Shooters News for the Minn Area - May 23, 2012

The Week Ahead

Prone shooters are going to have to make hard choices this weekend.  There are 4 prone matches scheduled for this coming Sat and Sunday.  Both, the Mpls Rifle Club and NorthStar Rifle Club have a full schedule for those who want to get in some competitive trigger pulling.

   Mpls Rifle Club will be hosting the Regional Prone Outdoor Sm Bore Championship, which will feature a 160 shot prone match on both Sat., May 26th, and Sun.May 27th,    Sat. will be an "Iron" sight match, and on Sunday May 27, shooters may use "Any" sights.  Targets will be shot at 50 yds, 50 m, and 100 yds.   (Seniors: [Rule 2.2.1] may fire with scope sights on Ironsights day with no awards and no Aggregate).

               Click here for match program

    NorthStar Rifle Club will be offering two days of Mid Range prone shooting for those who want to shoot some longer range matches.   The Saturday match will see shooters firing 20 shots, plus sighters, at 300 yds, 500yds, and 600 yds. with Iron sights, and then an additional 20 shot match at 600 yds with "Any sights" -- total 80 shots + sighters.  On Sunday, the match format will change from 20 shot matches to 15 shot matches -- total 60 shots for record. 

               Click Here for match program (incl. map to range)   

   

Last Weekend

GRRC had a good turnout for it's annual "Bob Hall" OTC match last Saturday, and I'm sure that it would have been better had the weather not been so blustery.

click to enlarge

This in from Mark Havlik: 

"Jim, here's a picture of the results board from the Bob Hall match last Saturday.  As you can see by the scores conditions were sporting with the wind howling from 6:00. The sun was shining bright all day until, that is, we moved back fo600. With out a wisp of mirage, I was using the Dragon flys to judge wind shifts. Kevin Bangen won (of course) with Kurt Borlaug taking second Here is the results photo."

    Click to view slide show

The Weekends competitions at GRRC also included a Palma Match on Sunday.  Palma Matches are shot at 800, 900, and 1000 yds -- 15 shots at each distance.

This in from Kurt Borlaug: 

  GRRC saw 17 competitors brave severe winds on Saturday, May 19th for the Bob Hall Memorial. The weather was great despite the wind and there were some new shooters testing their skill at the full distance. Stacey Tamulinas did a masterful job as Line Officer, freeing up some OTC shooters to get into the fray for a change. Thanks Stacey!
  The 200 yard line was won for both events by Kurt Borlaug shooting his trusty AR15 service rifle. The offhand score was a 185-3x and the sitting rapid stage was a 198-9x. First master in offhand was Dick Van Valkenburg at 182-2x and first expert was Jon Peters at 173-2x. First in HM sitting was Kevin (Thor's Hammer) Bangen at 197-10x. First in Master Mark Havlik at 198-6x and first Expert was Don Mastro at 193-4x.
  The 300 line witnessed fairly little left to right windage, but the velocity was increasing, coming straight from 6 o'clock. Kevn slammed out a tidy 199-9x for the match win with Havlik again on top in Master Class at 194-4x. The Expert Class went to Don Mastro with a 198-7x. Don, Please, please come to Perry this year! I know you miss it.
  As always the 600 yard line saw age and finess, well at least a lot of age, win out with Dale Wickstrom on top with 195-5x. First Master went to Dick Van Valkenburg at 195-4x. He must be listening when Dale speaks on those long trips from Dullyouth. Dick was firing a space gun in 240 Turbo.
  Overall match winner and Bob Hall trophy caretaker was Kevin Bangen at 775-25X and second place was Kurt Borlaug at 762-19x. Erik Rhode took second in Master aggregate and Don Mastro was high in expert at 734-16x. Thanks to all for a great early season contest.

  Sunday saw the Rudy Wadekamper match contested under a drizzle driven by some tough wind. The Waddy Trophy goes to the high shooter firing a .308 with bullets less than 156 grains. Due to the increasing rain, the match director made the call to stop the match after completion of the 900 yard phase. There were 21 shooters posting scores including 10 F-Class competitors. Wadekamper macth rules now allow a non-resident to be eligible for the win and Brian Mrnak from Wisconsin took it home with a 299-15x. His only point drop occurred at 800 yards for a 149-7x and a clean with 8x at 900 yards. An X-count of 50% is pretty impressive when you've got rain in your front sight! Stacey Tamulinas was 2nd overall at 293-9x.
  The Master class went to Elliot Zunich at 290-6x and Paul Cross was 2nd in Master at 287-7x. The Father- Son duo of Chris and Eric Hazelton battled it out with Jr. Eric beating Dad at 282-4x to 280-4x. Looks like Dad will be reloading again! Chris took home the unlimited bullet trophy firing a 6.5/284.
  In F-Class, the match winner was Eric Johnson with a 296-13x. Eric cleaned at 800 with 7-x. Second overall and first in Master Class was Carl Kaster at 294-10x.  GRRC Member John Rykhas was first in combined class with a 290-7x. Despite the weather all of the competitors were glad they stuck it out as they will have tale to tell for the ages.

    Thanks Kurt, and Mark for the match reports !

300 Meter International   

 Results of the May 13th 300 meter match

From Brian Shiffman:    

 "I was unable to make the match but George Minerich saved my bacon by running the match; many thanks to him. 

In looking over the scores I see there were multiple shooters in all our recognized classes.  The scores looked good in general and with a tie for first place in F-Class. 

Full results can be found at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=5

The next match is scheduled for Sunday, June 10.  Email will be sent later to begin the pre registration process."

 Brian D. Shiffman   shiff004@umn.edu  

click to enlarge

Notes:  

From Capt. Bob: 

"Highpower shooters--You may find the attached article about one of NorthStar Rifle Club's founders of interest  

Capt. Bob has also sent us the summary and conclusion to his 3 part series of articles on Rear Sight diopters.

  "LENS TESTING PART 3  By CAP-N-BOB  

After a 3 week delay for other “duties” and a few shootin’ contests here is part 3 of my lens testing.

 The last testing to be done was with the .5 front lens in SUPER PICKLE, my #1 MRP rifle chambered in 240 NMC. After the first tests at 600 yards I repeated a few checks at 100 yards on my home range. The results were essentially the same so I accomplished test 3 at 100 yards.........................

    click here to read the rest of the article: "Lens testing part 3"

Two Weeks out

June 2, Saturday -- Service Rifle Clinic at Post 435 gun club - click here for program 

June 2-3 Sat & Sun -- Atkinson/Luebke Memorial OTC at NorthWestern Gun Club

                                    click here for match program  

That's All Folks !

Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - May 15th, 2012

 The (my) long spring migration from Arizona is over, and my Mn computer is up and running. For me, the Minn shooting season starts this coming weekend So, let's see what is happening.

The Week Ahead   

There are 3 good rifle matches to choose from this coming weekend. The choices include a little something for everyone ---  Small Bore, Long Range, and Over the Course matches all happening this weekend.

    Saturday, May 19th, Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club (GRRC) is challenging all shooters to come and contest their rifle shooting skills in the "Bob Hall", 80 shot "over the course" match. This is a traditional, beginning of the season, Fun Match, so no matter if you are a marksman or highmaster shooter, this match will be a good time.   

                        Click Here for match program 

   Sunday May 20th,  Long Range shooting at GRRC. This will be a 45 shots for record "Palma" match, with 15 shots each at 800, 900, and 1000yds.  

 Match program for the "Rudy Wadekamper" Palma match --  Click Here

    Sunday May 20th, (Sm. Bore)  Mpls Rifle Club hosts the first of the "Outdoor Prone 1600" series of summer matches. Shooters fire 4 prone matches starting at 50 yds, then 100 yds, and finally 50 meters with .22 cal target rifles. This is excellent practice for Mid Range and Long range matches.  Click Here for match program

 

300 meter Int.   (results of Apr. 15 match)  

 From Brian Shiffman: 

 "It turned out to be a fine day for shooting with light winds.  Four F-Class shooters scored 590 or above and one just missed at a 589.  The three junior shooters accounted for themselves quite well with Kamilla Kisch picking up 2 points from the March match and Konrad Kisch picking up 7 points from March.  But, Kamilla still scored higher than the other juniors.

   Tom O’Donnell and Ed Facundo were the only 3-Position shooters, but Tom had the pin holding the extractor to the bolt of his rifle break and he was not able to finish the match.

   Erhardt Bruderer was the only shooter in Offhand (standing) for the match and did quite well.

     Robert Smith was the only Prone shooter and he handily won that class with a personal best of 570.

    Quite a few of the F-Class shooters were very consistent, varying by just a point or three over the three series of fire.  I think consistency is very important, even if the scores are not stellar because it shows the shooter is doing the same thing over and over.  Scores should improve by more trigger time, tweaking of body position, breathing, wind reading, and sight alignment.  Sometimes it means a tweak in the ammunition.  Or, like me, the shooter is just having a bad day.  (Yes, I know, the dog ate my homework.)

 The full results can be found at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=4

 Two items for immediate attention:

     1.  This Saturday, May 5, is work day at the range and we can use a lot of help.  We start at 9am.

2.     There is a membership meeting on Tuesday, May 8 at the Anoka American Legion Club on Main Street.

The next MRC 300 meter match is scheduled for Sunday, May 13.  Remember to bring chamber flags." 

Brian D. Shiffman   shiff004@umn.edu

Small Bore  

   This in from Chad Danielson:  

"Jim, Junior information below from the National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships for your website.

Five Juniors Represent Minnesota at 2012 National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships.

In April five Minnesota juniors competed at the National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships in Smallbore and Air Rifle at the US. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs , Colorado.  Allie Taschuk and Samantha Peterson represented Minnesota in both Women's disciplines of Smallbore and Air Rifle, while Elizabeth Ewert competed in the Air Rifle competition. In the Women's 3X20 Smallbore competition, shooters shoot 20 shots in each of the positions Prone , Standing , and Kneeling, which is shot two times for a possible 1200. In the first day of the women’s smallbore competition Samantha Peterson shot a 537/600 while Allie Taschuk was only 3 points behind Peterson with 534. On the second day of shooting Peterson put up an extremely impressive 559, while Allie Taschuk also put up an improved second day score of 551. Those scores secured Samantha Peterson a 1096 total and a 45^th overall finish ,but a Silver Medal in the J3 age category. Allie Taschuk finish the competition with 1085 finishing her 52^nd  overall out of the 68 competitors in Women’s Smallbore.

   In the Women's Air Rifle portion female shooters shoot 8 standing targets over the course of two days for a possible 800 points. Samantha Peterson in Air shot a 757, and finishing 47th overall within the 100 women competitors. Allie Taschuk shot a 756 just a point behind Peterson for a 49^th overall finish. Elizabeth Ewert also in the J3 category in Air Rifle shot a 752 placing her 64^th  overall and 6^th in the J3 age category.  Allie Taschuk will be attending and shooting for the 2012 NCAA National Champions Texas Christian University (TCU) in the fall.  

          For the Men's competitions juniors, Patrick Sunderman, and Scott Chester represented the State in Men’s Air Rifle, where competitors shoot 12 Air Rifle standing targets over the course of two days for a possible 1200. Patrick Sunderman posted an 1174 for 3^rd and securing him a spot in the final which the top 8 competitors advance to. While Scott Chester put up an 1127 for 42^nd overall. In advancing to the final Patrick Sunderman shot a score of 98.9 for a total of 1272.9 and finishing him 4^th overall after the final. Men¹s Air Rifle saw 101 competitors compete in the event. 

         In the Men's Smallbore competition Patrick Sunderman was the only Minnesota men's qualifier for the event, which consists of 60 shots in Prone, and 40 shots in both Standing and Kneeling for one day of competition, and repeated for a second day of competition, for a possible 1200 in the Men's Prone competition, and a possible 2400 in the Men's 3X40 position portion of the competition. Patrick overcame unexpected adversity in the course of competing at the Championships as after he arrived he found the bolt of his Feinwerkbau .22 rifle had been broken during the flight to Colorado and in turn rendering his rifle useless for the competition. Patrick had to have a bolt overnight next day shipped to him from another local junior shooter who happened to shoot the same model rifle and was willing to send Patrick his bolt to be used for the competition.  Patrick posted in the Prone competition a total score of 1176 out of 1200 giving him a 12th J1 category finish , and a 15th overall of the 61 total competitors. In the Men's 3X40 position competition Patrick posted a 2305, placing him 5th in his J1 age category, and 5th overall again securing a spot in the final of the top 8 competitors. In the Smallbore 3 Position final Patrick put up a 91.6 for a total of 2396.6 holding his 5^th place overall for the competition.  Complete results of all the matches can be found on the USA Shooting website

          All junior competitors had to qualify through previous competition shooting a minimum qualification score to receive an invitation to compete out at this championship. All five above Minnesota shooters showed exceptional skill, and tremendous dedication in the accomplishment of even qualifying for the competition, as it is only each years top juniors shooters in the country who receive invites. Please be sure to congratulate these five shooters if you happen to have the opportunity to see one of them on a range during this upcoming summer shooting season."

Thanks, Chad for that report.  

Notes:

1. This Wednesday continues Highpower, and Service Rifle practice at GRRC.  Shooting starts at 5pm and the course of fire rotates from 200 yd Offhand to 600 yd prone each week. This week is 600 yd Prone. 

2. If you want to read more about the "March Madness" spring series of Sm bore prone matches held in Phoenix, Click Here and scroll down to Pg 4 to read Mick Walkers report on all 5 weeks of sm bore competition.   

3. Capt. Bob is almost done with Pt. 3 of his series of articles on Rear Sight Diopters. Stay tuned. 

4. Leo Huhta informs me that Elk River Sportsmans club has Tuesday night organized High Power practice -- 6 pm start.  Any questions please give Leo a call on his cell phone at 612-804-7813    Leo.huhta@remmele.com

Two Weeks out 

May 26 and 27 will see prone shooters headed down to NorthStar Rifle Club for a two day Mid Range belly match.   Click Here for match program.

from Capt. Bob: 
 "Hello belly shooters:   Attached is your program for the 2 day MRP/F class at North Star May 26-27.  I'm thinking about taking the camper down about noon on Fri.  If there is enough interest I think I could arrange for a $2.00 organized practice about 2 or 3 Fri. afternoon.  Maybe shoot 15 ea at 3 & 500 or some such. Let me know if you would be interested.  Holdhard-   Bob"  

   May 26, 27 -- Mid Range Prone at NorthStar -- program click here  

   May 26, 27 -- Sm. Bore Prone Regional Championships at MRC -  program click here

Shooters News for the MN Area -- May 2, 2011

The Week Ahead   

The main action moves to NorthStar Rifle Club this coming weekend.  Just North of Red Wing, Mn on Hwy #61,  NorthStar will be opening their match season with two days of  "Over the Course" rifle competition.  Both Saturday, May 5th, and Sunday, May 6th,  will feature  an 80 shot OTC match and give everyone a good chance to practice their Offhand, Rapid fire, and prone shooting.  NorthStar has a great camp ground for those who would like to stay right at the range for the weekend.
       Match Program and Entry --  Click Here
       Weather forecast for RW  ---  Click Here

Meanwhile at GRRC
While there will be great competition at NorthStar,  Service Rifle shooters will have the opportunity to participate in the CMP Games - Military rifle Matches that will be held at Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club on Saturday, May 5th.  The day's shooting at Gopher will consist of 2 separate 30 shot matches and a "Vintage Sniper Rifle" match.  Each of the 30 shot matches will have 10 shots Standing slow fire, 10 shots Rapid fire prone, and 10 shots Slow fire Prone --- this is basicaly the same as the "President's Match"  held at the National Championships, Camp Perry, Ohio. All matches to be shot from the 200 yd line on the forgiving SR target.  These matches are a great opportunity for the beginning or experienced shooter to get out that old M1 (or other) older service rifle and have some fun. 
       CMP Games (GRRC)  --  Match Program and Entry  --  Click Here 


Last Weekend
No Report came in from the Weekend's Matches at Eau Claire, so we hope that the wet weather didn't dampen the competition.

Scott Olson caught up to me with a Rpt on the Elk River Sportsmens Club's spring Wind Clinic, and Mid Range match that was held last Sat and Sun.  It sounds like having the opportunity to learn some wind reading skills from top coaches like Steve, and Rick, has made this annual event a "Go To" event for this shooting area.

From Scott Olson:

"Hi Jim,

ERSC had a great turnout for the Wind Clinic.  Steve Knutson and Rick Hunt did an awesome job of helping over 40 experienced and new shooters with wind skills.  Shooters from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota attended the clinic and Sunday's match.  The weather proved to be a challenge for the team match on Saturday afternoon, so time was spent on position training and dry firing in the club house.  Late in the day Saturday, the rain subsided and shooting at 600 yards took place.  There was a great demonstration by Rick and Steve on how coaching occurs during a Palma or F-class match. 
Sunday morning saw the return of the historic April 4Gun- 600 Yard match at Elk River Sportsman's Club.  27 shooters competed in the 80 shot match.  In the MRP discipline, Elliot Zunich from Duluth was on fire.  Elliot is a new Grand Senior but you couldn't tell from his scores!  Morgan Dietrich tied Elliot in score, but fell 10 X's short of Elliot's 793-46X. Junior, Eric Hazelton came in third with 784-30X.  Wow, Eric is good.  F-Open saw the return of 2010 State Champion, Ben Winget, in his usual form.  Despite shooting his fireforming load, Ben shot a 796-47X.  F-TR had some new faces including Mike Lehmeier from up Sartell way who knocked out a 765-24X for his first match and his first win. 

Thanks for your efforts,"

Scott Olson

Notes:  

Kurt's note below got me thinking-----As the shooting season gets going this spring, lets all keep this in mind:   all competitive shooters need to constantly remember that we can't just show up at matches, have some fun, and then go home till the next match.  It's the responsibility of every competitive shooter to do some of the work that makes these shooting matches happen, and to keep up the range facilities where we spend our time shooting. Someone has to make up all the targets, and keep them in good repair. Someone has to mow the range and clean up the pits.  Someone has to clean out the target shed occasionally and grease the target carriers.   Someone has to run the matches and not just show up to shoot. The thing to do is to plan on doing a little work each time when going to the range, even if its just sweeping out the target shed. Let's all do our fair share

From Kurt Borlaug:

  "Gents, HP practice sessions (at GRRC) start tomorrow at 5 pm. Just a reminder that if the weather looks bad, it will be hard to shoot so use the electronics at your disposal to assess what the outlook is. Don't call me, use your best judgement.
  At practice tomorrow we will need to do some prep work for the CMP Games/ Vintage Sniper match this weekend. Tom has a lot of chatter online about these events and we want to put on a good show so cooperation is essential. Pit boxes need tending, faces need work (200, 300 and 600) all the usual items to do.
  Lastly, as our HP headcount is ever-shrinking at GRRC please be advised that you will be asked to help out before, during and after these events. This isn't a time to hide. If you want to shoot a match, someone has to put some effort into getting it going.
Hope to see you tomorrow, Kurt" 

Two Weeks Out  

 May 12th- 13th -- Mid Range Prone at Lacrosse Rifle Club -- no program available

 May 13th           --  300 m Int at Mpls. Rifle Club 

 May 20th (Sun.)  -- First Outdoor Prone Sm Match at MRC -  Program Click Here  

That's all folks !

Hawkeye

Shooters News for the MN area -- Apr 25, 2012

The Week Ahead
With temperatures forecast to be in the Mid 50s, mostly sunny sky's, and just a moderate breeze from the East, traveling shooters will be heading to the Eau Claire rifle club for a weekend of historically great matches.  On Saturday, Apr. 28, the shooting contest will be a Mid Range 4X20 prone match to be shot all at 600 yds.  On Sunday, Apr 29, the competition will change to an "Over the Course" style match, with shooting from the Standing, sitting, and prone position, at 200 yds to 600 yds.  With the Eau Claire rifle club, being only a 2 hr drive (in the Corvette) from Mpls., this has always been a popular and well attended match.
   Match Program--- click here         Weather forecast for Eau Claire --  click here

Last Weekend   
Traditionally, in the past, the full-on shooting season in the Minn area has started with a weekend of matches at the Eau Claire Rifle Club on the 4th weekend of April.  This year a couple rifle clubs of winter deprived shooters pushed the season a little and scheduled matches last weekend. Elk River Sportsman's Club held a wind clinic, and Mid Range prone match.  I understand this match was well attended, but no results were forwarded to me for posting. GRRC held their ever popular annual Service Rifle Clinic and "Fun" match.   
    From Kurt Borlaug:  "Gentlemen, We (GRRC)  completed our clinic yesterday with 21 shooters, the last relay getting a bit damp. The Vintage Match had to be canceled due to weather. Our next event will be May 5th and will consist of two 30 shot Games matches, followed by GRRC's first Vintage Sniper Match."
    Maybe the weather will be better next year.

Rear Sight Diopters --  Testing and selection 
 Capt. Bob Peasley has recently finished doing some testing of Rear Sight Diopters and written up two reports for this blog. I have added these two excellent articles to my "Old Eyes and Iron Sights"  series. All 7 articles on this subject are available to be read or downloaded on the blog (right hand column).          
Scroll down here to see both of Capt. Bob's articles on Rear Diopter testing.         

Two Weeks Out
    Make your plans now.

   May 5th --  CMP Military rifle match at GRRC --- Match program:  Click Here 
   May 5th --  Vintage Sniper Rifle Team match at GRRC  --- Match program: Click Here
   May 5th & 6th -- 2 day OTC NorthStar Rifle Club --- Match program: Click Here

That's all Folks !
Hawkeye

Old Eyes and iron sights -- Part #7

Rear sight diopters --Testing and selection

BY CAP-N-BOB 

April 24 promised to have blue skies, light winds, 70 degrees and low Mosquito count.  So I headed off the North Star Rifle Club for part 2 of lens testing and a few more pictures. Today’s test was under clear blue skies vs. cloudy but good light on test 1.

As you will recall from part 1, I was checking various lenses for a rear sight on a Palma rifle with a .3 front lens. Photo #1 shows Old Glory set up in my deluxe sandbag rest …. This testing was done with the Neergaard lens kit by holding the various power lenses between thumb and forefinger, then moving the lens up and down between the rear of the sight and my eye.

Click to enlarge Picture

          

Since that first test my good friend and high power team mate Kevin Bangen has developed a new, revised and improved version of the holder shown in part 1.  See photo #3.   Photo #5 shows the actual lens that drops into a slot at the top of the holder.

Some sources have indicated that the Neegaard lens might work better with a longer sight radius. So today’s testing started with my # 2 Mid Range Prone rifle chambered in 240NMC.  It has a 5” bloop tube on a 29.5” bbl. with a 22MM front sight and a .3 lens.  So the only thing different between this test and the first was the 4 ½” longer sight radius. 

Starting with the +1.5 lens every lens down thru – 1.5 was inserted in the holder clamped on the rear iris.  All the lenses made the front sight just barely sharper. To the best of my ability I could see no difference in the clarity of the target between any of the lenses. It was certain that none of the lenses made the target look worse but if there was an improvement it was very small. I would insert each lens into the holder and take a quick look then pull it out of view and try & compare how the sight picture compared with and without the lens.  After doing this with 10 lenses I think for me at least, I can see just as well with no rear lens and the .3 front with a bloop tube. The Micro Sight was then inserted and all lenses checked as described above.  The Micro Sight did not help with any lens and in fact was probably just slightly worse. I tried the Gehman rear sight with the 1.5 magnification and it too was worse than no lens at all in the rear.  And finally I removed the .3 front lens and looked thru the Gehman 1.5.  The target looked sharp and the front sight was sharp.  But the target looked about like a 200 yard center. It would have been VERY difficult for me to call any shots with the pin head looking target inside the great big aperture. I believe the old adage about there being no free lunch applies here.

Today’s next test was the same as described above but with Palma rifle # 2 on a Stolle action.  This rifle wears a 30MM Right Sight with a .37 rose tint lens from our favorite Snake Oil Salesman, Bob Jones. The results with this front sight were similar to the results with the bloop tube rifle.  In fact if anything I think the sight picture was just slightly better with no rear lens at all.

The instructions with the test lenses indicated it might be better to remove the rear sight and look through the big hole as there will be greater sensitivity to focus changes by looking thru the largest aperture available.  So I tried this and everything was a complete blur until I got to the + 1.50 and + 1.75 lens. I doubt I would have hit the target had the sight picture been that poor with the rear sight in.

At this point about the only thing I want to try is the above with a .5 front in my # 1 MRP rifle. I hope to have that report next week.

So many rifles, so many lenses, so much testing, so little time.

Capt. Bob Peasley 
                                 Download this article -- click here

Old Eyes and Iron Sights -- Part #6

Rear sight diopters --Testing and selection  

By CAP-N-BOB

The long lonely bitter winter of 2011/12 is nearly over in Minnesota so I headed to the range to test rear sight lenses today.  I used my Elisio stocked Palma rifle with Phoenix Precision sights.   The front sight is a 22MM with .3 Anschutz lens. But first here is a web site to see a neat lens test kit.  http://www.shootingsight.com/ Click products and scroll down to see the kit. Pictured below is a single lens. 

There was no shooting was involved, just looking thru lenses.  I set the rifle up in sandbags pointed at a 600 yard target.  The first test was without the Micro Sight from Creedmore or Sinclair.  The quality on my sight picture was about an 8 to 8.5 out of 10 with just a Gehman iris in the rear sight and the .3 lens in the front sight. I then started with the +. 100 lens between my glasses and the rear sight. I went all the way down to -.100 in .25 increments. Nothing improved or changed much that I could see. The front iris around the target was very sharp but the target was a little fuzzy on all 8 lenses.

I then installed the Micro sight and repeated as described above. At +.100 down thru +.25 everything was still fuzzy and unacceptable.  At -.25 thru -.75 the front iris and target were better, back to the 8.5 out of 10 area. At -.100 and below the picture deteriorated rapidly.  Keep in mind I’m NOT an eye doctor and do not play one on TV and thus can’t explain the below phenomenon. I looked thru the sights with the Micro Sight lens taking a few quick looks as if taking a quick shot  then looking away trying to memorize the sight picture.  When putting the negative power lens between glasses and rear sight there was a slight but noticeable improvement. Upon removing the test lens from the sight picture there was a very noticeable reduction in the quality of what I saw. There was much more of a reduction than the improvement seen with the lens in place.  It went down to about a 5 or 6 out of 10.  When again moving the lens into the sight picture there was a slight improvement and a major reduction when removing it. In other words, the original sight picture was not as good as I remembered it to have been prior to looking thru the test lens. This phenomenon was apparent with -.25 thru -.75.  Perhaps it is a focus issue. Maybe it takes a few seconds for the eye to adjust to the change going one way but not the other.  Or not!

A shooting friend/tool designer has designed a neat little device for holding the test lenses in place on the rear iris. It clips on to the rear iris thus eliminating any movement when being held between 2 fingers. See below picture of the prototype. If it works out we may market them at $79.95 at Camp Perry

After this testing I removed the Micro Sight and installed a Gehman 9530 rear iris. This is the model with the adjustable iris and focus built in. The target immediately looked about 3 times bigger but still very slightly fuzzy around the edges.  It was clearly easier to hold on this big target and see very small movements.  With the other lenses I could not see the small movements and I have no idea if this is a good thing or not. 

The maker of these test lenses recommends that the testing be done at the intended shooting distance. I would assume the results seen at 300, 500 and 600 yards or 800, 900 and 1000 would be very similar. If not it will be totally impractical if one needs a different lens for each yard line.  As you might imagine, the zeros change SUBSTANTIALLY when changing lenses in the front or rear. 

After this fun filled day of testing I decided to try more or less the same tests at 100 yards.  The improvements or reductions seen at 100 yards were not nearly as apparent as they were at 600 yards. My conclusion is that the Gehman 9530 is best for me on my Palma rifle. Your mileage may vary. However I may order a -.50 to use in conjunction with the Micro Sight on one of my MRP rifles.

And finally, keep in mind your results and zeros will be different if you use a .37 or .50 front lens.

 So many rifles, so many lenses, so much testing, so little time.

   Capt. Bob Peasley 
            Download this article --  Click Here

Shooters News for the MN area -  Apr 12, 2012

The Week Ahead  
  Here we go-  I hope you are all loading up ammo for the summer shooting season as fast as you can, because the a full season of rifle matches is about to begin.
  This weekend we finish up the winter Sm Bore season with the "Indoor 4 position Gallery Championships" up at the Fergus Falls Rifle Club.  click here for Match program    

Highpower  
  The outdoor Highpower season  starts on Saturday, Apr 21st, with a Rifle Clinic and CMP Games to be hosted by the crew at GRRC.  The  3 hr clinic will cover the fundamentals of Service Rifle marksmanship, and have live firing demonstrations to show prospective shooters how a Highpower match works.  This clinic will be followed by a 50 shot OTC match (all at 200 yds), open to all shooters. 
     Click Here for Clinic program
     Click Here for CMP match program

That same Saturday (4/21), will also feature a "Wind clinic and Fun shoot" at the Elk River Sportsman's Club.
     Click Here for Program  

  "The event will consist of a wind reading/shooting clinic followed by a delicious lunch. After the lunch, (2) 20 shot matches will be fired at the 600 yard line of the club’s KD Range. These matches will be 2 shooter/team events with the intent of practicing your wind reading skills by coaching your teammate. The instructors will be Steve Knutson and  Rick Hunt, both coaches for the US National F-Class Team. This is a rare chance to learn from the best coaches in the country!"
 Sunday Apr 22, Elk River follows up with an 80 shot Mid Range match to be shot at 600 yds.     

GRRC Highpower practice schedule 2012 --  Click Here  

Eau Claire Rifle Club
From Randy Gregory:
"Shooters,  Sorry for the late start this year. The (Eau Claire) club has had some changes in people running matches this year. Please send your entries to my me by mail, email or call at my shop.

Regards,  Randy"  

 Eau Claire's first matches  Apr 28 Mid range, 29th OTC--   

                 Click here for Program  

Small Bore
 Western WildCats 2012 Final Results grand agg. Click Here  


300 Meter Int,. 

From George Minerich, MRRA Pres.:300 Meter Prone State Championship Results March31, 2012, St. Francis, MN
Competition was hot with 17 shooters vying for the Minnesota 300 Meter State Champion Title! Saturday’s prone match shooting conditions were good with some wind. Competitors shot on the 300 M International Electronic C 1 Target. The first match is unlimited sighters followed by 60 shots for record in 75 minutes using iron sights. The second match is any sight, unlimited sighters and 60 shots for record in 75 minutes. There was enough wind to keep the match interesting!           

Keeping with International Rules the State Champion is determined by the Iron Sight Match (1) Match 1 (Iron sight):
Lance Peters is the MN 2012 300M Prone State Champion shooting a 587
Matt Griffin was First with a 584, Phillip Klanderud 578 – Second and Chuck Diehl Third shooting a 575.
Match 2 (Any sight): Phillip Klanderud 591 – First Place
Matt Griffin was 2nd. with a 585 and Erik Rhode Third shooting a 575.
Match 3 (Match 1 & 2 aggregate):
Matt Griffin is match winner with a great score of 1169
Phillip Klanderud with a score of 1169 – second place (based on last 20 shot series)
Erik Rhode Third with a score of 1143"
left to right:
Chuck Diehl (3nd. ) Phillip Klanderud (2nd) and Matt Griffin (1st), Lance Peters, State Champion
    300M   3 Pos. State Champ Results:   Click Here 
    300M   Prone Champ results:  Click Here 

 

That's all folks!

Hawkeye

April 300 m match rescheduled

From Brian Shiffman:

  "The April 300 Meter match at MRC range originally scheduled for April 8 has been moved to the following weekend, April 15 due to the fact that April 8 is also Easter Sunday and not a good day to have a match.

    The calendar of events at the MGFC and MRRA web sites are being changed to reflect the new date.

All else remains the same and I will be calling for preregistration sometime the the first week of April so keep an eye out for email at that time."

Brian D. Shiffman     shiff004@umn.edu

MN 300 m State Championship

   The Minn 300 meter St. Championship is almost upon us. On Mar 31, Mpls. Rifle Club will be hosting the 300m Prone championships on their sophisticated  range that features international Elecrtonic targets-- no pit pulling.  Click Here for Match Program

 Then next day on Sunday, Apr 1 there will be 3 position matches to decide the 300m 3 Pos. St Champion.  Click Here for Match Program

Western WildCats Matches - 2012.

Click to see slide show

Western WildCats Matches -- Day 4

The 2012 gathering of the WildCats did not just fade quietly in to the night.  The  Storm finally came on Day 4 of the Western WildCats matches.  
   Heading out at 0600 Sunday for the range, the wife said: "You'll be home before I'm back from church".  She could have been right, as it was pouring rain, cold and windy when Rob Nabower and I headed north on the 101 to Ben Avery.   The Front from the long anticipated storm was just moving through, and putting an end to the first 3 days competition's perfect weather. We did see some clearing to the west and by the time we arrived at the range it was just cold, overcast and windy.  The Match would go on.

Jim Gaines shoots during the brief hail storm.

  In the Dewar match, I was cold and did not get comfortable, and even though it was an Any Sight match I dropped 3 on ea target and was already 6 down at the end.  The top half of the Ex class all fired 398, or 399 not letting the cold bother them. 
    The 100 yd match went about the same. All weekend I have lost most of my pts at the 100 yds line.  On the second 100 yd target I had just finished after shooting fairly fast, and it started hailing (pea size) for a couple minutes.  It was about 48 deg, with the wind now blowing about 13 mph an rising.  Still the really good shooters were shooting clean scores with high X counts. 
   During the Meter match (50m) the wind was high but steady and I noticed that my hold was better -- the scope's target dot was easily staying in the X ring, and after losing 2 pts to a gusts on the first bull, I was able to keep the rest well centered with 28 Xs.  
  The last match was the 50 yd match, and again, the wind was blowing 15mph or more with some gusts above that, but it was steady, not wavering around and if you shot with the flags blowing to the NE it was the same for every shot.  I was breaking the shots when the dot was just off the X line at 8 o'clock and they started landing in the center.  I also noticed that my hold was again very steady-- very steady.  For whatever reason, I was having the best hold I have had ever had.  The target dot was almost not moving --- I mean it was dead still.  I could actually hold the dot on the X ring without straying into the black.  Don't believe me?-- ck the result:  

Best hold ever -- 200 18x

  So, the last two matches of the day went well and that almost made up for the chilly weather.  My 50yd score was 400-34x and I still got beat in the EX class by Ken Nelson, who came in 2nd for the day in that class behind my neighbor John Giles whose 1596 was a great (Ex)score for the somewhat difficult conditions.  
  Ken Nelson's steady high scores over the 4 day tournament totaled 6375 pts, -- only dropping 25 pts in 640 shots.  Ken gets the EX win,  followed in a tight group by Barney Higgins, Allen Elliot, and John Giles. 
  Among the HMs, while there were many 1598's and 1599's for the day  Christopher Abalo (Army) was the only one to beat the conditions all day, and fire a clean 1600 (amazing).  Chris dropped only 2pts in the 640 record shots and is the 2012 Western WildCat Champion.  Congratulations to Christopher Abalo!  

Lones Wigger presides over the prize table

This was a fantastic tournament.Without a doubt, the Western WildCats matches are the best matches I participate in - period!  I can't wait till next year to do it again. Now, if I can just apply what I've learned here to next week's, St. Champ. 3200.  
Hawkeye

Final Results 2012 WildCats matches --  Click Here 
Pictures (slide show) to be posted -- asap

Western WildCat Matches -- Day 3

The 2012 WildCats say hello to one and all. (click to expand)

Where was the wind they promised?
    It was supposed to blow like crazy today. The forecast was for 20 mph wind starting in the SE and then veering around to the NW by afternoon. We all put all the clips we had on our target frames, but the big wind never blew in.  It was windy enough so you had to hang on to the targets when putting them up, but I don't think it got more than 8-10mph in the morning and maybe 12-14 in the afternoon.  Even though it was somewhat windy, it seemed the wind was really not much of a factor for the 2nd Iron Sight match of the 4 days of the WildCats.  The wind was steady, it blew from 5 o'clock and there were few reversals. 
   It was also slightly overcast for the 1st match -- the Dewar.  This meant I could see the target better and more easily get a decent sight picture. Bright sun on the targets is not good for my old eyes.  Sure enough I could see pretty good and my hold seemed way better than yesterday. Got a 200 on the 1st 50yd target and then lost 2 to a let off on the 100 yd target. Well this is going well.  I almost cleaned the Dewar ! 

   The two 100yd targets didn't go as well, I got a pair of 196s. I could not get my right eye to focus very well -- no sight picture, no points.  We moved the targets in for the Meter match and took the  Group shot posted above. The light was down and my eye cleared up for the first target and I lost one pt there, but a whopping 5 on the next target.
   I welcomed the  50 yd match and the larger 10 ring, and by this time the wind had veered to S and SW and also diminished somewhat.  I shot quickly to take advantage of the lull, and lost  2 to elevation, but cleaned 2nd target. Two High Masters shot 400-40x scores -- Joseph Hein and Eric Uptagrafft with Joseph getting the match win on tie breakers. In the Ex class, Ken Nelson continued his domination with 400 -28x. My total for the day ended up at 1582 -- a good solid Ex score from my point of view. However It  was only good enough for 9th in the Ex class
 .  Ken Nelson dueled it out with my neighbor to the right, Barney Higgins, and Intermediate shooter Luke Harper all day, but neither one could keep up with Ken at the end or beat his 1593 to take the Ex class win. 
   Among the HMs, 4 hardholders shot clean 1600 scores -- Erick Uptagrafft, Rea Kemply, Christopher Abalo, and Mathew Wallace. This was Erick's 2nd 1600 in two days, and today he gets the Match Win.
--Hawkeye

Day 3

Allen Elliot shooting Xs

Western WildCat Matches -- Day Two

It was another grand and glorious day to shoot.  Almost perfect conditions again.  There was no more than 3mph wind from 4  o'clock for the first two matches -- the Dewar and the 100 yd match.  It was a pure holding and trigger break contest today.  400 scores were a dime a dozen.  Unfortunately, my hold was back and forth in the 10 ring and I was losing pts trying to break a clean shot.  Not my day.  I settled down a little by the  Meter match and after dropping 5 on the first card, I was finally able to shoot clean 200s on the last 3 targets of the day.  In the last match -- the easier 50yd match, I got 400-32x clean, and mistakenly thought that should be up there high on the score board.  Oh, no, not in this competition.  I was only 2nd EX and would have only been 14th in the HM class --- and was actually only 24th over-all in that match.   
  Still only two 1600s were shot today, and those by Jamie Gray, and Erick Uptagrafft. There were some gusty reversals out of the west in  the last two matches.   Erick and Jamie both shot an astounding 140 Xs with Jamie getting the win on tie breakers.  Wow-- you shoot a 1600-140x and don't get a win.    Life is not fair.
  I had the pleasure of shooting next to, Jim Gaines, and John Giles all day. Both these gentlemen are over from Calif. for the matches, and regularly  shoot at the LA R&R The way they tell it that range is right in the city-- in a city park and is a pretty nice place. Two positions away on each side were my old friend from Wisc.- Frank Fisher,  and to the right was Canadian friend Ken Nelson. Who, by the way is the only other person I know that likes the sport of Curling.
  After Two days, Ken leads the EX class,  but even firing a 1597 today,  he could not beat fellow expert,  Allen Elliot, who was determined to take the class win today after a difficult day with a rifle yesterday.  Allen is a past Nat. Palma Champ, and Ken won a first place medal in the Berger Long Range matches just last month. This is a tough Expert class.  When are these guys going to move up to at least the Master class. 
 Ok, now it's time to reorganize for Day 3 of the WildCats.  I cant wait. --- Hawkeye

Western WildCat Matches -- Day 1

Almost a full line at the WildCats !
The conditions were almost perfect for Day 1 of the WildCats. It was the chance you dream of for an Iron Sight 1600.-- bright sun, 77deg,, no humidity, 4 mph breeze from 5 o'clock. There would be no excuses today.
  The Army and Air Force shooting teams were here as well as other top shooters from all over.  Nancy Tompkins, Rea and Tarl Kempley were on the line and the Service teams would have plenty of competition.
   My recent success last week with a 1587 irons score did not get backed up today.  I dribbled away points here and there and was happy just not be last Expert.  Ken Nelson, our Canadian winter visitor, shot a solid 1592 and now leads us Experts.
   Justin Tracy fired a clean 1600 to squeak by 7 other High Masters who dropped only 1 pt for 1599 scores.
  Tomorrow is the first Any Sight match, where I usually do pretty well.  I better shoot a good score because a storm is coming by Sunday and I may not have a chance to move up in the class and have a crack at the prize table. 

Shooters News for the Mn Area -- March 15, 2012

The Week Ahead 
Traveling shooters are gathering in Phoenix for the Western WildCat prone SB matches, which start today with the team match and the "Made in America" match.  Tomorrow, the real competition begins on Day 1 (Iron sights) of this 4 day match. This looks to be one of the best attended WildCat matches in a decade.  Haven Williams, Match Director. told me last Saturday that he already had 87 paid entrys, and thought he would fill all 100 firing positions by Monday.  Over 20 marksman are entered, and that is a great prediction of things to come. 
  This is the 4th weekend of Championship matches in the "March Madness" Phoenix Sm Bore series, which started with the Tarantula 4800 Metric, then the Road Runner 3200, and last weekend with the Diamond Back 3200 Regional. 
   I'm ready to go, and ready to contest the Ex class against what I know will be a tough tough competition. 
Last year you had to shoot high 1580s to win any match in the EX class, and 1600 to win in the Master class, as the conditions were perfect.
   I was not pleased with my scores in the Tarantula 4800 metric (who was?).  While I could blame a lot of it on the windy conditions, I really did not shoot well-- period.  Same thing in the Road Runner matches -- poor shooting with a lot of vertical spread in the Iron sight match.  I was shooting the new Shilen Rachet Groove barrel that I won at last years WildCat matches, and a new lot of SK rifle match ammo.  I started to think that the combination was bad, and that I might have to go back to last years barrel and ammo for the WildCat match, but in the Scope match of the Road Runner, I scored a 1593/1600 and decided to stick with that barrel/ ammo combination for one more try at the DiamondBack matches. It would be a last test before the Wildcats.
   We started the Diamond Backs Iron sight day with the Dewar match,  then the 100 yd match and my results were poor--bad shooting, hard to get good sight alignment -- old eyes.  Before the Meter match, I changed the .5 diopter out of the Stallings front sight and put in a .3 diopter. I could see a much clearer sight picture, and after adjusting the apertures, I came up with pretty good scores in the last two matches.  I had been able to see the target better with the .3 diopter and my vertical dispersion was minimal. The Sunday match of this tournament was an Any Sight match, but I thought I should shoot Irons again to confirm that using the smaller diopter was the key to good scores with irons. 
  The conditions were perfect with just a little wind from 5 o'clock to keep the flags from hanging limp.  While the others were shooting scopes, I was able to hang in there dropping only 5pts in the Dewar match, and then 4 in the 100 yd match.  A pair of 198s in the Meter match, and a  clean 400 in the 50 yd match put me down only 13 pts for the day, posting a 1587 on the board for my 2nd highest Iron sight score ever.  Peter Church fired a 1599 for the match win, Nancy Tompkins and Virginia McLemore 1 only a pt behind. 
  The Barrel was working, and the ammo was working (as good as $6 ammo can be expected to work). I'll start the WildCars tomorrow with confidence in the equipment, and knowing If I don't screw up, I just might win one of those WildCat sweatshirts, and have a good chance at the other great prizes that Lones Wigger comes up with for the prize tables.  Let the games begin.  With a full line of 100 shooters, it will be a great match.
Note:   Pictures, and Results of the WildCat matches to be posted on the blog each day (if I'm not too worn out)

Note: The next MN Sm Bore Winter league match is March 18th -- Program:  Click Here

300 meter news
From Brian Shiffman:
  Results of MRC March 11th 300 meter match

  "It was great weather for the match, in general, but the light to medium variable winds created havoc for many shooters.  It was difficult to figure out the wind direction and speed most of the day.  Both relays experienced challenging conditions.  The wind was only strong enough to move a shot one ring for the unwary but that was enough. 

   The top two F-Class shooters were Jon Hample who beat out Wade Brown by only one point.  These guys had it figured out.  Third place, 8 points behind second, was Gary LaValley.  The next 10 places were separated by 1 to 3 points. 

   A reminder for those that are interested.  When viewing the results page, if you click on a name a new window will be brought up showing that shooters average score for the position chosen.  If a person shoots more than one position during the year, you will have to click on the different positions of that shooter by locating one of those position shot at some specific month.  It makes it easy to see how your shooting is coming along and to compare your average with those of others.

     The full results of the March match are located at this web page;  http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=3  

    The next monthly match will be Sunday, April 8, 2012.  I will call for pre-registration before April 1^st so watch your email at that time. 

Brian         shiff004@umn.edu

Note: The 300 m Prone State Championship will be March 31 at MRC  -- Match program Click Here

          The 300 m  3 position state Championship will be April 1st at MRC  --  Match program  Click Here 

High Power  
The last match of the Winter Highpower League will be on Mar 17th  -- Match program   Click here
Spring work is on-going at each rifle club, with the first Highpower matches scheduled on April 21 with the CMP games being held at Gopher, and a Wind Clinic and a Mid Range match to be held at Elk River Sportsman's Club that weekend -- Match program Click Here

Service Rifle team -- No News

That's all Folks!
Hawkeye