Author Archives: Hap Rocketto

About Hap Rocketto

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.

JORC Prone Championship-Day Two

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

JORC Prone Championship-Day Two The preliminary matches of the 2016 Junior Olympic Rifle Championship 50 meter prone has ended for the six New England riflemen competing. Tobin Sanctuary shot with amazing consistency over two days, a 614.6 and a 614.8, … Continue reading →

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Men’s JORC Smallbore Day One Recap

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

Men’s JORC Smallbore Day One Recap New Hampshire’s Tobin Sanctuary sits at tenth over all after the first day of prone competition with a 614.6. His closest New England competition is Connecticut’s J3 Kyle Kutz at 610.7. Jared Desrosiers stands … Continue reading →

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JORC, Men’s Air Rifle

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

The first phase of the Junior Olympic Rifle Championships are in the books with the conclusion of the Men’s Air Rifle Championship (JORC) on April 10th. Today’s results were much like the Boston Red Sox’s closing game in the Toronto … Continue reading →

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JORC Underway

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

  Better that two dozen of New England’s finest junior shooters are ether on their way, have arrived, or packing to head west to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the 2016 Junior Olympic Rifle Championships (JORC). The … Continue reading →

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Great Teachers

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto I may be Distinguished with both the service and smallbore rifle but I cannot say that I was a distinguished scholar in high school. Both of my high performing daughters finished 12th grade in the top percent … Continue reading →

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RI: 2016 Melcher Trophy Match Results

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

2016 Melcher Trophy Match The Rhode Island Revolver and Rifle Association 3P State Championship The Smithfield Sportsman’s Club hosted the NRA sanctioned registered tournament on March 19. It was a tri-state affair with shooters from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island … Continue reading →

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Western Wildcats-Metallic Sight Aggregate

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

Western Wildcats-Metallic Sight Aggregate Author’s Note: My thanks to Kevin Nevius and Rick Curtis for providing the match bulletins. I also apologize for the brief report which focuses on the match winners. At the moment time is scarce so I … Continue reading →

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Western Wildcats-Day Two and Metallic Aggregate

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

Western Wildcats-Day Two and Metallic Aggregate Author’s Note: My thanks to Kevin Nevius and Rick Curtis for providing the match bulletins. I also apologize for the brief report which focuses on the match winners. At the moment time is scarce … Continue reading →

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2016 NRA National Smallbore Metric Prone Championship Results

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

The 2016 NRA National Smallbore Metric Prone Championship, hosted by the Desert Sharpshooters, began today under sunny skies and tough switching conditions at the Ben Avery Range, Phoenix, Arizona. Reya Kempley, no stranger to the winner’s circle, opened the match … Continue reading →

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Native New England Collegiate Shooters Earn 2016 Honors

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

  With the end of the NCAA and NRA Collegiate season comes the recognition of outstanding performances on the range and in the classroom. NRA All American honors were bestowed on The Ohio State’s senior Remington Lyman who was named … Continue reading →

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Preliminary NRA National Smallbore Metric Prone Championship Results

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

Preliminary NRA National Smallbore Metric Prone Championship Results NOTE: This report is based upon preliminary results and may change. The 2016 NRA National Smallbore Metric Prone Championship, hosted by the Desert Sharpshooters, began today under sunny skies and tough switching … Continue reading →

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The Cemetery Gun

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto I was doing a little on line research for a prominent departed military shooter’s biography and typed “Arlington” into my search engine with the intent of checking what might be said about him on the Arlington National … Continue reading →

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Hudson New Hampshire’s junior smallbore stand out

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

Hudson New Hampshire’s junior smallbore stand out Bailey Urbach has added another accomplishment to her already impressive resume. Urbach, now a freshman shooting for seventh ranked The Ohio State University Rifle Team, was recently presented with the 2015 Brownell/National Rifle … Continue reading →

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Now There is Being Lucky and There is Being Lucky

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto One of the definitions of things that happen to us which are out of our control is luck. Luck can be good and luck can be bad. There are some people for whom it might be said … Continue reading →

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CT: King Phillip Challenge Results

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

The 1st annual King Phillip Challenge was held on January 2st at Metacon Gun Club in Simsbury, CT and was a great start to a new shooting tradition. It  is a tall order to continue on with the Middlebury tradition of shooting in … Continue reading →

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Shooters and the Search for the Philosopher’s Stone

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto When I was a working man I earned my daily bread, and my ammunition money, as a high school science teacher. One thing that seemed to be a reoccurring theme, when teaching general science to ninth graders, … Continue reading →

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CT: Swanson Memorial Rifle Match Results

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Hap Rocketto

The 2015 David L. Swanson Memorial Rifle Match The late David L. Swanson, an active member of the Connecticut junior shooting community, had his shooting career tragically cut short when he passed away as a teenager. The Swanson family, wishing … Continue reading →

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A Rose by any Other Name….

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto For War of the Roses aficionados, and particularly the Richard III Society, 2015 was a banner year, no longer a winter of their discontent it was made glorious summer by the sun of science. Six hundred years … Continue reading →

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New Bristol Schedule Prone a 6400

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Hap Rocketto

This from SSUSA  http://www.ssusa.org/articles/2015/11/3/2016-national-smallbore-rifle-championships-schedule-released/ posted November 3. As this is a Roberts Team selection year I encourage all to put feelings aside and attend the tryouts. Note the four days of conventional prone, Metric Prone was taken out of the program and … Continue reading →

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Gunpowder or Gruyère, It is all the same…

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto Late one recent autumn afternoon the family was gathered to quietly celebrate the 85th birthday of our patriarch, Uncle Frank, when an explosion startled us, rattled the windows, knocked a few pictures askew, and otherwise disturbed the … Continue reading →

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The 2015 National Smallbore Rifle Championships – Metric 3P

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Hap Rocketto

The 2015 National Smallbore Rifle Championships by Hap Rocketto Metric Three Position Ginny Thrasher edged out Bill Beard by a point, 395-16X to 394-24X to the win the metallic sight prone match, the first of the 2015 Metric Championship, and … Continue reading →

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