Dustin Clays wrote:I just ordered a KK300 for my daughter (positional, junior shooter) and am wondering:
1) what bloop tube should I add to it? If any at all.
a) what length should I get?
b) is a tuner necessary? Or a will a tube be enough?
c) how sturdy is carbon vs aluminum....this is for a jr shooter.
2) Any other "immediate" upgrade(s) you would suggest/recommend?
3) what ammo have people been using in it? (I will have it tested- this more of a curiosity question) :)
Hello,
While I wouldn't claim to be an expert I do have some observations. If she is just starting out, I believe it's best to keep things as simple as possible. A bloop tube isn't going to magically gain any points if the fundamentals of shooting aren't adhered to.
At Rocky Mountain Championships last year I introduced a shooter and his family to Eric Uptagrafft as they were interested in a tube to get him to the next level. Eric is more than happy to make one for anybody, but insisted that he focus on his fundamentals and extract the most he can out of his current rifle before trying anything else. This shooter (sans bloop tube) ended up making the Junior Final in 3P at USA Shooting Nationals.
For the women it's a different story as well. While a tuner tube is used by some to shrink groups down, it's primarily a tool used in prone. There is no women's prone event in the Olympics. So some opt not to bother with the tuner and simply use the best grouping ammo they find in testing. Some do use non-tuner tubes to extend the sight radius.
If you look at the Finals in ISSF World Cups you'll see quite a few women in the finals with basically a bone-stock KK300. No tubes, to sight extensions, nothing. It's a great rifle on its own. Look for videos of Eva Roesken (GER) and Ana Zhukova (RUS) with their stock KK300s. Sarah Beard of the USA does great with her KK300 but does use a non-tuner sight extension tube on her rifle.
So I would say use the rifle as is. Focus on fundamentals. She does that and she will outshoot a lot of people looking for magic in their equipment.
As far as ammo, many of us use the cheaper lines from Eley (Club, Edge), Lapua (SK Standard Plus, SK Rifle Match), RWS (Target Rifle, Rifle Match) for practice. Then the higher end stuff we use for matches we test for and get the best grouping lot possible. It's all a matter of what's possible with your budget, but practice ammo is great for just starting out.
Did you happen to buy the KK300 from McKenna Shooting Sports? If there is anything else you need for the Walther I would definitely go to MSS. Great service over there and Shawn McKenna will answer any questions you may have.
Joe