Camp Atterbury 2021?

Is there anyone out there who can share some impressions from the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury?

I would love to go see for myself but I haven't been able to take the time off from work that would be required to shoot both Perry and Atterbury.  At best I might be able to go look around on Friday afternoon. 

Specifically, I'd like to know about:

1) Range conditions - What's it like to shoot a match there?  Is it the sort of place where you'd feel ready to shoot a personal best?

2) Lodging - What's the availability, cost, proximity?  If 600 shooters come next year, will there be places for them to sleep?

3) Food - What's available on base?  Off base?  

4) Recreation - Are there fun things to do after shooting, or for non-competing family members?

My expectation is that the NRA will just carry over the same modus operandi they've been using at Perry for years, so things should run fairly smoothly.  The catch, I imagine, is that they'll have to groom a new batch of local talent to fill out the lower ranks of the operation.

Lotsa info in the Bullseye section of Facebook.

james r chapman wrote:Lotsa info in the Bullseye section of Facebook.

Thanks, I didn't even know that Facebook had a Bullseye section.  If my curiosity ever overpowers my dislike of Facebook I will check it out.

Orpanaut wrote:

james r chapman wrote:Lotsa info in the Bullseye section of Facebook.

Thanks, I didn't even know that Facebook had a Bullseye section.  If my curiosity ever overpowers my dislike of Facebook I will check it out.

I am with you on that. I have resisted it all these years and as my kids are bailing out of it, don't think that will change.

Yeah, rotary phones still work too!

Yeah, rotary phones still work too!

Really? Given that MF4 local signalling has been the de-facto standard for 4+ decades now I would be rather surprised if a local exchange still supported the impedance interruption phones. I'm more than willing to be disabused of this though.

I think the point is that Facebook exist solely to monetize your information. In exchange they offer 'services'. They are not alone in this, obviously. Google led the way. Google, however offer me services (maps, workable email - though I wouldn't use it for anything private) which I feel make the trade offs are worth it. Are there alternatives? Clearly yes. I wouldn't use them for search for example. But that's a personal decision for every user to make. Facebook on the other hand offers me nothing of significance for the intrusion. So I, and many others, make the decision not to participate.

To imply that not having a Facebook account is Luddite is somewhat disingenuous. In fact for most of my colleagues it's exactly the opposite. We know just how much information Facebook is trying to extract - the router/local DNS server logs show it. We see the effectiveness of their relationship graphing technology and shudder.  I rather think you will find a larger percentage of Facebook 'opt-outs' in the tech industry than elsewhere. That's an empirical observation though - I have no real data to support it.

I guess you alone have to decide if you want access to the available information.
Not many are going to spoon feed it to you.

I'm not asking to be spoon fed. Information about a pastime, most of which is available elsewhere - especially if one is patient, is not important enough to me to be part of Facebook's product offerings. YMMV.

NRA will supply you all the information they think you need.
NRA.ORG

james r chapman wrote:NRA will supply you all the information they think you need.
NRA.ORG

...in 6 months .

I am very much part of the no Social Media crowd….especially Facebook. If I can’t get the information outside of Social media then I don’t need it. And I’m a pretty techy guy…..
Pretty sure folks here that are shooting at Atterbury will share their experiences as the matches progress.

Just remember, if it's free, you are the product......

Snicker

Hey, at least they spelled "sesquicentennial" correctly!

That's going to be valuable someday, for the "inaugural" typo!

I too hope we can get news on the event right here, instead of stooping to FB.

The Atterbury range, initially, looked quite impressive. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

Despite a very wide and smooth concrete slab, the folding tables which are the "benches" are positioned right at the front edge so that shooters are standing in the sun (yay!) or, possibly on Sunday, in the rain that misses the roof overhang (boo!). Why so far forward? According to one of the senior staff, the 25yard line is actually at the front edge of the slab so, in fact, we are already shooting from about 2ft more than 25 and 50 yards. The ideal bench line would be between the steel columns, but that would be close to 27 yards. Ooops!

The range slopes down away from the firing line. I would have thought that a bit of bulldozer work could have fixed that, but no, the footings for both target lines appear to be at the natural grade. Paradoxically, the 50 yard target holders are normal or even slightly short, but the 25 yard holders are impossibly high (it appears that they were dimensioned without considering the height of the turning mechanism, but I could be quite wrong). So you have to climb up on the timber "wall" protecting the mechanism in order to repair targets. Since many Bullseye shooters are older and less than agile, this is not a good arrangement. The middle of the 25 yard target is at about 6' above grade, with possibly a 6" slope from the firing line, but the slope is significantly more between 25 and 50. I will try to measure it if I get a chance tomorrow.

From the firing line the view is not ideal.

The target holders are fabricated from Aluminum tubing, they say that the have plenty of spares and are quick and easy to replace. Hmmm...

The cardboard has to be stapled on to wood cross slats at top and bottom, but the shortish staples that most use to fix repair centers on to backers are typically not long enough to securely fix the backers to the frames. Hmmmm. 

Competition begins tomorrow!

Actually per the blueprints…. The firing line should be the northern edge of the concrete…I was told that range personal moved the tables because of the pistol shooters could have an AD and hit the concrete which would cause concrete chunks to fly everywhere and hurt people.

Rather than stapling with J21 staples…perhaps use 4 spring clamps to attach the cardboard.?

The drawing depicting the relative positions of concrete slab, strip of pea gravel and target lines is fine. The problem is that the very impressive roof structure exactly covers the concrete slab. If it had been positioned, say 6', closer to the targets the firing line would then have been better protected from sun and rain. 

They then could have saved 6' of concrete slab for the length of the range and had a better arrangement to boot! Ho hum.

radjag wrote:The Atterbury range, initially, looked quite impressive. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

Despite a very wide and smooth concrete slab, the folding tables which are the "benches" are positioned right at the front edge so that shooters are standing in the sun (yay!) or, possibly on Sunday, in the rain that misses the roof overhang (boo!).

Using folding tables for the shooting benches is problematic. I am 6'3" and when I put my pistol box on a folding table used as a shooting bench, even at its highest point my spotting scope is still 6 inches short of eye level. Folding tables are about 30" tall IIRC.

I carry a "booster" box to lift the pistol box up about 7 inches.

I shoot at 1 club where the concrete apron extends quite a distance in front of the benches. The benches are high enough that an AD would go into the grass. The extended apron also allows for better brass policing/retrieval.

At another club the firing line places the shooters and equipment in a real tough sun field. Not so much for the light, but for the heat. The same club uses folding tables so a double whammy. The club is in the process of installing a turning target line. Maybe the designer will move the short line closer to the firing line and thusly getting the firing line into some shade. The apron does have some room to spare.
 
Am just glad to have 3 clubs within 2 hours of me with active BE programs. Warts and all.

During the practice I could not hang my own targets.   At 65 I have no business balancing on a one inch board 16 inches off the ground while trying to use both hands and my stapler to hang a full face target.    I am taking a folding step stool with me to the prelims tomorrow.  It should give me 12 inches and a stable platform.    If that doesn’t work I really don’t think it is fair to other shooters next to me, to help me out, and I will probably withdraw after the prelims.

Schaumannk wrote:During the practice I could not hang my own targets.   At 65 I have no business balancing on a one inch board 16 inches off the ground while trying to use both hands and my stapler to hang a full face target.    I am taking a folding step stool with me to the prelims tomorrow.  It should give me 12 inches and a stable platform.    If that doesn’t work I really don’t think it is fair to other shooters next to me, to help me out, and I will probably withdraw after the prelims.

Geez, even BILES gets 4” to balance on!

Is there just one pistol range for the Nationals? How would they manage if there were over 300 shooters there?

3+ relays