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Biathlon
- Thread starter Coyote33
- Start date
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I don't think they have anything yet. It is just in the formative stage I think. Send me a PM with your info. Maybe we can arrange a "field trip". It would be cool to have a bunch of these around, for a traveling "league". I wonder if there is any Olympic money available for training?
Let me know if you guys get a program going. There are few USBA groups out there. I run the program out of Harvard, the next closest program is run by Fred Allen at Holderness. We are fairly small programs, the big programs are at Ethan Allen in Jericho VT and Fort Kent in ME. There are also programs on NY, Placid, Saratoga, Syracuse and Buffalo.
Money from USBA is non existent. You are better off asking the NRA or NSSF.
Money from USBA is non existent. You are better off asking the NRA or NSSF.
The Auburn Police have a range at the former town dump. I always thought it would be awesome to do biathlons up there, with a track around the fields of the old dump, and use the range in the center. It could be like an Olympic training park.
So, if anyone has any resources to share on how to go about starting this, I will pass them on.
Thank you.
So, if anyone has any resources to share on how to go about starting this, I will pass them on.
Thank you.
Are you planning on doing summer or winter biathlon?
Targets are a little under $1k per and snow grooming equipment starts at $4k used. Other things to get are shooting mats, range flags and course markers.
If you stick with summer biathlon all you need are targets, shooting mats and range flags.
For rifles you can get away with the Savage FVTII. But they will need to be racked at the firing line.
Targets are a little under $1k per and snow grooming equipment starts at $4k used. Other things to get are shooting mats, range flags and course markers.
If you stick with summer biathlon all you need are targets, shooting mats and range flags.
For rifles you can get away with the Savage FVTII. But they will need to be racked at the firing line.
Are we still on for the end of October for another summer biathlon at HSC? I've been running 3 times a week since I emailed you a few months back and have seen good improvements since.... any chance of a practice before hand?
The traditional open sights are much harder to use than aperture sights. The prone target that you need to hit is about the size of a dollar. Offhand target is a little larger than a tea cup saucer.
We had people bring their own mat when we started. It makes a huge difference what the ground is underneath...
Cool! I'll be watching the messages.... have a sling/cuff on the way from altius.
Not to get to far ahead of myself, but I'll ask anyway. What about skis for winter? Where is a good place to go to get advoce? Need to start putting away my pennies if its something I'm going to do
Me... The 2 places that groom a course for skate skiing, Weston Ski Track and Great Brook Farm, will all tell you Bikeway Source in Bedford, MA.
A starter package for skate skis is going be $400-500. If the following is confusing, I can write it up so that it sounds like an AR. Basically the skis are the actual rifle and the other components are parts to the AR. For instance, entry level skis would be like the M&P Sport where high end skis are a Noveske. The boots can be related to the trigger group and the poles like the forearm.
I would avoid combi skis, they are too soft to skate on and too stiff to do classic on. The length that is required also is awkward because they are too long for skate and too short for classic. Entry level skis will be wider, heavier and in general be softer. The combination of the 3 make it easier to learn on, but more work to go fast. I always suggest that people not buy the most expensive ski available. They are much harder to control and if there is not a lot of snow you won't want to use them. If you do get into it you'll have a pair to train on and buy a nicer pair to race on.
Combi boots are ok to use though, they have come a long way and a lot of HS kids that race use them to start off with. If you know that you won't be doing classic, get the skate boot. The sole is stiffer and it provides more lateral support.
There are basically 2 different binding systems available for skate skiing, NNN and Pilot. It's personal preference on what you choose, each have their pros and cons. The NNN rides lower and gives you better feedback on the ski snow interaction. But some people have problems getting good edge because of the way the boot sits on the ski, especially when the snow is wet and dense. I use Pilot for skate and NNN for classic...
Poles, don't go cheap on them. The cheap poles are usually very flexible when you deal with lengths longer than 155cm.
Care and maintenance... You need to wax the skis, kind of like lubing your gun. Wax bench, iron, scrapers and waxes add up quick. I can go on forever... If you want to go fast, you'll wax your skis once a week, wax is all temperature and snow condition dependent. You can do it once a year, but I would recommend against that.
If you go to New England Backpacker, be sure to ONLY talk with Bob Fitzpatrick. He is an older gentleman that is fairly tall with white hair.
Ouch, is used an option? We'll see if I can survive running 1st I'm still very slow
Used is an option, Weston Ski Track sells some of it's rentals at the end of the season. There is not much out there for used gear because people will use their older equipment as "rock skis." Either that or it's so used that they are literally beat, think shot out barrel.
Hmmm ok, research to be done. Worse comes to worse if I survive the summer biathlon and you guys dont laugh at me to hard I can always snow shoe. I worked for a ski shop for 4 seasons when I was younger, but they never sold any XC skis so Im totally clueless. I really like how Bikeway Source breaks done their XC ski packages into cycling groups, bicycles I KNOW!
How about a reading source for HOW TO and differnt type of XC methods?
EDIT: I have totally hijacked this thread, sorry!!! If theres a biathlon event at Auburn, I would do my best to attend ( work schedule is crazy )
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Would just like to follow this thread up with a recommendation for both Chris ( colt_fan ) and Bikeway Source. Stopped in sat night to get some info and was very pleased with the selection and the information he was able to give to a COMPLETE novice. My wife and I walked out well informed with a good idea of what I need to get going. Now I desperately need to raise some funds!!!
Last race for HSC is this weekend. Other places in the NE are Pemi in Holderness, Saratoga, Ethan Allen and Ft Kent.
The NorAm was this past weekend at EA in Jericho.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
The NorAm was this past weekend at EA in Jericho.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Your welcome to borrow my rifle if you want to go try.... Im still not healthy enough ( lung infection after getting the flu over a month ago ) I dont have ski gear you can use though ( which reminds me of yet another thing I have forgotten about,damn )
I even have half a box of wolf match ammo you can shoot if you want
pm me if interested
STOP worrying about the "competition" aspect, its only in YOUR head! A GREAT group of people show up for the Biathlon events at HSC, no need to worry
Location: Harvard Sportmens Club 200/300 yard range
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2013
Itinerary:
8-9am: Set up & registration - help is greatly appreciated!
9-:10am: Range opens for zero (if we get set up earlier, then range will
be open earlier)
10am: Masters race start
~ 10:10am Novice race starts (may start at 10:20am based on the number
of people).
Race Course - ~1mile ski loop, to be skied 5 times
Course of Fire - Novice class shoot prone for 4 stages @ 5 targets that are 4.5" in diameter at 50 meters, 150meter penalty lap per miss
Rifles - 22lr Bolt Action rifles with iron/peep sights
Those that need to borrow a rifle, please let me know so that I can
reserve one for you. Race fee is $10.
PM me if you need more information.
