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Welcome to the new Nightforce newsletter! We are excited to deliver our first full issue.
September was a very exciting month in the competitive shooting community. The 2nd annual NRA World Shooting Championship was held at the Peacemaker National Training Center in Glengary, West Virginia. This event is unique in that it has 12 very different stages, all equally weighted to determine who is an undisputed champion shooter across various shooting disciplines. Our involvement included Gold level sponsorship of three stages. We had
NXS 2.5-10x32, ATACR 4-16x42 F1, and ATACR 5-25x56 F1 riflescopes on stage guns for the USCA Two Gun, DMR, and PRS stages respectively.
Our sponsorship and participation in the event has inspired the topics we are covering in this issue. We thank you for being a part of the Nightforce community and hope you find the newsletter both informative and enjoyable.
Sincerely,
The Nightforce Team
p.s. If you like this newsletter, please forward to a friend.
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Pro Tip
Dialing
and
Holding During One String of Fire
In action oriented rifle sports, engaging targets at multiple distances under a time crunch is part of the game. Many shooters will either dial their corrections for elevation and wind, while others will use an intelligent reticle to "hold" their elevation or wind. Holding for elevation and/or wind is simply a modern, smarter version of the old-fashioned "Kentucky windage" made famous by American riflemen. While both methods have merit, we would like to explain a technique which includes both dialing and holding on a stage to help a shooter save time while shooting. For purposes of explanation, we will discuss this relative to elevation adjustments in a limited wind environment.
Below is an image of the range card for the DMR stage at the NRA World Shooting Championship.
As you can see, the ABM ammunition out of the JP Rifles was doped for targets ranging from 500 to 600 yards, with elevation drops of 3.1 to 4.3 Mil-Radian.
The table below summarizes the range card plus includes the "supplemental" holds after dialing the initial 3.3 Mils as discussed below.
| Target # |
Distance |
True Drop (Mils) |
+3.3 Dial Hold (Mils) |
| 1 |
534Y |
3.5 |
.2 |
| 2 |
600Y |
4.3 |
1.0 |
| 3 |
516Y |
3.3 |
0 |
| 4 |
504Y |
3.1 |
-.2 |
| 5 |
510Y |
3.2 |
-.1 |
While a shooter can hold or dial these distances, utilizing a mix of each can allow the fastest engagement of the target array.
Dialing an intermediate 3.3 Mils of elevation on the
ATACR 4-16x42 F1 used on this stage
, then utilizing supplemental holds within the intelligent Mil-R reticle, was a successful strategy. Since it allowed for a center of reticle hold for all targets except #2, 3.3 Mils was chosen as the intermediate elevation setting. The other targets on this stage were typical 8-12" in diameter steel and at these distances the .1 or .2 Mils margin of error (less than approximately 3.5") allowed for an approximate center hold and resulted in solid hits. Only target #2 at 600 yards required a true elevation holdover of 1 Mil as noted in the chart above.
A successful target engagement strategy can often be enhanced by the capabilities of the shooters equipment and their knowledge in applying these tools. Investing the time and being creative in designing a stage plan can often be the competitive advantage needed to finish well.
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Tech Tip
PARALLAX
- What is it and Why is it important?
This Nightforce Tech Tip video quickly shows how to remove parallax on your riflescope.
What is Parallax?
Parallax is the apparent movement of the reticle in relation to the target as the shooter moves his eye across the exit pupil of the riflescope. This is caused by the target and the reticle being on different focal planes.
Why is it Important?
The greater the distance to the target and magnification of the optic, the greater the parallax error becomes. Especially at longer distances, significant sighting error can result if parallax is not removed.
How to Remove Parallax
While keeping the rifle still and looking through the riflescope, a slight nod of the head up and down will quickly determine if parallax is present.
To remove parallax, start with the adjustment mechanism on infinity and rotate until the reticle remains stationary in relation to the target regardless of head movement.
If parallax has been eliminated, the reticle will remain stationary in relation to the target regardless of eye placement behind the optic.
(This Tech Tip applies to riflescopes with adjustable parallax)
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Nightforce In Action
The NRA World Shooting Championship
The NRA WSC held at the Peacemaker National Training Center in Glengary West Virginia, provided 12 challenging stages for shooters vying
for $250,000 in cash and prizes. Nightforce was a Gold level sponsor of three stages, and provided numerous optics for the stage guns and prize table. The stages tested marksmanship skills in bullseye pistol, precision smallbore rifle, and the Bianchi mover. Clays events in wobble and 5-stand were challenging for shooters of all skill levels, with single digit average scores being the norm. Action shooting events including cowboy action, 3-gun, two-gun, America's rifle, and USPSA were fast paced yet required accuracy to score well. The DMR and PRS stages tested long range precision out to 700 yards on targets as small as 8" in switching wind conditions all while on the clock. Nightforce had several members of the Sales & Marketing team providing support, answering questions and competing in the event.
Sean Murphy - Nightforce Optics Marketing Project Manager
Here Sean is running a Taylors & Co. 1873 carbine in 45 Long Colt on the rifle portion of the Cowboy Action stage. This stage saw blasting at steel with a double barrel 12ga coach gun, 10 shots across the bay at steel gongs with the 1873 carbine, and then finishing up with a Taylors & Co. Smokewagon revolver in .45 Long Colt. The guns were all competition ready and provided for fast and accurate shots down range.
Wayne Dayberry - Nightforce Optics Marketing Specialist
Wayne is seen shooting the PRS stage with ABM ammunition from an
ATACR 5-25x56 F1 equipped Surgeon Scalpel in .308. The PRS stage required shooters to connect with 5 steel targets ranging from 16 inches down to 8 inches at approximately 700 yards. Shooters had three sighter rounds, and then one round per target to accumulate points. The guns were doped within .1 to .2 mils and then given final corrections with sighter shots. All shooters had to focus on making good wind calls...which was tricky in the switching wind conditions throughout the weekend. There were several ATACRs and rifles available to choose from, and all performed flawlessly through 200+ shooters.
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US Rifle Team Chooses Nightforce
The 2017 competition season is a ways off, but that isn't keeping the US Rifle Team from getting a jump start on the next F-Class World Championships. The national team representing the United States for F-T/R competition has been selected and is getting their preparations underway. Since team shooting is a big component of this competition, they are working to have all of their shooters running similar equipment that is known to be dependable. By starting in 2015, they want to have thoroughly vetted equipment and mesh as a team well before starting the 2017 competition season.
Nightforce is honored to have been selected as the riflescope of choice for the team. The model chosen is our
Competition 15-55x52 with .125 MOA ZeroStop adjustments. Clear glass, reliable adjustments and dependable performance are just some of the attributes that make this optic a perfect choice for international rifle competition. To make these optics even more distinctive, we did some special engraving for the team as seen in the image above.
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3,800 Yard Shooting With The Nightforce B.E.A.S.T.
Check out this video produced by Hill Country Rifles, connecting on target at 3800 yards with a Nightforce
B.E.A.S.T. 5-25x56 F1 riflescope.
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Meet Nightforce
Gena began her career with Nightforce Optics in July
2013 and manages approximately 90
accounts within
the U.S. and Canada. The aspect of her Account Manager role she
most
enjoys is interacting with her
dealers and
continuing to build relationships. Outside of work,
Gena enjoys reading, walking, swimming, spending time at the lake and being a proud parent
of her 6-year old daughter! She said she cannot live
without coffee and given the opportunity, she would choose to vacation in Aruba. Saturday afternoons in the fall, Gena can be found gathered with her friends cheering on her favorite sports team, the Georgia Bulldogs!
We asked Gena to describe herself in just
one
word:
Firecracker!
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Guest Column
The Longest 286-yard Shot Ever
- by Tom Bulloch
One of the great ironies of hunting is that it often seems the harder we try, the less success we have. Glassing the broad, green farmland at first light had revealed only does and a few
small bucks. Ordinary mule deer were not what had brought me to western Colorado to hunt with Doyle Worbington of J&D Outfitters. Doyle had peaked my interest with reports of mule
deer pushing 200 points in this verdant river bottom, and he had the photos to prove it.
It was fitting, then, that we first spotted the big buck by sheer accident about 9:00 am,
while drinking coffee over the hood of his pickup truck, wondering aloud what our Plan B might entail for the day.
Even at a distance of several hundred yards, there was no mistaking the size of this muley...
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Nightforce Optics | newsletter@nightforceoptics.com | 208.476.9814 | nightforceoptics.com
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