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Tips For Shooting In Heavy Smoke


Lil_Rob

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Thought I'd give frontier cartridge a try for awhile. Shot my first match with no wind and heavy smoke. Are there any tricks or something different you do when this happens? I'm shooting 45 LC

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Sometimes when you can’t see the target itself you can still see the support pole or frame below it, and if you are feeling lucky kid, you can use that bit of visual information to figure out where the plate is. 

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11 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Sometimes when you can’t see the target itself you can still see the support pole or frame below it, and if you are feeling lucky kid, you can use that bit of visual information to figure out where the plate is. 

That's kinda what I was thinking 

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I simply memorize the targets!!!!   :D

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The common trick - start on the downwind side of the target array (away from the direction the wind is coming out of).  The wind blows the first few shots of smoke away from rest of targets. 

 

In still conditions, shoot faster than the smoke can spread.  :lol:

 

Good luck, GJ

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For me, having the shotgun targets at the end works best!!!  :)

 

Shooting blazingly fast before the smoke obscures the targets is a great idea but......  :(

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55 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

The common trick - start on the downwind side of the target array (away from the direction the wind is coming out of).  The wind blows the first few shots of smoke away from rest of targets. 

 

In still conditions, shoot faster than the smoke can spread.  :lol:

 

Good luck, GJ

Yep, and Relax-Enjoy:ph34r::D

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I was hooked on BP when the TO asked me how I shot the stage clean when he couldn’t see the targets for all the smoke. :)

 

Just wait till the day when it is cold, damp and the air is dead still. The amount of smoke your guns will make is awe inspiring. :wub:

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6 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

I shoot light loads of BlackMZ and never had anyone say my loads didn't produce enough smoke.

Right, the subs typically produce MORE smoke than the real thing.

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I shoot wart hog loads of Holy Black and no one has ever said that I don't provide enough smoke!!!   ;)

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6 hours ago, Lil_Rob said:

Thought I'd give frontier cartridge a try for awhile. Shot my first match with no wind and heavy smoke. Are there any tricks or something different you do when this happens? I'm shooting 45 LC

Hi, some good tips and not so bad jokes. When I qualified to shoot my club's 500 meter range I had to sight my rifle in at 100 yrds. then rearrange my sights to 500 meters and hit a 20 "  plate 4 times. The object is to safely shoot a known distance and keep the shots inside the range. Most use scopes but being akin to the "Equus Africanus Asinus" or the Sicilian Donkey. ;)  I used an M1 Garand Rifle with iron sights. An old Marine gave me this advice when I told him the front sight covered the target at 500 meters; frame hold it, shoot where you know it is. So J-Bar has hit the target and he explained it better than I did, regards, Mike

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5 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Sometimes when you can’t see the target itself you can still see the support pole or frame below it, and if you are feeling lucky kid, you can use that bit of visual information to figure out where the plate is. 

 

 So, THAT’S why them movie cowboys miss each other at close range so much in those 40’s and 50’s “oaters”!!!(?)

 

Cat Brules

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When I shoot BP they make plenty of smoke.

If there is no wind, I remember where the targets are and their height.

THen after a couple years, I noticed something.

The sun was behind me and as the smoke abscured the targets, I could see hot spots in the smoke.

The smoke being a dull white to gray, there would be a bright spot in the smoke.

It turns out to be the targets reflecting sun light back at me.

I started shooting the center of the bright spot and was hearing hits on steel.

 

As time went on, I learned to see these bright spots when the sun was not directly behind me.

===============

 

 

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I use extra powder, it makes lots of smoke, I thought if I made enough smoke the spotters would run away.  Can't call a miss if they're coughing and standing behind their gun carts  ;)  :lol:  

 

Disclaimer - this is a joke I've had great spotters who braved the smoke.

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I can generality call my shots and know when I've missed. Sometimes I give my miss away by making a comment when I miss. The TO has said, "If you hadn't said something,  the spotters may have missed the miss."   Spotters that can't see a miss or hear a hit will often call a miss.  I figure the few bad calls are covered by misses they didn't call. 

 

 

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I'm not fast at all .

I'm usually in the last 10 not the first 20 lol .

I shoot full load APP 44 Specials if not shooting Cap Guns. 

I shoot slow and make them all choke as long as possible. 

It still is hard to see the targets. 

I start high and start to squat as I shoot .

Some Jedi gun fighters shoot fast and all you can do it listen for a ding .

This is one reason I like to shoot 44 Specials with 200gr bullet. 

No question if I hit something or not .

And APP Makes a lot of smoke with full load cartridges. :D

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15 minutes ago, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

I'm not fast at all .

I'm usually in the last 10 not the first 20 lol .

I shoot full load APP 44 Specials if not shooting Cap Guns. 

I shoot slow and make them all choke as long as possible. 

It still is hard to see the targets. 

I start high and start to squat as I shoot .

Some Jedi gun fighters shoot fast and all you can do it listen for a ding .

This is one reason I like to shoot 44 Specials with 200gr bullet. 

No question if I hit something or not .

And APP Makes a lot of smoke with full load cartridges. :D

I haven't seen a monthly around here draw 30 people in several years. :(

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"Blackpowder category contestants are expected to understand they will contend with smoke obscured targets."

 

Howdy

that is the first sentence in the description of the Black Powder categories. I wrote that back about 10 years ago or so when the idea of the Black Powder standard was first being proposed. That is not the exact wording I originally wrote, the wording has changed some over the years. But the TGs thought enough of my sentence to include it in the Black Powder Standard.

 

When I wrote that I was thinking of what President Kennedy said in his 1962 speech about the space race. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.' (yes, I remember President Kennedy giving that speech and I was very impressed with it)

 

That is part of what we must put up with when we choose to use Black Powder (or a sub) as our propellant. Anybody can shoot Smokeless. It takes more determination to shoot Black Powder, because of smoke obscured targets, and also because it is generally more complicated loading Black Powder into our cartridges than Smokeless.

 

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The stages all face east at one of the clubs I shoot at. On a sunny, windless day the BP shooter's targets are always obscured in the haze. My usual technique is to plant one foot, then hop around on the other foot ducking and weaving trying to get a clear picture of the targets.

 

The other thing to bear in mind is, if you choose to shoot Black Powder, sometimes you just have to slow down so the smoke will settle a bit. No two ways around it, if you choose to shoot the smokey stuff, you will probably have to slow down from how fast you shoot a Smokeless stage. We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

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42 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

This is one reason I like to shoot 44 Specials with 200gr bullet. 

 

I'll shoot my 32WCF or 38 Special in the rifle a couple times a season.  But mostly C45S with 200g bullet of 44WCF with 200g bullet loaded with BlackMZ.   I made 3 videos comparing BlackMZ with full loads of real black powder and judging from the recoil, my BlackMZ loads were equal.  Now that I have a chronograph,  I can quantify the difference. 

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9 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

I'll shoot my 32WCF or 38 Special in the rifle a couple times a season.  But mostly C45S with 200g bullet of 44WCF with 200g bullet loaded with BlackMZ.   I made 3 videos comparing BlackMZ with full loads of real black powder and judging from the recoil, my BlackMZ loads were equal.  Now that I have a chronograph,  I can quantify the difference. 

 

Put a screen made of Saran Wrap between you and your chronograph when using it with BP loads.  Keeps the smoke from causing problems with the chronograph yet you can easily see through it so you don't accidentally shoot your chronograph. It is also very inexpensive. 

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