Mpls. Rifle Club -- 300m 3P State Champ

"The day was overcast but not dark and the wind was very light; an almost perfect day for a match.

It was a jacket and hat type of day but we were all in our shirtsleeves in heated comfort in the shooting house.

We had a grand total of two, yes, two competitors. But let’s think in terms of quality not quantity. These were two of the top shooters in the state, Lance Peters and Erhard Bruderer (who, in spite of a stellar history of rifle competition, now says he is a pistol shooter). The fact is that Lance also shoots pistol and is more than holding his own in that discipline. These two are real competitors on the range and it is entertaining to see them compete. Note, small children and sensitive adults should not be close by. As you look at the photos of the guys shooting, notice the concentration. The pictures were taken without the aid of flash and, thus, the shutter speed was around half a second or so. Not only did the camera operator have hold steady (handheld, no tripod; what was I thinking???) but the competitors did not know that pictures were being taken at the time.

Back to the State 3 position championship. It was a full match of 120 rounds for score, 40 in each of prone, standing and kneeling. It is as much a test of stamina and conditioning as it is impeccable rifle shooting. The multiple computer system was in operation and the gallery was able to amuse themselves in the club room watching each shot on a master scoreboard. In the end, Lance Peters was crowned State Champion with a total score of 1115 and Erhard Bruderer was second with a score of 1093. After 120 rounds the difference is not that much. In fact, the gallery was really engrossed watching each shot by each of them throughout the match. Only towards the end of the last position was it possible to wager on the outcome. Due to the low turnout, the payout for the top shooters was meager, indeed. Lance got a $5 bill and Erhard received $1 which he proudly displays in one of the photos of the match.

A good time was had by all. This match was originally scheduled for earlier in the season and had to be moved. In 2010 it will be put on the schedule early enough that if it has to be moved, there would still be time to hold it before shooters scatter for matches and vacations unknown.

We will be shooting throughout the winter in heated comfort; come join us for practice each week and a monthly club match. "

Brian Shiffman

Blue Goop -- Copper removal

The post on Blue Goop - Copper removal has been downloaded by 96 folks so far. I'd like to hear some comments on how it worked from those who have tried it. I have used it a few times , with not so obvious results. Now that is not to say it didn't do it's job as advertised, but I'm not so sure that my barrels get much in the way of copper fowling in the first place.
I have been using Kreiger barrels, with moderate loads, in .223 and 6m BR. I have tried quite a few bore cleaners that usually help remove copper, such as Sweets 7.62, Bore Tec Eliminator, Shooters Choice, Hoppies, etc. and the Blue Goop -- none of which seem to dissolve much in the way of copper fowling in my barrels --ie, patches turn blue. I suspect that since the results are pretty much the same with all the products, there just is not much copper fowling in my barrels to remove, and my barrels are just not a good test for the Blue Goop.
So, let's hear some comments from you folks who have tried it on some barrels that do have copper fowling problems.
Blue Goop-- http://www.scribd.com/doc/19887175/Blue-Goop
Please add a comment ---

50 m Free Pistol - MN State Championship Results

The results of the State Championship Match held on September 26th at Oakdale Gun Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota were as follows:
State Champion Lance Peters 591
First Expert - Erhard Bruderer 578
First Sharpshooter - Thomas O'Donnell 564
First Marksman - James A. Reedstrom 546
High Senior - Joel Peabody 524
Mark Peabody 544
Alex Gybin 538
Karl A. Studt 480
Arne Olsen 467
Brian P. Shiffman 430
The scores are for a total of 70 shots. There were two stages, the normal 60 round stage with a 10 shot, one shot in 75 seconds, final. The match was shot under good conditions with little wind and benign temperature. Additionally we have some newer younger shooters who are making impressive gains.
Mike Marzitelli

The Week Ahead -- Oct 6th 2009

Shooters

The Week Ahead
This coming Sunday, Sunday (not Saturday), Oct 11, you will want to be heading to Mpls Rifle Club for the 300m 3P State Championship. Map to MRC-- http://www.mrra.org/images/maps/mrc_map.gif Try out that neat Electronic target system where you fire a shot and the hit location is shown on the computer monitor at your firing position. Rain, snow-- doesn't matter as you will be firing from a heated shooting house at the targets 300m away. This is one of only two electronic 300m target ranges in the U.S., and it's pretty cool. Match Program: http://www.mrra.org/downloads/mrc/300m11-11.pdf
MRC also hosts open 300m practice on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Remember it's warm and comfortable shooting from the MRC shooting house all winter. There will also be a 300m match (prone and 3p) on Nov 8th, and Dec 13th and they will be the best thing going to cure SWS (shooting withdrawal syndrome) while keeping in practice.

Last Week
This past Sunday Gopher Rifle Club hosted the last Service Rifle Leg Match of the season. Fall weather threatened rain all day, but conditions remained good enough - cool, light wind, and a few sprinkles. Enough participants guaranteed 2 legs available to be won by non-distinguished shooters, and medals were up for grabs by all shooters. Leg matches are particularly good matches as they are Army style matches where no sighters are allowed -- first shot counts, all shots count. Leg matches teach you to know (and have confidence in) your zeros and force you to make a well thought out wind call for that first shot. Leg matches are true rifleman's matches. Course of fire-- 10 shots standing at 200, 10 shot string of sitting rapid at 200, 10 shot string of rapid prone at 300yds, and finishing with 20 shots prone at 600yds (no sighters). As I said it is a true test of a rifleman's skill.
Finishing on top and winning the Gold medal was Kurt Borlaug (Dist. shooter). In 2nd place taking the Silver and 8 leg pts. was Ben Brunk. The Bronze Medal goes to Larry Weidell, (Dist. shooter). The second non-distinguished shooter was Mark Havlik who earned 6 leg points towards his Distinguished Rifleman's badge. Congratulations to these these 4 top riflemen. GRRC was in great shape for this well run match thanks to hard work by Don Mastro, Kurt Borlaug and others.
Leg Match Pictures posted Below

MRRA Board meeting Oct 17 -- Cabela's in Rogers, MN 10am in the snack bar. Agenda: http://www.mrra.org/downloads/agenda9-17.pdf 2nd board meeting, and membership meeting on Dec 5th at Gander Mt store, Forest Lake MN.

Ammo for sale
Don Burke, U.S. Marine, and former Highpower shooter, has 500rds of .223 Black Hills (re-mfg) match ammo, loaded with 75 gn Hornady bullets, for sale at $350. Don Suffered a Stroke last year and now resides at the VA hospital while undergoing therapy. Don would like to hear from any shooters to chit chat, or to sell the ammo and Sights (Anchutz, Zelnak) for a flat top AR. Call Don at - 612-722-3391 Best time to call M-F is 8-10p.m. or anytime on sat/sun. When able, Don still plans to shoot some bullseye pistol. Get Well Soon, Don. We are thinking about you.

Adios
With the shooting season winding down, and due to low apparent readership in the late season, this news letter will now become a monthly occurance. The survey I posted in last week's "The Week Ahead" newsletter, asking those who read it if they wanted to stay on the mailing list drew 38 positive responses. Tks to all for their support. The continuation and purpose of the Blog is being re-assessed to better serve the promotion of rifle shooting sports in MN. Any and all comments are welcome


Hawkeye -- signing off
Semper Fi and keep em in the middle

"If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You think their ways are wrong. They think you are dinner." -- Terry Goodkind

MRRA Board Meeting agenda for 10/17/09 meeting

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20566219/Mrra-Board-Agenda-17-Oct-091

Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club Leg Match - Oct 4

Partial Results
Gold Medal to Kurt Borlaug
Leg points to Ben Brunk, and Mark Havlik
Bronze medal to Larry Weidell