submitted by Dennis Lindenbaum
RiverBend Gun Club hosted the Dixieland Smallbore Regional 3200 and 2011 Georgia State Championship with 31 competitors vying for glory, personal bests, championships, national records and awards. Anyone seeking a close fought and challenging competition was not disappointed and it took a weekend of focused effort to achieve winning results. The weather is always a concern in a smallbore match, but this weekend provided sunny and unseasonably warm temperatures and very mild wind conditions that were easy to read if you just paid attention. Shots out of the 10 ring were primarily a function of lapses in technique, endurance and conditioning, nervous tension or paying attention to the chicken manure fumes from the cornfield across the path. The leaderboard had to be watched very closely over the two days as no position remained constant.
Day one yielded the Metallic Sight Championship and when the afternoon sun set, Charles Kemp was on top with a 1597-123X followed closely by Wayne Forshee with 1597-94X. Mike Rossi was a point back in third at 1596-104X. Close contenders were Bill Hocker, Bart Parnall, and Don Greene just another point back. While everyone re-grouped, the Odd-Ball Team matches were held to conclude the first day’s activities. The high and low scorers from the Dewar Match were paired for the AnySight team competition. It would take a good score and Dave Rabin and Wyatt Savage posted a 400-34X to beat the formidable Odd-Ball team of Bill Hocker and Bill Hocker who was 2 X’s behind for second.
A sanctioned two-man team match was scheduled early in the morning of day two to take advantage of excellent shooting conditions and to make a run at a possible national record. The well-established partnership of Charlie Kemp and Tommy Steadman did not disappoint shooting an impressive 800-55X in the Metallic Sight Meter Match to smash the previous Senior record of 797-58X pending NRA certification. Congratulations are well deserved as a national record is certainly hard to achieve. Second place went to the team of Wayne Forshee and Vince Greiner with a 798-52X.
The individual AnySight matches followed next and would determine the eventual match victors. Once the Dewar and 100 Yard match results were tabulated, the outcome of the match could not be predicted as many of the first day leaders fell back and others advanced. Charlie Kemp was still in the lead, but only ahead of Bart Parnall by the slimmest of margins – just one X! After the Meter Match, Bart was ahead by – just one X! The championship was going to the last target of the last match of the day at 50 Yards. Bart carved out a 400 with 38 X’s and the ultimate victory margin was determined by X count alone after two days of competition and 320 record shots. The AnySight Championship went to Bart Parnall with a 1599-136X; second was Dennis Lindenbaum’s 1598-127X and third was Wyatt Savage with a 1597-125X.
When all was tabulated and the final results posted, Bart Parnall was declared the Dixieland Regional champion for 2011 with a grand aggregate of 3194-245X. Charlie Kemp was second with 3194-240X. With very steady shooting and iron sights each day, newcomer Don Greene in just his sixth smallbore match was third with 3192-187X. Dennis Lindenbaum tried his best to close the gap, but ran out of targets and came up short in fourth with a 3191-231X. Don Greene was not finished, however, and will have his name engraved on the 2011 Georgia State Championship plaque as high resident match winner in addition to earning a coveted Distinguished Leg, his first – a great achievement by this fine shooter. The Junior Georgia State championship was won in a repeat performance by Jimmy Holliday who is making this award his own.
Special category and class winners were also determined and acknowledged at the awards ceremony. High Senior went to perennial victor Charles Kemp. High Junior went to Wyatt Savage with a fine 3187-224X. Both of these individuals are strong contenders for similar achievements at Camp Perry again this year. Master Class winner was Dennis Lindenbaum, Expert Class winner was Wyatt Savage; Sharpshooter Class winner was Neil Bratcher; and Marksman Class winner was Cor Vanderbeek.
Special thanks and appreciation go to all those who made this fine event possible and run flawlessly. Tommy Steadman (Match Director); Linda Steadman for running the Statistical Office with assistance all weekend from Jan Kemp; David Dye for volunteering his weekend to handle scoring responsibilities; and Jim Hinkle (Chief Range Officer).
42nd Annual Dixieland Regional Championships and GA State Championship
NRA Outdoor Conventional Smallbore Rifle Prone
River Gun Club – Dawsonville, GA
May 21 – 22, 2011
Summary Results Bulletin
Competitors Entered – 32 Competitors Firing – 31
Winner: Bart Parnall, Columbia, SC 3194-245X
Second Charlie Kemp, Mobile, AL 3194-240X
Third Don Greene, Marietta,GA 3192-187X
1st MA Dennis Lindenbaum, Marietta, GA 3191-231X
1st EX Wyatt Savage, Ridgeville, SC(JR) 3187-224X
1st SS Neil Bratcher, Harrison, TN 3162-175X
1st MK Cor Vanderbeek, Hoschton, GA 3141-131X
Odd-Ball Team Match – 10 Teams Entered
Winner: Wyatt Savage and David Rabin 400-34X
NRA 2-Man Team, Metallic Sights, 50 Meters – 5 Teams Entered
Winner: Charlie Kemp and Tommy Steadman 800-55X
State Champion: Don Greene, Marietta, GA 3192-187X
Jr. State Champion: Jimmy Holliday, Cartersville, GA 3078-118X
