Monday, February 04, 2008
Whittington II
First day up there was high-power rifle. My father, brother, and me were all shooting .308 rifles. At the time, I was waiting for some work to be completed on my .308, so I used my father's .308 Remington Classic with a Nikon scope.
We scoped the 1,000 yard line to begin with and then started at a more modest distance and worked our way back. Whittington is actually an old coal mine, so all of the berms are made of shitty, reject coal shards. That's why the ground looks weird. I would also recommend that you take a mat, as they are a bit uncomfortable to lie on.
My brother trying to look like Muhjadeen again.
The facility was top notch. Target stands were in good shape, the pulleys were completely functioning, and they even had tape to paste your targets up.
End of the day was picking up steel. After that, we cooked some steaks and drank some beer and bullshitted on the porch. Everybody was out by 10:00 at the latest.
The Old Man was shooting his replica M40 with a sweet Leupold Mil-Dot on the top.
My brother was shooting a Remington 700 with a composite stock and a sweet Leupold, as well. The barrel isn't that heavy...yet.
We scoped the 1,000 yard line to begin with and then started at a more modest distance and worked our way back. Whittington is actually an old coal mine, so all of the berms are made of shitty, reject coal shards. That's why the ground looks weird. I would also recommend that you take a mat, as they are a bit uncomfortable to lie on.
This was the view from the 1,000 yard line. 100 stations and 100 target stands. 4 guys had it all to ourselves for the whole day. It cost $45.
This is my brother and I at a distance I don't remember. I'm the asshole on the left and he's the guy with a sweatshirt over his head. I have since bought him a Tubbs hat that I originally saw modeled up at Boomershoot.
The boy shot that way all day; and he didn't do bad. Better than me and the Old Man.
My brother trying to look like Muhjadeen again.
The facility was top notch. Target stands were in good shape, the pulleys were completely functioning, and they even had tape to paste your targets up.I cannot recommend this facility enough. The staff were helpful and concerned. They weren't range-rule frenzied and only came by to make sure everything was working and your day was going as planned.
End of the day was picking up steel. After that, we cooked some steaks and drank some beer and bullshitted on the porch. Everybody was out by 10:00 at the latest.All in all, it was a good day. The instructor didn't really know what we wanted to learn, probably because we never told him. He was a bit of a glorified spotter.
We worked our way back from 300 yards to 1,000. At the point we were at 1,000, my brother banged steel twice and I banged it once, with the Old Man's rifle. The loaner I was using (with the Nikon glass [which is fine under 700 yards]) ran out of MOA somewhere between 700 and 800.
The Old Man was knackered and didn't hit on shit. There's this year, so I'm not worried about. And this time we're not starting at 300.
Anyway, that was the first day of three. More to follow. Video, if I can figure that shit out.
Whittington I
I can't actually post the whole thing. So here is the beginning.
We signed up for a 2-day course and a fuck-around day at the long range.
This post is about the lodging ($24 a day, per head.)
The shower was better than the one in my house. There was a fridge, stove/range, coffee maker, and the beds were immaculate (although I rolled off once because of a dream or...well, something.)
The first day we shot at the the 1,000 yard high-power range.
This was our view of the range off of the back porch of the cabin. It was a 90 second drive to get there and the instructor said it was better than Fort Perry.
It is a 100 station range, measured to a 1,000 yards, and we had four guys on it. Pretty fucking cool.
Evenings, we would grill some shit and hang out on the patio. One night we screwed around with a long range training program on a laptop.
As I smoke, and that is verboten in the cabins (especially with weirdo Barrett people around ((more on those fuckers later)) I spent a lot of time on the porch. The stars were beautiful and I like the fact that no one could fuck with me.
Evenings you'd see all kinds of game wandering past. I think the second night, we saw a wounded antelope going by at 60 mph. All bets were the poor fucker wasn't making it through the night.
Whatever your interests are, I think Whittington can accomodate you. It's a good fucking time. The best vacation I have ever taken.
Rest of the report to follow.
