---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Matches 2006 Year VFS/CenterFire Benchrest

2006 Season Average Scores & Points for Varmint Rifle Matches

            The last several years we started posting the season’s average score for those shooters who competed in three or more Rimfire Rifle matches at Salonie Creek. Average scores for the season allow competitors to see improvements over previous years and where they stand in relation to the rest of the field. However, it became obvious that an average score, by itself, didn’t accurately reflect a competitors true standing in comparison to other marksman with regard to overall finishes. Some shooters unintentionally benefited from competing only on calm days when scores are higher, over those who faithfully attended more matches and shot when winds dropped their final tally. A system of rewarding those who competed more, was implemented, to accurately reflect their average score and show their average placement for the shooting season. The seasons points are earned according to how a shooter finishes for each match; a win is 5 points, 2^nd. is 4 points, 3^rd. is 3 points, 4^th. is 2 points, and 5^th. is 1 point. The point system along with an average score gives a better overall impression of how a shooter performed for the season, and incentive, reward, to compete on windy days.

            Mike Haskins opted not compete in the Varmint Rifle class this year. These matches were originally designed for Varmint/Tactical rifles that possess a magazine, with a slightly wider forend than found on normal hunting guns. Benchrest Rifles have an even wider forend, closer to three inches, and are single shot, lacking a magazine. However, very few shooters on Kodiak own the more accurate Benchrest rifles, so we originally started these matches to cater the broader spectrum of Varmint Rifle Shooters. The wider forends and single shot rifles were prohibited from shooting against Varmint Rifles, in the 1^st relay, labeled Varmint Class. Conversely though a Varmint Rifle could compete against a Benchrest Rifle in the Benchrest Class relay, at a theoretical disadvantage. Some Benchrest Rifles would intimidate those who own factory produced Varmint/Tactical guns, so a Benchrest class was designated, with the option for Varmint Guns to shoot twice in the second relay, alongside Benchrest Rifles. Mike Haskins decided to concentrate on only one class, with his passion being his Holland’s built 6 PPC. There are advantages to only focusing on one weapon, and not bring two guns to switch rifles halfway through the evening, for the second relay. All other shooters in the Benchrest class, besides Haskins & I, competed with their Varmint rifle. Sticking with one rifle and focusing on one relay worked very well for Mike Haskins in the Benchrest Class. Although the other Shooters besides Haskins and Myself, didn’t own Benchrest Rifles, they choose to compete with us, as an opportunity to shoot twice, and enjoy an occasional win. Haskin’s would practice with his Holland rifle during the 1^st. relay, to gauge the wind drift, then be better prepared to estimate the impactone gun worked well, as he won slightly more than half the Benchrest division relays he attended. Haskins was unable to attend the last match, due to family illness. This unfortunate circumstance cost Haskins his top spot as the best shooter in the Benchrest class, for the 2006 season. Although Haskins had won 5 of 9 matches in the Benchrest class, I was trailing him with less wins, but many consistent 2^nd. place finishes, and overcame him by one scant season point, due to the ability to attend one more match. The majority of times Haskins was out scored, were windy days that tipped the scales in favor of the 30 BR Shooters. The larger diameter bullet hole left on the target has a better chance of touching a higher scoring ring, and less affected by the wind, than the 243 diameter bullet in the 6PPC cartridge that Haskins used.

            Doc Doyle’s purchase of a Kodiak rifle in 30 BR did a lot to elevate his standings from last year. In 2005 Doc finished 8^th. in the Varmint rifle class for the season, while this year he finished 2^nd. in the same division. Although Doc`s rifle qualifies for the Varmint class, he took 3<sup>rd</sup>. overall for the Benchrest class as well. The heavier, larger 30 caliber bullet used in Doc`s Varmint Rifle minimized the advantages Benchrest Rifles chambered in 6PPC have. The ideal choice would be a Benchrest Rifle chambered in 30 BR, so it would have both the ballistic rewards and capitalize on the accurate stock design. The scoring advantage of a larger diameter bullet may seem slight, but a look at this season’s average scores in the Benchrest class show one point or less between 1^st. through 3^rd, and typically that was the difference for the individual matches. Doc enjoyed the advantage of focusing on only one gun for both relays, although ammo problems cost Doc the ability to complete all ten Varmint matches. Doc`s success, and hype in Benchrest arena, were enough to convert me to use this cartridge for the latter part of the season, and in both classes. Doc`s competition with the 30 BR proved it’s ballistic and accuracy advantage.

            Rio Demers and Erik Berggren had very close average scores, and season points. Rio was the only one, besides myself, to complete all ten Varmint Rifle relays. Unfortunately Erik had work interfere with one make up match that had to be rescheduled for weather. However, their constant attendance and perseverance were responsible for Erik’s 3^rd. place overall finish in the Varmint Rifle class, with Rio right on his heels at 4^th. Conversely Rio finished just ahead of Erik in the Benchrest Class for the season. This shooting couple enjoyed (hopefully it doesn’t cause domestic issues) the same close average and season points in our Rimfire matches. No matter the time or weather, if there’s a match scheduled, Rio and Erik can be counted on to attend and help stow everything away. Their constant practice and participation are responsible for their good shooting. Moreover they would shoot in every Benchrest class relay with Tactical rifles, just for the enjoyment of it. Erik’s Tactical style gun, a Remington “Police” model in 308 Win. caliber, came within a few points of the top scores on several occasions against Benchrest guns. As reported earlier, I’d hate to live on the difference between this shooting couple.

            Larry Johnson used the same Ruger rifle as last year, but managed to increase his average score and season standings tremendously. Larry continued to tune his wind reading skills and handloads for his 223 Remington cartridge to a much higher level. Larry’s knows that his 22 caliber bullets are more wind sensitive, and his Ruger 77 doesn’t possess custom features that the competition has. Larry’s going to make some changes this winter, but like the rest of us, moneys always the limiting factor to upgrades. Larry’s is another of the “Die Hards” who’ll shoot in any weather and anytime, but is somewhat limited by the performance his equipment can deliver. However, not giving up and trying to improve existing equipment is what’s led to Larry’s improvement.

Greg Mete upgraded last winter from his close range AR-15,in 223, to a Savage bolt action in 30-06 this season. The bolt action cycles slower, but is a more accurate choice for the 200 yard distance we shoot at. Greg’s choice of a 30-06 also tends to drift less than last years 223 rem. caliber. Greg also increased the magnification of the optics on his rifle, which is better suited for this competition. Greg’s switch in equipment pushed this season’s average scores well above last year’s average. Greg had a very good year and is another example of continuing progress and perseverance. “Quitting” is not part of Greg’s vocabulary, whether it’s Pistols or Long guns, Greg continues to practice Marksmanship, Technique, and Handloading. Greg’s real passion is Handguns, but realizes that all the shooting sports improvement takes practice. Greg is one of a handful of Shooters that uses the Firing ranges weekly, and few, if anyone, use the range more than Greg. It’s rewarding to see the overall expansion in Greg’s Rifle skills.

Mark Kozak shot with us a couple of times this year with his Holland built “GPVR” in 308 win. GPVR stands for General Purpose Varmint Rifle, and is a series of modifications Gunsmith Darrell Holland makes to a Remington model 700. This rifle also serves as Mark’s primary hunting gun, but possess the accuracy needed to be competitive at our 200yard score matches. Mark wasn’t able to make the minimum 3 shoots to qualify for a season average, but his two match average was 182-2X. That’s quite impressive for a new shooter; hopefully Mark will be able to attend more shoots next year.

It will be interesting to see what kinds of equipment upgrades the competitive community will come up with this winter. Although this competition was designed to lure Varmint/Tactical Rifles out of the closet, some calibers have shown a tendency to dominate by ballistic advantage. While it still only takes a rifle capable of shooting ½ M.O.A.( Roughly 1 inch at 200 yards) to shoot a Clean Score of 200 points, some calibers do it easier in the winds at Salonie Creek range. Many rifles have the hidden ability to produce ½ MOA groups on calm days, but unfortunately we didn’t enjoy many matches that had calm conditions this year. When I refer to a rifle’s “Hidden Ability” I mean that it takes a lot of work tuning ,and experimentation with Handloads to find the right combination of components to get that accuracy. Before last season I had one of Darrell Holland`s GPVR rifles in 223 Remington that I thought had a burned out barrel on it with 3,500 rounds through it. After testing hundreds (approximately 500-700) of rounds later, I came up with a load that shot the only Clean Score of 200 points last season. The rifle started with 2/3” to 3/4” inch groups at 100 yards and ended up with consistent ½ inch groups at 200 yards. The point is this, no matter the rifle, custom or factory issued, if you think your gun is not capable of being competitive and don’t try to tune and experiment, you’ll be RIGHT, it WON`T work !!!!!!!!!!! It will be a self fulfilling prophecy, unless you believe in yourself, and at least try to improve it. The minute that you are satisfied with the level of accuracy a rifle delivers, it will not improve from then on. If you think that your rifle won’t or cannot be competitive you will be right again, unless you keep trying to improve your marksmanship or handloads or both.

While it’s true that the custom rifle has a better chance of holding better accuracy, it still needs to be tuned with any handload. Sometimes the solution is as easy as having a new barrel installed, but the requirement to shoot Clean Scores is still only 1 inch at 200 yards, though seldom accomplished. There were only two Clean Scores posted this season, one by Haskins and the other by myself, the average winning score was usually much less. It’s also true that I started the season with a GPVR in 223 Remington, (and won the 1^st. match) I did switch over to a 30BR later in the season to make up for poor wind reading skills. The 223 rem. didn’t fail or lose accuracy; it was just easier to win with the 30 caliber bullet on windy days. This winter I plan on continuing to tune and improve my handloads, but I’m NEVER satisfied with the accuracy my equipment provides. I’m also becoming a strong believer in shooting only when there’s some wind on the range, for practice and tuning.

 Those who practice and experiment with their equipment the most, and don’t accept just “Okay” performance, are the ones who prosper the most, consistency is the key. If you rifle will deliver that infrequent group of 1/2 moa, the trick is to make it the norm, not the “Fluke”, or occasional set. Simple, yet exact change in seating depth can make huge differences in accuracy, those that think 1-2 Thousandths of an inch are frivolous variations are sadly mistaken. I’ve seen groups shrink from 1 inch to1/3 inch merely by moving the bullet 2 thousandths of an inch, and fine tune by changing the seating depth 1 thousandths at a time. This type of testing cost nothing, but is essential to produce winning, consistent groups. If you’re not willing to explore the possibilities, and experiment with your handloads the real potential of any rifle won’t be known, no matter the money invested in it.

The list is endless as far as improving your ammunition, this is only one example in the chain, but it’s not always money or equipment that determines final place. Everyone who keeps trying, keeps improving, those who names appear here are testimony to that. If I can help, or if you have any other questions please feel free to call me at (907) 486-8141. Those that need Gunsmithing can click on this link , as Holland’s Guns donated prizes to our shoots in the past, and built many local winning rifles, http://www.hollandguns.com/

Also click this link to Rimfire& Varmint 2006 Photo gallery  http://kisaorg.com/v-web/gallery/album17 and be sure to look at all 12 pages, and click on those photos with a red asterisk for more details. We enjoyed 99 entries for 10 matches held, an average of 10 entries per match. Great attendance this year!

  changes for the second relay set aside for the Benchrest guns. Haskins strategy of concentrating on

Good Shooting!!!!!!!!! For 2006 Michael Kerwood

2006 Season Points & Average Scores Varmint Rifle Class

Place	Name	Average Score	Season Points Earned	Matches Entered
1st.	M. Kerwood	193.5-6.4 X	48 points	10
2nd.	D. Doyle	192.2-6.2 X	38 points	9
3rd.	E. Berggren	184.2-2.7 X	19 Points	7
4th.	R. Demers	177.5-2.0 X	18 Points	10
5th.	L. Johnson	172.5-1.0 X	7 Points	8
6th.	G. Mete	168.6-2.0 X	5 Points	6

2006 Season Points & Average Scores Benchrest Class

Place	Name	Average Score	Season Points Earned	Matches Entered
1st.	M. Kerwood	196.1-8.5 X	37 Points	9
2nd.	M. Haskins	197.1-10.5 X	36 Points	8
3rd.	D. Doyle	195.5-9.5 X	29 Points	8
4th.	R. Demers	179.3-2.8 X	13 Points	6
5th	E. Berggren	182.8-3.4 X	12 Points	7

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2006 Season Rimfire Shooters Average Scores & Points Earned

Benchrest Class

Place	Name	2006 points	Average Score	Matches Attended
1st.	M. Kerwood	55 points	399.75-34.3X	12
2nd.	M. Haskins	45 points	399.6  -34.5X	10
3rd.	E. Berggren	23 points	396.72-25.18X	11
4th.	R. Demers	21 points	396.9 -23.81X	11
5th.	L. Johnson	10 points	389.1 -26.57X	7
6th.	V. Reyes	3 points	390.0 -14.5X	4

Prone Class

Place	Name	2006 points	Average Score	Matches attended
1st.	J. Selman	20 points	380.5-10.5X	4

To qualify for a season average score a Shooter had to attend a minimum of 3 matches; there were many shooters who only competed in one or two events. As the above table shows, there were some shooters with a high average but their final placements in each match moved them up or down according to their points earned for the season, and the amount of matches attended. Again the point system is; 1^st place 5 points, 2nd. Place 4 points 3^rd. place 3 points, 4^th. Place 2 points, 5^th. Place 1 point.

             The shooting couple of Rio & Erik were very close in both their season average score and season point total. Rio had the higher average score by less than 1/5^th. Of a point, but Erik had better finishes in each match overall; I’d hate to live on the difference between them. Mike Haskins and I were tied with 5 wins each after 10 matches, when he had to leave town for a family illness, we can only speculate on how the last two matches would have been between us. I was proud of my season total 480 record shots, for 12 matches, and only 3 shots went into the “9” ring. Mike Haskins had only 4 shots of 400 go into the “9” ring for 10 matches.

            Click on http://kisaorg.com/v-web/gallery/album17   to view over 100 pictures and 12 pages of photos from this season’s fun. Or you can go to the side link of the KISA web page titled “Club Info” and then to “Photo Gallery”, then to “2006 Benchrest Season”

            Thanks again to all,

Good Shooting!!!!!!!!!! Michael Kerwood

MATCHE 2005           ++++++++++++++

 2005 “Varmint Rifle Score Match” Highlights and Scores  

2005 Varmint Rifle Shooter of the Year Points & Average Match Score

Place	Name	2005 Season points	Average Match Score	Match Attendance
1st.	Mike Kerwood	36 Points	190.1-5.7 x points	8 Attended
2nd.	Mike Haskins	21 Points	179.6-3.0 x points	7 Attended
3rd.	Tony Olson	17 Points	176.3-2.8 x Points	6 Attended
4th.	Erik Berggren	16 Points	177.7-2.4 x Points	7 Attended
4th.	Larry Johnson	16 Points	168.0-1.7 x Points	8 Attended
5th.	Doug DeShazo	9 Points	170.6-3.0 x Points	3 Attended
5th.	George Kimball	9 Points	180.0-2.3 x Points	3 Attended
6th.	Doc Doyle	3 Points	111.5-.5 x Points	7 Attended

2005 Varmint Rifle Rookie Shooter of the Year Points & Average Match Score

Place	Name	2005 Season Points	Average Match Score	Match Attendance
1st.	Greg Mete	10 Points	124..0-0 x	3 Attended

Although we had the pleasure of numerous Rookie entries, Greg was the only one to return for three matches. Greg’s choice of rifle was definitely not designed for the match format. Greg chose to compete handicapped and coached, to gain valuable experience for a “Defensive Rifle Course”. The familiarity and coaching Greg received were priceless in preparation for that school. Greg’s devotion to self improvement is certainly worthy of recognition.

            The point system used to compute the Shooter of the year is as follows;

1)      1^st Place = 5 points

2)      2^nd Place = 4 points

3)      3^rd Place = 3 points

4)      4^th Place = 2 points

5)      5^th Place = 1 point

This method is the same used to tally the “Rimfire Shooter” of the year. Average scores were done by adding the total amount of points a Shooter compiled during the season, divided by the number of matches a Shooter competed in.

“Hollands Shooters Supply” donates prizes for all regular competitors of Varmint Rifle Score Matches. After submitting this seasons results, of our Centerfire matches, to Gunsmith/Mentor Darrell Holland, Holland’s Shooters Supply volunteered to donate prizes for VRSM Shooters of the year. The generosity of all the prizes sent by Darrell Holland allowed those who are listed above to each receive a gift from Darrell. Holland’s company.

            Holland’s Shooters Supply sent over $ 200.00 worth of prizes totaling 8 gifts in all. Although I was 1^st place for the season award points, I opted to pass along any prize to the next place finisher, thereby ensuring everyone else received something for their participation in three or more matches. The advice and input I get from Darrell all year long is priceless in keeping me at the top of the score results. The “General Purpose Varmint Rifle” (GPVR) that Darrell built for me is also reward enough.

            There was several Holland built rifles used in this seasons match. Darrell built Mike Haskins 6PPC, used in the Benchrest division of the last 5 matches. Darrell also crafted the “6BR” that I used in the same class on several occasions. My Holland rifle in 6 BR is featured in the photo gallery with a black and white marbled stock. This season’s scoring record, 200-11Xwas set using my Holland Varmint Rifle in 223 caliber, a record not equaled by typically more accurate “Benchrest Rifles”.

            Traditionally at most shooting matches, 1^st place finisher get to choose first from the prizes offered. I opted to use the same method of disbursing the gifts from Holland’s Shooters Supply. Below is a list of prizes chosen and their retail worth.

Mike Haskins; 22 caliber rim thickness gauge, $ 45.00

Tony Olson; Carbide tipped, Primer Pocket uniformer with handle. $ 30.00

Erik Berggren; Oversize, Speedlock firing pin and spring for Remington Short Action $ 25.00

Larry Johnson; Primer pocket cleaner, for both large and small primers. $ 14.95

Doug DeShazo; Deluxe spring kit/ Rem. 700. Firing pin, ejector, bolt release, and trigger springs$30.00

George Kimball; Tungsten Carbide Case Mouth Chamfer tool, with handle $ 25.00

Doc Doyle; Ballistic Data cards, Mildot value, minute of angle value, Inclination angles $ 10.00

Greg Mete; Set of 4 Ballistic data cards, Same as above, and set of 12 “Heavy Duty Bore Brushes” in 22 caliber. Greg will need those dozen brushes for all the ammo he puts through his AR-15. Data Cards, $ 10.00 & $ 15.00 for the brushes, total value $ 25.00

            Many Thanks to Darrell,and Holland`s Shooters Supply for their generous support of our local matches. For more parts, tools and gunsmithing services go to their web-site at http://www.hollandguns.com/   For phone orders call (541) 439-5155 or mail at P.O. Box 69 Powers Ore. 97466

            Thanks to all that helped make these matches possible this year. It was a very successful match season. Good Shooting !!!!!!!!!!!   Michael Kerwood

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 2005 Rimfire Shooters of 2005.