Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns A great trip...

He needs to install a post about 8-10" in diameter to lean back against and then the long range stuff would be more fun than you could stand.

Amazing the calculations the brain can do after a few long range shots to calibrate.

I miss having a spot to shoot like that.

Aim small, Hit small

Bob truly was a joy and a blessing. We did a couple of fun things, but Bob also carted me around to several DR's appointments including one emergency trip when I foolishly removed my shooting glasses as he was shooting my 10mm. One of the cases took off at a different angle than the others, barely missing his ear, thusly coming straight at observer me and causing a burn and cut to my right Cornea. It healed up well, but what a painful and terrifying lesson.

Bob, I am sorry that I am not up to long dual sport MC rides or all day fishing excursions etc. I truly hope that you will get back this way when I am post Kidney Transplant. More like my real (Strong and able bodied as well as clearer thinking) self.

RE my 'adjustment' tools from the SMLE Mk lV, I swear, that is the armorour spec adjustment tool for those things!

Mark...you do what you can when you can.... I just enjoy the company regardless of the limitations...

From where we usually shoot the long range handguns from the porch there is a futon frame to use as a back rest. In the field I use a ground chair as was invented by CrazyCreek. It is a great and comfortable portable back rest.

This morning I wanted to start shooting before the wind came up as I had a feeling my horizontal zero was not correct. So I sent up a portable cover over Mackay's bench and put a target frame up at what lasered to be 425 yards.



Used the motorcycle to check and patch the targets.

As suspected at 425 yards I was 7" right. Gave it 6 clicks right and came up about an inch short...so with one more click it is dialed in for zero wind...




That is a 6" paper desert plate...much easier to see than the black bullseye. First group to the right was about 2.5". The one on the plate about 1.5".

I then tried the 790 yard plate and scored a first round hit...

Just a wonderful day out here on the sage brush flats...


Bob

Bob, At least you were able to eat good, rest up some and get caaught up on your laundry, eh?

That cabin set up looks like a lot of fun. Your host invited me to come out for a visit and I am itching to go even more now. As soon as I feel up to trips like that again, that part of Idaho will be on my very short list!

My first motorcycle after being off of them for about 20 years was a KLR650. Terrific all around bikes with a high utility factor, high dependability factor and a pretty good fun factor all rolled into one.

CONGRATULATIONS on some very fine shooting. And I am enjoying the reports and photos from your adventure quite a lot. Thanks for sharing them.

Got the 5" 57 out tonight...



My only neighbor for 10 miles came over and shot also..



Bob

Eating elk between shooting distant targets:

Bob got some action shots.

Mackay...you need to eat more fresh vegetables....

Bob

Thanks for sharing the story and photos.. Enjoy every minute..

Vegetables, is what food eats.

My ancestors did not claw their way to the top of the food chain so that I could again eat like a damned rabbit!

Balanced diet Mark....balanced....

My driveway at home in NH is 380' above sea level...Mackays cabin is at 6750'..the "hill" behind the cabin is 8600' and where the sagebrush is that is our handgun target is 7200'.

Well one of us got the bright idea of putting a target up there that we could see better. Mackay has a 24" gong at 110 yards that we use for a handgun target and he proposed to move it up there... I wasn't sure it would give any better target picture than the sagebrush so in looking over the pile of scrap lumber out hack found a nice 3x3' piece of chipboard. So Sunday I humped two 5' t-posts up the hill...no small feat for me...

Monday I borrowed a post pounder from the neighbor but instead of humping it and the plywood all the way from the cabin, decided to "drive" them up instead... So I loaded them into the Ford diesel truck and started climbing... I must be sufferining from oxygen starvation as the higher I drove the flatter it seemed...except reason kept telling me that looking from the porch it was STEEP up there.. Well when I passed Mackay's 800 yard gong I knew something wasn't right so about 20 yards past the gong I stopped to unload the plywood and post pounder...and IT WAS VERY STEEP!!!

Now going up and coming down is one thing...but how does one turn around without rolling over... So very carefully I executed a nice gentle K-turn until the nose was pointed down hill and put the tranny in Low Range 1st Tow and walked the truck back down....

This is a shot of the whole draw behind the cabin...



This is a telephoto shot of the truck tracks going up. Where they end is where the 800 yard gong is and I turned left at the gong and kept going up the hill another 20 yards or so...





Yesterday was the first absolutely cloudless day since I came here on Ausgust 1st. The Mackay/Challis area have had record rains this year. Last year Mackay and I set up targets across the dry Mackay reservoir and could easily see the puffs of dirt from the bullet impact out to 550 yards....this year it is all green grass and too boggy to even walk out there. So it was a wonderful day to take a ride on the motorcycle...





Scenery is just spectacular...





[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...14/20140901_141013_zps235e30a4.jpg[/img]

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Rode a little under 200 miles total and could not have been nicer...

Bob

This morning I wanted to finish the project because I needed to get the pounder back to the neighbor and Mackay is coming up on Friday...

So I grabbed some spray paint and started up to get the plywood and pounder and drag them the rest of the way up the mountain...

First stopped at the 800 yard gong and gave it some paint...



Then carried the plywood and pounder up the side of the hill to a nice open spot where the bullet impacts could be seen.

Looking down at the cabin from the hill..



Target up...



Looking over the target at the cabin...



This is what it looks like from the cabin...the rock pile is just over the target at 1:00 o'clock and the sagebrush is at 3:30...



Next time I am up there going to move the rocks behind the target frame...

Now to find something else to do for the rest of the day..

Bob

Well about 1500 went out for another motorcycle ride and did the same area Mackay and I did the first Sunday we rode...the Upper Pahsimeroi Valley... Unlike the Lower Valley there are no houses out there and 90% of the land is BLM... Just miles and miles of dirt road, two tracks and 4-wheeler paths..very easy to get "misplaced". That is the nice thing about the Kawasaki KLR650...a 6 gallon gas tank and 50+ MPG. You have to get lost for a long time before running out of fuel.

Did 137 miles almost 100 was dirt and got 52 MPG.... And just as the sun was going down I got "misplaced" but fortunately ran into two 4-wheelers that told me where the correct turn was...and they were only the second people I had seen in 3+ hours of riding...













Sun going down and lots of miles left...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...tion%207-15-14/019_zps1e30e52c.jpg[/img]

Top of the pass....all down hill from here...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...tion%207-15-14/021_zpsd7a7e6b8.jpg[/img]

One final canyon and out...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...tion%207-15-14/026_zps42200af0.jpg[/img]


...and today is another cloudless day....

Bob

I need to explore that country, some time Thanks for the photos.

Did some long range handgun shooting at the 800 yard target...decided to try the log in addtion to the ground chair..works much better thanks...



Nice clear day to shoot but the wind is running 20+ from the north. The bullet takes almost 2 seconds before impact so one can self spot the dust cloud without messing up the followthrough... Most were close, like horse shoes, but I think I managed to put one out of 18 on target...

Bob

That's friggin' awesome

RJM,

Great pictures and write up. Thanks for taking us along!

Looks like a lot of fun.




Travis

I just came a little.....

Nice Five Seven.

Looks like a great time!

RJM, WONDERFUL PHOTOS AND STORY.. SOME AWESOME COUNTRY.. Have been in the lower part of that valley, sometime before the cards run out, I must drive the entire way though.. Have a great time.. Be careful..