• Please consider adding your "Event" to the Calendar located on our Home page!

Resources Tirrell/Thomas Death Star

As long as everyone is bitching about "pure" benchrest, I might as well jump in. In N50, one of my favorite formats, there is a rule that if you miss your target far enough to hit the target box, you get a do-over for free. That ain't "pure" benchrest, in my opinion.

But, it seems to me that we should not badmouth any type of "benchrest" as there are not enough of us to loose anyone. In my area, if not for RMAC-style "benchrest" there would be NONE (at least for airguns... we do have centerfire benchrest).

When it comes to RMAC, EBR, and the like, a multi-card match is not practical without severely limiting entry numbers. If they limited the events to a single format in order to spend more time on it, I can almost guarantee that "benchrest" would not be the one that stayed. At least with RMAC, the steel challenge is far more popular, and fills most quickly on registration.

Given past comments, some might have a problem if they actually competed in an RMAC "benchrest" event. If they lost, they would probably say it was just because of luck, therefore, if they won, they would also have to say it was just luck. Winning by being lucky might hurt more than loosing.

--Jim
 
  • Love
Reactions: Centercut
Wouldn’t it make sense to combine the three card scores to crown a winner instead of a winner take all final single card score? …
That would not make sense to me.

At the EBR and RMAC 100yd benchrest events, your two qualification cards are only compared to others that shot in the same relay (weather conditions) as you. The final card involves all qualifying finalists in the same relay, shooting under the same weather conditions. So that’s the only card that should count in determining the winners.
 
As long as everyone is bitching about "pure" benchrest, I might as well jump in. In N50, one of my favorite formats, there is a rule that if you miss your target far enough to hit the target box, you get a do-over for free. That ain't "pure" benchrest, in my opinion.

But, it seems to me that we should not badmouth any type of "benchrest" as there are not enough of us to loose anyone. In my area, if not for RMAC-style "benchrest" there would be NONE (at least for airguns... we do have centerfire benchrest).

When it comes to RMAC, EBR, and the like, a multi-card match is not practical without severely limiting entry numbers. If they limited the events to a single format in order to spend more time on it, I can almost guarantee that "benchrest" would not be the one that stayed. At least with RMAC, the steel challenge is far more popular, and fills most quickly on registration.

Given past comments, some might have a problem if they actually competed in an RMAC "benchrest" event. If they lost, they would probably say it was just because of luck, therefore, if they won, they would also have to say it was just luck. Winning by being lucky might hurt more than loosing.

--Jim
Hi JD,
The 'box' rule is borrowed from long-lived IR 50/50 to simplify scoring rules into something easy so we don’t need to have 2 pages of rules to designate where to assign a bad shot. That rule precedes N50. No mid to upper level shooter needs to worry about getting beat by someone that is tagging the box. As an example, Open Grove gives an EOY award for the best box-cutter :).

During the development of N50 rules that one rule was the most contentious and it's been explained/discussed in this forum in the past. We have long planned to suspend that rule eventually.

If you are satisfied with fun shoot formats, then that’s fine and I'm sure fun. If there are no clubs nearby anyone can start a N50 club to hold matches - only 2 shooters are needed. Waiting for someone else to create a club when you live in an area that is mostly fun shoots will probably take a long time or until seriousness begins to raise it's ugly head.

Respectfully...
 
Last edited:
Hi JD,
The 'box' rule is borrowed from long-lived IR 50/50 to simplify scoring rules into something easy so we don’t need to have 2 pages of rules to designate where to assign a bad shot.
The box rule allows shooters to dose off now and then ..... due to fatigue -> following all the other rules.
 
If you are satisfied with fun shoot formats, then that’s fine and I'm sure fun. If there are no clubs nearby anyone can start a N50 club to hold matches - only 2 shooters are needed. Waiting for someone else to create a club when you live in an area that is mostly fun shoots will probably take a long time or until seriousness begins to raise it's ugly head.

Respectfully...
Hi Lou,

I guess "fun shoot format" is in the eye of the beholder (especially when they have never tried it). I do enjoy them even though I don't particularly care for pellet shooting at 100 yards. 50 yd seems a lot more reasonable for pellets (and even for rimfire). The few N50 matches I have shot were also fun, so I guess some might call them "fun shoots". Heck, I even think shooting steel plates from a rest and a bench is fun (though I don't refer to that as benchrest).

I have seriously considered starting a N50 match here. I think calling a 2-person match anything other than a "fun match" is a bit silly, but I don't think that would be a problem. I have run many matches in the past, USBR (in the old days) and NBRSA group matches, so I understand what it takes. It is not difficult, but you must commit to holding matches that are scheduled. I worry that that might be difficult given my age and physical condition.

I was excited when Wasatch Front Airgun League signed up for N50, but that seems to have fizzled. I did enjoy the few matches they held.

--Jim
 
Hi JD,
The 'box' rule is borrowed from long-lived IR 50/50 to simplify scoring rules into something easy so we don’t need to have 2 pages of rules to designate where to assign a bad shot. That rule precedes N50. No mid to upper level shooter needs to worry about getting beat by someone that is tagging the box. As an example, Open Grove gives an EOY award for the best box-cutter :).

During the development of N50 rules that one rule was the most contentious and it's been explained/discussed in this forum in the past. We have long planned to suspend that rule eventually.

If you are satisfied with fun shoot formats, then that’s fine and I'm sure fun. If there are no clubs nearby anyone can start a N50 club to hold matches - only 2 shooters are needed. Waiting for someone else to create a club when you live in an area that is mostly fun shoots will probably take a long time or until seriousness begins to raise it's ugly head.

Respectfully...
As a new club one of the rules that gets most of our participants excited is the box rule. One of the best reasons to own a excellent scope is to read wind and evaluate your scoring.
 
This is what Mike & others are trying hard to describe. This is real benchrest, zero bipods, 3 target cards, proper display of competitors targets. Zero money awarded.

WRABF Worlds Championship.
https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...t-the-world-bench-rest-championships.1294615/
The one part that I don't understand is the problem with bipods (as long as there is no rule against them). I thought you should be able to use whatever equipment you think best as long as it fits within the rules.

--Jim
 
in the Olympic scoring it is what you do at the moment that day that competition , not what you did in the past.
Your aggregate scores for the year gets you to the comp, but has nothing to do with that real time competition .
This is true. In fact, in ISSF competitions when you get to the gold/silver shoot-off, the scoring starts over... even the scores shot in previous levels of the finals do not count. That is remotely similar to the way the finals are conducted at RMAC, EBR, and the like. No way these ISSF results should be considered legitimate 8^).

--Jim
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Centercut
The one part that I don't understand is the problem with bipods (as long as there is no rule against them). I thought you should be able to use whatever equipment you think best as long as it fits within the rules.

--Jim
Hi JD, yes I believe you can use anything you want.
But as you can see real benchrest competitors do not use bipods.
They are serious 1st class competitors shooting against the best in the world. They are not there for fun/entertainment until afterwards.
Why would you choose to use less precise equipment if your desire is to win?
 
Last edited:
Why would you choose to use less precise equipment if your desire is to win?
Why would you dissuade your competition from using less precise equipment, if they wanted to, if your desire is to win?

It would suck to get beat by someone with inferior equipment, but when you beat them others might learn what is really inferior.

I have never used a bipod in a benchrest-type match, but I have seen instances where I am not sure it would not have been an advantage.

--Jim
 
Why would you dissuade your competition from using less precise equipment, if they wanted to, if your desire is to win?

It would suck to get beat by someone with inferior equipment, but when you beat them others might learn what is really inferior.

I have never used a bipod in a benchrest-type match, but I have seen instances where I am not sure it would not have been an advantage.

--Jim
Hey Jim, I was simply pointing out the obvious :). I'm not dissuading anyone.
But it is like fishing with an upside down spinning reel - if you know what I mean...
 
If I lose in aggregate score shooting to someone using a bipod then more power to them, maybe it’s not an equipment issue but a shooter issue? But if I lose I’m not trading in my rest for a bipod.

I have lost to someone using “inferior equipment” but that just increased my desire to practice and better my skills!
 
how much does a real benchrest rig cost ? not counting the gun . just the apparatus . probably one would start with a gun and build around that gun . but what would that cost to a beginner ?
There are many - this is one. Poke around. They are available cheap to expensive.

More here found in AccurateShooter.com
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief