by Dennis Lindenbaum
Dog Days of August – Smallbore Metric State Championship
The Dog Days are the hottest of the year and August at RBGC is where you can find them. The name is derived from Sirius, the “Dog Star”, because it is closest in proximity to the sun and the hottest star in the constellation. The Georgia State Metric Prone championship was held on August 20th as a single day 1600 combining both metallic sights and scopes. The heat and humidity kept the competitor count low, but the 13 participants present managed the elements, the ever shifting mirage, and enjoyed a great match at RBGC.
River Bend’s own hottest and fastest rising star, Don Greene, had no difficulties throughout the match as he made a clean sweep of the conventional and metric state championships for 2011 and he accomplished this by shooting irons only the whole way. The match winner, however, was not determined until the final stage of the last match. The day began with the metallic sight 50 meter match and many-time champion Jim Hinkle led all shooters with a 391-16X followed by Dennis Lindenbaum and Don Greene with a pair of388’s. Although the Judge was leading the way out of the gate, this would prove to be his final shots for the day as he withdrew due to stitches ripping free from a recent surgical procedure to his right arm. There is never a shortage of excuses in a shooting competition. Don Greene won the first 100 yard match which followed with a 386-9X followed by Tommy Steadman and Dennis Lindenbaum with a pair of 379’s.
It was time to play catch up and the next 100 yard match was won by Dennis Lindenbaum with a 389-12X. Don fired a 386 and Tommy Steadman had a 384. By this time in the day, the mirage was running rampant, but in no single direction for very long. This left the final 50 meter match to determine the day’s outcome. With a 195 on the first stage, Dennis Lindenbaum tried to make it interesting, but it was too little too late. Dennis won the final match with a 384-7X followed by Mark Skutle and Don Greene with a pair of 383’s. Don Greene remained the most consistent of anyone throughout the entire match and his fine shooting was rewarded with the championship plaque fashioned by David Dye in the shape of Georgia.
Don Greene, Match Winner, was followed by Dennis Lindenbaum, Mark Skutle and Tommy Steadman. Mark was Senior Champion and Jimmy Holiday was Junior State Champion. First Marksman was Cor Vanderbeek.
Thanks go to Jim Hinkle who remained the CRO for the match and scored targets with David Dye. Tommy who served as Match Director and once again made the match happen. Special thanks to his daughter, Shelley, who ran the stat office brilliantly especially since this was her first solo gig. Thanks to Dave Rabin for range set-up and tear-down even though misalignment of the flags sent a few to the flag graveyard.
The next match at RBGC will be held on the weekend of September 17-18 and will be the Metric Regional 2400 with two-person team matches on Sunday, the final regional of the year. The weather should be perfect with early fall weather anticipated. We usually have participants from out of state and the AMU so the competition level should be keen at all levels. This is a fun weekend and everyone is encouraged to attend.
Complete results can be downloaded here: 2011-ga-metric-prone-champ (PDF, 25KB)
