Elwood Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Just thought I would share ( briefly) my first UK F class Open experience. What a wonderful bunch of guys and girls, everyone willing to help you out, no such thing as a stupid question asked. I travelled up from Sussex on Friday morning, arriving at Diggle mid afternoon. I managed to get a few shots down the range to check zero and I'm glad I did as the elevation was 3/4 to 1 MOA difference to Sussex! first lesson learnt. I woke up early Saturday morning I thought I was still in Sussex as there wasn't a cloud in the sky and brilliant sunshine, bugger I forgot to pack my shorts, in fact I had come equipped for an Antarctic exploration, I am after all ooop north. I was shooting in the 2nd detail and was drawn alongside last year's league champion, I have to say he was extremely helpful and helped me feel at ease. Unfortunately his skill levels didn't rub off on me. With two sighter's and 20 shots to count I managed a disappointing 94 / 8 V bulls. The highest score was 100 / 18 but they did shoot in easier conditions The wind was very light for us and the changes were very hard to notice, but if you didn't read them you were punished, as I found out. Next up was the 600 detail, same V bull as the 500 yard target ( V bull 2 1/2 inches) I managed to get into the groove on this one. I wasn't hitting the V bull often but I was holding the five ring quite well, alas two bad wind calls cost me a few points but I still managed 8th place at this distance in the open class with a score of 88 / 1 Moving on to Sunday, I swore I was not going to check my overall placing at the half way mark, but I couldn't resist, I was pleased to see I was mid table at 14th, which is the personal goal that I set myself. I was shooting in the 2nd detail at 500 yards with 2 sighter's and 15 to count. The wind started off light and increased as the day went on. This was my best discipline of the weekend finishing this detail in 3 rd place with 73/ 6, and I was miffed at the two shots I dropped, but I guess everyone else thought the same. The last discipline was 600 yards, and this is where the wheels fell off. First off I hadn't got my ammo count right, I had used more ammo than perhaps I should have during the blow offs, the detail was 2 sighter's and 20 to count, so 22 rounds needed in total, bugger I only had 21, so only one sighter shot for me which I managed to squeeze in the 4 ring. My first shot to count hit the 5 ring so all was well. From the first 10 shots I had dropped 6 points and as the wind was now increasing significantly I was relatively pleased, then the unexplained happened, shot number 11 landed in the 1 ring !!! I was holding 6 inches to the left of the V bull and my shot hit 2 feet plus to the right of the V bull, I swear there wasn't a wind change strong enough to push a 7 mm 180 VLD of course by that much, even the two guys I was shooting with both muttered expletives under their breaths. I managed to come back with a 4 and several high and low 3's, I now suspected my dirty barrel wasn't helping me ( next time bring your cleaning kit numbnutz) I managed to follow this with some 5's then just when you think it can't get any worse it did, cartridge number 20 would not chamber, so It was automatically another 5 points lost, The last 10 shots of the 20 had lost me 17 points, hardly the stuff of champions. I finished with a very sad 76 / 1 out of a possible 100 /20. I inspected the case that wouldnt chamber and it had a dent in the shoulder, I remembered spilling a box of ready to go 7 WSM cases, this is how I explained the dent, and of course I didn't have any back up ammo. I was disappointed to finish in 19th place over the four disciplines but take heart from the middle half of the shoot. Roll on Blair Athol ! On a foot note, I would like to thank the two friends who called me on Saturday evening offering me advice and encouragement ( you know who you are) and it was nice to meet Laurie H and shake his hand and thank him for his fantastically detailed replies on this forum, we are lucky to have him here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzar15 Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Glad you enjoyed it Ian was your pink t' shirt included with the summer gear??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxing2night Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Hi Ian, I am glad that you enjoyed your few days up at the Diggle,,, The winds are a bit funny up there ???? Good write up matey!!!!! All the best Darrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Thats a very interesting read Ian. Always remember mate, its not where you end up on the league table, but the valuable experience you gained, from shooting at such a bad place for odd wind...as Diggle. Trust me, that lesson, will hold you in good stead, on any other range in the UK. The worst wind of the lot, is the one that comes down the left hand valley[ side of the butt], and straight at you. That one is unreadable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted April 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 The worst wind of the lot, is the one that comes down the left hand valley[ side of the butt], and straight at you. That one is unreadable. That's the wind we had Dave ( or at least I think it was, perhaps laurie could confirm ) coming left to right but it appeared to be quartering towards us, I would have had it as a half value wind, but it was more like a full value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted April 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Glad you enjoyed it Ian was your pink t' shirt included with the summer gear??? You mean this one Gary ? no but I wish I had had the AK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Thats the one Ian. It does appear readable, but you cannot read what effect it has, as it comes down that side valley, and does allsorts of daft things....right in front of the Butts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Ian, and also very glad you came up to say hello. As Dave says, it's all a learning experience - better learning it in sunshine and reasonable temperatures than in the rain or sleet too! The wind wasn't in quite the worst direction (East) but almost (North East). It's not all bad news for visitors to the range such as yourself in that the locals are in the same boat unlike when the wind is in its usual south west direction blowing up the valley and left giving us an advantage. It was hard to read especially on the Saturday when it kept changing but the flags took ages to catch up - shooting a WSM you probably didn't notice that too much, but we humble .308 Win shooters were suffering! See you at Blair - let's hope the weather is good there too. Pack your insect repellent as well as the cleaning kit. The midges can be a b*gg*r if it's not too windy. Now, Blair IS a difficult range, but it's great fun, and the electronic target scoring is fantastic. Laurie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Good write up Ian, shame I was on nights otherwise I would have entered too. dont be down hearted, like others have said the wind is a bastzzzd. See you at Blair, The wind there is tricky too...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967spud Posted April 19, 2010 Report Share Posted April 19, 2010 nice write up ian , with a bit of luck and a tail wind ill be with you next season. now having a 284 shehane built (waiting on plod) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6mmBR Posted April 19, 2010 Report Share Posted April 19, 2010 Great write up Ian, as they say all part of lifes rich tapestry. See you on the weekend for the Dorset shoot. Remember to email John. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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