submitted by Dennis Lindenbaum
Maybe it was the anticipated heat. Perhaps it was the threat of humidity and thunderstorms. Or maybe it was just all the preparations to be ready for Father’s Day that kept the turnout for the RBGC Conventional AnySight 1600 to relatively small numbers on this weekend in June. The thirteen competitors present for the match, however, enjoyed a relaxed day, much camaraderie, and better than expected shooting conditions that yielded many fine scores and personal bests. The sky was overcast for the first three matches and this kept temperatures more tolerable than seen recently as we continue to suffer through an extended heat wave of August proportions for the last four weeks. The sun broke through just in time for the 100 yard stages later in the day. Winds were mild and typical for this time of year and, as is usual for the smallbore range at RBGC, you still must pay close attention to keep the X count up and avoid shots out of the 10 ring.
The combined Master/Expert class had eight competitors and it took a couple matches to shake things out amongst them. The first match at 50 yards yielded five 400 cleans and two others just a point back. Gintaras Valentavicius was the best with a 400-35X with Tommy Steadman and Mike Rossi just two X’s back. The psychological impact of switching to 50 meters held true yet again this day and only Wayne Forshee’s 400-30X was clean for the match. Dennis Lindenbaum was a point behind at 399-28X and Jim Hinkle yet another point back. At the half-way point in the 1600, Wayne Forshee and Dennis Lindenbaum were each down one with Wayne on top by 3 X’s. Jim Hinkle and Sharpshooter Ed Foley (back after a 25 year break) were a point behind the leaders and each just two down for the day. Others fared not so well at 50 meters, losing coveted ground on the leaderboard.
David Dye captured the Dewar Match to follow the lunch break with a 400-25X, the only clean, with Dennis Lindenbaum at 399-24X for second and Wayne Forshee with 398-26X for third. It would take the final match of the day at 100 yards to determine the winner of the grand aggregate. There were only two competitors with clean targets at 100 yards with Tommy Steadman turning in a superlative 400-37X (a personal best) to easily take that match followed by David Dye with 400-27X and Jim Hinkle’s 399-32X. The competitors dragged their target frames back to the shed, packed their gear, and waited for the final scores and awards.
Match winner for this day was Dennis Lindenbaum recording a 1597-113X. Second place went to Wayne Forshee with 1595-116X. Each of these competitors shot with metallic sights for the day. Third place and High Senior went to Jim Hinkle with 1595-111X even though he made more equipment changes and adjustments than a model during a Paris fashion show. Every five minutes there were shouts to David Dye, who shot next to him, to help him move or replace or adjust one thing or another. At one point, his buttplate assembly looked more like a satellite antenna than a piece of proper shooting equipment. Tommy Steadman and David Dye each finished the day another point back at 1594. Good scores throughout the class on this hot summer day.
The combined Sharpshooter/Marksman class consisted of five shooters and also had many fine performances. Cor Vanderbeek was just a few points from shooting a master score and recorded his first ever clean 100 yard target. Jimmy Holiday is enjoying his new Anschutz 1913 and his practice is paying off with steadily increasing scores. He shot a personal best 1580-81X for the day. The class winner was returning Ed Foley with 1589-105X who just beat out Cor Vanderbeek with the same score, but 14 X’s down. We had one new junior shooter, David Purcell, who joined the prone crowd for his first match shooting a personal best that will soon be broken.
Thanks to everyone who made the match possible, especially Linda and Tommy Steadman managing office and statistical operations. Our next smallbore prone event will be the Half-Perry on the third weekend in July. This will be a two-day match with a Metallic sight 1200 and an AnySight 1200 as well as two-man team matches early the second day. This will be a registered match so come and set a national record and get ready for Camp Perry the following weekend or see what a half version of the national matches is like.
Complete results can be downloaded here: 2011-ga-june-1600 (PDF, 25KB)
