Had a phone call from Roland Thomsen in South Africa the other night. I sent him an email telling him about the (provional) AUS team selection so he called straight away. He wanted to thank us for the support of 12 shooters and to say they will do all things possible to make this WBC the best ever.
He also said they have made a number of Farley rest base sections which will be available to us.
He asked about flags and I told him that we have yet to decide this issue but subject to all parties agreeing we (Annie and I) would like to take maybe 30 BRT flags over there and sell them all after the event if he thought that would be possible.
They have supply of Federal match primers but are having some difficulty getting Vit 133. They can get it but the quantity required and the amount of money required is enormous. If they do get it in they expect it to be 3 times the cost of local powders. I understand the local powder has a similar burning rate to Vit133. Cleaning solvents etc will be right.
I will wade through some of the procedural the legal issues this weekend about WBC entries and firearms entry in SA etc. I am sure Fergus can provide some experiences about this. There is minimal stuff on the WBC 10 website although they talk about having it updated soon.
If anybody comes upon any information useful to do with anything please let us all know. Time is tight.
Stuart
I am happy to use the BRT flags.
But I think the set up needs to be changed a little.
I am not sure about your rotation at the Madden, but both Craig and I where very frustrated on the way our rotation was setup. I believe they where to straight and could not see any tails at times. Even some of the vanes where hidden at times.
I am also willing to share my Farley or use someone elses Farley rest. If I use someone elses rest the front bag has to be the original front bag and isn't to hard. A few that I have looked at are way to hard in my opinion.
I would bring my own rear bag.
Powder I would prefer to use N133, as I have used it since late 2002, but if it is $300 a kilo then maybe I would use there powder. If Roland says it is a good powder I would trust him and just use it.
Michael
Ditto for all of that.
Not responsible for other peoples flag rotations at the HM!
Anyway certainly agree with what you say on all points.
Stuart
Annie & Stuart Elliott
www.benchrest.com.au
Not a problem with the flags, as long as a team we have input on how they are set up, powder I would prefer to use 133 I cannot see the sense in travelling to SA and useing a powder that may work in my
rifle to save a $ at a WBC, well it may be more than a $1 but think about it, you want good flags your taking them, and your stands and bags, powder ? I'll pay the extra if availble, just my thoughts and not to start a sh.t fight.
Barry
Barry
Michael I will be taking a Farley. It has the original front bag. It works real nice. Maybe use one of their bases. I would like Vit at any cost. The comp days, a kilo will easily cover it (500 rnds) Maybe we could share amongst us some kilo's for practice. Will take my empty rear bag and fill it over their.
As I understand it, powder is one of the biggest problems for the guys in SA. They are limited to 1 KG per individual at any one time and due the price differential, there is no market for international powders, hence they are generally not imported. Somewhat like Australia up to the 1990s with regard to powder selection – you can have any powder you want, as long as its locally made.
The local Somchem powder does seem to shoot pretty well. I have only used about a pound of the stuff, but it does seem competitive. It is “dirtier” than Vit, but probably no more so than ADI powders. I shot moly and only cleaned at the end of each yardage and while I didn’t check with a bore scope, I didn’t feel like my results suffered due to fouling. It meters like 2219 and has a burning rate very similar to Vit 133 or BM2. I would be quite prepared to use the local powder, though would think twice if Vit was available at a reasonable price because as per Michael’s comment, I am pretty familiar with it. I guess one benefit of 4 practice days will be a long time to tune in the local conditions.
I have used one of the Farley bases and it woks fine. Mine is HEAVY. It’s a triangular plate of about 1” thick steel. It is not going to move on the bench – I can hardly lift it. I will have my Farley and rear bag available and happy to share with anyone else subject to the rotation. The Farley is left hand height adjustment, but the joystick operation is identical to any other Farley. I will post a picture of the base in the next few days.
I understand from Roland that they have a good stash of Fed 205 primers they are saving for the WBC and Butchs is readily available.
As far as flags, I am very happy to use Elliotts/BRT flags. The local SA flag of choice is a Smiley style daisy wheel with surveyors tape tails – pretty much standard US issue.
I have posted previously about firearms import. Its not a big deal over there as virtually every plane that arrives has a party of hunters coming into the country. The SA police have an office outside customs in the arrivals area where your rifle will be delivered and you complete your paperwork. The form looks very intimidating, but you only actually fill out about 2-3 sections in the whole document. You will need three documents to get through the process smoothly:
AU Export permit
AU import permit
AU firearm registration certificate.
If you have these, you will get through the process without any drama, it just takes a bit of time.
I will be taking my Seb rest and rear bag, happy to share with anyone.
Total agreement with Michael about flag placement, I suggest this may make a really worthwhile team meeting to get this fixed.
If it is just a matter of a few extra $$$ to get 133, I would be happy to pay, if I am paying $5000 to get 2 people there, I am not going to argue about an extra charge for the powder.
Rob.
BB Administrator
Sorry, just realised one omission from my earlier post. Re firearm import documentation, you will also need your invite to the WBC event.
N133 If we can, Flags should be interesting, after we talk about setup if no one has any objections i would like to take charge of setup
Craig
I object
Fergus
Could you give us some idea on flag heights and is it worth having two sets of poles, one for 100 and one for 200. If the range is setup like Brisbane it is a pain in the arse changing hieghts all the time.
Craig
Hi Craig
Re your question on flagpoles, I think there will be issues with poles in SA, but I don’t think having to change heights will be one. Bear in mind we will only shoot one yardage per day and the program sets out that we will shoot at 100 meters for the first 2 days, then 200 meters for the next 2 days, with 300 meters for the final day.
The main issue with the poles is simply the heights we will need, from around 2 feet on the left side of the bench line to around 6-7 feet on the right. As we will be shooting under WBC rules, we will be more limited in setting flags than we would be in Australia as the “top of the bench to the bottom of the frame” rule will apply. Also, I need to confirm the flag height requirements for 300 meter frames, as I haven’t seen any frames out at this distance as yet. I will get some accurate measurements next time I go to the range, but that will probably not be until around Jan or Feb 2009 as the shooting season has shut down now in SA for the rainy season.
Fregus
Thanks for that. It will make it much easier shooting two 100 and then 200
Craig
I would always expect flag placement and layout at WBC to be a team discussion point. In fact it's essential to get other points of view.
It would even be smart to experiment with some different systems on the practice days I would suggest.
Craig, I know that you ended up on a different rotation than ours at the HM. I didn't have anything to do with the organisation of that shoot.
Actually I didn't see precisely what was wrong or right with the flags on your rotation.
Our own flag rotation was not a perfect setup either as it turned out but we survived. :)
FYI I used to prefer a simple setup of the flag line from barrel to target or shooters eye to target. The shape design of the BRT flags when set properly will still allow you to see every flag. If the benches are close together this is neccessary to avoid covering any neighbouring targets. But where bench spacing are good my own general preference nowdays is a line from the left hand corner of the bench to underneath the target. The last flag is set the highest and others set 1/2 a vane or a full vane height under the one immediately behind it. No flag should be hidden. Getting the line up too far to the left gives a problem when shooting the straight on and straight away conditions. If you are not looking over the top of them you are not getting a precise read which is critical with a straight on condition. This set, whilst not having the first two flags exactly straight in front of you, is a compromise that works I think. In a quartering wind or straight sideways all flags are clearly visible if heights are set correctly. The Yanks set their flag line starting much further left than this.
For the left hand shooters mixed in the same rotation it seems to work by having one extra flag placed where the first flag is but on the R/H side.
Annie & Stuart Elliott
www.benchrest.com.au