Shooters News for the Minn Area - May 23

The Week Ahead   

Last weekend was all about Prone shooting, with the Highpower wind clinic and Mid Range match at Elk River Sportsmans Club, and the Prone Small bore matches at the same rifle club.

 This weekend is a big chance for the "Over The Course" shooters to finally get in a good weekend of Highpower position shooting.   NorthStar Rifle Club is hosting their first 2 day OTC weekend of the year.  Both Sat and Sun the fun starts at 0900 hrs with the 20 shot standing match from the 200 yd line. Shooters will also fire Rapid fire

strings from the Sitting and Prone position, and finish up each day with a 20 shot prone match to be shot from the 600 yd line. NorthStar Rifle Club is a few miles north of the Cannon river on Hwy 61 so it's a short trip to shoot a good match.  
           Click Here for Match Program 

Don't forget the big  3 day OTC Weekend in Duluth at Northwestern Gun Club is just around the corner and this weekend's matches at Redwing are just the ticket to get you practiced up before heading North.  


Two Weeks Out - Plan ahead
Sm Bore
June 1-2.
Prone shooters who have a Small Bore match rifle can participate in Two days of tough prone shooting at the MN Sm Bore Outdoor Prone Regional.  Competitors will shoot eight 20 shots targets for a total of 160 shots for record each day (plus lots of sighters). This Regional Match will be held at the Mpls. Rifle Club June 1-2. 
        Click Here for Match program

HIghpower
May 31 -June 2
Head North to Northwestern Gun Club on the shores of beautiful Hunters Lake.  This could be your best shooting weekend of the year.  3 days of OTC competition at top notch rifle range will see competitors fire 4 matches a day for a total of 240 shots for record over the 3 day weekend.  If you can't shoot all three days, come up for one or two days.  Click Here for Match bulletin  

June 2 - Southern Mn shooters will have the oppertunity to contest their service rifle skills at the Iowa State Service Rifle Champ (300yd) at River City Rifle and Pistol Club, just a few miles North of Mason City, Iowa. Steve Hays is the match director.  Click Here for match bulletin.   


Notes:
From: Capt. Bob   
 "Hello shooters   

You may recall my lens testing reports of fall 2012.  This spring I had 1 more thing I wanted to try.  As we know your zeros may change significantly when you change from one lens to another, even if they are of the same magnification.  My #1 240 NMC Mid Range Prone rifle had a 5” bloop tube which I decided to remove to reduce the sight radius.  The front aperture would not open far enough to get a good sight picture with that long radius.  Upon doing a quick bore sight it looked like the sights were pretty close to the zero with the bloop tube or perhaps a “little” to the right but probably on paper.  Well, I was right! It was a “little” right as seen in the picture.  As you can see an 87 gr. Hornady HPBT at 3200 FPS will penetrate 1/8” soft steel reasonably well!  As you can also see there have been other “penetration” tests on this target frame over the last 35 years.  Once again I have done the testing for you.  
PAY ATTENTION!!"  Bob

That's All folks
Hawkeye

Shooters News For the MN Area - May 15, 2013

The Week Ahead   
Prone Shooters, and 3P shooters both have good rifle matches to participate in this coming weekend.

Highpower prone shooters have the opportunity to attend a Wind Reading Clinic Saturday, May 18th at the Elk River Sportsmans Club.  Aimed at the Mid Range, and Long Range Competitive Shooter, this clinic will have some top coaches giving pointers on  guaging the wind when trying to hit a target in 600 yd Mid range matches and beyond. In the Afternoon shooters can tryout their new skills in a two man Team match - 20 shots per shooter at 600 yds.  Click Here for Match program

The Sunday, May 19, match at Elk River Sportsman's Club will be an 80 shot (4 x 20) prone and F-class, and will all be shot from the 600 yd line.  Remember,  this Range has a nice soft grass 600 yd line, with good light and honest wind to read. Come out and put a few shots down range, the mid-range season has begun.

Small Bore
 The Small Bore calendar is also full this weekend with matches both days -  again at the Elk River Sportsman's Club's nice 20 position outdoor Small Bore facility.  Saturdays competition will see shooters contesting a  3P Metric match.   Click Here for Match Bulletin.
Prone shooters will have their day on Sunday, May19, when the competition is all belly matches, and shooters will fire 4 matches of 40 shots, in a 50 yd match, and a Dewar match in the morning with Iron sights, and then in the afternoon, It will be Any sights for a 50 meter match, and the always tough - 100 yd match.  Since I don't have enough ammo loaded for the High Power match, I'll probably head for the Small bore prone match Sunday and shoot some of that Lapua OSP ammo I tested in their Mesa, Az test tunnel this winter.  Click Here for match Bullein.

300 Meter
From Brian Shiffman:

"Thanks to George (and Susan) Minerich for running the match for me as I was out of town for the weekend.

There were a couple of new shooters in the match, Sean Humphreys in F-TR class and Will Lakey in Prone class.  Unfortunately, Will’s score is not shown in the web results page since he did not record his last series.  If it comes in I will add him to the results page.

The results can be seen at http://edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=5

The next match is June 9.  Registration will be open late in May; as soon as I have the date when registrations will be accepted I will pass them along in another email. "

Brian D. Shiffman    shiff004@umn.edu

That's all folks

Shooters News for the Minn Area -- May 2

This Weekend  

 Highpower: 
 GRRC Highpower Weekend - May 4-5
Saturday May 4th, GRRC will host the annual Bob Hall Memorial 80 shot OTC match. Shooters will fire 20 shots Offhand and two strings of Rapid fire at 200 yds, 20 shots prone rapid fire at 300 yds, and finish with 20 shots prone slow fire at 600 yds.

  Click Here for match program

Sunday, May 5th,  the action will feature a 50 shot CMP "Excellence in Competition"Leg match for Service Rifles.  These "Leg" matches are the most important matches in a service rifle shooters career.  They are the only matches where you can earn the all important leg points you need to qualify for the Distinguished  Rifleman's badge -- the most coveted award in service rifle shooting.  Click here for match program

Mid Range prone matches at  RedWing-- NorthStar Rifle Club - May 4-5

From Capt Bob:    (Click Here for match program) 

 "Greetings belly shooters:  

 We finally accomplished our work day at North Star and the range is in excellent shape for the 2 day MRP this weekend.  There is one exception, that being the camp ground is not yet useable after the great flood of 2012.  It has been graded and seeded but not yet useable.  If you wish to tent there will be room on the 100 yard line or in that area.  

 For your review I have attached the program.  Note that both days we are shooting the 300, 500 & 600 yard MRP course with iron sights. Saturday is 20 shots each line & Sunday is 15 each line. Since this course is an aggregate you must shoot the same rifle at each yardline. After the MRP course each day there will be a 20 & 15 shot any sight match and you can shoot a different rifle in that match. You can shoot a 3rd rifle in the 45 shot agg. Sunday & a 4th rifle in the 15 shot any sight match Sunday.    

 Work is not yet complete on restoring targets 19 & 20 so we are limited to 18 targets with 9 for F class & 9 for sling shooters.  We are planning on having all 20 targets in operation by the end of June weather permitting. That can be adjusted either way if we have more of 1 than the other.  And contacting me ahead with your intentions would help solve any issues like that.  

 If you plan  to shoot please take a second & drop me a quick reply with name & F class or sling.  That will save some time come Sat. morning.  

 Unless it looks like a total rain out I'll be dragging the camper down early Fri. afternoon and may not have cell coverage on the range.  

 Bob"

Two Weeks Out
May 11th --CMP military rifle match at GRRC - click here for match program

May 12th - 300 meter International
From Brian Shiffman:

The May Minneapolis Rifle Club 300 meter match will be held on Sunday, May 12^th with two relays scheduled; the first goes off at 10 AM and the second at noon.  

Register yourself at http://edfpages.com/mgfc/match.php.  Read the instructions.  Fill in the boxes and make selections from the drop down lists.  There is room for only 14 shooters per relay.  The box at the top of the list shows the number of shooters for each relay.  

No expanding or fragmenting bullets.  Only match or full metal jacket bullets; no muzzle brakes but flash hiders are OK.  A-Max bullets are NOT allowed. They are fine for paper but have a jacket that will fragment and shred our targets when it hits.  

Pick your shooting class: 3-Position, Prone (sling and iron sights), Offhand (iron sights), F-Open or F-TR.  If you use optical sights then you are in one of the two F classes, depending upon caliber and type of support used.  You can shoot F-TR class with a service rifle with a scope and a sling if you choose.  Shooting is governed by ISSF rules except we allow NRA shooting jackets.  As a club match, we have some liberty.   

Fee is $20 for the 60 shot match; Electronic targets, so, NO PIT DUTY and the match runs quickly, 3 strings of 20 rounds in succession.  Once the command is given to start the match, each shooter is on their own to finish within the 1:35 minutes.

If you need to cancel - you have to contact me so that I can use the magic pixie dust to delete your entry and make it available for someone else.

If you make an error on your entry, contact me so I can correct it.

Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu

Notes:
Extra! Extra!
Rare color footage of LA Sheriff's Pistol Demo team -- 1936 Click Here
There is good stuff in this video all the way to the end when they do reloading. 

Enjoy!

That's All Folks!
Hawkeye

Rare color footage of LA Sheriff's Pistol Demo team -- 1936

There is good stuff in this video all the way to the end when they do reloading. 



Enjoy!

Head to Eau Claire this weekend

There is a full weekend of Rifle Matches at the Eau Claire Rifle Club this Sat and Sunday (Apr 27-28). The fun will start on Saturday with a Mid Range match to be shot from the 600 yd line. Sunday the action will feature an 80 shot Over the Course match.  You all know that they put on great matches at Eau Claire, so head on over take part in the competition.  You may not even need to bring a snow shovel. 
    Click Here for match bulletin and info.

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Apr 6, 2013

The Week Ahead

   This weekend offers both Prone and Position shooters a great opportunity.  The Mpls. Rifle Club  will be hosting the Robert Sandager  300 meter State Championship.  The prone 300 m champ matches will be held on Saturday, Apr 6, and then on Sunday, Apr 7, 3P shooters will have their go at a State Title. 
    Rain or shine, these matches are fired from indoor firing positions on Elect Targets 300 m away, while the shots are plotted on the computer monitor beside each firing position.   Click Here for prone  match program and Click Here for the 3P Champ program.  This match will tune you up for the upcoming Mid-Range and Long Range matches.  Don't miss this

The Berger Bullet SW OTC Nationals are being held here in Phoenix this coming Thursday thru Sunday. The weather forecast is for warm temps, low wind and humidity.   These conditions should make for some great matches.  I'll be there all 4 days, starting with the 600 yd prone 3x20 on Thursday. and then the 3 days of OTC matches.  If anyone is coming out this way for the matches --- We'll see you there!

Two Weeks Out
300 Meter International From: Brian Shiffman

"Subject: April 300 Meter MRC Match Sunday Apr 14

 Here we are again, waiting for spring to spring.  We may be into fall before too long, Yuk.

But, let’s give it a try.  The MRC 300 meter match will be held this Sunday, April 14 with two relays scheduled; the first goes off at 10 AM and the second at noon.

No expanding or fragmenting bullets.  Only match or full metal jacket bullets; no muzzle brakes but flash hiders are OK.  A-Max bullets are NOT allowed. They are fine for paper but have a jacket that will fragment and shred our targets when it hits.

 Pick your shooting class: 3-Position, Prone (sling and iron sights), Offhand (iron sights), F-Open or F-TR.  If you use optical sights then you are in one of the two F classes, depending upon caliber and type of support used.  You can shoot    F-TR class with a service rifle with a scope and a sling if you choose.  Shooting is governed by ISSF rules except we allow NRA shooting jackets.  As a club match, we have some liberty.  We have been evaluating starting a Prone with optical sight class but no final decision has been made.  That would be OK for a club match but would not be acceptable for NRA approved or sanctioned matches, of course.
   Fee is $20 for the 60 shot match; Electronic targets, so, NO PIT DUTY and the match runs quickly, 3 strings of 20 rounds in succession.  Once the command is given to start the match, each shooter is on their own to finish within the 1:35 minutes.

Go to http://edfpages.com/mgfc/match.php to register yourself.  Read the page instructions.  Fill in the boxes and make selections from the drop down lists.  There is room for only 14 shooters per relay.  The box at the top of the list shows the number of shooters for each relay.

If you need to cancel you have to contact me so that I can use the magic pixie dust to delete your entry and make it available for someone else."

Brian D. Shiffman shiff004@umn.edu   

Notes:
Capt. Bob Peasley has sent us another in the series of articles he has written on the subject of shooting and shooting competitions. 
From; Capt. Bob  

                                                                                                                    Capt. Bob's nifty gun.

Powder Shortage??
    "As we all know there continues to be a serious rifle powder & primer shortage in the country.

And if not a serious shortage then at least there is a serious price gouging issue.  I recently ran across a 4 year old 8 lb. keg of IMR 4320 at the 4 year old price. In my experience

there is nothing wrong with 4 year old powder if the keg is unopened.  IMR 4320 is all I shot many years ago in my first 223 bolt gun.  It seemed like it should be suitable in the 6BR but there is no data I can find for the 4320/6BR combination.  Thus it seemed it was my sacred duty to create some data.

I shoot 6BR for OTC & MRP and have excellent loads for heavy bullets (105-108 gr.) at 5 & 600 yards.  I shoot Hornady 87 gr. HPBT # 2442 & Sierra 95 gr. MK # 1537 for 2 & 300 yards OTC.  So I decided to work up a load for light bullets for the OTC shorter lines first. All bullets were Moly coated.

My high tech testing was as follows.  It seemed that 26.0 gr. of IMR 4320 with the 95 gr. Sierra would definitely be safe. So I loaded 1 round with that load, stepped outside and fired into the nearest snow bank.  The result was a loud bang with no pressure signs on the case or primer. So I increased the load in 1/2 gr. increments till I got to 29.5 gr. and kept blasting the snow bank. The 29.5 load of IMR 4320 seemed like it should register similar velocity to the same charge of Varget or N140. So I loaded 10 rounds with 95 Sierra, 29.5 gr. 4320, 205M primer in Lapua brass & set up the chronograph. Those 10 shots averaged 2800 FPS exactly with a spread of 13 and SD of 06. I shot iron sights off rest at 100 yards which resulted in a 5/8" group. During the testing it was a below average temperature of 48 deg.

I then fired 13 rounds with 30.0 gr. and the rest the same. That load resulted in an average of 2847 FPS with a spread of 43, SD of 15 and a 3/4" group.  There were absolutely no pressure signs in either load.  I have no idea why the .5 gr. heavier load had a spread 3 times higher.  And we all know if I repeated the test today the results could be reversed.  Anyway, the bottom line is that based on 2 very brief tests it seems that IMR 4320 is definitely suitable for the 6BR.  Time & snow banks permitting I may try shooting some data with the 107-108 gr. bullets.  

HOLDHARD,"  

Bob 

Thanks Bob for sharing that with us.

Oh, by the Way 
I did get over to the Lapua .22 rimfire test facility here in Mesa, Az this winter. Its only 3/4 mile from the house so I couldn't miss that opportunity.  Darell Stettmeier and I tested about 40 lots of ammo in my Anshutz 2013, and also in my M-52D Winchester.  Namo Tactical has a 100 yd test tunnel with a bed-rock mounted vice to hold the rifle. Shots are plotted at 50m and 100m on computer moniters with statistics posted to measure group sizes and velocity deviations.  After about 6 hrs of testing, we found out that my rifle with the Shillen Rachet Groove barrel loved the Lapua OSP pistol ammo.  As it turns out, the Win 52D also shot this ammo the best and so now there are two cases of this precious stuff residing in my garage and waiting for next years "March Madness" small bore season here in Phoenix.
   I was also able to test the 3 lots of ammo that I bought over the counter the last couple of years. These lots were SK Rifle Match,  and I am darned lucky to say that all 3 lots turned out to test well, and I have no reason to suspect this ammo if I get bad shot once in a while.  However, that being said,  even the best ammo will not always print a group the size of the x ring

Here the print out says that this lot of ammo had a minimum outside circle diameter  of 14.08mm, that contained all the shots, at 50m and a shot center point standard deviation (DHH) of only 3.3 mm  (this is a 7.9 mm group measured the standard way of distance apart of centers of widest holes).  This 15 mm circle of shots will fit nicely into the 26mm 10ring of the NRA 50 yard targets. but you can see that even a perfectly controlled rifle clamped into a rock solid machine rest, and firing great ammo will still not drill that one hole group that you expect --when you shoot out of a rifle sling in the wind.  This ammo testing taught me two things----
 1. when I shoot a group that looks like the above, I am doing the best the rifle can do. Its not going to do better unless all the errors I make in shooting the shots happen to go the right way to the middle. 
 2. When you have a facility available to test ammo in your small bore rifle before buying it, you are crazy to not use that facility.  While price is a fairly good indicator of possible future performance of small bore ammo, it is not a guaranteed indicator.  Ammo is expensive and you could make a big mistake buying over the counter. 
  It's easy to test -- Darrel will do it for you--  just send him the rifle.  Its just that simple. They now have a purpose built Anchutz 2013 machine rest that bolts to the flat bottom action.  

Now --How did this ammo work in the WildCat matches??   Darn good!  I had high X counts after the first days windy match.  In the last Any sight match I really shot just for Xs and got most of them and was actually hitting fully inside the X circle.  My last two targets were better than the test tunnel targets. 

Well, That's all folks!

Dont forget----  300 m State Champ prone match this weekend. 

Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Mar 21, 2013

"Western WildCat Match Rpt. and slide show below"

The Week Ahead 
It's your last chance this Saturday, Mar 23, to get in some good prone 50yd Small bore practice.  Mpls Rifle Club and will be shooting their last match of the winter Sm bore series. This match is shot from the toasty warm MRC shooting house and will be great practice for those upcoming Mid Range prone matches. 

Contact: steven.knutson@gmail.com    Click Here for match program

More Hero's

Two years ago I told you about one of my hero's - friend, shooter, gun smith-Derrick Martin (Accuracy Speaks), who donated one of his Kidneys to fellow shooter, Tom Albinito when Tom could find no prospects for any other donor after a 2 year wait.  This winter I find out that we have such a Hero right here amongst our own shooting friends in Minnesota - Mark Schoess.

From the GRRC Department of Great News:   (Dave Newell -Feb 9th, 2013)
 "Long-time member and Past President Mark Schoess is a hero. Tim Boyle, a former GRRC member, moved out-state was in serious kidney failure. Mark, upon learning of the seriousness of Tim’s health, made the decision to donate a kidney to Tim. Mark is now at home, dealing with a post-operative recovery complicated with pneumonia. I spoke with Mark and he is doing very well, and making plans to restart shooting as soon as possible. Currently he is accepting emails, cards, and short phone calls. To contact him: Mark Schoess, 7023 340th Street, Stacy MN 55079 (651-357-4281)"  markschoess@yahoo.com 

Left the Range
Veteran shooter, Bob Vangene, who had won dozens of State Championships over the years, and continued to shoot offhand practice every Monday, here in Phoenix AZ, has passed away last Friday. Bob's passing was announced at the SB WildCats Championships and we all knew that we had a lost a shooting Icon, and a good friend.  Bob had competed in the WildCat matches year after year, and I saw him win many matches and the coveted sweatshirts that go along with those WildCat wins.
     We are diminished  

 
From Capt. Bob
"Hello Minn. rifle shooters:
I just got the below from John Andres who is still in Az. For those who don't know, Bob Vangene was one of the founders and early members of MRRA and a hell of a small bore shooter. I think he finished his distinguished rifle in his early 70's with an M1. - Bob

From John Andres:  
Cap'N Bob - I don't know how quickly news gets around to you; but we just found out that Bob Vangene died here in the Valley on Thursday. Sounded like he was feeling ill on Wed - could hardly breathe on Thursday - took him by ambulance to hospital where he passed away. He was 89 and a half, and it was a respiratory problem. Just thought some back in MN would like to know. -John "    

 300 meter International
From George Minerich
"Hi All: Spring is coming and the High Power Season will be starting soon. Please find attached the match programs for the Robert Sandager 300 Meter Prone and 3 - Position MN State Championship matches. The matches are -- Prone April 6, 2013 and 3-Position April 7, 2013 at the Minneapolis Rifle Club. We allow the use of NRA legal shooting coats, slings and rifles for these matches. The prone match offers a lot of shooting to get you tuned up for up coming matches. The 3-Position match will really test you skills. I hope to see you at the matches!
 Regards, George "            
                       Click Here for 300m Prone Championship match program and entry
                       Click Here for 300m 3P Championship match program and entry 
 
F-Class shooting
From Scott Olson:
Hi Jim, I hope Arizona is treating you nice.snow and rain here this weekend,.....  

 Attached is the ERSC MRP/F-Class league flyer with all of the 600 yard nights being part of a NRA Approved league to help shooters ease on into match shooting and to help them get their classifications.  
 Thanks,  Scott Olson, President  ERSC,  MRRA F-class Chair

        Click Here for match Flyer --  Note! new shooters must attend April 8th orientation class.

Small Bore Shooting
On April 4th and 5th, 2013, the Minn Small Bore Indoor Gallery State Championship will be held at the Fergus Falls shooting club.  No match bulletin availiable

Western WildCats Matches
   From Rick Curtis:
"Dear friends and shooters,

 The 55th edition of the Western Wildcats 6400 Smallbore Championship is now in the books and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about the match and some of the individual performances. Day one was a true test of the rifleman's patience as we were beset upon by a vicious fish-tailing wind that persisted all day. Steve Goff, the day one winner put together a 1595, which considering the wind, was a damn good score. Ron Wigger and Eric Uptagrafft were right behind him with a 1594 and 1593 respectively. More than half the High Masters scored below 1590 but little Allison Villa, a product of the excellent Los Angeles Rifle and Revolver Club, was not to be deterred as she fired a very good 1590 to top a talented field of Experts! As it turned out it was nothing but up from there for her.

Day two was the polar opposite wind wise as we saw only the mildest of breeze's throughout the day. This really nice condition stayed with us for the rest of the Championship as well. Of course with good conditions come great scores and accordingly a number of 1600's were fired. Surprisingly both Goff and Uptagrafft dropped a point but racked up some really great X counts between them; Goff 149 and Uptagrafft 141. Allison rose to the occasion and fired a respectable 1597 but the California kid story on the second day was none other than Matt Liao, another LAR&R junior, as he cranked out a noteworthy 1600-127X score to take the Expert class win.

As I said earlier the tame conditions persisted into Day three but there was just enough angle changes to the wind that everyone on the line ended up dropping a point or more. Uptagrafft took the overall day with a 1599-139 and Allison just kept getting better as her 1598 soundly thumped all comers in the Expert class. Matt came in with an ok 1593 but with a 1575 on day one he sure needed something much better to have a chance at the overall class win. Day four was a carbon copy of day two as six 1600's attested and guess what Matt backed up day two with another anysight 1600 to be one of only two 3200's fired in the match! Talk about an "ear to ear grin". Pending the NRA's blessing, Matt's 3200-258X score is a new Sub-Junior National Record. Allison nearly got a 1600 but her 1599 gave her a great 6384-491X, and beat out second Expert and fellow Californian Randy Teissedre by a wide 11 point margin and nearly 60 X's to boot

The Overall winner and our 2013 Western Wildcat Champion was Eric Uptagrafft by seven X's over Steve Goff, both having fire 6391's. Ron Zerr was third with an 6387 creedmooring Ohio's own Kevin Nevius. Full results, thanks to Jim Cobb's efforts on the website, can be viewed below.

Sling Results HERE

F Class Results HERE

Team Match Results HERE  

COMING EVENTS- Tomorrow March 20th, for those of you who haven't spent enough time on your elbows, there will be a smallbore practice at Ben Avery's Rifle 2 range. We have the range from 8:00am till noon so if you want to do a little testing come on out. Also tomorrow we have across the course practice on the Ben Avery high power range. Thursday March 21 we have the 600-1000 yard practice at Avery for those wanting to tune up for the 3X1000 at the end of the month. Target setup and check in for both days begins at 7:30am and if you don't normally get there in time to help out, go ahead and surprise everybody and show up early!

    Saturday March 23rd the smallbore action moves back to the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club for the Arizona State Smallbore Championship. This is a two day event and it's never too late to sign up. Match program can be viewed by clicking HERE.

See you on the line,

Rick Curtis"

       Click Here to see Rick's excellent slide show of the 2013 WildCat matches. 
Thanks Rick for your effort in bringing us this rpt , and pictures. 
Tough competition at the WildCats -- Oh, yeah! On day 2,  I got a 400-37x in the 50 yd match -- good only for a third place!
 

Plan Ahead - next month 

On April 20th, GRRC Will host the CMP Games for all you winter traumatized Service Rifle shooters.  Get ready to have some fun, as these CMP games matches are just that -- pure fun.  So dust of that M-1 or other service rifle and plan on being at this match.  Shooters will fire CMP course A, and that will be followed by a sniper team match where shooters can coach each other on wind and shot placement. .         Click Here for match program  

Note: I went to one of these matches last year and had a great time.  If you are a newer shooter, these CMP matches are the perfect matches to ease you into this sport.  They are aimed at fun and not serious competition. 
The Weekend of April 20-21 will offer a Wind Reading Clinic and a 4x20 600 yd prone Match for Highpower and F-Class shooters at the Elk River Sportsman's Club.
   From Scott Olson:
 "A Saturday morning wind reading/shooting clinic with instructors Steve Knutson and Rick

Hunt, both coaches for the US National F-Class Team.

After lunch, two 20-shot matches will be fired from 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.

This is a rare chance to learn from the best coaches in the country!

Sunday will be an NRA Approved 80-shot match (four 20-shot matches) at 600 yards."

    Click Here for match program
That's all Folks
Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Feb 1, 2013   

The Weeks Ahead 
 Highpower
   Match Director, George Minerich, will be hosting the 5th match of the winter Highpower series tomorrow, Feb 2, at the Mpls Rifle Club in NW Anoka cty.   This OTC style match will be shot from the heated  300 m shooting house at MRC on appropriate reduced targets. These are electronic targets, so there is no pit pulling required. 
     Click here for more info

 Air Gun
   The "Olympic Air Rifle League" continues with shooting each Wed night at Bills Gun Shop in Robbinsdale.  Shootingf starts at 4pm, with 2nd relay begining at 5:30pm,  "Registration: Range lanes are limited so advanced registration is strongly advised.  For registration, contact Michael J. Marzitelli via phone, 651-489-9164, or via email."
mmarzitelli@hotmail.com."  Click here for match program
   The "Olympic Air Pistol league" also continues with matches on Tuesday, -- again at Bill's Gun shop.
             Click Here for match program

Small Bore competition
Small Bore competitors can also head to Mpls, Rifle Club a week from Saturday - Feb 9th. Steve Knutson will be running the 3rd installment of the MRC Winter Small Bore Prone league. While it is a prone league,  3P shooters are welcome and encouraged to come.  All targets to be shot at 50 yds.  These are fun matches. Shooters will fire 6 targets of 20 shots for record for a 1200 pt agg., and may use Iron sights or Any sights. 
     click here for match program

Haven Williams has left the Range
With great sadness, I must report that veteran small bore competitor and Western Wildcats Match Dir, Haven Williams has passed away this past December.  I suspect that any national SB competitor probably knew Haven as a great guy and a relentless promoter of Small bore shooting
 

From Rick Curtis

 "In his day, Haven Williams was considered to be one of the best position shooters in all of American smallbore. It’s been said that his prowess was so great that some shooters would pack up their gear and leave if he showed up at a match. In later years Haven began shooting high power prone matches throughout the US and Canada and continued to be a substantial force to be reckoned with.  Moving into F-Class competition in recent years Havens competitive fire still burned brightly as evidenced by his remarkable shooting, in winning the Arizona State 600 Yard Championship, just six weeks ago. Sadly this would turn out to be Havens last match and though he will be sorely missed by all who knew him; his memory will live on in the minds of those who shared his passion. "  

We are Diminished

March Madness  
  If you thought that last years "March Madness" small bore competition in Phoenix was crazy, with 5 straight weeks of Smallbore prone 1600 matches, this year it even more crazy.  This year there will be 6 straight weeks of Prone 1600 matches leading up to the best prone matches of the year -- The Western Wildcats Matches. 

 

    March Madness Schedule:

Sat – 2/16  SB 1600 Irons   “The Black Widow 3200”  SmallBore Metric/Prone  @Ben Avery,

Sun– 2/17  SB 1600 Any’s      Click Here for Program

Sat – 2/23 SB 1600 Irons     The Annual  “Road Runner 3200”. @ PRGC 
Sun –2/24 SB 1600 Any’s          SmallBore Conventional/ Prone

Sat – 3/02  SB 1600 Irons     The Junior/Mentor  “3200 Bobcat”  

                                                SmallBore Conventional/ Prone @ PRGC.

Sun –3/03 SB 1600 Any’s       Please Note:  Senior Olympics SmallBore Match will be after

                          the Bobcat on March 2, 2013.

Sat – 3/09 SB 1600 Irons    Desert Sharpshooters -"The DiamondBack 3200"                                     Conventional/Prone Match.  @ BEN AVERY

Sun – 3/10 SB 1600 Any’s      Note: There will Be a Practice Match March 08, 2013.

**"Western Wild Cat 6400"** Conventional SmallBore Prone Match @ BenAvery
Wed – 3/13  Team Match - Irons and Any’s.   

Thur.  3/14  1600 Irons                             

Friday - 3/15  1600 Any’s     Click Here for WildCats match program

Sat  -  3/16  1600 Irons

Sun -  3/17  1600 Any’s        remember- Junior entry pkg includes ammo!

Sat  - 3/23   Irons 1600     ASRPA Presents The "SmallBore Madness Finale":

Sun - 3/24   Any’s 1600    3200 Conventional SmallBore State Champ SB @ PRGC.

    Click Here for all "March Madness" match programs

Mick W Walker Cell 602-722-7209  mickeagle7@msn.com     

That's all folks !

Hawkeye

Out of Town Match - Dec 3, 2012

Arizona Palma Championships  -- Nov 31-Dec 2, 2012

From: Rick Curtis and the Desert Sharpshooters  

Day One:
LOCKWOOD ELECTRIFIES IN F-TR! SHAW BLOODIED IN F-OPEN! TOMPKINS FAULTLESS IN SLING!

  

Another stellar day greeted the competitors who arrived at one of the nations finest shooting complexes, the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in north Phoenix Arizona. From as far away as Minnesota, Kentucky and even Canada they came to test their skills against some of long range shootings legendary greats. No less than forty-one High Masters took the line today to see who, in a battle of skills and wills, would walk off with the day 1 victory. With out any further delay or convivial utterance lets get to the stories of the day!

 

Starting with F-TR, dedicated family man and small business owner Steve Lockwood took his newly re-barreled Barnard across the Palma course in fine form today. Opting to run the sweet Berger 185's through his new 12 twist Krieger, Lockwood let his presence be known at 800 by firing one of only three cleans put up by the bi pod bunch. Californian Lane Buxton and recently retired Border Patrol agent Jeffry Calhoon accounted for the other two. At 900, Steve's 148-5X fell short by only one point to Raton regular Lige Harris' brilliant stage winning 149-7X. Calhoon kept pace by also posting a 148 and by a mere two X's over, led the daily aggregate with only the 1000 yard line to go. Buxton suffered a setback at 900 with a less than sterling 143-1X locking him into a tie for third with top level F-TR shooter Michael Smith. In Palma shooting, both the sling and the mechanically supported shooters alike know that the match is usually won or lost at 1000 yards. The long line can be especially cruel to those who fall out of step with the vagaries of the wind as Calhoon clearly had. His anemic 128-2X dashed his hopes for the daily win. Buxton regained his National Team form by posting a stage high 147-7X's, grabbing the clubhouse lead. As Lockwood took the line, down just two, it was his to win or lose. Buxton was down ten for the agg, Smith and Harris eleven and Calhoon was flopping around in the parking lot on the sword he had fallen on at 1000. So with the same workman like manner he had displayed all day, Steve Lockwood pounded out a solid 146-6X's, carding a 444-15X's and winning the first of the three daily aggregates. Good Job Steve!

 

Steven Blair and Steven Shaw are now clearly down the road to a historical rivalry in F-Open. With Shaw's win two weeks ago at our State Long Range Championships, the stage was clearly set for a nail biting rematch between the two in the Palma Championship. At the 800 Shaw appeared to be clearly in command as he and his mighty 300 WSM, spitting 215 grain pills at well over 3000 fps, posted an unbelievable

150-14X's! It was clear though that despite Shaws accomplishment his fellow F'ers were not about to lie down. Dennis Welker made his presence known with a great 150-10X's, Blair was right their with a 9X 150 and Colorado Springs resident Charles Clark also posted a 150 with 7X's to be exact. Moving back to the 900 yard line Blair and Shaw continued their mistake free performance by posting identicle 150-10X's. Welker and Clark fell off the torrid pace with scores of 148 and 146 respectively. So again, the 1000 yard line was to be the scene for a spectacular finish. Clark and Welker limped across the day one finish line with lackluster scores at the long line to finish up with duplicate 439's on the day. Blair and Shaw, laying side by side, began their assault on the 10 and X rings and when the dust had settled on the pivotal 1000 yard line Blair had carded a gutsy 147-6 besting Shaw's effort of 144-5 giving him a slim three point lead going into day two. Great shooting by both men and I'm sure we will see more tomorrow.

 

Last, but certainly not least, the 56 competitors in the sling division compiled a number of stories of success themselves today. Ratons own Trudie Fay, one of seven National Team members to top the days aggregate, shown brightly at 800 as both her and Peter Church posted 14X cleans to start the day. Fellow National Team member and your intrepid reporter, Rick Curtis, found an acorn at 900 with a nice 11X clean. At the 1000 yard line another National Team member and perennial Palma Team shooter Bob Gustin cranked out a very good 13X clean to end the day on a nice note. All these great performances would, in the end, become but a footnote to the days crowning achievement. Nancy Tompkins, numerous time National Champion, Palma Team shooter and a young woman I am proud to call my friend put together a doozy of a score today. In her shooting career, Nancy has amassed well over thirty perfect scores over the palma course and today she added one more as her cleans at 8, 9, and 1000 yards resulted in a day one 450-27X which just edged out runner up Trudie Fay's 449-29X. Kentuckian Mark Del Cotto sits solidly in third with his 448-26X. Gustin, Curtis, Church and Phil Hayes rounded out the top seven finishers today.  

 

Day Two

BLAIR BLINKS, SHAW PREVAILS, STILL TRAILS BY TWO!  SMITH AND HARRIS DEFUSE LOCKWOOD!   GUSTIN LEADS A TRIO OF CLEANS, TOMPKINS STUMBLES!

 

A chilly 6-8 mph breeze from the north greeted the shooters  in Day 2 of the Arizona State Palma Championships today. It would not however be a deterrent to those who were determined to succeed as no less than twenty-five possibles were fired at 800 yards. One competitor rose above all others as Californian Bob Gustin produced a brilliant 15X clean at the first distance of the day! The best however was yet to come, with each passing minute the flags drooped more and more until every flag in the facility lay glued to their poles. Such tame conditions are a recipe for monster scores and many ate with gusto and enthusiasm!

 

In F-Open Steven Blair set the pace early on with an outstanding Stage 1 score of 150-12X's. Steve Shaw took his mighty .30 cal to the line and reeled of a noteworthy 10X clean in the first and set the stage for yet another Blair, Shaw battle. Taking the line at 900, Shaw continued to avoid the nine ring as his sterling 150-9X kept the door open for a run at the National Record, currently a 450-24X's. Blair on the other hand balked at the courses middle distance as his 149-7x not only put him down one to Shaw for the day but also dropped his lead in the overall to just two points. As the two men mounted the 1000 yard line for the last string of the day anticipation ran high among the small group of onlookers eager to see history in the making. Lets face it, with Shaw's talent and a rifle that spits 215 grain pills at almost Mach III, a record for the ages was a real possibility. Shaw began his assault, as he had at the previous yard line, by layer those Bergers into the ten and X rings. Suddenly, in a mid string flurry of X's a nine came up, dashing his record run hopes! To the big mans credit he kept his cool and finished as he had started, in the middle and carded an 8X 149 to finish the day with a stellar 449-27X. Blair too felt the sting of an errant shot at the long line, leaving him with a two down 448-24X's for the day, maintaining that slim two point lead, going into the final day. Stay tuned as it looks like these two will battle down to a photo finish in the final!

 

Lige Harris, in the F-TR division, got his mojo going early by firing the only clean at 800. Steve Lockwood answered with a competent 148 but saw his five point lead in the overall drop to only three. The 800 yard line also saw Michael Smith surge to the fore with a powerful 147-10X to take his place at the table with the leaders down a scant six points to Lockwood. The action at 900 saw Harris and Lockwood battle to a draw as each man posted a 145 but Smith, uncorked another three down score to move within four points of Lockwood and trailed Harris by only one. The 1000 yard line turned out to be a carbon copy of the 900. Lockwood and Harris again battled to a stalemate by posting a pair of 146's and "steady eddie" Smith whipped out yet another 147. It's interesting to note that Harris and Smith had battled to numerical ties on both day one and two only to see Smith get the nod on both occasions by "Creedmooring" Harris. A quick peek at the scorecards shows Lockwood finishing in third trailing Smith and Harris for the day but still maintaining a narrow three point lead for the overall victory. Once again we have areal nail biter tomorrow as all eyes will be watching the drama unfold. 

 

In the sling division it was a "California Dreaming" day as not one but three left coasters grabbed the brass ring and nailed down perfect 450 scores! I've lost track of how many 450's Bob Gustin has fired in his storied shooting career, though I'm sure it never feel like "old hat". Being only two targets away I was able to watch the day unfold and Bob's holding ability was simply outstanding at every yard line. Starting off the day with that incredible 15X run at 800 was truly amazing and was underscored by the fact that 12 of those X's fit neatly beneath a dollar bill! Complimenting the effort at 800 were brilliant strings at 900 and 1000 netting him a dominating 450-33X agg for the day and giving him a twelve X lead over Tompkins in the overall. Bob Gill and Allan Thomas were the other two "clean" shooters today and I would be remiss in not saying that this was both men's first clean palma course score ever! Congratulations guys that is one heck of a club to be a member of indeed.

 

My friends, with close battles in every division raging tomorrow I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday. So grab a spotting scope or a pair of binoculars and come on out to watch one of America's oldest sporting professions play out and give us our newest Champions!  

Day Three  

 SMITH, TOMPKINS, SHAW - TAKE STATE TITLES BY ONE!

 

The 2012 Arizona State Palma Championships are now part of the rich historical record here in our desert arena, the Ben Avery Shooting Facility. Mother Nature provided us with three of her very best days with light winds and morning temperatures in the 60's, rising to 80 degrees by the time the last relays mounted the 1000 yard line. The competition was very close this year and the scores, thanks to the great weather and the awe inspiring talent assembled, were very high across the board. All in all I'm certain that a good time was had by everyone who attended. 

 

In F-TR Michael Smith was not going to be denied in his quest for the State title. His final day 441-18X effort was a full thee points better than third overall finisher Lige Harris and four points better than second overall Steve Lockwood. Lockwood seemed to have lost his mojo after posting what turned out to be the highest daily aggregate score of this years championship on day one. Regardless, the overall victory earned by Smith was certainly no fluke. His steady, consistant shooting throughout this years championship rightfully earned him the top spot. Congratulations to our 2012 State F-TR Palma Champion Michael Smith!

 

When Steven Shaw informed me of his intention to shoot in this contest early last week, I had a feeling that we would see another great match in F-Open between him and Steven Blair. Turns out that I was not disappointed as the two friends really went at it all weekend. Immediately following the awards ceremony I got a chance to chat with Mr. Blair and what he told me is worth noting here. Blair calls sunny San Diego California home, so when Shaw offered him a place to stay at his east valley house, he gladly accepted. Each evening after a five star meal, courtesy of Mrs. Shaw, the two friends would retire to the gun room, snifter of brandy in hand, to discuss the days events. Turns out that Shaw's big .30 caliber beast, spitting those potent Berger 215 grain Hybrids at 3050fps, was shooting a full ring or more inside of Blairs 7mm in the wind! Makes one wonder just how long the 7mm variants will remain the flavor of the week. The end result of this was a 1 point 15X difference with Shaw prevailing over Blair to win the 2012 Arizona State F-Open Palma Championship. Congratulations to both men for a brilliant battle all weekend.

 

The Sling Championship was tight all day Sunday as Bob Gustin and Nancy Tompkins, both down only three points for the championship, cleaned both the 800 and 900 yard lines. With Gustin ahead on X's the two took there places, shoulder to shoulder, on the 1000 yard line. To make things interesting the wind, finally awakening from it's slumber, began to stir. As the string began the pair traded X's and 10's for awhile and then suddenly Gustin missed a change. His target came up to reveal, after nearly three full days of competition, his fourth nine for the championship! Tompkins stayed the course and came away with yet another clean at the long line to wrest the championship from Gustins grasp, with what I think may be a State Record score of 1247-83X, Nancy Tompkins is our 2012 Arizona State Palma Champion! Congratulations Nancy on not only your stunning victory, but your 40th perfect 450 score over the Palma course.

 

The team match was won by US National Team Hayes with a score of 1789-73X's, firing  members were Rick Curtis, Peter Church, Justin Skaret and Trudie Fay. Second overall team was won by Coalinga Rifle Team O'Connell members were Jim O'Connell, Jared Perry, Tony Miller and Bob Gill.  Third went the US Veterans Team of Bud Solis, Bob Gustin, Bill Otten and Mick Dunia.

 

In closing I want to recognize some of the notable scores from the three day match. I know that a number of personal best's were fired over the course of this tournament and please forgive me if I miss any. Going down the grand agg results I see that Mike Toliver, current High Power Director at the Rio Salado Sportsmans Club, shot a very capable and steady match that yielded a fine 1330-73X finish. Capped I might add with a very good personal best on day two of 445-26X. Good job Mike! Mike also reminded me that the next ASRPA event will be the CMP State Championships at his range Dec 9th. This is a 50 shot NMC match for both Vintage and modern service rifles. There is still room but if you are going to attend, get your entries in ASAP. Click HERE for the match program. Next on the list are Texans Tom Titcomb and Tony Miller. Tom's 445-16X effort on day two is pretty good for the seasoned veteran shooter/ gunsmith firing a 95 year old US P-17 Enfield! Tony's brilliant 447-25X, also on day two, and his great effort in the team match were I'm sure memorable moments for the Lone Star state resident. In the Master Class, Adrian Harris from the Rocky Mountain High State, executed a steady scoring performance over the three days to grab the class win with a 1315-54X total. Also in the Master Class, Michael Walker posted a very nice personal best score on day two of 444-19X's. Good job guys!

 

Thanks to everyone for coming out to the match. It was great to see all of you and to catch up with so many of my shooting friends. The next big long range match here at Ben Avery is the Berger Southwest Long Range Nationals February 5-10 2013. Last year we had 205 competitors for this outstanding match so click HERE for the program and get your entries in! Please click HERE for the sling results and for the F Class final scores click HERE

Be well and see you on the line,  

 Rick Curtis   highpower@asrpa.com,

www.asrpa.com

 

Thanks, Rick for writing this great article about these Great matches