What The Heck Is An Egg Shoot?

An Egg Shoot? That is the question I get when I advertise over the net that
I’m running my annual Egg Shoot. My friends and I like to shoot
highly accurate rifles and handguns. A few years ago we were thinking about
targets we could use at 200, 300, and 500 yds that would show impact and didn’t
have to be cleaned up after the shooting was done. We hit upon eggs! (No pun
intended).

Four or Five times a year at a rifle range in Dartmouth, Massachusetts
I run an Egg Shoot.

Here’s how it works. We set up 5 Grade A large eggs at various distances
based on the sights being used. Scoped pistols, rimfires and Sporting Rifles
are shot at 100 yds. Scoped Benchrest and Varmint rifles are used at 200 and
300 yds. All shooting is done off of benches. Any rests are allowed. Some folks
use Benchrest tripods, others use Harris Bipods, and still others use Bull
Bags. Whatever suits your fancy is allowed. Rail guns would shoot in their own
class. But so far no one has brought a rail gun to the event.

Any caliber is allowed. Any power scope is allowed in the
various 200 and 300 yard classes. A maximum of 9X is allowed at the 100 yard
line. If your pistol or rifle has a more powerful scope, you can turn it down
to 9X and shoot in that competition. But be careful, we check 🙂

There are a bunch of classes to shoot in.

In 200 and 300 yards, there are two classes. (as of 2010 there are three, see Superstock below) Aftermarket barreled rifles
CUSTOM and factory barreled rifles FACTORY.  Both can have muzzle
brakes. Any power scope. Any caliber up to 50 BMG.

Anything goes in the CUSTOM class. This is the class that the action really
heats up! This is where the BR boys bring out their toys and sometimes get womped
by a rebarreled Mauser 98 in a wood stock!  Any barrel, any stock, any
trigger, any rest, anything that is safe is allowed to shoot in this class.

FACTORY class is just that. A rifle with a factory installed barrel. The
barrel must have factory markings visible. Any scope power, any caliber. Triggers and
stocks CAN be replaced with aftermarket items. The factory barrel can be
rechambered. But the factory markings on the barrel must be available to view.

We are basically shooting Barrels against Barrels in these competitions. As of March 2010, Any rifle with a listed,
current, retail price of $1276.00 or more, shoots in the Superstock class. This
includes Remington 40X, Coopers, Sakos, Top End Savages, Accuracy International Etc.

PISTOLS all shoot together at the 100 yd line. Both factory and aftermarket
barrels shoot together in this class. But if you feel up to it, you can shoot a
pistol against the rifles in the 200 and 300 yard class. All barrel rules apply
at 200 and 300 yard events even with a pistol. At 100 yards you can NOT use
over 9X scope power. A variable can be set at 9X.

The 100yd SPORTING  class is a Hoot! Any rifle with a working
magazine
(no single shots unless it is a break open action) and no more than 9X
on the
scope (if you have a higher power scope you must set it at 9X). This is
an
event to get folks started in Egg Shooting. Lots of fun. Any old hunting
rifle
will be competitive. The rifle needs a magazine, but you do not need to
load from it. A single shot follower will be allowed. Bring what ya got,
we’ll figure it out and let you shoot.

RIMFIRES are shot at 100 yards, The 17HMR calibers are having a ball in this
class. Scope must be set at 9X or less. This is a great event for the kids, but
lots of adults shoot it also, and they are sometimes woomped by a 12 year old!

The round of fire is very simple. You shoot in three relays. You get 5
minutes to get to the bench and set up. Then we allow 10 minutes for sighters on
the first relay. Three minutes on the other two relays. A cease fire is called
and the folks get ready to scramble eggs. At this time you can only have ten
loaded cartridges on your bench. At the commence fire signal you get 5 minutes
to shoot ten rounds. The shooter that hits the most eggs with the least rounds
wins. Therefore five out of five is perfect. And a 15 for 15 is a perfect score
for the three relays. During the course of fire you may take a sighter shot (a
sighter target is available at each egg station) but these sighter
shots count towards your 10 shot limit.

Any ties are broken by a Sudden Death shoot out. Each shooter in
the sudden death shoot-off fires on a series of eggs or other more
challenging target depending on class,  in turn, until someone misses.
If there is no clear winner after one round of targets, we repeat until
someone misses.

Your gun should be sighted in before the event. If you do not have a 200 or
300 yard range available, sight in at 100 yds and fine tune your sights during
the 10 minute sight in period. Arrangements can be made to shoot at the range on
the day before the shoot if you like.

Trophies are awarded in each class. And great door prizes from various
firearm manufacturers are given out to the participants.

Rifles with 36X scopes is where the action is really competitive. But there have been
some major upsets. A few years ago a fellow with an AR-15 with a 3-9 scope won
everything!!

Rebarreled, custom varmint rifles are showing up in large quantities. But
any Savage or Remington 700  with a fine tuned hand load can hold it’s own.
Remember, factory barrels shoot against factory barrels, aftermarket barrels
against aftermarket barrels. Here are some hints……

Bring two guns if you have them, or only shoot at one distance.  I’ve
seen guys really blow it messing around with those scope turrets going from 300
to 200.

Use a scope with enough magnification. But not too much. Sometimes
the
mirage can be brutal! This is where you will need to turn down the
power. As
far as power, at 200 yds a 9X is just not going to cut it. A minimum of
12X is
needed and 36X is the scope power most seen at the line. The 8-32 Burris
is
just about perfect. The fine plex reticule is excellent. Leupolds are
great but
the reticule is heavy at 300 and they only have 1/4″ clicks. The Burris
scopes have 1/8″ clicks. At 300 yds, one click on a Leupold is 3/4 of an
inch. In windage that’s a miss on a Grade A Large target.  If you have
the dough, the Nightforce Benchrest scopes simply can’t be compared.
Amazing piece of glass! But the Weaver
T-36 is fast becoming the scope of choice amongst the winners and they
are available for under $400 and many times found in the various
classifieds for much less. As far as the reticle, most folks are using a
“Target Dot” of 1/8″ size.

What caliber? Everything has been tried and most have been successful. A few
years ago the shoot off at 200yds was between a 308 and a 221 Remington
Fireball. The Fireball ended up winning! But 223, 222, 243, 220 Swift, have all
won. At 300 yds things get more interesting. The heavier bullets can buck the
wind a little better. The 308/6mm/243 guys do a little better at this distance.
But again, a Savage in 223 won it many times. In the CUSTOM event, the 6BR is
becoming the caliber of choice, with the 223 close behind. In the FACTORY
class, the 223 and 204 Ruger are the most popular. I predict the 204 Ruger will
fast become the cartridge to beat in FACTORY class. Stay tuned!

Bipods are faster to set up, but most guns shoot better of a rest. A good
mechanical rest allows you to set elevation by raising the rest and not
squeezing the rear bag. It’s your call. Rear bunny ear or owl ear bags work
great. One fellow had one of those new Choat sniper stocks with the adjustable
wheel thingy in the butt. He did really good, but most like a conventional rear
bag.

Bring your friends. It really helps for sighting in. All firearms
transported into Massachusetts
must be in a locked “hard” case. New law…what can I say! As long as
you are going to or from an event/shooting range/hunting you should have no
problems. Just don’t carry concealed or in the glove box unless you have the
proper Massachusetts
license to carry. Locked case and or trigger lock in the trunk of the vehicle
you should have no problem.

We will plan on shooting four or five events throughout the spring and fall. We
do not shoot in July and August (Too hot!) I’ll post the dates in March. I’ll
also post directions. If your coming from out of town (or in town for that
matter) and you want to practice the day before at the range, let me know. I’ll
open the range for you.

The cost to shoot is $15 for the first class and $10 for any other
class you wish to shoot. All proceeds go to the club for range
improvement.

You must be 12 years old or older to be on the firing line and to shoot in this event (insurance rules, sorry)

The range is located in Southeastern Massachusetts, 30 minutes from
Cape Cod. One hour south of Boston. Great Outlet shopping within 10-15
minutes. Fantastic
Whaling Museum.
Bring the “other half”. BTW…A number of women shoot in this event.

Remember…THIS IS A FUN SHOOT!…….No whining! I don’t think if you like
fine precision shooting irons you can have more fun at a shooting event. It is
very relaxed, but lots of friendly competition. And the trophies aren’t bad!

If you have any questions you can E-Mail me at rvb100@comcast.net or
contact Jeff Whittaker, Range Supervisor at 508-636-4669. Hope to see
you there!

NEW EGG SHOOT

RULE!

March 2010

After
lots of feed back from the shooters of the event, the following is now law of
the land

Any
rifle that has a MSRP of over $1276, as of March 1, 2010, will now shoot in the Super Stock class¦.

You
can also shoot against the big rifles in the Custom Class if you want.

All
rifles in the Super Stock class much have a factory installed barrel as
purchased over the counter. If you send your 40X back to Remington and have a
Kreiger barrel installed, you will need to shoot in the custom class. Remember the golden rule We shoot barrels
against barrels.

You
can modify/change the stock, the trigger and the bolt. But not the barrel.

This
will give folks with Remington 40X, Coopers, Sako BR, Savage Precision/Target
Series, etc a fair class to compete and allow the Factory Class to remain an
entry level event.

Be
aware, if you bought your 40x during the Eisenhower administration for $150,
because the MSRP TODAY is over the $1276, it will be a Super Stock Class
rifle.

Cooper
Rifles were $999 just a couple years ago. Now they are $1500, so they will need
to shoot in Super Stock.

Check out this video that was shot at another club that is now hosting shoots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkWCZuXw9zw

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Lodging and Recreation

Here are the area Hotels: (Listed from best to “not so best” 🙂

• Comfort Inn, North Dartmouth, Mass. 508-996-0800
• Hampton Inn, Westport, Mass. 508-675-8500
• Days Inn, New Bedford, Mass. 508-997-1231
• Dartmouth Motor Inn, North Dartmouth, Mass 508-997-0008
• Capri Motel, North Dartmouth, Mass 508-997-7877

All of these hotels are within 10 minutes of the range. There is lots
of outlet shopping in the area. The area is known for it. The New
Bedford Whaling Museum and the Battleship Massachusetts Museum are 15
minutes away. Both are nationally known and excellent exhibits. Newport
Rhode Island has beautiful turn of the century mansions to tour and is
about a 40 minute drive. Providence is 30 minutes to the west and Boston
is 1 hour north. Cape Cod is 40 minutes away. There is a day boat to
Martha’s Vineyard that leaves from New Bedford (next town over). Lots to
do in the area and a great time of the year to be in New England.