Washington's Birthday Rifle Match -- coming up!

Washington's Birthday rifle match-- always one of the best matches ever!  It's the "The longest running annual rifle match in the country ("SINCE 1893)!  and the largest High Power Rifle Match in Arizona. Over 200 rifle Competitors" --Bill Poole.-- 
 This is a Service Rifle match that you want to make it to some time in your shooting career.  It's a tradition that brings people from all over, to shoot on a team in the "Washington's B-day Match". Like Poole says -- usually over 50 teams of 4 shooters each, compete for the first place team Plaque and individual awards. 'Top Police, Top military, High Senior, High Women, and High Junior, etc' are all awarded Plaques and other brass badged ammo boxes. 
   The B-day match is run like a CMP match. It's 3 sighters and 50 shots for record, all at 200 yds, and using reduced targets for the 300 rapid, and prone slow fire phases. Two shooters on each team shoot through in the morning, flip flopping on the line through the 4 positions.  During the lunch break, the Az Juniors grill burgers and dogs for everyone's lunch, unless your team is tailgateing with its own grill.  In the Afternoon, the coaches bring their #3 and #4 shooters to the line and they shoot through till the end of the match. Each coach has to make the decision to either bring his 2 best shooters to the line in windy morning or the usually calm afternoon. Which strategy would gain the team the most points?   

Top three 2007 -Tyler Riko, Tom A., Jim E.

  After the match, and while the 200 team and individual scores are reconciled, the Match Director, Bill Poole brings all shooters to the line who have shot an individual Master score for the "Shoot Off". Usually about 20 master score shooters are quickly squaded at the center of the line, and take up the 'Standing Position",  They will all fire one shot at a time, Offhand, while the target is exposed for 60 seconds, then withdrawn.  All targets are then scored and kept in the pits till Poole calls for "Disk all 5s". If no targets come up with a 5, he calls for disking any 6s,.  If any targets come up out of the pits with a 6 spotted and scored on it, Poole will announce -- "Targets number 52, and 84 Thank you for your participation.  Please remove your equipment from the Firing Line", and just that quick those folks are back into the crowd, awaiting the next shot, cheering on the survivors,  and seeing who will shoot and 7 or 8 and be banished from the line.   Eventually, it works down to two or three shooters, and they may battle two or three more shots, all scoring 9s and 10s at the same time.  Every 'Shoot Off" of the 10,  I've been in goes at least 11 shots before someone is the last man standing. Last year I went out on the 4th shot, but I've made the top three twice and won the thing in 2006, after going 3 equal shots with multiple winner Jess Anatoli. It was one of those 'good shooting' days that I put a the top of my list.
  Last year the Tucson Rifle Club's Master Blasters, put an end to the decade long reign of Derrick Martin's, Accuracy Speaks team by shooting good solid scores on a day where I shot offhand in the rain, blowing water out of the peep sight on every shot, and gusty storm winds plagued most every relay.  That Club will be tough to beat again this year, and I know that one of the Junior teams has some hot shooters, such as newly  Distinguished Rifleman, Tarvis Burian, and other young shooters who are also ready to take that "Top Team" award. 

Just in -- Results for 2012 B-day match:   Click Here

  Traveling shooters take note:   This is one of those "bucket list" rifle matches.  This years entry form -- Click Here  
Washington's Birthday match 2012 web site:  http://washingtonsbirthdayriflematch.org/

Winter shooting Mecca - - Phoenix, AZ

  Trigger finger itching?  Got the Winter Shooting Withdrawal Syndrome (WSWS)?

This year, once again, Phoenix AZ becomes the winter shooting Mecca for shooting sports. If you are a Highpower shooter or a Sm Bore shooter, this year's lineup of championship matches offers top notch competition throughout 6 weeks and 19 days of clinics, individual, and team shooting.  What better way is there to spend that winter vacation than enjoying the warm weather of the Southwest, and shooting lots of matches.
  Note: the temp in Phoenix will be about 70 deg today !

Highpower
     For the Highpower shooter, this championship series starts on:
Feb 7 thru Feb 12th, with the Berger Bullets Long Range Nationals  -- match program Click Here.  March 21 thru Mar 25 is the Berger Bullets OTC Nationals. 
    Both matches held at Ben Avery range.

Small Bore -- "March Madness" starts again!
    Do you like to shoot Sm Bore? Do you need to practice your prone shooting (doesn't every one)? SB March Madness offers you the chance to shoot 14 prone Championship matches, and 2100 shots for record in 5 weeks!
   February 24-27th  --  Tarantula 4800 metric prone -- Program: click here
   March  3-4th         --  Road Runner 3200 prone   --    Program: click here
   March  10-11th     --  Diamond Back 3200 Prone  --
   March  14-18th     -- Western Wildcat Matches  6400 Prone -- Program  Click Here
   March  24-25th     --  AZ Sb State Prone Champ  3200 Prone -- Program: Click here

Where else can you ever find that much competition in one month?  You can't. Don't miss this chance to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. There are plenty of hotels, motels, and Park Models in the RV parks to rent, so load up or buy a ton of ammo and Fly, Drive or Hike to Phoenix -- your prone skills will skyrocket.

Note: All Match programs for these Championship weekends will be posted ASAP on this Blog.

Out of Town Match-- AZ Service Rifle St.Champ.

 This weekend was the AZ Service Rifle State Championship.  I thought it was time to dig out my trusty AR Service Rifle and have some fun. I hadn't shot a leg match in a long while, and since those usually great matches, I decided to make that my Sunday match choice.  I probably should have shot the Sat. 80 shot champ match as the scores in the Master class where I am classified not really high and I would have had a good chance for a class win.  However I wanted to shoot a smallbore 1600 on Sat so that didn't work out.  I did have a good (for me) score in the SB match (1584-85x) so I was happy about that.  Note: on the first target (50 yd) Nancy Tompkins shot a 200-20x so I knew that the pressure was off for the day.

   The Sunday Leg match started out a little cold in the morning, but by the start the temp was a balmy 65 Deg, and the wind was a light breeze and worth nothing on the sights.  Not having practiced with the Service Rifle for a half a year showed up right away in the Standing match where I was a little wobbly and only scored a 92 and was very happy with that.  Sitting Rapid was also weak and I dropped 4 out low right.  Then we went back to the 300 and the wheels fell off. The targets came up, and I dropped into position as best I could and racked the charging handle to load the first rd, and found it would not move. I pulled and pulled and it was stuck forward --- jambed tight.  Nothing would get that bolt back, so I was put on the aliby relay while a NG armorer was cking it out.  Someone handed me a gun and I shot with that.  That gun must have had 200 yd zeros on in so my ragged group ended up in the 8 ring and I lost 21 pts.  Oh, well, I just came for fun anyways.   Off to the 600 with my "repaired" rifle,  I would shoot for personal satisfaction.  I called the first shot a high 10, but the target stayed down for at least a minute, then came up a miss on target at 12:00.  What is that?  I know it was a good shot, so I pondered and then dropped 5 clicks to fire again.  I didn't want another miss out the top.  Of course you know what happened  -- it was a 7 at 6:00.  I came back up to what I started with and drilled an X followed by the best string of fire I ever shot with the service rifle at 600, finishing with a 183-6x including the miss and that 7 on the first two shots.

AZ Service scores

  Daniel Rodrigues won with a 484, while 2 legs were given out with scores of 474, and 468.
  I figure I lost about 23 pts due to rifle problems and add that to my 450 final score, I thought I had shot pretty good, but scored poorly.  Oh, well. As Steve Merritt said later -- "The Service Rifle giveth and the Service Rifle taketh away".
  All in all it was a good day.  I didn't win, but I had fun and that's what counts.
Thanks to Mid Thompkins for running a great match.

How can I see my Sight Picture better ?

  "Old Eyes and Iron Sights" -- part 5
   Today was a good day. Yes, it was my birthday, but that's not why. It was a good day because I could see the target (dropped 5 in a 40 shot team match at 500 yds). I was using the AR match rifle, and I could see a good black dot to aim at, and the the front sight aperture was black and pretty sharp. That was exactly the opposite of Thursday, when Bill and I went to Ben Avery to shoot in the 1000 yard practice match, where I was shooting a 6BR.  We zeroed at 600yds but I could hardly see the Bullseye at all.  I could adjust my shooting glasses to get the front sight sharp, but no mater how I moved the lens in and out there was just a light shadow of about 1/2 the bullseye, and I ended up using a "frame" hold to some success (9s and 10s).

     I have been alternately shooting my .223 AR match rifle, or my 6BR Anchutz match rifle in mid-range matches. I know that the 6BR is a tack driver because I get high X counts when using a scope in "any" sight matches, but I always get a higher score, and hold elevation better with the AR space gun if both are shot with Iron sights.                               

     So, why is this? The 6BR has a fully adjustable Anchutz 2213 alum stock. The AR space gun is less adjustable with a fixed height cheek rest. Both have good sights -- Phoenix rear, and 30mm Right Sight front on the 6br, PNW rear with a std. 22mm on the Space gun. Both have .3 and .5 diopters available.

Two things that always seem different from one to the other.
     1. I always get a comfortable position with the Space gun. It fits me perfect. No adjustable cheek piece - so what! I get on the gun and My eye is always lined up with the iris, no matter how high I have the sight set.
With the Anchutz 6BR, I seem to be always adjusting the cheek piece, hand stop, and sling. When I get it adjusted just right, I find that the measurements are way different than with the AR--Huh? When I shoot the Anchutz stock with either the .22, the 6BR or the .308 barrels, the measurements are pretty much the same....But not the same as the AR.
     2. I always see the front sight, and target better with the AR. I always struggle with my vision while shooting the 6BR.

So where does all this lead to ---

Thoughts on front sight optics,   shooting glasses, and  stock settings,.

Front Sight Optics:
    I use a .3 diopter in the front sight for Mid Range and a .5 diopter for long range.  I purchased these diopters from the usual sources.  I 'assumed' that they were quality lenses. However, it's certainly possible that the diopters I use are not good quality lenses, and that is the reason why I see the target well with one gun and not with the other.  Each gun has it's own dedicated front sight and diopter. 
   These diopters are simple concave/convex lenses---i.e. both sides are curved towards the front.   They could be plano/convex with the back side flat and only the front side curved and that would work fine also. These lens are not hard or complicated to grind.  They should  be accurate, and precise if  coming from any reputable lens shop.   However, I suspect that many of them are mass produced and coupled with most being plastic lenses, they may or may not be the quality that shooters really need to see the target properly.  Its also possible that these lenses are cut from larger pre-ground lens blanks, and therefore the optical center may not be in the center of  each lens we get.  Grinding one 3" lens and then cutting out a doz smaller 22mm lenses from that blank would be more profitable for the mfg. but only one of the doz would maybe have been cut from the from the optical center of the parent lens.  
      Solution ?
     1.  I intend to take all my diopters to an 'friendly" optical shop, and have them looked at.  The optician can easily measure the grind with a lens diopter guage and tell me if they really were ground to the proper focal length.
  Remember:  from Bill Luth
 "focal Length = 1/diopter . The lenses that we call 0.3 and 0.5 are really 1.3 and 1.5 diopter with corresponding focal lengths of 30" and 26" (about), so you are correct that the focal length and sight radius are directly related. Now should we think about the image formed at  the rear sight or at the front surface of the eyeball?  
 1/1.3 =.7692m .7629 X 39.36 in/m = 30.03 in focal length
 1/1.5 =.6667m .6667 X 39.36 in/m = 26.24 in.
 The diopter values refer to the reciprocal of the focal length in meters

    2 .Since the diopters have a "focal length"  I will do more experimenting on moving my front sight in and out to test the sharpness of the image formed fore and aft of the exact focal plane.  Moving the front sight farther out will, also change the size of the image  our eye examines. Our eyes have a daylight adapted Pupil opening of about 5mm and if the Focal plane is too far out, the image size will be too large for best viewing.
    3.  If there seems to be any problem with the quality of the diopters I have, I will have the optical shop grind me lenses from good optical glass, and make sure that the optical center is in the center of the lens. I may experiment with diopters other than the standard .3 and .5.  Small lenses like this are not expensive, so having "good" ones is not a luxury. This would be the easiest with the 30mm  lens as it uses no lens holder to fit into Stallings Right sight I use on the 6BR. The 22mm have their own lens holder and I'm not sure how easy it will be to change out the lens.

Shooting Glasses
Once we get past 40 years old, our eyes start to slowly fail.  Most of us compensate for this by getting special shooting glasses to help us see better. I use Knobloch shooting glasses and could not compete in matches without them--period!  These specific glasses allow me to slide the lens left and right, raise and lower it, and twist it to a position perpendicular  and directly in line with the axis of my sights, even though my head (on the gun) is not pointing straight toward the target.  These glasses also allow me to move the nose piece in and out to position the lens the proper distance from the eyeball --- This is very important!  The lens must be the same distance from your eye as your regular glasses or the focal length of the lens will not focus the image at the back of your eyeball.   I see many shooters who have their shooting glasses lens way out from the normal position of about 3/4 inch from the eye. No wonder they can't see the target or the front sight!  These (knobloch) shooting glasses also allow the lens to "tilt" in and out a bit, so I can tilt it in a bit to bring the bullseye into focus or tilt it out a bit to bring the front sight into better focus.  That's right-- I can focus these glasses from the front sight to the bull, and find what looks the best on any particular day.    Think about that advantage!  With my bad eyes (7.50 sph. prescription) I need all the help I can get. If you cant see, you can't hit the middle.

Stock Settings  
  My Stock Measurements (when feels good)
                                                        AR-15 match,              Anchutz 6BR
Pull (from trigger)   =                        13.25"                        12.0"   (shorter)
Butt to Hand stop  =                          24.0"                          22.2"   (shorter)
Butt to Rear Iris  =                             11.0                           10.6"    (shorter)
Rear iris behind Trigger  =                 2.6"                            1.6"    (shorter)
Sight axis above Trigger  =                5.2"                            4.5"    (shorter)
Sight Radius(Iris to iris  =                 34.7"                          31.0"    (shorter)
Sling at                                           #3 hole                      #6 hole   (longer)

   It's obvious that I shoot a lower and more stretched out  position when I shoot the AR space gun even though I end up with the sling 3 holes tighter.  This, I cannot understand.  Why would a comfortable position with these two rifles have such different stock settings?  I can only think of one reason -- I can't move the Rear Sight as far back on the Anchutz 6BR as I can on the AR.  I think that therefore I shoot that gun hunched up, and straining a little to reach the short rear sight eye relief  that suits me best. 
    Solution:    Since the AR feels best when shooting, I will now (again) set the Anchutz stock to all the settings I use on the AR, and start over from there. I have a 3/4 in. iris extention for the rear sight to get that back a little farther.
     However, somehow, I just know that when I get done adjusting it for comfortability , those measurements will end up right where they are now.  It's a mystery!

Old Eyes and Iron sights -- Part 1  (First thoughts)    Click Here
                                               Part 2  (Iron sight optics)    Click Here
                                               Part 3  (Techniques to see better)    Click Here
                                               Part 4  (Too much light from spotting scope)    Click Here
Hawkeye

It's time to think about range improvements !

Now that the shooting season is generally over for Northern shooters, we all should be looking at how we can help with range improvement projects during the next season.  Keeping your range up in good maintenance is the job of all club members and competitive shooters. We can't just assume that someone else will do the job.  Get in contact with your discipline chairman and offer your help in planing and execution of some project that will help keep your range up or improve it.  Enjoyable hours can be spent away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life while doing some project at the range.

Here is the new target pit project from 2 years ago at Rio Salado.  Lots of volunteer help got this big  project done, and we all enjoyed the process.

Dec. 300 m Match Results --

It was another great turnout for Mpls. Rifle Club's monthly 300m match.  

 From Brian Shiffman:

This was the last match for 2011 and we sent it off with a great turnout and some close competition.  There were 23 shooters in two relays.

  Again, we were blessed with fair weather, no snow to obscure the targets, and winds from any and all directions at any given time.  The wind, although not really stiff, was tricky, and it took some strategy to take it into account; or, you had to be lucky.  It was a good day to get experience in dealing with variable winds.

   There were two 3-Position shooters with Mark Havlik using is AR15 with battle sights beating Erik Hazelton using a really nice wood stocked .223.  Erik is a junior. 

   Of the 5 Prone shooters, Bill Lair bested the rest with a 571.

   The remaining 16 shooters were in F-Class and mere points separated most of the shooters.  Robert Smith came armed with his new secret weapon; a front rest made of kryptonite with eyes of its own; he took the class with a score of 589.  A scant one point back, in second, was David Leis with 588.  Then a tie for third between Karl Kupl and Johan Boden with 584 each.  From then on down, the next 8 shooters were only 1 or two points behind the ones above.

   The full results are at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=12

   The next match is scheduled for January 8, 2012.  It is as early in the month as it can be (second Sunday).  We will go through the pre-registration procedure for this match.  I am NOW taking pre-registration for 1^st or 2^nd relay.  I will also send out an email with your assigned relay and you will need to send me a confirming reply.

  Here is wishing all a very merry and happy holiday season.  See you at the range next year.

Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu  

That 300 m target is a hard target.  Not a lot of 200s are shot on that target with Iron sights.  That target forces you to hold hard and use your best trigger control.  It has a 10 ring about 4 inches in dia. and is shot at 30 yds farther out than than the 300 yd Highpower target, which has a 6 in Ten ring (MR63).  Shooting Sm Bore on the 100 yd metric Sm Bore target is similar, as that target is really a "reduced" 300m target.  

Notes:

Berger Bullets Southwest Long Range Nationals - Feb 7-12, 2011, Ben Avery Range, Phoenix AZ              Match bulletin -- Click Here  
Rooms discounted to  $67 for this match. Cure your winter blues and shoot 5 days in sunny, warm, Phoenix. 

Watch--- from Berger Bullets:

Dec 11, 2011

This in from Steve Knutson:

       " Fun Smallbore winter league.

 Come shoot, learn, eat!   Just to get out of the house!!!

Winter "port hole" doors have been installed

Also posted on mrcnews.org."   Click Here for more info  

   These winter Sm Bore matches (7) are fired at the Mpls Rifle. Club's heated shooting house at the Now Then range in NW Anoka Co.  It's a nice facility and heated.  All matches are 50 yds, with classes for modern, and vintage rifles.

Shooters News for the MN area - Dec 8

Shooters News - The Week Ahead 

Yes, there is a Rifle match this Sunday! 
Get your mid range rifle out and shoot some 300 m matches from the comfort of the enclosed (read - warm) Mpls. Rifle Club's shooting house. All this on Electronic targets so there is no need to go out and pull targets. it's been a long time since they had two full relays, so email Brian and go shooting.

From Brian Shiffman:
"This Sunday, Dec 11, will be the December 300 Meter Club Match at the MRC range.

IMPORTANT:

Since we have had high turnouts for the past two months I am going to follow a suggestion proposed be several shooters: For this match we will have pre-registration so we can squad for first and second relay.  First relay will shoot at 10 AM while second relay will shoot at 12 PM.  Send me email to choose your preferred relay.  If you are not pre-registered there will be no guarantee that you will get to shoot when you walk up.  BUT, I have to believe that the second relay will not be full.

If you choose a relay that is already filled, I will send you a reply to let you know and we will attempt to work out a satisfactory arrangement.

This is FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED; earlier email responses will take precedence over later email.  If you are bringing a friend to shoot the match with you, let me know that in your email, OR, have your friend contact me by email; one of you should indicate that you need to shoot on the same relay.

You can also indicate your first and second choice of relay in your email.  I will respond (to all those that pre-register) on Saturday afternoon with the relay shooter schedule

If I missed anything, let  me know immediately.

The fee is still $15 for the match. 

I don’t know what the weather will be (my fuzzy caterpillar is on vacation) but it will be cool for sure but we will be nice and cozy in our shooting house.

 Brian D. Shiffman

shiff004@umn.edu

Notes:
Capt. Bob Peasley passed this on from the NRA ---  
"Notes from the Director

Rodriquez Range Rebuild

Each year at this time the CMP, Ohio National Guard and the NRA meet to go over after action reports from the just completed National Matches held at Camp Perry. I was pleasantly surprised to see a great deal of construction activity being done at Camp Perry when I arrived for the Fall Planning Conference. Completion of the power upgrades, buildings being re-roofed, parking lots being repaved but the most exciting activity was seeing the Rodriquez butts being taken down. On the priority list for many years has been the complete reconstruction of the Rodriquez butts and targetry replacement and this project will be complete by the National Matches 2012.

Construction crews with major earthmoving equipment were tearing out old concrete pit walls, walkways and targets. The plan is to use modular concrete walls to rebuild the pit walls and walkways, but a great deal of earthmoving will take place before that part of the project begins. Talking with the project foreman, the June 1, 2012 project deadline would be met without much trouble, weather is always a question mark up on Lake Erie but the project is moving along at a fast pace. New targetry will be installed and I have been assured that all of the bugs that we found in the Viale range targetry have been addressed.

I would like to pass along the best wishes for a very Merry Christmas to everyone from the entire staff of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division. 

Best regards,  Mike Krei, Director  NRA Competitive Shooting Division

last Week

The AZ Palma Championships were held over 3 days of 50 deg weather, under Sunny skys and interesting winds to test the shooters. See a few pictures  and results -  Click Here

Read Rick Curtis's short match report - Click Here 

  As a retired Long Range shooter, I spent this match in the pits pulling targets for the F-class shooters ($$). They like to shoot fast, they tend to stay in the middle, so I can give them HM target service.  F-ers will always hire a HM puller. 

  I ended up pulling for one of the fastest shooters there is.  If you think that you have shot with fast shooters in the past, you havent seen anything till you have pulled for Dave Gosnell.  In his Sunday 900yd match, when the wind was 8 to 10 from the SW and steady, he fired a solid 10 on the first shot (10 in. ten ring), and after that, with easy 6 second target service, he fired a shot every 10 seconds on the clock and never once was it 2 seconds after the target hit the top that the next shot arrived. He finished his 2 sighters and 15 shots for record in about 3 min flat.  Dave said "I don't like to dilly dally".  He also won the match and after 3 days took home the F- Open championship. 

 As you can read in Rick's rpt, Bob Gustin won the sling shooter side of the match, and Phil Hayes came in 2nd, just 5 behind after 3 days.  I had shot service rifle team with Phil in the Huge Washington's Birthday match for years, and won a lot of 1st's. I asked Phill how things were going on Sat, down in the pits and he said that he was doing well, and  then said "Jim, I'm just on top of my mental game right now. I'm seeing the conditions.  I'm looking down there at the flags and mirage and I just know what to do."  

  This was not surprising, as I had somewhat the same conversation with Rick Curtis in the morning line up for squading.  Rick (I think 5thplace) said almost exactually the same thing.  "I'm seeing the conditions."  Rick said that he could just lay there between shots and see these up and down 2 and 3 min changes.  I think that this shows us all where the Top Shooters are at.  They are at the top of their mental game and are applying that to reading the conditions. 

  In the F-class team match Sunday, German Salager's team of  Warren Dean, Jeff Calhoon, and 2 others, were comfortably in the lead, and on the way to a new F team record score for a Palma match.  German's first three shooters held their own, as the wind started to get a little more nasty. All of them benefited by Germans HM wind reading skills.  Shooter #4 came to the line confessing that he had only 17 rds and hoped he had no misfires.  Of course it didn't go well.  On the 12th shot the Spotter fell out of the X ring as the target hit the top, then the puller waited  a few seconds and decided to pull the target and replace it just as shooter #4 fired his irreplaceable round, which went over the target (withdrawn target).  The shooter shot his last rds but was one short of 15 record shots there at the 1000 yd line.

  What to do?  All the other shooters on the team were using way different loads and bullets (It's F class).  German had his last shooter move on to the gun of the #3 shooter and he would take the shot with that gun.  Now the wind had changed and German waited and waited till the  last minute of the match, put 1 min left from the last shot from that gun and the shooter fired an down wind 7 ----- on the Paper!  Germans team takes the record.

  Oh, by the way German Salazer won the FTR class as his shoulder injury heals. All the other F-ers hope German gets well soon and re-enters the ranks of the sling Shooters.

Up coming:
The Berger Bullets SW Long Range Matches are on again for February at Ben Avery range in Phoenix. Michelle says it will be ever bigger and better this year with the addition of more shooting days.  Stay Tuned. 
February 6th - Practice Palma
February 7th - Palma 800-900-1000
February 8th, Mid-Range 300-500-600
February 9th - Palma
February 10th - Palma
February 11th - 1000 Yard
February 12th - 1000 Yard
All most all 100 target frames are now working at Ben Avery.  Mid Tompkins has put in a bid for the "World Championships"  a few years from now.  Plan ahead

Plan Ahead -- Western WildCat Sm bore matches and March Sb madness in Phoenix. 

This news letter will be intermittent this winter -- especially if no one sends in any news.   I know the juniors have winter matches.  Let's hear about it.  Even without the news letter stuff will be posted on the blog as it dribbles in. 

That's all folks !
   Its 60 deg and I'm off to the range to sight in the new Shillen "ratchet groove" barrel, that the G-man helped me install on the Anchutz 2013. 

Hawkeye

Just IN ! Results of AZ Palma Champs

 Read Rick Curtis's report at :  SouthWest Rifle Shooting
 
Click to expand

Nancy coaching the ladies record holding F Class team











You can expand the results larger after clicking by Rt. clicking it, then selecting "view Image" and then left click expand to readable size.

Robert Pritski Coaching wind for the Nat Guard team -- all firing AR-10 .308 cal "Service Rifles"

 German Salazar coaching his F-class team to a new National Record score.

Just having fun !

Next Up -- The Palma Matches at Phoenix AZ.

Well, Next week is the big winter Palma matches at Ben Avery Range in Phoenix.
    Click Here for Palma Matches weather report.
   Those are always good matches, as there are huge amounts of competitors, and (normally) great weather. Now that the Firing lines at BA have been regraded and 1000yd line rebuilt to A+ standards, it's the place to shoot long range during the winter.  We have had great weather the past 5 years or so, but I do remember shooting in the cold rain about 2005.  This year I might work in the pits again.  Since I'm not really good at 1000 yd shooting, I think I'll pull targets for $$$.  It's a long day to pull for both the individual, and the Team match, but fun to watch the battle of the Top shooters from the Pits when the word is passed up and down about who has a good X count and is shooting clean.

Oliver Milanovic firing from 500 yds at Rio

 

  I usually get hired by the F-class shooters because they want 4 to 5 second pit service, and I can give them that service because they are shooting very small groups -- even from 1000 yds. There's no reaching all over the target when pulling for the top  F-ers like John Chilton or Steve Lockwood, and now German Salazar who is storming the FTR class this year.    
   I can pull targets next weekend and not feel guilty about not shooting as I had good shooting this weekend at the Rio Salado 500 yd match, coming in 2nd to Allen Elliot who only dropped 2 pts in the 3 twenty shot matches. I dropped 2pts. in the first match, cleaned the 2nd one for my first 200 score in a long while, and thought I could challenge Allen for the win in the last match but lost 6 pts in that match (4 to a mental error about which way to turn the elevation knob while shooting lower and lower for 3 shots and 4 lost points).  Well, 592 wasn't a great score compared to Allen's 598, but I was competitive and that makes for a good day at the match.
  I shot the space gun because its become obvious to me that I shoot the "space gun" better than the other 3 match rifles that I trade off on.  I can adjust my Anchutz rifle stock in every direction for good fit, but the space gun always feels more comfortable to shoot.  The space gun also shoots the .223 cartridge very well, out to 600 yds so recoil is low and good ammo is easy to make.  I like that -- easy ammo to make. .223 and 6BR cartridges are easy to make and the "standard"  match loads work in pretty much everyone's gun.  Keep it simple. The AR-15 platform must have been designed for someone just my size.  Even the A2 service rifle is the perfect configuration.

Well, this was a good weekend for shooting and I'm looking forward to the Palma Matches next weekend.
Hawkeye

Now This is a Bargain

From Ron Berg             
                               SHOOTERS             CHRISTMAS SALE

"Due to health and age I’ve decided to give up the shooting sports that I’ve enjoyed for many years and offering for sale my competition rifle and related reloading equipment,

Winchester Model (post)70 long action in 308 cal with a 1 in 11 Rock competition barrel (at the Sept match on the F Class target my avg was 96-97 per 10 shot string)

Included with the rifle are;  set of RCBS 308 dies also

10X40 Tasco Target Scope with sun shades

Front Rest and Rear Rests

The rifle also can be setup for OTC Iron Sight Competition it has an adj butt stock and forend stop (included are bases for front and rear sights and clip slot attachment) 

Included also are 34 loaded rds 168 hornady A-Max and

About 100 win cases

All this for $800.00

Contact me at my E-Mail address or by phone Home           1-715-845-7843 or cell 1-715-829-5160

1 spotting scope (champions choice) with stand   $100.00

2 RCBS Rock chucker loading presses                  $30.00 ea

1 RCBS Jr loading press w/lee priming attachment $30.00

1 REDDING Powder scale                                       $20.00

1 powder measure w/stand                                        $10.00

 Thanks

 Ron"

I first met Ron pulling targets on on the low end of Viale range at Camp Perry in about 1990. Since then I have shot a lot of matches with Ron at ranges such as Eau Claire, Northwestern Gun Club, Red Wing, and Harris MN, and enjoyed his company always.  Hawkeye

Out of town match -- AZ long Range Champs

 This in from Rick Curtis: 
Southwesternrifleshooting

"The Az Long Range Championship is now in the books, with both days being nearly identical in the conditions that challenged the shooters this year. Each day started with near zero wind and cloudy light conditions that quickly progressed to a fishtailing 6 oclock wind that at times exceeded 18 mph. 
   In the F Class divisions, David Gosnell absolutely whipped his fellow F-Open competitors like rented mules all weekend. Day 1 saw him finish with an
outstanding 589, a full 23 points ahead of second place Eric Cortina. Sunday saw Dave pour it on by agging a 591 to finish head and shoulders above the rest with a brilliant 1180. Congratulations David on securing a well earned place in Arizona F Class history! 
   Over in F-TR the bipod boys witnessed no less than an epic performance by first time Long Range F-er German Salazar. The G-man absolutely destroyed the competition, winning every single match but one, including an F overall win in match two. His day one 579 agg outdistanced second place winner Steve Lockwood by a considerable margin.
    Lockwood put in a valiant performance on day two to finish just behind Salazar in that agg but the damage was done and German emerged as the 2011
Az F-TR Champion.

    Finally over on the sling side of the line, which by the way was pretty evenly split between F and sling shooters this year, Arizona's own Phil Hayes put in a masterful performance all weekend. Hayes was running the Berger 115's in a new chamber configuration of his own design known as the 6X51 Hayes.
    Based on the 243 case Phil guesstimates he can effectively triple the barrel life over the parent case with his design. They say the proof is in the pudding, well Phil and his little cartridge crushed the competition, posting a 593 on Saturday and a nearly perfect 599 on Sunday to earn a decisive victory over the rest of the bondage boys and girls, laying claim to the title of State Champion! Congratulations to Phil, David and German on your respective division victories.

In closing I would like to give a big tip of the hat to Joe, Jack and Richard who setup and ran the pits each day, Fred Filkins on another great call of the line
and to Mid and Nancy Tompkins for all there hard work in the stat trailer. Next up is the Az State Highpower Championship this coming weekend that starts
off with a 3X600 on Friday. Great way to work off all those Thanksgiving calories. Then we hope to see many of you for the Az State Palma Championships Dec 2nd,3rd and 4th."

Thanks Rick. We'll see you this weekend at one of the prone matches. I got back in the sling again Sunday with an 80 OTC at Rio Salado.  Had a 197 at the 500, with the space gun, so I'm going to try it again Friday at the AZ 600 champ, or on Sat at Rio in the 500 yd match.  Darn, that .223 match rifle shoots good at Mid range!  Hawkeye

2011 Sm Bore outdoor Prone Final aggregate.

  From Chad Danielson:
   Jim,   Below are the final standings for the 2011 Season Smallbore Prone Aggregate Championship. Congratulations to Elk River Junior Shooter Eric Hazelton who won both the Junior Category Aggregate Championship, and the Overall Aggregate Championship with a total of 15,202 .  Behind Hazelton for 2^nd was Duluth Shooter Jim Biles who accumulated 12,663 points throughout the summer.  Brooklyn Park Junior Shooter Emily Quinner finished 3^rd for the season with 11,073 points.  Seven of the top ten finishers posted over 10,000 points for the season, but Hazelton set what will more likely be the mark to beat come next season with his 15,202 as he competed in all 8 of the tournaments making up the season, as the last scheduled tournament date of September 18^th, in Elk River was rained out.  

                         

1. Eric Hazelton (Jr.)   15,202 - 660
2. Jim Biles                   12,663 - 696
3. Emily Quiner (Jr.)    11,073 - 700
4. Steve Knutson           10,944 - 564
5. Chad Danielson         10,882 - 479
6. Nick Learn (Jr.)        10,789 - 413
7. Jim Evenson              10,669 - 501
8. Stacey Tamulinas        9,449 - 571
9. Lori Huseby (Jr.)        9,360 – 368
10. Julie Huseby              9,316 - 354

Mpls. Rifle Club Nov. 300 meter Match -- Results

From Brian Shiffman:   

"We had a wonderful day to have a match with indoor heat and electronic targets.  While it was not really cold the heat did take the chill out and made for comfortable shooting.  Very little wind to contend with.  We had a full house of 14 shooters; well, actually, we had more but the few additional people did not want to wait until the first relay was complete before shooting.  So, we did not have to have a second relay.  I would have been the only one shooting it!!  I made the executive decision that it was better to return back to the house for leaf clearing.

Among the group we had a couple of new shooters to our matches, and, a few interesting story lines:

Erhardt Bruderer took top honors in the 3-position class.

Kathy Nickell had never shot our matches and was using a borrowed AR 15.  I enquired about the specs and she knew them all.  Although the Nightforce scope went up to 22 power, she had it on 7 power and then proceeded to come in third place, behind Bob Eckstein and Johan Boden.  She was consistent throughout the match with two 195’s and a 194.

Bob and Johan tied with 590 for top spot but Bob bested Johan by one point on the third string to take first place.  Bob was shooting a Savage model 12 F/TR in 308 with a Nightforce scope and a front bipod that looks like a brace from a bridge.

Tom Loberg did not shoot his usual 308 but and a “new” one.  He and Johan had been battling month by month for top honors, both shooting factory Federal match 308; Tom using 168 grain bullets.  Well, his new rifle did not like that factory ammo.  Although he was also consistent from series to series, he finished in 6^th place.  After the match he shot a few Federal 175 grain match loads which seemed to group quite well.  I expect he’ll be using that load at the next match.  For those who would think the poor performance of the 168 grain ammo was due to a different barrel twist it turns out that both the old and new rifles were 1 in 12.  We have to look elsewhere.

A new shooter for us was Matt Hankes who won the prone position match with a score of 303.  How?  He was the only prone competitor.

We had 4 shooters shooting 3 positions.  Unfortunately, I failed to record the score of Ed Facundo so as soon as I get his score from the scoreboard at the range (or someone gets it to me) I’ll post it on the match results web page.  We also had two shooters shooting offhand.  Mike Marzitelli was shooting 222 Magnum while Robert Smith was using his AR 15.

I had loaded the 108 grain Berger BT for 6mm BR to try in a match for the first time.  I have been working up a load for this new to me bullet.  Since I did not shoot this match I’ll have to wait until the next match.  I had been shooting the 105 Berger VLD bullets with the length set into the lands by about .015”.  The 108 is not a VLD so it should not be loaded as far forward, usually these bullets are at their best with about .001 to .015 of jump before contacting the lands.  I have not played with seating depth, yet, choosing a “little” jump as a starting point and just playing with powder charge.

All in all it was a good shoot

 The results for the match (minus Ed Facundo’s score) can be found at:

 http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=11

 Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu

 Click Here for complete Results

Shooting Tutorial

From: Kurt Borlaug - MN State Service rifle team coach and Capt.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0H08JTs1Lg

  "Gents, The USAR team has posted a bunch of videos filmed last summer at Perry. This one is of extreme value to us all. Pass it on to your buddies not listed here and talk it up. Follow links to more. There are some other good ones of 600 yard team shooting w/ Anderson coaching.
 Also, Tom heard today that the Nosler order is on the way and we should be expecting the drop at my place early next week. Maybe we can do some testing on those pills before the snow flies.
Later, Kurt"

Some thoughts on this:  

Gents
This is a good tutorial.  
The most important words in it are "shooting window".    No matter what the wind is doing over a long period of time, there will be a "average condition" where the wind goes back to after rising or falling.  This "average condition" should usually be your shooting window.  Wait for it!
   As we all know, there are two ways to play the wind.  David Tubbs is very successful at "chasing the spotter"-- He continues to shoot as fast as he can through small wind changes in order to minimize the number of changes that he faces. Other shooters wait out the changes and shoot only in their "window".  
  The two best shooters that I watch all the time use the window method.   Rick Curtis, and Nancy Tompkins are Window shooters.  I watch them weekly in Sm Bore matches, and they are the last ones done in each 20 shot match, and usually have the top scores.
Other shooters, like me, use a combination of both methods, because I have a hard time staying in position for the 22 min it might take to get all 22 shots off using the window method---and it takes better wind reading skills to use the window method. 
   Other things come into play---  
The wind does not rise and fall evenly.   It rises more quickly than it falls. The wind also changes direction as it rises and falls, and usually with a predictable pattern.  Wind gusts (big or small) are sinking cells of air.  These cells of air have rotation.  In the Northern hemisphere gusts of wind usually have a somewhat clockwise rotation.  That means that "usually"  a gust of wind will "veer" in the clockwise direction, (Click Here) and when the wind is dropping, the direction will change (backing) in the counter clockwise direction. So--if the wind is from 7:00 and it rises, you can usually notice that it is changing towards 9:00 and therefore may have even more effect on the bullet flight.  Think about this in a 6:00 fish-tailing condition.   When the winds goes to 7:00 (left wind), it will be at a higher velocity than a change to 5:00 where the wind is dropping. So the 7:00 wind will blow you twice as far out, as you would be by misreading a change to 5:00.  The corollary to this, is that a veering wind from 10:00 to 12:00 might be rising in velocity, it will also have less value as a head wind.  
   If you want to learn about the wind, study a book on sailboat racing. Sailors get "all" their power from the wind. The angles they sail relative to the wind and the course they want to follow are what makes the difference between the winners and losers.  Sailors are the masters of the wind.  They go to great lengths to understand the changes in the wind and write a lot about it in books on sailboat racing. 
    Yes, the wind is complicated, hard to understand and apply correctly.  This is the real reason to shoot only in your "shooting window:"
   As for the coach telling the shooter to "favor"  in prone slow fire with iron sights---  Come on!   What is the point of that?  Does the coach not know the value of the wind?  Are they in such a hurry that the shooter can't click?  I believe that shooters who are not Highmasters, should never be told to favor in prone slow fire. Generally, they don't have the skill to do that properly and it just shows that the coach is not sure about his wind call and wants to put the onus of that shot result on the back of the shooter.  Master and below shooters should always shoot every shot straight away, while using Iron sights.  The shooter worries only about elevation, while the coach handles the wind call. Can you imagine a Palma coach telling his shooter to "favor".  
   Once again it's good to point out that the best prone slowfire shooters are also Sm Bore shooters, or have a Sm bore shooting background.  If you want to learn to read the wind-- shoot Sm Bore.
Jim E

Shooters News for the MN area - Oct 25, 2011

Shooters News for the Minn Area  -  Oct 25, 2011

The Week Ahead.  

Believe it or not, there is a rifle match this week.  The Air Rifle league has started its season with matches on Wednesday evenings at Bills Gun Shop in Robinsdale.    

  From Mike Marzitelli:

"We will be beginning the air rifle season at Bill's in Robbinsdale on Wednesday evenings beginning October 5th. We will be shooting every Wednesday from then to the end of March. The Olympic course will be fired at 10 meters on regulation targets. 60 shots for record per match. First relay will begin shooting at 4:00 and Second relay at 5:30. Range fees are $6. A contribution once during the

season is requested as well. Contact me for further information.

Mike Marzitelli at mmarzitelli@hotmail.com or call 651-489-9164."

    Click Here for Match program

300 meter

The only other match coming up for centerfire rifles will be Sunday, Nov, 13th at the Mpls. Rifle Club.  This will be a 300 m International style match using those nifty electronic targets. 

   Results - Oct 9th 300m match

from Brian Shiffman:

"For the third month in a row we were blessed with excellent conditions for a match.  Light breezes and very comfortable temperatures made for a good opportunity for scoring well. 

There were two new match shooters for F-Class who both did quite well.  Deb Hughes is an IPSC shooter competing in rifle for the first time (if I recall correctly) and came in one point behind Johan Boden for 4^th place.  She did was using a rifle from Garold Jones (who also spotted for Deb).

All in all it was a very good shoot with all targets working properly. 

The full results can be seen at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=10

 

  MRC 300 m match -- The early years

Here is something interesting for you to do: while viewing results of a particular match if you click on a name the year average for that shooter in the particular class of that match will be shown.  For example, while viewing the October results if you click on my name the software will show that I have shot 8 matches in F-Class (since that is the class I shot in October) and show the average for each of the three series and the average of all series.  The averages will include all matches shot for the year in that class.

 Click on tom Loberg and the system will show that he has shot 8 matches in F-Class with an average total score of 589.9; Johan Boden has shot 6 matches in F-Class for an average of 590.0.  That just about sums it up for the way the competition has gone between these two.

The next match is Sunday, November 13.  I cannot guarantee that the weather will be a cooperative as we have had for the past 3 months but it will be comfortable inside the shoot house.

 See you at the range.

Brian     shiff004@umn.edu

Winter Highpower league

George Minerich (MRRA Pres) will once again be running a Winter Highpower League starting on Dec 3rd and continuing approximately every other Saturday through March 2012.

 From George Minerich:  --  Minneapolis Rifle Club Winter High Power League

The Minneapolis Rifle Club (MRC) will be hosting a winter High Power club league starting in December. Shooting will take place in the MRC heated facility on electronic targets. You must shoot match bullets or full metal jacket bullets (no A-Max or expanding bullets).The league will shoot every other Saturday December 2011 thru March 2012. Shooting will start at promptly 11:00 AM. We will shoot 50 shots for record with sighters between strings. The National Match Course will be shot. Prone and F-Class shooters are welcome and will shoot 50 shots for record slow fire. Time will be accommodated forprone & F-Class shooters. The Season fee (9 Saturdays) $75.00. The daily fee is $10.00.To get the discount you must pay the first Saturday.For more information contact George Minerich: (320) 968-6898 or george.minerich@q.com 

   Click Here  for match program

Report on the GRRC Full bore match.
 From Kurt Borlaug: 
   " October 9th saw the area's first ever Fullbore Prone rifle match. The weather was spectacular for the 14 sling, and 4 F-Class competitors. Firing started at a rather leisurely time of 10am and the match ran well under the able management of Mark Rohmann. Mark is a new GRRC member and has stepped up to help when asked. Mark studied the Fullbore rulebook thoroughly and all questions were anticipated and answered confidently.

  The format was pair-firing, with 15 record shots per competitor at 300, 600, 800 and 1,000 yards, for a possible score of 600 points. Adding to the pair-firing, shooters are required to break their shots within 45 seconds of the target coming out of the pit. This means you cannot wait out wind conditions. This forces shooters to quickly judge wind conditions and make BOLD corrections at times.

  Brian Mrnak from Ashland Wi. started off only dropping one point at 300 yards.  Klanderud, Peasley, Borlaug and Junior Eric Hazelton hung tight all at 148 points.

  Mrnak had the only clean of the day at any yardline with a 150-7x. Peasley was close behind with a 148-6x. After 600, Mrnak had the lead at 299-16x, with Peasley close behind at 296-12x. Hazelton and Klanderud tied for third at 295-12. Did I mention Hazelton is a junior.....?

  At 800 yards, the GRRC famous fishtailing conditions began to frustrate the competitors. Mrnak, unfazed, again was on top with a spectacular 149-12 x. Klanderud and Borlaug tied at 147-5x, with Phil's higher value on the last shot putting him in second for the stage. The format at the long-range portion was evidently challenging all comers, as a lot of shooters fair pretty well at the 800 line when they can wait out conditions.

  The 1,000 yardline was the biggest points dropper for all shooters. As the day wore on and the conditions continued to challenge, Mrnak finished again on top at 142-3x. Peasley and Borlaug tied at 139-3x, with Peasley Creedmoring Borlaug on the last shot.

 At the end of the day Brian Mrnak walked away the winner with 590-31x.

Three shooters had scores of 578 with close x-counts. Borlaug and Klanderud tied at 18-x, Peasley at 17-x. Borlaug's higher score at 1k put him in second place overall and first in the master class. Eric Hazelton came away first in Expert class and fifth overall with 575-20x.

  The positive response of this match has spurred the club to add this format again in 2012. There has been calls to revive the National Long-Range Course also. Thanks to all competitors for trying something new, and a BIG THANKS to Mark Rohmann for giving up a day of shooting to run the line."

Thanks Kurt for that match report.  I'm sure that this "Two to a mound shooting" might become a very popular match format.

Junior Shooters  
Would someone please keep us informed on Junior shooting activities over this winter season?

Note:
 Long time competitor Gordy Kordowsky has some once fired LC Match .308 brass for sale.
  Contact Gordy at gskordosky@aol.com

That's all folks

Hawkeye