Quantico Marine Corps Base opened up their 1K range today for members of the shooting club on base, and my oldest son and I decided to see how we could do.  This was only LXJr's second time shooting a .30 caliber rifle, so he was a little nervous.  It was also the first time he'd ever shot at more than 100 yards.

We took out an AR for him to start with.  Here's LXJr shooting at 300 yards.  Did pretty well, considering I apparently hadn't tightened down the scope enough, so it was a little wobbly.  Still, he put all the shots in about 8".




Everyone moved back to 600 yards.  LXJr and I then moved on to the pits, where we pulled targets for about an hour, then swapped out and did some shooting ourselves.  LXJr shot the AR again, and had two head shots on a full sillouhette target.   Not bad!  I also tried the AR and didn't do too badl.

I also dragged out a couple of bolt actions I have, and used them.  I have a Rem 700 ADL in .308, and a Winchester 70 in .300 Win.  Didn't do so well with them; was all over the paper.

We then moved back to 1000 yards.

Here's LXJr with the .308.  He only shot three rounds.  Target was a paper plate on a stick.  First round was about 20 feet low into the berm but perfect for windage, second round about two feet high at 12:00, third round about three feet low at 6:00.  Not bad for the first time at distance, aiming at a 12" paper plate!  I shot about 10 rounds on the .308, and had the target pretty scared, but I don't think I hit it.




My turn with the .300.  Did better than at 600 yards, but I've found that I'm always better at shooting at things other than paper.  Did about 15 rounds, all within about 6 feet of the target, with two apparent impacts on the pie plate itself.  Not spectacular, but pretty good for a hunting rifle AND hunting rounds (150gr Speer boat tail soft points travelling at 2960fps).  



Then, the REALLY fun stuff.  One gentleman there had a Serbu .50 cal, and invited us to shoot it.

Here's LXJr with the projectile in question.  



First shot, 1 ft away from the target at 7:00.  He had the HUGEST grin on his face after the shot.  Notice the corners of the blanket flapping from the muzzle blast. Loved it so much he went back for seconds.



Second shot.  Great pic of the blanket flapping again!



Dad's turn. Took only two shots, because I know .50BMG is expensive.  Both shots were within two feet of the target.



Learned a couple of things today.  First, you want hunting rifle accuracy, use a hunting rifle.  Target rifle accuracy requires target rifles.  My firearms probably would have done the trick on a deer or elk within 600 yards, but they really only offer minute-of-barn-door accuracy at a thousand.  Still, it was fun to try, and I thought they both made a pretty good showing for off-the-rack bolt guns.

Also learned that my son seems to have a knack for shooting rifles.  Gonna have to get that boy some (more).  He's still a little sensitive to recoil, though; at 14, his frame doesn't have that much fat or padding.  Any suggestions on that?

Lastly, I learned that I need a .50BMG.  That was FUN!  Gonna have to sell one of the children, though.

Great pics..Looks like you have a very nice facility/range there

Thanks for sharing

Taffy

ETA fit some padding to the stock or get him a (shoulder) padded shooting jaket

Quoted: Great pics..Looks like you have a very nice facility/range there Thanks for sharing Taffy ETA fit some padding to the stock or get him a (shoulder) padded shooting jaket

Yes, the range is really nice.  It's owned and operated by the USMC as part of their weapons training battalion.  The shooting club gets to use it on the weekends when the battalion isn't using it, though they only open the 1000 yard range once or twice a year.  

Great pics, looks like a fun day. Keep that kid shooting!

Thanks for sharing...that rocks....

Jr. will fill out soon enough and in time wont feel soulder bruising 'till the next day.

-HS

Two things:

Get that kid a 6.5 Grendel. Low recoil, performs well at range.

Secondly, get his heel down!

Quoted: Thanks for sharing...that rocks.... Jr. will fill out soon enough and in time wont feel soulder bruising 'till the next day. -HS

Hehe, between the shoulder and the muzzle blast of the fifty cal, the first thing he said when we got home was "where's the Motrin?"

Guess I'll just have to take him out next week and do it again.

The grin on that kid's face is worth a million bucks isn't it!  Great to see that limaxray - thanks.

Heck, come to think of it, the grin on my face would be about the same .

Quoted: Quoted: Great pics..Looks like you have a very nice facility/range there Thanks for sharing Taffy ETA fit some padding to the stock or get him a (shoulder) padded shooting jaket Yes, the range is really nice.  It's owned and operated by the USMC as part of their weapons training battalion.  The shooting club gets to use it on the weekends when the battalion isn't using it, though they only open the 1000 yard range once or twice a year.

We get to shoot on the military ranges here in Wales also. It has dozens of ranges in the complex....machine gun through qualification and sniper ranges too. A great variety. Obviously we dont get to play with machine guns but we have a great time there.



Cheers

taffy

Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore???

The chap in the DPM jacket and wearing a flat cap in the pic i posted is....

Shooting 300m with a K98 iron sights and can show the scope kids a few tricks

Taffy

Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore???

I thought about making him use them, but I wanted him to have some success the first time.  His eyes aren't the greatest and his perscription is about two years old  (yes, we're getting him new glasses soon).  

He uses iron sights on his .22LR at 50 & 100 yards, and the next couple of times I take him out I'm going to have him shoot the AR with irons.

As for me, I'm just lazy.  

Sorry for opening my mouth.......................I'll pry my foot out later!!.Thanks for pointing that out to me!!

Taffy--nice range!  Noticed in your pic everyone is wearing coats.  Wish that was the case today--high was about 94 with lots of humidity.  I'm not fond of Virginia in the summer time.  

Had a guy today shooting his Enfield Mark 3 at 600 yards.....and doing VERY well with it.

ETA:  Taffy--is it just me, or are those shooting positions actually foxholes?  That's a little different.

Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore???

Yes Sir. Colt 6601-type, 1:7 twist HBAR, NM sights, two stage trigger, Federal 80gr. XM223M1 ammo, on the very range in this post. First time in my life too, made paper very well.

Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore???

What are these "Iron sights" you speak of?
Of course I use iron sights. Well, aluminum. At least, I think thats what my scope housing is made of.
So yes, I use aluminum sights.

Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore???

At 1000 yards?  Is you crazy?

Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore??? At 1000 yards?  Is you crazy?

Hey, there are people who do that.

I don't know why, but whatever.

Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore??? At 1000 yards?  Is you crazy?

................Not crazy maybe a little old.................We used to shoot Garands and M-14's at 1000 yds all the time when I was in the CG..........The Gunner I worked for hated scopes...and we would not shame ourselves by using one..............seriously tho we never did use anything but iron all the way to 1000yds.................

We used to soot our M1 Garands at 1000 yds regularly at the Tullahoma High Power range. It really told you what you were made of. Lots of fun and bragging rights also.

Quoted: Taffy--nice range!  Noticed in your pic everyone is wearing coats.  Wish that was the case today--high was about 94 with lots of humidity.  I'm not fond of Virginia in the summer time.   Had a guy today shooting his Enfield Mark 3 at 600 yards.....and doing VERY well with it. ETA:  Taffy--is it just me, or are those shooting positions actually foxholes?  That's a little different.

The military ranges that we get to use are very varied but they often have "foxholes" that we shoot from. There's often a prone position next to the foxhole to shoot from and on a few ranges there are buildings and ramps /gates/foxholes etc to shoot from and the targets are invariably man-attack targets which with iron sights are impossible to miss out to 300m. The sniper ranges go out to over 1000m and are normaly in a large valley with scattered targets from 300m to 1000m.

You'll notice in the pic a small ladder and a stick....the members of my shooting club are very elderly mainly and i get on with them very well (they normaly shoot black powder rifles/pistols). They are a mine of information. So for a few to get into the foxholes we need to use a small ladder. But by god can they shoot.

cheers

Taffy

Quoted: Sorry for opening my mouth.......................I'll pry my foot out later!!.Thanks for pointing that out to me!!

MK4 I did not mean to sound sarcastic I was more interested in showing off about the fact that there are some great old shooters in my club.
I'm sorry if it sounded abrupt but that was not my intention.

Regards

Taffy

Another thing you need at that distance is a good scope.  2 years ago: range 4 and 600 yards away with my AR50 and crappy 500 dollar scope, I couldn't even tell if I hit the target or not.   Guess I should have kept my membership but I let it lapse.  Days like the one you had today are the only reason for keeping that membership.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't anyone use iron sights anymore??? At 1000 yards?  Is you crazy? Hey, there are people who do that. I don't know why, but whatever.

It really isn't as hard as you might think. The target is nearly impossible to miss with a target rifle, its so big. All it takes is a good, natural point of aim, front sight focus, breathing, smooth trigger squeeze....

Quoted: Quoted: Sorry for opening my mouth.......................I'll pry my foot out later!!.Thanks for pointing that out to me!! MK4 I did not mean to sound sarcastic I was more interested in showing off about the fact that there are some great old shooters in my club. I'm sorry if it sounded abrupt but that was not my intention. Regards Taffy

..................I was not offended in the slightest.................I was trying to be cute with the smilies..maybe i picked the wrong ones................. someone should make a smiley for us confused old puddle ducks !!!........

Quoted: Quoted: Taffy--nice range!  Noticed in your pic everyone is wearing coats.  Wish that was the case today--high was about 94 with lots of humidity.  I'm not fond of Virginia in the summer time.   Had a guy today shooting his Enfield Mark 3 at 600 yards.....and doing VERY well with it. ETA:  Taffy--is it just me, or are those shooting positions actually foxholes?  That's a little different. The military ranges that we get to use are very varied but they often have "foxholes" that we shoot from. There's often a prone position next to the foxhole to shoot from and on a few ranges there are buildings and ramps /gates/foxholes etc to shoot from and the targets are invariably man-attack targets which with iron sights are impossible to miss out to 300m. The sniper ranges go out to over 1000m and are normaly in a large valley with scattered targets from 300m to 1000m. You'll notice in the pic a small ladder and a stick....the members of my shooting club are very elderly mainly and i get on with them very well (they normaly shoot black powder rifles/pistols). They are a mine of information. So for a few to get into the foxholes we need to use a small ladder. But by god can they shoot. cheers Taffy

The guy who got me interested in highpower shooting was an elderly gent at the range I belonged to in Nebraska.  Same story--an incredible treasure trove of skills and talent, and more than willing to help out the new shooters like me.  Shot from prone like he was a bench-mounted rifle rest and could read the wind like an open book.  He would show up on Saturdays to shoot and spent most of the time just wandering up and down the line providing helpful hints.

Kids may be the future of the shooting sports, but the experienced elderly shooters are the ones to show them the way.

Great pics for sure.

As mentioned before, KEEP THAT KID SHOOTING!

Though from the looks of it, I doubt you'll have a problem with it.....


Best way to fight gun control? Get people shooting!

Here he is close up

Taffy

Quoted: Here he is close up Taffy

Okay, weird question--why isn't anyone wearing eye protection?  Also, it looks like he's sighting with his left eye.

Looks like fun. I wish I could find a place to shoot past 300 yards.

Quoted:  He's still a little sensitive to recoil, though; at 14, his frame doesn't have that much fat or padding.  Any suggestions on that?

One of these helps a lot;

www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=284105

Recoil pads are for sissies. I have less fat on me now and recoil doesn't bother me (never shot any real big stuff, but .50 BMG, 8mm, 7mm-Mag, 12 gauge, etc. don't bother me). It's all about how you hold the gun to your body and take the recoil. It's just practice, practice, practice; until the gun is like a part of you. I know you want to encourage him but I wouldn't use a crutch like a recoil pad. There's ONE gun I have added a recoil pad to - a pellet gun. I wanted increase LOP.

Just get him out there with a gas-operated 12 gauge (so the recoil is smooth but moderate) and have him shoot trap with it, or hell just shoot anything with it. Get some light bird loads and put a couple hundred rounds through it, buy some of the cheap value packs that Wal-Mart sells.

Quoted: Recoil pads are for sissies. I have less fat on me now and recoil doesn't bother me (never shot any real big stuff, but .50 BMG, 8mm, 7mm-Mag, 12 gauge, etc. don't bother me). It's all about how you hold the gun to your body and take the recoil. It's just practice, practice, practice; until the gun is like a part of you. I know you want to encourage him but I wouldn't use a crutch like a recoil pad. There's ONE gun I have added a recoil pad to - a pellet gun. I wanted increase LOP. Just get him out there with a gas-operated 12 gauge (so the recoil is smooth but moderate) and have him shoot trap with it, or hell just shoot anything with it. Get some light bird loads and put a couple hundred rounds through it, buy some of the cheap value packs that Wal-Mart sells.

That's kind of my way of thinking....I don't want him to think he NEEDS a recoil pad to shoot.

I have added a better recoil pad to my .300 Win Mag, but that's out of self-preservation; that hard rubber pad that comes on Winchester stocks was a joke.

I think I'll just slowly work him up to full-power loads, maybe buy some of those reduced-recoil loads for now.

Quoted: Looks like fun. I wish I could find a place to shoot past 300 yards.

LXJr just came up with a great idea.

"I wonder if they'll let us shoot a potato gun there the next time they open the 1000 yard range?"

Looks like I've got some phone calls to make, because I'd love to see the max range on one of those.

Another lesson learned:  1,000 yards is a long way away.

LX,

seeing the pic's just makes me envious.  Never had parents that were supportive of my hobbies and swore to myself if I had kid's I'd bring them to the range as soon as I could.

Quoted: Another lesson learned:  1,000 yards is a long way away.

Amen!

Oddly enough, I could clearly see a 12" paper plate on a stick at 1K yards through a 9-power scope.  Didn't think I'd be able to do that.

The coolest part was the two second delay between shot out and impact.  Enough time to recover from recoil and spot the target to look for the dirt plume.

I'm jealous.

The only 1000 yard range within a few hundred miles of me
#1 - Won't allow my 50 BMG.
#2 - Charges $120 annually, on top of NRA membership,  and won't alloy a spouse in the gate
           without her own membership.  To which I say, "screw'em".

Quoted: I'm jealous. The only 1000 yard range within a few hundred miles of me #1 - Won't allow my 50 BMG. #2 - Charges $120 annually, on top of NRA membership,  and won't alloy a spouse in the gate            without her own membership.  To which I say, "screw'em".

OUCH!

Quantico Shooting Club charges $60/yr for the family, but it's pretty limited, and they only open the 1K range a couple of times a year.  

For the membership, you also get trap, skeet and international clays on the Marine Corps training facilities, plus a 40yd archery range and separate pistol (50yd) and rifle (300yd) ranges, open mainly on the weekends.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm jealous. The only 1000 yard range within a few hundred miles of me #1 - Won't allow my 50 BMG. #2 - Charges $120 annually, on top of NRA membership,  and won't alloy a spouse in the gate            without her own membership.  To which I say, "screw'em". OUCH! Quantico Shooting Club charges $60/yr for the family, but it's pretty limited, and they only open the 1K range a couple of times a year.   For the membership, you also get trap, skeet and international clays on the Marine Corps training facilities, plus a 40yd archery range and separate pistol (50yd) and rifle (300yd) ranges, open mainly on the weekends.

Unless things have changed at Quantico...  No supressors, no full auto and no 50 BMG unless like the recent weekend at range 4.   Those are the only bad things I can say about the range, and it is my reason for not staying a member.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm jealous. The only 1000 yard range within a few hundred miles of me #1 - Won't allow my 50 BMG. #2 - Charges $120 annually, on top of NRA membership,  and won't alloy a spouse in the gate            without her own membership.  To which I say, "screw'em". OUCH! Quantico Shooting Club charges $60/yr for the family, but it's pretty limited, and they only open the 1K range a couple of times a year.   For the membership, you also get trap, skeet and international clays on the Marine Corps training facilities, plus a 40yd archery range and separate pistol (50yd) and rifle (300yd) ranges, open mainly on the weekends. Unless things have changed at Quantico...  No supressors, no full auto and no 50 BMG unless like the recent weekend at range 4.   Those are the only bad things I can say about the range, and it is my reason for not staying a member.

Yep, all those things are still true.  But, I don't have any Class III stuff, so it's not a limiting factor for me. (Not that I don't want full-auto, I just can't afford it.) I just like the fact that it's 20 minutes door to door and I can shoot at 300 yds usually.

Nice range.  Beats my 100 yard sand pit.  

Thanks for the heartwarming report.   For LXJr., there are some physics lessons in there!

Quoted: Quoted: www.hunt101.com/img/313366.jpg Here he is close up Taffy Okay, weird question--why isn't anyone wearing eye protection?  Also, it looks like he's sighting with his left eye.

He's not actualy shooting there...He just posed for the picture

Taffy

dang, how'd i miss that notice from the gun club??? i've always wanted to shoot the 1000m range...

looks like another 2a fan is on the way! way to go, lx!