A little sadness, a little relief blend together as the last smallbore match of the long 2011 competition season concludes at River Bend Gun Club. Twelve conventional and metric matches plus four 200 yard rimfire matches starting last March provided plenty of opportunities to achieve personal goals and enjoy the satisfaction of shooting in arguably the best run smallbore program in the country. Competitors traveled from throughout the southeast to attend the matches this year. Tommy Steadman continued to provide excellent leadership in shaping the matches month after month together with a dedicated crew of volunteers who make the process run without any glitches.
This November day was cold, gray and breezy with only a hint of sun when the award ceremony commenced later in the afternoon. As a self-avowed wimp, I am not ashamed to admit I was just plain cold the entire day. Shooters huddled between stages and all were unanimous in shortening the breaks and getting back to shooting. There was a little less body surface area exposed in prone than when standing around talking. Twelve shooters fired for record this day as some of the absent regulars were already traveling across the river and through the woods to begin their Thanksgiving holiday. At stake were the final Anysight Metric 1200 honors as well as the 2011 Metric RBGC Championship. Entering the final match of the year, it was a virtual toss-up between Steve Hardin, Dennis Lindenbaum and Don Greene for the Metric Championship with Greene leading by only two points. All three were present to decide the outcome. Lindenbaum had already secured the Conventional Championship and Hardin had a lock on the 200 Yard Rimfire Championship.
As mentioned the day started cold, stayed that way and the wind conditions just steadily picked up. First up was the 50 Meter match on the tough international targets. With Howard Pitts and Dennis Lindenbaum firing 198’s on the first stage, the day looked like it might have promise for some high scores. Well, that would soon change. Pitts went on to win the 50 Meter match with a 392-21X followed by Dennis Lindenbaum (390-10X) and Steve Hardin (387-16X). Don Greene kept close with a 385-11X.
The Dewar match followed next and was again won by Howard Pitts with a 391-21X and he started to distance himself from the rest of the field. Very close behind was Dave Rabin who has made significant advances in his prone shooting the second half of the season turning in a fine 390-12X. Third position was taken by Lindenbaum with 388-14X. Hardin close with 386-15X. Greene fell back a few points mustering a 380-13X.
The final targets of the day would be the 100 Yard match. Steve Hardin had the most patience in the windy conditions and shot a winning 389-14X beating Pitts with a 386-12x for second place. Jim Holiday shot some small groups with his best effort of the year and took third place overall with a 383-8X; another shooter on the rise as he begins to develop his prone skills. Lindenbaum and Greene were further back.
Leading from start to finish, Howard Pitts proved to be the class of the field and won the match. Steve Hardin surged on the final stages to take second overall followed by Dennis Lindenbaum for third. The complete score roster follows:
Howard Pitts 1169-54X S Mark Skutle 1142-31X S
Steve Hardin 1162-45X S Don Greene 1141-34X I
Dennis Lindenbaum 1159-35X I G Valentavicius 1129-27X I
Dave Rabin 1148-31X S Jimmy Holiday 1117-17X I
Jim Holiday 1145-33X I Keith Jarriel 1112-23X S
Mike Upchurch 1142-34X S Bruce Kane DNF
[S=Scope I=Irons]
The final complex tabulations for the 2011 Metric Championship will be calculated by the accounting firm of Steadman, Murphy and Maggie in the days ahead and will be posted soon by Smallbore Match Director Tommy Steadman. It was just too close to call at this writing and there may be recounts to consider.
Linda Steadman, David Dye, Tom Suswal and Jim Hinkle were all missed at the match. Thanks to everyone for performing range and match responsibilities and making this yet another successful and safe day at the range. Look for news of the 2012 Smallbore competition season in the coming weeks. Also, there is talk of having some informal short “practice” matches over the winter months. If anyone is interested or has suggestions, please let Tommy Steadman or Dennis Lindenbaum know. Looking forward to the first shots of 2012!
The River Bend matches have to be some of the best run matches in the South.