by Hap Rocketto
Imitation, it is said, is the sincerest form of flattery. Others say that plagiarism is simply another word for research. There is just a thin ethical dividing line between the two so when Pronematch.com considered running an indoor winter prone postal match we did our research and imitated, with some exceptions, the Southeastern Michigan Northern Ohio (SEMNO) High Masters Shooting Club Snow Country Matches.
In 1999 this group of prone shooters looked for a way to ease the cabin fever endemic to the frigid and snowbound winter months of the Great Lake State and the neighboring regions of Ohio. They conceived of an individual match that is a combination shoulder-to-shoulder shooting and postal competition, the best of both worlds if you will. Shoulder to shoulder competition is held at six local clubs with the scores then sent into a central location for tabulation and ranking. The season starts in November and runs through March with a shoot-off.
The course of fire is an interesting mix of pick and choose, reminiscent of the old style Chinese restaurant menus where one selected various meal components from two columns, A and B. In this case it is metallic or any sight, or both, if one’s shooting appetite is hearty. Since its inception the match was fired on the A36 target but that changed when the USAS/NRA 50 was adopted for the 2009-2010 season.
Two English matches, one irons and any sights, were fired in the first year which eventually expanded into a four and then the current six match format. At this time there is an aggregate of either three iron sight matches, three any sight matches, or a grand aggregates of the two. Some of the bolder competitors will shoot all six with metallic sights for the grand aggregate. Recently F-Class shooters have entered the fray.
It is interesting to note that one can shot the match at any of the participating clubs, that the league has established its own classification system, a shooter is allowed one ‘do-over,’ and the league has established a forum to assist new members and pass around helpful information. Additionally, even though it is a smallbore match, about half of the competitors are high power shooters, long and mid-range prone as well as a sprinkling of across the course riflemen, who use the matches to keep sharp for the summer season.
Over the course of the season scores are tabulated and posted as received. All scores must be submitted by the end of March. The top ten competitors are then announced and they meet at a selected club for a shoulder to shoulder shoot off for the championship. The course of fire is 120 shots for record, prone, slow fire at 50 feet on the USAS/NRA 50 Target, 60 shots with metallic sights and 60 shots with any sights. Additionally, the top two any sight shooters will face off to decide the Any sight Snow Country Champion over two 60 shot strings of prone, slow fire at 50 feet on the USAS/NRA 50 target with any sights.
It is a match to warm the cockles of the hearts of snowbound belly shooters during the grim gray days of winter.
More detailed information on the Snow Country Match series can be found at http://www.semno.org and http://semno.org/news_and_results.htm with current results posted at http://semno.org/snow_country1.htm
