ULTRA LONG RANGE CHALLENGE

[Cliff Austen]

GO THE DISTANCE
NSW Match Rifle Association and Long Range F Class will be hosting the ULTRA LONG RANGE CHALLENGE at Coonabarabran NSW between the 7th to 10th October 2016.
March Rifle - FTR - F Open - over 1000 to 1500 yards.
Save the date. Details will appear on the Match Rifle and NSW Rifle Association web sites.
See you there. Cheers Cliff.

[AlanF]

Unfortunately it clashes with the Lang Lang OPM in Vic, which I don't like to miss .... but this is an emergency .

[John S]

Cliff..what target faces will be employed? I understand match rifle target faces were used at the recent Ungarie event.

[AlanBT]

Do you know if you can use a .300 Win Mag, or are there any calibre/energy restrictions?

I have shot there in the past (Long Range Championships) but suspect the rules may have changed.

Alan

[Cliff Austen]

John. The targets for 1000, 1100 and 1200 will be the Match Rifle targets. The 1500 yard target will be the 700 metre target. They will all have an "X" ring.

Alan. My understanding is that the Coonabarabran range is a classification 7.62 range and as such 300 win mag are not approved.

Should any details change I will post them.

cheers Cliff

[John S]

Thanks Cliff....perhaps like the recent Ungarie event, we could report the results using the NRAA OPM program and deactivate the grading and therefore the ranking facility. Would this be the go?

Cheers

John S

[Cliff Austen]

John, re gradings. Susan W has been in discussion with John Slack. All under control. Cheers Cliff

[bainp]

Do you know if you can use a .300 Win Mag, or are there any calibre/energy restrictions?

I have shot there in the past (Long Range Championships) but suspect the rules may have changed.

Alan

The Coonabarabran Range is approved for calibres up to 8mm, so the 300 Win Mag fits this bill. It is approved for muzzle energy up to 5675 joules, so if you are using a 210g bullet at a velocity less than 2991 fps, or a 215g bullet at velocity less than 2956 fps your 300 Win Mag will satisfy the rules for max calibre and muzzle energy.

Regards - Philip

[bainp]

John. The targets for 1000, 1100 and 1200 will be the Match Rifle targets. The 1500 yard target will be the 700 metre target. They will all have an "X" ring.

Alan. My understanding is that the Coonabarabran range is a classification 7.62 range and as such 300 win mag are not approved.

Should any details change I will post them.

cheers Cliff

A bit of clarification is required here. The 1500 yard target will be the ICFRA 700m target but the V Bull becomes the X ring, the bullseye becomes the v bull or 6 ring and the aiming mark becomes the bullseye. The target face is 2400mm wide x 2100mm high, ie same width as the long range target but 300mm higher than the standard long range target.

See my previous message regarding the use of a 300 Win Mag at Coonabarabran. It will be acceptable to use that calibre providing it does not exceed the quoted maximum energy limit.
Regards - Philip

[RDavies]

Sounds like it should be a great shoot. 4 days of ultra long range shooting with generous ballistics limits makes it worth traveling to.

[Shobby]

Hi Phillp
Just for my interest as i have shot at Coona in the F Class Long Range Nationals. If the Coona range is approved for up to 8mm where have you got the figures of muzzle energy limit of 5675 joules and 210g bullet at 2991 fps etc from.
Thankyou
Shobby

[bainp]

Hi Shobby
The information about max calibre and muzzle energy limit came from Janice Baker (the Secretary of the Coonabarabran club) quoting the range standing orders in an email that was sent to Tom Smith (a Coonabarabran member) which was then forwarded to me. The email was forwarded to me because I had previously enquired about the limits for the range, because others had already enquired if 300 Win Mags were allowed at Coonabarabran.
The information about the velocity allowed, is just a calculation on computer software for different weight bullets in 308 cal where you input the calibre, the speed and the output is the muzzle energy. You alter the input value for the speed until the output is 5675 joules,
An good programme you can use is at https://billstclair.com/energy.html
There are a number of ranges around the Australia that have the higher muzzle energy limit. Lockhart range, my home range, also has the higher limit as well as Stawell in Victoria.
Regards - Philip

[AlanF]

5675 Joules is close to 4186 foot pounds, so more generous than the 3500 of "classification" ranges.

[MaxRange]

The 5675 joule range limit will allow the high BC, 30 cal, 230gr projectiles to be launched at 2860 fps and the higher BC, 7mm, 195gr bullets at 3100 fps.

The heavy 230gr bullets are disadvantaged with the muzzle energy limit, as the slightly higher BC 195gr bullets not only win out in BC, but also in the ability to be launched 240 fps faster.

These range limits really do kill off the 30 cals from the competition by restricting their velocity. Has anyone thought to question this limit with the NSWRA or the Police and have it raised so all calibres available in the open class can compete?

I would like to think that in these Ultra Long Range F-Class and Match Rifle comps that these restrictions would be alleviated so shooters could explore the limits of their calibres accuracy. It would be nice to be able to shoot these comps with the best available bullets and case combination to see just what can be achieved.

Why shoot these comps on ranges that detract from the extreme challenge of long range accuracy, pitting shooters reloading and shooting abilities to the max? The only restrictions that should apply IMHO are those in the SSR's concerning the equipment, calibres, etc that can be used.

Cheers, Max

[AlanF]

... Has anyone thought to question this limit with the NSWRA or the Police and have it raised so all calibres available in the open class can compete?...

There are many shooters frustrated by this, in several States. But in today's anti-gun environment there is a very good chance that having an enquiry into the subject by police will make it even more restrictive. The desires of shooters to have better long range ballistics is a minor consideration in the eyes of police and politicians. Public safety around rifle ranges is the main factor. Better I think that we make the most of what we have.