Catherine Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Pictures from the Eastern Mass Rifle League (EMRL) matches are out. We had perfect weather this year; no snow, no torrential rains, no freezing cold, no high heat/humidity, no scads of blackflies or mosquitos. A little cool at times, a little grey at times. Go here: http://www.readinghighpower.com/ and look for "Eastern Mass 2013 Photo Flip Book." You'll know me by the purple and teal jacket, short stature, and purple rifle. A word on the targets, which can be seen from a number of the pictures. They look, in the pictures, like they are tiny. Tinier still are the little black dots in the center which are the 9, 10, and X-rings. In real life, they are 3 feet side by 4 feet high, and the black bulls-eye is a full foot across. They look like pindots in your sights... Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 How far are the targets from where you shoot? What caliber gun is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Pictures from the Eastern Mass Rifle League (EMRL) matches are out. We had perfect weather this year; no snow, no torrential rains, no freezing cold, no high heat/humidity, no scads of blackflies or mosquitos. A little cool at times, a little grey at times. Go here: http://www.readinghighpower.com/ and look for "Eastern Mass 2013 Photo Flip Book." You'll know me by the purple and teal jacket, short stature, and purple rifle. A word on the targets, which can be seen from a number of the pictures. They look, in the pictures, like they are tiny. Tinier still are the little black dots in the center which are the 9, 10, and X-rings. In real life, they are 3 feet side by 4 feet high, and the black bulls-eye is a full foot across. They look like pindots in your sights... Catherine Note to self... Never make Catherine mad at you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Those targets look very very far away! And, I like your colors; you brighten up the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 How far are the targets from where you shoot? What caliber gun is that? Oops; forgot to include that. 200 yards. Caliber depends on the shooter; most folks these days use .223 (just a bit larger than .22, but more powder to have a steady trajectory in the longer distances); some still use .308. A couple of folks have very old Springfields of I-don't-know-what caliber but they have quite the "boom!" and muzzle flash! Many of the rifles you folks see in the pictures are the oh-so-scary "assault" rifles. "Assault" is NOT a rifle type; it refers only to cosmetic details such as type of grip and whether or not there is a place to affix a bayonet. Both my girls spent several years as "pit crew" -- the folks who pull and score the targets. After each shot, they pull the target down, find the new hole, put in a spotter, put a "paster" (sticky paper spot) over the old hole, and put an orange scoring disk in the right spot to tell if the shot was an X, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, or 4. 2 1/2 hours of non-stop work but they got good money for it and liked the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Note to self... Never make Catherine mad at you!! Nah; if I get mad I will use my drill sergeant voice and deafen you! No way I'd risk my license just 'cuz I'm mad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Those targets look very very far away! And, I like your colors; you brighten up the group. There are two firing lines _behind_ this one (not in use, of course!) -- at 300 and 600 yards. From _those_ distances, you don't stand up! Prone only. There used to be a 1,000 yard range in Woburn MA but it got taken decades ago by the state as Rt 128 (the inner ring road around Boston) goes right through where it used to be. I hear there is one in NH somewhere, one in NY somewhere, and we know some folks trying to get another one built in NH. That might be fun to try someday. I haven't shot at those distances before; you need to learn to read the wind at the longer distances. There are wind flags in several places at the Reading club where the EMRL matches are held. The bright jacket was a birthday gift from my husband a few years ago. I figure if I can't out-shoot them all, at least I can out-class them with my sartorial elegance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Glad y'all liked the pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Is it true that there is a shortage of ammo all over US? I heard Dick's and other sporting goods are rationing how many boxes you can buy? Is there somebody making sure no one has a gun pointed when your daughters are changing targets. I would be scared! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 I would love to see the pictures, but I don't click on links from unknown sources, even if you are promoting them. Post one of them on the thread so I can see what the hell you all are talking about. Tom Hollister, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklcpa Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 I tried to look at the pictures, but it looked like I had to download a file of them to view. Did I do something wrong? I'm with Tom, how about posting one of the better ones here for us to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Is it true that there is a shortage of ammo all over US? I heard Dick's and other sporting goods are rationing how many boxes you can buy? Is there somebody making sure no one has a gun pointed when your daughters are changing targets. I would be scared! The ammo companies say they are running full capacity -- but yes, there is trouble getting ammo and shops are limiting what each person can buy so that they don't sell out a case to the first person who walks through the door. The MIT college team supplier had to search high and low and long and hard to be able to buy enough for next year's collegiate practice and match season! The pit crew spends the whole match in the pit and are completely safe. It's a concrete bunker. The targets are mounted on frames that extend way above the bunker. They wear ear protection, so they stand facing the backstop area (big dirt berm behind the targets) to see what's going on. When they see a "poof" of dirt behind their target, they pull down on the frame, taking the whole target down. Spotter, paster, score marker.... and back up it goes, 'til the next "poof" hits. Each shooter has 22 shots (2 sighters, 10 "record" shots), fired in pairs (right, left, right, left). A team is six people -- doing the math, that is 22 x 6 = 132 holes per target for the full match. The only "injury" I ever heard of happened to my older girl; it was raining that day, she lost her grip on the frame, and whammed her hand against the lower part of the frame. Not even a bruise but she had a few very colorful words at the time. We've all whacked our hands against car doors, kitchen counters, etc., just as hard. But yeah, they stand for 2 1/2 hours in a concrete bunker with bullets whizzing by far overhead, perfectly safely. They have plenty of room and there's even a porta-potty stationed down there (you might have time, if you're quick, between pairs of shooters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 I tried to look at the pictures, but it looked like I had to download a file of them to view. Did I do something wrong? I'm with Tom, how about posting one of the better ones here for us to see. Judy (and Bulldog Tom, too) -- If I can figure a way to extract individual pictures, I will post a couple. The folks who run that web site only have this download-it-all slideshow, unfortunately. It is safe, but they don't have the certificate set up right so there is a warning message "are you SURE?!?!" from your computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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