KISA RIMFIRE BENCHREST

Our 4^th Rimfire Match of 2009 finally had weather that felt like summer in Kodiak. A streak of warm day’s well over 60 degrees, at the airport, and hitting 70 degrees at various places around town, made us believe that it was the hot season. It was also the first match that we weren’t fighting strong winds in competition. We still had to compensate for 5-10mph right crosswinds, but they were steady enough to allow over half the field to post clean scores of 400 points. Obviously it was the experienced shooters that posted the clean scores or no dropped points out of 400 possible. Although the velocity was up to 10 mph, the steady quadrant the winds came from was predictable by most.

Erik Berggren asked me for a forecast of scores given the winds we had to deal with. Erik queried if it would be X`s (Bulls Eye’s) or points that would determine the placements. I felt it would be X`s that determined winner from 2^nd or 3^rd.d place. As it turned out 1^st through 4^th place, was determined by Bulls-eyes, or X`s, with 5^th. place only one point behind 400. Rio Berggren and I tied for 3^rd. place with duplicate points, and X`s, proving how close the scores were.

New shooter, Kevin Dubois tied in points with Ken Cameron, who too is relatively new to competition. Ken’s score have improved vastly over the last 3 matches, as only a little experience can pay off enormously.

Although our 3^rd. Rimfire Benchrest Match was scheduled on Father’s Day, a lot of Fathers and Grandfathers opted to celebrate their evening with us, on the firing line. Sunny skies showed promise of great weather; however the wind was blowing 25-30 mph north of town. The topic of phone calls between regular shooters, before the shoot, concurred that it was going to be a tough match. I was bold enough to forecast a winning score would be around 395 points, as the winds were about the same at the range, when we arrived. Setting up for the event was as challenging as the shooting was going to be, as wind flags and targets were swiped across tables, if placed without weight. Dave was a victim of just such a gust that knocked over one of his flags, breaking a daisy, leaving us to weigh or stake them down. Fortunately as the weather front passed away from us, the wind laid down to 5-18 mph by the time of Official firing began. The breezes that remained turned into twitchy currents, they seldom held their direction for very long, creating even more demanding skill of the shooters, to predict how long a direction the wind would blow from ,and the velocity it would reach or loose.

Despite the taxing conditions, George Kimball managed to shoot a “Clean” score of 400 points or not drop any shots into the nine ring, all 40 of his shots stayed in the highest scoring part of the target or “ 10” ring. Everyone lamented about their dropped points, or low ‘X’ counts of hitting the “Bull’s-eye”. I dropped 3 points which is as many as I`ve dropped in a whole season of matches. It’s a level field when everyone shoots in the wind, but it doesn’t help your season average score. Rio Berggren came close to George with a superb 399 point total, in these horrible conditions. With a total of 9 entries, the skill level stretched from 10 years of experience, to some who were only shooting their 2^nd. match, like Ken Cameron and, Bill Hoyt. The point spread was from 400 to 392 total, with only 8 points separating 1^st. to 9^th. place position. That says a lot about the new shooters who were even taxed more than ever before, yet dropped very few into the 9 ring. Although everyone was having a difficult time with the wind, every person had fun and a good time. Can anyone come up with a better way to spend “Father’s Day”, than shooting?

Good Shooting!!!!! Michael Kerwood

Rimfire Match # 3 Scores

Place	Name	50 yd	100 yd	Total Score	Rifle/Gunsmith	Scope	Ammo
1^st.	G. Kimball	200-12X	200-11X	400-23X	Winchester 52 D	Unertl 18x	Eley Tenex
2^nd.	R. Berggren	200-16X	199-13X	399-29X	Anschutz 54	Leupold 24x	Eley Match
3^rd.	M. Haskins	200-19X	198-14X	398-33X	Hall/Voelker	Leupold 36x	Lapua
4^th.	M. Kerwood	200-16X	197-11X	397-27X	Ans./Hongisto	Leupold 36x	Lapua
5^th.	E. Berggren	200-16X	195-7X	395-23X	Kimber 82	Nikon 6-20x	Eley Match
6^th.	K. Cameron	197-8X	198-9X	395-17X	Ruger 17 MK 2	Bushnell3-9x	CCI 17MK2
7^th.	B. Banks	200-17X	193-7X	393-24X	Anschutz 54	Leupold 36x	RWS R 50
8^th.	D. Salzer	193-4X	199-11X	392-15X	CZ-453 17HMR	Nikon 8-32x	Hornady 17
9th	B. Hoyt	199-2X	193-6X	392-8X	CZ 17MK 2	Leupold 4x	CCI 17MK2

Hot sunny days, with light winds, bring Shooters out like Mosquitoes at dark. The warm weather is conducive to getting people out to compete. It was great weather for our second Rimfire match, despite having to cancel the last two due to rain. We also had two new shooters join us for our second rimfire match of the season, to try their hand at small bore competition. Bob Banks and Ken Cameron joined us for their 1^st attempt at benchrest shooting. Both did surprisingly well, especially at the 50 yard stage, considering the tricky winds that challenged even the most experienced shooters present. The top five places were separated by only 5 points, and there was only one “Clean Score” of 400 points, when it’s usual to have several competitors not drop any points. Although the winds were almost impossible to read or find a predominant condition, we were just glad to have dry weather to hold another rimfire match. We hope to see Bob and Ken at future matches, as they were fun to compete with and had an attitude for fun.

Weather patterns in Kodiak are windy all winter until late spring, and return in early fall. Our 1^st Rimfire match falls into that time frame, and we got the winds that are typical for that time of year. Even though the forecast was for almost calm conditions, we saw winds coming from 360 degrees of the compass, and gusting in velocity. Not only were the winds typical of mid-spring, but despite official temperatures of 64 degrees, the ground was still frozen. I wouldn’t have believed it except wind flags set in the ground with stakes had to be hammered into the hard ground, just 2 inches down, from the surface. Outside air temperatures heat up the land surface, causing the warm air on it to rise. This rising air acts like a vacuum, close to the ocean, and sucks cooler air in from the water, creating an on-shore wind flow. Once the ambient air temperature cools down from the on-shore flow, the air stops rising, and so does the on-shore wind. Now the ambient air temperature starts to heat the land again, from an off-shore air flow, which means the wind has switched directions. The cooler air over the range starts to heat up again, while the winds are from 9:00 through 12:00and continue to swing to a 3:00 direction to the shooter. When this happens, it does so with no warning, and can last for any length of time. Usually about the time the “Fire” command is given, and the official clock starts the match. It’s especially going to happen after you’ve given your scopes windage a big adjustment. A “Calm Winds” forecast can lead to the scenario described above with no strong prevailing condition.

Despite the tricky winds the whole field of competitors finished with extremely close scores. In mid season, after a few matches of experience, there are several “Clean” scores of 400 point totals, with the X `s , or “Bulls-Eye’s that break the tie in points. 400 is the most anyone can score, if all 40 shots go into the 10 ring, with the X ring ½ the size of the 10 ring. Of a field of 6 shooters finishing the match, 3 had point totals of 397, with 3^rd. thru 5^th. place being decided by the X count. The lowest score was 396 points, and that was posted by new shooter Bill Hoyt, who displayed extraordinary marksmanship skills with that total in his first match with us. Hopefully Bill will join us in future matches, as he’s definitely has the ability to keep the competition close.

Despite a good showing at 50 yards, Erik Berggren had problems with his new Suhl model rifle, which he bought this winter. Its appearance is the nicest of any of these East German made target rifles that rivals the West German manufactured Anschutz. The wood stock and blue finish on Erik’s weapon, displayed a lot of loving care, not normally seen on these imported used guns. It’s too bad Erik couldn’t finish the 100 yard relay, for a total score, as the Suhl did well for the first half, and a reputation for accuracy at all yardages.