Kahles tactics in July

This season is very affected by the Covid19 virus and the quarantine associated with it. Our first Long Range competition this year was at the end of July. This competition is part of the European series Kahles Dynamic Long Range Competitions. Unfortunately this year's final of this series has been canceled but the rest of the season should take place - depending on the current situation.

These competitions are a combination of precise prone shooting at paper targets and points and dynamic shooting from different positions on metal targets in a short time.

Due to the situation I used this season to give our weapons to the gunsmith to install new barrels, modifications and the like. So I shot with our school rifle Remington 700 in .223 caliber with very cheap optics Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24x50 FFP which I wanted to test this way (we have been using it for some time and I will write more about it soon). Veronika had a hunting Remington with which she is not familiar and she really had trouble with it.

Precision shooting was at a distance of 300, 362 and 485 meters. Targets are difficult and can even end up with a negative points... As it turned out with .223 - greater distances on a paper are a bit of a problem. Not because of the accuracy but because the hits were simply invisible on the target. Not just with a riflescope but also with spotting scope. Larger calibers and therefore larger holes in the targets could be seen but .223 not. Of course it was also thanks to the mirage (the sun was burning all day).

In these light conditions the lower optical quality of a cheap riflescope is obviously noticeable because it is really difficult to see own hits and the flight of the bullet (better quality glass would certainly help). So my result on paper targets was quite poor...

The tactical part was fired from different positions at different distances at metal targets in a "hit / miss" manner. For example: a target size of a clay pigeon shot from a wooden "hedgehog" (a small tank trap) was from three positions at a distance of 181, 296 and 362 meters.

Shooting from ropes was at targets in 3 sizes at a distance of 362 meters. It was fired from both the upper and lower rope.

The stage with the pipe was always on two targets at distances of 150 and 300 meters. From the pipe, crawl thru and then from the "roof" and from the tire. This stage was about the fastest time possible.

The next stage was from poles of different heights to three differently sized targets at a distance of 396 meters. These poles were very unstable but it was possible to use a tripod. It was already possible to hit using the tripod but I can't imagine to have good hits without it...

The last stage "Butterfly" is the icing on the cake. Unlimited number of shots (someone really needs a lot) a total of 14 targets at distances from 130 to 396 meters. Targets are fired from the nearest to the farthest and then back. Each target needs to be hit in order to continue. The whole stage is on time (limit 5 minutes). Whoever finishes fastest has the most points. The position is kneeling behind a low wall. The targets are located not only at different distances but also to the sides so we have to find them. Some shoot only with a free hand (plus they use the low wall) some of us use a tripod under the stock. The best shooters have time around or even under 2 minutes. So at a rate of about 8 seconds to load, find the target, make a correction and shoot... It is clear that to maintain such a speed we do not dial the corrections but we hold over. And for that a good reticle in a riflescope is necessary especially when the wind blows (and it always blows).

The tactical part I succeeded despite the fear of the wind. After all the .223 is quite sensitive to wind at a distance of over 300 meters. In the end I had the second best result in tactics and overall got to a surprising fifth place. With our school .223 in the wind... I also verified that the Vortex Diamondback Tactical riflescope can be fully relied on in terms of precise clicking, precise reticle and overall reliability. Its optical quality is, of course, proportional to the price and the fact that it is Chinese glass.

Overall I must say that these tactical competitions are very fun, organizationally well managed and the community of shooters in this discipline is very pleasant (although sometimes English is needed because not all are Slovaks or Czechs). And we are really looking forward to the next one!