Shooters News for the Minn Area - Sept 5, 2012

The Week Ahead
   They say that fall is coming tomorrow - That today is the last hot day of the summer. I'm ready for that.  I prefer the cooler weather.

500 yd line at NWGC

   The forecast for this weekends matches at NorthWestern Gun Club, Duluth is for perfect weather. That's great because on tap is the hugely popular, "9/11"  Mid Range Regional Prone matches. It will be two days of comfortable prone competition at 300 and 500 yds. This is a match that shooters mark on their calendars way in advance because advance entries are usually necessary to claim a spot on the line, and because the range at NWGC is one of the nicest that you could ever shoot on. With the lake in the background, and the leaves turning color, it makes for a great day - especially if you shoot a good score.   Saturday's matches will all be at the 300 yd line with shooters firing 2 twenty shot matches for record with Iron sights (sling class) and two matches with "Any Sights".  On Sunday the action moves back to the 500 yd line, and the course of fire will be the same as on Saturday - 2 matches with Irons and 2 with "any" sights.
  In mid range matches I prefer to shoot my AR space gun in .223 cal with the Iron sights. The gun will shoot Xs all day if I point it there, and it's an easy gun to shoot.  For the scope matches, I'll bring along the 6BR.  This gun is harder to shoot, because it doesn't fit me as well as the AR, but it will drill Xs.  Having two guns means I won't have to change sights between matches. I am definitely looking forward to the weekend at NWGC. See you there?                Click here for Match bulletin and entry
   I'd call to check on entries before Driving--
Elliot Zunich email: sveti_ilija@northlc.com  218-348-3029

Being from the upper Midwest, I (we) are usually not comfortable shooting in hot weather. When it gets up into the 90s with a little humidity, we wilt and whine.  Our shooting friends in the SouthWest shoot matches all summer with the temps in the 110s and no wonder why they think that Camp Perry is Cool and comfortable.   This following came to me from Mike Toliver after a Mid Range 500 at Rio Salado range last week.  I think we can appreciate shooting there in such conditions.

"RSSC August Prone Match
The match started humid and sticky and then it just got hot. It was kind of like being covered in molasses and set afire. The guns didn’t seem to care and the payback for the heat was mild conditions. Some good scores were shot as a result."  

70 degs, Fall Sunshine, this weekend at NWGC sounds a whole lot better to me.

1994 Minn State Service Rifle Team

300 meter international
From Brian Shiffman-

Hi all,

   This Sunday, September 8 the Minneapolis Rifle Club will hold its September monthly 300 meter match.  The first relay will start at 10 AM and the second relay at noon.  Relay spots will be filled on a first come first served basis.  Email your desired relay selection and I will acknowledge as they are received.

    Match fee increased to $20 in August.  The match is open to any shooter as long as the rules of the electronic targeting system and the range are followed.  No expanding bullets of any kind; only bullets specifically designated as Match or Full Metal Jacket (not plated).  Bullets must be supersonic at 300 meters.  NO barrel porting, compensators or muzzle breaks.  Any shoulder fired caliber is OK as long as the other rules are followed.  Got a .300 Win Mag? use it here.  Single loading of rounds, no magazine loads.

 See you at the range,

Brian D. Shiffman   shiff004@umn.edu

Two Weeks out  

The Last chance to participate in one of the Prone Small Bore matches is coming up on Sept 16th.  Chris Hazleton is putting on this match at the very nice, but little used Elk River Sportsmen's club small bore range.  This range has nice grass firing lines, shaded by large trees, and is a very pleasant place to shoot prone matches.   The "Outdoor Conventional Prone" small bore matches consist of eight 20 shot matches at distances of 50 to 100 yds.  There is no better way to practice prone shooting than in prone small bore matches.  With every shot, you get instant feedback of your wind call. This is why most good long range shooters also shoot Sm bore prone matches.  

Sept. 15,16th  -- 80 shot OTC at MRC  -- Click Here for match bulletin

Sept. 16th       -- Sm Bore Prone at ERSC  -  Click Here for match bulletin 

That's All Folks 
Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - 8/28/12

The Week ahead for Minn Area Shooters  

Also in this issue  "Camp Perry 2012 - My Story" by Mark Havlik - see below

Planing a nice lazy, stay at home Labor Day weekend? Forget it! There are good rifle matches to shoot. There are good days to be had at the range.
  First off is the 3 position Regional for Small Bore competitors at the Mpls Rifle Club. Starting out on Saturday Sept 1, shooters will fire matches of 40shots each from Prone, Standing, and the Kneeling positions with Iron Sights.  The 3P matches will be followed by a 40 shot Mentor team match.  On Sunday Sept. 2nd, competitors will shoot  the same course of fire, but have the opportunity to use "Any" sights. It's too bad my right knee won't go into that position any more. I did like shooting Kneeling position years ago.  I knew I could shoot great scores in Kneeling if I could just tame that side to side wobble a little more.                
   Sept. 1st also offers a Mid Range Prone match for the bigger gun guys and gals.  You can head just East over to the Eau Claire Rifle Club and shoot their 80 shot MRP match. All four 20shot matches will be fired form the 600 yd line. You will shoot two matches with Irons and two with Any sights.  Click Here for match info and entry
   That's not all:
   Stick around for Sunday, Sept. 2nd at Eau Claire, and the course of fire will be an 80 shot, OTC (over the course) match, so pack in your Match Rifle for the Rapid Fire stages. Shooters will fire Standing, and Sitting Rapid from the 200 yd line, Prone Rapid from the 300 yd line and finish with 20 shots prone from the 600 yd line.     Click Here for info and entry
   There's More
   On Monday, Sept. 3rd, the Eau Claire will the 3rd match of their Labor Day series. This day is reserved for the fun of shooting the older guns.  1st match of the day is for M-1 Garand rifles. The course of fire is the CMP course B, to be shot all from the 200 yd line.  Its basically a reversed 50 otc match, where you shoot prone first, to get all the older guns zeroed in, and finish with the 10 shot standing match.  This is a great course of fire for newer shooters, and those who get their older Service Services out just once in a while.       Click here for Match bulletin
The M-1 match will be followed directly by a similar match for the M-14/M1A rifles. However, I don't have a match program, and this match may be fired from the 200 to the 600 yd line.  Be prepared. 

Last Week
Off Hand Championships, and Couples match at MRC -- No News
Small Bore Prone St. Championships --  No News

More From Camp Perry

US National Team - Forshee competes in the Long Range Championships.

L to R
Major David Cloft,
Bob Gill,
Wayne Forshee/Capt.,
Stacey Tamulinas

Camp Perry 2012 - "My Story" by Mark Havlik
  Camp Perry, Service Rifle week 2012
By Mark Havlik The National Matches have been held at Camp Perry, on the shore of Lake Erie, near Port Clinton Ohio, since the bases establishment in 1907. The drive for this years trip was as uneventful as the last. The mind numbing eleven and a half hour drive with my copilot and wingman Dean Gillette went as smooth as last year. Our plan was to leave Saturday morning, drive during the daylight hours and arrive at Camp Perry sometime before sundown.
Camp Perry was used as a Prisoner of War camp during WWII and to house the German and Italian POW's hundreds of small 4 man huts were constructed. These huts still stand today and those that haven't succumb to neglect are inhabitable and are available for rent during the Nationals. Demand for these huts is high and the supply is limited so our team was lucky to procure a Hut at the last minute. As money is tight this year Dean and I agreed to stay in the hut and babysit the teams gear. We arrived and checked in at the Camp Perry Club House and found ourselves billeted in the "double letter" huts, EE06 to be precise. The kind lady at check in drew us a map to find our palatial estate only we found ourselves in what can only be kindly called the tenement district. Luckily for us it was nicer inside than it looked outside and our team Captain Kurt Borloag had stopped by earlier to hook up a window air conditioner and microwave.
Sunday morning Dean and I went to registration to pick up our registration packets and get our squadding assignments. About 2/3rds of the way to Perry Dean told me he hadn't preregistered for any of the matches, but he wasn't worried about it. As luck would have it as soon as he was put on the waiting list for the President's match five email cancelations came in and he was good to go. Dean admitted afterwards that he'd never do that again.
Camp Perry has four rifle ranges, Viale (Ve'al'ee), Young, Rodriguez and Petraca but only Viale and Rodriguez are used during the Nationals. We had an hour or so before we needed to be on Rodriguez for the scheduled squadded practice so I went to the CMP store to buy some Greek HXP ammo for the Post 435 Firearms Safety program. The CMP store is an interesting place with memorabilia, books, shooting accessories and of course rack upon rack of M1 rifles. I strode up to the counter and ordered 1000 rounds of the Greek M2 Ball ammo and announced I'd be paying cash. The man behind the counter didn't even blink, it must be an everyday occurrence there I guess.
Squadded practice on Rodriguez went without much drama, although if I knew then what I discovered later in the week I would have payed more attention to my 300 yard zero. There was one disappointing moment when I was in the pits. A junior shooter who was squadded on our firing point couldn't hit the target at 600 yards. He finally hit the paper on his last shot 6 to 8 inches outside the scoring rings in the upper corner of the target. We felt bad for him, but who comes to the National Matches without a solid 600 yard zero?
Monday morning brought the President's match, the most prestigious and competitive 30 shot match in all shooting sports. I was squadded on point 64 on Viale, quite a hike from the hut, code named the Taj Mahal. The goal of this match is to make the cut for the "President's 100" or simply put, the top 100 shooters out of a field of over 1300 of the country's best Rifleman.
My match started out in a train wreak. After squeezing off my first shot in standing at 200 yards with a good call on target, I got a bad feeling that I forgot to remove my 600 yard elevation from squadded practice the day before. A quick glance down at my rear sight confirmed my fear, when my target came up it was a visible miss dead center at the top of the target. Angry with myself for making such a stupid mistake I finished standing with a 81-0, not a bad score with a miss, but effectively taking me out of competition.
Things didn't get any better for 300 yard Rapid fire. After confirming my sight setting and shooting a good group I discovered my normal 300 yard zero shoots a full minute low at Camp Perry! Why didn't I notice that during squadded practice! Anyway, a tight group in the 9 ring was only good for a 90-0. Again, not a bad score but not nearly good enough to make the "President's 100".
Wind was the major factor back at 600 yards. In all my years of shooting I've never seen such a strong wind switch so fast. The range wind flags and streamers were showing the wind blowing to the targets and quartering slightly right. The Mirage in my scope was switching from 3 moa right to 1 moa left. The problem was it switched faster than I could get from my scope to my rifle. When I was on the wind I was in the 10 ring the couple times I got caught in the switch I was in the 7 ring. My 90-1x at 600 netted me a grand total of 261-1x good for 699th place out of 1300. Interestingly, if my first shot had gone into the 10 ring as I had called it I would ended up in the 450 range.
Tuesday brought the National Trophy Individual Match. This match is a 50 shot match and is similar to the President's match only adding 10 shots fired from the Sitting position from 200 yards and 10 additional shots for a total of 20 at 600 yards from the prone position. The goal of this match is to finish in the top 10% of all competitors to earn points towards "Distinguished Rifleman" status.
I'd like to blame my poor performance in this match on something but the sad truth is I just shot poorly. The only bright spot was my 99-2x at 200 sitting bringing my match total to an embarrassing 446-11x.
Wednesday's midweek match marks the start of the team matches with the Hearst Doubles Match. This match is fired in the same 30 shot format as the President's Match only having two team members firing from the same firing point. This is considered a fun match by most and good natured ribbing of teammates can be heard up and down the firing line.
While this was both me and my partner Dean's best performance so far of the week our scores were still below our average and our score of 542-7x was good for 140th out of 289 total teams.
Because the Hearst match only has a fraction of the participation of the President's Match, it ends in the early afternoon. It is followed by a second match, the Vintage Sniper Match. While the rest of the Minnesota delegation decided to shoot this match, I decided to sit it out and enjoy my afternoon off.


Commercial Row, sometimes called Robbers Row is a Camp Perry tradition. Venders sell reloading supplies, firearms and miscellaneous shooting gear. I ended up spending more than I had planned to, buying some powder, smallbore ammo, air rifle pellets and a neat little pellet sorter/holder. I also treated myself to a new shooting glove as my old one was getting pretty ratty. After I left Commercial Row I stopped into the NRA and CMP stores for some t-shirts and assorted memorabilia. On the way back to the "Taj Mahal" I stopped at the PX to pick up some cold beverages.
I arrived back to the Taj Mahal at about 4 PM and decided the rest of the team would be finishing their match and be back in about an hour or so, plenty of time for a much needed nap. The rest of the team showed up at the hut at about 7 pm waking me from my blissful slumber. The Vintage Sniper match it turns out turned into somewhat a CF and ran several hours longer than it should have.


Thursday morning brought the Team Trophy match and another chance at redemption. My scores weren't anything special but I was having a better day than I had had all week. At 600 yards the wind was playing the same game it had all week. I decided to leave my scope at the ready line and just rely on the expert wind coaching of team Captain Kurt Borloag. I think Nadine's windage knob was smoking by the end of the 20 shot string, adding and subtracting wind as fast as Kurt was calling the changes.
While my performance in the team match was nothing to brag about, the Minnesota Service Rifle team had it's highest finish ever! with a 19th overall and 11th of the nonmilitary teams.
Friday morning was the Infantry Trophy Match or "Rattle Battle". This would be my first experience shooting the Rattle Battle and my nerves were on edge. Each team consists of 6 shooters shooting 8 targets and one or two coaches. Each team member is allowed 64 rounds of ammunition to shoot as they see fit. Targets are the Army AQT silhouettes and are shot at 600, 500, 300 and 200 yards. Every team starts at 600 yards and targets are exposed for 60 seconds. Only hits on the silhouette are scored, 4 points at 600, 3 points at 500, 2 at 300 and 1 at 200.
We got lucky and were squadded on second relay, which was the choice relay to be on as the wind had yet to pick up and the haze had lifted. Even though I was only able to get 20 shots off per yard line I still had one of the higher hit counts of the team per yard line with 17 at 600, 18 at 500 and 17 at 300. I ended up giving 4 rounds away to my teammates before we had gotten to the 300 yard line which was a good decision as I had a full magazine of 20 rounds and got my last shot off just before the targets went down.
The team finished 15th overall and missed our target score of 1000 by 1 for a 999.
The rest of Friday was spent relaxing and reflecting on the week. Dean and I made another quick trip to Commercial row, just to make sure there weren't any deals getting away. Back at the hut we enjoyed cold beverages and just taking it easy.
Saturday morning and the trip home came way too soon. Another National Match over, done and in the history books. I realized as we were leaving Camp Perry, I didn't have the sour attitude about the Nationals I had last year. I had a good time at Perry this year, despite shooting poorly and going home empty handed I was in a good mood. Good lord willing and the creek don't rise I'll be back in 2013.  -- Mark Havlik

    Tks, Mark for this great article. Every shooter should go to Camp Perry for the Nationals at least once. This article gives any shooter a good look at what that experience would be like.  Remember folks, the Minn Service rifle team needs a new shooters every year, by the rules, and that gives any newer shooter the opportunity to shoot on a State Team at the Nationals.  The State Service Rifle Team needs you! 

Two Weeks Out  
It's almost time for the great Mid Range matches at the NorthWestern Gun Club.  Yup, the 9/11 matches are less than 2 weeks away. Get that entry in soon or you will be left hopeing for cancellations. 
 Sept 8-9  Mid Range Regional Championships at NWGC -  Click Here for match program
 Sept 8-9  Long Range Regional at Bismark, N. Dak -- Click Here for match program
 Sept 9     300 meter International at MRC 
 Sept 16   Prone Sm bore 1600 at Elk River

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Aug 21, 2012

The Week Ahead
   Mpls. Rifle Club will be hosting 2 days of Highpower competition this coming weekend.  The fun and games will start with State Offhand Championship on Saturday, Aug 25. Competitors will shoot 5 matches of 20 shots for record, all from MRC's covered 200 yd line. While some shooters might think that 100 shots off-hand might be difficult or stressful competition, I found that after the 1st 20 shot match, the pressure was off, and my scores actually got better as the day went on.   Click Here for match program  
  On Sunday, Aug 26,  the competition is all about fun.  Its a Couples Match. Bring the spouse or significant other, and introduce them to Highpower shooting.  "This is a 2 person team fun match. Coaching is encouraged. No scores will be submitted."  The new shooter on each team will not be required to shoot an offhand match, so the course of fire will be beginner friendly, and there will even be a lunch break with food and beverage supplied by MRC.
                 Click Here for match program

Out of Town matches this coming weekend include the Iowa 300 yd State HP Championship at the River City Rifle and Pistol Club near Clear Lake, Iowa.  Saturday's match is a 50 shot 2 man team match, and then on Sunday, shooters will fire an 80 shot OTC match for the the Championship.   Click Here for Match bulletin and map. 

LaCrosse Rifle Club (just south of La Crosse, Wisc), will be hosting their annual "Brat and Corn Invitational", which includes the Wisc. State Mid Range Championship.  This match will be shot from the 600 yd line.
Click Here for Match Bulliten and entry info

Last Weekend  
Since I have been in Alaska and BC for the last 3 weeks there is a lot to catch up on.  
300 m International  
This in from Brian Shiffman: 

"What can I say?  With the exception of a dew point just a bit north of really comfortable, it was a perfect day to shoot.  The wind was non-existent, or at least a non factor.  Many people shot above their season average with a few quite a bit above.

  Paul Tralle had an equipment failure on his first shot; his super slick bipod ripped out of the rifle stock and he had to use range sandbags; needless to say, that reduced his average score up to this point in the year.  Drilling and tapping into a synthetic stock was just not sufficient to hold the bipod.  New attachment method to come.

  Randy Schultz came armed with laser bullets and won the match with a 598.  This was well above his average to date.  Well done, Randy.

  Gary LaValley and Jeff Lee are shooting buddies and have a business relationship; they both shot identical scores of 591 to tie for third place.  They both had shot the Wyoming State Match and Gary won with Jeff coming in second in the 1,000 yard match.  They were using .308’s there as well as our match. Dave Ronning shot his AR15 ( with sling and iron sights in 3 position.  The humidity got to him while wearing his shooting coat.

   Garold Jones shot Prone class with sling and an M15 platform rifle, iron sights.  He won prone class. 

The full results can be found at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=8

   While looking at any month’s result page, if you click on a shooter’s name the system will return a new window with that shooter’s average score of all this year’s matches that were shot in the class that was shown in the result page.  For example, Garold Jones shot in Prone class this match; if you click his name you will get his average for all his matches this year that he shot in Prone class.  In this case, August with is first so the average is just this one match.  If you look at the July results and click on his name you will see that he shot in F class in July and his average is over four total matches this year that he shot in F class.The September match will be held on Sunday, September 9^th.  More information coming later. "

Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu

Highpower  
Regional and Leg match  

From Mark Havlik: 

Jim,  We only had 16 people show up for Saturday's Regional 

at NSRC, which is a shame  as the weather was beautiful.

Eric Rhode took first place with a 782-18.
Sunday's Leg Match had 11 shooters with 8 undistinguished.

Another beautiful day for shooting, Kurt Borlaug taking the 

Gold Medal with a 479-10, followed closely by Mark Richardson 

from Fort Wayne IN with a 478-12 for the Silver. Yours truly 
took the bronze medal and the only Leg with a 469-15x......." 

 Mark Havlik

Minn. Service Rifle Team at Camp Perry Nationals. 

Infantry Trophy Team

Minn. NRA Teams at Camp Perry

Minn. contingent                             

Minn. Contingent

Rumbold Cup Team

SmallBore 

From George Minerich (MRRA Pres.)  

Minneapolis Rifle Club Metric 3 Position X 40 Match (8/8/12)
The Minneapolis Rifle Club hosted a three position 1200 point smallbore match

on August 18, 2012. The match was shot on the International Smallbore Target a 50 meters.

Seven brave souls came out and shot the match. The wind was a little tricky but 

the temperatures made it a great day for shooting.
Name                    Prone    Offhand   Kneeling    Total
Elizabeth Ewert       358-3 341-2 346-5 1045-10X Junior
Sam Ewert               374-6 331-2 341-3 1046-11X Junior
Alex Giesar              357-7 336-2 353-4 1046-13X Adult
Nick Learn               377-9 341-5 360-6 1078-20X Junior
Sami Learn              364-10 303-2 331-1 998-13X Junior
Thomas Miller          356-4 239-0 294-0 889-4X Senior
William Roos ***      210-0 224-

Mpls. Rifle Club Prone 1600 - Aug 19
Seventeen prone shooters enjoyed a beautiful day at the range this Sunday. Tom and Elmer Miller 
came all the way from Sioux Falls So. Dakota to join us. This week, it was the junior shooters who 
showed us all how to hit the 10 and X ring. Emily Quinar fired an awsome 1593-104x to take the match win.
 2nd place also went to a junior shooter, Sam Ewert, whose score of 1583-93x shows his 
continual improvement in this sport. Look for Sam to be on the top of the leader board often in the future

Resuts- SB 1600

MRC SmallBore - Aug 19, 2012

Notes:  
1.  From Kurt Borlaug:

Subject: Labor Day matches cancelled

Tentative events on Sept 1st and 2nd for GRRC have been cancelled. There will be no LR event or OTC events that weekend.  Sorry for the inconvenience, Kurt Borlaug.

2. From Capt. Bob:

Fellow HP shooters:

First let me clear up a possible misconception regarding who ...(match info) is addressed to.  For NRA purposes HIGH POWER refers to NRA Over the Course. There is no F class OTC.  MRP refers to Mid Range Prone and LR is Long Range.   Within MRP & LR we have guys who shoot with a sling & we have F CLASS who shoot with a rest thingy.  All shoot the SAME course of fire.  When I refer to MRP & LR I intend for you to understand that includes F CLASS shooters.  For my purposes HIGH POWER refers to ANY NRA centerfire rifle competition including ALL THE ABOVE.  So, DO NOT be offended when I say "GREETINGS HP SHOOTERS".

3. From Capt. Bob

Guys & Gals

I stopped by the home in Rochester to see Dean Odegaard Wed. afternoon on the way home from Perry.  He has been getting some Medicare help with therapy & has gained quite a bit of movement in his right leg.  Nothing in the left yet but the doc holds out hope.  He was in pretty good spirits and still wants those last 4 points.  He would still like to hear from his shooting buds at 651-269-7069 on his cell.  Often he does not answer but if not leave him a brief message. 

Bob  

4.  Last week at the Olympic Biathlon Shooting Center in Whistler, BC, Canada

     I was able to out score all the other tourists is a short match.

   

Two Weeks Out
Sept 1 & 2 - Small Bore 3P Regional at MRC - Program Click Here
 Sept 1 --      Mid range at  Eau Claire - Click here for Match program
 Sept 2 --      OTC at Eau Claire - Click here for Match program
 Sept 3 --      Garand and M1A match at Eau Claire -  Program Click here  

That's All Folks
Hawkeye

F-Class shooters

Here is a short video of 2 F-class shooters at the Minnesota Long Range Championships.  They are firing from the 1000 yd line at Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club.  They are also certainly paying attention to the gusty wind that you can hear in the back ground.  Go full screen and pump up the volume.

Shooters News for the Minn Area - July 31, 2012

The Week Ahead   

Even though we are in the middle of the National championships at Camp Perry, Ohio, there are good rifle matches here locally in which to participate this weekend. 

   Prone Shooters can head to the Mpls. Rifle Club in NW Anoka County, for the Small Bore Metric Regional prone championship over the two days of Aug 4 & 5.  Shooters will fire a prone outdoor 1600 each day with the Saturday matches being an Iron Sight match, while Sunday's matches allow Any sights to be used.  These matches will really test the skill of the participants, as they will be firing on those unforgiving International Metric targets. I enjoy those metric targets as they demand close concentration, and they make the next match, using NRA targets, look easy.

                       Click Here for Match bulletin and entry info

MR Match Winner Brian Mrnak

Highpower shooters not heading for Camp Perry, because of cost and distance, can head up to NorthWestern Gun Club (much closer) for the annual "Poor man's Camp Perry" matches. There is a little something for everyone here.  On Saturday, it will be an 80 shot Over The Course match, and then on Sunday, Shooters will compete in an 4x20 (80 shot) Mid Range match to be shot from the scenic 500 yd line of NWGC's beautiful Hunter Lake rifle range. Two matches are to be shot with Irons and two with Any sights. 

Match director: Illja Zunich,  email: sveti_ilija@northlc.com  

                       Click Here for Match bulletin and entry info

                     

MR Champ Results (sling class)

Last Weekend 

Elk River Sportsmen's Club hosted the Mid Range State Championship last Sat, and Sunday.  I didn't make it to this match but:

 From Capt. Bob

     "Attached are pics from the MRP at Elk River.  Sling shooters only.....  

Brian Mrnak from Ashland, Wi. wins.  Bob is state champ. Erik Hazelton is jr. champ. Outstanding day for MRP.  Never more than 3 clicks of wind required all day.

Bob"

Capt Bob -- State MR Champ

  

Notes:

1.  From Karen Newell of GRRC;

     Hi Jim,  .... Glad you had fun. (at the GRRC Cmp games 7/14). We raised close to $2000 for the M-1 for Vets cause."

    Hawkeye says: It was fun, Karen, and raising that much money just makes it all the better. 

2. From Larry Weidell: on the Pig Roast matches at the Eau Claire Rifle Clu.

  "Jim 

I meant to get some news of the pig roast to you.  The format changed this year to a 4x600 on Saturday and OTC on Sunday.  We got started about an hour late due to a rain delay.  The rest of the day was rather nice but a little on the warm side.  I think we had between 40 or so shooters for the day. About an hour or so after the match the pig was ready.  A small keg was also tapped.  Lots of discussions about the days events and other topics as well.  Dick V from Duluth brought out a tub of ice cream towards evening and we all enjoyed root beer floats.  Sunday started out extremely well at least for me anyway.  I managed a 190-3 standing.  The rest of the day went well with some pretty good scores by several of the twenty-one shooters.  At the end of the day the match winner with a 772-20 was me!  Imagine my surprise. As usual my hat is off to the Eau Claire National Rifle Club for a well run match and Pig Roast.   Later,  
Larry"

Tks Larry for the Match rpt. and congrats to you for such good shooting! 

3. For the next week or two, there will be no Newsletter for shooters.  Have fun at the matches I'll miss and send in some picts and match reports. I'll post them later. Hawkeye

  

Two (or more) Weeks Out   

August 11,12 - Small bore 3P and 4P matches at Mpls Rifle club - click here for match program 

August 11  --    300 meter International at MRC

August 18  --    Small bore metric 3P matches at MRC  - match program Click Here

August 18  --    NRA Regional at NorthStar -- Click here for Match program  

August 19  --    NRA Regional team and Leg match at NorthStar  - Click here for Match program 

August 19  --    Sm Bore outdoor conventional Prone at MRC -- Click here for match bulletin

August 24  --    Highpower Off Hand St. Championship at MRC -- Click here for Match program  

August 24  --    Highpower Couples Team match and Picnic at MRC -  click here for match program 

August 24  --    SB State Champ prone at Hibbing - click here for match program  

 That's all Folks !

Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - July 24, 2012

Minnesota Sm Bore shooters are competing in the National championships at Camp Perry, Ohio this week.  We wish them all success and good shooting.The same goes for those who are heading out that way soon for the Highpower, and the Long Range championships. 

The Week Ahead 

Prone Highpower shooters will again have a chance to test their skills this coming weekend. After the heat and difficulty of the 1000yd matches at GRRC last weekend, they will find the competition just a little easier this weekend. The green grass of the 600 yd line at the Elk River Sportsmen's club, will be gathering point for the State Championship Mid Range matches for both Sling class and F-class shooters.  The competition starts on Saturday morning, July 28th, with a 4 person team match. Each shooter will fire 3 matches of 15 shots for record with 2 sighters allowed.  The team match is an "Any Sight" match, so you may use Iron sights if you want. If your club has not organized a team yet for this match, show up and pickup teams will be organized on site.
     Click Here for Match program and entry info.
From Scott Olson:    "Club vs. Club teams are encouraged, please no “All Star” teams. MRRA teams will be allowed, no shooters will be turned away. A Five Star BBQ Dinner will follow the team match event!"  
The Individual Mid Range Champ matches follow on Sunday, July 29th, at 0900 hrs.  This is a 80 shot match, and shooters will go to the line for 4 twenty shot matches with 2 sighters allowed for each match.  The first two matches are to be shot with Iron sights, and the last two may be shot with "Any" sights. 

Next up for prone shooters is the Sm Bore Metric Regional at the Mpls Rifle Club, on Aug 4-5.  This is a 3200 with 8 targets of 20 shots to be fired each day.  
     Click Here for match bulletin.

Last Weekend   
Pig Roast matches at Eau Claire Rifle Club -- no match report is available, but we know from past experience that they all had a good time.

Minnesota State Long Range Championship  
 Warm weather and humidity plagued the Minn St. Long Range Championships, this past weekend, but 20 Sling shooters and 11 F-class competitors shrugged off the conditions and fired mostly 10s and xs at GRRC's long range shooting facility near Harris MN.  Saturday's competition was all about the 1000 yd line. Shooters would fire from almost 5/8th of a mile onto targets 6 ft square. They would fire from prone, off their elbows, with iron sights!  While a 6ft square target may seem a generous size to shoot at, even from that amazing distance, is really isn't.   The black dot on the target is only 44 inches in diameter, and if you only hit near the edge of it, you only score 8 pts.  In order to score a 10, you have to hit the 10 ring only 22 inch wide or even the 10 in wide X ring.  That's right --- in order to win this 1000 yd State Championship, you must be able to shoot, unsupported, with iron sights almost every shot into a 20 in circle at 5/8th of a mile--all the while knowing that a un-noticed change in the wind of even 1mph, can change the strike of the bullet by 10 inches on the target. In this match skill is worth a lot more than luck.

All Xs !!!   Scope Cam from 1000yds

   The 31 shooters gathered at GRRC were the best in the upper Midwest and they would prove it today.
   On the F-class side of the line it was Adam Shidla that dominated through-out the day by winning each of the three 20 shot contests with scores of 198, 197, and 195 on F-class targets, where the 10 ring shrinks to only 10 inches or 1 moa., and the X ring is only half of that.  That was amazing shooting, and it should be noted that Adam put 27 of the 60 shots in the 5 inch X ring!  E. Johnson, and Rick Sievers took 2nd and 3rd, only 4 pts back with 586 scores.
On the Iron Sight end of the line, it was also a tight battle right from the start.  In the first match Steve McGee, Bill Lair, and Brian Mrnak each dropped only one pt. for 199 scores, and Brian's 14 Xs breaking the tie for the win. In the 2nd match only Steve McGee was able to shoot a clean target for the win.  Shirley McGee gets a 2nd on a creedmore tie breaker over Bill Lair.  Master Class shooter, Erik Rhode is just back one point, after shooting a 197.   Steve M. fired another clean 200 score in the last match, and posted the highest score for the day after dropping only one pt in the 60 shots for record -- 599-35x.  Highest scoring Minnesota resident and 1000 yd Champ is Capt. Bob Peasley - 591-23x.

On Sunday, the shooters switched to their .308 caliber match rifles to contest the State Palma Championship.  Three matches of 15 shots, were on tap today.  The shooters would fire one match at each of the 3 yard lines starting at 800 yds, then moving to the 900 yd line and finally shooting the last match back at the now familiar 1000 yd line.

  I was going to shoot today--give it a try. I haven't shot any long range for about 8 years, but the Palma match starts at the 800yd line and I figured that I could get a good score there at least. I also didn't have the .308 cal rifle required, so I would be shooting "out of competition" (score doesn't count). I had good 600yd zeros, so I just added 8 min of angle to the sights and was pretty sure that I would hit the target. I was 2nd relay, so I studied the wind while Chuck D. shot, and when It was my turn, I added a 1/2 min right on the sight and fired the first sighter.  the target went down and came up a scratch 8 at 7'oclock -- so far so good.  Since I had called a good shot, I put on a full correction for the 2nd sighter and it went out the top. Two more sighters close together in the top of the 10 ring so dropped the sights a 1/2 min and went for record.  The first 3 record shots stayed high in 10 ring and then 2 more clicks down brought 9 Xs and 3 more 10s for a 150 score. Well, well, well, that was fun !  My day was a success already.
 Five other shooters also cleaned their targets that first match, with Brian Mrnak getting the win with 13 tie breaking Xs.  Back at the 900 yd line, I would shoot first before going to the pits to pull targets for a while.  I dropped the front sight one notch to make up the 6 moa I would have to add to the sights a the longer distance.  At my sight radius, of 35 inches, it takes about 5 clicks per moa.  This time we got only two sighters, and my first was a high nine so I came down 4 clicks and got another high nine so I dropped another 4 clicks for the 1st record shot.  Arrrrg, a nine out the top, then one just out at 10.  So two shots and two pts down.  At the end of the 15 shots I had lost another pt. to a slight breeze and had shot a bad shot into the 8 ring.  So 145 was the score and I was glad to get that.  It was hot and I felt roasted.  W. Davis, S. McGee, and Stacey Tamulinas all fired clean 150s at the 900 yd line, with Stacey getting the with with the highest X count.  Back at the 1000 yd line, I decided I was a little too over heated and so I would just watch.  I had had a good day, so why push it.

Minn State Long Range Champs

Stacey T. and Steve M. fought it out for the day's win in this last match but neither was able clinch the victory with a clean target. Steve only shot one nine (all day long)  and finished with the days high score -  449-26x.  Phil Klanderud, who shot clean at the 800 yd line and lost only 2pts at the 900 yd. line is the Minnesota State Palma Champ, after shooting an awesome 444-20x for the day.
The Over all Minnesota Long Range champ is Capt. Bob Peasley whose top score was 1031-36x.
   Note:  From Capt Bob:
Steve Mcgee's 200-14x with irons at 1000 was an Any Rifle,non Res. record -- As was his 449-26x Palma Score. I will be sending him a non resident certificates.

 On the F-class side of the firing line, the competition was just as fierce. E. Johnson won the Palma match with an awesome score of 444- 22x, and that score added to his Saturday 1000 yd score also earned him the over all F-class Long Range Championship.   2nd in the Palma match with the same score of 444, but a few less Xs, was J. Rykhus.  2nd in the Overall championship was A. Shidla, with a combined total score of 1015-37x. 

F-class results

Sling Class Results

 



 






Notes:  
1.  Our shooting friend, Larry Miller, has been recently been hospitalized twice, and I believe, is now recuperating at home.  We all hope there is a speedy recovery.

2.  From Robert Beluzzo: 

"The Minnesota State Outdoor Smallbore 4-p and 3-P matches were held in Hibbing on July 7 and 8.  The 4-P match was shot with a gusty north wind that was potentially troublesome.  Nick Learn, an intermediate junior from South Range Wisconsin displayed focus and poise as he outscored the competition to win the match with a score of 1544-64X.  Amy Belluzzo from Chisholm was the high scoring resident and will receive the State Association plaque.  Matt Bozicevich, a junior from Virginia, was third and will receive the Junior State plaque.  Amy shot a 1528-51X and Matt was close behind with a 1527-53X. 

The 3-P match belonged to Emily Quiner from Brooklyn Park, MN.  Emily out shot the competition with a high score of 1126-33X and will receive the State Championship plaque.  Nick Learn came in second and Matt Bozicevich was the high resident junior.  Shooters are looking forward to the Minnesota State Smallbore Prone Championships that will be held in Hibbing on August 25-26, 2012."

3. At the awards ceremony of the CMP Games last week, Tom Torburg asked me, "how many Rifle Matches I had shot over the years.  I couldn't answer -- there's been a lot of matches and a lot of rds down range ever since that first match.   However, as you all can imagine, I did take some pictures (9) of my first actual Rifle Match -- April 1967, Chappo Flats range, USMC base Camp Pendleton, CA                  Click here for Picts

USMC Rifle Expert badge

  Rifle matches haven't changed much as you can see. 

Two Weeks Out
If you are not going to Camp Perry, I'd be at:

Aug  4-5      Poor Man's Camp Perry OTC and Mid Range at Duluth - Program Click Here
Aug  4-5      Prone Regional Sm Bore Championships at MRC  --  Program Click Here


That's All Folks!
Hawkeye

Hawkeye's first Rifle Match

It was a ways back, but no we didn't use muzzle loaders, we used M-14s and ball ammo. we shot good scores, because we had good eyes.

My first Rifle Match ----- April 1967, US Marine Base, Camp Pendleton, CA

Shooters News for the Minn Area - July 18, 2012

The Week Ahead
 Prone shooters will be in a quandary this weekend with 2 good prone matches going head to head on the same days, due to an accidental scheduling error. We all know the difficulty and hard work it takes to put together area match schedules with 5 different Rifle clubs competing for different dates. So, I think that we are lucky that this doesn't happen more often, and with more and more matches being scheduled, it becomes more difficult.  I also see one of the problems as being that less shooters these days are willing travel very far to competitions, and want the local club to schedule more matches close to home.
  Are you ready? Oink, Oink!   Yes this is the weekend of the Pig Roast Matches at the Eau Claire Rifle Club.  Saturday, July 21st, the competition will center on the 600 yd line, and shooters will fire 4 matches of twenty rds for record, with 2 sighters allowed in each match.  Then after the shootin' is over - the Pig Roast begins!!!  "BBQ MENU: Pig Roast!!! Baked Beans!!! Cole Slaw!!! Potato Salad!!! Rolls!!! (Refreshments will be provided also)."
After a comfortable night's rest in the ERC's nice camp ground-- on Sunday, July 22, there will be an 80 shot OTC match commencing at 0900hrs. Don't be late.  RSVP
       Click Here for Match info and Entry

Long Range shooters will be heading to Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club this weekend for the Minnesota Long Range, and the Minnesota State Palma Championship.   The top notch GRRC long range shooting facility, will host the 1000 yd Championship matches on Saturday, July 21st.  Shooters will go to the line and fire 3 strings of 20 shots for record
 with unlimited sighters allowed for each match in a 30 min time period..  Shooters must have reasonable Zeros to get on paper.

   On Sunday, July 22nd, the action starts on the 800 yd line with the beginning of the Palma Championship.  All competitors again get unlimited sighters before firing their 15 record shots, but must finish in a time limit of 22 minutes.  Next up, the shooters will move back to the 900 yd line, add some elevation to their rifle sights and fire another 15 shot match for record.   The last match of the day is on the 1000yd line and is again 15 shots for record with unlimited sighters.
  If you haven't ever shot a Palma match, this is a great way to get into long range shooting.  With good 600 yd  zeros from Mid Range matches, it's not difficult to get on paper at 800 yd, then 900, and finally 1000 yds.  The 800 yd target is not a difficult target score on because it is the same target you use back at the 1000 yd line and the 10 ring is very generous at the shorter distance.   Click Here for Match program and entry.  

Last Weekend

CMP Games at Gopher         
I just knew it would be a "fun" match - and it was. Last Saturday, I headed up to GRRC bright and early, to participate in the CMP Games, that Tom Torborg, and Kurt Borglaug, were putting on. I had heard that they aimed more at having fun than serious competition.  This match was also billed as a fund raiser for the "M1 for Vets" program and proceeds were donated to that program.  The day started out at the 'Red Shed' with Dave Anderson cooking a hearty breakfast for all, and then a short program and Flag raising by the VFW color guard.
  After open festivities, the shooters moved down to the 200 yd line where most of the matches were shot.  This was a Service Rifle match, mostly for obsolete service rifles, but you could shoot in the 'modern military' class if you brought a AR-15.  Only a couple of us shot 'modern' guns, and most of the guys had brought out the M-1s, Enfields, Springfield '03s, and there was even a Swiss K31 on the line.

Lunch by Dave A. and GRRC

  There was enough Gopher volunteers (thank you, thank you) to man the pits, so the shooters just had to shoot and have fun.  The 'Course of fire' was pretty much the same as a Presidents Match course. We first had time for 5 sighters from the prone position, to get every one on target with the older guns. Then each shooter fired 10 shots Prone slow fire for record, followed that with a 10 string of Prone Rapid fire, and then 10 shots Slow Fire Standing to complete the 30 shots for Record.  There were 2 relays, and both were done after about 2 hours and it was time for lunch.  That's right--- lunch break!  Once again Dave had the barbeque going and there was Hamburgers, and dogs for everyone!  Well, now this is my kind of match.    After lunch Tom T. re-squaded everyone and we did it again --- we shot another 30 shot match in about an hour and a half to finish out that part of the days events.  Next up, for those who needed more trigger time, was a two man team match for vintage sniper rifles. About 6 teams of 2 participated in this match which was shot from the 600 yd line with scoped Springfields and other similar rifles.  Targets were presented for 20 seconds at a time, with spotters calling the wind and the shooter having get the shot off while the target was in the air.  I was amazed at how well some of these older rifles put shots in the middle from that distance.


   While it wasn't serious competition, I did have more fun at this match than I have had in a long time.  I'll be back for the next CMP games at Gopher. Besides having some fun, we did raise some money for the M1 for Vets program.  Double the pleasure.  More pictures of this match to be posted here asap.

Small Bore prone at MRC

Ross Ewert is the Man!  Ross shot only 3 nines in 160 shots in the Mpls. Rifle Club's monthly 1600 match, to finish with an awesome score of 1597 out of a possible 1600 pts.  130 of Ross's shots were Xs !   That's 81% Xs !    

Erhard's 100 yd clean

Only Ross and Stacey Tamulinas cleaned the two targets of the 50 yd Match, and Stacey got the win by holding for 33 Xs to Ross's 31xs. Ross took the days lead in the Dewar match shooting a 399, but didn't win that match because Matt Griffin also fired a 399 and with 31 Xs to break the tie.  Theirs were not the only good scores in the first two matches. Steve Knutson  was holding down 3rd place with only 3 pts lost so far.  Matt Griffin won his 2nd match of the day at the 100 yd line with a next to perfect 399-26x.  Erhardt Bruderer, Steve K., and Ross were just a couple pts. short. In the last match, the 50 meter match, Matt Griffin won his 3rd straight match of the day, by shooting both of those difficult targets clean and with most of them (35) in the X ring- whew!  Ross Ewert also had a clean target but with just a fewer Xs.  It's unfortunate that Matt had a DNF in the first match, but I'm sure that he was happy with his 3 match wins for the day, to add to his well earned State Service Rifle championship he earned just a couple weeks ago.  John Andres showed us all how to fire tiny groups at all 3 distances shooting F-class on those microscopic international targets.


   Ross's 1597 score is top for the day, with Steve K. -1594, 2nd, and Stacey gets the Ex class win with a 1587.
   Adults outnumbered the Juniors this match and a good time was had by all.  
   Next up for Prone SB shooters is the Metric Regional on Aug 4-5 at MRC.      Click here for entry info


Notes:
1.  Good shooting to all those headed to Camp Perry for the Nationals
2.  Correction:  Kevin Bangen won the Sitting Rapid Fire St. Champ not Jim Biles as I erroneously reported last week. I know Jim won something, as he is holding a trophy in the winning photo.   Congrats to both.

Two Weeks Out:
July 28-29     Minn State Mid Range Prone Champ at Elk River -- Program Click Here
Aug  4-5        Poor Man's Camp Perry OTC and Mid Range at Duluth - Program Click Here  

That's All Folks!
Hawkeye