Hi Folks,
Until very recently, we have had a retired shooter from MN who has kept a blog, and also put out a weekly email newsletter about the competitive shooting sports in MN and surrounding states. This was mostly a labor of love for him, and he put many thankless hours into keeping the local HP/F-class/Smallbore community informed about matches, etc, often with little or no help. After 6 or 7 years of doing this, he has decided to move on to other interests, which has left something of a void in how we get our news. Over the last few seasons, I have written up match reports (like the one below) for the matches I shoot and send them in to be included in the blog/newsletter. This past weekend was the last match of the season in MN, so I figured I'd write one more just to wrap things up. I usually enjoy writing these, but can't always find the time to get them done. Hopefully someone will enjoy reading it. I guess we will be looking at other options for spreading the shooting news next season, but I figured I'd post this one here and on the LR forum this time, for lack of a better idea on what to do with it.
Thanks to Hawkeye for the years of service to our MN shooting community. I hope we can find a way to fill the big shoes you've left!
Last weekend, shooters from Minnesota and surrounding states converged on Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club in Harris, MN for the final rifle match of the 2015 season. For many of us, it was our first trip to Gopher since major earthwork had been completed on the 800 and 900-yard firing lines, and I for one, was eager to see how everything had turned out.
As the sun came up on Saturday morning, the day was already showing great promise for the Palma match. The Palma format has shooters shooting 15 shots for record from the 800, 900, and 1000-yard lines for a possible top score of 450. Sling shooters are limited to .308 or .223 for these matches, so ballistic advantages gained by shooting exotic wildcat cartridges are not a factor here. All sling shooters present were shooting rifles chambered in the trusty .308 Winchester – which is my personal favorite anyways. F-class shooters have no such restrictions, but are still divided into F-Open and FTR as usual. The weather was storybook perfect, the sort that is only possible for a few weeks out of the year in MN. I could see my breath early in the day, but the sun was out and the wind was calm. The forecast called for 9 mph ESE winds for the day, so we knew it would only be a matter of time before the flags started moving.
Relay 1 was called to the 800-yard line at 9 am sharp, but it was decided to wait a few extra minutes to let the shadows move off the targets on the high end. Having shot this range many times in the early morning, I know how challenging the light condition can be, and I was happy to be squadded on Relay 3 today. After the shadows had passed, the match was underway. The newly renovated 800 line was excellent – a big improvement over years past. Club member Steve Naumann (also present shooting his first-ever Long Range match) had taken charge of the task of adding lots of dirt, and re-grading the whole surface to “level the playing field†– literally. All firing points are now nice and flat, and there is lots more space behind the line for scorekeepers to work, and gear to be stowed. New grass seed is already coming in, and I’m sure that by next season it will be like shooting from one of the tee boxes at Pebble Creek. Also improved is the approach to the 800 yard line – a culvert was installed and gravel brought in to solve the long-standing issue of standing water on the path. I think it’s safe to say that the days of wet shoes after shooting 800 are a thing of the past.
Down on the little end of the range, F-Open wizard Pat Scully was the only F-Classer to escape 800 with all 150 points, giving him the early lead over the rest of the field. Mike Lehmeier only lost one with his FTR rig, keeping him in contention, and securing the FTR win for that yard line. The sling gang had a little better luck, with 4 shooters posting 150’s and 2 others putting up solid 149’s. WI visitor Steve Clark was at the head of the class with his 150-11x. Steve is no stranger to success on this range, having swept the 2015 MN LR and Palma Championships here just 3 months prior.
Moving back to the 900-yard line, things were starting to get a little trickier. The forecasted 9mph winds had finally arrived, and as usual at Gopher, they didn’t arrive with the same force, or from the same direction for very long. The wind was moving right-to-left for pretty much the whole day, but it would let off pretty regularly just to make sure everyone was still paying attention. The let-offs really showed up on the tiny F-Class target, as Chip Tiegen’s 144-3x won that match. Agent Scully was just behind him with a 142-4x, which kept him a few X’s ahead of Chip for the daily agg. Andy Jewison was the top FTR shooter with a 142-2x. We Palma shooters fared a little better again, and I managed a 150-9x to win that line and stay clean for the agg. Craig Bennis was close behind with a respectable 148-7x.
Palma matches are typically won and lost on the 1000-yard line, and this one was no different. Cheesehead Keith Ringelstetter had been right in the mix all day, and kept up with the wind better than the rest to finish at 1k with a 143-7x. Andrew Jewison would again top the FTR shooters with his 138-2x. That tiny 10†10-ring on the F-Class LR target does not forgive or forget any mistakes! For the Palma match agg, Pat Scully’s 150 at 800, followed by consistently good scores the rest of the day kept him on top of the heap. 433-16x in these conditions on that target is nothing to sneeze at, and Pat showed once again why he is “The Man†when it comes to F-Class in MN. Ringelstetter was hot on his heels only 1 point and 1 X from the match win. 432-15x was only good enough for 2nd this time around. In FTR, Andy Jewison won 2 of the 3 yard lines, and took 2nd in the other to cruise to victory in the Agg. Worth noting, 2nd place FTR finisher Chuck Laitinen was shooting a .223 all day, the big boys better keep an eye on him!
Ma Nature was abusing us on the big target too, but somehow I managed to hang on for a match-winning 148-6x. It wasn’t easy though, by the time I got up off my mat, I felt like I had just finished a 12-hour shift on a chain gang! Craig Bennis was again right behind me, and his 1463x was a full 4 points ahead of 3rd place. My personal-best Palma score of 448-23x was good enough to win the day, with Craig’s 441-17x hanging on for 2nd. Young Serbian refugee Elliot Zunich swept all 3-yard lines, plus the daily agg in the sling Master Class, finishing 3rd overall with an outstanding High Master score of 440-22x.
On Sunday morning as shooters prepared for the 3x1000 yard matches, things looked much like they did the day before. The weather forecast was predicting only 4mph winds all day, but it looked to me to be as strong as Saturday’s wind. The let-offs that were teasing us yesterday were flat out taunting us today, and were showing up more frequently, and with even less warning. Many only lasted 5-10 seconds, so you could get caught in one and have it be gone before you got back in spotting scope and never even know what had happened. This was going to be a fun day!
US National Rifle Team wind coach extraordinaire, Ricky Hunt kicked things off in match #1 on the sling side, by shooting what would prove to be the only perfect 200 fired all day, a beautiful 200-11x. The rest of us would just have to be satisfied with scores in the 190’s, as that would be the best we would get. The let-off caught us all at least once or twice, and many of us shifted to a strategy of minimizing damage. I guess I took the fewest hits with my Palm Rifle, keeping my scores in the upper 190’s all day to finish in first place with my 593-24x. Crafty vet Bill Lair showed once again that he’s no one to be trifled with when the wind is blowing at Harris, and his 589-17 locked up 2nd place. Young Elliot Zunich walked away from the rest of the Master Class for the second day in a row, as his 580-12x was a full 25 points ahead of 2nd. I don’t know what kind of score Elliot shot at his last LR match, but I do know that his 2-day agg score was just over the 97% threshold for LR High Master. Maybe the Surly Serbian will be in a new class next season?
In F-Open, Bob Eckstein’s 198-5x beat out Pat Scully’s 197-10x in Match #1, but it was the Scully show from there on out. Agent Scully won matches 2 and 3 outright, his 589-25x giving him another Agg win and a clean sweep for the weekend. I’d dare say that Scully is the top F-Class shooter in the Midwest at the moment. There’s some guy named Bob in WI that might disagree, but my money is on Pat. Maybe I’m a bit biased because he comes from my home range? John Rykhus put up a good fight, finishing a point or two behind Pat all day for 2nd place in F-Open. Andy Jewison once again brought the FTR hammer, and his 567-8x gave him an easy win over 2nd place Drew Rutherford.
All in all, this was a truly excellent weekend of shooting, and a great end to the 2015 MN season. This time of year can be hit-or-miss as far as the weather goes, but this year it was definitely a hit. Attendance was strong, and there was a good contingent of WI shooters present, some making their first ever trip to Harris, while others were making their first trip back in many years. Hopefully this won’t be the last time we see these folks in this neck of the woods, as a little inter-state rivalry can be a lot of fun at these matches.
The GRRC gang has really stepped up this year to make their Long Ranges matches a success. The new 800 and 900-yard lines are excellent, and the matches are always well run and challenging. The semi-protected range may not get the â€Big Winds†sometimes seen at places like Camp Perry or Ben Avery, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. I have seen many visitors leave scratching their heads, trying to figure out just exactly where all of their points went after a weekend playing in the Gopher fishtail!
Special thanks to Match Director Mark Schoess, Pit Boss Steve Naumann, and Stat Man Dean Gillette for keeping things running smoothly and snag-free. I can’t wait for 2016 to start so I can get back to shooting again!
Best,
Erik Rhode
Until very recently, we have had a retired shooter from MN who has kept a blog, and also put out a weekly email newsletter about the competitive shooting sports in MN and surrounding states. This was mostly a labor of love for him, and he put many thankless hours into keeping the local HP/F-class/Smallbore community informed about matches, etc, often with little or no help. After 6 or 7 years of doing this, he has decided to move on to other interests, which has left something of a void in how we get our news. Over the last few seasons, I have written up match reports (like the one below) for the matches I shoot and send them in to be included in the blog/newsletter. This past weekend was the last match of the season in MN, so I figured I'd write one more just to wrap things up. I usually enjoy writing these, but can't always find the time to get them done. Hopefully someone will enjoy reading it. I guess we will be looking at other options for spreading the shooting news next season, but I figured I'd post this one here and on the LR forum this time, for lack of a better idea on what to do with it.
Thanks to Hawkeye for the years of service to our MN shooting community. I hope we can find a way to fill the big shoes you've left!
Last weekend, shooters from Minnesota and surrounding states converged on Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club in Harris, MN for the final rifle match of the 2015 season. For many of us, it was our first trip to Gopher since major earthwork had been completed on the 800 and 900-yard firing lines, and I for one, was eager to see how everything had turned out.
As the sun came up on Saturday morning, the day was already showing great promise for the Palma match. The Palma format has shooters shooting 15 shots for record from the 800, 900, and 1000-yard lines for a possible top score of 450. Sling shooters are limited to .308 or .223 for these matches, so ballistic advantages gained by shooting exotic wildcat cartridges are not a factor here. All sling shooters present were shooting rifles chambered in the trusty .308 Winchester – which is my personal favorite anyways. F-class shooters have no such restrictions, but are still divided into F-Open and FTR as usual. The weather was storybook perfect, the sort that is only possible for a few weeks out of the year in MN. I could see my breath early in the day, but the sun was out and the wind was calm. The forecast called for 9 mph ESE winds for the day, so we knew it would only be a matter of time before the flags started moving.
Relay 1 was called to the 800-yard line at 9 am sharp, but it was decided to wait a few extra minutes to let the shadows move off the targets on the high end. Having shot this range many times in the early morning, I know how challenging the light condition can be, and I was happy to be squadded on Relay 3 today. After the shadows had passed, the match was underway. The newly renovated 800 line was excellent – a big improvement over years past. Club member Steve Naumann (also present shooting his first-ever Long Range match) had taken charge of the task of adding lots of dirt, and re-grading the whole surface to “level the playing field†– literally. All firing points are now nice and flat, and there is lots more space behind the line for scorekeepers to work, and gear to be stowed. New grass seed is already coming in, and I’m sure that by next season it will be like shooting from one of the tee boxes at Pebble Creek. Also improved is the approach to the 800 yard line – a culvert was installed and gravel brought in to solve the long-standing issue of standing water on the path. I think it’s safe to say that the days of wet shoes after shooting 800 are a thing of the past.
Down on the little end of the range, F-Open wizard Pat Scully was the only F-Classer to escape 800 with all 150 points, giving him the early lead over the rest of the field. Mike Lehmeier only lost one with his FTR rig, keeping him in contention, and securing the FTR win for that yard line. The sling gang had a little better luck, with 4 shooters posting 150’s and 2 others putting up solid 149’s. WI visitor Steve Clark was at the head of the class with his 150-11x. Steve is no stranger to success on this range, having swept the 2015 MN LR and Palma Championships here just 3 months prior.
Moving back to the 900-yard line, things were starting to get a little trickier. The forecasted 9mph winds had finally arrived, and as usual at Gopher, they didn’t arrive with the same force, or from the same direction for very long. The wind was moving right-to-left for pretty much the whole day, but it would let off pretty regularly just to make sure everyone was still paying attention. The let-offs really showed up on the tiny F-Class target, as Chip Tiegen’s 144-3x won that match. Agent Scully was just behind him with a 142-4x, which kept him a few X’s ahead of Chip for the daily agg. Andy Jewison was the top FTR shooter with a 142-2x. We Palma shooters fared a little better again, and I managed a 150-9x to win that line and stay clean for the agg. Craig Bennis was close behind with a respectable 148-7x.
Palma matches are typically won and lost on the 1000-yard line, and this one was no different. Cheesehead Keith Ringelstetter had been right in the mix all day, and kept up with the wind better than the rest to finish at 1k with a 143-7x. Andrew Jewison would again top the FTR shooters with his 138-2x. That tiny 10†10-ring on the F-Class LR target does not forgive or forget any mistakes! For the Palma match agg, Pat Scully’s 150 at 800, followed by consistently good scores the rest of the day kept him on top of the heap. 433-16x in these conditions on that target is nothing to sneeze at, and Pat showed once again why he is “The Man†when it comes to F-Class in MN. Ringelstetter was hot on his heels only 1 point and 1 X from the match win. 432-15x was only good enough for 2nd this time around. In FTR, Andy Jewison won 2 of the 3 yard lines, and took 2nd in the other to cruise to victory in the Agg. Worth noting, 2nd place FTR finisher Chuck Laitinen was shooting a .223 all day, the big boys better keep an eye on him!
Ma Nature was abusing us on the big target too, but somehow I managed to hang on for a match-winning 148-6x. It wasn’t easy though, by the time I got up off my mat, I felt like I had just finished a 12-hour shift on a chain gang! Craig Bennis was again right behind me, and his 1463x was a full 4 points ahead of 3rd place. My personal-best Palma score of 448-23x was good enough to win the day, with Craig’s 441-17x hanging on for 2nd. Young Serbian refugee Elliot Zunich swept all 3-yard lines, plus the daily agg in the sling Master Class, finishing 3rd overall with an outstanding High Master score of 440-22x.
On Sunday morning as shooters prepared for the 3x1000 yard matches, things looked much like they did the day before. The weather forecast was predicting only 4mph winds all day, but it looked to me to be as strong as Saturday’s wind. The let-offs that were teasing us yesterday were flat out taunting us today, and were showing up more frequently, and with even less warning. Many only lasted 5-10 seconds, so you could get caught in one and have it be gone before you got back in spotting scope and never even know what had happened. This was going to be a fun day!
US National Rifle Team wind coach extraordinaire, Ricky Hunt kicked things off in match #1 on the sling side, by shooting what would prove to be the only perfect 200 fired all day, a beautiful 200-11x. The rest of us would just have to be satisfied with scores in the 190’s, as that would be the best we would get. The let-off caught us all at least once or twice, and many of us shifted to a strategy of minimizing damage. I guess I took the fewest hits with my Palm Rifle, keeping my scores in the upper 190’s all day to finish in first place with my 593-24x. Crafty vet Bill Lair showed once again that he’s no one to be trifled with when the wind is blowing at Harris, and his 589-17 locked up 2nd place. Young Elliot Zunich walked away from the rest of the Master Class for the second day in a row, as his 580-12x was a full 25 points ahead of 2nd. I don’t know what kind of score Elliot shot at his last LR match, but I do know that his 2-day agg score was just over the 97% threshold for LR High Master. Maybe the Surly Serbian will be in a new class next season?
In F-Open, Bob Eckstein’s 198-5x beat out Pat Scully’s 197-10x in Match #1, but it was the Scully show from there on out. Agent Scully won matches 2 and 3 outright, his 589-25x giving him another Agg win and a clean sweep for the weekend. I’d dare say that Scully is the top F-Class shooter in the Midwest at the moment. There’s some guy named Bob in WI that might disagree, but my money is on Pat. Maybe I’m a bit biased because he comes from my home range? John Rykhus put up a good fight, finishing a point or two behind Pat all day for 2nd place in F-Open. Andy Jewison once again brought the FTR hammer, and his 567-8x gave him an easy win over 2nd place Drew Rutherford.
All in all, this was a truly excellent weekend of shooting, and a great end to the 2015 MN season. This time of year can be hit-or-miss as far as the weather goes, but this year it was definitely a hit. Attendance was strong, and there was a good contingent of WI shooters present, some making their first ever trip to Harris, while others were making their first trip back in many years. Hopefully this won’t be the last time we see these folks in this neck of the woods, as a little inter-state rivalry can be a lot of fun at these matches.
The GRRC gang has really stepped up this year to make their Long Ranges matches a success. The new 800 and 900-yard lines are excellent, and the matches are always well run and challenging. The semi-protected range may not get the â€Big Winds†sometimes seen at places like Camp Perry or Ben Avery, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. I have seen many visitors leave scratching their heads, trying to figure out just exactly where all of their points went after a weekend playing in the Gopher fishtail!
Special thanks to Match Director Mark Schoess, Pit Boss Steve Naumann, and Stat Man Dean Gillette for keeping things running smoothly and snag-free. I can’t wait for 2016 to start so I can get back to shooting again!
Best,
Erik Rhode
