Kenyathlon 2001
Mar 16, 2011 22:12:05 GMT
Post by Larry Jordan on Mar 16, 2011 22:12:05 GMT
In the summer of 2001 during 7 glorious days I completed a long range precision rifle (LRPR) course in New Mexico through a training organization I got plugged into by a coworker when I first came to the Valley of the Sun in 1995. We spent the better part of a week working on land navigation, map reading, physical conditioning, and known distance range (KDR) shooting as we prepared for a field training exercise (FTX), a "kenyathlon", at the conclusion of the week.
So, what is a kenyathlon (or keneyathlon)? It's a field marksmanship exercise. In this particular instantiation, it's orienteering combined with long range target shooting. One maneuvers across the country side looking for creatively described shooting positions as well as locating the targets to be engaged from those positions. Find the spot. Find the target. Take it. You get three shots. A first round hit is a full value score. A second round hit is a half value score. A third round hit is a token score. If you miss all three, another team member gets to take a crack at it, earning the token score. This can continue until every team member gets a shot. If no one tags it, the target is retrieved intact. As a matter of fact all targets and any material (support lines, markers, etc.) are removed from the field. The team member with the highest score takes honors for that team.
There were enough of us enrolled in the course to constitute two teams. I was assigned to team "Anaconda." The photos that follow highlight the exhausting but enjoyable 7-day period.
New Mexico Sky
Long Range
On the Line
880 Yard Challenge
Spotting
Send It
The Rifle -- Rem700 "Varmint" Laminated Stock (VLS) in 243Win
The Optic -- Leupold Vari-X III 30mm 3-10x40 M3
Sunset Before the FTX
Team Anaconda
Here we were preparing to go into the field for our overnight. I'm second from the left.
Bolt actions were the rifles of choice. There were two exceptions: A scoped M1A, and a Knight Manufacturing Stoner SR-25. The chamberings: 308Win(8), 30-06(1), 7mm08(1), and 243Win(1). The ranges, up/down angle, winds and uplift, suspension, awkward shooting positions, made for some very challenging shooting.
I remember two notable shots during our day long trek: (1) the gentle person on the far right engaged a milk jug in excess of 500 yards. It was suspended on a 6' line from a 2nd line suspended between two trees and the wind was causing it to sway from left to right, as well as move up and down. Two other team members had tried and failed. He waited until the jug had swung to one of its extremes and nailed it. And (2) at approximately 360 yards the team lead, after building a stable seated position because the shooting location did not permit prone shooting, took the jug clean. Very workman like.
What a week!
So, what is a kenyathlon (or keneyathlon)? It's a field marksmanship exercise. In this particular instantiation, it's orienteering combined with long range target shooting. One maneuvers across the country side looking for creatively described shooting positions as well as locating the targets to be engaged from those positions. Find the spot. Find the target. Take it. You get three shots. A first round hit is a full value score. A second round hit is a half value score. A third round hit is a token score. If you miss all three, another team member gets to take a crack at it, earning the token score. This can continue until every team member gets a shot. If no one tags it, the target is retrieved intact. As a matter of fact all targets and any material (support lines, markers, etc.) are removed from the field. The team member with the highest score takes honors for that team.
There were enough of us enrolled in the course to constitute two teams. I was assigned to team "Anaconda." The photos that follow highlight the exhausting but enjoyable 7-day period.
New Mexico Sky
Long Range
On the Line
880 Yard Challenge
Spotting
Send It
The Rifle -- Rem700 "Varmint" Laminated Stock (VLS) in 243Win
The Optic -- Leupold Vari-X III 30mm 3-10x40 M3
Sunset Before the FTX
Team Anaconda
Here we were preparing to go into the field for our overnight. I'm second from the left.
Bolt actions were the rifles of choice. There were two exceptions: A scoped M1A, and a Knight Manufacturing Stoner SR-25. The chamberings: 308Win(8), 30-06(1), 7mm08(1), and 243Win(1). The ranges, up/down angle, winds and uplift, suspension, awkward shooting positions, made for some very challenging shooting.
I remember two notable shots during our day long trek: (1) the gentle person on the far right engaged a milk jug in excess of 500 yards. It was suspended on a 6' line from a 2nd line suspended between two trees and the wind was causing it to sway from left to right, as well as move up and down. Two other team members had tried and failed. He waited until the jug had swung to one of its extremes and nailed it. And (2) at approximately 360 yards the team lead, after building a stable seated position because the shooting location did not permit prone shooting, took the jug clean. Very workman like.
What a week!