submitted by Larry Richardson
2011 Margaret Murdock Match
The Kansas State Indoor Prone Championship AKA the “Margaret Murdock Match”, named in honor of the famous Kansan and Olympic Rifle champion, was held March 5-6 at the indoor rifle range at St. John’s Military School in Salina. This match continues to be a popular competition among serious smallbore rifle competitors, attracting shooters from throughout Kansas and Missouri.
As this match has evolved over the past several years, shooters who have experienced this unique style of smallbore prone shooting have come to look forward to it and develop their own winning strategies. As a result, the match, which consists of 120 shots fired at a range of 50 feet “gallery style” utilizes a variety of difficult targets that mimics, somewhat, the more common outdoor prone game. Without having to contend with the vagaries of the wind to complicate things, the competition is usually tight and this year was no different.
The final result came down to a matter of center shots or “X’s” to decide the winner. When the gun smoke had cleared, after the 28 shooters had fired their last shots that is just what it came down to. Senior shooter and match organizer, Larry Richardson of Derby led the pack with a personal best 1195 93X after the first two relays on Saturday, having dropped all five of his points in the last stage of the match. The “Big Gun” in the form of two-time champion Aaron Wiebe, of Whitewater, showed up on Sunday and, as usual, made things interesting. Wiebe trailed by a single point after the first two stages but showed his championship mettle by only dropping four in the final stage tying Richardson on points. His 108X performance gave him the tiebreaking edge he needed for his third straight victory.
In addition to the tight race for the top slot, the top two were trailed by a single point by William Wilkinson of Dixon, MO who shot a 1194-100X for third place and 1st Expert. In fact only 10 points separated the top nine shooters.
On the Junior side of the match, 15-year-old Jack Berhorst of Lawson, MO blew away his competition for the title of Match Winner with an 1191-89X. Second place and Kansas resident champion honors were won by SJMS cadet Stephen Ritter who fired 1148-55X. Third place Junior went to Tyler Bohl of Phillipsburg who fired 1144-54X.
The sponsoring Wichita B-B Gun Team wishes to thank all of the competitors for their support and MSGT Tony Blair of SJMS for allowing us the use of their fabulous range facility, the finest of its kind in the Midwest.
Match and Class Winners
Aaron Wiebe 1195-108X Match Winner & State Champion
Larry Richardson 1195-93X 1st Senior
William Wilkinson 1194-100X 1st Expert
Jack Berhorst 1191-89X Junior Champion
Steve McGee 1189-104X 1st Master
Kris Lowmiller 1189-88X 1st Sharpshooter
Rod Sothers 1188-95X 1st Marksman
Stephen Ritter 1148-55X State Junior Resident Champion
Tyler Bohl 1144-54X 1st Junior
Richard Wik 1143-45X 1st Intermediate Junior
Christina Morrissey 1115-33X 1st Sub-Junior
Complete results can be downloaded here: 2011-ks-maragret- murdock (Excel, 41KB)
