GA: RBGC October 1600 Results

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Dennis Lindenbaum

Old, new, borrowed and blue. No, not a wedding report. Just a description of the October Smallbore Anysight Conventional 1600 held this month at River Bend Gun Club. This was the 11th leg of the 2011 Smallbore Prone season including single and two-day matches conducted throughout the year with just one more match next month to cap the series. Unlike the fall matches last year, we have been fortunate to have fine weather all this season with warming temperatures and bright, blue skies. The azure backdrop provided a beautiful contrast for the red, yellow, and orange colors of the changing leaves as we enter the peak period of this annual event. The morning started off on a blue note for an altogether different reason as we just learned of the untimely passing of our friend and fellow competitor Bart Parnall after fighting a long-term and ultimately fatal illness. We miss him.

New shooters made their inaugural appearance at River Bend. These students from North Georgia College had a great day and made a major impact on the match outcome. An “old” shooter also made his presence known and will no longer be given any latitude for recovering from major surgery or given deference for his age. He is just too good. The day was windy and the squirrely conditions on MP 2 were sometimes too tricky to measure until the shot was out of the barrel resulting in wide misses. Business as usual at RBGC. The scope shooters proved to have a slightly better read on things than those with irons mounted, but it was close all day.

The match consists of 160 total shots: 40 shots in each of four sub-matches that include the 50 Yard, 50 Meter, Dewar and 100 Yard segments. The 50 Yard match saw quite a few cleans and near-cleans with Jim Hinkle out X-ing the others with a 400-35X to win over Matthew Parsons from N. Georgia College with 400-32X. First Master was Dennis Lindenbaum (400-29X) and First SS/MK was Ed Foley 400-32X). When the sun rose and the winds picked up, the scores started to diminish by the time the 50 Meter match began. Matthew Parsons, off to a great start this day, read the conditions best and managed the only clean with a 400-34X. Second place went to David Dye shooting a 399-26X. First Master was Dennis Lindenbaum (399-25X) and first SS/MK was Ed Foley (397-27X) with a repeat of their placing in the first match of the day.

The Dewar match revealed a very pleasant surprise as Dave Rabin shot a fast and fantastic 399-19X for the winning score on a tie-breaker just edging Don Greene with the same result. First Master was Jim Hinkle (398-31X) and first SS/MK was Mike Upchurch also shooting well to score a 398-24X. Dennis Lindenbaum shot himself out of contention by scoring a 9 on each of the four 50 yard centers, an experience he would care to never repeat. With the overall scores quite close, the day finished with the 100 Yard match. The new guy, Matthew Parsons, hung tight scoring a 399-25X to edge out the old guy, Jim Hinkle, who was just a single X back with 399-24X. First Master was Dennis Lindenbaum (399-23X) and First SS/MK was Ed Foley again (395-19X).

The awards ceremony saw a happy Matthew Parsons take first place honors with a winning 1597-115X. The Master Jim Hinkle was close in second place with a 1595-119X. First Master was Don Greene (1595-88X), first Expert was Mark Skutle (1583-91X), and first SS/MK was Ed Foley (1589- 103X). High Junior was Christopher Tiller and High Senior was Bruce Kane. Match Director Tommy Steadman returned some of the medals he borrowed from last month’s match to give out to their rightful owners including the engraved plaque that Don Greene earned for the state metric championship.

Thanks to Tommy for running the match so adeptly with Linda Steadman running the stat office; Tom Suswal came just to score and chat; Dave Rabin set up the range and placed the wind flags in almost straight lines; and Jim Hinkle called the line and settled all disputes as CRO. Our next match in November will be a Metric Anysight 1600 and that’s it for 2011. You won’t want to miss this opportunity before the winter hiatus starts.

Complete match results can be downloaded here: 2011-ga-rbgc-oct-1600 (PDF, 25KB)

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VA: Manassas Regional Results

Posted on October 19, 2011 by H

[EDITOR’S NOTE] This writeup from Paul Nordquist adds some additional information about the Manassas regional originally reported by Bill Neff here on September 7th.

Smallbore Prone Regional-Manassas, VA-Sept 3-4, 2011
submitted by Paul Nordquist

A wise observer of the entry list for the Labor Day Smallbore Prone Regional at the Fairfax Rod & Gun Club would probably have predicted a close contest between former national champions Bill Neff (from Parsippany, NJ) and Dave Cramer (from Aliquippa, PA). And that is just the way it worked out.

Bill got off to a good start on iron-sight day losing his only points in the meter match while Dave lost a pair in the meter and, unusually, one in the 50 yard match. Bill Neff’s 1598-112X was high in the field on iron sight day with Dave Cramer right behind with 1597-130X.

On any-sight day Cramer held very tightly and stayed clean on points with a very healthy X-count in each match. His total for the day was a superb 1600-152X—good for a new Senior National Record; his 400-39X in the 100 yard match was also a new Senior National Record. Dave Cramer’s Grand Aggregate score, 3197-282X held up to top Bill Neff’s 3196-243X.

In third place in the Grand Aggregate was Chris Beal from Lewis Center, OH, with a solid 3189-228X. His father, Alan Beal, was a point behind him at 3188-217X and was high in the Expert Class.

High Master was Ben Feck, Sykesville, MD, with 3086-86X.

Robinson High School (in Fairfax, VA) rifle team member Billy Di Silvio was high Sharpshooter with a 3187-210X. With a Master class score like that it’s likely that Billy’s days in the Sharpshooter class are numbered.

It was gratifying to see the Marksman class as the largest entry class in the match. Most of them came from the Robinson High School team, the Arlington Rifle Club junior team (from suburban Baltimore, MD) and from the King George (VA) 4-H Rifle Club; their presence was welcome indeed. High in the Marksman Class was Billy Marciniak from Sewaren, NJ with a very nice 3175-209X.

Dave Cramer remains one of the most versatile riflemen in American shooting; from Intercollegiate All-American (at Indiana University of Pennsylvania) to winning the National Indoor Championship (twice) and the National Trophy Individual Championship in high power at Camp Perry to multiple Dewar Team memberships and the winning of the Gates, Tomsen, Plimpton, Sam Bond and Black Hawk smallbore trophies at Perry he has compiled a record of excellence rarely approached in our sport. His Smallbore Prone Regional win is just the latest in an illustrious series of accomplishments.

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Pan Am Games Results

Posted on October 19, 2011 by H

If you’re looking for results from the Pan Am games they can be found here.  Below is the schedule for the shooting sports.

The prone event is currently underway and the Men’s Prone Finals are scheduled to begin at 1pm EST.

 

 

 

XVI Pan American Games · Guadalajara, MEX
14.10-23.10.2011

FRIDAY 14.10 18:00 Opening Ceremony
SATURDAY 15.10 09:00 Official Training
SUNDAY 16.10 09:00-10:45 10m Air Pistol Men
11:45-13:00 10m Air Pistol Women
14:00 Finals 10m Air Pistol Men
15:00 Finals 10m Air Pistol Women
MONDAY 17.10 09:00-10:45 10m Air Rifle Men
11:30-12:45 10m Air Rifle Women
14:00 Finals 10m Air Rifle Men
15:00 Finals 10m Air Rifle Women
TUESDAY 18.10 09:00 Trap Women
09:00 Trap Men Day 1
09:00-11:00 50m Pistol Men
13:00 Finals 50m Pistol Men
14:30 Finals Trap Women
WEDNESDAY 19.10 09:00 Trap Men Day 2
09:00 25m Pistol Women Precision Stage
09:00-10:15 50m Rifle Prone Men
11:15 25m Pistol Women Rapid Fire Stage
12:00 Finals 50m Rifle Prone Men
14:00 Finals Trap Men
15:00 Finals 25m Pistol Women
THURSDAY 20.10 09:00 Double Trap Men
14:00 Finals Double Trap Men
FRIDAY 21.10 09:00 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Stage 1
09:00 Skeet Women
09:00 Skeet Men Day 1
09:00-12:20 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men
14:00 Finals Skeet Women
15:00 Finals 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men
SATURDAY 22.10 09:00 Skeet Men Day 2
09:00 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Stage 2
09:00-11:15 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women
13:00 Finals 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women
14:00 Finals 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men
15:00 Finals Skeet Men
SUNDAY 23.10 Departure of Delegations
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USA Rifle Team Takes on the World

Posted on October 17, 2011 by H

USA Rifle Team Takes on the World
from Mike Krei at the NRA

Working very hard since the last World Long Range Rifle Championship in 2007, the USA has put together a tremendously talented Long Range Rifle Team to send to Brisbane, Australia this month to compete with other countries for World Championship honors. Held every four years, these competitions bring out the best of the world’s long range riflemen and women, and the bragging rights are huge.

International Long Range shooting is not new for the NRA; the World Long Range Championships are an outgrowth of the United States Palma Matches originally fired at the Creedmoor New York Range in 1876. The Palma Team Match is still the center piece for the World Long Range Rifle Championships.

Firing will take place over 15 days starting off with National Rifle Association of Australia’s President’s Match fired from 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1000 yards over two days. Competitions will continue over the long range course culminating with two days of firing of the Palma Match shot at distances of 800, 900, and 1000 yards. Belmont Shooting Complex, Queensland will host the 2011 World Long Range Championships starting October 8, 2011 and finishing October 22, 2011.

Let me introduce your National Rifle Association of America 2011 USA Long Range National Rifle Team:

Captain – Dennis Flaharty

Vice Captain/Adjutant – Dan Simpson

Vice Captain – Dr. Tom Whitaker

Head Coach – Emil Praslick III

Armorer – Robert Gamboa

Team Members – Bob Mead • Bryan Litz • David Littlefield • Gary Rasmussen • John Whidden • Justin Skaret • Kelly Bachand • Kent Reeve • Lane Buxton • Nancy Tompkins • Noma Mayo • Norm Anderson • Robert Gustin • Sherri Gallagher • Steve Cunico • Steve Hardin • Trevor Hengehold • Trevor Massey • Trudie Fay • Ty Cooper • Wayne Forshee

Middleton Tompkins will travel to Australia as National Rifle Association of America Advisor.

I think I can speak for all U.S.A NRA members in wishing our 2011 National Rifle Team safe journeys and good weather as they take their place on the World Stage to uphold the history and winning ways of American shooters for the past 135 years. Good luck to all.

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CT: Great Pumpkin Match Results

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Digby Hand

by Digby Hand

The conditions on the first day of the 2011 Great Pumpkin Metric Prone Regional at Bell City Rifle Club in Southington, Connecticut was, as New Englanders are prone to say, rough as a cob. Swirling winds and constantly changing light were made all that more difficult to deal with because the clear dry air eliminated any mirage.

In keeping with tradition the tournament began with the 100 yard match here Len Remaly took the early lead with a 379-11X. Jeff Doerschler took the Dewar Match with 381-11X and followed up by winning the 50 meter match with a 384-12X. Doerschler’s two wins gave him a three point margin of victory over Remaly and the iron sight aggregate title. Junior Tony Cuozzo compiled an 1123-30 for third.

Conditions were marginally better on any sight day as Chet Ruscio recovered from a difficult day with irons by opening up the any sight matches with a strong 383-11X at 100 yards. Left hander Patti Clark posted a 387-10X to win the Dewar. Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club rifleman Joe Smith, who had been shooting well all day, won the 50 yard match with a score of 391-19X. His consistent performance for three matches added up to an 1157-42X to earn him the any sight title.

Jeff Doerschler won the gold medal and Perry waiver with a two day score of 2278-61X. Remaly’s efforts brought him the silver medal on the back of his 2262-69Xs. Ruscio, who climbed a steep hill after placing behind eight shooters the day before, ended up in third place with a 2265-65X.

Dawn Jensen, recently returned to shooting after a 15 year break, was the high woman with a 2234-63X. Hap Rocketto’s 2241-48X topped all of the graybeards for the senior crown while Tony Cuozzo bested all of the juniors with a 2246-55X. And, to prove that sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, Steve Rocketto won the 50-50 Raffle which helps raise funds to support the Stratford PAL Junior Rifle Club.

Tony Panko and Anthony Cuozzo did an excellent job scoring which was reflected in the fact that they received only two challenges. Match Director Nicole Panko was ably assisted by Al Wilcoxson who handled target collection.

Complete results can be downloaded here: 2011-ct-pumpkin (PDF, 106KB)

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IN MEMORIAM: Bart Parnall

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Hap Rocketto

IN MEMORIAM: Bart Parnall

It is with great sadness that Pronematch.com has learned that fellow rifleman Bart Parnall left the range on October 15, 2011. Bart succumbed to Primary Pulmonary Hypertension while waiting for a heart/lung transplant.

Most of us last saw Bart at Camp Perry where, in spite of being hooked up to an oxygen tank, he shot a 2392-173X during the Prone Metallic Sight Championship to earn a place on the 2011 US Dewar Team. Unfortunately his conditioned worsened and he had to leave Perry prior to the firing of the Dewar to seek medical treatment.

Bart started shooting at nine years of age in his native Maine and won the Maine State Junior Championship three years in a row. He first came to national prominence on the shooting scene when, in 1981, when he won the Joseph P. Glaab Memorial Trophy emblematic of the NRA National Sub Junior Prone Championship. He competed at the college level as a member of the Murray State University Rifle Team and then took a hiatus. After graduation from Murray he served as an officer in the US Army where he completed the rigorous training program to earn the coveted Ranger Tab.

He returned to the game in 2007 with the goal of making the 2012 US Olympic Shooting Team in the prone event. It would be hard to conceive of Bart being as disabled for during his last few months of competition he won the Black Hawk Rifle Championship with a score of 3199-251X. He followed that up by taking the Dixieland Smallbore Regional 3200 and 2011 Georgia State Championship. Just prior to Perry he shot the Mid-Atlantic Prone Championship, winning it with a near perfect score of 6399-518X. He shot two iron sight 1600s, for a rare metallic sight 3200, and one any sight 1600 in the process.

While Bart’s professional life centered about his work as the principal consultant, for Pi Marketing Company of Charleston, SC, he was a talented artist. Perhaps that was a genetic gift, as he was the son of award winning designer, illustrator, and author Peter Parnall, and Virginia Buck, a children’s book author. His wife, Christy, also survives him.

Bart faced his disease, a no win situation, with great fortitude, refusing to compromise his life style or dreams to its debilitating effects. Those of us who spent any time with Bart witnessed his good humor, positive attitude, and, as Ernest Hemingway famously defined courage, his grace under pressure.

We are diminished.

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Pan American Games Preview

Posted on October 14, 2011 by H

from USA Shooting. Follow the latest PanAm coverage on their site here.

Live streaming of the Pan American Games can be found at http://en.terra.com/ and http://es.pn/mW8QeW. For results and news, please visit USA Shooting’s website.

The USA Shooting Team is on the ground and gearing up for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. The event officially begins with the Opening Ceremony on Oct. 14. The first record shots will be fired on Oct. 16 with competition in Men’s and Women’s 10m Air Pistol. The USA’s Will Brown (Twins Falls, Idaho) and Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.) will represent the USA in Men’s 10m Air Pistol. Szarenski had a stellar year in 2010, making three appearances in ISSF World Cup finals during 2010. Young Brown is breaking onto the international scene with his second ISSF World Cup season and has been training hard at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. With one quota already in the USA’s pocket, the pistol athletes are looking to secure a second quota for London 2012. In Women’s 10m Air Pistol, Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) and Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) are aiming for the first women’s pistol quota of this quad. The lone quota available will be awarded for the gold medalist only.

Continuing with the air shooting events, Men’s and Women’s 10m Air Rifle will be contested on Oct. 17. Matt Rawlings (Wharton, Texas) and Jonathan Hall (Carrollton, Ga.) are set to compete for the Americans. Rawlings is coming off a national championship victory in June—he’s proved himself as the best in the USA, he’s looking to conquer the continent. Meghann K. Morrill (Boerne, Texas) and Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) are the female counterparts that will battle with the rest of North and South America for the second Women’s 10m Air Rifle quota.

U.S. Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.) has been consistently marking top scores in Men’s 50m Free Pistol. Mowrer set a new personal best at the 2011 USA Shooting National Championships and is aiming for the second quota for Team USA on Oct. 18. Teammate Szarenski will be competing in his second event and was also a three-time ISSF World Cup medalist in 2010 and the ISSF World Cup Final Champion. The Women’s Trap final will also take place on Oct. 18. Junior shooters (and current members of the USA Shooting National Team) Miranda Wilder (Diana, Texas) and Kayle Browning (Wooster, Ark.) are the Americans competing. The USA already has its only-allotted quota in Women’s Trap, so these shooters will gain valuable international experience.

The following day, all eyes will be on Men’s Trap athletes Jake Turner (Richland, Wash.) and Matt Gossett (Springville, Ala.). This is the last opportunity for the American team to earn its quota position for London 2012. Turner recently finished the first leg of U.S. Olympic Trials as the leader by one target. He didn’t compete internationally in 2011, but is hungry for that solo quota. Teammate Gossett has youth on his side as he is hailed for his tenacity and focus. Gossett finished fourth at the 2010 World Championship and is the reigning Men’s National Champion. Shortly after the Men’s Trap final, Women’s 25m Pistol athletes Uptagrafft and Meyer will double-up on their appearances and once again attempt to earn a quota for the USA. Also, American Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wisc.) and teammate Jason Parker (Columbus, Ga.) are looking for the second Men’s 50m Rifle Prone quota.

Men’s Double Trap athletes Jeffrey Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas) will take the stage on Oct. 20. The Americans have already secured a quota for London 2012 and no Men’s Double Trap quotas will be awarded at the Pan American Games. Eller, the current seventh ranked Double Trap shooter in the world right now, is set to compete after two recent international bronze medals and a solid lead in the first leg of U.S. Olympic Trials.

The Women’s Skeet final will take place on Oct. 21, where the USA’s highly-decorated Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif., pictured above) will attempt to round out her robust resume. Rhode is has yet to win a Pan American title in Women’s Skeet. Rhode won the USA’s only quota and is already nominated to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. Also aiming for finals that same day is Parker (in his second event) and Matt Wallace (Fairbanks, Alaska). They are leading the charge in Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position. The USA is hoping to secure one additional quota to take a total of two shooters to the London Olympic Games.

The shooting sports portion of the Pan American Games concludes on Oct. 22 with finals in Men’s Skeet, Women’s 50m Rifle Three Position and Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol. Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) the 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist in Men’s Skeet will be competing alongside Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.) for Pan American glory. In Women’s 50m Rifle Three Position, Sarah Beard (Danville, Ind.) of Texas Christian University is looking to secure an additional quota for the American team. Keith Sanderson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Emil Milev (Temple Terrace, Fla.) are the final Americans competing in Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol.

Live streaming of the Pan American Games can be found at http://en.terra.com/ and http://es.pn/mW8QeW. For results and news, please visit USA Shooting’s website.

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2011 Coaches College and Conference

Posted on October 12, 2011 by H

from USA Shooting

USA Shooting is hosting the 2011 Coaches College and Conference at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs November 12-20. USAS hosts this coaches college and conference every two years.

The 2011 Coaches College and Conference will provide all those who complete the Level 1 Coach Certification Course to obtain all requirements for their Level 2 certification in the same week!! We will follow the Level 1 Coach Certification Course with the ASEP course on the 17th of November and a First Aid Course on the 18th; these are two requirements for your Level 2 certification.

For those of you who have your Level 2 certification, this is an opportunity to obtain your Level 3 certification just prior to the Coach Conference. Level 3 certification provides you with additional knowledge and skill to coach Olympic level athletes and visibility with the National Coaches. Level 3 Coaches are an elite group. It’s from this elite group that our Assistant National Coaches are selected from and have the opportunity to travel with the US Team to international competitions.

For those of you who would like to become Coach Certification Instructors (National Coach Development Staff – NCDS), Marcus Raab wants to hear from you (703-267-1589 or mraab@nrahq.org). We need more Coach Certification Instructors that are available to respond to requests for the Level 1 and Level 3 coach certification courses around the country. The NCDS School is by invitation only and you must contact Marcus Raab to be approved to attend the NCDS School.

Don’t procrastinate, sign up today. There are limited seats and dorm rooms available at the Olympic Training Center.

http://www.usashooting.org/news/2011/8/24/73-2011-coach-college-and-conference-program-released

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A Good Habit is not just a Nun’s Garment

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto

During one memorable epoch in my antediluvian past I sat behind Cathy Robert, “Roc” following immediately after “Rob” in the alphabet, in Russell Harris’ College Preparatory English III class. I occupied the last desk in the long row of, even then ancient, bolted down, dark wood, inkwell equipped pews in the cathedral of learning that passed for the New London High School’s Chapman Building. I usually passed the hour trying to evade Mr. Harris’ attention. I weaved, bobbed, ducked, and swayed behind Cathy in an attempt to duplicate each of her movements so as not be seen by the teacher. It was no mean task as she was, and still is, a graceful ballet dancer, I was and am anything but. Cathy was also one-third my size. Perhaps had I worked harder on the subject at hand and less at trying to hide behind Cathy I might have gotten a grade higher than D in English. A particular irony when one considers that I spend a good deal of my time nowadays casting sentences as a wordsmith. Cathy eventually ended up with a doctorate in English Literature, teaching at one of the swanky small private colleges just off of the Philadelphia Main Line. I, on the hand, earned advanced degrees in Triggernometry.

Mr. Harris’ curriculum was that of American Literature and he was particularly enamored of the Transcendentalist School, a literary and philosophical movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to 1860. Some of its more famous adherents were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau- Mr. Harris favorite, and Bronson Alcott. They postulated that individual intuition is the highest source of knowledge, which led them to an optimistic emphasis on individualism and self-reliance. They reflected, or perhaps created, the image of the flinty New Englander who stood on his own and relied on himself. I particularly am fond of two of Emerson’s essays, “Gifts” and “Self Reliance.” In the former he states that the best gifts are not bought, but from the heart. In the latter, the seed for all of today’s self help books, he writes, and this may be oversimplification, that each of us must trust ourselves and not rely on others.

In “Self Reliance” he also wrote that, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a simple mind…” I have to disagree with the great man on this thought and therein lies the core of this little essay. During the past Connecticut Big Bore Rifle League season Shawn Carpenter and I have been sharing my Remington Model 700 caliber 222 rifle. I have been loading the ammo and then coaching Shawn, who, taking advantage of my good nature, was beating me like a piñata at a kindergarten kid’s birthday party.

I was unable to make a match as it conflicted with a major cross-country meet in which my daughter Leah was participating. Having made arrangements to deliver the rifle and ammunition to Shawn I grabbed everything and, much to my surprise, found that all of the ammo boxes were filled with expended brass. I dashed down stairs; pulled the cover from the reloading gear and feverishly started hand rolling 50 rounds. The humidity was making the powder stick in the drop tube and I was not really attending to the job at hand. Ham fisted in my impatience I crushed more than a few primers in the indecently short amount of time I took to complete this most delicate of tasks.

When I turned the stuff over to Shawn I mentioned the problem with the powder and facetiously suggested he take some 308 with him, just in case he had to use my brother Steve’s rifle. I promptly forgot about things and went about my business. A few days later an email arrived and Shawn told me that he had an interesting adventure. One round failed to fire and he extracted it and loaded another, not noticing that the bullet from the first round had seated itself in the bore. The next round also failed to go off and was extracted. It was then that he saw the obstruction. The bullet was pushed out with a cleaning rod and he continued. He didn’t say if he was at all nervous but he did finish with a score of 396X400, so I guess he wasn’t.

There was one round of unfired ammo and the two bad rounds, both with expended primers, left for me to conduct an investigation. Pulling the bullet on the last cartridge revealed that it had powder in it and was, in all respects, normal. I suspect that I had not followed my regular routine in my rush and simply missed filling the two cases with powder. Luck was with us as Shawn had pulled those two out in order and avoided disaster. Usually very ordered and consistent in following a tried and true routine in reloading I had failed to do so this time and dodged, so to speak, a bullet.

What Emerson was unaware of when he wrote his line on consistency is that there is no foolish consistency in the simple chore of reloading if one wants to avoid the twin hobgoblins of inaccuracy and danger.

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PA: 2012 Palmyra Invitational Dates

Posted on October 11, 2011 by H

The dates for the 2012 Annual Palmyra Invitational will be January 14-16, 21-22, 28-29. More information and a match program can be downloaded at  http://www.palmyrasportsmens.com/airrifle.asp

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Pan American Games Preview

Posted on October 6, 2011 by H

from USA Shooting 

The USA Shooting Team is gearing up for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, from Oct. 14-23. The Pan Am Games is the last opportunity the Team has to win Olympic participation quotas for London 2012. The USA Shooting Team will work to obtain a Men’s Trap, Women’s 10m Air Pistol and Women’s 25m Sport Pistol quota. The Team also has an opportunity to win an additional quota in Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position, Men’s 50m Free Pistol, Men’s 10m Air Rifle and Men’s 10m Air Pistol. Follow your team on Facebook and Twitter as they face the top talent in the Americas. Check www.usashooting.org for updates on each event.

Pistol Team: Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.), Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.), Will Brown (Twins Falls, Idaho), Emil Milev (Tampa, Fla.), Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) and Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.).

Rifle Team: Matt Rawlings (Wharton, Texas), Jonathan Hall (Carrollton, Ga.), Jason Parker (Columbus, Ga.), Matt Wallace (Fairbanks, Alaska), Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wisc.), Meghann K. Morrill (Boerne, Texas), Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) and Sarah Beard (Danville, Ind.).

Shotgun Team: Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.), Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.), Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.), Matt Gossett (Springville, Ala.), Jake Turner (Richland, Wash.), Kayle Browning (Wooster, Ark.), Miranda Wilder (Diana, Texas), Jeffrey Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas).


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U.S. Team to Compete for Palma Trophy

Posted on October 6, 2011 by H

from the NRA

U.S. Team to Compete for Palma Trophy in World Long Range Rifle Championships

The NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division is pleased to announce that the 2011 United States Team has arrived in Brisbane, Australia to compete in the World Long Range Rifle Championships for the prestigious Palma Trophy. The competition will take place at the Belmont Shooting Complex from October 8-22, 2011.

First held in 1876, International Palma Matches take place every three to four years. The United States has won 13 of the 28 Palma Matches, an exacting and demanding long range high power rifle competition where wind conditions are especially critical.

“International Long Range competition is not new for the NRA,” said Mike Krei, Director of NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division. “The World Long Range Rifle Championships are an outgrowth of the original United States Palma Matches fired at the Creedmoor Range in New York beginning in 1876.”

The course of fire is comprised of three slow fire stages fired from the prone position. The first stage is 15 shots at 800 yards, the second stage is 15 shots at 900 yards, and the third stage is 15 shots at 1,000 yards. Targets are six feet square with a 20-inch black bullseye (10-ring), and an aiming circle of 44 inches that includes a 9-ring and an 8-ring. A perfect score for each stage is 150 points. Rifles are single-shot bolt actions equipped with iron sights, and ammunition is 7.62mm NATO/.308 Winchester caliber using a bullet weighing 155 grains.

The United States Long Range Rifle National Team members for the 2011 competition are:

Team Captain: Dennis Flaharty

Vice Team Captain/Adjutant: Dan Simpson

Vice Team Captain: Dr. Tom Whitaker

Armorer: Robert Gamboa

Head Team Coach: Emil Praslick III

NRA Advisor: Middleton Tompkins

Shooting Members: Bob Mead, Bryan Litz, David Littlefield, Gary Rasmussen, John Whidden, Justin Skaret, Kelly Bachand, Lane Buxton, Nancy Tompkins, Noma Mayo, Norm Anderson, Robert Gustin, Sherri Gallagher, Steve Cunico, Steve Hardin, Trevor Hengehold, Trevor Massey, Trudie Fay, Ty Cooper, and Wayne Forshee.

“I think I can speak for all NRA members in the United States in wishing our 2011 Team safe journeys and good weather as they take their place on the world stage to uphold the history and winning ways of American shooters for the past 135 years,” said Krei.

For more information about the history of the Palma Team Match and the Palma Trophy, please visithttp://www.nrahq.org/compete/nat-trophy/tro-090.pdf. To learn more about Palma Competition and how to support the U.S. Team, please visit http://www.palma.org/. For more information about the National Rifle Association’s competitive shooting events or programs, visit www.nrahq.org/compete or call (703) 267-1450.

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PA: Wilkes-Barre Sept 3200 Results

Posted on October 6, 2011 by H

Results for the Wilkes-Barre Memorial 3200 prone match held Sept 24-25 in Pennsylvania can be downloaded here: 2011-pa-wilkes-barre-3200 (PDF, 49KB)

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RI: Smallbore Rifle League

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Joe Graf

Founded 80 years ago in 1931, the RI Smallbore Rifle League is kicking off another season next week.  The league shoots Thursday evenings with half the matches being postal matches and the other half being shoulder-to-shoulder competition. The course of fire is a quarter course (10 shots in each position, prone, standing, and kneeling).  You do not need to be a member of the club or a RI resident in order to shoot for a team.  Chances are if you are in eastern CT, southern MA, or anywhere in RI, there is a participating club near you! There is a great steak dinner and awards banquet at the end of the season.  We are looking for young and old, experienced or just starting out to join in the fun. If you are interested or want more info contact me at jrgraf [at] acm.org (replace [at] with @ and remove the spaces around the [at]).

 

Posted in Other Smallbore Information | 1 Comment

GA: Champion of Champions Final Results

Posted on October 4, 2011 by H

Final Champion of Champions results from Fort Benning can be downloaded here: 2011_Champions_of_Champions (Excel, 195KB)

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October 2011 Issue of Shooting Sports USA

Posted on October 3, 2011 by H

The latest issue of Shooting Sports USA is available here.

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Stand By Your Glasses Steady

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Hap Rocketto

by Hap Rocketto

How rare is it that protocol comes near to sparking an international incident at a rifle match banquet? Not too often I suspect, but there I sat, surrounded by all of the pomp and circumstance of a formal banquet trying to defuse one with my rather spotty knowledge of the history of Great Britain.

It was at the banquet sponsored by the National Smallbore Rifle Association of Great Britain to celebrate the firing of the Sixth Roberts Trophy Match. We had worked our way through what our hosts call “starters” and what we call an appetizer. In this case an excellent Parma Ham accompanied by thin slices of cool, crisp, and sweet Honeydew melon hat led to the excellent buffet dinner.

I was seated next to George Lawson and his wife Jean. Lawson, A Scot and the Chief Range Officer at the Bisley Meeting, has wormed his way in the United States Team’s collective heart via his deep baritone voice, rich Scottish burr, and good natured humor. As we hung targets he constantly reminded us to place, “Competitor and Firing Point Number-Twice on the card and once on the backer.” When we returned to the firing line he chivied us along with his commands of “All persons not shooting on the detail please leave the firing point. Settle down. Stand by.” In a few seconds the detail started with the sounding of an electronic buzzer.

We were a far cry away from the military regimentation of Camp Perry. The relays, ‘details,’ at Bisley, ran like clockwork, seemingly without any rush. From time to time George would come on the “Tannoy”, the public address system at Bisley, and mention that there had been far more targets taken than backers taken and that the meeting was not a resupply point for individuals or clubs. He might offer a short discourse on the weather or what ever was of interest to him at the moment.

While he seemed to be a genial old duffer he was dead serious about running a safe and efficient match. He was keenly observant of what was going on about him, be it on the firing line or at the dinner table and therein lies the tale.

With our meal compete the after dinner program signaled when our host rose and asked all present to charge our glasses and be upstanding, was about to begin. The conversation died away to the sound of the scraping of chairs as we stood to join our host in raising our glasses as he offer the Loyal Toast by intoning, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen. “This was followed by a plethora of murmured “God Bless Her!” from various members of the assembled multitudes.

I had an opening to show off, and I did not waste it, remarking to my tablemates that had we been dining in the Navy Club, as opposed to the Army Target Shooting Club, we would not have to stand for, in the Royal Navy, when the Loyal Toast is given all attendees remain seated. I went on to explain that this privilege has been in effect since the days of King William IV, who had served as a naval officer in the late 1780s. Standing quickly in the wardroom to give the toast he had struck his head a solid blow against the overhead. Not wishing to cause similar discomfort to his fellow officers he magnanimously authorized that in the future the Royal Navy was to toast him while sitting down. The tradition remains to this day. I like to think that my dinner companions were dazzled by my intimate knowledge of the more esoteric aspects of their culture but it was more likely that they were just tolerant of my lack of humility

It was our turn to make our toast. The senior rifleman in our party, a retired military officer and very conservative man, rose to his feet. Lifting his glass high he growled out, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Office of The President of the United States.” There was clinking of glass and an echoing of the toast.

When we sat George looked over with a quizzical expression. He asked about, what seemed to him, a slight change in wording. “Should not he have said, “Ladies and gentlemen, The President of the United States?” I was a bit taken aback by the question and, thinking quickly, asked him that, as a Scot, did he remember Charles Edward Stuart.

“Of course!” he replied and quickly ran down the history of the last Stuart queen of England, Anne, who was succeeded by George, Elector of Hanover, who was German and, even knowing that he would one day rule England, spoke no English and made no attempt to do so when he assumed the throne.

King George took the throne quietly, but there were many people, both in England and in Scotland, who fanned the flames of again having a Stewart reign. A likely candidate was Queen Anne’s brother James, the Pretender to the throne, who was living in France, “over the water.”

I then asked George, “What did the Jacobites, as those who clung to the Stewart cause were called, do when the Loyal Toast was proposed in those days?

He looked at me little surprised that I might know this little bit of trivia and then smiled. “Why, of course they would pass their glasses over the water jug, silently toasting, not the disinterested King, “German George”, but Bonnie Prince Charlie-the king over the water. A most defiant gesture for they risked a charge of treason with the act.”

Grinning back at him I explained that the senor rifleman was sort of an American Jacobite who had not rested well since the last election. We amiably went off together to gather the sweets and cheese and biscuits set out for dessert and to sample the Port, as it was passed to the left, grinning inwardly at the subtle nature of the protocol of politics.


Posted in Hap's Corner | 2 Comments

Champion of Champions Results as of 9/29

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Dennis Lindenbaum

Champion of Champions Results as of 9/29 can be downloaded here: 2011_Champions_of_Champions_Results_28_Sep_1630 (Excel, 184KB)

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GA: Champion of Champions Match Underway

Posted on September 28, 2011 by H

The Champion of Champions match is underway at Ft Benning Georgia. Some preliminary results were posted on the AMU’s facebook page with the promise of more results throughout the week.

Men’s 50m Prone Rifle
1. SFC Eric Uptagrafft
2. SSG Michael McPhail
3. SSG Shane Barnhart

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Army Strong Collegiate Shooting Championships

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Hap Rocketto

LTC Daniel C. Hodne, commander of the US Army Marksmanship Unit, announced that the AMU will sponsor and host the Army Strong Collegiate Shooting Championships (ASCSC) at Fort Benning in March of 2012.

The dynamic format will draw the top college and junior shooters from the entire country competing in four distinct championships: the National Rifle Association Intercollegiate Pistol Championships; the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship; the Scholastic Steel Challenge Collegiate Championship; and the Scholastic Clay Target Program Challenge.

“The USAMU, home to the absolute best marksman, marksmanship instructors, and gunsmiths in the world, is the ideal location to hold this ground-breaking Army Strong Collegiate Shooting Championships. Our newest generation of collegiate champions across multiple shooting disciplines will earn their titles at the ‘Home of Champions.” said Hodne.

The USAMU aims to make this an annual event.

The ASCSC is designed to connect the Army with and promote youth and collegiate shooting sports. It aligns directly with the youth and collegiate shooting programs of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division which all foster junior and collegiate participation in prestigious competitions while promoting firearms safety. The USAMU connects to America’s youth through teaching, coaching, and mentoring junior shooters throughout the year, and Soldiers make ideal mentors and role models for our nation’s youth. In these respects, the Army’s hosting of this event a perfect fit.

The ASCSC will be sandwiched around the electrifying Army Strong Experience, hosted by Maneuver Center of Excellence on March 15th and 16th. This event showcases the capabilities of the Army through demonstrations by an array of units on the Army post. Spectators can see the “Rangers in Action” demo, featuring the abilities of the world’s most advanced infantry soldiers, or the “shock-and-awe” of the Hands-on Training Exercise (HOTEX), which shows off the Army’s mechanized and armored forces.

To learn more, access www.usamu.com A banner links you to the ASE and ASCSC and provides downloadable materials which include invitation letter, flyers, timeline for your use. To help share what is in store for the ASE, the USAMU created an exciting video of this past year’s event which is located on the website and on the AMU’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/U.S.ArmyMarksmanshipUnit

Note: This information is drawn from press releases, emails from the USAMU, and material on the USAMU website.

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A Rocketto Shooting Aphorism

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Hap Rocketto

 “The less skilled the shooter, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the standing position.”

Rocketto’s Shooting Aphorisms—A lifetime of shooting experience wrapped up in a series of concise statements containing a subjective truth or observation.
None of these are truly original. An occasional series.


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