Hap Rocketto is a Distinguished Rifleman with service and smallbore rifle, member of The Presidents Hundred, and the National Guard’s Chief’s 50. He is a National Smallbore Record holder, a member of the 1600 Club and the Connecticut Shooters’ Hall Of Fame. He was the 2002 Intermediate Senior Three Position National Smallbore Rifle Champion, the 2012 Senior Three Position National Smallbore Rifle Champion a member of the 2007 and 2012 National Four Position Indoor Championship team, coach and captain of the US Drew Cup Team, and adjutant of the United States 2009 Roberts and 2013 Pershing Teams. Rocketto is very active in coaching juniors. He is, along with his brother Steve, a cofounder of the Corporal Digby Hand Schützenverein. A historian of the shooting sports, his work appears in Shooting Sports USA, the late Precision Shooting Magazine, The Outdoor Message, the American Rifleman, the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s website, and most recently, the apogee of his literary career, pronematch.com.
Pennsylvania’s senior statesman of the sport and shooting icon Elmer Schweitzer passed away on February 28, 2017 at the age of 93. Schweitzer was well known for his shooting skill as well as high quality gunsmith work, coaching, teaching, mentoring, and being a friend to all. Elmer shot his first 1600 in prone competition at the […]
The Purple Heart was authorized by George Washington as a special mark of distinction to Revolutionary War soldiers while he was encamped at Newburgh, New York on August 7, 1782. Only three were presented and the award disappeared into the mists of military bureaucracy for a century and a half. Army Chief of Staff Douglas […]
by Hap Rocketto My wife Margaret was getting tired of me shooting a rifle match at least one day every weekend all summer long. In desperation she finally me asked if she could accompany me one weekend to see what attracted me to the sport which occupied so much of my discretionary time. Thinking it […]
The official dates for the 2017 Smallbore Nationals are: July 8 Check in/Packet pick up/Practice July 9-12 Conventional Prone July 13 Dewar, Randle, Mentor –Awards July 14-15 Conventional 3P July 16-17 Metric 3P, Whistler Boy, Drew Cup – Awards (17)
27th David L. Swanson Memorial Match In pursuit of excellence and glory, juniors from across Connecticut filled the Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club rifle range on December 3rd and 4th at the 27th annual David L. Swanson Memorial Match. Sub Junior competitors fired a 30 shot prone match on the A-17 target with […]
by Hap Rocketto I am a man whose hobby is collecting expensive hobbies. Shooting, flying, and baseball are my three favorite avocations. We all know how much treasure it takes to complete a summer’s shooting campaign. An hour spent aloft can pay for a weekend rifle match. Two hours in the air is equal to […]
by Hap Rocketto Each one of the major allied powers of the 20th century has its iconic bolt action rifle. The United States fielded the Springfield 1903 and the Germans had the Mauser 98 family of rifles. The Mosin–Nagant armed both Czarist and Soviet troops and, as a little known fact, did limited service with […]
Those of a certain age fondly recall Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip. Every year, Linus Van Pelt, the strip’s intellectual, holds vigil in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Across Southern New England the same may be said of a loyal cadre of smallbore prone shooters who eagerly await the annual […]
by Hap Rocketto It was a bright spring morning and the usual suspects had, as is our habit, gathered at Mel’s Diner on Route 163 for Friday breakfast prior to a morning of smallbore shooting. Young Nash Neubauer, in an intelligent move that belies the fact that he shoots high power-rather well I might add […]
by Hap Rocketto Tickets in hand Larry Small, Stan Wujtewicz, Mike Franklin and I walked up the slight incline from the street level ticket box of the Garde Theater into the lobby. Passing through the double doors we took a sharp right to load up on popcorn and boxes of Jujubes, Raisinets, Milk Duds, and […]
2017 National Smallbore Rifle Metric Position and Overall Championship Wrap Up (Caveat Emptor: This report is based on Preliminary scores) The final day of the smallbore championships could only be called bitter sweet for George Norton. The inaugural winner of the Iron Man Trophy came to Bristol with just one goal, to regain his title. […]
2017 National Smallbore Rifle Conventional Position Championship Wrap Up and Day One of the Metric Position Championship (Caveat Emptor: This report is based on Preliminary scores) The National Conventional Individual Position Champion is no stranger to the crown. George Norton fired a 2382-159X aggregate, setting several National Record along the way. He was also part of […]
2017 National Smallbore Rifle Conventional Position Championship Day One and Finale (Caveat Emptor: This report is based on Preliminary scores) The second and final day of the 2017 National Smallbore Rifle Conventional Position Championship opened with a strong prone showing as Jared Desrosiers and Mark Gould went ahead on head with identical 400-38Xs only to […]
2017 National Smallbore Rifle Conventional Position Championship Day One The 2017 National Smallbore Rifle Conventional Position Championship opened up with 40 shots prone on the A23 target with metallic sights. Just like the prone matches it took hard holding to place and John Pitts won with a 400-36X. Two Xs behind was Elizabeth Ewert and […]
Day Four, at long last, and Finale of the 2016 National Smallbore Conventional Prone Championships The third match of the fourth day was the Dewar won by Morgan Dietrich shooting a 400-36X and followed by Jared Desrosiers who put together a 400-34X just a head of Howard Pitts at 400-31X. The last fired match of […]
The anysight championship opened with a another set of 400-40Xs posted by match winner Shawn Carpenter and Mark Gould and Hank Gray. Carpenter continued his tear with a 400-39X followed my matt Chezem. Unfortunately the story must abruptly end here to be continued because our cub reporter Joe Graf was involved in the metallic sight […]
The second day of the 2016 National Smallbore Conventional Prone Championships was overcast, but hot and humid, with challenging winds from six O’clock The 50 yard match was shot with the best conditions of the day as Kevin Nevius topped Eric Uptagrafft and Katie Bridges in an incredible three way tie as all posted […]
The 2016 National Smallbore Conventional Prone Championships Opened under bright skies, switching mirage, and temperature in the mid 80s. The actual matches did not get underway until 10AM as a first shot ceremony was held. Conditions were relatively benign for the 50 yard match with over 40m 400s recorded. The best was posted by […]
by Hap Rocketto Ken Girard, then editing the Rhode Island Rifle and Revolver Association section of The Outdoor Message, must have been pretty desperate to fill a few column inches. My well deserved reputation for pontificating on any shooting subject was well known, and probably rattling around in his head, as he ambled up to […]
by Hap Rocketto It has been said that the United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language. While it may be true I, as shooter who has had some experience in Anglo-American marksmanship competition, tend to think more parochially. I believe that it is a case of two shooting communities […]
