2006 Preparing for ITRC in Bozeman, Montana

You might have heard about it... the International Tactical Rifleman's Championship held in Gillette, Wyoming later
this year. Bret Heidkamp and I signed up to shoot this match - as a team. Bret shooting a bolt action rifle for the
500 - 1000 yard targets while I'm taking care of the < 500 yard carbine targets. The only way to go about this match
is to prepare; get your equipment ready and know your drops. We spent 9 days together in Montana doing just that.

Bret Heidkamp engaging 8" targets from 500 to 1050 yards with his GA Precision .260 Ackley Improved rifle at the private 2,000 acre ranch we had at our disposal thanks to Chris Barber. Bret fell in love with the Schmidt & Bender Police Marksman II 5-25x56 with the P4 Mil Dot reticle. It became a must-have scope. Watch a 1050 yard shot go down..

I have to hit targets out to 500 yards with the AR which is not a given task. The best shooting load out of my Armalite M-15A4 cut to 18.5" turned out to be a 69 grain Sierra Match King with Ramshot Tac @ 2850fps.	For our long range drop chart work we had to drive to desolate areas. The pickup bed turned out to be a very convenient shooting platform.
Part of the competition is finding and randing the targets. Here we are, practicing target ranging and developing our setup procedures.	We shot at four different locations. Here at Jerry's 40 acre property close to Bret's house. Jerry helped us tremendously and even removed some tall grass for us... ;-)
2" group @ 600 yards with the .260. Sierra 6.5mm 142grain Match King @ 2850fps powedered by 46.3 grains of Vit N-160.	Yep, there are targets out there, believe it or not. Most of my targets will be between 300 and 450 yards. Here enganging some @ 400.
Part of the drop chart work. Computer calculated drop charts are great, but they are calculations, not reality. It's still necessary to verify each load's drop @ every 50 yards.	The IOR Valdada 6-24x50 35mm scope makes my task a lot more pleasurable. This type of shooting is a blast, team up with someone and get ready for next year! You'll love it.