AusVarmint

Ok, I've been around ranges of many types since I was 15 (crickey, that's 31 years, man I am old).

Now on this LR stuff, which I freely admit I have done very little of, the term shooting blind is bandied about.

I take it to mean that you sight in, then shoot for record without spotting the fall of shot. Is this right?

If so, that is the theory as to why it is better? (Well better to those who do it I suppose).

Now I don't want a religious war, 'cause I gather it is one of those subjects but I am curious.

Rabz

Hi Rabbitz, Your 1st answer is yes .. As to the second ,why ,it's because the results are well in the plus side with the *blind* shooters all over because the rest of the world will have nothing to do with the marked or prone shooting direction in the 600/ 1000yd benchrest matches ..In other words it is only Australia that has the option of a marked record target so in effect the rest have zero experiance with the marked method .. Our matchs are a bigger extension than just one small group now and again , to me and a lot of others that have been bitten by the 1K bug it is very important to have great averages .. The 2 target average / the 6 target average and the dreaded 10 target average for group and score are all held by shooters using the original method which involves absolutely no assistance in any form in telling where you shots have landed during the record period .. I for one won't be ever using the marked system simply because of the stats ,a principle is also involved with me because i don't think the marked system is the way from the matchs concept in 1967 right through to now ..JR..Jeff Rogers

I have only been shooting the Benchrest stlye of long distance for a couple of years.I shoot it blind for the same reasons as Jeff posted.I believe the competition was invented this way and that's the way it should be shot.
I have shot the two F styles with marked targets since their inception.I shoot them marked because that's the way they are meant to be shot.
I like both but without a doubt shooting 500 or 1000 blind is the singe biggest challenge I have as a shooter.It requires memory,wind reading skills,good equipment, good technique and good judgement to have it all come together for a nice tight group. It can be a great high or a sad low depending on the outcome. I marvel at the consistent groups,Jeff, Tony Z, Dave G and a very few others put together over a years shooting. Rinso once said to me LRBR is to shooting what F1 racing is to motor sports I think its a very good analogy.
cheers,
Macca

G'day Rabbitz,
I will specifically answer your question, THEN I will give you my opinion on it, there might be more information here than you need, but if somebody else has been wondering what 1kbr is all about, it might tell them how it works as well.

With 1000yds benchrest you get 6 minutes worth of marked sighters, so basically as many shots as you want to pour out the end of your rifle (within reason) the butts crew will pull the target, put a spotter (a orange piece of plastic about 100mm square stuck on a piece of dowel) into the bullet hole, patch the old hole and push the target back up so you can see where the bullet landed. Once your sighting in period is finished, the butts crew pull all of the targets, patch out all of the holes in them, and push them back up for the shooters to commence their record target. The range is controlled by the Range Officer who is supervising the shooters, he will give them the orders of when they are allowed to commence fire, so the target crew just obeys the directions of the Range Officer, it's not a "Snap" where you have to watch for the target to appear and be ready to shoot!!

After this you have the opportunity to fire your record target, you have 10 minutes in which to fire all of your shots, for Light guns (less than 17lb) you fire 5 shots, Heavy guns (above 17lbs) you fire 10 shots.

Marked System: Each time you fire a shot the target is pulled, the butts crew adds another spotter to the new hole so you can see your group forming, if your first shot isn't in the middle, with the marked system you can make decisions about whether to adjust your aim and attempt to put the group in the middle and get a better score, or you can decide to continue to shoot, adjusting your aim according to the flags, and go for a smaller group which may not score as well.

Blind System: Once the Range Officer gives the command that you can "Insert Bolts and Commence Fire" you are free to commence shooting, it is up to you how long you take to fire the group, Blind shooters usually spend a lot of time studying the conditions and firing a single shot, then studying the conditions. Once they are finished, they can ask for the butts crew to pull the target, insert the spotters, and then push the target back up so they can see their group.

I shoot marked, that's my choice, each to their own, I won't disparage others for shooting blind, on occasion a blind shoot would be an advantage if you thought that the target crew might not be able to keep up with the speed at which you are shooting, however I have found that the target crew generally have the target back up before I've got the rifle reloaded and back into position. I tend to shoot fast once I see that the condition is there or for as long as it seems to be stable, I think I learn more from seeing where the bullets land as I go than from seeing a group at the end of the record period and not knowing which bullet is which after it's finished, I do (rarely) shoot blind for something different...but hey that's me.........
Cheers.

Dave Groves.

Thanks All for the info, Dave thanks for the detailed reply.

Curiously, when shooting smallbore I often shot blind for each face (when using a five face card), that is to say I would shoot and spot for sighters, then move to face 1, shoot one and spot (to check position) finish the face, move to the next fire one and spot etc. Once the card was finished I would then review all faces through the scope.

I did this so I couldn't mentally tally the score - in the early days I'd get the yips if I knew I was scoring well.

Of course this strategy fell apart at the Sydney Olympic range (SISC) because of the electronic scoring and the little TV screens