Western WildCats Matches -- Day 4

The 2012 gathering of the WildCats did not just fade quietly in to the night.  The  Storm finally came on Day 4 of the Western WildCats matches.  
   Heading out at 0600 Sunday for the range, the wife said: "You'll be home before I'm back from church".  She could have been right, as it was pouring rain, cold and windy when Rob Nabower and I headed north on the 101 to Ben Avery.   The Front from the long anticipated storm was just moving through, and putting an end to the first 3 days competition's perfect weather. We did see some clearing to the west and by the time we arrived at the range it was just cold, overcast and windy.  The Match would go on.

Jim Gaines shoots during the brief hail storm.

  In the Dewar match, I was cold and did not get comfortable, and even though it was an Any Sight match I dropped 3 on ea target and was already 6 down at the end.  The top half of the Ex class all fired 398, or 399 not letting the cold bother them. 
    The 100 yd match went about the same. All weekend I have lost most of my pts at the 100 yds line.  On the second 100 yd target I had just finished after shooting fairly fast, and it started hailing (pea size) for a couple minutes.  It was about 48 deg, with the wind now blowing about 13 mph an rising.  Still the really good shooters were shooting clean scores with high X counts. 
   During the Meter match (50m) the wind was high but steady and I noticed that my hold was better -- the scope's target dot was easily staying in the X ring, and after losing 2 pts to a gusts on the first bull, I was able to keep the rest well centered with 28 Xs.  
  The last match was the 50 yd match, and again, the wind was blowing 15mph or more with some gusts above that, but it was steady, not wavering around and if you shot with the flags blowing to the NE it was the same for every shot.  I was breaking the shots when the dot was just off the X line at 8 o'clock and they started landing in the center.  I also noticed that my hold was again very steady-- very steady.  For whatever reason, I was having the best hold I have had ever had.  The target dot was almost not moving --- I mean it was dead still.  I could actually hold the dot on the X ring without straying into the black.  Don't believe me?-- ck the result:  

Best hold ever -- 200 18x

  So, the last two matches of the day went well and that almost made up for the chilly weather.  My 50yd score was 400-34x and I still got beat in the EX class by Ken Nelson, who came in 2nd for the day in that class behind my neighbor John Giles whose 1596 was a great (Ex)score for the somewhat difficult conditions.  
  Ken Nelson's steady high scores over the 4 day tournament totaled 6375 pts, -- only dropping 25 pts in 640 shots.  Ken gets the EX win,  followed in a tight group by Barney Higgins, Allen Elliot, and John Giles. 
  Among the HMs, while there were many 1598's and 1599's for the day  Christopher Abalo (Army) was the only one to beat the conditions all day, and fire a clean 1600 (amazing).  Chris dropped only 2pts in the 640 record shots and is the 2012 Western WildCat Champion.  Congratulations to Christopher Abalo!  

Lones Wigger presides over the prize table

This was a fantastic tournament.Without a doubt, the Western WildCats matches are the best matches I participate in - period!  I can't wait till next year to do it again. Now, if I can just apply what I've learned here to next week's, St. Champ. 3200.  
Hawkeye

Final Results 2012 WildCats matches --  Click Here 
Pictures (slide show) to be posted -- asap

Western WildCat Matches -- Day 3

The 2012 WildCats say hello to one and all. (click to expand)

Where was the wind they promised?
    It was supposed to blow like crazy today. The forecast was for 20 mph wind starting in the SE and then veering around to the NW by afternoon. We all put all the clips we had on our target frames, but the big wind never blew in.  It was windy enough so you had to hang on to the targets when putting them up, but I don't think it got more than 8-10mph in the morning and maybe 12-14 in the afternoon.  Even though it was somewhat windy, it seemed the wind was really not much of a factor for the 2nd Iron Sight match of the 4 days of the WildCats.  The wind was steady, it blew from 5 o'clock and there were few reversals. 
   It was also slightly overcast for the 1st match -- the Dewar.  This meant I could see the target better and more easily get a decent sight picture. Bright sun on the targets is not good for my old eyes.  Sure enough I could see pretty good and my hold seemed way better than yesterday. Got a 200 on the 1st 50yd target and then lost 2 to a let off on the 100 yd target. Well this is going well.  I almost cleaned the Dewar ! 

   The two 100yd targets didn't go as well, I got a pair of 196s. I could not get my right eye to focus very well -- no sight picture, no points.  We moved the targets in for the Meter match and took the  Group shot posted above. The light was down and my eye cleared up for the first target and I lost one pt there, but a whopping 5 on the next target.
   I welcomed the  50 yd match and the larger 10 ring, and by this time the wind had veered to S and SW and also diminished somewhat.  I shot quickly to take advantage of the lull, and lost  2 to elevation, but cleaned 2nd target. Two High Masters shot 400-40x scores -- Joseph Hein and Eric Uptagrafft with Joseph getting the match win on tie breakers. In the Ex class, Ken Nelson continued his domination with 400 -28x. My total for the day ended up at 1582 -- a good solid Ex score from my point of view. However It  was only good enough for 9th in the Ex class
 .  Ken Nelson dueled it out with my neighbor to the right, Barney Higgins, and Intermediate shooter Luke Harper all day, but neither one could keep up with Ken at the end or beat his 1593 to take the Ex class win. 
   Among the HMs, 4 hardholders shot clean 1600 scores -- Erick Uptagrafft, Rea Kemply, Christopher Abalo, and Mathew Wallace. This was Erick's 2nd 1600 in two days, and today he gets the Match Win.
--Hawkeye

Day 3

Allen Elliot shooting Xs

Western WildCat Matches -- Day Two

It was another grand and glorious day to shoot.  Almost perfect conditions again.  There was no more than 3mph wind from 4  o'clock for the first two matches -- the Dewar and the 100 yd match.  It was a pure holding and trigger break contest today.  400 scores were a dime a dozen.  Unfortunately, my hold was back and forth in the 10 ring and I was losing pts trying to break a clean shot.  Not my day.  I settled down a little by the  Meter match and after dropping 5 on the first card, I was finally able to shoot clean 200s on the last 3 targets of the day.  In the last match -- the easier 50yd match, I got 400-32x clean, and mistakenly thought that should be up there high on the score board.  Oh, no, not in this competition.  I was only 2nd EX and would have only been 14th in the HM class --- and was actually only 24th over-all in that match.   
  Still only two 1600s were shot today, and those by Jamie Gray, and Erick Uptagrafft. There were some gusty reversals out of the west in  the last two matches.   Erick and Jamie both shot an astounding 140 Xs with Jamie getting the win on tie breakers.  Wow-- you shoot a 1600-140x and don't get a win.    Life is not fair.
  I had the pleasure of shooting next to, Jim Gaines, and John Giles all day. Both these gentlemen are over from Calif. for the matches, and regularly  shoot at the LA R&R The way they tell it that range is right in the city-- in a city park and is a pretty nice place. Two positions away on each side were my old friend from Wisc.- Frank Fisher,  and to the right was Canadian friend Ken Nelson. Who, by the way is the only other person I know that likes the sport of Curling.
  After Two days, Ken leads the EX class,  but even firing a 1597 today,  he could not beat fellow expert,  Allen Elliot, who was determined to take the class win today after a difficult day with a rifle yesterday.  Allen is a past Nat. Palma Champ, and Ken won a first place medal in the Berger Long Range matches just last month. This is a tough Expert class.  When are these guys going to move up to at least the Master class. 
 Ok, now it's time to reorganize for Day 3 of the WildCats.  I cant wait. --- Hawkeye

Western WildCat Matches -- Day 1

Almost a full line at the WildCats !
The conditions were almost perfect for Day 1 of the WildCats. It was the chance you dream of for an Iron Sight 1600.-- bright sun, 77deg,, no humidity, 4 mph breeze from 5 o'clock. There would be no excuses today.
  The Army and Air Force shooting teams were here as well as other top shooters from all over.  Nancy Tompkins, Rea and Tarl Kempley were on the line and the Service teams would have plenty of competition.
   My recent success last week with a 1587 irons score did not get backed up today.  I dribbled away points here and there and was happy just not be last Expert.  Ken Nelson, our Canadian winter visitor, shot a solid 1592 and now leads us Experts.
   Justin Tracy fired a clean 1600 to squeak by 7 other High Masters who dropped only 1 pt for 1599 scores.
  Tomorrow is the first Any Sight match, where I usually do pretty well.  I better shoot a good score because a storm is coming by Sunday and I may not have a chance to move up in the class and have a crack at the prize table. 

Shooters News for the Mn Area -- March 15, 2012

The Week Ahead 
Traveling shooters are gathering in Phoenix for the Western WildCat prone SB matches, which start today with the team match and the "Made in America" match.  Tomorrow, the real competition begins on Day 1 (Iron sights) of this 4 day match. This looks to be one of the best attended WildCat matches in a decade.  Haven Williams, Match Director. told me last Saturday that he already had 87 paid entrys, and thought he would fill all 100 firing positions by Monday.  Over 20 marksman are entered, and that is a great prediction of things to come. 
  This is the 4th weekend of Championship matches in the "March Madness" Phoenix Sm Bore series, which started with the Tarantula 4800 Metric, then the Road Runner 3200, and last weekend with the Diamond Back 3200 Regional. 
   I'm ready to go, and ready to contest the Ex class against what I know will be a tough tough competition. 
Last year you had to shoot high 1580s to win any match in the EX class, and 1600 to win in the Master class, as the conditions were perfect.
   I was not pleased with my scores in the Tarantula 4800 metric (who was?).  While I could blame a lot of it on the windy conditions, I really did not shoot well-- period.  Same thing in the Road Runner matches -- poor shooting with a lot of vertical spread in the Iron sight match.  I was shooting the new Shilen Rachet Groove barrel that I won at last years WildCat matches, and a new lot of SK rifle match ammo.  I started to think that the combination was bad, and that I might have to go back to last years barrel and ammo for the WildCat match, but in the Scope match of the Road Runner, I scored a 1593/1600 and decided to stick with that barrel/ ammo combination for one more try at the DiamondBack matches. It would be a last test before the Wildcats.
   We started the Diamond Backs Iron sight day with the Dewar match,  then the 100 yd match and my results were poor--bad shooting, hard to get good sight alignment -- old eyes.  Before the Meter match, I changed the .5 diopter out of the Stallings front sight and put in a .3 diopter. I could see a much clearer sight picture, and after adjusting the apertures, I came up with pretty good scores in the last two matches.  I had been able to see the target better with the .3 diopter and my vertical dispersion was minimal. The Sunday match of this tournament was an Any Sight match, but I thought I should shoot Irons again to confirm that using the smaller diopter was the key to good scores with irons. 
  The conditions were perfect with just a little wind from 5 o'clock to keep the flags from hanging limp.  While the others were shooting scopes, I was able to hang in there dropping only 5pts in the Dewar match, and then 4 in the 100 yd match.  A pair of 198s in the Meter match, and a  clean 400 in the 50 yd match put me down only 13 pts for the day, posting a 1587 on the board for my 2nd highest Iron sight score ever.  Peter Church fired a 1599 for the match win, Nancy Tompkins and Virginia McLemore 1 only a pt behind. 
  The Barrel was working, and the ammo was working (as good as $6 ammo can be expected to work). I'll start the WildCars tomorrow with confidence in the equipment, and knowing If I don't screw up, I just might win one of those WildCat sweatshirts, and have a good chance at the other great prizes that Lones Wigger comes up with for the prize tables.  Let the games begin.  With a full line of 100 shooters, it will be a great match.
Note:   Pictures, and Results of the WildCat matches to be posted on the blog each day (if I'm not too worn out)

Note: The next MN Sm Bore Winter league match is March 18th -- Program:  Click Here

300 meter news
From Brian Shiffman:
  Results of MRC March 11th 300 meter match

  "It was great weather for the match, in general, but the light to medium variable winds created havoc for many shooters.  It was difficult to figure out the wind direction and speed most of the day.  Both relays experienced challenging conditions.  The wind was only strong enough to move a shot one ring for the unwary but that was enough. 

   The top two F-Class shooters were Jon Hample who beat out Wade Brown by only one point.  These guys had it figured out.  Third place, 8 points behind second, was Gary LaValley.  The next 10 places were separated by 1 to 3 points. 

   A reminder for those that are interested.  When viewing the results page, if you click on a name a new window will be brought up showing that shooters average score for the position chosen.  If a person shoots more than one position during the year, you will have to click on the different positions of that shooter by locating one of those position shot at some specific month.  It makes it easy to see how your shooting is coming along and to compare your average with those of others.

     The full results of the March match are located at this web page;  http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=3  

    The next monthly match will be Sunday, April 8, 2012.  I will call for pre-registration before April 1^st so watch your email at that time. 

Brian         shiff004@umn.edu

Note: The 300 m Prone State Championship will be March 31 at MRC  -- Match program Click Here

          The 300 m  3 position state Championship will be April 1st at MRC  --  Match program  Click Here 

High Power  
The last match of the Winter Highpower League will be on Mar 17th  -- Match program   Click here
Spring work is on-going at each rifle club, with the first Highpower matches scheduled on April 21 with the CMP games being held at Gopher, and a Wind Clinic and a Mid Range match to be held at Elk River Sportsman's Club that weekend -- Match program Click Here

Service Rifle team -- No News

That's all Folks!
Hawkeye

Shooter's News for the Minn Area - Feb 22, 2012

The month ahead for Mn area shooters
Now that Winter is waning, and will be officially over in a few weeks, it's time to get ready for the spring competitions that include both Sm Bore and 300 meter championships. 
But first a report on the State  Junior Olympic Rifle Championships

Small Bore news  
From Chad Danielson:

                 "2012 State Junior Olympic Rifle Championships were held in Mendota Heights MN January 21st, and 22nd saw 46 competitors shoot the Air Rifle Championship, and 26 competitors shoot the Smallbore Rifle Championship.

                In the Air Rifle Competition Men shoot 6 targets in the standing position and the women shoot 4 targets. Giving men a possible 600, and women a possible 400, although the overall standings are tabulated using a percentage value.  The Air Rifle Championship saw Allie Taschuk place 1st overall with 388 / 400 with 97.00% also giving her the Women’s Gold.  The Women’s Silver was taken by Samantha Peterson with 367 points for 91.75%, placing her 4th overall.  Women’s Bronze went to Carmen Fry also with 367 points and 91.75%, but had one less center shot than Peterson which separated the two.   The Men’s Gold went to Patrick Sunderman shooting a 576 / 600 for 96.00% and placing him 2nd overall. Men’s Silver was won by Scott Chester with 569 points for 94.83%. Men’s Bronze went to Curtis Haglin shooting 547 points for 91.17%.

                The 3 Position Smallbore Competition all competitors shoot 20 record shots in Prone , Standing , and Kneeling.  The day of smallbore shooting saw Patrick Sunderman post a score of 563 out of 600 for the top spot, and Men’s Gold.  Men’s Silver went to Scott Chester posting a 536 for a 5th overall, with Bronze going to Sam Ewert who put up a 529 and a 6th overall finish.  Allie Taschuk was the top women’s shooter in smallbore putting up a 550 for second overall, followed by Carmen Fry with a 539 for the Women’s Silver and 4th overall.  Taking the Women’s Bronze saw Samantha Peterson with a 513 finishing her 9th overall.

                Congratulations need to go out to Minnesota Junior Shooters Allie Taschuk, Patrick Sunderman, Scott Chester, Samantha Peterson, and Elizabeth Ewert who all received 1st round invites in Air Rifle to the 2012 Nationals Junior Olympic Rifle Championships held in April at the United States       Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs , CO.  Invites are determined by shooting at or above a certain cutoff score determined by USA Shooting. 

                 Additional congratulations to Allie Taschuk and Patrick Sunderman who also received 1st round invites to the Nationals in the Smallbore discipline. 

                 A second round of invites are usually released after a certain cutoff date for 1st round shooters to accept or turn down their 1st round invite. After 1st round invites it appears Minnesota could be well represented in April at this years 2012 National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships."

Small Bore Winter League 

The Small Bore Winter league held at Mpls. Rifle Club is on-going with the next match to be held on March 4th at MRC's  Sm Bore range. No results from past matches are available.  

Match program -- click here  

Sm bore March Madness in Phoenix -- for traveling shooters.

Yes, it's almost time for the Western WildCat matches again. This match is a big draw for Small bore shooters from all over, that want to get in some top notch competition and get a jump on the summer season in Minn. With 5 days of sm bore prone shooting, this is the biggest Sm bore match west of the Mississippi, and usually draws a great number of shooters. Come on out, and be part of this historic match.  March Madness in Phoenix also includes 4 other weekends of Sb championship matches:

   February 24-27th  --  Tarantula 4800 metric prone -- Program: click here
   March  3-4th         --  Road Runner 3200 prone   --    Program: click here
   March  10-11th     --  Diamond Back 3200 Prone  --  Program: click here
   March  14-18th     -- Western Wildcat Matches  6400 Prone -- Program  Click Here
   March  24-25th     --  AZ Sb State Prone Champ  3200 Prone -- Program: Click Here

300 meter news 

The next 300 meter match will be held on Mar 11th at MRC.   E-mail Brian Shifftman at: Shiff004@umn.edu for entry and squading info.    
Feb 12th 300 m report from Brian:  
   "What a gorgeous day for a mid winter shoot.  Not a cloud in the sky, light and variable winds (variable is the operative word) and a chill in the air.  Yes it was a little crispy but very nice nonetheless.  We had nearly a full house for two relays: 14 (which is the limit) in the first relay and 11 in the second.  When the last shot had been fired, the top 5 shooters were separated by only 6 points; however, there were 3 points between the top and second place shooters.         There were a number of first time competitors for our monthly matches; and, a couple of husband, wife competitors.  All in all, a very interesting and competitive match.  
    First place in F-Class went to Jessica Hendrickson with a 594.  A few notable comments about her shooting:  She was using a custom tube gun in 6BR built by her husband, John, who has shot with us in the past; this was only the second time she had shot the rifle (the previous day they were at the range to sight it in); it was only the third time she had shot a rifle!!  And, she was 3 points ahead of the field.    
   Also in F-Class, Robert Smith and Gary LaValley tied for second at 591 with Johann Boden and Brenda LaValley tied for 4^th at 590.

    In 3-Position, Erhard Bruderer was ahead of the pack, followed by Garold Jones and Tom O’Donnell.

    Our MRC President’s two children, Kamilla and Konrad, shot bolt action .223’s for the first time with us.  For some reason, Kamilla’s target only provided a final score and not scores for the individual shot series.  That target did not have that problem when we went to the second relay.  However, because of that, and the way our scoring program works, I had to feed it scores by 20 shot series, so I divided here total by 3 to arrive at the correct result but not necessarily the way it actually achieved.

    The next 300 Meter club match will be on March 11, 2012.  Sometime in early March I will send out email for pre-registration for that match so stay tuned.

    The full results of the February match can be seen by following this link: http://www.edfpages.com/mgfc/results.php?match=2

 See you at the range".----Brian  

George Minerich has announced the dates for the 300m St. Championships

From George Minerich

"Hi All: Please find attached the match bulletins for the 300M State Championship 3-Position and Prone matches at the Minneapolis Rifle Club. These matches are run under the International Rules which does not allow F-Class -- Sorry. By popular request the Prone Match is Saturday March 31, 2012 and the 3-Position Match is Sunday April 1, 2012. Both matches start promptly at 10:00AM so arrive by 9:30AM. Thanks!" -- George Minerich

    Match Program - 300 m Prone champ (3/31) - Click Here 

    Match Program - 300 m 3 Pos. champ (4/1) - Click Here  

Service Rifle Team 

No news to report

Notes: 

Team Coach, Larry Sawyer has written 3 really good articles for the MRRA on Offhand, and Prone shooting.  Well worth reading, these articles, "Successful Standing, Successful Standing Pt 2, and Top 3 Prone Mistakes":  are only available at the MRRA web site:  Click Here 

The Berger Bullets Long Range SW Nationals in Phoenix were a great success this year with over 200 shooters participating - including 10 of our own local shooters that made the trip to enjoy some trigger pulling in 70 deg weather, sunshine, and just enough wind to help separate the top shooters from the rest of the pack. 

  Video from the Berger Matches:

       Matt Griffin --  Click Here 

       Phil Klanderude -- Click Here

       "A View from the Pits" --  Click Here   

       Awards given out by Mid Thompkins -- Click Here

 Report:  "A view from the Line" By Capt. Bob Peasley

                    Click Here 

That's all folks !
Hawkeye

Berger Bullet Matches -- a View from the Line

From: Capt Bob Peasley 

Feb. 14, 2012 VD

Hi Jim:

  It was great to see you and the other local shooters at the Berger Bullets SW Nationals last week. I had a great time & really enjoyed the match.  It was an excellent break from winter in Minnesota despite not really having much winter this year.

  With all the equipment needed I decided to shoot just Palma rifle all the way even though any rifle was allowed on Saturday & Sunday. I had made a few minor changes in my Palma rifle & load since last summer but the only testing I could do was at 100 yards on my range on the farm.  And believe it or not we had 4 or 5 days in December and January when one could actually be outside and do some shooting.

  Upon advice from Bob Jones last summer I purchased a .37 power front to replace the .50 I have used for several years. I had also shot the last of my Lapua Palma bullets last fall and switched to the “green box” brand. After moly coating bullets since “time zero” I decided to shoot plain bullets in the Palma rifle.  And finally I have switched to N140 vs. Varget for my powder. We all know one has to be nuts to make this many changes in ammo and equipment and go to a big match without some serious testing. But I was able to shoot a few groups and chronograph a few loads from bench rest at 100 yards. The .37 lens seemed to give a very slightly better sight picture than the .50. The load shot 10 shots into about 9/16” so I sent in my entry, made reservations at the Miller Motel and got on the Delta web site.          

Phil, Matt, Brian, Jay, ... at the Berger Matches

  The load shot as well or better than any other I have tried in a Palma rifle.  I’m not sure if it was the clear desert SW air or the .37 lens or a little of each but I could clearly see the target more clearly than in the last few years shooting in the Midwest summer humidity. I even got bold enough to try shooting favors on a few shots and it worked!  My X count with the Palma rifle has never been good but it was improved by something and I think it’s mostly being able to see and call shots.  DUH!!

  The range was in great shape after the upgrades although the trailers used for transportation to the pits could have used bigger tires for more rock clearance.  A couple times I thought I would need a chiropractor when I got to the pits! OK………it wasn’t that bad and it did beat walking.

Berger ran a fine match and a good course of fire with variety.  Mid and all the club guys also did a great job with targets and range duties. I could and will recommend this match to those interested in long range competition.  I wish I could come back for the Berger OTC match but duty calls in Minnesota.

  A couple of the Minnesota guys expressed an interest in seeing the Pima aviation museum in Tucson on the Tuesday prior to the match. For whatever reason it didn’t work out this year but I’m going to make it work out next year.  I have been there twice and always see something new.  They now have the last B36 bomber built totally restored and on display and I need to see it!

I'm looking forward to seeing you on the line in Minnesota again this spring.

Bob

Video -- Berger matches-    "A View from the Pits"   Click Here

  
   Thanks, Bob for the report. I think that this "Winter Nationals" match is going to become a bigger and bigger match  as time goes on, and more shooters want to get in 5 days of  prone long range shooting during the winter months. 

  And let's not forget that the Berger Long Range Nationals in February is just the beginning of the prone shooting opportunities during the Phoenix spring shooting season.  In just about a week from now starts "March Madness"  -- 5 weekends of Outdoor Prone Small Bore matches, that include 3 two day championships (3200s), and 2 four day Championships (6400s).  Yes! That's about 14 prone outdoor 1600 matches to shoot starting Feb 24 with the Tarantula 4800 Metric matches, and includes the huge Western WildCat matches starting Mar 18 with a team match.  I can't wait.  That's about 2000 rds, for record in a month!  

   February 24-27th  --  Tarantula 4800 metric prone -- Program: click here
   March  3-4th         --  Road Runner 3200 prone   --    Program: click here
   March  10-11th     --  Diamond Back 3200 Prone  --
   March  14-18th     -- Western Wildcat Matches  6400 Prone -- Program  Click Here
   March  24-25th     --  AZ Sb State Prone Champ  3200 Prone -- Program: Click Here

2012 Berger Bullets Long Range Nationals

Just In !
Mid Tompkins awards Berger winners! -- Video


Video:  "A view from the pits"   Click Here

Phil Klanderud -- video

Berger Bullets Long Range Nationals -- Friday

Friday at the Berger Long Range matches was the competition for Individual Palma honors.  Shooters fired at 800yds, 900 yds, and 1000 yds.
  Phil Hayes was the Match Winner with a score of 448-29x

Interim Results -- Friday Palma


Junior shooters pulling Targets (Palma Match)  and earning money for the AZ Junior team.


I spent the whole day in the pits, not pulling Targets like I signed up for, but on a radio as a Pit block officer.  If you are working a big match like this, you just do what you are told.  Running 70 targets today, it was necessary to have 4 block officers to keep things going smoothly. It was important for all to run well today because the NRA was out "observing" the match as Ben Avery range is in consideration to hold the World Championships in 2013.  Other than a few Radio problems, we did have a smoothly run match.

Berger Bullets Long Range Champs --Just in!

   Wednesday morning dawned slightly overcast and 57 deg for the opening match of the Berger Bullets Long Range Championships  in Phoenix, AZ.  Almost 200 shooters would be on the line today, firing 3 strings of 15 shots and unlimited sighters, at 600yds in this warmup Mid-Range match.  Thursday they would move back to 800 yds for the Palma matches, and then Saturday, back to 1000 yds for the last two days of shooting both individual and Team matches.
  Mid Tompkins welcomed every one, by saying that this was the biggest participation for Ben Avery match in recent memory.  Indeed, more and more shooters are discovering  that 5 days of Top Notch shooting competition in the warm southwest is a great way to spend the 2nd week in February.

Capt. Bob Peasley at Berger Bullets

  This year many top prone shooters from the Mid West are attending this match-- Bob Peasley, Jay Johnson, Brian Myrnak, Phil Klanderud, SSgt Matt Griffin, Frank Fisher, John Andres, Jim Evenson,   Larry Miller, Bob Mead. and Bill Lair were all enjoying a chance to pull some triggers in the warm sunshine, and shoot some Long Range at one of America's premier Rifle Ranges -- Ben Avery, Phoenix, AZ.
  Bill Luth and I arrived at 0745 and saw that the Squading line was already stretching across the parking lot.  This was going to be a fun match.  Both of us had brought "Space Guns"--.223 AR match rifles, even though we would be competing aginst national class prone specialists firing everyting from 6BRXs to 6.5x.284s.  We both felt that the .223 loaded with good bunch of Varget behind an 80 gn match bullet, could hold its own against those wildcats at 600 yds. 
  Michelle Galegher, and Mid got this record number of shooters squaded in pretty good order, and after some additional targets were made up, first shots were going down range by 0930.  I was up first and saw that the prevailing condition was a 3 o'clock wind blowing a good ten mph with the flag sticking straight out more often than not.  I quessed 3 moa Right windage would do it, and fired a first sighter into the 8 ring down wind.  Going for Record at 4 moa right, I got the first shot into the Xring, and then broke one left that held for a 9. By working the windage Knob for every shot, I got off the line with a 148, down 2 pts  after losing one more pt to a gust.  In this crowd, my 148/150 was good for 20th place.  Maybe a 6 BR would have held that one  9 in the 10 ring, so my choice of calibers, might have cost me one pt already.   I spent the next 3 strings of fire in the pits, pulling targets, and listening to Sea Stories from Mike Sinclair, fellow Marine, who served a couple tours in Viet Nam as a Recon team leader.
 Match Two went good for me, as I was seeing the mirage well and had the confidence to make large changes as the wind varied from 1- 1/2 moa right  to 3.5 moa right, shot to shot.  I was able to take all 150 pts on my score card -- my first Clean in a good while, and good for 2nd over all behind Brian Lizt.  The mighty mouse gun was definatly holding it's own against all comers. 

Results  for 600 yd Berger match

   Going into Match Three, I knew I had a good chance for a high finish if I didn't blow it by doing something stupid.  By this time, the wind had veered to the SSE and was fishtailing to SSW catching people on  the wrong side for 7's and 8's if they were not constantly on the scope watching the mirage.  I saw a shooting window with the wind from the left now  - about 1 moa, and by paitently waiting each time the wind was from the right, I was able do score a 149, losing only one pt to my own bad shot low in the 9 ring. 
  It certainly was my best day on the range in a while. Having a good day once in a while is what keeps us coming back week after week.  We endure losing often, knowing that sooner or later we will have a good day and that makes ait all worthwhile.
  My 447-17x  for the day was good for 4th over all (3rd Palma rifle), behind Leo Ahern  448-25x,  Emil Kovan -447, Doug Frerichs 447-24.   Better than I expected, and it just shows that the mighty .223 can compete with the big boys and show off a little.
 It was a great day!

SSgt Matt Griffin at the Berger Bullets Long Range matches.

Washington's B-Day Match

What a fantastic day it was for the 120th consecutive Washington's Birthday Rifle match.  It was cool and crisp in the Phoenix desert for the opening of this longest running rifle match in America, but by late morning it was  sunny 75 deg with just a nice SE breeze to keep it interesting.

  50 Rifle Teams competed for honors, and that means 200 shooters were enjoying the day trying to shoot 10s and Xs on tough targets.  Each shooter fired the standard 50 shot National Match Course for Service Rifles, all at 200 yds, and using those challenging reduced targets to simulate longer ranges.  There were teams of Springfield '03s, Teams of M-1s, and of course lots of AR-15s, even a few M-4s with optics were on the line to try and shoot them in the 10 ring.  
  This was my 13th year at the B-day match, but I was watching from the center of the line and not shooting on the Accuracy Speaks team this year.  The Accuracy Speaks team is now history, but the 14 winning team and individual plaques residing on my walls represent a lot of great memories,-- memories of great team matches shooting with top service rifle shooters-- Derrick Martin, Phil Hayes, and Tom Albinito.  Some one else would win today, but who knows, maybe next year we could get the old team together for one more try.

Washington's Birthday Match -- 2012

Prone Rapid Fire -- 10 shots in 70 sec with a magazine change
Video

300 m Match at Mpls. Rifle Club -- Feb 12th

From Brian Shiffman:

Hi all,

Pre-Registration for the Feb 12 MRC 300 meter match is now open.  We plan on two relays; the first one starts firing at 10am and the second starts at noon.  Email me with your preference and I will put you on the list in the order received and confirm with you next week.  I will also look for a confirmation from you a day or two prior to the match.

 Contact me if you have any questions.

 Brian D. Shiffman     shiff004@umn.edu

Hey Brian-- how bout some pictures ?

Washington's Birthday Rifle Match -- coming up!

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

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

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

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

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

Winter shooting Mecca - - Phoenix, AZ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AZ Service scores

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

How can I see my Sight Picture better ?

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

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

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

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

So where does all this lead to ---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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