Shooters News for the Minn Area - Mar 21, 2013

"Western WildCat Match Rpt. and slide show below"

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

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

More Hero's

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sling Results HERE

F Class Results HERE

Team Match Results HERE  

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

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

See you on the line,

Rick Curtis"

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

Plan Ahead - next month 

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

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

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

After lunch, two 20-shot matches will be fired from the 600 yard line of the club’s KD

Range. These matches will be 2-shooter/team events with the intent of practicing your

wind reading skills by coaching your teammate.

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

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

    Click Here for match program
That's all Folks
Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Feb 1, 2013   

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

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

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

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

From Rick Curtis

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

We are Diminished

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

 

    March Madness Schedule:

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

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

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

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

                                                SmallBore Conventional/ Prone @ PRGC.

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

                          the Bobcat on March 2, 2013.

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

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

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

Thur.  3/14  1600 Irons                             

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

Sat  -  3/16  1600 Irons

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

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

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

    Click Here for all "March Madness" match programs

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

That's all folks !

Hawkeye

Out of Town Match - Dec 3, 2012

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

From: Rick Curtis and the Desert Sharpshooters  

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

Day Two

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Day Three  

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Be well and see you on the line,  

 Rick Curtis   highpower@asrpa.com,

www.asrpa.com

 

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

Small bore March Madness

Smallbore Outdoor Prone

Now is the time for all you prone shooters to start planing to visit Phoenix next March and participate in all or part of the fantastic "March Madness" small bore shooting competition that leads up to the best Smallbore matches of the year---The Western WildCat Matches

It doesn't get any better than this!  There are 16  1600 matches in 5 weeks !!!!!!!!

From: Mick Walker 

This is a Preliminary SMALLBORE 2013, March Madness Schedule.

       I will update this as needed.--

Sat – 2/16 SB 1600 Irons      Black Widow 3200 @ PRGC                               

Sun – 2/17 SB 1600 Any’s        Metric/Prone                          

Sat – 2/23 SB 1600 Irons      Road Runner 3200 @ PRGC

Sun – 2/24 SB 1600 Any’s        Conv./Prone

Sat – 3/02  SB 1600 Irons      Junior/Mentor  3200 {Bobcat}        After The Match There Will Be a Senior Olympics 1200.

Sun – 3/03 SB 1600 Any’s        Conv./Prone @ PRGC

Sat – 3/09 SB 1600 Irons      @ BEN AVERY

Sun – 3/10 SB 1600 Any’s    DiamondBack 3200 Conv./prone

Western WildCat  6400

Wed – 3/13  SB Teams/ Irons & Any’s.         Western WildCat 6400

Thur. 3/14 SB 1600 Irons                                       Conv./Prone

 Friday 3/15 SB 1600 Any’s                                  @BEN AVERY

 Sat 3/16 SB 1600 Irons

 Sun 3/17 SB 1600 Any’s 

 Sat 3/23 SB Irons 1600      ASRPA State SB   @ PRGC  

 Sun 3/24 SB Any’s 1600    Conv./Prone

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

                                            

Shooters News for the Minn Area -- Nov 15, 2012

From George Minerich 
Hi All:
The Minneapolis Rifle Club Winter High Power League will start Dec. 8, 2013.  We will shoot every other Saturday December through March ( 8 Saturdays).  League fees are $70.00 for the season on the first day or $10.00 each time ($80.00 total).  The schedule is below.  We will shoot on the MRC heated  300 Meter range from noon to about 3 PM (or when finished).  Targets used will be SR, SR-3 MR-63 or 300 meter International  on the electronic targets.   If there is interest this year, we will again have a "pot luck" lunch at the range.Please contact me if you need more information -- George Minerich: george.minerich@q.co 

December 8, 2012

December 22, 2012

January 5, 2013

January 19, 2013

February 2, 2013

February 16, 2013

March 2, 2013

March 16, 2013

Shooters News for the Minn Area -- Nov 7, 2012

Yes, the 2012 Highpoower Season is over here in Minn, but that just means it's time to start reloading for next year.   The 2013 Minn Highpower match schedule is published and it looks like there are plenty of great matches to participate in.  Click Here for 2013 Minn Highpower schedule.

Late season matches -- upcoming
300 meter international at Mpls Rifle Club -- Nov 11, 2012
300 meter international at Mpls Rifle Club -- Dec 9, 2012

From: Brian Shiffman

Registration for next Sunday’s MRC 300 meter match is open.  There will be two relays, the first one starts at 10AM and the second will start at noon.  Reply to this email with your relay preference; relays are filled on a first in basis.   (note--1st relay is full)

Fee is $20 for the 60 shot match.  MRC rules for electronic targets apply.  Only full metal jacket or bullets specifically identified as “Match”; no expanding bullets (e.g. A-Max, or hunting bullets).  Bullets must be supersonic at 300 meters in order for the electronic system to record the shots.  Our target is the standard ISSF 300 meter target.  Single loading only, no multiple rounds in magazines.  No muzzle compensators or brakes; flash hiders are OK.  Shooters will be able to shoot in one the following classes: 3-Position, Offhand, Prone (English), F-Open or F-TR.  Empty chamber flags will be required; bring one.

 See you at the range.

Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu

Shooters News for the Minn Area -- Oct 9, 2012

Included --  Women in F class - from Cathy Hagen

The Week ahead
After a wind whipped and chilly weekend at Gopher long range rnatches last Sat and Sunday, competitive shooters can fire prone or position competition from the warm comfort of the Mpls. Rifle Club's 300 m shooting house.  Don't like to pull targets with your 300 meter shooting -- no problem here as the computer operated targets down range plot the shot right on the computer screen by your padded firing position.  Now that's nice conditions for  Shooting!
 From Brian Shiffman: 

   "Greetings to all.  

It appears that summer just suddenly ended; bummer.  It may be chilly out but it will be comfortable in the 300 meter shooting house this Sunday, October 14 for the October 300 meter match.  

Pre-registration is now open for First (10AM) and Second (Noon) relays.  Send your request by return email.  I will respond to those requesting a particular relay starting time as I receive them.  

As we head forward, these next few months usually produce the most challenging wind conditions.  

See you at the range."

Brian D. Shiffman  shiff004@umn.edu  

last Weekend   

The Full Bore matches at GRRC last Sat, saw about 20 hardy soles brave the 30 deg morning temps, and the constant breeze with gusts topping 30 mph.  Shooters fired strings of prone slow fire starting from the 300 yd line and moving back through the 600, and 800 yd line before finishing with 20 shots from the 1000 yd line.  

   Up front, it was Brian Mrnak winning the first two matches in the sling class with scores of 149/150. Paul Cross, Erik Rhode and Eric Hazelton were close behind.  F- class shooter Eric Johnson pulled out an early lead by a few pts over John Rykhus, and Scott Brabec

  At the 800 yd line the top three iron sight shooters, Eric, Hazleton, Erik Rhode,and Brian all fired the same 147score. None of them were ready to concede the day yet. Erik Johnson shot the top F class score of the day to win the 800 yd line in that class and pad his overal lead by a few more points.  

  At the 1000 yd line Erik Rhode overcame bad light,  and winds gusting in the 20s, to fire an awesome 145 score and get the match win for that yd line.   Brian Mrnak's 142 in such difficult conditions is equally great shooting, and while only 2nd in this match, Brian's consistant top scores count up to give him the Overall Match Win for the day.  Great shooting Brian.  

    John Rykhous fired an amazing 143/150 on the tough F-class 1000 target only to fall short by one pt to Erik Johnson who added that match win to his column and posted the Highest F-class score for the day of 593-22X.  Erik is the F-class Full Bore match winner.  Great shooting Erik!. 

  Click Here  for Slide show of match --  includes complete results

  

F- Class News

Women in F-class shooting 

From Cathy Hagen  

Okay, so if you have read any of my blogs you may have realized my husband and I are into competitive shooting with both pistol and rifle. This summer I dragged him into a newer shooting sport we had not tried yet. F Class shooting. We are shooting on the F Class league at the gun club we belong to, and will be shooting the State Championship this weekend.

So what is F Class? F Class shooting is high power rifle shooting in a prone position, using either a bipod or a front rest and a rear bag. Basically it is benchrest shooting on your belly. Shooters also use high power scopes (20x to 42x power). The distance we shoot is 600 yards. Yes, that's a long way, think of 6 football fields lined up. And it is FUN!

This is a picture of my F Class rifle. It is a Savage Model 12 and shoots .223 bullets. That is basically a .22 bullet in a larger brass cartridge to give it the oomph to travel 600 yards and hit the target accurately. The rifle is a single shot, which means I load the bullets one at a time and close the bolt on the action. You can see the bolt at the end of the silver rod. I push that forward with the bolt and then lock the bolt with a downward movement once it is in place. I have a 20x power Leupold scope on top of my rifle, and you can see my bipod rest on the front and my back rest in the back under the stock. My score cards were in the plastic bag since it was raining on Monday night when we shot.



Here is my husbands F Class rifle. This was taken on a nice sunny day. He has a wood stock on his. The yellow flag is a safety flag so everyone knows the gun is not loaded when you are not shooting.



Here is how F Class is shot.



See the front rest under the barrel with the guy with the tan shorts? That is a really nice front rest, with super sensitive adjustments. The shooter has the adjustment knob in his left hand and can make minute adjustments for his rifle as he looks in the scope. The rest alone cost is at least around $1000 I believe.

Here is a custom made gun one of the shooters has. With the gun, scope and front rest there is probably well over $6000 sitting there.



Here is a view down the firing line last Monday.



So that is a brief intro to F Class Shooting. I am really having fun shooting at 600 yards this summer, something I just thought would be fun to try. I am averaging around 93% with scores from 185-189 out of 200 possible. We shoot 20 shots for score when we shoot. We have to shoot the 20 shots and our 2 sighters, in 22 minutes. And even better I am out-shooting Jim for a change.
Hope you enjoyed the mini tutorial and photos on F Class shooting. 

Remember

300 meter match on Sunday, Oct 14th.  Shoot under comfortabe conditions at the Mpls Rifle club near Now Then MN.  

That's all folks

Hawkeye

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Oct 5, 2012

The Week Ahead

Last Chance!
Ok, Guys and Gals, the Last Rifle match of the season will be held this weekend at Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club.  Just a few miles north of the Twin Cities near Harris, Mn,  Gopher will be hosting a "Full Bore" match on Saturday, Oct 6th. This match will be a prone match, consisting of 15 shots for record with sighters, to be shot from the 300,600, 800, and the 1000 yd line.  Any match or service rifle is allowed, but the caliber used must be .223 or .308.  Note: this caliber rule does not apply to F-Class.  Shooters will fire "Two to a Mound" where the two shooters on the line at each point alternate firing and must get the shot off within 45 seconds after their turn starts.  For those who haven't shot this way, let me tell you it is a fun way to shoot a match.  You must make your wind call before each shot and can't just "chase the spotter" like many of us do all the time.  This is a great way to learn to proficiently read the wind. This match is open to F-class shooters.
 Sunday, Oct 7th, the format changes to a "Long Range course of fire". This is basically an "over the course' with both slow fire stages and Rapid fire stages starting at the 200 yd line and finishes with 20 slow fire shots from the 1000 yd line.
   There will be "Special awards for Sunday’s match; High Service Rifle and High Vintage Military Rifle (Springfield, Mauser, Swedish Mauser etc. NO Optics)"  
Squading for both day's matches starts at 0800hrs and first shots down range at 0900hrs.

   Click Here for match program and entry info

Last Weekend
 Results of last weekends Eau Claire matches not forwarded to me. 

That's all Folks

Shooters News for the Minn Area - Sept. 25, 2012

Tim Thole and George Cwach win Leg Points at GRRC Leg match! 

Matt Cwach, George Cwach, and Tim Thole

 *Hd Video below

The Week Ahead
Traveling shooters will be heading east to Eau Claire, Wisc. this weekend for the end of the season matches at the Eau Claire Rifle Club.  Saturday, Sept. 29, prone shooters will have the opportunity to shoot a 4x20 Mid-range match. All 4 matches will be fired from the 600 yd line.  On Sunday, Sept 30, the action switches to an 80 shot 'Over the Course' style match, and shooters will fire 4 position matches from 200 to 600 yds.
    Click Here for match program and entry info.

Last Weekend  
300 meter International  at Mpls Rifle Club
From Brian Shiffman:

   Another fine day to shoot.  We have been very fortunate so far this year with good shooting weather.  Although there was only a little wind until about 11AM when it picked up a bit, it was still a day where skill was involved.  

   Chuck Diehl took me up on the statement I made in the email announcing the match and came with his dear gun, a 300 Win Mag!  He did not finish the match but I think he accomplished what he wanted to do.  He has other shoulder fired cannons for larger game.

   Greg Meller shot above his average and took first place in F class with a 595.  SecondPlace was 8 points back with third another point back and 4^th place another one point back. 

   The most impressive shooter was Dick Nelson’s grandson, 11 year old Jake Olson who shot Dick’s competition AR15 with a bipod.  In addition to Dick and his wife, Jake’s parents were there, too; Jake handles pressure pretty well. 

Full results can be seen at http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=9

    The 300 meter match for October will be on the 14^th.  I will send email as the date approaches.

 Brian D. Shiffman  Shiff004@umn.edu 

Service Rifle Leg Match at Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club 

  On Saturday, Sept 22nd, GRRC hosted a Beginners 50 shot service rifle match.  Kurt Borlaug and Tom Toberg introduced a few new shooters to the sport of Highpower shooting, while a number of other folks used this opportunity to get in some needed practice for Sunday's upcoming Leg Match.  Everyone got a lot of practice reading the wind as the  peak gusts were up to 30 mph, and 20 mph gusts were common all day.  Click Here for Mark Havlik's excellent slide show of Sunday's Leg Match (with music!)

  Sunday dawned cold (34deg), but light wind and bright sunny sky's for the all important Leg Match. Since the match started at the 'reasonable' hour of 10:00, I knew that it would warm up to a really nice sunny fall day, and I headed up to GRRC. It would be just a 'fun' match for me as I got all my Leg points some years ago, and now I could just enjoy the day with maybe the hope of a Medal if my shooting went well.  I do like Leg matches, as it's a chance to shoot the service rifle (my favorite) and it's only 50 shots, so us old guys don't get too tired, and we only have to shoot 10 shots standing.  I was squaded with Britanny O. and David Ronning, and since they were really going for Leg points, I said I would take 3rd Relay and go to the pits first to pull targets while they shot in the calm conditions. Standing Match -- Nine shooters fired in the 90s for off hand scores with Carl Haagenson taking the match win with a 95-0x. No Xs?  No problem-- 95 still won the match. Kurt Borlaug was 2nd with a 94-3. As a matter of fact there were only 15 Xs total fired by the whole group.  I got a 91-2x, which was much better than I expected having not shot standing all summer and I started the Sitting Rapid Fire match still thinking I would be competitive for the day.  Well, that didn't last too long as I shot all over the target and got only a 94-4x.  Mark Havlik dominated the match with a 99-2x and took over the lead for the day with George Cwach just behind.  The 300 yd Prone Rapid Fire match put me out of contention, but Larry Weidell got to do the 'happy dance' after firing a clean target with 5 Xs and 5 tens to win that match. SSgt. Al Schneider was 2nd with 99-2x. 

   Moving back to the 600 yd line for the Prone Slow Fire match, It was George Cwach in the lead, down just 13 pts for theday, with Larry Weidell and Tim Thole just a couple pts back.  

      

Complete Results

   Now the pressure was on. An 8pt, and a 6 pt leg were on the table.  The scores were close, and the wind was gusting to 19 mph.  When it was my turn, I put on 6 clicks of  left windage and fired the first shot into the 10 ring. Yes!  With no sighters in a leg match, its important to get that first shot in the middle or you could be out of it right away.  I took a little time watching the wind to get the next shot off.   It looked good through the sights, but came up a 7, straight out the left on the water line.  The wind had dropped while I was on the gun.  As I looked in the scope, I could see that all the shot spotters on the other targets were either up-wind or down-wind.  The wind gusts were making us all humble.  All of us except Tim Thole. Tim played the wind gusts like a fine violin and put every shot in the 10s and Xs except for 4 nines.  His 196-5x was 8 pts higher than the best that Matt Cwach could do for 2nd in the match, or Ross Opsahl's 186 for 3rd.
    Click Here for 1080 HD Video of this Match. Select HD, full screen, and turn up the volume!  
                  

    When the scores were added up, It was Tim Thole who would be the Match Winner, with a great score of 480-8x. No cheap Leg Points here!  Tim wins the 8pt Leg and that brings him up to (I think) 20 pts total.  George Cwach (471-9x) won the 6 pt leg and is now up to 22 pts, on his way to a Distinguished Rifleman's badge with Tim T.   First Leather goes to Matt Cwach -465-10x.

   Congratulations to Tim T. and George C. --- Great Shooting!  

Small Bore 

Last week we shot a prone 1600 at the little used, but very nice  Elk River Sportsman's Club Sm Bore Range.  Unfortunately, I didn't notice the range sign and get a picture of it. this range is named after club member and long time shooter Ed Hassig. 

From Leo Huhta:

Lest We Forget---

ED Hassig - 3rd from Rt

Ed Hassig was Born Oct 10, 1910  In Devils Lake No Dakota

    He entered the Marines in 1929 and retired 27 1/2 years later as a Warrant Officer

Prior to WW2 Ed shot rifle competition in the Philippines

He was stationed for a number of years at Wake Island and was part of the troops

establishing defenses on Wilkes Island one of three islets forming Wake Island.

2 days after Pearl Harbor was attacked Wake Island was also attacked.  After 13 days of attacks by the Japanese, Major James Devereux Commanding officer of the Wake Island detachment of the Wake Island troops was forced to surrender on Dec 22 1941.

    Ed spent the remaining 4 years of WW2 at a POW camp in China called Woo Sung Forest south of Shanghi close to Manchuria

Ed’s brother was also killed in Europe during these 4 years.

While in the POW camp our troops learned of the end of the war by listening to a contraband radio.  Ed mentioned that the Formosan troops guarding the POW camp were good people and that our men were not treated badly.

    After the war Ed stayed in the Marines and was stationed in the Hawaiian Islands for 8 years and continued to shoot both Rifle and pistol competitively. Earning Distinguished badges in the 50’s in both events. His rifle shooting was with a 03 Springfield NRA Match Rifle and said that the Garand wasn’t as good as the Springfield at longer distances.

Ed started shooting NRA registered matches in 1956 and began attending 2 or 3 per year.

While still in the service Ed meet his wife in San Diego and they married in 1950. After 53 years of marriage, his wife passed away in 2003.

    After retiring from the Marines in 1957 Ed and his wife moved to Minneapolis where they joined family members.

Ed joined the NorthStar rifle range, which was later

closed and merged with the St Louis Park sportsman’s club, now the Elk River Sportsman’s club.

    At that time the Elk River sportsman’s club property was a bit bare, however with the help of the Minnesota National guard who also needed a range to shoot.  Equipment was brought in and helped our members prepare most of the ranges on the club property helping to build berms and the individual ranges.

     Ed was responsible for hauling dirt, and grass along the small bore firing line, setting the firing lines, and continued to haul water and maintain the range to it current shape with the threes being planted in approx 1990. After getting the current range up and running many regional and sectional matches were held here at the Elk River club. In later years, with the help of John Erickson who also took care of the range but did a lot with a major junior shooting program.

   Ed continued to shoot rifle matches in the area, especially at the University of Minnesota, various matches in Wisconsin and also at the Nationals in Camp Perry.

He also held many regional and sectional matches here at the Elk River Sportsman’s club.

He continuing to be involved in both Hi power and smallbore matches helping out in the running of both for a number of years.

   By listening to Ed and seeing the trophies dating back to the 50’s in his living room

There is proof he has attended more than a few matches in his days.

Ed said that a Springfield or a Mod70 Win is his preferred Hi Power rifle and he shoots an Anschutz for a small bore rifle.

When I asked him about air rifle shooting he commented it’s not the same as shooting good ammunition because an air rifle is like eating chocolate cake without frosting on it.

    Ed’s other hobbies have been building beautiful tables from wood he shipped over from Hawaii. Ed has created checkerboards from veneer woods and many other wood working projects  All finished to look like fine rifle stocks.

    Since the death of his wife in 2003 he now has a 10-mile driving restriction, so it’s difficult for him to get to the range. Any volunteers available to get Ed to the range from Crystal might be very welcome in the future.

    Semper Fi, Ed.  It was men like you who drove me to become a Marine. You guys were my hero's!  -- and still are today.    

Notes:

When the shooting season is over and you have too much time on your hands, you can build this Lego sniper rifle-- Click here    

 Two Weeks Out

Oct 6,7  Full Bore and Long Range at GRRC - Click Here for Match bulletin

That's All Folks

Hawkeye