Dalton Range – Saturday 8AM
| Date | Range | Match |
|---|---|---|
| April 22nd | Dalton Range | Beginners |
| May 13th | Dalton Range | John C. Garand |
| May 27th | Dalton Range | Club League |
| June 10th | Dalton Range | Club League |
| July 22nd | Dalton Range | Youth Rimfire Sporter |
| August 19th | Dalton Range | Club League |
| September 2nd | Dalton Range | Club League |
| October 14th | Dalton Range | John C. Garand |
Springfield Bench Rest Club – Billings Highpower Events
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, April 26th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, May 17th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, June 28th | 5:00pm |
| Sunday, July 9th | 1:00pm |
| Wednesday, August 23rd | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, September 13th | 5:00pm |
| Wednesday, October 18th | 5:00pm |
| Sunday, October 29th | 1:00pm |
Youth Rimfire Sporter Matches Aim-Rite, Miller MO
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Saturday, June 24th | 9:00am |
| Saturday July, 22nd | 8:00am |
| Saturday, September 16th | 9:00am |
There are some changes to the schedule. We will host some Osage Orange Youth Rimfire Sporter matches at the Aim Rite Range near Miller, Missouri (west of Springfield off Highway 96. On April 1 we had 7 young shooters compete for medals on a beautiful Saturday morning. After they were done, the adults shot the rimfire sporter course of fire and had a lot of fun. We pay for use of this range ($75 per match), so our use is a little more limited. On the other hand, the range is reserved for the whole day, so once the youth match is completed, we can hold whatever additional shooting events we care to. At a minimum, we will call a rimfire sporter match for anyone to shoot after the youth event. If you care to come out and shoot a high power match after that, feel free.
In addition, the July 22 Saturday at the Dalton Range has been converted to a Youth Rimfire Sporter match. Adults are welcome to shoot rimfire also (no highpower that day). There should be adequate space on the line for adults to shoot in the first relay as well as the second. That weekend is also the Kansas State Highpower Regional, so I think our adult attendance may be decreased.
As you know, we shoot for free at the Dalton Range because we have a youth program. I feel it is appropriate that we host youth events at the Dalton Range to honor this relationship. Furthermore, I think that the ebb and flow of people who see our literature, posters, or even matches at the Dalton Range, is one of our better recruiting tools. I hope that the general public will feel more comfortable sending their sons and daughters out to a supervised range.
Remember, Joplin Rifle Pistol Club holds high power matches the 3rd Sunday of the month, 9am, March-October (but not September). Many of us attend those matches, and it’s a good place to experience something other than our home-grown style of shooting.
The Missouri Regional is coming up May 6th and 7th at the Bucksnort Club (Marshall), and many of us will be attending. This match requires pre-registration, and I have extra forms if you need them. There is a team match on Sunday morning which we would love for all Sharpshooters to attend, and if you can, stay for the Leg match on Sunday afternoon.
Our April 22 match is the Beginners Match. Please bring a friend if you can. Instruction and coaching will be provided for anyone who wants it. Equipment and rifles available for loan.
One thing to be aware of, the Dalton Range is still under construction, and we will probably have only 10-11 firing points available. Utilizing all space effectively, we may be able to get 12-14 people on the line at once. Depending on attendance, it is possible that we could squeeze in a 55 round match in two relays. If there’s more than 22-23 people, though, I would be more comfortable running it as a 35 round match (5 sighters, 10 slow prone, 10 rapid prone, 10 standing) as we would have to run three relays rather than two. All I can say is: be ready for anything.
The past couple of years we have given cash prizes at our monthly shoots and medals at the John C. Garand matches. We will continue with the medals but discontinue the cash awards. In their place, I have bought dozens of shooting-related items from the CMP to give as prizes. These range from refrigerator magnets to a book on military .22 rifles to the “The M1 Does My Talking” poster and book. If you just can’t live without CMP playing cards or a CMP coffee mug, you’ll want to shoot well in our matches.
Along with the change in prizes, we will go to a slightly different prize schedule. For each match we will have a prize table, and the first place shooter, the top shooter in each class (and any second or third in class as appropriate) will have a crack at the prize table. We will also give ‘Lewis Class’ awards, two or three per match. These are awards selected simply by rank of score, but without regard to winning. To put it plainly, we will give Lewis Class awards to the 8th, 13th , and 24th shooters in each match. If the Lewis Class prize would fall on someone already receiving a prize, the next lowest score will receive the Lewis Class award.
Our new raffle will be for an AR-15 rifle. It will consist of a Rock River National Match lower with a White Oak Armament upper. The upper has a Wilson 1:7 twist barrel that will shoot the Sierra 90 grain and JLK 80 grain bullets very accurately. We will have the rear sight pinned so that this is as good a rifle as you can possible purchase for competition. Total cost of the package will be over $1100. As always, we will sell just enough tickets to cover the cost. When they are all sold, we will draw for the rifle. Tickets are available now from Steve Kemm, and remember to keep your membership current so that you can buy a ticket.
Kent Ward gets a huge round of applause for running off some new pamphlets for us. In addition, Kris Barnhart has had a host of stuff printed up and distributed for promoting the youth program. Thanks a lot to both of you.
We haven’t purchased any new patches or decals yet because of the price. In a nutshell, I spent most of the treasury on ammunition, and the cost estimates on the decals and patches came in a bit higher than I anticipated. As the winter and spring went along, I got more and more estimates from additional companies, and they are all in line with each other, so I feel whatever we do will be cost-effective. The outlay, however, requires about $400-500 each for decals and patches, so we are waiting to re-charge the treasury before we move. We have on hand about 50 patches, which is actually an adequate supply. Our decal supply, however, is down to single digits, so we will move on that item first.
The price estimates I got on a flag were in the neighborhood of $300-600. Perhaps we shall purchase one in the future, but that item is now ‘on hold.’
Our .30-06 and .30 Carbine supply is full. We bought a lot of it this winter, and then when we registered our two John C. Garand matches and the clinic, we got a small break on price for additional ammunition, so we also purchased that.
I think there still may be folks interested in buying surplus 4895 powder at about $85 per 8 lb jug. The best place to order is Hi-Tech in St. Louis, and if you do it mail-order, they will ship 5 jugs on one haz-mat charge.
The club also owns 1,000 rounds of Black Hills.223 ammunition loaded with 68 grain Hornady bullets, in new brass; and 1,000 rounds of Black Hills.223 ammunition with 75 grain Hornady bullets in once-fired brass. These are available for purchase in 50 round boxes, $0.35 and $0.27 per round respectively. The 69 grain ammunition is a bit more expensive because the brass is brand new. We bought this so those of you with AR-15 rifles will have no excuse for not attending the big matches. We have the ammo, you need to shoot.
I have some extra Colt AR-15 magazines if you need to buy some. $15 each.
Les Welch has, I believe, 16 people (4 full huts) lined up for Camp Perry. A few of these are members of the Joplin club, but this is still an outstanding turnout.
The CMP has changed the traditional schedule and added some new matches this year, so there should be more opportunities to shoot and have fun. There is a new M1 Carbine match as well as a two-person team match. In addition, the M16 match has been moved to a more convenient day.
The one match that everybody considers just sheer fun is the National Trophy Infantry Team match, or Rattle Battle. Basically you get 50 seconds to shoot as many rounds as you can at 600, 500, 300, and 200 yards. Most people find laying down and blasting away as fast as they can puts a huge grin on their face. The Osage Orange Sharpshooters, however, have had some problems with this match. In particular, many of our shooters do not know their zero at 500 or 600 yards for the ammunition used. Each year we have faced the problem of guessing at zeros based on shooting a different bullet at a different range and then calculating what the sight setting “should be.”
Here’s what I think: That’s bogus. If a person wants to participate in a team match at the National Trophy Matches, he or she must have solid zeros for the ammunition to be used. A zero consists of the sight settings for both elevation and windage. It can only be acquired by shooting the given ammunition at the range. I’ll give you some examples of why extrapolation and calculation won’t work. Although my rifle shoots all 77 grain bullets to the same point of impact, the 52 grain bullet takes an additional half-minute right windage. And my elevation setting at 600 yards is a full two minutes different for the 90 grain Sierra versus the 90 grain JLK bullet.
In order to zero your rifle at 500 and 600 yards, you will have to attend some full-course matches and SHOOT THE AMMUNITION YOU WILL BE SHOOTING IN THE RATTLE BATTLE. Pardon me for shouting, but we have had people shoot the 80 grain bullets at 600 yards, then come to Camp Perry to shoot the 77 grain bullet at 600 yards. The sight settings cannot be calculated or extrapolated. (And, by the way, two different people may have different zeros using the same rifle and the same ammunition; and the same person using two different but “identical” rifles may have different zeros on each rifle.)
Opportunities for 600 yard shooting are many: May 6 and 7th at Bucksnort; June 4th and 5th at Bucksnort; June 17th and 18th at St. Louis; the second weekend of every month at Tulsa (this is a good one: 600 yard match on Saturday; across the course match on Sunday, and lots of OOS folks). Getting a 500 yard zero will require going to Mill Creek (De Soto) Kansas for the Regional and Leg match on July 22, 23. Remember, to get a zero, shoot the ammunition you are going to use for the rattle battle at the appropriate yardline. Oh, one other thing: remember to record in your data book the zero and the wind conditions. A 5 mph wind will blow the 77 grain Sierra MatchKing about 2-3 minutes off-course at 600 yards, so bone up on your wind-reading skills and make an estimate at the time you shoot the bullets.
Any questions?? Contact… Bill Corcoran (417) 862-861 or send me an email