Your most fun shooting discipline (at Diggle)?

[Itskeith]

Hi everyone,

I have shot Benchrest .22LR for 15 months now and am awaiting my FAC. 

I’m hoping to join Diggle in the next few months and take up both Rimfire and Centrefire Benchrest there. I’ll also likely take up some form of F-class to develop plotting / wind reading  skills. 

So that’s all the serious side of shooting taken care of!

A few weeks ago I had my first shoot of an .357 Underlever and discovered that shooting can also be Fun (a very strange concept for me till now). 

I’m now planning on what (say 6-10) Diggle disciplines to visit on the next few months during probation. 

It looks like there’s at least 20+ listed on the calender including those listed below (and I’m still looking up what half of them involve) and so I'm very interested in what you consider your most FUN discipline?

Cheers.

Keith

 

Benchrest 100 Yds

Benchrest 600 / 1000 yds

Berdan

Billie Dixon 400 & 1000 Yds

Black Powder

CSR / Practical Rifle

Egg shoot

End of Trail

Fly shoot

Lever action / pistol

McQueens

Military

Mini rifle (rimfire)

Moving target

Practical rifle

Practical Shotgun

QSA Tight group

Quigley

Sporting rifle

Tactical

Tactical .22

Target / F Class 300/500/600

Target / F Class 800/900/1000

Team steel challenge

X-Mass shoot

[Roy W]

Civilian Service Rifle, dynamic, multi positional and a true test of marksmanship rather than just equipment.

The Diggle crowd also attend the CSR league matches and Imperial at Bisley.

[Itskeith]

Thanks Roy, 

Sounds like fun. May pop along to check it out also. 

Votes from anyone else appreciated.

[L B Jefferies]

Keith

The Mcqueens is very popular. Shot at 200 yards in the morning and 300 yards in the afternoon. The target pops up for 10 exposures of 3 seconds at random windows in the wall.

Start time is around 9am. You can turn up and watch to get an idea how it works. The Range Officer will be busy running the comp, but will point you towards people who can explain what's going on.

The rifle used is usually anything 223 to 308 (or bigger) with a bipod and scope. Most people magazine feed, but there is time to single feed if you need to.

Tactical shoots use similar rifles, but have a different course of fire each time.

Hope this helps, any other queries just ask

LBJ

 

 

[Itskeith]

Hi LBJ and many thanks. 

Already highlighted this as a fun one and it's good to have it recommended.  Will pop along as one of my probation visits 

[Mattnall]

Shot a lot of PR there years ago and I love shooting CSR at Diggle these days.

Great range and great crowd that always attend. We try to get there at least twice a year, hopefully more.
The wife and I were even made honorary Northern Monkeys, a dubious title but I feel honoured and we wear it with pride.😃

 

[Laurie]

Although there are a large number of disciplines, you can categorise them into a much smaller number of groups. ie:

 

the BR matches. As you know, kit and methods/scoring are different between 100 yards and the two longer distances. The latter also use Shot Marker e-targets for scoring, so a small butts crew. 600 is the winter season / 1,000 summer, but are more or less the same, distance and provision of wind flags aside. Sighters plus four goes per match shot for individual smallest group, 'agg' (more accurately average) of the four groups, also score. 1,000 yard comps see the access road / range gate closed while shooting takes place, so you there for half a day at least.

Traditional prone rifle with marked targets, wind flags, two or three shooters per target taking single shots alternatively and rereading the wind for each shot. There are three sub-classes (TR short for 'Target Rifle' which is 308 Win / rifle supported by a sling / iron match sights); F-Class which is a modern offshoot of TR shot on traditional ringed targets but smaller size  in two divisions 'Open' and the more restricted F/TR; F-Mil for tactical rifles with its own rules on bipods and rear support). All four are included in every F-Class match, but squadded together in separate relays so you'll see them all in one day and will be able to see the differences in kit and talk to competitors. Intrinsically, there is no difference between 300 yard and 1,000 yard matches - competitors / rifles / classes are the same although getting high scores is harder at long distance when the weather's rough / winds 'difficult'. For visiting, 500 and 600 yards comps are best giving easy access to the firing points and viewing and no issues over the entry/exit to the range being closed which applies to 800 to 1,000 yards, shooting taking place over the access road. Targets are scaled for different distances. Shot Marker e-targets are used throughout, so if you want to follow any shooter/shooters when doing your day or days' compulsory viewing, ask how to log into the system on your tablet or smartphone. Since Shot Marker needs a supersonic 'crack', bullets have to be supersonic at all distances which sometimes doesn't apply at 900 and 1,000 for visitors' / casual entrants' rifles and ammo. 400 and 700 yards points are never used, so 300 / 500/ 600 / 800 / 900 / 1,000 yards comps. Avoid national GB F-Class Association national league round weekends for probationary visits.

Military comps for Historic Arms rifles, mainly old Enfields, Mausers, 1903 Springfields, Schmidt-Rubin etc service rifles. Short distance (200/300) include snaps, rapid fire, and offhand matches; 500-800 yards are as per TR with supporting slings allowed but original or copies of military slings only not TR target rifle types. Manually marked targets needing a) time in the butts marking and b) binos or a spotting scope to view the marked target and see shot placement/score.

The various tactical disciplines all using same/similar rifles. The prone position only McQueens (originally a British Army sniper discipline) is different from the others. The remainder are, to risk over-simplification, variations on themes to test skills, speed, physical fitness, reaction speeds, adaptability at different distances / shooting positions / target types / distinguishing valid vs no-shoot targets etc. Watch one or two and if the genre appeals to you then look at all to see which you prefer. Many of course shoot several disciplines / the lot. McQueens is also different in that you can compete with a scoped single-shot rifle, eg F and F/TR. It needs the cartridges lined up ready to hand and slick reloading between target appearances in the wall. Avoid long-distance national league fixtures for some of these disciplines.

short-distance levergun comps on 100 yards A or D Ranges at various distances / shooting positions.

The BPCR (black powder cartridge rifle) comps for mainly single shot repros of 19th century US big bore rifles, mostly in 45-70 or 45-90, but others too. Variations on distances and shooting positions to make life tricky / interesting including the 'Quigley comps' at a painted silhouette inspired by the Tom Selleck movie 'Quigley Down Under', likewise Billie Dixon long-range. (Google Billie Dixon and Adobe Walls shot to see the historical background.) When shot prone, support from cross-sticks is the norm. Even a BR version. Like Military, sees a relatively small number of dedicated followers with specialised expertise (and in this case, a high tolerance of recoil). Manually marked targets so as per Military in this respect.

Rimfire matches such as Mini-Rifle and more recent additions, all of which I know b*gg*r all about. Always shot on 'D'.

Kristof Seaton's Sporting Rifle and Moving Target comps mainly shot on 'D', plus 'B' on occasions. Take place after longer distance matches on 'C' finish and the range is closed letting 'D' open and starting mid-afternoon.

Two once annual special events with catering included - the annual 'Egg Shoot' on the Late Spring Bank holiday Monday, whose final stage is a single shot only at a hen's egg on a string at 500 yards with a cash prize split between all those who break an egg; the Fly Shoot on the August Bank Holiday Monday imported from Australia years ago by Vince Bottomley (aka 'Gun Pimp on this forum), a 500 yards prone comp on a unique target for any scoped centrefire rifle, so you can use a good sporter, BR rifle, F rifle etc. After sighters, three 5-shot groups fired and marked up in the butts between each string. Scores from conventional score rings hits + an addition for average group size. Plus a hit anywhere on the ca. 1-inch size housefly in the target centre earns a  coveted woven fabric 'Fly' badge. IIRC, there is an example on the wall in the range house, but if not Vince or others will get one out to show you. Both are very popular, good social occasions, (sometimes) in good weather and great fun comps with lots of visitors entering each year. (The Egg was replaced this year by a special PSSA 50th Anniversary comp and social do).

 

Probably more that I've forgotten.

 

 

[geek]

I enjoy the sporting rifle competitions, which are either 10/200/300 (B range) or running boar (D range). Also enjoy the 600 yard benchrest.

[Itskeith]

Many thanks everyone and especially to Laurie 👏 for the such a well explained summary. Consider a lot of the blanks now filled in and I have a short list of ones to watch during probation...

... speaking of which - off to start the ball rolling and get my membership application in next weekend and look forward to meeting some of you up there.