USA Benchrest Nationals Open Class completed. ... Results

[Yrrah]

Mike Niksch's Thomas rifles and Martin Rutterford's RAW rifles dominated in difficult wind conditions.

No one scored a 250/250 but some great shooting in the conditions.



This list is not quite complete. ... Harry.

 

[osage]

Yardage? Approximate group size or better yet target pictures would be welcome, I've been curious what kind of groups $5,000.00 can buy!

 

[Yrrah]

28 yards/25 metres; scoring is done with a .224" plug.
The 10 ring is 0.078" or 2 mm diameter. 
The first 2 shooters must have hit that 65 times from 75 shots to score 740/750.
The winner scored 25 Xs which means he completely obliterated the 2 mm 10 ring with 25 of his 75 shots to win from second place who scored 24 Xs. This was done outdoors in some difficult wind conditions.

In the context of "group size" the rifles and pellets are capable of better than ctc 75 shots in 0.19" at 28 yards. 

Target: If you go to the forum menu here to "Target Shooting" and look on page 53 of the topic post, referenced in big capitals below, you will see pics of the 25 shot target cards . ... Harry.
WRABF…..ERABSF…..USARB 25 meterTarget post 11/30/15 

 

[Yrrah]

I have rotated the results chart for ease of reading ... Harry

 

[Kim]

Thanks Harry

I was there. Lots of grousing about the wind, especially for the first two targets (they are shot in rotation "relays"). Regulars agreed the conditions were tougher than usual, even though Open Grove is considered to be tough in general. It's not just wind speed, but how fast and unexpected switches occur. ie, just as the flags show a shootable condition, one rotates in disagreement. Plus there are eddies and down-drafts coming off the shade awnings, nearby structures, etc. Very easy to get caught wrong.

That said the Open match was great fun, very well run, and all agreed we are very lucky to have a fantastic host like Joe. The battle to win was very close, and came down to Bill's last target. He shot superbly, with discipline and patience, but came up one short in X-count to take second to Garrett.

Kim

 

[Yrrah]

Kim, 33 X count was a clear leader in that department; and not just down to luck.
Regards, Harry.

 

[Kim]

Ha ha thank you. I hope to have more to add after tomorrow's match.

 

[osage]

Yrrah; Thanks for the follow up info, it makes it more meaningful. 

 

[Kim]

Vipha M shot phenomenally well in windy conditions for LV on Saturday.

Wind was horrendous today for HV. Dust blowing, some flags/windicators knocked down. IMO less a test of guns than low wind. 

The first set of targets started off very calm, and the scores showed it. Ron S 250, Mike N 249. After that the wild stuff started. The challenge wasn't so much high wind velocity as the rapidity and violence of switches. Flags would spin in circles, and tails sometimes stood straight up vertically. Yet it was shootable. You had to pick your spots very carefully - and pay close attention to the flags, tails, and windicator. The best for me (on this day) was right to left as a gust tailed down.

On my last card a tack blew loose and the upper left corner would pull down during gusts. I worried the card would blow off - but it held. I learned to put extra tacks next time!

Many who shoot regularly at Open Grove felt these were unusually harsh winds. I think I heard someone from the East coast saying he won't be coming back - but I hope he does. Certainly there was a luck element - if your card was during relative calm vs cyclone. Yet these conditions were good for learning, and good for making you dig very deep.