When you have an early Spring day approaching 60*F, you’re retired with nothing on your plate to
do and you have plenty of ammunition . . . there is only one thing to do . . .
Range Trip!!! I already had my Ruger
Precision in 22LR on top of the vault in my Jeep Wrangler so there was only one
other thing to do – head for the range.
Let’s talk about the “why” of a range trip for a bit.
An obvious reason is simply enjoyment. The range is typically quiet, not very
crowded, and set away from what little Hussle and Bussel a small town of 5,500
can generate. Second are the 3 “Ms” made
popular by Gunsite – Mindset, Manipulation and Marksmanship.
Mindset – is your head clear as to the purpose of the
practice. In my case simply maintaining
a skillset I use in teaching my Designated Marksman course. It’s imperative that I be able to demonstrate
and meet the expectations I have of the students who come and take the
course. Is my “head in the game”. Second is Manipulation – can I run the gun
without conscious thought from mounting it, finger and hand placement on the
trigger and grip, acquisition of the target, understanding the POA with this
rifle and the ammunition I have in it and trigger press. Can I run the bolt and re-acquire the target
easily. And can I clear any malfunctions pretty much without thought. And the final is Marksmanship. The precision of the shot is defined by the
precision of the rifle and the precision of the ammunition. The shooter has little to do with the
precision of the shot. They do, however,
have everything to do with the accuracy of the shot. If I am consistent in my POA, and if I am
consistent in the manipulation of the gun – then my accuracy will be consistent
as well. My personal goal for a 22LR at
a distance of 50 yards is – FIRST – all the rounds (typically 5-round
engagements) are within a 2-inch target.
And SECOND, I want a 2MOA group size.
Group size is, indeed, a function of ammunition. So, there is a balance between the grade of
ammunition and the price I am willing to pay.
Frankly, it is more important to shoot more and work on Accuracy than it
is to demand a very high level of precision.
I expect to have 90% of my rounds impact within their 2-inch
target. I can accomplish this with a $10
box of ammunition. So that is what I
do. I’m fond of Eley Club. On this particular day I shot 96% - 96% of
all my rounds went where they were supposed to.
Most qualification courses look for an 80% for students and a 90% for
instructors. I shot an average group size of 2.32 MOA for
one box of 50 on target #1 and an average group size of 2.82MOA for the second
box of 50 on target #2. I dropped 2
rounds per sheet. These results are well
within my goals.
A 22LR is an important tool that I recommend for my
Designated Marksman course because it allows you to maintain your 3-Ms –
Mindset, Manipulation and Marksmanship – without breaking the bank. I recommend a minimum 100 rounds per month
with a 22LR as I believe it’s the minimum number of engagements to maintain a
skillset – 1200 rounds per year.
Next would be range trips with your Designated Rifle. I recommend a .308 bolt action with either a
forward mounted Scout Scope or a Low Power Variable Optic – 1-8. Rifles I have outfitted to demonstrate a DM
rifle is a Savage 110 Scout Rifle in .308, a Ruger American in .223 with a
Vortex Crossfire II and finally a LWRC IC A5 in .223 with a Bushnell LPVO.
My expectations do not change at 50 yards – all rounds
within a 2-inch target with a group size of 2MOA. And that is maintained simply because the
average engagement distance for a law enforcement officer with his/her patrol
rifle is just over 50 yards. That said,
pushing out to 100 yards the target increases to 3-inches but the 2MOA average
group size holds. And I am still looking
for a minimum of 90% of my rounds to be within the 3-inch target. To date, the longest shot for a law
enforcement officer that I’ve been able to see documented was 173 yards. The average “long distance” engagement is
around 71 yards. So that is where I
expect officers to spend their time – at the 50- and 100-yard lines. You can also push your 22LR out to 100 yards,
but you’ll need to be pickier with your ammunition selection – I like SK Extreme
Long-distance 22LR – if you can find it.
I do recommend 25 rounds per month on a target sheet with 5ea
3-inch targets. The ammunition needs to
be good quality – I’m fond of PMC X-TAC 62gr.
That meets my requirement. For
duty ammunition I recommend Hornady Critical Defense in .223 73gr. This is the ammunition I recommend you set
your zero with on your duty rifle and that you carry in your rifle and its
magazines. You may need to adjust it a
bit for your target ammunition but make sure you return the rifle to zero when
you finish your practice session. I’d recommend
a box of your duty ammunition every other month to check your zero.
So there ya go. I had
a nice range trip, got some good work done and hopefully explained by thoughts
on my practice sessions. Remember, the 3
“M”s are all on you – Mindset, Manipulation and Marksmanship. They will determine if your engagement is
successful and may well determine if you make it home at the end of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment