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It was a great day in Hakaland today, weather was "picture" perfect for rifle shooting. Calm winds, cool-mild temps, and the sun was lighting up the targets nicely. I was able to, for the first time, try out my new "Micro Sight" during competition. I can't say enough about the device, it just plain works for me. I am just learning the sport of service rifle shooting, and am probably one of the lower scorers in my league, but I shot my highest score so far, and it's the first day of service rifle this year. My average from last year was probably around 380ish, and my biggest bane was not being able to see the target clearly. In fact, I usually had seen 2 or 3 blurred targets, faintly. That was until now, now that I have the micro sight installed, I see a "distinct" front sight bar, and distinct black target dot. As seen from the score sheet below, the 436 is 56 points higher (give or take a point or two) then my last years average. I can actually focus on a clear sight picture. It feels great to actually shoot well. Off hand is my troubles now. A 436 is a decent score with the poor 72 on my off hand. Throughout the shoot, I find many areas for improvement as well. I was able to call my shots on the flyers shown on the target included. My goal this year is to break 450, and I think it is well within my reach. My high score last year was 403 , and I have already blown that out of the water.
The target included below is the "simulated" 600 yard target, shot at 200 yards, in the "Prone" slow fire configuration.



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A look at our 200 yard rifle range. I was shooting #2 target position today.

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Haka

Nice shooting Haka, only 2 not in the black, did any miss the board completely?
Tell this old man the truth Haka.

Hakaman doesn't lie, here's the original. I just put the green dots in there so the "older folk" can see the holes.
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Sound like you had Great day at the range. Seeing the target is probably the most important part of shooting. You have to see it before you can shoot it.

From that target you goal should be doable. Keep up the good work.

As far as shooting weak side, it just takes practice. Get use to just pulling the gun up so it feels natural. I find my trigger control is actually better on my weak side. It has yet to learn the bad habits of my strong side.

I guess if I tell you my good scores, I'll tell you the bad. The lighting condition was poor (overcast),
and the it was in the later parts of the evening, but ole hakaman only got a 395 last night. I don't want to
include any photos, it's too embarrassing . The thing is, that I know if the lighting was decent, I can keep
my scores higher. It's hard to hit what you can not see.
haka

Light, or lack thereof can make a huge difference in your scores. Diminishing scores typically follow diminishing light conditions.

R,
Bullseye

I agree with you. The better score, earlier in this thread, was attained in the morning hours where the sun
lit up the target consistently well. The bad score was shot during cloudy, dim evening hours. What a difference.
Thanks, Haka

When the light goes down to the point that you cannot get a good placement for your front sight post under the aiming black you can switch and use the bottom of the target frame. If you have to switch you must add approx 6 minutes to your rear sight elevation for the new lower aiming point. Then you just have to be extra careful to keep the frame centered on top of your front sight post.

R,
Bullseye

Haka,
Thanks for sharing.. well done!. When the rifle bug bites again.. I will definitely check out micro sights to help my old eyes, too.

Here is a picture of my score sheet, and it is evident how the lighting
affects my accuracy. Event was shot top to bottom.
haka

You did well Hak. what cased the 5's??????

You did well Hak. what cased the 5's??????

Bad lighting on the target (late evening), and old eyes.
Haka

The 200 yard reduced targets do not have much give to them, especially in low light conditions. I consider the slow prone reduced target one of the most challenging targets to shoot in competition. Give me a 600 yard KD range over those reduced targets anytime.

R,
Bullseye

I have been taught, or under the impression, that a high power shooter shoots at the 6:00 portion of the target to use the contrast between the black and the white. Just the other day an experienced shooter told me to shoot the 6:00 position when there is good lighting, and aim/adjust for the center of the black when there is poor lighting. Could someone please help me out on this issue.
Thanks, Haka

That depends on the individual shooter and the ambient light conditions. If the conditions are such that you cannot get a reliable aiming point on the target due to light then you will likely have a similar experience with aiming in the center of the black ball. Generally this results in plenty of up and down movement in your hits. To move to a center hold you would need to reduce your elevation by 3 minutes from your six o'clock settings. Or as I mentioned earlier, you can use a frame hold which is likely to give you more of a contrasting image for aiming in low light conditions.

R,
Bullseye