Hangawera Sniper Shoot 2014 Article (Unprinted)
So i dug up a piece i wrote about competing at the Hangawera Sniper Shoot back in February 2014. It is simply too long to be printed in a magazine and to be completely honest i am not convinced there is enough people out there that buy magazines that would be interested. Feel free to criticize my technique as explained in this piece but if you criticize without explaining your own technique then i'll do my best to ignore you. If the discussion is useful then i'll respond when i can. Also i should point out my own technique (and gear) has moved on a bit since i wrote this nearly 18 months ago and so has the Hangawera Sniper shoot. The scoring at the event has been made more difficult (particularly at the 900yard and 1100yard events) and there is now a 700m(?) stage on 1MOA targets which is more difficult.
Anyways enjoy it and good luck getting to the end!
Hangawera sniper shoot – a competitor’s perspective
A 10 inch disk at 500 yards and my squad has been called to the line.
I am watching wind as I walk my gear to the line and as I set up to shoot. I try to keep track of the changes I can see, trying to pick a stable condition while watching for gusts or lulls that come through. Feeling the wind as it comes over my right shoulder – watching the flag 300m out. I glance at the range flag further out in the saddle coming in from the left, it shows a light wind coming out of that saddle but it is also out past the targets. There is a wind mill in the gut leading up to that saddle as well – I try to ignore the windmill as previous experience tells me that thing lies...
I am in position 6 on the line, the last shooter in the squad. Being last can be a positive or a negative. It is great to see where everyone hits as this might give you a hint at what the wind is doing. Being last also means you have to deal with the distraction of everyone else firing before you though. Watching others shoot can play with your mental preparation. Negative thinking will produce negative results and so I try and maintain a positive outlook. Watching other people miss may cause you to doubt your own preparation and this is an unwanted distraction at a time you should be focused on your own shooting.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqxrigidv.jpg
My shoot position is on a slight slope rising gently to my right. I set my rear bag first; making sure it is on level ground and pointing towards the target. Next I lay my rifle down. I get down behind it to set the bipod legs so it is pointing at the target without my touching it. I make sure the bipod legs are firmly seated into the ground. I shoot my rifle with a hard hold and leaning into the bipod. It is important to make sure the bipod feet do not move in recoil. Next I set up my ammunition so I can easily reach it without shifting my body. I try and keep the ammunition out of the sun though. Temperature variation can affect the burn rate of the gun powder. This will, in turn, have an effect on the projectile point of impact.
I pull out my range finder and the drop data next. I range the target several times to ensure there is no mistake in the result. Getting an accurate range to the target is more important than people think. The range to the target is important not only for dialing in the elevation needed but it also forms the basis for how much wind deflection I dial. Once I am confident with the range I check the angle of the shot and just reinforce the pressure and temperature readings I took before walking to the line. I leave the range finder where I can easily grab it. There is a wind flag off to the left of my target that I can’t see through my scope. If I need to have a close look at it I want to be able to grab the rangefinder rather than shift the rifle.
I check my drop data for 438m. It says I need to dial 2.3MIL of elevation for a target at 450m and that at that distance a 0.1MIL click will shift the rifle zero about 11m. I dial 2.3MIL onto the scope and then take out one click to bring it back to 439m.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...pszkexpke0.jpg
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1du4xrvb.jpg
I get sorted into position behind the rifle now. I make sure when I lean into the rifle that I push it straight forward. When it recoils I want it to recoil straight back and to achieve this it is very important that I make sure there is no sideways pressure put on the rifle. I shoot leaning hard into the rifle and putting forward pressure on the bipod. Shooting with a hard hold like this is arguably harder to achieve good consistency but I do this as it allows me to keep the scope on the target through recoil and therefore see the bullet strike. This is an individual competition and spotting your own shots is a big advantage.
The range officer calls for competitors to load and make ready. Damn nerves are getting the better of me and my fingers shake a little. This competition is won or lost on just a couple of important shots. The first shot fired at this distance is worth 50 points of the possible 500 for the day. I’m here to win and I have already made the mistake of noticing several competitors in the first squad hit their first shot. As a result I have put pressure on myself to hit this one as well or be faced with a very difficult day to get back into contention.
The range officer calls the first shooter in my squad to fire his first shot. He does and misses – I can’t see his target through my scope. I pick up my first round for the day. This will be a cold bore shot.
The range officer calls the second shooter to fire his first shot. Chris fires his 7mm08 and it is a miss – again I can’t see his target through my scope. I place my first round into the magazine through the rifle action. I leave it there out of the chamber for now. I am back to watching wind - there is not much there to watch.
Jo is next and the range officer calls her to fire her first round. She does and hits! She is shooting a .308 and I think my 260 should shoot inside the wind on her load. I go back to watching flags and see the flag 300m out is still showing no wind. Through my scope a can see there is a slight mirage coming in from the left. It comes and goes though and occasionally boils. I’ll have to watch that, shooting on a boiling mirage can play with your target image and cause a miss.
The range officer calls for Richard to fire his first round next. Richard is using a 308 calibre AR platform. He shoots it basically free recoil to keep things as consistent as he can. It also means he doesn’t often see the fall of his shot. He fires and I see the bullet impact slightly high and well out to the left of his target – a miss. I break my concentration and let him know where it landed. The range officer calls on me to fire my first shot.
It takes me a second to settle myself behind the scope after calling Richard’s shot. Mirage is drifting slightly in from the left. The flag, 300m out, shows no wind. I slide the bolt forward driving my round into the chamber. I close the bolt and make sure it is down. Looking at the mirage and the flag I decide to not dial in any windage on the scope. I lightly curl the fingers on my right hand around the grip making sure again to place no sideways pressure on the stock. The grip of my right hand only slightly pulls the rifle back into my shoulder. My right thumb is placed behind the bolt and not curled around the grip. My right arm is almost completely relaxed. I place the pad on the first digit of my trigger finger up against the trigger. I focus on the trigger now and with years of practice I increase the pressure on the trigger until only a slight further increase will fire the rifle. The cross hairs move gently up and down with my breathing. I hold my breath at its natural pause and with the cross hairs centred on the target, squeeze. The rifle recoils and settles back onto the target. I don’t lose sight of the target during recoil and I am rewarded to see my bullet hit about 2cm right of the center of the target.
The remaining four of my slow fire shots at this distance also hit. Then I have to prepare for my speed event.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psou0kbeoe.jpg
The shooting at this distance is made up of two parts. The first part involves five shots that are fired in your own time after you are directed to fire by the range officer. It is done this way so scorers can record individual hits. The second part requires you to fire up to 5 shots in 1 minute and the scoring is done by a spotter dedicated to your target and the number of hits is confirmed by people painting the targets.
With my five slow fire shots completed I prepare for the speed event. I have been very careful to not move either the rifle or my body since I fired my first shot. I load five shots into my magazine through the rifle action. I do not remove the magazine as I want to minimize my body movement. I make sure to push the rounds as far back in the magazine as they will go before pressing them in. My rounds are loaded so they fit in the magazine but not by much. I do not load a round into the chamber until just before the time limit is about to start. I do not want my first round to heat up in the chamber as this may change the point of impact slightly. The range officer calls for any shooters not ready, and then counts down to the beginning of the time limit. I push the bolt forward and load my first round into the chamber. I return my right hand back to the rifle grip and await the time limit start.
One minute is not a short time limit when I only have to fire five shots. The steel targets do swing when hit though, even when hit by my relative light 6.5mm projectile. I could wait after every hit until the target has stopped swinging before I fire the next shot. Theoretically 60 seconds is enough time for me to do this. There is a down side to shooting slower under a set time limit though – wind. If you wait between shots you increase the chances that the wind will change on you while you are waiting. By shooting fast and spotting my own shots I can adjust for the wind as I am shooting and only rarely have to deal with significant wind changes. The problem with shooting fast is dealing with the swing of the target.
I fire my first shot within a couple of seconds of the range officer calling the squad to start. It is a hit but a little low – good wind call though. Again my scope never leaves the target during recoil. As soon as I see the hit I cycle the bolt and reload. When I cycle the bolt I do not lift my head from the stock and break my check weld. I do not shift my right elbow when I reload either. When loading rounds for this competition I made sure I put them all through the body die. This bumps the case shoulder back about 0.002” - just enough so when the bolt pushes them into the chamber there is absolutely no resistance. The target is still swinging and I have to time my second shot very carefully. I wait until the target has reached the far extent of its swing and is coming towards me. My aim is to have the bullet hit the target as it is coming towards me. I want to slow its swing by hitting it again. If I hit it again while it is swinging away from me I will make the swing worse!
Practice and preparation pays off in a speed event and I fire all five shots for five hits in about 25 seconds. I am up and collecting spent brass long before the time limit finishes.
This is the end of the 500 yard stage and I immediately pack up my rifle and gear to head to the next stage. I have attended this shoot before and I appreciate the advantage of getting to the 600m stage before the rest of my squad.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps3apxmlp7.jpg
The 600m stage for this event involves the competitors making their way half way up a steep hillside to their shooting locations. The competitor is allowed to choose any safe shooting position they like from a steep slope that drops away to the competitor’s right. This position is designed to test a right handed shooter. There are a couple of less uncomfortable positions on this slope though and there is a distinct advantage in securing one of these positions. I make it up the slope first from my squad and quickly secure the best position as I see it.
Shooting from a slope presents its own challenges. You have to be able to secure your body such that it doesn’t slip down the slope (including under recoil) while still being careful not to apply any sideways pressure onto the rifle.
The shoot procedure for this 600m stage is the same as the 500 yard stage – 5 slow fire shots in your own time at the direction of the range officer followed by 5 shots in one minute.
This stage of the competition uses the same 10” diameter targets as the 500 yard stage. The 10” disks that looked small at 500 yards look tiny at 600m. Although not the longest shots for the day this stage is definitely one of the most difficult – made so by the small targets and the uncomfortable shooting positions.
My range finder confirms the target distance at 595m from my position. My drop data tells me I need to dial 3.8MIL for a 600m zero and at that distance a 0.1MIL click will shift my zero about 10m. I take out 0.1MIL of elevation (1 click), both to accommodate for the slightly shorter target distance but more importantly the slight downhill angle of the shot.
The wind direction is starting to change by the time we begin shooting the 600m event. The wind is starting to build as well and I can feel it much more distinctly over my right shoulder. Given that it is mostly behind the projectile path I would normally dial 0.2MIL right for this wind but because I know there is a slight left to right drift closer to the target I decide to dial only 0.1MIL right.
Again the first shot at this distance is worth 50 points. No-one in my squad has hit their first shot when I am called on to fire mine. That same wind is coming over my right shoulder and there is still a drift
from left to right at the target. I decide to stay with my 0.1MIL right estimation. I squeeze the trigger on my rifle and am very lucky to hit the target on its extreme right hand edge. The elevation of my shot is perfect and if it had not had been coupled with my error in estimating the wind that shot would have missed. I had made a very simple mistake – I had not trusted my drop data when it estimated that I dial 0.1MIL left for spin drift.
Hitting my second 50 point shot reduces the pressure I am putting on myself. My second shot at this distance hit a little high but only just right of the centre of the target. My third shot is a miss at 2 o’clock (high and slightly right). I think I have slipped downhill a little and this has produced an inconsistency in my position. I reset my check weld and made sure I am not pushing sideways on the rifle. Taking care with my fourth shot I am dismayed to watch it also miss at 2 o’clock. I am not sure why it is shooting high now but I can’t argue with results. I drop my elevation by 2 clicks (0.2MIL) and reset myself for my fifth shot. I focus on my position again and continue to watch the wind. Making sure I relax my right arm, that I control my breathing and that my trigger finger is not contacting the stock. I am determined not to miss this shot and manage to redeem myself with a good central hit. I am disappointed with two misses but accept that they were relatively low scoring shots. With confidence restored in my elevation I set myself up for the rapid event.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psmhbs5ldu.jpg
The targets do not face us directly at this location – this is a problem. When hit, the targets still swings back and forth but because of the angle, that swing has a side to side component from our perspective as well. After hitting my first shot I anticipate this movement and overestimate the time it will take my projectile to arrive at the target. I fire my second shot too soon in the targets swing and miss it at 9 o’clock. My first shot also hit slightly right of the target centre so I am holding just slightly left. I hit the remainder of the rapid shots and come away from the 600m event with a good score.
The 900 yard stage is next. This event has always been a challenge for me and in two previous years of competition I am yet to do well at this stage. My squad walks down the slope from the 600m event and heads back to the range control hut. We pick up some lunch and take a break before heading up the other slope to the 900 yard stage. Squads 1 and 3 are still shooting up there and so we have some time to take a short break.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...pslddyjyqg.jpg
My squad makes the slow trudge up the hill to the 900 yard stage. The targets from up here are a white 1m by 1m square steel target with an orange 300mm disk hung in front of them. These are the longer distance targets and we will use them at the next stage as well. The scoring on these targets is not as harsh as the closer targets. Each hit on the 1m by 1m square is worth 10 points. Hits on the orange disk are also worth 10 points and are primarily used as a tie breaker.
The 900 yard stage is shot from the top of a ridge. The targets are just below the top of the opposite ridge line. This means there is only dead ground between the position and the targets. There are basically no good wind indicators at this position. When I arrive at the position the other squads have just finished shooting. Not surprisingly my questions about how well they did are met with vague answers. One of the competitors mentioned there was a lot more wind out there than they anticipated.
As soon as the other squads start to leave and I can start setting up my position I bring out my kestrel to start measuring the wind speed. The gulley we have been shooting up so far turns to the right past the 500 yard targets and what was a slight left to right drift when we were shooting before is now a significant left to right wind acting along most of the bullet path.
I range the targets several times from my position to confirm the 852m distance. My drop data confirms that I need to dial 6.8MIL of elevation onto my scope for an 850m zero. I then take out 1 click (0.1MIL) of elevation to account for the atmospheric conditions (temperature & barometric pressure). My kestrel tells me the wind velocity is averaging about 3.5m/s. At this distance and with the wind coming in from my 9 o’clock that equates to 1.4MIL of wind drift with 0.2MIL of spin drift on top of that. Watching the trees on the slope in front of the targets I do not see much wind blowing through them. I decide to dial 1.2MIL left onto my scope.
The range officer calls the first shooter of our squad to fire his first round, he does and I do not see the impact through my scope. Chris fires next and I see his bullet strike at the base of the target to the right of his. I call out the impact for him and hope it helps him out. Jo fires next and her elevation is bang on. She has underestimated the wind though and her bullet strikes Richards target, to the right of hers. Richard is next and he underestimates the wind as well and it blows his shot onto my target.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps8eqp16sw.jpg
I am next and my confidence in my wind call is not high. I hold a little left of the centre of my target and squeeze off my first shot. It is a miss and strikes good for elevation but 1MIL right of where I was aiming. I dial another 1MIL onto the windage and wait for my next shot. I hedge my bets on the wind call now and even with the extra wind dialled in I hold towards the left hand edge of my target. I squeeze off the shot and am surprised when I see the impact almost in exactly the same spot as my first shot. How could I dial in 1MIL of additional windage and have it still strike 1.7MIL right? How did I miss that big a change in the wind?
I glance at the windage dial on my scope and immediately curse at my own stupidity. I had not dialled an additional 1MIL left wind onto my scope – I had instead dialled 1MIL right. I make sure to dial 1.7MIL left this time and double check it before resetting my position behind the rifle.
My third shot finally hits my target and from then on so do the remainder of my slow and all of my rapid fire shots. The wind proves to be very changeable though and I only manage to strike the orange disk twice. I leave the 900 yard event with a good score even with two misses. Richard hit my target twice and both his hits will count towards my score.
My squad make our way back down the hill to the range control hut. We will be shooting the 1000m stage from the firing line in front of the hut. We get another break at this stage as the other squads are still finishing the 600m event.
The 1000m stage is shot from the same positions as the first 500 yard stage. The wind along the bullet path to the targets is complex now. For the first 400m or so the wind is behind the projectile. There is a strong left to right wind acting on the bullet path after this point all the way to the targets.
My range finder confirms the target distances as 1008m. My drop data tells me I need to dial 9.1MIL for a 1000m zero and at this distance each click shifts my zero 5m. I dial 9.1MIL plus one click and then take out 2 clicks to account for the atmospheric conditions leaving me with 9.0MIL dialled for elevation. I think the wind has dropped a little since we were shooting the 900 yard stage. The flag in the saddle on the left is no longer standing up as much as it was. I dial 0.8MIL left on my windage turret and then add an additional 0.2MIL left to account for spin drift.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...pshxyzxpc2.jpg
The mirage at this distance is becoming more of an issue to deal with. Spotting hits on the steel at this distance will be difficult through the mirage.
The range officer calls on me to fire my first shot. I remind myself that it will take my bullet nearly two seconds to reach the target and i will need to stay on the scope that long to have a chance of seeing the impact. I hold on the centre of my target and squeeze the trigger. As the rifle recoils I am counting in my head: “thousand one, thousand tw…” There! I have hit my target below the orange disk at 6 o’clock. A perfect wind call, just a little low.
I add 0.2MIL to my elevation and wait for my next shot. The remainder of my slow fire shots and all of my rapid fire shots also hit my target. I end up with ten hits including three on the orange disk. As I pack up my gear from the line I realise I have shot a very good score for the day and am going to be tough to beat.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psbseodrjw.jpg
Several people have suggested the scoring for this event is not hard enough and the orange disks at 900 yards and the 1000m stages should be worth more. Harry’s opinion has been that as long as people are not shooting a near possible score the scoring system is fine. After this year’s he may well consider a change.
Competitive target shooting provides a great mental challenge for someone wanting to shoot the very best that they can. This article provides some insight into my own approach to long range precision shooting and I am the first to admit I have a long way to go before I consider myself “proficient”. I enjoy the challenge though and the competitive but on the whole supportive atmosphere and comradely of the competition and the other competitors.
The Hangawera Sniper Shoot has been running for several years now. The event is run in any weather and under any conditions. Harry Hoover, the event organiser, has used a similar target set up and scoring regime for the last few years. This event has a great social atmosphere to it and many competitors attend every year just for this aspect.
The Hangawera Sniper Shoot is also very fortunate to have prizes sponsored for the day as well. These sponsors included True-Flite NZ Ltd, Brent Sandow Knifes & Milspec, Serious Shooters Ltd, Gunworks Ltd, New Zealand Guns & Hunting Magazine and Arthur Cleland Gunsmithing. On behalf of the competitors at this event I would like to thank the sponsors for generously donating prizes they did. I would also like to thanks Harry and Hilary Hoover, along with the team of helpers on the day for putting on another awesome event. I’ll certainly be back there again next year.
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/x...psfo0vzrud.jpg
