Nine (9) competitors came out for the fourth Winter Mid-Range Prone Championship.
We had four (4) F-Open shooters lead by Don Hicks with a 396-10X. Two (2) Service Rifle shooters lead by Kyle Matzelle with a 392-20X. Then there were a group of cats and dogs with one each: Ray Gross 394-13X with Palma, Mike Quillinan with a 384-7X with Any Rifle, and Charles Hayes with a 390-10X shooting F-TR.
Nine (9) competitors turned out for the April Fool’s Day Winter Mid-Range League at the Midland County Sportsman’s Club.
We had three (3) F-Open, two (2) F-TR, two (2) Service Rifle, one (1) Palma, and one (1) Any Rifle. The high F-Open was Dave Monette with a 395-20X. High F-TR was Jeremy Jahr with a 370-4X. High Service Rifle was Kyle Matzelle 387-12X. High Palma (and only) was Ray Gross with a 387-15X. High Any Rifle (and only) was Roger Franklin with a 370-11X.
In the tent at MCSCAnother shot inside the TentThe Winners of a bottle of Brut: L-R: Mike Ruhlman, Don Hicks, Kyle Matzelle, Al Matzelle
This ends the matches for 2021. Watch this spot for information about matches in 2022. The Winter league generally starts in March and runs through April.
Eleven stalwart shooters came out on a cold (28 degrees F) overcast day. Fortunately, other than contending with cold fingers and feet, the wind Gods were docile.
The high shooter amongst the seven (7) F-Open shooters was Dave Monette with a 399-25X, besting Tony Dekelaita who posted a 396-17X.
In the small end of the range we had four (4) sling shooters. Three (3) were scoped service rifles, and one (1) lonely Palma rifle. Of the service rifles the high score was Tom Feige with a 384-10X. The lonely Palma rifle was Leo Cebula with a 386-11X. Leo was sorry he wasn’t at his winter home in Arizona….
On a sunny April Saturday, we had ten (10) competitors for Match 5 of the Winter Mid-Range Prone League. We had four (4) F-Open shooters, three (3) F-TR shooters (including one new gentleman, Robert Burner), two (2) Palma shooters, and one (1) lonely any rifle competitor.
The high F-Open was Marcel Bollinger with a 392-14X, he was chased by Tony DeKelaita with a 390-16, and Dave Monette with a 390-13.
In F-TR the high shooter was Donald Hicks with a 389-7, followed by Charley Hayes with a 387-8.
In Palma, Ray Gross was high with a 394-19 followed by Leo Cebula with a 391-14.
The sole any rifle competitor was Mike Quillinan with a 393-23.
The next and final Winter Mid-Range Prone League scheduled for 4/24/21. The program is: 2021 Winter Mid-Range Prone League Program. Watch this spot for updates regarding weather for the match on the 24th.
We had seven (7) competitors out for the Winter Mid-Range Prone League at the Midland County Sportsman’s Club. The weather was only slightly cool. The good news was the tent was down. The bad news was the tent was down. You can take that however, you might like.
Of the seven (7) competitors we had four (4) different categories represented. The high and only Any Rifle was Mike Quillinan with a 391-16. High F-Open was Marcel Bollinger with a 398-25. High and only F-TR was Charles Hayes with a 377-3. High Palma Rifle by outlasting the second Palma shooter was Leo Cebula, with a 387-11.
The next League match is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 3, 2021. Shooting starts at 10:00 AM with squadding at 9:15 AM. Program is: 2021 Winter Mid-Range Prone League Program
On a cool, sunny Saturday morning, we had five (5) shooters compete in the second Winter League Match of 2021. Of the five (5), there were three (3) F-Open Shooters, one (1) each of F-TR and Palma Rifle.
The high shooter in F-Open was Marcel Bollinger with a 390-19X, High F-TR was Charley Hayes with a 389-11X, and high Palma rifle was Leo Cebula with a 193-8X with a damaged rifle.
We had seven (7) shooters this morning. A good turnout for a day that started at about 16 degrees F. Surprisingly, the sling shooters outnumbered the F-Class shooters. That doesn’t happen very often.
We had four (4) categories represented, with just a couple shooters in each. High (and only) Any Rifle was Matt Wieczorek with a 395-18, High F-Open was Tony Dekelaita with a 390-12, High Palma Rifle was Ray Gross with a 395-21, and high Service Rifle was Jason Quayle with a 358-2.
In notable performances, Matt Wieczorek had the only clean for the day in his second string, a 200-10.
Winners: (l to r) Derek Stratelak, Marcel Bollinger, Ray Gross, Matt Wieczorak, Scott Burr with their Winnings (bottle of Prosecco) in front of the Tent. Note the snow, we were happy it wasn’t falling while we were shooting.
We truly thread the needle. On Wednesday, December 30, in the year of COVID, we saw snow and low temperatures. On Thursday, December 31 we had dry conditions, little wind, and temperatures outside hovering around 30 F. Moreover, in the tent it was easily over 40 maybe even higher. As I type this report on January 1, 2021 I watch the sleet falling. So, we definitely were able to thread the needle for our New Years Eve match.
When Ray and I arrived at the range at about 8:45 AM, we were pretty lonely, but at about 9:00 AM cars and trucks started arriving. Order lines (or squadding lines) often follow a poisson distribution. Which is to say it is random with clumps. Normally, I see a single “clump”. For this match we experienced about three clumps. Which is to say we had a lot of entries. Seventeen (17) to be exact. This was the largest New Year’s Eve match in our history.
For demographics, we had: seven (7) F-Open, four (4) F-TR, three (3) Palma Rifle, two (2) Service Rifle, and one (1) lonely Any Rifle shooter. The high competitors were: Marcel Bollinger, F-Open 400-28; Scott Burr, F-TR 399-23; Ray Gross, Palma Rifle 397-23; Derek Stratelak, Service Rifle 379-12; and Matt Wieczorak, Any Rifle 391-13.
Good shot showing firing through a short culvert to keep the heat from our propane heater in the tent. It also reduces the numbness on the trigger hand.
It appears we will thread the needle. There is poor weather on Wednesday the 30th, and poor weather expected on Friday, January 1, 2021. But just cold on Thursday the 31st.
So, we will shoot. The tent is up, and a heater is available. So come on out, and kiss the year of COVID Good-Bye!
The match is a 2×600 with unlimited sighters. Each category high score will receive a bottle of sparkling wine (Prosecco). So come on out!
