GA: RBGC April 1600 Results

The 2012 Smallbore conventional prone season opened on April 21 with a 1600 anysight match at the newly redecorated 100 yard range known as MP2 at Riverbend Gun Club. Gone are the old railroad ties and bushes providing a cleaner and more expansive appearance. The structures have all been repainted and the grass was freshly mowed before the match. Threats of rain never materialized and the weather could not realistically be blamed for anyone’s performance. Wind was dead calm to start the overcast morning giving way to breaking sun, increased mirage and shifting wind currents in time for the 100 yard targets later in the competition.

Although I always seem to be cold these days, probably a physiological reaction to turning 60 in two more months, even I felt warm to start the match and wasn’t worried about tensing every muscle in my body in an effort to stay warm. Too cold, too warm, too windy, too dark. Perhaps the greatest common denominator in the shooting sports, based on careful scientific data gathering since I took up this activity, is the proclivity of excuses heard every time a firearm is discharged towards a target. It is far rarer to hear why someone did something well than to hear a reason why a shot did not land as intended. It is even a much rarer occurrence to hear someone exclaim, “Expletive, I messed up another one”. The reason, I believe, is that there are just too many things that can go wrong to negatively impact a shot other than shooter error. Too old, too young, too much lasagna last night, not enough to eat this morning. I find that ammunition inaccuracies are frequently at the heart of the problem. Anyone who has shot for a long time will tell you that there just isn’t anything produced any longer to match up with the projectiles made 30-40 years ago. When an opportunity arose two years ago to purchase some “good stuff” made in 1980, I grabbed as much as I could and now dole it out sparingly like individual pieces of life-sustaining miracles. Never mind that the bullet heads have no lube and the brass is all corroded. Nothing a Brillo pad can’t mend and Pep Boys has more options for lubrication than anyone would believe. But what will I do when it is all gone?

During the course of any match, this weekend was no exception, there are countless ammo problems. I heard from a friend who knows somebody in Europe that Machine number 4 hasn’t been adequately maintained in years and is now producing .22 rounds that routinely shoot nines at 6:00, 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00. Things haven’t been this bad since Bill Haley and the Comets in 1954. For example, I learned just this day that competitors – were testing ammo during the match, didn’t have time to test, cleaned their barrels and had no lube left in them, didn’t clean their barrels and had too much of the wrong lube in them, had special ammo for 50 yards and special ammo for 100 yards, had ammo that wouldn’t detonate, and had ammo that detonated almost spontaneously without even touching the trigger. Given the amount of things that can and always do go wrong, it is amazing that we continue to show up and participate. This weekend we had 23 competitors from as far away as Chamblee, Alabama, Tennessee, New York and South Africa. A pretty good turnout given all the things that were about to go very bad for so many.

Too little practice, too much practice, iron sights, scopes, too much talking, too little talking. No matter what happens, there is a good reason, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Pretty obvious, I know, and a smallbore match (probably any shooting competition) is the best locale because there is an endless supply of reasons, excuses and explanations. I have had a personal goal since last year to shoot a clean 1600 with iron sights. This was my intention when I began the match and thought conditions were right to realize it. Shooting a 1600 takes a mixture of skillful execution and luck. I was hoping for both. Things were going according to plan for around the first 75 shots and then a low nine on the 50 Meter target. The dream was ended yet once again. Slam fist, expletive uttered, and another nine to immediately follow the first one. One good nine deserves another. Shooting a ten is really not that hard given a bit of training and some proper equipment. Shooting a ten for 160 consecutive shots is a difficult task. A proficient shooter is truly much better at hitting the ten-ring than anything else, but he always maintains his ability to shoot the occasional nine. For me, it isn’t ammo, light, noise, temperature, food or disease. It is simply the inability to achieve perfection, especially when you might really want it the most. It is the ability to execute well and to execute poorly on the same day that makes all of this so intriguing.

Wayne Forshee had the fewest excuses and the most tens in winning the first of our 2012 sanctioned matches shooting a 1597 out of a possible 1600. A point back was David Dye with a truly fine performance earning second place and top senior distinctions. He had many excuses all day (I shot next to him) including, “I can’t see anything” while making endless adjustments to his scope. Third place went to Ed Foley who needs to step up and enter as a Master class shooter.

First Master was Dennis Lindenbaum; First Expert was Tommy Steadman; and First SS/Marksman was JP van Rooyen. Thanks to everyone who scored, set up, tore down, and settled disputes and helped make this a great spring day in Georgia. Special thanks to Linda Steadman who ran the stat office unassisted and gave up an entire day so we could all enjoy ourselves.

Complete results can be downloaded here: 2012-ga-rbgc-april-1600 (PDF, 23KB)

About Dennis Lindenbaum

Dennis Lindenbaum began competitive shooting late in life starting with conventional pistol and then international 50 meter and air pistol events after a chance introduction to target firearms by a co-worker. The opportunity to lie on a mat while shooting, given his natural propensity for sloth, meant a switch to smallbore prone in 2008. A member of the Black Hawk Rifle Club and the 1600 club, he has been selected to the US Dewar Team. Dennis was a firing member of the 2010 National Championship Metallic Sight Prone Team. He assists with monthly smallbore match operations at River Bend Gun Club near his home in Marietta, Ga. Married, with two daughters, he earned a PhD from George Washington University and is a Clinical Neuropsychologist.
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2 Responses to GA: RBGC April 1600 Results

  1. Hap Rocketto says:

    Dennis,

    Your account reads like a review of the new Three Stooges movie rather than the first outdoor match of the season.

    On second thought, is there a difference?

    Perhaps not.

    Best,
    Hap

  2. Tommy Steadman says:

    Tennessee,

    Our first time smallbore prone shooters, Ed and Israel, indicated that they had a good time as they left the range on Saturday and that they were looking forward to returning again. However, if they read your match report, I fear they will realize that they didn’t bite enough of the apple and that perhaps it wasn’t as much fun at they first thought. If that happens, I will hold you personally accountable. As we have discussed often — words have meaning and actions have consequences.

    Mr. Excitement

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