Palma in Alabama?

[hopefulPalmashooter]

Hi everyone first post here so I live near Montgomery Alabama and after being out of competition shooting for the past year I'd like to get back into it. I cut my teeth on sporter air rifle but now I want to shoot Palma. Number one is because I have a lot of practice in the slung prone position and number two because I figure if you can shoot Palma well you can read the wind like nobody's business and the third is because it seems like a dying sport. (I may be wrong here and I'll be glad if I am) I'm willing to drive at most 4 hours for practice but is there Anywhere to compete around here?


PS I expect to drive 6 plus hours for competition

 

[300 weatherby]

Dead Zero Shooting park. Spencer, Tn every month, Check there events calendar on web page

 

[morpheus]

I'll just leave this here too: Oak Ridge Sportsmen's Association

 

[Southern shooter 59]

Laurel, MS. Bar 3 Range. They have a website. There is a range around Linden, AL but I don't know the name.

 

[Phillip Crowe]

It would be a drive for you, but you could shoot with me sometime. I shoot MR, LR and Palma and have a private 1000yd range in Winston Co, AL. Silver Mountain target. We can shoot 600-1000yd. In addition to the above mentioned ranges, River Bend gun club is not too far from you. It's limited to 600yd. Contact me if interested.

 

[caihlen]

It would be a drive for you, but you could shoot with me sometime. I shoot MR, LR and Palma and have a private 1000yd range in Winston Co, AL. Silver Mountain target. We can shoot 600-1000yd. In addition to the above mentioned ranges, River Bend gun club is not too far from you. It's limited to 600yd. Contact me if interested.

Wow. Is that cool or what?

 

[creedfan]

Laurel, MS. Bar 3 Range. They have a website. There is a range around Linden, AL but I don't know the name.

reesebottom is the name

 

[Tpb10505]

Dead Zero Shooting park. Spencer, Tn every month, Check there events calendar on web page

+1 favorite range I’ve been to so far

 

[Dave Marshall]

So from sporter air rifle straight to Palma....ok.

Dead Zero shooting park, Oak Ridge, River Bend in GA and probably CMP Talledega are all great places to start. Do you have a Palma rifle? Do you know what makes a Palma Rifle, Palma? Have you ever shot beyond 200 yards? I would begin by finding out exactly what you need for a rifle and other equipment. Then start shooting every 3x600yd prone match I could find, Palma or not. You will find the answers to probably every Palma question you could think of at those matches from those shooters.
Also check out www.usrifleteams.com. Specifically the long range forum. It’s not particularly active, but there is boatloads of archived info there.

 

[lal357]

Reesebottom.com they hold 600 and 1000 yard matches unsactioned matches but top notched guys and well run matches . Talladega cmp holds monthly prone matches. If you want to practice closer to your home I'm a member of rockford gun club just up the road from you we go out to 1000 yards and I gave plywood set at 600 and 1000 so I can practice my fclass shooting.

 

[BoilerBobcat]

Like others said before, Dead Zero in TN is 4+ hours and Oak Ridge is 5+ hours out for you. It doesn't always have to be a true Palma match (800,900,1000) to be beneficial. Some Mid-Range and Long-Range Matches have Palma classes. I find that shooting mid-range with Palma helps me focus on my position and shot process, while the Palma and long-range matches and test your wind reading a good bit more. A lot of us do short range practice (200/300 yards) on the extremely challenging ISSF targets, and focus on SCATT practice through the winters.

Palma is truly one of the most rewarding things for a lot of shooters, and you'll usually find the best-of-the-best sling shooters focus on Palma a majority of the time. Even in bigger matches with Any Iron/Any Any shooters, there'll be a top shooter at or near the top of the leader board. A 308 with 155's is an easy combination to load for, and the 223 with 80, 85, or 90 grain bullets are gaining popularity, but a tad more difficult to get a great load.

There's a few of us floating around this forum occasionally, and some still keep an eye on the long-range forum on usrifleteams.com. Ask questions and follow the advice of the guys who are at the top. shooters will go way out of their way to help folks get started. We don't want this sport to die.

 

[300 weatherby]

So from sporter air rifle straight to Palma....ok.

Dead Zero shooting park, Oak Ridge, River Bend in GA and probably CMP Talledega are all great places to start. Do you have a Palma rifle? Do you know what makes a Palma Rifle, Palma? Have you ever shot beyond 200 yards? I would begin by finding out exactly what you need for a rifle and other equipment. Then start shooting every 3x600yd prone match I could find, Palma or not. You will find the answers to probably every Palma question you could think of at those matches from those shooters.
Also check out www.usrifleteams.com. Specifically the long range forum. It’s not particularly active, but there is boatloads of archived info there.

Memphis, Tn

 

[hopefulPalmashooter]

Okay my reasoning for think of going straight to palma is as follows. One familiarity the prone position I learned in 3p air was on a adjustable globe sighted rifle with a single point sling secured to a rail at the bottom of the rifle. I made the rifle fit me not fit myself to the rifle it was a single shot loaded one at a time under time all of which is true on a palma rifle. Two wind I have zero experience in trying to read the wind whatsoever so I thought palma and especially when shooting 155-grain bullets would teach me to read the wind at an expert level to ever hope to compete and that while 22 sniper at 300 yards would teach me a lot I figured I could learn more at longer ranges plus it's fun. Three the level playing field I don't have to be concerned that my rifle will be behind the curve as long as I build it right there's not going to be a new super cartridge that out does all the old ones once you buy the gear it really is just a competition to see who is the best marksmen.



As far as Daves questions no I do not have a palma rifle, a palma rifle is any rifle chambered in 308 or 223 that uses iron sights with a trigger of at least 500 grams that's the international definition under that definition I have access to one an M1A what a palma rifle actually is (what you will see on the line) is a 308 single shot fully adjustable stock with a heavy 28+ inch barrel sometimes a bloop tube with globe sights could be a tube gun or a traditional stock with a rail along the bottom for a sling and a hand stop I think. Yes I have shot beyond 200 yards not much farther and never a lot last time was at 300 with a 1917 I was hitting the head on a hostage target but not consistently. I know I need a rifle I was thinking an Eliseo tube a Barnard P action with a true flite 34 inch barrel haven't looked at sights enough probably rightsight front and warner rear been looking at a carbon fiber bloop tube also I'll need a shooting coat and jacket I already have a glove

PS did they really remove the weight limit altogether?

 

[mgdietrich]

There is no trigger weight requirement in the US, barnard is a solid choice. Nationalmatch.com forum and the long-range.com forums are good places to find used equipment. Go to a match, try it before you spend a bunch of cash. Plenty of people would let you use equipment to get started.

 

[MGYSGT]

Don't they shoot Palma at the CMP range in Alabama? Anniston I believe.

 

[Erud]

Okay my reasoning for think of going straight to palma is as follows. One familiarity the prone position I learned in 3p air was on a adjustable globe sighted rifle with a single point sling secured to a rail at the bottom of the rifle. I made the rifle fit me not fit myself to the rifle it was a single shot loaded one at a time under time all of which is true on a palma rifle. Two wind I have zero experience in trying to read the wind whatsoever so I thought palma and especially when shooting 155-grain bullets would teach me to read the wind at an expert level to ever hope to compete and that while 22 sniper at 300 yards would teach me a lot I figured I could learn more at longer ranges plus it's fun. Three the level playing field I don't have to be concerned that my rifle will be behind the curve as long as I build it right there's not going to be a new super cartridge that out does all the old ones once you buy the gear it really is just a competition to see who is the best marksmen.

All great reasons. Palma is great, and anyone with any sling shooting experience at all will do just fine at it. Sure there are days where crazy wind, etc can make it pretty hard, but those days are a special kind of fun. I too enjoy the level level playing field aspect, as all of the other matches have shooters trying to gain a ballistic or sight advantage over their peers. I say let's all shoot the same thing and see who the best shooter/wind reader is.

I don't know how close you are to buying a rifle, but I've got one that I plan to put up for sale shortly. It's about as top-of-the-line as they come, so it won't be the cheapest. Here are the specs:

Barnard Model P action & trigger
Benchmark 5R 30", 11-twist barrel, medium Palma contour
Anschutz Precise 2018 stock
KKB Machine butt plate
KKB machine prototype flipper cheekpiece (also have original AHG cheekpiece)
Tubb Heartbreaker sling
Warner #2 rear sight
Scott Riles 30mm front sight with Shooting Sight .5 diopter lens

It's ready to go win matches with. I have shot the exact same setup myself since 2014. The barrel has 528 total rounds on it, but was re-chambered 25 rounds ago when I had it fit to this action. I shot 25 rounds through it 2 weeks ago; 5 to get it sighted in, then 2 1-shot strings at 600. It looks like it definitely has some potential.

This was going to a local new guy, but he unfortunately had a financial setback and isn't going to be able to swing it. I'd love to see it go to a new shooter. Feel free to drop me a line if you want to know anything more about it.

Good luck,
Erik

 

[Dave Marshall]

Okay my reasoning for think of going straight to palma is as follows. One familiarity the prone position I learned in 3p air was on a adjustable globe sighted rifle with a single point sling secured to a rail at the bottom of the rifle. I made the rifle fit me not fit myself to the rifle it was a single shot loaded one at a time under time all of which is true on a palma rifle. Two wind I have zero experience in trying to read the wind whatsoever so I thought palma and especially when shooting 155-grain bullets would teach me to read the wind at an expert level to ever hope to compete and that while 22 sniper at 300 yards would teach me a lot I figured I could learn more at longer ranges plus it's fun. Three the level playing field I don't have to be concerned that my rifle will be behind the curve as long as I build it right there's not going to be a new super cartridge that out does all the old ones once you buy the gear it really is just a competition to see who is the best marksmen.



As far as Daves questions no I do not have a palma rifle, a palma rifle is any rifle chambered in 308 or 223 that uses iron sights with a trigger of at least 500 grams that's the international definition under that definition I have access to one an M1A what a palma rifle actually is (what you will see on the line) is a 308 single shot fully adjustable stock with a heavy 28+ inch barrel sometimes a bloop tube with globe sights could be a tube gun or a traditional stock with a rail along the bottom for a sling and a hand stop I think. Yes I have shot beyond 200 yards not much farther and never a lot last time was at 300 with a 1917 I was hitting the head on a hostage target but not consistently. I know I need a rifle I was thinking an Eliseo tube a Barnard P action with a true flite 34 inch barrel haven't looked at sights enough probably rightsight front and warner rear been looking at a carbon fiber bloop tube also I'll need a shooting coat and jacket I already have a glove

PS did they really remove the weight limit altogether?

I am fully aware of what Palma shooting is and all of the equipment involved. I have several personal friends that are Palma team members. I will tell you first off, although an M1A does qualify as a Palma rifle, they are not up the task. You will probably struggle to hit even the target frame with one.

If you’re truly interested in Palma shooting, then go ahead and pursue it. Several posters here have provided some great resources to check out. However, don’t think that just because you‘ve shot some conventional prone in the past that Palma is going to be a quick fit for you. Learning to read wind for long range shooting is a skill that takes years of practice to master. Trying to master it from scratch with a Palma rifle is about the most difficult way I can think of doing it.

 

[Erud]

I am fully aware of what Palma shooting is and all of the equipment involved. I have several personal friends that are Palma team members. I will tell you first off, although an M1A does qualify as a Palma rifle, they are not up the task. You will probably struggle to hit even the target frame with one.

If you’re truly interested in Palma shooting, then go ahead and pursue it. Several posters here have provided some great resources to check out. However, don’t think that just because you‘ve shot some conventional prone in the past that Palma is going to be a quick fit for you. Learning to read wind for long range shooting is a skill that takes years of practice to master. Trying to master it from scratch with a Palma rifle is about the most difficult way I can think of doing it.

It may take years to master, but it takes about a half hour to learn it well enough to enjoy doing. You don’t need to be a great (or even decent) wind reader to shoot a palma match. There is no voodoo involved. The 800 yard NRA target is the easiest in about all of competitive shooting, and 900 isn’t much harder. Palma matches generally get settled at 1000 though, but it doesn’t take magic to shoot well there. If the OP has a reasonably solid prone position and general understanding of shooting fundamentals, he’ll do just fine with Palma.

 

[Dave Marshall]

Okay my reasoning for think of going straight to palma is as follows. One familiarity the prone position I learned in 3p air was on a adjustable globe sighted rifle with a single point sling secured to a rail at the bottom of the rifle. I made the rifle fit me not fit myself to the rifle it was a single shot loaded one at a time under time all of which is true on a palma rifle. Two wind I have zero experience in trying to read the wind whatsoever so I thought palma and especially when shooting 155-grain bullets would teach me to read the wind at an expert level to ever hope to compete and that while 22 sniper at 300 yards would teach me a lot I figured I could learn more at longer ranges plus it's fun. Three the level playing field I don't have to be concerned that my rifle will be behind the curve as long as I build it right there's not going to be a new super cartridge that out does all the old ones once you buy the gear it really is just a competition to see who is the best marksmen.



As far as Daves questions no I do not have a palma rifle, a palma rifle is any rifle chambered in 308 or 223 that uses iron sights with a trigger of at least 500 grams that's the international definition under that definition I have access to one an M1A what a palma rifle actually is (what you will see on the line) is a 308 single shot fully adjustable stock with a heavy 28+ inch barrel sometimes a bloop tube with globe sights could be a tube gun or a traditional stock with a rail along the bottom for a sling and a hand stop I think. Yes I have shot beyond 200 yards not much farther and never a lot last time was at 300 with a 1917 I was hitting the head on a hostage target but not consistently. I know I need a rifle I was thinking an Eliseo tube a Barnard P action with a true flite 34 inch barrel haven't looked at sights enough probably rightsight front and warner rear been looking at a carbon fiber bloop tube also I'll need a shooting coat and jacket I already have a glove

PS did they really remove the weight limit altogether?

That rifle Erik posted is about as turn-key as you can get. Erik is a well known and well respected shooter and would not steer you wrong. If you’re really serious about Palma, I’d jump on that. It won’t last long.

 

[BoilerBobcat]

That rifle Erik posted is about as turn-key as you can get. Erik is a well known and well respected shooter and would not steer you wrong. If you’re really serious about Palma, I’d jump on that. It won’t last long.

Erik's setup is without a doubt the top notch combo of stuff to shoot at the world class level (which Erik does with his almost identical rig.). Most folks try to get in cheap, and keep adding/upgrading until they've spent 3, 4, or 5 times as much in the long run. As Morgan said, if you go to a match, people will likely be happy to show your their rifle and setups and give you a better idea of what'll work for you.

Also, as for advice, take whatever Erik (Erud) gives! He's on the Palma team and is one of the best out there. I started to "stray from the path" of Palma with Any rifles a few years ago but his influence brought me back to shooting my Palma gun 99% of the time, and my shooting kept getting better and better because of it. If you promise to only shoot a Palma gun for mid-range, long-range and Palma matches, you can join his Palma Alliance with all the cool guys. (I'm still holding out hope for the Iron-Sight Alliance.) Morgan (mgdietrich) has also been on the Palma team, and has great advice.

Once you get a rifle and get started, try to go to some of the great Palma/Fullbore matches across the US. You'll meet great people, and get to pick up pointers from tons of talented folks. They just finished the East Coast Fullbore at Camp Butner in NC. The Midwest Palma in Lodi, WI is one of my favorites. I hear the Berger Southweat Nationals is one of the best run matches in the country. There's great matches in California, Arizona, Washington and many more. We held a great Regional in Ohio last year when the National Matches were cancelled. Each range will have it's own unique "personality" and wind challenges.

Looking forward to seeing you on the range someday.

Tom Bonner