Creggagh Shoot sponsored by On-Target 1000

Creggagh Shoot sponsored by On-Target 1000

A view north towards Creggagh Field Target Range (circled) on the slopes of Creggagh Hill in The Northern Sperrins seen from Crockbrack to the south.  The two old codgers in the foreground are regulars at the club when they're not hillwalking in the Sperrins

Creggagh Field Target Range by day and by night

Looking west from the summit of Mulloughmore (550 meters)  across the Glendra valley road towards Creggagh ranges (circled)

Creggagh Field Target Club was formed in 2015 after a number of keen target shooters identified the need for a safe and authorised target range in the South Derry/Londonderry area. All the initial members were members of other target clubs which were located a considerable distance from their homes.  The lands on which the range is built have a previous history of target shooting as they were used extensively by Allied forces in the early 1940s in preparation for the coming Normandy landings. The range at that time was used for both rifle and hand gun training. There remains visible evidence on site of the operations carried out at that time.  The club originally designed the range to accommodate 200 and 300m ranges and is passed  for centre fire calibres up to and including .338 Lapua and pistols up to .445 inch. However the need to accommodate other calibres resulted in two more butt stops being constructed in 2017. The club continues to develop and it is soon to finish a 16m pistol range with 10 shooting positions.  The club is situated off the mountain road between Moneyneany and Feeney.

Finbarr Harkin is the Sales Director for a large multi-national body armour company and has worked in ballistic research and design for 20 years. He is a keen shooter himself and his goal is to develop solutions to help the everyday enthusiast in realising his dream of perfecting his shot.  Finbarr has produced an app  called "on-Target 1000" designed to enable a shooter, especially a novice, to get his/her scope on target quickly and efficiently from any distance.

Fine weather in May is a rarity these times but nature smiled on the Northern Sperrins on Sunday 20th May and the members of Creggagh Field Target club shot in bright sunshine with just enough wind to make the Club's first 200 meter shoot interesting. The event was sponsored by Finbarr Harkin, developer of the On-Target 1000 app.

 

Finbarr Harkin developer of the On-Target 1000 app and shoot sponsor

The bright sunshine and cool breeze were more interesting than anticipated as shooters found when  they fired the first rounds in the 15 round competition.  Most shooters assumed individually they were having a once in a lifetime utterly dreadful day until the first squad had finished and took the opportunity to perform a collective postmortem.  Everyone had had an unpleasant surprise and unexpectedly low scores.  My own first fouling/ranging shot struck five inches right and the second three inches left and I didn't get consistent strikes until the final five round target.  This raises interesting future competitional possibilities as regards variations in wind direction and strength at Creggagh Ranges.  Mountain winds are always just a little unpredictable.  There is even a chance that randomly drifting bodies of warm and cool air along the brook may bend light differently.  These are all questions that can only be answered by putting in range time.  Wind behaves differently on every range and the Creggagh shooters will doubtless become more familiar with local conditions over time. The direction of fire is roughly west and the westerly winds are forced up a small valley running southeast to northwest or even across Creggagh hill and down the valley. This raises the possibility of combinations of heat shimmer, lift, drop and drift and who knows; perhaps Creggagh will become known as a very challenging place to shoot.

The facilities at Creggagh Field Target Club are nothing if not comfortable although one could argue that shooters might read the wind more precisely on an exposed firing point.

Consolation for disappointing scores was provided by Thomas Casey and his Barbecue

 

The overall winner of the competition was Robert McClean pictured receiving his prize from Finbarr Harkin.  Third prize went to Ivan Jamison also pictured receiving his prize from Finbarr Harkin.  Second place was taken by Ronan Mc Closkey who decided he wanted the barbecue

On-Target 1000 

This App has been designed to assist a user to get his/her scope on target from any distance quickly and efficiently. You can simply choose your scope type in MILS (milliradian) or MOA from the comprehensive scope menu bar and then input the details as requested after your first shot and the app will show you the corrections that needs to be made using elevation and windage on your scope to ensure that the next shot is absolutely on target.

The app is designed to be clearly visible and used in all light scenarios and the adjustments are such that they can even be operated with a gloved hand (need touch screen fingertip).

The biggest savings you will make with this app is in the initial sighting in of your scope after attachment, it is recommended to first bore scope either by using a bore scope slighter or by looking down the bore and aligning your scope cross hairs with the centre of the bore on the target.

The first shot from any gun (cold barrel) will always be different in placement to subsequent shots and we advise that you begin to input your data after this.

The shooter and the weather conditions also play a huge part in the accuracy of any shot placement and it is for this reason that we recommend a three-shot initial placement after which you take an average to use as your offset from target to input your height and windage.

After imputing these details to your app, it will show you the height and windage changes in clicks according to your particular scope which you need to make to ensure that the next shot is on target.

The beauty of this system is that it can then be used at any distance where it can be normally difficult to make these accurate calculations.

It is also a very useful tool for a spotter who is spotting for several shooters that are using different scope types, he/she  can easily toggle between scope types and call out the height and windage changes to each user.

This app also allows the user to enter details in either Metric or Imperial measurements.

Below is a step by step guide to set up your scope initially.

Step 1
Set up a target at a distance of 100 yards/Metres making sure with a measuring tape or range finder that this distance is accurate. Make sure to set up the target in an area that's safe to fire your rifle.

Step 2
Attach the scope to the rifle. Ensure that the rifle is empty and the breech is open. Install a bore sighter into the muzzle of the rifle barrel according to the instructions that come with the bore sighter. If you do not have a bore sighter then remove the bolt and look down the bore of the barrel until the target is in the centre, then align your crosshairs on to the centre of the target using your height and windage adjustments making sure that the gun has not moved, check a few times to make sure. Note:  These methods will not get you shooting dead on the bullseye but they should get you on the target area to continue your setup.

Step 3
Remove the bore sighter from the muzzle and load one round into the rifle. Take aim at the bullseye of the target and fire 4 rounds. Discount the first round (or the cold barrel shot) and use the average placement of the following 3 shots to determine your distance from the bullseye.

Step 4
Input into the app the distance you were off the target high/low and left or right.

Step 5
Use the Clicks which the apps will indicates to adjust your scope in height and windage.

Your rifle will now be zeroed in at this distance. You can use this app to also zero in your scope at any distance. 

The shoot over and rivalry forgotten the intrepid marksmen tuck into the barbecue.

 The next looked forward-to event at Creggagh will be the opening of the new pistol range.  There are now at least six well-appointed ranges in the area of the Sperrin Mountains including Creggagh and Dunnyboe ranges which surely makes counties Derry and Tyrone the best provided counties in Ireland for target shooting.  

A few miles away from Creggagh at the other end of Scenic Glenelly valley; Practical Pistol Shooters at Dunnyboe Club

 

The author shooting his 1874 Sharps at Dunnyboe/Glensass Ranges