Lonbbarrel62 said:
If I may ask: How is this match shot? At what distances? How many rounds?
THANKS!
A Jed said, it's shot prone with the barrel resting on a chunk of wood at 60 yds. Some serious shooters have made adjustable wooden rests (I'm going to make one myself), which are real handy when the ground is uneven on the shooting line. Some have bubble levels built into them and can be staked to the ground.
The targets are different from any other. Each shooter takes his own target frame out to the 6o yd. line and sets it up. Some ranges have a target frame already there, but most don't. About all the shooters I've seen staple or nail a square of cardboard to this frame (usually between 16" and 20" square). They then staple or pin a sighter target to this. The sighter can be any shape or color and there is a very interesting variety seen at the shoots. What is important is that you design a sighter that you can see well and that works well with your sights. Before the actual match, well, this part is really part of the match, we have a "practice" round which lasts for between 20 and 30 minutes. During this time you try to print a group somewhere on the target, hopefully smaller than a quarter. It doesn't matter where the group is, but you don't want it where it can damage your aiming point. Most shooters' groups are low or to one side or the other. I've seen some hit high.
When the first relay is called, you pin the score target
behind the sighter, lining up the X in the center of your group. You then aim at the same spot that you did during the practice round and hope that the ball hits the X. The key is to do everything the same all the time. Don't change your load, lie down the same way, hold your rifle the same, watch your breathing &c. You do this ten times. Even if you shank one, keep putting the X in the same spot. About all of us have found ourselves shooting a different group during a match for some reason or another. When this happens, you're tempted to move the X into that new group. This is called "Chasing the X". Usually when you do this, the next shot will go precisely where you originally had the X. That's why we tell each other not to do it. Occasionally, it pays off, but that's rare. At least it is for me. I might adjust a quarter of an inch once in a while and get by with it. This is precision shooting.(At least as far as round ball shooting goes). You have to be able to read the wind and any light changes, as they will definitely affect you. The POI is measured in thousandths of an inch, and believe me, .001" can determine if you take home any meat or money. And I forgot to mention, adjustable sights are not allowed. It can be nerve wracking at times, but I've had a lot of fun doing this. It's helped me to be a better shooter (I'm still pretty mediocre but improving) and I've met a lot of great people.
About any traditional round ball rifle can be and is used. Common longrifles, Plains style, custom chunk guns, barrels from 30 inches to 60 inches long. Flint, regular percussion, underhammers and mule ears.
Check your local area clubs and see if there are any chunk shooters around. If you can, go to the York shoot. It's only once a year, but it's pretty much the Super Bowl of chunk shoots and you'll see a great variety of guns, targets, loading equipment and shooters.
