2024 Spirit of America Fullbore National Championship, Raton RESULTS

[Mudcat]

Everyone is invited to participate in the 2024 Spirit of America Fullbore National Championship which will be held at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM from September 5, 2024 thru September 15, 2024. On the 13th, we are shooting the America Match, which is probably the #2 biggest match there is other than the Palma Match. Sling, TR and F Open are invited to attend. We currently have right at 80 competitors signed up to attend, 37 of which are international folks. We currently have a small contingent of F class shooters, so we need more. The match is run by a relatively new board of members at Bald Eagles and the match will be well run and we will have fun, that I am willing to bet on! The usual festivities of an international match will be done, such as meet and greets, etc. We are also going to run some informal, but probably competitive, cornhole tournaments on the "off nights" in the east campground. So there will be plenty of fun stuff to do outside of range. If you have not shot at Raton, you should. I didnt for years and regret it. I have made it every single year since my first trip and its the highlight of the year of competition. If you have questions, feel free to PM me directly.

For the SoA program https://www.baldeaglesrc.org/event-5482738
For the team matches, which there is a four person 3 day agg. https://www.baldeaglesrc.org/event-5695147

 

[rardoin]

I second your opinion on the Whittington Center range at Raton...excellent! The carriers are rock solid and the scenery second to none. Glad to hear some changes have been made to the board. Hopefully the pit personnel have improved attitudes toward F-class shooters and toward other volunteer workers. I would make it if I could take the time off of work.

 

[Mudcat]

I second your opinion on the Whittington Center range at Raton...excellent! The carriers are rock solid and the scenery second to none. Glad to hear some changes have been made to the board. Hopefully the pit personnel have improved attitudes toward F-class shooters and toward other volunteer workers. I would make it if I could take the time off of work.

Its a new crew. We had zero issues last year, and will have zero issues this year. That said, with close to 100 competitors and a 100% volunteer staff, most of whom are also shooting, we will hopefully get everyone working together. Raton is a special place, not the easiest to shoot, but it is damn rewarding. And yep, the scenery is 2nd to none. Well worth the 3 day drive to get there.

 

[jim1903a1]

I can't wait.

 

[dannyjbiggs]

Wish I was going out for that match again.  Really enjoyed all my years of shooting there, the beautiful scenery, and the beautiful weather. A night view from my favorite room at the Oasis Motel looking west toward the range.

 

[Mudcat]

Currently at Raton getting the range ready for the matches. Not easy when none of the club members live anywhere close to the range! Heck, we drove 3 days to get here! But, its worth it, damn this place is gorgeous. Had mule deer within 20 feet of the camper yesterday grazing and hanging out. Weather is spectacular. I changed the thread title to indicate RESULTS now and will try to get some pics uploaded as we go and results on hopefully a daily basis. that said, as I am not just volunteering to run the match, i am also shooting, so its a bit busy of a day for me. But will do my best to keep those at home informed. As of right now we have 77 folks signed up. of those, 32 competitors are international (England and Scotland, mostly).

 

[clowdis]

(England and Scotland, mostly).

Where are the Canadians? Isn't the America Cup between the Americans and Canadians or is it an open competition now?

 

[Mudcat]

Where are the Canadians? Isn't the America Cup between the Americans and Canadians or is it an open competition now?

No Canadians are currently signed up. Heard a rumor that might change prior to the America Match, but again, just a rumor.

 

[Mike Samer]

Any updates?

 

[Stumpy1]

You can find results here:

Bald Eagles Rifle Club - 2024 SOA Results through Monday September 9

Frank

 

[Mike Samer]

Thanks

 

[Mudcat]

Sorry about. Not logging in and updating this thread but have been too busy and too much fun to be on the net. We finished up yesterday and had one hell of a cookout and get together at the eagles nest that by the time I got back to the camper at 1am I was too tired to log on. We started the trip back this morning and stopped in OK for the night a bit early due to blowing a cold side air hose to the turbo. Plan to do a write up when I finally get home. Overall though one of the best match trip I have ever had and I do a lot of traveling and shooting! I think our international friends would agree based on what they have posted.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

Where are the Canadians?

Didn't Trudy take their firearms away?

 

[Mudcat]

Well, finally made it home after more trouble, this time cold air pipe into the intake blew apart in the middle of no where Texas. Limped all the way to OKC without a turbo thanks to one of the other US team members that was behind us catching up and taking the camper until we could get to OKC and finally get a part and fix it in the parking lot of Autozone (thank you AZ for stocking that part when noone else seemed to!). Easier fix than the bearings on the camper that blew out on the way out to Raton! But, all of that was worth it as we had a great time and one of my best and most fun shooting trips ever, and I have been all over the world to shoot. The England and Scotland teams were there having a blast and we tried our best to be the most welcoming hosts we could. Took them to the St James Hotel (which is closing, btw) and then on the way back to see some wild elk. They got to see plenty of wildlife but missed seeing the big cinnamon black bear several nights later and another huge herd of elk with two bulls fighting as they were "tired" . Bummer. The shooting was spectacular. Lighter than normal winds for Raton for several days, then all hell broke loose. We had random squaded the relays for the first 3 days, then on the final day seed squaded everyone. Worked out great as everyone had a chance at getting hit on one hard relay, then were seeded together for the final day with the leaders all on a relay that got hammered at 1000, as we shot last. I dropped more points in that one relay than the rest of the week combined. But, had fun! Match ran super smoothly and I think the international folks actually liked pulling targets (guess if you dont do it much it might be "fun" but I have pulled enough targets in my life that if I dont pull another thats quite alright with me!). USA shooters took the top 3 spots. We spaced out the 4 person team matches through out the week, and both the England squads and the US squads mixed themselves up to determine the best candidates for the America Match at the end of the week. Scotland ended up winning the overall 3 day agg for the 4 person teams. Super well run matches and stats were done and scores were posted almost before we all got back to the Eagles Nest post shooting. For the America Match, it was a spectacular day and unbelievable match, coming down to the very last shot. Rather than write up what happened, I am going to cut and past an excellent decription done by our team captain Ray Gross, as I cant improve on the write up if I tried. Here ya go:

"The 2024 America Match is one of the best international team matches that I have been a part of. The event was held near Raton New Mexico at one of the most scenic ranges in the world.
We knew the match would be close due to the results of the lead up team events. We also had a few top shooters and coaches drop out due to injuries and moving/relocating. My sense was that we were slight underdogs going in.
The match got off to a rocky start for us, coming off the 300 yard line down 9 points from England and 3 to Scotland. We put up a big score at 600 yards and finally pulled ahead after lunch at the 900 yard line. At 1000 yards, we had another misstep and match was back into question.
The result came down to the final shot. England and Scotland had finished about a half hour before we did. As our last shooter, Oliver Milanovic prepared for his last shot the wind picked up and changed. We held up with about 30 minutes left on the clock for the match. Behind us, everyone was calculating the team scores to figure out what we had to score on the last shot to win. The word was that we needed at least 8, but that assumed that all the scores had been correctly calculated, so we knew we had to hit the mark to ensure victory. With about 15 minutes left, the coaches thought that the conditions would calm enough to let us take a high percentage shot, but the hard winds rolled back in and we waited some more.
Finally, with about 9 minutes left on the clock, the conditions died down enough for us to take the shot. John Friguglietti was coaching Oliver at the time and he rolled the windage on his sight. Oliver set up and settled into position, took the shot and nailed a 10 for the most dramatic finish to an already great match.
In itself, the final shot finish will make this match unforgettable. However, from my perspective as Captain, the even greater and more remarkable accomplishment was that in spite of two missteps, EVERYONE on the team kept their heads down and kept pushing. To me, that is the true mark of a great team and I am proud to have been a part of it!
Special recognition is due to Brian Mrnak as our head coach. He was on top of the challenging conditions all day and orchestrated both line coaches masterfully. All three coaches (Brian, John and Russ), along with Trey Friguglietti and myself helping in the back, worked awesome together, but it was Brian's skill that put team over the line.
(All the pics are borrowed, I lost my phone the day before the match, feel free to add more in the comments).
Finally thanks to our sponsors and organizers for this event!
NRA Foundation Mudcat's Precision Machine Manson Precision Reamers USNRT Bald Eagles Rifle Club
And also some other companies who have been long time supporters of our sport:
Berger Bullets Sierra Bullets Vihtavuori Powders Lapua Brux Barrels, LLC Starline Bartlein Barrels, Inc CREEDMOOR SPORTS, INC Kowa Sporting Optics Swarovski Optik - scopes - spotters - binoculars - rangefinders Leofoto Doug Beach Krieger Barrels "


the English teams "live" score link

America Match 2024 live scores

docs.google.com

 

[Mudcat]

A couple nice articles on the America Match that was held at the conclusion of the fullbore championship.

An NRA Shooting Sports Journal | 2024 America Match: U.S. Tops England By Two Points

The U.S. successfully defended its title at the 2024 America Match by maintaining a team focus and adapting to difficult conditions.

www.ssusa.org

2024 America Match - UNITED STATES NATIONAL RIFLE TEAM

2024 America Match US v England v Scotland The 13th America match was held on September 13, 2024, at the NRA Whittington Center, just outside of Raton, New Mexico. The complex includes a portion of the Sante Fe trail, and the George Tubb 1000 yard range is one of the […]

usnrt.com