Service Rifle Weekend in Minn -- Shooters News for June 26

The Week Ahead
Highpower 
Service Rifle Shooters in the upper Midwest will be heading North this weekend to participate in the State Service Rifle Championship and the all important CMP Leg Match that goes with it.  On Saturday, June 30th, Northwestern Gun Club will hold the individual 80 shot OTC match that decides who is the State Champ Service Rifle shooter. The beautiful Hunter's Lake range suffered minor damage in the Duluth floods last week, but after repairs, the facility is ready to go for this important rifle match. 

 As important as the State Championship is to Service Rifle shooters, for most, this match is really just the tune-up for Sunday's CMP Leg Match.  The all important Leg Match --- The only place where you can earn a few points toward the life time achievement award of a Distinguished Rifleman's Badge.  Earning these 'leg points' can almost become a "vision quest" for many service rifle shooters, who train and practice for years to gain the skill needed to become a "Distinguished Rifleman".   In reality, shooters have a real chance to earn points by the time they can shoot a Master Class score.  Ten percent of the shooters that participate will earn some points --- Someone will have a great day and win some leg points. It might be you !
               Click Here for Match bulletin and entry info
                              Click Here for NWGC Weather rpt.

July 4th -  If you make the short trip to Eau Claire you will find a good reason to reach back into the gun cabinet, and pull out the M-1 and M1A service rifles.    Eau Claire Rifle Club has an M-1 Garand match starting at 0900 and then there will be an M1A match about 1300 hrs.  The M-1 match is CMP course B at 200 yds, and the M1A match will be the same course of fire, but shot at 300 yds.  All competitors will fire ball ammo to be issued at the match (incl. in entry).
     Click Here for M1 match bulletin.     Click Here for M1A match bulletin

Small Bore
Small Bore positions shooters will also have their chance to shine at the  4P Small Bore Regional to be shot at the Mpls. Rifle Club - June 30 and July 1. This is a 3200 point match with all matches on Saturday being shot with Iron sights, and then Any sights allowed on Sunday.  All matches to be fired at 50 yds.
    Click Here for match bulletin and entry info.

Last Weekend
  Many Minn. area prone and long range shooters attended the week long MidWest Palma matches, in Lodi, Wisconsin. I understand that they battled, wind, rain, and generally tough conditions all week. No Match report is available at this time.

MRC OTC matches 

Those of us stay-behinds were still able to exercise our trigger fingers, as Mark Rohmer put on a great weekend of OTC matches at the Mpls Rifle club's highpower range.  I thought I would go and participate at least one day of the two.  It would be my first OTC match since the few really disappointing times it shot last year. I figured that sooner or later I'd give it another try.  Since I always liked shooting on MRC,s Highpower range, back in the '90s when we had lots of great matches there, this would be a good weekend to see how if goes. If I could get through the Standing match, I knew that the rest of the day would be fun.  I would go on Sunday --(best weather forecast).    
 Saturday ended up being a perfect day for shooting a match.  Kevin Bangen took full advantage of the good weather to fire a great 984-33x score in this 1000pt match to take the lead in the weekends shooting competition. Erik Rhode fired what must be a personal record for him, as he dropped only 5 points in the two Rapid Fire, and two Prone Slow Fire matches that followed the Standing match.  Along the way Erik fired a 200-8x in the Prone Rapid match, just shy of the match win by Capt. Bob Peasley who held hard for a 200-10x.  
  Sunday was another beautiful day here in Minn. Temp about 75 deg, and a light NE breeze that added, maybe a click or to the windage knobs at 300 yds. Fifteen shooters showed up have some fun and Omer Hamer (GS) got a pt up on the competition with his steady 189 score in the Standing Match.  I was shooting the AR-15 service rifle as I think it is easier to shoot in Standing and Sitting Rapid fire than the match rifle. It didn't help, I started off good, but the 2nd 10 shots were mostly 8s and nines.  Kevin fired a 100-5x on his first Sitting Rapid string, and then followed that up with an awesome 100-9x on the 2nd string. When it was my turn, I got a good position, but a had a wobbly hold.

The good trigger control I have learned, while Sm Bore shooting, kicked in and I got the all shots off while the front sight blade meandered by the bulls eye within the 60 sec. allowed.  Well !!-- a 100-5x-- that's a good start.  I always liked shooting sitting Rapid fire.  The second string seemed ragged, but the target came up with all the spotters inside the 10 ring again, but only 3 in the Xs.  Kevin would win the match.  That was fun!  Tim Thole also shot a clean 200-4x.
   My front sight faded from view in the 300 yd rapid fire match.(like my score), but Steve Erickson drilled 11 Xs and nine 10s to win that match with a 200-11x. Dale Wickstrom and Kevin posted scores just a couple pts back.  Strangely enough for the great conditions, no one cleaned the Prone Slow fire targets today.  We were shooting from 300 yds on those deceptively hard MR-63 Targets.  Everyone let one or more drift out into the nine ring, but 3 of the High Masters, Steve E, Capt. Bob, and Kevin fired 199s.  Steve's 10 x score takes the win.  Kevin Bangen came out on top of the scores for the day, with Omer H. just behind. Yours truly sneaks in for a class win in the master class
  The weekends tournament win goes to Kevin who posted a 1964-59x.  Denney Bertrand wins the Master Class, and H. Haagersen (sp?) gets the win in the EX and below.

  

  I think I'll come back and shoot a few more of these OTC matches.  Bad scores or not in the Standing match, the rest of the day will be fun, and I think I can get a few class wins in the Master class. I'll definately be back for the Fall matches here at MRC. It's a good place to shoot an OTC match.  

Notes:  
1 .Pictures:   Flood damage at NorthStar Rifle Club --  click here

2. Practice at GRRC:   From Kurt Borlaug  "Boys, Since July 4th lands on a practice day this year and a lot of us have it off, I plan to  be at GRRC range by 9am for a practice session including a NMC and Infantry run-through. I'll need to collect $5 from anyone who has not paid for seasonal practice fees. Please let me know if you can make it.   Kurt Borlaug"

3.  Elk river Sportsman's Club:  From Scott Olson  "Hi Jim,  Here are a couple of match programs that you can pass along.  First, ERSC is having three nights of NRA Approved Mid-Range/F-class for those wishing to get a classification beofre the state championship.  Second, here is the match program for the MRP/F-class state championship." - Scott
      Click Here  for ERSC F-class league bulletin 
       Mid range prone champ match bulletin July 28 -- click here

Two Weeks out
July 7-8             NRA Championship at NorthStar-- Match program Click Here
July 7                4 P Sm bore state champ at Hibbing  - Match program click Here  
July 8                3 P Sm bore state champ at Hibbing  - Match program click Here
July 8                300 meter International at MRC
July 15              Small Bore prone 1600 at MRC  -  Match program click here   

That's all Folks !
Hawkeye