SPORTER CLASS - NEED FOR SOME DISCUSSION

For a person who might be interested in shooting his or her factory rifle at a club level match the term "SPORTER CLASS" holds some interesting possibilities - and problems. A Sporter Class match is shot regularly in Minto, is part of the newly created BR shoots at Lake George and is incorporated into BR/general shoots in other clubs - (although not necessarily as a separate class). Generally, where it is a separate class it is shot alongside BR shooters with "unlimited" or "open" equipment on the same targets and with the same course of fire.

This class could potentially be a very challenging form of shooting - imagine the challenge and the thrill of shooting close to perfect scores with a factory action and barrel, factory trigger and stock, limits in optics etc. This could really stimulate one's shooting skill!  I'm certainly interested in shooting this - but - and here is the problem - what equipment do you get that would work for all shoots at all clubs? What rules apply that you could set up your equipment and train with? 

John  M. sent a reply which can be viewed here: John's reply
Bert deV. has a reply which can be viewed here: Bert's reply
Volker T. has a reply which can be viewed here: Volker's reply
Gerry J. has a reply which can be viewed here: Gerry's reply
Norbert S. sent a reply which can be viewed here: Norbert's reply
Shooting Federation of Canada - Hunter Class Rules can be viewed here: SFC - Hunter Class

GUN SHOWS IN THE MARITIME AREA

Hi Everyone;
Volker has sent us the following list of 2013 Gun Shows within in the Atlantic Provinces area.

May 4 & 5  - IRISHTOWN GUN SHOW - Irishtown Community Centre, Irishtown, NB

June 1 & 2 - ST. GEORGE GUN SHOW - Curling Club - St. George, NB

August 31 & September 01 - FREDERICTON GUN SHOW - Fredericton Motor Inn, Fredericton, NB

September 7 & 8 - Bangor Auditorium - Main St., Bangor,  Maine

September 28 & 29 - TRURO GUN SHOW - 741 College Road, Truro, NS

October 19 & 20 - WAVERLY GUN SHOW - Waverly Legion, Waverly, NS

MIKE WALKER PASSED AWAY AT 101

Legendary firearms engineer Merle “Mike” Walker passed away on March 6, at the age of 101. Walker was one of the most important gun and cartridge designers of the 20th Century, and he also was a leading proponent of benchrest shooting. Mike worked for Remington Arms Company for 37 years, as a lead designer and engineer. While at Remington, Mike created many of Remington’s most popular bolt action rifles. For many years, Mike served as Director of Research and head of the Custom Shop at Remington’s, Ilion, NY facility.
Mike led the development of many important Remington rifle designs, including the Rem m700, Rem 40X, Rem m721, and Rem m722. Walker held numerous patents, mostly for trigger designs.
“Without a doubt, the Remington Model 700 is the most popular commerical, high-power, bolt-action rifle in the world. The Model 700 is actually a product-improved Model 721 and Model 722 bolt-action rifle, the brain-child of Merle ‘Mike’ Walker and his Remington design team in the 1940s.” — Roy C. Marcot, The History of Remington Firearms
Mike was a major pioneer in modern cartridge design — he was the originator of the .222 Remington and the 6mm Remington Int’l rounds. According to Guns & Ammo: “Long-time Remington employee and benchrest competitor Mike Walker, who headed up the M722 design team, is largely credited with the development of the .222 Rem”. The .222 Rem (aka “Triple Deuce”) dominated short-range Benchrest competition until the advent of the PPC cartridges.
Walker also worked with Jim Steckl on the .30-cal wildcat that eventually evolved into the 6mm Bench Rest Remington. This cartridge demonstrated the accuracy and efficiency of the “short, fat” case design. When brass was eventually produced for the 6mmBR Rem, Mike convinced Remington to produce a run with a small primer pocket. Thanks to these pioneering efforts by Walker and Steckl, we now have the ultra-accurate 6mmBR Norma (with a small primer pocket), and the 30BR wildcat.
Mike was one of the “founding fathers” of the International Benchest Shooters (IBS), and he served as IBS President in the early days. He was a talented (and dedicated) benchrest shooter. Remarkably, Mike shot in the 2010 IBS Nationals at age 99. Mike also played an key role in the creation of Precision Shooting Magazine. Still engaged in his passion for gun-building and firearm design, he worked in his shop even at the age of 101. He passed in a hospital on March 6, 2013 after hip replacement surgery.
Mike Walker will be missed. As James Mock has written: “We in the shooting community are truly diminished. Mike was an icon of the innovative spirit of America.” Mike Walker was a true pioneer who has left an enormous legacy to all those engaged in the “pursuit of accuracy”.
Rest in Peace, Mike Walker. Thank you for your contributions to our sport.

 

PETITCODIAC - 22BR - March 17, 2013

Well we had 16 brave souls show up for a cool day's shoot. The temperature was - 12 degrees C  at the start, but even though it warmed up close to 0 degress, it did not feel much like it.  An hour after the shooting was over, snow squalls headed into the region so we were fortunate!
The lighting was pretty good but the wind a bit finicky - this doesn't ever happen does it? Lol.

 

A lot of shooters were paying close attention to the whirl of the wind daisy wheel - that meant the wind was really blowing - I think it's going to need a new transmission.

Interestingly, on one of the last relays, the four shooters were firing almost in unison almost all the time - not sure it was a good or bad plan but the scores were all very close.




Despite the wind and the cold, all had a good time - the stove was working well and we had an ample supply of sweets thanks to Barb J. and Dan G. Many many thanks to all those who helped run the match - Match Director, scorer, Range Officers and target changers.
Your humble reporter . . . who hopes to shoot better next time . . . Volker T.

Here are the match results - all are Open Class Shooters. Congratulations to Darryl, Carl, and Gerald and to all for a really good shoot:

Darryl K. - 498/20X             John C. - 490/11X

Carl J. - 497/13X                George M. 489/6X

Gerald D. - 496/13X           John M. - 487/12X

Cecil H. - 495/14X         Stephen C. - 486/12X

Volker T. 494/19X                Jeff M. - 483/11X

Barb J. - 493/18X                  John L. - 464/9X

Dan G. - 493/13X                  Tony L. - 443/4X

Mike H. -  491/14X                  Brian P. - DNC

contact bertdevink@gmail.com if there are any errors



MINTO - 22BR Shoot - March 17, 2013

Well, today was cold again with temperatures below zero and wind chill in the minus teens. The wind was gusty so the few hardy shooters that came out today were often struggling with wind-drift that was unpredictable and extreme. Winds were mostly out of the NW with occasional NE winds. Light was good with cloudy conditions and only a bit of sun here and there.

Because we had a shoot in Petitcodiac on the same day, fewer shooters turned out. As a result the shoot progressed smoothly and quickly with 3 relays being shot. Everyone lent a hand in working so that no-one was in the cold too long. Wayne K. was the Match Director, took registrations and scored the targets. Bert deV., Bruce B. and Dave C. shared the responsibilities of Range Officer. Target changers included Bert deV., Dave C., Bruce B., and Gerry J. Thanks to everyone who helped out behind the scenes.

RESULTS

SPORTER CLASS

Gerry J. - 369/8X

Guy H. - 353/10X

Wayne K. - 348/4X

 

 RESULTS

OPEN CLASS

Matt McA. - 389/21X

Bruce B. - 388/19X

Malcolm McD. - 386/18X

Bert deV - 386/17X

Don M. - 385/15X

Dave C. - 382/20X








 contact bertdevink@gmail.com if there are any errors 

PETITCODIAC - CENTERFIRE SHOOT - March 10,2013

Would you believe it"? This is only the third Centerfire Benchrest shoot of the year that most of us attended - the rest were all cancelled due to foul weather.

And what a shoot this was . . .  . . . we were blessed with temperature that hovered around 3 degrees. The sky was cloudy for the entire shoot which gave us even consistent lighting and little glare off the snow. There was no precipitation and the winds were relatively kind for Petitcodiac - NE with occassional tricky gusts. More than a few of us lost a point or two to the wind and those who persisted did OK.  For the most part shooting conditions were quite good.

 

Today, Volker T. was the Match Director and scored each target. John C. took registrations while Bert deV. and Dan G. shared the duties of Range Officer. Dan G., Tony L., Gus C. and Cecil H. changed the targets. Shelley C. brought the best sweets that a bunch of fellows could not resist!! Thank you all for your contributions - you know, without them there would be no shoots!

Nineteen shooters were in attendance and, as the results show, some shot not too too badly. Some others had major equipment problems while most others had the usual surprises from wind reading, load preparation, shooting routine, lack of concentration and other momentary lapses. I guess we are all ready to stop winter now. Let's get into warmer weather and our more productive shooting seasons. Here are the results for this shoot:

                   

1.     Dan G.       297/11X 

2.      Tom W.     296/11X 

3.    George C.     296/8X 

4.         Don M.     296/6X  

5.     Bert deV.   293/10X  

6.       Gus C.     292/8X   

 7.       Brian P.     290/7X

8.     Volker T.     290/7X 

9.    Terry McN.    287/3X

10.       Darryl K.    285/3X

11.    Charles C.   283/7X

   12.   Shelley C.     282/3X    

13.       Rod B.       281/2X

  

      14.     John C.     279/2X 

 15.     Luke C.     278/1X

16.    Tony L.      277/2X

17.   Cecil H.     273/6X

18.     Tom N.    272/1X

19.  Sandy McL.   DNC

Oh, and what about the famous bet between Shelley and Darryl? Well, our Darryl scored 285/3X while our Shelley scored 282/3X - so Darryl won't have to wear the frilly apron - (but he had to borrow a gun to do it!)  





contact bertdevink@gmail.com if there are any errors

LAKE GEORGE - 22 BR SHOOT - March 9, 2013

Well, history has repeated it self!  Read on and find out how! Here's a little clue:

The weather wasn't anything like it was predicted to be in the forecast of the last couple of days. We had a steady cloudy sky which wasn't all that bad for light conditions. The temperature was about what we expected  - about 3 degrees above. There was no sun but we did have some light drizzle and an occasional snow flake. Wind was quite good most of the time except when it it was blowing from the NE in occasional little blows. On the whole not too bad at all.

We had a really good shoot for the third and final 22 Benchrest Shoot at Lake George. This was a trial benchrest shooting series at Lake George and it would be safe to say that the entire series was a great success. A total of 50 shooters participated in all three of the shoots. Terry McN., who was the Match Director for all 3 shoots, thanked Bruce B., Norbert S. and Carl J. for their assistance to make the series a success. Thanks are also due to Bert deV. and Mike S.  In turn, Bruce thanked Terry McN. for his hard work and presented him with a commemorative plaque for making this shooting series possible. 

From all of us, thank you Terry, Bruce, Norbert, Mike, Carl and Bert. Hopefully this successful start will be continued by making the 22 Benchrest shoots a permanent fixture in the shooting program of the Lake George Gun Club. 

Twelve shooters attended from Minto, Sheffield, Fredericton and surrounding area this third and final shoot for the winter. Six competed in the Open Class while six more competed in the Sporter Class. Terry McN. was the Match Director and took the registrations. He also repeated his previous superlative gourmet achievement with today's hotdogs. As before, Norbert S. and Carl J. were the Range Officers while Bruce B. changed the targets. Terry McN. and Barb J. again brought the sweets which were enjoyed by all. Thanks folks! Bert deV. did the scoring and statistics.

Now here is where history repeats itself. Top Open Class shooters were Carl J. with 398/10X and Barb J. with 396/17X. Dave C. placed third with 393/12X.

In Sporter Class, a very tight race was concluded with Steve F. shooting 384/7X for first place; Gerry J. shot 383/12X for second place and Bert deV. shot 382/11X for third place. Congratulations to all for an excellent match and for a very enjoyable shoot.

                        OPEN CLASS                                            SPORTER CLASS
                    Carl J.     -  398/10X                                       Steve F.     -  384/7X
                    Barb J.    -  396/17X                                      Gerry J.      -  383/12X
                     Dave C.  -  393/12X                                      Bert deV.   -  382/11X
                    George M. -  389/9X                                       Bruce B.     -  373/5X
                    Bruce B.     -  386/7X                                      Bob P.       -  336/3X
                    Terry McN. -  384/9X                                      Wayne K.   -  299/0X

contact bertdevink@gmail.com if there are any errors

MINTO - 22BR SHOOT - March 3, 2013

    

 

The formula for a terrific shoot in Minto? Start with a great day with temperatures around +3 degrees, a steady and even light from overcast conditions and 10 to 15 km/h winds from the north to northwest. Even a little snow in the morning and some fine drizzely rain which fell from time to time could not detract from such a good shoot.

Next you add in some of the finest shooting companions a person could find this side of the Rockies, a plate of Barb J.'s famous cookies and brownies - that nobody can resist -  and a warm stove in the shooting building.

Don't forget to add in a super bunch of fellows to help out - Wayne K., the Match Director, who took registrations and scored all the targets; Norbert S. and Bert deV. who shared the duties of Range Officer; a big bunch of guys including Dave C., Cecil H., Steve H., George M. and others   who changed the targets.

 

Finally, you need the most important ingredient - all the people who came from all around to attend the shoot, who shot really well today and who had a whole lot of fun. Nine shooters shot in Open Class with Steven H., Cecil H. and Carl J. taking top honours. Bert deV., Dave C., and Gerry J. shot top scores in Sporter Class.

                               OPEN CLASS:                                                               SPORTER CLASS:

                         Steven H.          - 399/28X                                                     Bert deV.    - 388/18X

                         Cecil H.            - 399/25X                                                      Dave C.      - 385/18X

                         Carl J.               - 394/19X                                                     Gerry J.      - 380/15X

                         George M.         - 393/17X                                                     Wayne K.   - 372/7X

                         Barb J.              - 392/19X                                                     Guy H.        - 368/5X

                         Norbert S.          - 392/19X

                         Bruce B.            - 391/22X

                         Don M.              - 389/17X

                         Malcolm McD.    - 389/12X

After the match was completed, everyone stayed for the General Meeting and the election of Officers for the Minto Club for 2013. The  minutes of the meeting will be reported below. (Minutes were not circulated and cannot be reported)

contact bertdevink@gmail.com if there are any errors

MINTO GUN CLUB - Meeting March 3, 2013

FROM BRUCE B., Secretary Treasurer of the Minto Gun Club:

To all members,
This is your official notice of the first club meeting of 2013, to be held at 2pm on March 3rd. This meeting will include the yearly election of officers. 
Thanks, hope to see you all there. 
Bruce.

MARCH 1, 2013 - 3 MONTHS AND 2000 HITS

Yippee! Hot Dang!  March 1st, 2013 marks the third month for the existence of this web-site.
I am very happy with the support that this effort has received from the shooters in New Brunswick, in Canada and also internationally - with 2000 hits during that time.One of the statistics that "Blogspot" provides to web-site users is the number of hits to the web-site from different places around the world. Here is a list of the number of visits (hits/visits are not the same as unduplicated visitors) from the different countries in the last 3 months:

                           CANADA               1783        UKRAINE              6           BELARUS         1

                           UNITED STATES     146        ROMANIA             3           COLOMBIA        1

                           GERMANY               34        AUSTRALIA           2           INDONESIA       1

                           UNITED KINGDOM    18        NETHERLANDS     2           KAZAKHSTAN   1

Welcome to all the visitors. We hope you enjoy the picture we present of Benchrest Shooting in New Brunswick, Canada. In 3 more months we'll do an update.

Over the next 3 months and year we will continue to report match results with many more pictures. Another goal is to add more members to the three that are now regular followers of the web-site and that are listed on the right. Eventually, we would like to add more clubs to the Benchrest circuit that has been so well established among Petitcodiac, Minto and Lake George. Another important goal is to work on having a consistent set of rules for Sporter class shooting throughout the province. This will help to encourage the growth of our sport.

Don't forget that you can offer your comments about any post or article - we love to hear from you.