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VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 1:46 pm
by ajvanwyk
Would you like to brush up on skills or learn more about long range shooting? The VRA is running a skills development day on Saturday 3rd November 2018 at Rosedale Rifle Range.
9 am - 5 pm.
Cost:
$20 for VRA members
$40 Non VRA members
BBQ lunch available for $10
Topics to be covered are:Firearm ownership
Firearm care and maintenance
Reloading
Meeting SSR’s when attending an OPM or Queens
Storage requirements
Basic Shooting technique
How to read the wind
Please bring your spotting scope with a stand to compare glass quality in light of detail realised when reading mirage.
For more information please email the Exec Officer on
vra@vra.asn.au.
Following the training, Rosedale Rifle Club will host its 1,000yd training on Sunday morning - 09:00 - 14:00. Should anyone plan on attending both days, powered campsites with hot water showers will be supplied free of charge. Contact club secretary - Albert van Wyk on
albertvw.mobile@gmail.com
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:38 pm
by Brad Y
Hats off to you guys. Not only promoting it as available to new prospective members, but also promoting improvement within your members.
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 7:51 pm
by ajvanwyk
Brad Y wrote:Hats off to you guys. Not only promoting it as available to new prospective members, but also promoting improvement within your members.
Thank you Brad. We're hosting another two sessions across Victoria over the coming months and hope that they will be well attended too. In this first session we have the one and only Mike "Wind Whisperer" Waites presenting the content. It is sure to be a ripper.
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 10:13 pm
by bartman007
Thanks really goes to the VRA for identifying and addressing the need across our membership.
Due to the number of topics to be covered, I have produced a handout that everyone who attends gets. Currently at 10 pages, however additional pages are still to be added.
I adopt a Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S) approach, so you won't see super technical explanations relating to spin drift, just a Rule Of Thumb (RoT) comment that at 1000 yards set your wind on 1 MOA left to account for it. Just as applying grease to a bolt is reducing the galling effect of metal on metal, RoT put grease on your bolt to allow it to glide easily in your action without eroding the locking lugs, etc.
My aim is to demonstrate what I do, which hopefully gives you all a consolidated approach to becoming more accurate and consistent with your own shooting.
There is not one single way of doing things, just as there is not one set of cleaning products on the market, so I'll show you what I do and if it helps refine some of your processes then you have gone away from the day with a win! And with Albert on the BBQ what could be better than that? A second day of shooting with the Rosedale club on the Sunday

Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 11:06 am
by Tim N
I hope it all goes well!
Be interesting to see how it's received by both existing shooters and visitors.
Again- well done to get it off the ground

Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:16 pm
by benculton
ajvanwyk wrote:Brad Y wrote:Hats off to you guys. Not only promoting it as available to new prospective members, but also promoting improvement within your members.
Thank you Brad. We're hosting another two sessions across Victoria over the coming months and hope that they will be well attended too. In this first session we have the one and only Mike "Wind Whisperer" Waites presenting the content. It is sure to be a ripper.
Where and when will next two be held? I'm a newbie when it comes to f class and shooting in general so would love to attend one.
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2018 5:55 am
by ajvanwyk
benculton wrote:ajvanwyk wrote:Brad Y wrote:Hats off to you guys. Not only promoting it as available to new prospective members, but also promoting improvement within your members.
Thank you Brad. We're hosting another two sessions across Victoria over the coming months and hope that they will be well attended too. In this first session we have the one and only Mike "Wind Whisperer" Waites presenting the content. It is sure to be a ripper.
Where and when will next two be held? I'm a newbie when it comes to f class and shooting in general so would love to attend one.
Ben, the next two will be in Bendigo and in Geelong. Dates and times will be communicated via email over the coming weeks. Alternatively, check out our facebook page or website as the dates will also be posted there.
Albert
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:17 pm
by mike H
How did It go?
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:27 pm
by Wal86
Just wondering how the skills and development day went in rosedale?
- attendance numbers
- feedback from shooter etc.
- any juniors?
- can Albert drive a BBQ
Cheers
Alan
Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:48 pm
by ajvanwyk
Hey Alan, Mike & others.
My apologies for not yet having responded with a more detailed review of the VRA - Skills Development Day. I will pull together the information and pictures tonight. Just briefly, I want to thank Mike Waites for delivering a very valuable course to all in attendance.
More from me in a few hours.
Albert
PS: Albert drives BBQ good.....

Re: VRA - Skills and Development Day
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 3:30 pm
by ajvanwyk
The first of three VRA - Skills and Development workshops were held on the 3rd of November at the Rosedale Rifle Club rooms, and facilitated by Australian F-Open wind coach, Mike Waites. A broad range of topics was covered in wonderful detail and included firearm safety, rifle cleaning, match preparation, reloading, wind reading and many others. Mike managed to capture the attention of all with a great blend of theory and practical examples. One of the highlights was hearing Mike call wind and mirage values on the mound, while participants were trying to see what he did….. it was truly fantastic.
There is no doubt that this introductory session delivered the right fundamentals on how to do things the proper way. The VRA is already contemplating further extension courses that will delve even deeper into key topics like wind and mirage reading, reloading and match preparation.
Thank you Mike for imparting your decades of knowledge and knowhow and for doing so in a constructive and interesting manner.