Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting CMP to allow optics on Service Rifles

I don't know, Jeff. Do you think the youngsters are really at any disadvantage shooting irons? I've seen too many people win any sight prone matches with irons. But that's not XTC.

My suspicion is that scopes will just keep old men shooting longer.

I proud I quit when I did!

Offhand with a scope should be exciting watching the cross hairs dance around.

Nah, it'll be fine, if you are a competition shooter you are long past dealing wiht seeing wobble..

You'll see it better with the scope obviously, but it won't affect the mental game and likley would make it stronger actually.

iron sights are too hard.
too much to remember.
of course, make it easier!
good luck if a battery dies. you die.
lol.

Lots of old phart comments.... I'm one of them. LOL.

I always wonder if the it should never ever change guys still ride horses...to work...

And in the end, its still going to be a level playing field and while the scores may go up or change, it'll still be me against you...

All scopes do is make it more competitive, i.e. harder to win.

If a battery dies?? Are the rifles battery powered?

Makes the scores higher, but not harder to win IMHO, the percentage differences on shooters with same equipment will typically always be the same. As it should be, its about the shooters skill, not the choice of gun/sights.

My club runs a smallbore 50 yard prone match. Scopes are allowed. Few shooters choose to try optics a second time after being beat by some old timer shooting irons and shooting 395/400 outside.

Mostly thats because of the results, and the non ability to see and accept all the movement... if many stuck with it, they might change that theory.

But then I don't shoot smallbore very much so there may be other things at play....

I have been shooting a scope off and on in midrange and long range for a few years., around 20x depending on mirage. For me the scope does improve my scores a bit esp. late in the day when my old eyes are tired.
Wish more scopes were available with a simple 1/4 min dot
SWFA has the perfect CMP scope with their 1x4... if you could adjust for parallax

The DCRA briefly toyed with the concept of allowing 4X scope on target rifles but I don't think there was enough response to keep the rule in effect. Personally, I was all for it. I can buy and mount a lot of four power scopes for the price of a good set of irons with diopter.
The advantages of optical sights go beyond just being able to see the target. The large field of view reduces the chance of a crossfire. Positioning of the eye remains the same at all ranges.
I felt that a Leupold or Weaver hunter class scope, knocked back to four power and with a two minute dot, would have made the perfect TR scope but the door was closed. To me, the option to use a low-powered scope just makes sense. Properly promoted, such a change might even attract new competitors. GD

What happens if you get a rainshower in the middle of the course of fire compared to peep sights filling up with water? BTDT

Since there are so many m4's in service folks hands have optics when they are deployed it seems only obvious that a discipline called "Service Rifle:" would allow optics.

The other issue may be to get new/different blood involved in the shooting sports. Maybe we can get the average age on the line in a comp under 60 years.

Puff of air if needed and the correct long billed cap that Carolyn and I used for years and years on the course solved any rain vs irons issue.

Makes sense considering current military rifle training.

I see The USMC trains recruits now with the ACOG, on a flat top with a floated barrel (M16A4???). Don't know how long that has been happening.

Just FYI for some, the ACOG doesn't use any batteries, it uses fiber optic and/or tritium for reticle illumination. Also it is mounted on a flat-top receiver, putting height above bore pretty much the same as irons.

I have built an accurate AR for CMP optics..thinking it would get me back in the SR game...I am telling you a 4x scope is not a game changer for 64 YO eyes

Out to 600 next week and will report. The 1x4s on the market don't have a reticule built for black on black targets

The rules don't disallow an illuminated reticle? Do they?

I'm just thinking out loud... you could make a big fat iron sight shoot well at 600.... 4x no matter the crosshair you should be able to figure it out. I suspect that 4x the cross hair isn't bigger than the black? I could be wrong.