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Long range ML shooting

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fleener

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The United States International Muzzle Loading Team (USIMLT) is looking for a few good men and women to join our teams.

There are two different teams within the USIMLT. The short range team and the long range team.

This note will focus on the long range team.

The World Matches are held every 2 years. This year it will be held in October in Adelaide Australia. The check in and rifle inspection is on a Sunday, shooting starts on Monday morning and continues throughout the week ending on Saturday night with an awards banquet.

There are usually around 12 countries from around the World represented at these matches. Each country is limited to the number of shooters that they can bring.

There are specifications for the rifles. Most are shooting .45 cal conical bullet. Paper patch or grease groove. Peep sights are used.

The coarse of fire is at 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards, or meters, depending on where in the World the match is held.

Everyone competes as an individual, then after the individual matches are held, team matches are shot.

The coarse of fire for the short range portion is 10 shots for score at 300, 500 and 600 yards. The short range is shot prone, without any body support other than a sling. Practice sessions are intermixed between the actual shoot for score. The long range portion at 900 and 1,000 yards is shot with a wrist rest and a sling if you like.

Once the shooter hits paper there is no coaching or help allowed. If you get on paper, then for some reason are missing the target high, low, left or right you are on your own and have to figure it out yourself.

You are squaded for the week with 3 other shooters from different countries. This makes it hard to cheat for scoring. The firing is done with 2 shooters at a time, one person in the pit pulling and scoring the target, one person scoring and spotting for the shooters, and you rotate between shooting, pit and scoring. You pair fire with the same person all week.

The targets are a British V bulls. With the highest score per shot being a 5, and when a bulls-eye is scored it is recorded as a V, not an X.

After the 300, 500 and 600 yard targets are shot, each country picks 4 shooters to represent their country for the team shoot at these same targets. These four shooters are typically the 4 that scored the highest during the individual matches.

Next comes the long range portion at 900 and 1,000 yards. 15 shots are fired at each of these targets, with practice session worked in between the matches. After everyone shoots as an individual at the long range, each country again picks their 4 best shooters to shoot as a team at the long range targets for their country for team honors.

I have only shot at the matches in 2009 and 2015 when the matches were held in the United States. I am planning on going to AU for the matches this fall.

Shooting the matches the first year was a bit intimidating, In 2009 I had never shot at 1,000 yards in my life had some work to do. In 2015 I had a better handle on what to expect and also had 6 more years of experience shooting long range.

The matches are also very much about meeting new people and getting connceted with people that you become friends with at prior years matches.

In 2015 the motel I stayed in I was right next the the AU team and got to know them quite well. They were a great bunch of people and we took to each other quite readily. One night after the matches I introduced them to root beer, then of coarse once I learned that they had not ever had root beer before, the next night I bought ice cream and we had to have root beer floats.

If you have an interest in shooting long range the first match of the year is at Oakridge TN the 24th and 25th of March. The coarse of fire will be 200, 300, 600 and 1,000 yards.

The Long Range International team will have a shoot June 12,13 and 14th at Camp Butner, NC. All are welcome to come to this match.

We would welcome new shooters.

thanks for looking

The following pictures are from the 2015 World Long Range match.

For more information on the teams you can also go to the web site. http://www.usimlt.com/index.html


Fleener



 
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