“Varmint for Score”

 Match # 5

7-12-`09, Kodiak

Our 5^th Centerfire Match of the season, was held in the middle of a Warm, Dry spell that is unusual even in the summer time, for an Island in Alaska. Summers are the time of year, when we experience the lightest wind patterns, due to storm patterns that lack the deepness or differences of pressure of high pressure systems or “Ridges”

" I WILL BE BACK "

VFS Match # 4

June 28^th. 2009

Kodiak Alaska

            Our 4^th.centerfire rifle match of 2009 was extremely hot day, which produced a lot of “Mirage” or heat waves boiling off the ground. We’ve all seen Mirage ,either on TV as the blurry effect it has looking down a straight road, when it supposed to be hot or close to the ground as a wavy boiling effect, looking towards the horizon. The higher magnification scopes show it the worst, sometimes, as they seem to amplify the waves. This obviously makes it impossible to see your bullet holes on the record target, and leaves you guessing if you are hitting the right place or scoring ring. What really helped was the wind was coming from literally 360 degrees, so each shot may not have been close to the last one. The velocity was 10-15 mph of current, which wreaks havoc on bullet drift, pushing them from the center of the 10 ring into the 8 ring with no effort. An example was for our first relay, the predominant wind was from the left., at about 9:00 o’clock position if the bench was in the center of a clock. For our second relay the wind switched 180 degrees and came mostly from the right at the 3:00 o’clock position. It’s frustrating enough when you can’t see your bullet holes or where you’re hitting the target, but then to have the wind switch, means starting all over adjusting the scope possibly. We’ve learned to save ammo by not practicing or shooting much due to 180 degree turns in the wind when the official time starts. Most of us only shoot enough to foul the barrel, and the wait for a dominant condition. All brands of scopes were victim to the moisture being heated out of the soil, after a long winter of snow lying on the ground. All the shooters were having trouble with the mirage conditions as well as the switchy winds too. The only scopes that suffered the least were those of lower magnification, but those have trouble seeing the bullet holes on good days. With the inability to see, combined with the unpredictable winds, it was a level playing field, with everyone handicapped by the same conditions.

            We had the pleasure of having two new shooters join us for this match, named Rich Waddel, and Ken Cameron. Rich was further handicapped by not having his rifle sighted when he showed up. It was only “Bore Sighted” which means the cross-hairs were only lined up with the rifles bore. It’s a crude method of getting a rifle close enough sighted in, to be hitting a paper target at close range. Rich used a lot of ammunition to try to sight in his rifle and finally had a “DNF” score, which stands for “Did Not Finish”. Rich ran out of enough ammo to complete the 25 record rounds needed to complete the match. It was too bad as everyone was anxious to see how his AR-10, in 308 Winchester, would perform.

 Ken Cameron had fun with his 300Winchester magnum, although he didn’t post a big total he learned a lot about the rifle and what it takes to shoot accurately at 200 yards.

            What I said earlier about a “Level Playing Field” when the conditions are tough held true for this match. In the first relay, for “Hunter class rifles, the scores were close. George Kimball was the only one that shot a Varmint rifle in the first relay, as Rio Berggren was missing in action, with her Remington 40X-BR. They usually shoot against each other in their own class, against each other, in their own relay. In the second relay that’s open for everyone, but usually shot with the Varmint/Benchrest rifles, the scores were even closer. First, and second place were determined by the “X” count or number of Bullseye`s, as they had the same number of points. Third place was only one point behind the point totals for 1^st. & 2^nd. Place. Erik Berggren was extremely consistent in shooting the same point total for both relays.

Good Shooting!!!!!! Michael Kerwood

VFS # 4, Hunter Class Relay, June 28^th. 2009

VFS # 4 Varmint Class 1^st Relay, 6-28-`09

VFS # 4, Varmint Class, 2nd. Relay, June 28^th `09

VFS Match # 3

June 14^th. 2009

Kodiak Alaska

            Our third “Varmint For Score” match of 2009 enjoyed the best conditions yet, with a good turnout to take advantage of the weather. Although there was a high overcast in the sky, it was warm, as temperatures reached into the high 50`s. The afternoon sea breeze stayed pretty consistent at 10-12mph, but by the time we had finished it had laid down to almost calm. There’s still enough ground moisture from winter snows, that the warm days produce mirage or heat waves that are amplified by high magnification scopes. The Mirage can also produce enough distortion that it’s impossible to see your bullet holes on the target. Without the ability to see bullet holes, you’re kind of shooting in the blind, hoping you have enough windage or elevation dialed in on your scope. Many were plagued with the in-ability to see their bullet holes, and had great 5 shot groups just outside the 10 ring. George & Rio shot their personal best scores, with a 247-6X for George, and a 239-1X for Rio, both in the 2^nd relay. George’s score was enough for second place, and this was only his second time using it in competition. Since Rio & George use only “Varmint/Benchrest Rifles they compete only against each other in the 1^st relay. This gives them the opportunity to shoot twice, and George the chance to use both his Benchrest rifles. I shot a “Clean Score” of 250 possible points in the 1^st relay, with my Kodiak, Hunter Class rifle, but had trouble seeing the target with my Varmint/Benchrest Panda rifle in the second relay. A Clean Score of 250 points is rare as it was done only 4 times last year, and twice before in previous years. Perhaps Hindsight is 20/20, and I should have used it also in the second relay. The only negative to range conditions was the first show of biting bugs. Being it was fairly calm by end of the second relay; the wind had died down to almost still, allowing the swarms of them to land on chosen shooters. Rio always wins the award for most bug bites, as she seems to be a mosquito magnet, and has to often wear a “Bug Net” over her head.  Now that the bugs have appeared, we know it’s truly summertime in Alaska.

Good Shooting!!!!!!! Michael Kerwood

Hunter Class Scores, VFS Match # 3, June 14^th. `09

1^st.Relay, Benchrest Rifle Scores, VFS # 3 6-14^th. `09

Varmint/Benchrest Scores, VFS # 3 June 14^th. `09

Varmint for Score,

Match # 2

May 17^th 2009, Kodiak

            Our second centerfire, or VFS match of 2009 went quite well, with a much larger turnout than the 1^st one. Folks were better prepared both equipment wise and mentally, as they had 2 weeks warning after learning of missing the 1^st match of the year. Over the winter, some shooters bought new rifles or modified weapons they already had. George Kimball bought a complete rifle chambered in 30 BR, from Jim Borden, who has been the International Benchrest Society’s president in the past and has an international reputation of Shooter, Builder, and administrator of the main organization that promotes the sport.

Jim Borden’s reputation as a Gunsmith is also known world wide, and this rifle was his personal competition weapon in score matches. That Jim would use this gun for himself, says a lot about the accuracy potential of this rifle. George was also lucky enough to get neck turned brass for the rifle, and a custom die that will minimize the work hardening of the brass when it’s sized each time it’s loaded. George also purchased a Leupold “Competition Series”, 45 power magnification that Jim had mounted on it.  It’s quite a package that George was lucky to find, as all he has to do is load for it, and not start out by having to neck turn brass, fireform it, and try to find dies that are expensive and work the brass more. It’s pictured here on the web page, and George did quite well with it, with a 245-5X total score in it. Now George has two Varmint/Benchrest rifles to compete with, and he used both during our second match of 2009. His other rifle is the 222 Remington caliber rifle, that he and his brother built a few years ago.

Doc Doyle set his Hunter class Kodiak rifle, for the 30 X 47 cartridge; from the 30 BR it was last year. The 30 X 47 round shoots a heavier 30 caliber bullet, and in theory should be less affected by the wind, while still having the larger diameter hole that helps touch a higher scoring ring. Doc hasn’t had the chance to fine tune the seating depth on this new cartridge, as the range was blocked by snow until the week before the season began. Once Doc fine tunes this rifle, with the new barrel on it, his point’s totals should go up, as George’s will too.

            The weather for our second match wasn’t conducive to tuning load changes, due to mirage in some scopes, and changes in the wind, as we witnessed 360 degrees of wind direction, from the first relay, to the end of the second. It was warm enough to bake the whole winter’s worth of precipitation out of the ground, creating an out of focus look on the target, along with the in ability to see the bullet hits on your target. Then the rising moist air created a vacuum which brought the wind from the ocean, making for a Sea Breeze, and another change in wind direction.

The Nightforce scopes seemed to have the least trouble with mirage, as did most of the 36 power scopes, like the Weavers, and Sightrons. I noticed that George’s, and my Leupold 45 power, Competition Series scopes experienced the most trouble. This forced me to use my Kodiak Hunter class rifle in the second relay, instead of my Heavy Varmint Panda. However the Nightforce scope on my Kodiak allowed seeing better, while giving a small handicap, of not shooting almost “Free Recoil” style with the Panda. I’m seeing a trend of more shooters investing, and shooting two types of rifles.

George now has two rifles to shoot, although both are the same class, Dave Salzer, Doc Doyle, and myself are usually switching out rifles, for the second relay. The winds for our second relay were more predictable, and consistent. As dusk approached the ground cooled down, and the boiling mirage wasn’t as bad, I could actually see my bullet holes on the target.

Good Shooting!!!!!!!!!!!! Michael Kerwood

VFS # 2 Hunter Class Rifle Scores, 5-17-09, Kodiak

Varmint Class 1^st.Relay VFS # 2 5-17-09 Kodiak

Varmint Class 2^nd.Relay VFS # 2 5-17-09 Kodiak

Varmint for Score Match # 1

May 3^rd 2009 Kodiak

            Despite one of the worst winters in Kodiak’s history, several days of warm weather melted of deep drifts allowing access to Salonie Creek Range. The long winter had most folks convinced that Benchrest season couldn’t be happening so soon, and many regulars were caught without loaded ammo or thoughts of shooting in their Sunday plans. Doc Doyle was prepared to go but his truck decided that it wouldn’t start despite much work on the electrical system by Doc, and he had to forfeit, before he left the house. At least he’s ready for the next match in 2 weeks. The temperature was posted as being 61 degrees at the high school as I went by on the way to the range, but it didn’t take into account the brisk breezes felt around the city on the drive out of town. Although the turnout was small, it felt good to at least have a warm opening day for the beginning of Benchrest season. The warm weather had an effect on the sea breezes, as the temps rose, and increased the currents coming in from the ocean. The trickiest winds were from the 3:00 o’clock position, and a direct sea breeze. Before official firing began we thought we had the right windage dialed in on our scopes, yet once the whistle blew, to start official time, the wind picked up at least 10 mph, and negating any correction we had from just a few minutes before. None of us fired for the first several minutes of the Varmint class relay, as we knew we had the wrong windage dialed in on our scopes. Waiting for the earlier predominant condition to return, appeared to be fruitless, as the wind wouldn’t lay down to it’s earlier velocity. Finally we all went back to the sighter targets; to get the correct windage, and then the wind became gustier, as it varied from 10-23 mph. Although I didn’t have any vertical on any of my five record targets, the vertical cost me a few points, as the wind picked up and laid down while shooting. Just because the wind came from a predominant direction, didn’t make it less challenging, as the velocity wouldn’t remain the same long.  Of the 2 classes of rifles we shot Sunday, the most difficult conditions were during the Varmint/Open Class. The testimony to this was the worst score Mike Haskins has ever posted in Competition, of 244-2X. Although the weather felt like summer, the winds were more like winter with high velocities, and gusts.

            The winds switched to a head wind at slightly lower pace, and consistent speed, for our “Hunter Class” relay. Due to the small turnout we discussed having 2 relays of Varmint Class, to entice Haskins to shoot twice, however Haskins extra ammo brought to the range was loaded over a year ago, and he didn’t trust the neck tension or accuracy of the cartridges. Instead Haskin just plinked away at some printed out practice rings in effort to knock the rust off his wind reading skills. Although it’s been 2 years since Haskins has shot competition, it wasn’t readily apparent to me that Haskin had lost his years of skill

Good Shooting!!!!! Michael Kerwood

VFS Match # 1 May 3^rd, 2009, Kodiak Alaska Scores

Hunter Class Relay VFS # 1, May 3^rd `09      

Varmint Class Relay VFS # 1 May 3^rd. `09