Rencontre en République Tcheque (photo)

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=346438&Main=32111#Post346438


[quote=Redmist]A little over a year ago, myself and a few others in the UK recieved invitations to attend a competition for Military, Police and guests at a competition organised in the Czech Republic held near to the eastern border with Slovakia.

Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances I couldn't attend the May competition, but vowed to go later in the year to the next one "come hell or high water".


Last tuesday a group of 7 of us travelled from various parts of the UK to Prague and then travelled in two vehicles on a dark 5 hr journey to the beautiful region near to where the competition was to be held. We arrived at the hotel around midnight, had a couple of beers and went to bed, safe in the knowledge that the following day was a practice so a late start.

Arriving at the miltary range set in perhaps the most spectacular venue I have ever seen for a range I was amazed to be looking at the "Mig" for the first time.



The weather was warm - about 17degrees, it was sunny, the air still - well at the time the pic was taken anyway.

Another closer view to whet the appetite:



As the morning progressed we started to zero at 100, 200, 300 and 500 meters and it became obvious that the standards of shooting was very high, competitors from other "teams" arrived in dribs and drabs untill there was a field of 33 contestants sighting their kit in.

The rifles used were either service issue or there own with a selection of semi auto SVD Draganov, Sig, CCZ, AI, Blazer, Remington (standard and customised) Sako TRG's and a custom made tactical made from a Surgeon Tactical action, which i'll go into later.

Sighting in at 500 meters





Yes he's shooting from seated position at 500!



There was an obvious language barrier, (if anyone has ever tried speaking any of the Eastern European dialects they are very difficult to follow) however as DS1 (David) was on hand to translate all commands from the RCO were easy to follow in fact David spent so many hours translating conversation and briefings during the week, that he was exhausted by the end of most days.

I'll continue with this over the next few days, but here's one of the more "interesting" rifles:



A CCZ sniper rifle and Sako TRG




On the morning of the first competition day was a full briefing covering do's and don't and range safety. We then went straight into the comp, which was to be a mix of known and unknown distance targets, shot from sitting, kneeling and prone. There would also be a night shoot and on the final day a stalk - shoot - extract exercise.

We were then each allocated a number - that was to be our target number for the rest of the comp.

During the first day, the targets were a real mix - first up hens eggs on a stick at 20 meters, the gist was you had 10 secs to walk 10 metres to an improvised window, load, kneeldown, find your numbered target (they were mixed up and shoot the egg)

Easy eh?

There then followed a variety of other tests, shooting clays at UKD, two shots from kneeling at steel plates at UKD, stress test (attain target, and wait for a whistle to blow - again sounds easy untill you have sat for 15 mins in the cold and wet with rain fogging the lenses and bug crawling over you..... etc etc.

That evening was the night shoot, targets were black 4 inch circle at 100 metres and a 6" body shape at 300 mtrs, the 100 was shot by car headlights and the 300 from parachute flare.

100 mtrs was 10 sec 5 shots.

300mtrs was 5 flare exposure and 10 shots - you had to be on the ball and as I found out the wind on the range was very unpredictable.

Day 2 saw just about every weather condition , it was warm and sunny, it rained, it snowed all in 15 mins!

The COF was again an ecclectic mix of memory test, UKD and a pistol stage (moving metal plate at 10 metres) it was good to shoot a pistol again, i'd forgotten how much fun it was.....

A competitor being shown a memory test target





Moving plate pistol



The long walk back from a stress test



The final test was three metal gong targets set at UKD, having set up at the 500 mtr point, we had to look into a spotting scope which showed the target, locate it ourselves withour scopes and range using mildot - NO lasers allowed.

Then there was a ten sec window to fire, if you missed you had 5 sec for reload. Target were set out at distances bettween 400 and 680 mtrs. Not easy but I made 2 out of three first shot.

Day three, final day.

It was cold - minus 4 cold to be precise.



We all assembled on the range for a briefing and were given strict instruction on COF, the general idea was that a competitor stalks unseen to a position they can see their target, (3hr window) and on a given signal there would be 10 secs to make one shot, then extract unseen to a safe area within another hour.

Whilst bthe competitors were doing their thing, walkers and spotters would be trying to capture the shooters - very realistic.

How did I do?

Well I got withing 200 mteres of the target, but due to my position couldn't make the shot from there, I bumped into DS1 whilst out there who had the same problem so we extracted to a point where we could see the target and make a shot unseen - all I can say it it would have been a hell of a shot - we made it back unseen but no score.

DS1's and my AI's after completing the stalk:



Only one out of 33 scored in fact, with 30% getting pinged well before the signal to fire.

Pleasing to know I wasn't caught.


To summarise, this was perhaps the best and most challenging competition I have been a participant in, yes it took hard work and effort to even get there, but it was worth it.

The competition was a test of ones physical stamina, marksmanship, observation skills, kit, weapons handling and ability to think under stress.

There were very many good friends made out there and I hope to return next year...... [/quote]

Je viens de la-bas et voir tout les photos ça fait du bien. Et les armes sont bien evolue. Je me suvien les dragunovs pour l'armee et CZ (ancienne model) et steyr SSG pour la police. Et la on a droit aux tout derniers cri CZ 750, SAKO, Accuracy etc. Vive l'Europe.



pour l'equipement militaire/police tcheque:
www.armyshop.cz

je sait, ça ne marche pas il faut tape manuelement

la CZ est vraiment original, la crosse est hyper ergonomique, j'aimerais bien en avoir une en main!!

je ne l'ai pas vu a Milipol sur le stand?,

Il est beau ton pays, bien vert et que des bois!!

Cela donne envie,d aller visiter la Republique Tcheque.

Voila une idee de voyage qui pourrait s averer sympathique.

cela me rappelle des paysages de Pologne (belle famille)
quand je pense un possibilité de TLD là-bas, quelques hectares de bois ....

Un autre article sur le meme sujet.

With the military comp. over and the hangover just clearing, it was time to move on to the next venue, Libiva, a military training facility. Once again David Shone was acting as guide and interpreter which ensured that the two-hour transfer went quickly and we all arrived safely with our kit in one piece. Once again we lucked-out with digs. First-class accommodation in the form of the newly refurbished officers’ quarters which was only a ten-minute drive from the range - all by kind arrangement of the Czech police.

Reloading in the hotel bedroom

A Few Good Men

All participants gathered for the introductions and greetings and after the safety briefings, it was down to business. Again the kit showed up some interesting trends. All were shooting their ‘work’ rifles, the most popular by far was the Sako TRG closely followed by Sig, CZ and Accuracy International. All were chambered in 308 Win. with the glass from Zeiss, Hensolt, Schmidt &Bender plus some very nice Zeiss spotting scopes.

The information that we were given regarding the course of fire was that it would be multi-position shooting at distances out to 450m using a total of 180 rounds and shooting a variety of sub MOA targets. After being caught out on the previous comp. I was prepared for surprises this time and after a brief period allowed for checking zeros and a spot of army lunch, the first stages started.

The range has two separate firing points, each kitted out with remote-controlled targets at 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450m which enabled the operating tower to control time of exposures and distance of targets. The competitors were split into two groups, each shooting a different combination of distances and targets. This separation aided a quick detail change-over and also kept competitors from seeing in advance what was in store.

Who’s Got The Team Brain?

Once again time to engage brain! Attention to detail and a waterproof note-book were the key to a good result, especially as three complete courses of fire were explained before each detail. This meant shoot first C of F and adjust; shoot second C of F and adjust; shoot the third C of F. All the intervals were timed and any lapses of concentration or lack of information cost points. I can testify to this - after one complete course of fire, I didn’t reset my scope turrets back to zero; consequently I ended up with three sets of blank targets next time around! Did I say engage brain?

Targets came in lots of shapes and sizes but most were half or quarter size fig. 11 type to the usual police hostage shoot/no shoot and several ‘dazzle’ or

multi-target types. Of course, when all the targets were up it was easy to loose yours in the sea of targets so some of the allocated time had to be used just to locate your own target. One common theme that ran throughout all targets was sub MOA scoring rings, so only shooting of the utmost precision got scores on the board. It was easy to hit the target but get a big fat zero.

Given it was possible to hit and not score – I’m sure most people suffered this fate somewhere along the day - there was one team that stood out above the rest from the start. The Russian contingent (Alpha Team Special Forces) gave a spectacular demonstration of shooting. Their sitting and kneeling produced groups just as small as their prone groups. I was warned about these guys and although this team were on the opposite detail to me, we did manage to get a look and they were outstanding.

However, at the end of the day when everything was added up and to the great delight of locals, the first place (Top Gun) went to Libor H, a serving Czech police sniper.

Later that evening, the official awards ceremony was held in the base auditorium. Not only did first place - or Top Gun - go to the Czech police but also second place, with Russia coming in third and fourth. Later, over a superb buffet and free beer we all had a chance to relax and reminisce over the last week’s effort, though it must be said that some ‘relaxed’ more than others!

Lessons learned
I think the biggest lesson I learned from both these competitions was to think for yourself, trust your data and don’t assume anything. Although my shooting partner and I constantly checked and swapped information in order to minimise errors, ultimately you are on your own, making decisions in situations that are both distracting and fluid. To move from ‘formal’ range shooting to this professional level - where no one holds your hand or gives you a second chance if you screw up - was a real wake-up call. Ultimately, for these guys in the real world, there are no second chances and screw-ups are not an option.

I guess the moral of the tale is be careful what you wish for - you might just be lucky enough to get it! I just hope they invite me back next year. Finally a big thanks to all concerned with making this trip happen.

Rob Hunter [email]hoe.longshot@virgin.net[/email]

More information about pistol and semi-auto rifle shooting in the Czech Republic can be had from Dave: email quadlite@fsmail.net

Top guns go east

Whichever way you look at it, we live on a small island and between Blair Athol and Bisley, we have few long rifle-ranges and even fewer open field-firing areas.

Several months ago I was perusing my shooting calendar and bemoaning the fact I only had the usual round of UK comps to go to, when out of the blue I got a phone call from the organiser of the European Military Sniper competition and the European Police Sniper competition asking if I would like to attend both events to cover it and best of all to participate as a guest!!

That was the no brainier of the year - of course I said “yes” but it was only after I had time to think about what I just signed up for that I began to have second thoughts. Giving an even passable account of yourself against some of the top police and military snipers in Europe sure wasn’t going to be a walk in the park but ‘who cares wins’!

Military competition

Once the European Firearms Pass was organised, the kit was the next big problem. Due to the size of my Peli carrying-case there was only one option - the Unique Alpine TPG 1 rifle. The main barrel is chambered in 6.5x284 and I had a spare 308 barrel as a back-up. In addition I would take a Leica Telivid spotting-scope, Leica 1200 yard range-finder, Cheytac Advanced Ballistic Computer (ABC) and a Reflex T8 sound moderator. All great kit but would it make the grade?

Would my spotting scope be good enough - probably not!

I made a few enquires to competition manager Petr M - who is himself an active military sniper - to try and get details of the course of fire but this was a closely guarded secret so that no competitors would have an advantage. The only information available was that there would be twenty courses of fire! Targets would be out to 650 meters and a night shoot, ghille crawl and a stalk and shoot would be included.

D-day arrived and after short 1 hour 40 minute fight, I landed in Prague. From there it was a three hour drive up to the Strelna shooting range which is on the Czech/Slovakian border. The sponsors of the both competitions were Meopta and CZ firearms - both big names in the European shooting market. Accommodation had thoughtfully been arranged in a nearby local hotel for the competitors.

Wake up call

The morning of the first of three days shooting was taken up with formal introductions, safety briefing and checking zeros - otherwise known as ‘scopeing out’ the competition. The 35 competitors had come from afar as Finland, Poland, Germany, Russia, Portugal and of course Czech Republic. Rifles were as diverse as the competitors and all had brought their duty kit which included Sako TRGs, Sig, CZ, Hyem, Draganov and Accuracy International, the majority in 308 Win. topped out with Zies, Hensolt, Schmidt & Bender and Nightforce optics.
It wasn't all prone bi-pod stuff

I should say at this point that the majority of competitors were active ‘special forces’ or their equivalent; therefore names and even faces connot be used or shown in this article. Its also worth noting that the British contingent had serving members of the Royal Marines, Army Artillery and RAF but none of these personnel were sent or sponsored by their relevant units. In fact, all made their own way there and supplied their own weapons and ammunition. UK? Sounds familiar!!

As this was a military shoot I was expecting prone 300 metre plus shots, so the first target caught me out and a lot of others too - a single snap-shot at 25m downhill at a hens egg tied to a tree in a forest! Scramble down a bank into a hide, find your numbered egg and shoot it – all in 15 seconds! This surprise/stress shooting element set the tone for the day and marching en-mass with all your kit from point to point only added to the realism and showed up any deficiencies in your gear. Later the same day, we engaged balloons hidden in a tree line at 150m on the command of a whistle whilst being distracted by strategically thrown flash-bangs.

Then we quick-marched to the next firing-point and shot reducing-size targets from the kneeling position at 1/2/300m and were given KIMs (keep in memory) tests. These are typical memory tests where you are shown a picture of a face which may or may not appear as a target in a later hostage situation. This last exercise may seem like good fun at your home range but in this sort of company you soon realise that lives depend on such skills and the shooter’s decision must be correct.

The second day again started bright and early with 500m cold barrel single shot with a hit or miss target. At this stage it was obvious to everyone that a lot of points could easily be lost with a poor range estimate or bad wind call. Next we walked out to a wood and took two shots kneeling at 150m in 30 seconds at steel plates. These were placed at 45 degrees to the shooter and required a change of firing position during the C of F.

The Mig - it looked spectacular!

The highlight of the day for me however on day two was an unknown distance shoot at three steel plates. All competitors moved back to the range house and without the aid of laser range-finders had to range three steel targets, one of which was a half man-sized plate by the cockpit of a MIG 23 – yes, you read that right, a real Russian MIG - not something you see parked on every range. Using my milldots I made the ranges to be 530, 560 and 612 yds. On the command you loaded and waited and waited and waited. This was of course designed to increase the stress levels - it did! Then, in a random order, the RO would whisper to you either 1, 2, or 3 and you had 15 seconds to engage the target. This may not sound too bad but having to wait for an indeterminate amount of time and then have only 15 seconds to adjust the scope, find, shoot and hit the correct plate - not easy.

By their nature, military snipers aren’t fair weather shooters and if your detail happen to be in the middle of one of the several torrential downpours then so be it but holding onto three-feet of steel tubing during a thunder storm wasn’t helping my small groups.

It made a good shelter as well!

A quick note about target size. Although most of the targets were standard or half sized fig. 11, the scoring areas measured sub. MOA only surgical precision scored points. This sort of punishment did take its toll on kit; several scopes did fail and one rifle suffered a broken stock after a bad fall. So by the end of the second day we were several guys lighter and a lot wetter and that wasn’t the end of the day - after an evening meal on site we prepped the gear for the night shoot.

Night Owls

This was a great test. Under the illumination of car headlights, black head-sized targets were engaged at 100, 200 and 300m. Yep, black targets at night - as the mist came in!

By the time we progressed to the last distance at 300m it was well past midnight and the headlights weren’t up to the job so out came the flare-gun parachute flares giving between 15 to 30 seconds of bright and moving light, which seemed to make the targets dance and move around. Those of us on high-powered scopes were in big trouble here and the low/high magnification variable scopes with illuminated reticles came into their own.

Woodland ghosts

Although originally conceived in Scotland by stalkers, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Ghillie (camouflage) suit was a US invention. Thanks to Hollywood films, this type of product has become a lot more familiar and there are lots of variants out there in the commercial civilian market and most are synthetic junk.

There’s a good reason why the military still use a mix of burlap and jute - because it works best.

It was almost spooky to see these guys walk into an area and almost disappear in front of your eyes. The mission on the final day was using a set safety-arc, make a 50 minute stalk towards the MIG on which two sniper instructors were sitting. If you were spotted, walkers were directed by radio to your position and you were out of the game. This was their home range and they knew how and where to look, so a good 50% were caught. After 50 minutes was up, the spotters and walkers left and a whistle signalled a 30 second window to shoot your designated target. One shot one kill - a miss meant no points. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to do the extraction part of the stalk but, for those who did make it into a good firing position and hit the target without being pinged, got a big ego boost.

The stalk was the final event so when it was over everyone could relax and take a little R&R in the form some full-auto and pistol shooting - guns supplied courtesy of David Shone. Dave is a Brit. ex-pat. who now owns and runs a local range that can cater for groups and corporate shooting that we in the UK can only sadly reminisce about. Dave was also the general dog’s body, Brit. admin. organiser and translator for the military comp. Later, at the official presentation, the final scores revealed that 1st place went to a Czech URNA member and 2nd and 3rd went to ACR. Later, over a lot of excellent Czech beer, tall tales, back slapping and the swapping of ‘phone numbers was the order of the day and even with the language barrier, a bunch of men that came together as strangers left as firm friends.

Pour sûr, de bien belles images!

Salut à tous quelqu'un pourrait il me dire quel armes c'est sur la 6 em photos en partant du haut ? s'il vous plait elle es superbe.
Amicalement et bon tir

Bonsoir à tous,
Quelqu'un connait'il le spotting scope (en photo plus haut)qui ressemble a un accouplement contre nature entre un telescope et un tonneau de rhum?
Merci
GREG

hitman a écrit:Bonsoir à tous,
Quelqu'un connait'il le spotting scope (en photo plus haut)qui ressemble a un accouplement contre nature entre un telescope et un tonneau de rhum?
Merci
GREG

téléscope à miroir de type cassegrain voir http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A9lescope_de_type_Cassegrain

A+

Ah d'accord c'est un telescope ,ca fait effectivement un peu gros pour le stand:lol!:

Apres avoir lu l'article... ca donne envie... tres envie ... tres tres envie ...