people who used red dots generally sucked (magnifiers helped a little), and those of you who borrowed ammo when you got to the match had a very hard time.  If your only rifle has a red dot and is set up for HD this wasn't the rifle range for you.  Nothing you could really do about it.  Consider mounting an LPVO on your next build.  They're popular because they work.  We won't talk about shooting Cola with iron sights...you're just wasting your time.
-If you're going to a rifle match where you know ahead of time that you're going to be shooting at targets 400 plus yards away please beg, borrow, or "steal" a bipod and use it.  If you're too tacticool to use a bipod at a medium range match with 15mph crosswinds I will gleefully call out misses for you until your mags are empty. Those five minute penalties add up really quickly on the rifle range.  I was disappointed to not see a single shooter without a bipod hug one of those steel posts driven solidly into the ground and use it to settle your rifle.  Use whatever is available to you to get your hits, I'll let you know if it's a brilliant idea or cheating.  Helpful hint...it's a fine line and I love clever shooters so try it and you might become a Cola legend.
-Spend five minutes shooting your scoped rifle at 20 yards. Know if you have to hold over.  It looks silly at the range but it's Cola so there will be some stupid easy shots.  Don't get penalties on stupid easy shots.

Anyway, just some thoughts I had on the long drive home after the match that maybe one or two of you will remember before your next Cola.
If I missed anything or you have any questions feel free to chime in.

Congrats, hand sanded with psychologist slave labor so they are extra therapeutic sounding.

The slave labor makes it extra special...it's so tough to get these days!  
I live in a fairly windy area so I'll hear the fruits of that effort quite often...and it will bring me joy.  
Thanks!