Good Friday (Easter) weekend is certainly not the ideal time to hold a match, but this Good Friday was about a perfect day to shoot as one could ask. Mostly sunny and highs only reaching the low-mid 60’s. Thursday was a completely different story as it was overcast, WINDY all day ahead of an approaching cold front/storms. Due to the weather, we opted to change things up in case we couldn’t get a distance (we’d not shoot 200). So, we shot 300 first and it was gusting such that shooting mats were being blown around and I heard some #11’s fell to the grass. The 1 hr relay provided ample time to record a 10 shot string for score on standard NRA HP targets. Dan Breadberg turned in a fantastic score of 99-2x, followed by Kenn Heismann and Brent Danielson. No time for lunch with the approaching front… Moving to 600, the wind increased as did the relay time to 75 minutes along with a darkening sky for the last relay. Finishing just as the rain started, we were able to see Dave Munch post a 89-3x, followed 2nd by Rick Weber with a 88 and Kenn Heismann with a 87-1x.
While the rain continued, all were safely in the club house cleaning rifles, sharing stories of the days shooting and sharing information. Food was on everyone’s mind, but awards for the day were handed out along with each winner who had to tell the group about his rifle, load and secrets for such good shooting. When the caterer showed and there was no delay in eating followed again by a lot of camaraderie.
With about 1.5” of rain overnight, the creek was high, but so was the sun! Absolutely beautiful morning/day for shooting. Since all was clear, we picked up the 200 yard distance and the early morning sun was right in our eyes at about 10 o’clock when laying on the mat. We were just glad to be shooting. As great as the day was, there was some equipment malfunctions that caused a few shooters to stop. At the end of the last relay at 200, eyes were on Bill Damen as he was attempting his last shot, his 10th and final shot for a perfect 100 - he succeeded with another 10 ending with a 100-3x. Followed very closely by Lee Shaver with a 99-5x and Brent Danielson with a 99-4x. Moving all the way to 1000 yards is just awe-inspiring when walking across the firing line looking at the pits as the distance is just immense. The 44” black (8-ring) on a 6 foot square looks very small from over a 1/2 mile away. Although the day was beautiful, there were some things happening between the 2 ridge-lines this distance crosses that made things interesting. This distance really separates the tight scores from the previous distance and today proved no different. Art Fleener topped 1000 yards with a score of 80, followed by Brent Danielson with a 79 and relative newcomer, Joe Beeker with a 73-1x.
The AGG concluded with the 1000 yard shooters separating themselves from the group yet again with Brent Danielson being the overall winner. Art Fleener 2nd, Dave Munch 3rd, Karl Kuehn 4th and Joe Beeker 5th. This is not a easy shooting discipline with getting up/down making it somewhat tiresome to say the least after 2 days of shooting, pit duty, etc. With that, a special thank you to all that traveled from 13 different states as it would not be possible if it weren’t for the dedication of those that enjoy shooting muzzleloaders!
Thanks,
Rick Weber
Note: You can read a competitors match report on the vring blog
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