why the ranges we use?

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Well, it could have been worse, my English Literature teacher thought Shakespeare was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I get a headache just thinking about it.
 
The Brits used 90 yards for smoothbore "marksman" qualification. 300 yards for riflemen when the Napoleonic Wars began.
I looked up Doddridge, and although he talks about marksmanship contests, he doesn't give any set range.

LD
 
25 50 and 100 yards are the standard cartridge ranges now. 25 and 50 yards for normal handguns, although 50 is considered 'max potential range".

Dont forget its easier to shoot a target at 50 yards then it is at 60. even with a scope or a modern gun.

and every premade target you buy has been calibrated for 25, 50 or 100 yards. So if that cute zombie target is for 50 yards, that what you shoot it at.
 
Talk to archery guys, they're usually set up for 10,20,30 yards. Shotgunners want to shoot a full choke into a group at 30 yards. Funny how we get caught up, in these habits. A 22 is often sighted at 25 yards. And a Sharps rifle, needs to be able to hit a target at 500 yards.
 
azmntman said:
pardon my ignorance but what is a "chunk gun"? Better to ask than remain ignorant on the subject the rest of my life!

Really, you don't want to know. :shocked2:
chunk gun shooting can be more addictive than all the other ml types of shooting there are. Stay ignorant, life will be easier. :wink:
Actually, it is an early form of bench rest shooting. It is simulating shooting over a log or rock for accuracy. e.g. a 'chunk' of something.
The guys who do this are fiercely competitive and many turn in targets one might not think possible with an ml rifle at the ranges they shoot. In one sense, it is a great sport that helps preserve what once was in days past. Chunk shooting was a big part of regular ml competitions from the 1930s and for many years after Red Faris, and friends, revitalized ml shooting in the early days of the NMLRA. Why it largely fell out of favor at matches is a puzzlement. But, at Friendship, you still will find the matches on the primitive side of the creek.
 
A chunk gun is one you shoot and then seeing as it's empty you then chuck it at your enemy! :rotf: I also would like to hear just what a chunk gun is? :v

3D archery ranges when I started shooting were anywhere from 10 to 120 yds distance....unmarked distances at that...of course now the 100 yd target was an elephant and the 120 yd was a three herd of bison, life size targets to boot!

Setting up the range for any kind of shoot is simple...set up your targets taking into account safety and then place stakes at random unchecked distances so everyone can shoot including the guy putting out the stakes...you can always leave the target set up and only change the stakes for different shoots! :v
 
Let's not forget the Bevel Bothers chunk gun matches. http://www.hootalrifleshop.org/over_the_log_shoot1.htm

I sure do miss reading their articles in Muzzle Blasts. I know it was hard to write an article every month and keep up with their professional lives as well as the many other things in which they were involved. We can only hope that after they retire, whenever that is, they will return to writing for Muzzle Blasts.
 
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ahhh...I am one then. I always use a rest of some kind (almost). hunting I stay close to a tree as even placing hand against trunk greatly stabilizes the aim. TY for enlightening me
 
Chunk gun matches are one shot per target. The target is a small piece of paper with an X on it. The target is at approximately 60 yards. The object of the match is to "spider" the X and hit the center. Measurement of shots is done with a half ball that allows measurement of distance of the center of the ball from the center of the X. Differences of .05 inches have been the difference between first place and 3rd place.

Betting for quarters on the side with your buddies is a big part of Chunk Gunning. It is better to beat your buddies than win the match over the whole line. Part of the fun is dressing up in old Bib Overalls, a white shirt, tie and a Fedora. Chunk Gunning in the 1920's and 30's is what helped resurrect blackpowder shooting from the dustbin of history.

Chunk gun rules usually require that the gun not be over 16 pounds or there about. Full length shaders are allowed. Sights are open iron, no peep sights are allowed. Spotter targets are used for maximum accuracy. Each shot is taken prone with the gun laying on a "chunk" of wood. Guns may be flintlock or percussion. Calibers range from .40 to .69

A spotter target is usually a brightly colored piece of cardboard that is cut to the shooters personal design. Practice on their spotter will hopefully result in a tight group of holes in the spotter. The holes in the spotter are then placed directly over the X target. That is how the shooters get so accurate. I have seen spotters with 25 shots in them that could be covered by a half dollar.

The biggest match of the year in the US is the Alvin York match in Pall Mall Tennessee. I believe that the match is a 10 shot match with the shortest string measure the winner. 10 shot strings of around 1 inch are not unheard of.
http://www.fentresscouriernews.com...k-memorial-shoot-set-for-saturday-march-23rd/

The only problem I have with chunkgunning is having to get up and down from the shooting position. :wink: Old knees aren't what they used to be.

Many Klatch
 
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Hi, I have been around the chunk and shooting game for a good bit and some of the best 10 shot strings that I have ever heard were just right at 2 1/2 inches. There have been several three shot string shot at friendship that measured under 1 inch, some that have measured under 1/2 inch. There are two classes of chunk gun. Usually a light chunk gun needs to weigh 12 pounds or less. Other than that chunk guns don't have weight or caliber limits. I have range officer the Alvin York for the past 5 years shoot around 10 to 12 matches are private clubs. Every year, and of course do the friendship, thing twice a year where I spend most of my time as a range officer rather than shooting. I read where one of you didn't think too much of getting up and down off the ground anymore. I don't blame you. That's why we came up the table game where were at. The chunk gun. I shoot weighs around 28 pounds. I think my chunk weighs around 12 then of course there is a loading box. The stool what I stand on to load the doggone thing in the spotter. Sometimes I think I need a forklift carry stuff from truck to the range, but it's all a lot of fun. :grin:
 
Rifleman1776 said:
BTW, and FWI, a club I, and Tenngun, used to shoot with would mix up the ranges. Targets were set at the whim of the guy setting up matches for that day.

One of the best rendezvous matches I ever took part in was done this exact way for almost all matches. The event was the 4, 5,or 6th GNAR in PA, The rangemaster set up 10 different size and shaped metal targets at different distances where he felt he wanted them .....for that day. There were no reentries. If you wanted to shoot a lot you had to use the practice range he'd set up. He used the same targets each day but different places and distances out the road through the field. He also had paper and novelty range of additional targets to the right. The targets were set up and the shooters just shot. He and two others assisted in placements and scoring. The only shooters that complained about not knowing the distance were the strickly paper target shooters. The rangemaster said that posting at 25 yards is always 25 yards and he wanted to have a contest for shooters who could shoot. He said that if a shooter shoots at the same distance and reenters enough, he should be able to ace the target. There was about an 80% approval for the competition style. :thumbsup:
 
Often when I shoot I may say to myself I want to set it at say 50 yards but I don't really measure it, I just put it where I think is about right so who knows what the actual yardage is.
 
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