News -- The month ahead

Shooters news ---The Months Ahead

Upcoming matches:

Winter Highpower league will host the 3rd match of the winter season on this Sat --Feb 6th at Mpls, Rifle club. The format is an "over the course" style match consisting of 10 shots offhand, 10 shots rapid fire sitting, 10 shots rapid fire prone, and 20 shots slow fire prone. Remember this match is shot from a heated shooting house where only the end of your barrel suffers from the cold. There are 12 comfortable firing positions, Electronic targets, and a club room for socializing.
This just in from George Minerich about Winter shooting:------

"Winter Fun and High Power at the Minneapolis Rifle Club

Winter High Power is in full swing at the Minneapolis Rifle Club (MRC). The range features 14 heated indoor shooting points and “state of the art” electronic targets,” on the 300 meter range. That means no targets to pull and + 62 degree shooting comfort. MRC’s rage is located in St. Francis, MN. For you Sun Birds, we do shoot in ten below weather all the time.

This winter’s activities include monthly club matches a NRA style high power league and organized practice days.

The monthly club high power matches are scheduled for the second Sunday of the month. Shooting usually starts at 10:00am. The match features Swiss (3 position), English (prone), F-Class and for those brave of heart all offhand. The matches are shot on the International target; the ten ring is 3.94 inches. The target is challenging, and the wind makes it easy to shoot a 9 but it is a great way to refine you positions. All interested shooters are welcome but come early since the last two matches had two relays. NRA rifles and shooting gear are welcome

The high power league is in full swing. It meets two Saturdays a month. There are 13 shooters in the league. The electronic targets have NRA 200 & 300 yard targets built in. The League shoots a modified National Match Course, 10 offhand, 10 rapid sitting, 10 rapid prone on NRA targets. The 20 shot slow fire prone round is shot on the International target. We tried the MR reduced to 300M but everyone thought it was too easy. To date no one has shot a clean on the International target! The shooters report that offhand and rapid sitting at 328 yards sure point out you bad habits in a hurry! In addition, to the National Match Course we have 4 devoted F-Class shooters that only shoot the International target. There have been a couple of cleans but they are hard to come by with the wind at MRC.

We have an organized fun practice on two Fridays a month. Nonmembers are welcome to join us. Guess have to pay the 10 cent a shot target fee just like any MRC member. For information on practice contact George Minerich at: minerich@clearwire.net .

Upcoming MRC matches include the Robert Sandager 60 shot Offhand Match with $1400.00 in prize money, February13,& 14, 2010 and the Minnesota State International Highpower Championships (NRA Registered), April 10 , prone and April 11 - 3 Position at shot 300 meters.

More information about the Minneapolis Rifle Club and activities can be found at: mgfc.org and mrra.org ."

Thanks George for the news

Standing match
Feb 13 & 14 - Bob Sandager 60 shot Open - Standing Match --MRC 60 shot Open - Standing Match --MRC
This is a big buck prize offhand match to be held at the Mpls rifle club over two days --- shoot one day or both. There is both an Iron sight class and a optical sight class --- once again I remind: Heated shooting house, no pit pulling, computer operated electronic targets.

300 meter match -- Feb 14th ---Cancelled

High Power clinic -- rescheduled
As we all know bad weather forced cancellation of the High Power clinic that was to be held in January, by Bob Peasley. Capt. Bob has informed me that arrangements have been made and the Clinic is now set for Feb. 20 @ Gander Mt. in Lakeville 1000 till about 1230. Emphasis will be on team shooting.

Minn. State Smallbore State Championships
George Minerich has published the schedule and match programs for the MN Outdoor State Smallbore Championships this summer in Hibbing, MN -- Three Position (3P),Four Position (4P) and Prone (2 day).
I will have will have a link to these programs on the Blog site as soon as I can get them to upload --hopefully today, but right now its not working. arrrgh!

Minnesota Junior Olympic Rifle Championship Date Set

"Shooters, Clubs and Coaches:

Firm dates for the State 3-P Air Rifle JORC match in Anoka, MN is set. The match is scheduled for Sunday, March 7th. This is a departure from our normal time frame of late April. Please put this on your calendars.
The Minnesota CENTERSHOTS will again host this match, only this year it will be held at the Anoka, MN National Guard Armory. We will have 30+ firing points, and we will be using the Orion scoring system which will give us fast, accurate scoring. Not that it wasn't accurate before, mind you, but we hope it will now be fast /and/ accurate. We also hope to run an International-style final if time permits.
Details will be sent in the near future as soon as we have the match program prepared."
Cheers! "
Larry Sawyer ----- Minnesota Centershots

News:
"Minnesota Sub-Junior Sets Two National Records !

Eric Hazelton (Long Rangers Junior Club) set two NRA National Records on July 4 and 5, 2009 at the 4 Position Regional match at the Minneapolis Rifle Club Range in St. Francis, Minnesota.

Eric now holds the National Sub-Junior Outdoor Smallbore Conventional 4 Position 160 shot 50 yard, A-23 Target, metallic sight record of 1248-18x and the National Sub-Junior Outdoor Smallbore Conventional 4 Position 160 shot 50 yard, A-23 Target, any sight record of 1248-18x .

Congratulation to Eric Hazelton on your great accomplishments!"
George Minerich MRRA Pres.

Other:
Elliot Zunich from North Western Gun Club is in Phoenix Az., this weekend, competing in the Berger Bullets SW Long Range Nationals -- along with other Minn. shooters, John Andres, and Larry Miller.
Good luck and good shooting to them!
Yours truly will be pulling targets all weekend to earn bullet money.

Pet Loads of Western long range shooters (Palma and Long range)
http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/reloading-western-shooters-pet-loads.html
The above article on German Salazar's web site lists the favorite loads of the top shooters regularly competing in long range matches at Ben Avery range, Phoenix. Ben Avery is the place where many top shooters spend the winter honing their skills and shooting matches 4 days a week. German Salazar is a triple distinguished shooter

Camp Perry Housing -- Kurt Borlaug says
" Boys, Our housing Czar, Larry Weidell is asking once again for a count on who will be on-base at Perry this August.
Please respond so he can make the proper arrangements/ headcount. When he makes the arrangements he is required to make the first night's deposit (about$12 per bunk, non-refundable) so keep this in mind. This job involves putting $ up front and Larry has graciously taken this on.
Check the header for his e-mail and get back to him soon. Thanks,
Kurt.....Larry, put me down for on-base please."

Team shooting --- Capt. Bob says
"Gents: I have not set a match or course of fire at North Star for memorial weekend May 29-30. The clubs have agreed that there should be no championships or regional's on holiday week ends. But we could certainly have an approved match of some kind. Therefore I am proposing the following.

Sat. May 29 an OTC team match of 80 shots each. That date is a month prior to the NRA/Service rifle championship at ERSC. Therefore I propose we call this the "TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP WARM UP MATCH". There has been mucho talk about more team shooting so here is your chance. Move your bowels or leave the throne.

I think this should be NRA approved which will cost $4.50 per shooter. I will also suggest that we make the entry fee $40.00 per team ($10.00 per member) with no awards. If you think we should have awards it will be $60.00 per team.

If I am going to do this I will require a minimum of 5 teams committed to attend 1 week prior to the date. Committed means I have your team entry of $40.00 in my hand by May 21. If it hails or snows you will get your $$$ back.

Perhaps we can arrange to do burgers & hot dogs on the grill after.

Please contact me if you like this idea. If it looks like 5 teams I'll work up a program for distribution about 4-5 weeks prior.

Note: The Club vs Club team match was the best match of the year last year -- Keep that in mind.

Rifle for Sale
if anybody is looking for a Service Rifle for XTC, member Dave Riley has a new Rock River DCM A2 unfired in the box for $1095.00. Give me a call if anyone needs this rifle.

Thanks---------Jerry Eden 602-320-7445 (phoenix)

Matches coming up :
Saturday Feb 6th -- Mpls Rifle club -- Winter HP league
Sat & Sun -- Feb 13th & 14th -- Mpls Rifle club -- Bob Sandager Offhand Matches (Big prizes)
Saturday Feb 20th -- Highpower Clinic -- Gander Mt. Lakeville, MN
Saturday Mar 27th -- State Offhand Championship at NWGC, Duluth Elliot Zunich 218-626-3551

Hawkeye

Out of town match -- Palma -- Phoenix Jan 30, 2010

Ben Avery Palma match
20 some shooters having fun at long range. Wind up and down from 3 to 11 Moa, sunny and Partly cloudy, mid 60s temp. all in all a very nice day to pull some triggers.

I took a $245 hit at Rio Salado range last week. It just goes to show you how important it is to pick up your brass!

Winter Training --"Dry firing to distraction"

If you suffer from WSW syndrome (winter shooting withdrawal). Try this. http://proneinthewilderness.blogspot.com/ (and click the diary entry) from our Canadian friend. Training is important. Don't just while the winter away watching TV waiting for spring. Remember also that in Proneshooting ---NPA is everything!

Arizona Nat. Guard --- 2010 Combat Arms Challenge

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of volunteering to help work a stage at the AZ Nat. Guard Combat Arms Challenge. This was a biathlon style event stressing physical fitness, and military combat skills. Teams of 2 Guard members were required to complete 10 stage events such as the M-16 event, claymore mine deployment, shotgun stage, obstacle course, long range rifle (squad designated marksman), M-67 Grenade throwing, M-9 pistol shooting, Close quarters Battle match, all the while being on the clock from start to finish, and having to run, walk, between stages a total of 3 to 5 miles depending on how many penalty laps (100 yds) at each stage were earned by missing a target. The stage I worked was the M-16/A4 rifle shoot, and teams had to assume the position and each would fire at 5 orange steel plates 12" square at 100 to 200 yds. These were tough targets (see pics), and most teams ended up runing a few penalty laps.
I was impressed by the skill, fitness and attitude of these young Guardsmen, and Women. Our country is in good hands! Ooh rah!

Out of town Match -- Jan 10th, 2010

Rio Salado -- Curio and Relics match -- Mesa, AZ
54 deg and windy for the 1st Relay. Gradually warmed up to about 70 deg and breezy by end of the match. 24 happy shooters.

Out of town Match -- Ben Avery - Jan 9th, 2010

Small Bore 1600 match -- Ben Avery, Phoenix AZ - 68 deg, light west breeze -- Great Day to welcome John Andres back for the winter season.

600 yd Match -- Ben Avery, Phoenix -- Jan 02, 2010

Desert Sharpshooters Rifle Club

"I don't even know where to begin with this report - it was the biggest club match in many years (53 shooters), we had perfect conditions and everything ran smoothly. Thanks to a great deal of help from all the competitors who volunteered to raise flags, run the line, build targets, put up additional number boards and more we had a timely and professional match. I can't list everyone who worked because so many pitched in, but you have our sincere appreciation.

Steve Cunico has acclimated to Phoenix quite quickly and shot a perfect 600-34X, making no mistakes to win what was a close and tough match. Steve is one of the top prone shooters in the country and we're all very happy to have him in Phoenix now; hopefully he'll make it full-time here soon. Mike Dal Santo was close behind at 598-44X and you really have to notice that 200-18X that Mike shot on his third string. Mike says his 6BR has over 6000 rounds through the barrel and is still shooting as good as ever. Tom Albanito was the high service rifle shooter, Ken Nelson first Master, Jack Arnold first Expert, Jack Greenleaf first Sharpshooter and Doug Popadince first Marksman (and that card won't last too long now). Johm Lowther just got an Expert classification and shot his personal best score to break it in.

Greg Swanson fired his first F-Class match with a beautifully stocked Barnard by Doan Trevor and took home the top spot. Charles Gooding, in just his second match took second place, Rick Curtis and Steve Lockwood were close behind for thrid and fourth. Michelle Gallagher won the F-TR with a very strong score and Chuck May shooting his .223 Savage just rebarelled by Norm Darnell was second with Bill Berta third."----German Salazar

Complete Results: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24708783/Desert-Sharpshooters-Rifle-Club

The Month Ahead -- Dec 26, 2009

The Month Ahead
Note: all links to programs and Schedules in this news letter are permanately posted at the Minnesota Rifle Shooting blog: http://minnesotarifleshooting.blogspot.com/

Jan 2nd, 2010 -- Start off the new year with participation in the 2nd match of the new "Winter Highpower League"
to be shot at Mpls. Rifle Club (Elect. targets) and put on by George Minerich, match director and MRRA President. Match is in the OTC format, 50 shots plus sighters with first shots down range at 1000 hrs. There is no need to be cold shooting here as the target house is heated and very comfortable and no target pulling is necessary. Match program: http://mrra.org/downloads/mrc/MRC_Winter_League.pdf
If you can't shoot because your trigger finger is broken (or some other lame excuse), come by and shoot the breeze about the up-coming big dollar ($$$) prize standing match in Feb
Results of Dec. match were not received by me.
Jan 10th 2010 -- Will be the first 300 meter match of 2010 again at Mpls Rifle Club -- Prone, Offhand, or 3P Take your pick.

300 Meter match report from Brian shiffman-- Dec

Mpls Rifle Club shooting house and shot monitor

"It was a pretty good day to have a match. Conditions required a bit of wind doping. We had 14 shooters with one abstaining. Several shooters that were new to me joined to shoot. We encourage all centerfire rifle competitors to participate in our monthly club matches; they are open to all. Just remember, no hunting or expanding bullets and no muzzle breaks.

The scores for the match are posted at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=12 As you look through the scores you will notice that ta number of shooters post consistent scores in F-Class and Prone. Philip Klanderud’s scores were very consistent; his first string only 2 points down from his next two strings of 20 shots each. Phillip was bested by one point by Matt Griffin. Their first and third strings were identical (187 and 189) but Matt shot a 190 to Phillip’s 189 in the second string. I shot F-Class with optical sight for my first string and got brave to shoot the last two strings with iron sights. Even using a rest, my scores are not good or consistent which means I still need work on my sight picture and alignment. I want to move to Prone but I’ll have to do better with iron sights before I tackle the other variables of position dynamics.

NOTE: With the upcoming Robert Sandager offhand match scheduled for February 13 and 14 we added an Offhand Class to the December and January matches for those wishing to get some practice under match conditions. We had two shooters at the December match that shoot Offhand Class, Erhard Bruderer and Mark Havlik. Erhard was shooting a full on match rifle while Mark shot his AR15. Our web scoring page does not have an Offhand Class so here are the results for Erhard and Mark:

Erhard 160 167 167 504

Mark 119 119 131 369

The January club 300 meter match will be on January 10^th and as usual we will start at 10AM and a match fee of $15, all up. This match will again include the Offhand Class.

As I write this we are under a blanket of snow and the satellite dish is not getting a signal. It is a good time to sit by the fireplace and think about the many blessings we have had this year.

Happy holiday season."

Brian D. Shiffman shiff004@umn.edu

2010 Highpower Sched from Bob Peasley

http://www.scribd.com/doc/23879501/2010-High-Power-Shcedule-Dec-5th-Version

Highpower
Kurt Borlaug has announced the schedule for the summer 2010 Thursday evening HighPower league matches at Gopher Rifle and Revolver club. Program (Schedule):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24410947/2010-GRRC-Thursday-Evening-High-Power-Prone-League-Schedule

Kurt has also organized a Tuesday evening M1 Garand league for summer of 2010 (again at GRRC), and these matches will be shot as a "President's" match format -- 10 shots prone slow fire, 10 shots rapid fire Prone, and 10 shots Standing.
Program (schedule) is found at http://www.scribd.com/doc/24412448/2010-GRRC-M1-League-Schedule

High Power clinic
When --Jan 23 rd
Where -- Gander Mt.-- Lakeville, MN
What -- Everything you wanted to know about High Power rifle competition (rules, sight settings, how to zero, wind reading, basic sight alignment, trigger control, sling attachment, getting into position, scope placement, etc.)
Who -- Bob Peasley (High master shooter in Long Range, OTC, Mid range, etc)

Program: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24413996/High-Power-Rifle-Clinic-Bob-Peasley

Long Range:
Berger Bullets SouthWest Long Range Nationals -- Feb 4th--7th 2010
Get away from the Cold!
Shoot long range at the Berger Bullets Southwest Long Range Nationals-- Feb 4th thru Feb 7th. This is a good opportunity to shoot head to head with the top prone shooters in the nation and thaw out a little in the process. This will be 4 days of Palma and 1000 yd matches at Ben Avery Range in Phoenix, AZ. You can test your skill against the big boys and the Ladies, such as Trudy Fay, Michelle and Nancy Galagher. You know that you need a shooting vacation this winter----this is your chance!
See you there
Match program: http://www.desertsharpshooters.com/champ/2010/2010%20Berger%20SW%20Nationals/Berger_SW_Nationals.pdf

Small Bore:
Our friend from North of the Border-- NWOshooter-- has posted a couple of good articles on his blog (Prone in the Wilderness) about his own training regimen, and the one I think that bears reading is about keeping a shooting diary. Keeping such a diary forces you to confront and list your mistakes and thereby reinforcing your memory to what you did wrong. Reviewing your shooting diary before a match and during your training helps you concentrate on the things that have caused problems in the past and hopefully you can apply corrections to your methods. We do hope to see NWOshooter at one of our next MN Small bore matches this coming summer. here is an example of one of his methods : http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B6GgWSR_71MKMTgxNDMyYTktMjBhNC00MWM1LTk3MjUtZGZhMGZkYWFlZGUw&hl=en

Article at: http://proneinthewilderness.blogspot.com/

Personal Notes:
Never get too Discouraged
OK, so you had the worst day of your shooting career today -- There is always tomorrow, and there is no place to go but up. Following is a letter I sent to my shooting Buddy who has vowed to Quit shooting due to lack of reward for all the effort he has put in trying to be a better shooter. ---

"(B.....)
Taking a break from an activity for a while can be a good Idea. However, one must be careful about over-reacting if one has had a bad day or a bad weekend. Recognizing "burn-out" for what it is helps one cope with the stress of relative failure in competition.
Remember, we don't shoot, at our skill level, in order to win, but to compete--to "play the game" as it were. I haven't won a rifle match in the last 5 years. It's doubtful weather I'll ever win another rifle match, so for me the competition is just to shoot at least above my average. If you think about it, this actually becomes easier and easier, as if we don't shoot well, our average goes down and then it's easier to shoot our average. So, eventually we win (shoot our average), and all is well.

I think there is no doubt that you shoot too much. I come to practice on Tuesday, and Thurs, and you are there before me, shooting away, and then when I leave, you are still there banging away. I shoot about 40 rds at practice and you shoot about 140. Now, you have added long range to your goal, and shoot a Palma match. I couldn't handle that much shooting, besides the fact that long range is very hard to score at. Too much shooting and too much loading ! Too much time spent on the sport for it to be fun. I becomes a chore, ---work. Work with no pay off.
So, think about what it is about the matches that is fun--- being at the match with the guys, -- having the opportunity to stretch your limits a little, --- Try new things out, -- a little friendly competition --- A person needs these things to stay young.
So, instead of quitting, just ease off a little, shoot less, enjoy it more. You will actually shoot better because of it. Go back to what you found to be fun when you started --- over the course, service rifle---well maybe not that far back. You now see why I don't shoot as much Long range prone. Prone shooters are so serious. The sport is boiled down too far to perfection. You have to shoot almost perfect scores or you are a failure. Like, Why did I drop those two pts yesterday---Why?
It's lots easier to have some fun in OTC matches-- No one shoots perfect scores there, and rapid fire is always fun --- and sometimes you get lucky.
So, take a little break from practice and loading, mix up your matches -- a little Prone, a few OTC matches, shoot scope in SB, set reasonable goals! Look at how far you have come in the last two years and be satisfied. Remember you shot a good score just last Sat in SB. Get back to the fun part of shooting.
I'll be at the OTC Sat with the service rifle, then a week so off.
Hawkeye"-

I also had to send this msg to myself last Sat night. I had just shot my personal record LOW score at a 500yd mid range match. I couldn't see the target, (old eyes) the new expensive sight I had bought didn't help, I couldn't read the wind (nothing new here), My trigger control was bad, and 2 x-fires didn't help much at all. Difficult wind (gusting to 25mph) and bad visibility didn't seem to hurt the better shooters (German Salazar shot a 598/600), so any excuses were I made were worthless. I was just not competitive --- period! Oh poor me. What a loser!
Well, Sunday morn.the sun still came up as expected, the weather was a little warmer, the wind was down, and I could shoot scope in a gentlemanly 160 shot SB prone match. I didn't have to worry about sight-alignment, and the scope substituted for old eyes. What a difference a day makes! Shooting was fun again. I shot the first 20x clean of my whole career, dropped only 2 pts for the day, and settled with a personal record high score of 1598/105x. What a difference a day makes. Two days of shooting, two personal records. I am rejuvenated. I can shoot well sometimes, and that makes it all worthwhile --- all the work, all the expense, all the mental anguish is worth it, for just one brief, shining moment when it all comes together (there is a Camelot).
Did I win that match ?--- nope. I was just 2nd loser. Rick Curtis shot 1599/136x and Allen Elliot shot 1598/112x. Oh, Well, I had fun and that's all that really counts. Think about it after a bad shooting day. The sun will come up tomorrow.
Hawkeye

Matches coming up:
Saturday Jan 2nd -- Mpls Rifle club -- Winter HP league
Sunday Jan 10th -- Mpls Rifle club --- 300m match
Saturday Jan 23 -- Highpower Clinic -- Gander Mt, Lakeville, MN
Sat & Sun -- Feb 13th &14th-- Mpls Rifle club -- Bob Sandager Offand Matches (Big prizes)

Minnesota Rifle Shooting Blog: http://minnesotarifleshooting.blogspot.com/

"If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You think their ways are wrong. They think you are dinner." -- Terry Goodkind

Southwest Long Range Nationals --Feb 4 thru Feb 7th

Get away from the Cold!
Shoot long range at the Berger Bullets Southwest Long Range Nationals-- Feb 4th thru Feb 7th. This is a good opportunity to shoot head to head with the top prone shooters in the nation and thaw out a little in the process. This will be 4 days of Palma and 1000 yd matches at Ben Avery Range in Phoenix, AZ. You can test your skill against the big boys and the Ladies, such as Trudy Fay, Michelle and Nancy Galagher. You know that you need a shooting vacation this winter----this is your chance!
See you there

Match program:
http://www.desertsharpshooters.com/champ/2010/2010%20Berger%20SW%20Nationals/Berger_SW_Nationals.pdf

Out of Town match -- Dec 20, o9

500 yd prone -- Rio Salado, Mesa AZ,

High Power Rifle Clinic

When --Jan 23 rd
Where -- Gander Mt.-- Lakeville, MN
What -- Everything you wanted to know about High Power rifle competition (rules, sight settings, how to zero, wind reading, basic sight alignment, trigger control, sling attachment, getting into position, scope placement, etc.)
Who -- Bob Peasley (High master shooter in Long Range, OTC, Mid range, etc)

Program: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24413996/High-Power-Rifle-Clinic-Bob-Peasley

GRRC Thursday evening High Power prone league

From Kurt Borlaug
Here is the Program & schedule for next summer's (2010) Thursday evening HP prone league matches at Gopher.

Program (schedule):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24410947/2010-GRRC-Thursday-Evening-High-Power-Prone-League-Schedule

Out of Town Match -- Small Bore 3200, Ben Avery 12/12/09

...Winner: Peter Church

The Week Ahead Dec 9th, 2009

The Week Ahead
This coming Sunday be at Mpls Rifle Club and shoot from a heated shooting house. The match-- 300 meters, position and prone, take your pick. Bring 60 rds + and have some fun shooting on the electric targets. F-class shooters encouraged to come.

2010 Highpower Sched from Bob Peasley
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23879501/2010-High-Power-Shcedule-Dec-5th-Version

Winter fun with Rifles and win "Big" money!
" Hi All
Please find attached a match bulletin for a little winter fun. Feb 13th and 14th, Minneapolis Rifle Club is holding a 60 round offhand match with $1400.00 in total prize money. Pre registration is $15.00 or $20.00 walk on registration. Please see the attached bulletin. Please spread the word. Thanks!"
George Minerich -- MRRA President
Match bulletin: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23878798/REVISED-60-Shot-Offhand-Match

Mpls Rifle Club 300m Match -- Nov 8th
See Brian Shiffman's report on this match and pictures below:
Next match is Dec 13th--This Sunday Mpls Rifle Club 0900hrs

Long Range Shooters:
AZ Palma championships Dec. 4th -6th 2009
I had the pleasure of attending (pulling targets $$, not shooting) at the 2009 Arizona Palma State Championship matches this past weekend. This is a Long Range Match contested over 3 days at 800, 900, and 1000 yds with .308 caliber rifles, Iron sights, and little 155gn bullets, so as to really test the skill of the shooters. They were tested. Friday's start at the 800 yd line saw cold and strong gusty winds already separating out the top shooters from the also rans. At the 900 the wind calmed and the temp rose to a comfortable 60's deg day. Friday was great weather in the high 60s with light winds except at the 1000 yd line, and Sunday repeated Saturdays conditions, again with tricky winds at the 1000 to ensure that the top shooters earned their wins. They did.
See Links below for results:

From: German Salazar -- ASRPA Highpower Director
"We had a very good turnout and the weather was very good, presenting a range of conditions without becoming unmanageable. We hope to see you all back for the Berger Bullets Long Range Championship in February, the program and entry forms are at www.desertsharpshooters.com ."

AZ Palma champ results (agg)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23875596/2009-AZ-PALMA-AGG

AZ Palma champ results (Team)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23876443/2009-Az-Palma-Team

Prepare for 2010 Highpower-- from GRRC December newsletter (Dave Newell -Pub)

"GRRC will be experiencing some new and exciting changes to the High Power practice format in 2010. First of all, we will have an M1 Garand League. These will be 30 shot matches fired at 200 yards in the prone slow-fire, prone rapid-fire and standing slow-fire stages. Each shooter will take a turn in the pits and then shoot, and vice-versa. These will be fired on meeting nights beginning in June, running through September. The final match will be a CMP sanctioned event where scores will be sent to CMP for national rankings. Shooters achieving "cut" scores will receive medals of bronze, silver or gold relating to performance.

The usual Thursday practices will have an added twist. First of all, we are moving to Wednesdays. Explanation to follow. The Wednesdays will be in a league format. Each session will be either 10 shots standing at 200 yards followed by ten shots sitting rapid-fire at 200. Shooters will then go back to 300 for a prone rapid string. Pits will rotate after the first relay finishes, and those who started in pits will fire. The next session will be 600 yards slow-fire prone at 600 yards, with an infantry match stage thrown in for MN Team shooters as well as anybody who wants to try this game.

Thursdays will witness the beginning of a High Power Prone League. This will be open to F-Class shooters as well as sling shooters. This will be a mix of 300, 500, 600 and 1,000 yard events. The schedule for this league is based around the LR matches that GRRC will host.

All leagues will be open to members and non-members alike. If you have wanted to try HP in some form and never had the chance, this will be a low-impact introduction to the sport. I will need HELP! Please contact me if you are interested in competing/assisting. Start prepping brass as it will be a long season!!"
Kurt Borlaug

1st Annual GRRC Smallbore Prone League Final Results
Larry Sawyer 6354-403X League Champion (MNCenter shots Head Coach, Distinguished Smallbore position and prone shooter)
Jim Evenson 6299-326X First GRRC Member
Jonell Sawyer 6281-263X First Woman (Larry’s partner in love and crime)
Kurt Borlaug 6251-271X (GRRC, Mn Rifle Team)
Carmen Fry 6169-195X First Junior and GRRC Jr.
Joel Peabody 6164-187X (GRRC)
Scott Chester 6138-210X (GRRC JR)
Shelby Sandstrom 6128-175X (GRRC JR)
Danielle Groeshens 6113-180X (GRRC JR)
Mark Schoess 6064—134X (??) (GRRC, MN Rifle Team)
Randy Allee 6033- 160X (GRRC MN Rifle Team)
Bill Lahti 5999-143X (GRRC)
Willy Elliot 5929-123X (GRRC, Anoka Cty. 4H Coach
Tom Torborg 5928-111X (GRRC, Mn Rifle Team, NewFather)
Gordon Kordosky 5847-106X (GRRC)
Allie Taschuk 5667-82X (Mn. Centershots JR)
Gabe Starr 5585-71X (GRRC JR)
Sarah Kostick 5559-76X (Anoka County 4H Coach)
Rik Rarick 5545-65X (GRRC BPCR)
Cliff Secord 5533-47X (GRRC wearer of many hats)

The total possible points for this league was 6400-640X. Small-bore prone is fired at 50 yards, 50 meters and 100 yards. The
blackpowder range is where we fired this league and many thanks are due to GRRC members for help setting up this range, as well as the cooperation involved among other disciplines. The turnout was far better than I expected and a special thanks is due to Jim Evenson for helping to run the “Day Shift” shooters. These were a group of retired gents who fired in the mornings and
helped to take pressure off the evening shift when firing points were at a premium. All scores will be sent to the NRA and you will receive a classification card representing the classification you earned while participating in this league. Thanks to all participants and we hope to see you next year
-Kurt Borlaug

Next Match
Dec 13th 2009 -- Mpls Rifle club -- 300m prone and position

Keep em in the middle
Hawkeye

"If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You think their ways are wrong. They think you are dinner." -- Terry Goodkind

Mpls Rifle Club - 300 m Match - Nov 8th

If the temperature was in the 70’s is might have been a better day than what we had on Nov. 8. Calm to begin with and a little breeze from now and then by 11AM or so. Basically, a really nice day to shoot .Lance was on his game, particularly in kneeling. Look at his score (and all the rest) at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=11

We had a couple of new shooters at this match, Robert Smith and Steve Morehead. Steve’s a lefty, like me, but shooting a right handed hunting rifle. I’ve included pictures as attachments so you can see who the shooters are and what they were shooting.

This was Robert’s first time out and with a custom AR15. The rifle was set up with iron sights and he was intending to shoot Prone class but with the combination of rear riser and high front sight there was not sufficient adjustment up; with the riser removed there was not adjustment down! That issue will be solved with new parts. As a result, Robert shot in F-Class, and for his first time out did remarkably well. Robert is an air and free pistol shooter and so has picked up some good habits along the way.

If you look at the scores of the F-Class shooters you will see very good consistency for each as the match progressed.

Ed Facundo brought his twin sons for their first trip to watch the match. They are not identical but I still could not remember which name went with which boy. They were remarkably well behaved and quite interested for being almost 9 years old. After the match they had a chance to fire a few shots from his rifle and then some through my Anschutz air rifle. 300 meters is a stretch for a pellet but he wanted them to get a chance to get up close and personal with an air rifle. Ed has plans to get one for the boys.

The December match will be this Sunday, December 13^th. As usual, shooting will start at 10AM so get there in time to set up, go through the administrative process (really easy, just pay $15) and a review of the electronic target operation. Oh, get there really early if you want to set up and go through the admin stuff before the BS sessions begin. I expect to have several new shooters at this match and there should be time to get to know each other.

I missed summer; it looks like winter decided to show up after all.

Brian D. Shiffman
shiff004@umn.edu

Minn Rifle & Revolver Assoc. winter meeting Dec 5th -- Agendas

The MRRA will hold it's winter Board and Membership meeting at Gander Mountain located at 14640 W. Freeway Dr., Forest Lake, MN, 55025 on Dec. 5th.
10 Am Board meeting
12 pm General membership meeting
Note: State service rifle team meeting follows membership meeting

Please attend: This is your chance to discuss and bring ideas to the Assoc. to help improve our sport.
See agendas at link below--
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23372557/2009-Winter-Meet-Agenda-2

High Power winter league -- at Mpls. Rifle Club

"Hi Guys please find below the schedule for the MRC Saturday NRA National Match / F-Class League. We will shoot the NRA National Match Course, 10 offhand, 10 Rapid Sitting, 10 Rapid Prone and 20 Slow Fire Prone with sighters at each position. If you want EIC practice you get no sighters. All targets scoring is modified for the electronic targets at 300 meters and the target on the computer monitor will look like the SR, SR-3 or MR. For F-Class shooters we will let you shoot the International target - 50 rounds plus sighters (challenge wise, it’s very similar to the F-Class target).
The league fee is a flat fee of $80.00. $7.00 is the NRA League fee and the balance is for heat and electronic target maintenance. The $80.00 fee is due at the first match and is nonrefundable. Please note The fee is set up this way to reserve the range and to be sure there is participation since I am donating 8 Saturdays. You can pre-register by contacting me -- see below.
Matches start at 10:00am, but be there by 9:30am for preparation. We should be done by noon.
Please contact George Minerich if you have any questions at (320) 968-6898 or minerich@clearwire.net

MRC SATURDAY HIGH POWER LEAGUE
50 Rounds plus sighters
Dec. 19, 2009
Jan. 02, 2010
Jan. 16, 2010
Jan. 30, 2010
Feb.06, 2010
Feb. 20, 2010
Mar. 06, 2010
Mar. 20, 2010

Out of town High Power Match -- Rio Salado OTC Nov 21, 2009

It was a beautiful day for a match -- 75 deg and no wind! Had fun with the Service rifle and shot the smallest group I ever shot in 300 rapid. Too bad it was all in the 9 ring at 12 o'clock.

Hawkeye

Out of Town Small Bore Match -- Phoenix Rod and Gun Club Nov 14th '09

Shooters,

I seem to have misplaced my results table so my feeble attemt at a summary will have to do.We had a great day at the range today, 14 shooters on the line for the Anysight 1600 with four juniors to boot. Speaking of juniors Richard Layton made his prescence known by winning the Dewar Match with a very impressive 400-34 and winning the 50 yrd match with an almost perfect 400-39X. Richard finished the day with a very respectable 1595-129X for second overall, just out X-ing our Match Director Allen Elliot who finished third with a 1595-105X. Great shooting Richard! In the slightly older division Jack Arnold and Pete Church battled it out for fourth place with Jacks 1594-102X just besting Pete's 1593-109X.

Back to the younger folks who choose to shoot iron sights today, we had a battle to the end with Matt Roessel claiming victory and the Silver Mug with a great 1526-46X just edging out Jay James' 1521-38 and Scott Siggs who put up a solid 1497-45X. Full results below.

Rick Curtis 1597-117X
Richard Layton 1595-129X Jr.
Allen Elliot 1595-104X
Jack Arnold 1594-102X
Peter Church 1593-109X
Jim Cobb 1585-082X --- Irons
Jim Evenson 1582-076X ---Irons
Mick Walker 1573-076X
Bill Luth 1533-037X
Matt Roessel 1526-046X Jr. ---Irons
Jay James 1521-038X Jr. ---Irons
Scott Siggs 1497-045X Jr. ---Irons
Jack Greenleaf 1469-014X ---Irons

On behalf of the Desert Sharpshooters I want to thank everyone who came out and we look forward to seeing you all again. Remember, if you want our sport to grow bring a junior.
Rick Curtis

Minnesota 2009 Rifle Match Pictures

Picture albums of last summer's Minnesota rifle Matches are posted at : http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg7/Hawkeye772/

click any album in left column

International Air Rifle match -- Nov 09

Cold weather does not stop dedicated shooters !

Bills Gun Shop -- Robinsdale, MN
Pictures by Mike Marzitelli

Air Pistol match -- Nov 09

Air Pistol shooting Nov. 09 Pics by Mike Marzitelli

Mple Rifle Club -- Electronic targets -- 300 meters

300 meter match Sunday, Nov 8th

300 m Rifle match

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Rifle shooters, this Sunday Nov 8th, the Mpls Rifle Club will be hosting their monthly 300 meter rifle match. This is another good chance to try out those really neat Electronic targets while shooting from a comfortable heated shooting house. So, there's no excuses to stay home because of cold weather. Come on out -- have some fun -- be social - pull some triggers.

Map to MRC -- http://mrra.org/images/maps/mrc_map.gif

Air Rifle and Air pistol League starting up

"The Air Pistol and Air Rifles Leagues are off and running at Bill's in Robbinsdale. The pistol shooters convene on Tuesday evening and the offhand rifle shooters on Wednesday. There are about a dozen pistol shooters, some performing at an elite level. We have just started the offhand rifle league hence we have about 8 regular competitors. It is gratifying to see the improvement in offhand scores that many are experiencing thus far. This should be fair warning for some of the other smallbore and highpower competitors next season. There is room for more shooters on both evenings. The price is absolutely right, being 5 bucks for range fees and a one time contribution of between $5 or $7 to cover target costs. If anyone is interested, they should come at least to be a spectator, free, and see the action. Feel free to contact Mike Marzitelli at mmarzitelli@hotmail.com for any questions or details. "
Mike marzitelli