Who’s going tomorrow? Will be my 2nd go on the course, last time was with a bare lightweight 300win, this time I will have my 7prc which I have t shot past 100m yet
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Who’s going tomorrow? Will be my 2nd go on the course, last time was with a bare lightweight 300win, this time I will have my 7prc which I have t shot past 100m yet
How was this comp advertised?
I'm pretty well connected to the NI comps but not so much with the SI ones.
Would be interested to hear an after match report.
I went to the first one, had an awesome time but it was a challenge, most targets at 350 m plus, I couldn't even see the wallaby sillouette at 700.
I was under scoped that's for sure.. Don't forget your drop chart like I did for the first part of the course memory is not accurate enough.
Yup, my son and i will be there. Looks like its gonna be bloody windy, will make for some interesting shooting.
We never seem to make it by 8, but close. About 20-25 minutes from Pleasant Point, dont get caught by the speed camera coming through Temuka. Then once you get there its about 15 minutes on a 4WD track out the back to the Hunter Challenge Range. Can get out there in a 2WD on a dry day, but can be a bit exciting on a wet day. Hopefully we're picking up breakfast and a coofee in Pleasant Point about 7.30.
And the award for Understatement Of The Day goes to @gimp! Did those of you camping get a decent sleep or did the wind have another go and sending you into the next valley?!?
Wee match report.
Saturday / Ultimate Hunter course wind reading was anyone's guess, good prizes including a prize rifle for average score from Murph Precision, precision platform and Truflite.
Great seeing people squadded with mixed skill levels then seeing them improve as the day went on.
Elephant in room was the wind, it dished big pieces of humble pie out to be eaten for everyone by being in every imaginable axis (and sometime none)
Ontop of Saturday, there was Sunday King of the Range (ELR comp)
2 categories were run.
under=338LM and under
I.e 7RM, 6.5PRC
Over=338LMAI and over
I.e 33XCs, 375 Chey AI, 50bmg class
Few hits out at 2k for under class and 2.4k for over class. Twitchy 3-5mph wind mostly and some mirage when sun broke through clouds finally.
It's just great to get the long range rig out and ring the 2k gong. (4 sec flight time), it'll be even better to see some of those bigger guns come out and shoot.
Hosts were very hospitable and looked after guests well.
Blocked out time on calendar for next year.
Love that 4 second flight time,thats long in shooting terms.
Yes, often get next round sent as soon a visual confirmation is given. Sound report hasn't even come back by then.
Who won the Hunters Challenge. . . What was their hit rate? Thanks
12 hits out of 20 - tie for 2nd two shooters with 11 hits. Seven shooters had the "average" score of 6 hits - i think there was 52 entries.
Hmmm - that would have been a hard day in the office then. Thanks.
Was an eye opener, I managed to get half, missed a couple easy ones and also hit some I probably shouldn’t have.
This wasn’t crazy long range either, One target out around 700m the vast majority under 400m and maybe 4 under 300m
Would give a lot of people a reality check on long range ethical shooting, highly recommend giving it a go next year
Having shot steel targets at Sparrowhawk during the Open Range Days many times we were well aware of how the wind as going to be the biggest problem to deal with on the day.
There were other factors that made the Hunter Challenge an actual challenge. Having to set up your shooting position within touching distance of the peg often meant dealing with awkward terrain. Using a combination of hunting pack and bipod most spots you could find an acceptable setup. Just like hunting you had to be very aware there might be grass or matagouri some distance from the muzzle that you needed to avoid as sometimes the sight line was okay but the projectile path was marginal.
Spotting shots that missed was exceptionally difficult on a lot of targets as they were surrounded by long grass or scrub. Sometimes there was dead ground before the backstops well. Only the first round counted for competition points but we were allowed to fire a second round if we wished 'so we can feel better about ourselves '!
One decision I made was to use holdoffs for wind with my simple Duplex reticle after working out a best guess on wind speed and direction and getting the offset from Strelok. During the inevitable trip home post-mortem I decided I would have been better dialling the scope for the wind and then aiming at whatever I thought was the centre of the steel gong covering the 'vitals' on the animal shaped and coloured targets. The rest of the animal was rubber matting that gave little idea if where the impact was. Many times our squad members hit the animal but not the gong but were unable to say where. Spotting through hand held binos (or even tested on a pack when we could) was difficult as the wind was so strong. The constant movement made detail much harder to see.
One thing the squad agreed on was that in those conditions we wouldn't be attempting most of the shots we were presented with if they were real animals. Getting closer (much closer in some instances) was the only option to make a good shot that we would be happy with from ethical point of view. But in this instance there were no consequences other than using up ammunition and shattering egos so it was good to see just how hard it could be. Looking forward to the 2025 Hunter Challenge!
I've done two previous Hunter Challenges, they can bring you down to earth pretty quickly if you think you are a real gun....excuse the pun. It's a great day out.
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I've wanted to shoot an event like this for many years (since reading about the Steel Safari in the US in about 2009!!) Even considered setting up my own at one stage - but have never got there til this year.
Good fun, I wasn't overly surprised by the results considering the conditions and past experience. I did about as well as I'd expect, middle of the pack, shooting the .223 with 80s. Some obvious things I can improve on next time. It was certainly an exercise in taking 20 shots you'd never actually take in those conditions.
Would there be any interest in having a Forum Hunter Challenge? Sparrowhawk is available, they have the targets and the facilities.
Great idea!
Definitely keen for another go around - hopefully with slightly less raging wind than last weekend!
PM sent. @Beetroot
If something does get planned would be good to get as much notice as possible for any NI folks to come down.
Thanks all of you that came along it was a great weekend. Jake from Christchurch won’t the ultimate hunter. He was also the first winner of it 4 years ago. If the forum wants to do a day and come up with a date that fits in our Calendar then we can accommodate for it.
There's going to be another Taihape nzda Lr knock out shoot coming up for those that need a bit of time and practice!
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Could be keen on a forum shoot if it works out with my roster
I might even consider being kind of social if it lined up with my roster
UPDATE - Sparrowhawk has been booked for the weekend of 7/8 Sept for a NZHS Hunter Challenge type weekend. There will be a page and entry form on the Sparrowhawk website in about 2 weeks.
The Hunter Challenge/Ultimate Hunter type course is 20 target course with the bulk of the targets between 200-450 metres, a couple a bit further, and a wallaby at about 700.
2 shots allowed per target, first for score, second for redemption but non scoring.
It is a walk through course with realistic shooting positions.
Targets are life sized, with a metallic gong for the kill zone. Only kill shots count.
Limited to 50 shooters to keep it all running smoothly and finish in good time.
The Open Range day on the Sunday is at the long range, targets from about 200 metres all the way out to 1000, possibly more. Possibly some sort of competition going, but this is a good chance for like minded shooters to get together and help each other out and improve all of our skills.
Backcountry hut type accommodation available on the Fri for those that want to be there early, and again on Sat night for those wanting to stay on site and shoot on Sunday. Lots of tent space. Huge BBQ. Sparrowhawk are happy to cater for Sat night if shooters want it, price to be advised.
Advisable to have a 4WD to access the range, or a mate with one. Its about 20 minutes 4Wd out to the range.
There will be a post coming up soon in the "Upcoming Events" section.
I believe the annual average temp at the Easton range is 4 degrees C, it might pay to bring a jersey.