Shooters News for the Minn Area - Oct 28th, 2014

Next Weekend
I don't see any Rifle Matches scheduled for the coming weekend.  However there will be a 300 m International match at the Minneapolis Rifle Club on Nov 9th-- usual time and format.

If you haven't shot in one of these matches before - give it a try. They are easy to participate in.  There is no pit pulling, as all the shots fired are recorded electronically in the pits and displayed on computer monitors at each firing position along with the statistical analysis of your group. it's petty high tech!  These matches are on-going all winter, and are normally held toward the beginning of each month. Ck the MRRA calendar for actual dates.

Last Weekend
200 yds with a .22 small bore match rifle - That sure takes a lot of confidence in your skill to make a good shot.  We haven't shot many of these matches here in the Minn area, but they are very popular on the east coast and were even more popular back in the 50's.

'On the Firing Line Report'
From: George Minerich
200 Yard Smallbore Match – October 25, 2014 at the Minneapolis Rifle Club
Eight shooters gathered on Saturday, October 25, 2014 and brought back a forgotten MN tradition, the 200 yard Smallbore 800 point prone match.
The day was pleasantly warm and sunny, the winds very gusty and shifting (a great MN October day). Shooters warmed up at the Minneapolis Rifle Club Smallbore range to get 100 yard Zeros. Moving to the High Power Range 200 line, most shooters found an additional 18 minutes or so of elevation was required to get into the black on the NRA A-21 Smallbore target. The A-21 target has a 2 inch X ring, 4 inch 10 ring and ends with a 20 inch 6 ring. In comparison, the SR High Power Target has a 3 inch X ring, 7 inch 10 ring and a 19 inch 8 ring. The A-21 is a hard target to master.
The match started at 1:00 PM. It is important to note that this match is short like a high power match with shooters pulling targets in the pits after every round fired. We had two relays with two squads. Scoring was done in the pits. Each squad shot 40 rounds for record in two 20 shot stages (with sighters).
From the first stage, it was apparent that our resident Junior Champion was the shooter to beat. Eric Hazelton won the match with a 756 -19X’s. Erik Rhode came in second shooting a 748-13X and Jon Speck won third shooting a 739-6X.
A several lessons became apparent after the match, good quality ammo, test fired in the rifle made a big difference. Second wind guests could easily more the impact 2 or more minutes between shots. Third, smallbore is unforgiving, any small hold error is immediately apparent on the 200 yard target. The other item that came into focus is smallbore rifles like to have some warm-up shots and a 30 second fouling shot period should be added after the prep period ends (I guess nothing is new, same thing my father found out in the 50’s!).
The match generated a lot of excitement. All shooters present want more 200 yard smallbore matches to shoot next season including a possible 2 day 1600 point match. I guess we will have to see if there is an open weekend in the 2015 high power schedule.
 Submitted by:
 George Minerich

Thanks George for sending in that report.  I'm going to try to get to one of these matches next summer. I've got a great new(er) rifle for it and I'll be testing ammo to feed it in the Lapua test tunnel next Tuesday here in Mesa, AZ.  Darrel Stettmieier and the guys at Lapua Rimfire service Center got in a whole bunch of new lots of Lapua Center-X, OSP, and other more expensive ammo.  They have a new fixture for their machine rest and I need to get a couple cases of what works in my gun before the AMU and the Olympic team buy it all up. 
Meanwhile, I'm getting a lot of exercise pulling targets at the Long Range Regional (100 shooters) here at Ben Avery range for the last 3 days, and tomorrow starts the F-class Nationals. Guys are flocking in from all over to shoot this big match. Some of these guys/gals can really shoot. One of my shooters yesterday may have set a new National record for FTR at 1000 yds -- 200-15x (in tough conditions). 

That's all Folks!
Hawkeye