Thoughts on Benchrest Competition

[Dave Rabin]

In the hay day period of time for short range benchrest in the late 70s and 80s or when ever it was.
What other forms of organized competition shooting were around? Compared to today
I know service rifle for one

Tim,

By the 70s and 80s, NRA-sanctioned competitions, such as bullseye pistol, smallbore rifle, and highpower rifle had been around for many years, probably decades (service rifle is a subset of highpower). By the late 80s, action pistol (like the Bianchi Cup and IPSC) was well established. Silhouette handgun shooting also was being done by then, though I don't know how popular it was. Three-gun and cowboy shooting seem more recent.

Judging from what I see at my club, action pistol and 3-gun seem to be coming on strong.

Dave Rabin

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You should see the tens of thousands of dollars in prizes on the table at f class matches and long range events. You know its good when you have to decide which $2000 prize youre gonna pick up

 

[jim1K]

If you want to see a prize table go to Williamsport……. These guys run a good match and they put their heart and soul in to it. Attendance is maybe down a little …… maybe, but i see younger people there and is good. A 100+ plus shooters 10 - 12 relays and no classes . They made it work for a long time, do it right and they will come. ……. jim

 

[Chism G]

Its just a game

There is a child in every Benchrest Shooter. Be, he/she ,12-90. The ones with lots of money,buy lots of expensive toys. The ones that don’t have lots of money ,make do with what they can afford. When the commence fire command is given at a Benchrest match,every competitor ,regardless of their mailing zip code, is just as confused as the next guy.

Knowing when to pull the trigger,requires lots of skill, that requires lots of practice. The Benchrest Game is no different from any other recreational Sport,You get out, what you put in.

As for me, I’ve been shooting since I was 12 years old. Mostly pistol.
I am 73 years old now. Got a lot of memories. I have A number of friends that shoot Benchrest and I am addicted to the smell of burnt smokeless powder. So my secret is out.

I have included a video that is related to BR competition. Just for fun.

http://wn.com/slingshot_competition


Glenn

 

[GerryM]

Thoughts on Benchrest competition

VERY TRUE GLENN

I started when I was 11 years old had a BB gun at 8 years old and musket at 11. a shotgun at 12 and a rifles at 14.

I LOVE SHOOTING

 

[Joe Salt]

Chism that is what I tell a lot of guys, bring what you have and try it. If you don't have a gun I usually bring an extra rifle. That is why we put on a school every June to get more shooters and help them get into the sport the right way. Jim I've gotten back on the Board as Public Relations so I'm going to do my part to keep the prize table big enough to draw as many top shooters like yourself to get your butts up to our range and shoot. I got into this sport myself and have been doing it for some 40 years. I like my shooting buddies that's why I keep coming back.

Joe Salt

 

[jim1K]

Joe, I think the way you people do it up there is what keeps Williamsport's strong attendance. may not be what you guys want but way better than most due to the school and how you guys run the matches. I look forward to shooting up there ever year ……….. jim

 

[James M.]

I had no idea that this thread would expand to such a degree. I appreciate all of the input and the ideas shared are important to the future of Benchrest.

For those of us who are usually not very competitive, there are many rewards to shooting Benchrest other than shooting tiny aggs. To see the youngsters develop into fine young men is an extra that many miss. I can remember Butch Lambert bringing his grandson to matches when he was about 12 years old....now, Josh is a great place kicker for WVU and I get to watch him perform on TV. I now understand that Bart's son is bringing fear to the long range shooters and Wyatt Peinhardt has been bringing a high level of skill to the short range game for several years. In short, it gives me pleasure to see these youngsters enjoy the sport that has meant so much to us old farts. I hope that more will get the next generation into the sport. Good shooting...James Mock

 

[Wilbur]

OK...I just realized that I'm part of any real solution. I gave it up but I still have enough "stuff" to show folks what it really is. I can go to Riverbend or Unaka for sure and maybe elsewhere, take enough stuff for someone to shoot a match, and help them along as best I can. I'll start a new thread with that info and maybe somebody will take me up on it. Anybody else can jump in that wants to. There's a few that not only took me up on that deal in the past but became very formidable competitors.

 

[Mike Bryant]

....

We will be shooting Unlimited at Seymour as long as Scott Hunter, Jonn Horn and their crew keep going. That is a dedicated bunch, and they put on a great Match. If you can't have a good time at Seymour, you can't have a good time anywhere.

I have not been to New Braunfels in several years. Kris Whitman still runs it, but since Howard Dietz passed away, I'm not real sure of the future of that range. That is some awful expensive real estate up north west of New Braunfels.
...

The Seymour matches may not have that long as well. John said that they had a 25 year lease in the range. The lease is about up. Not sure how much longer it has on the lease. Some of the members of the golf course or whatever it is now would like nothing better than to make it into a driving range. Don't know anything about golf, but would figure that a 200 yard driving range would be limited.

As to New Braunfels, for the past several times I've been down there I keep expecting it to be the last as those big fancy houses keep getting closer and closer to the range. The clean up of a rifle, shotgun and pistol range from lead might be prohibitive to sell it for housing development.

When we lost the range at Lafayette, I wasn't surprised. When they built the school about a 1/4 mile from the range, I figured it's days were numbered. Didn't take long for the railroad to pull their lease from outside pressure.

The biggest problem I see with ranges has already been mentioned. They are hosted by one or two driven individuals. When they are gone for whatever reason, someone else either has to pick up the ball and hold the matches or it dies at that club. Building up participation probably has less to do with cost than having some place close by to shoot that holds matches. Not many just starting out will drive 200 miles one way to shoot a match. I did when I started, but where I live you're used to driving long distances.

 

[GerryM]

Thoughts on Benchrest competition

I always root for the kids if they stick with it they are the future of our games.

There,s only one tiny problem

Puberty they sometimes fade away.

 

[jackie schmidt]

The Seymour matches may not have that long as well. John said that they had a 25 year lease in the range. The lease is about up. Not sure how much longer it has on the lease. Some of the members of the golf course or whatever it is now would like nothing better than to make it into a driving range. Don't know anything about golf, but would figure that a 200 yard driving range would be limited.

As to New Braunfels, for the past several times I've been down there I keep expecting it to be the last as those big fancy houses keep getting closer and closer to the range. The clean up of a rifle, shotgun and pistol range from lead might be prohibitive to sell it for housing development.

When we lost the range at Lafayette, I wasn't surprised. When they built the school about a 1/4 mile from the range, I figured it's days were numbered. Didn't take long for the railroad to pull their lease from outside pressure.

The biggest problem I see with ranges has already been mentioned. They are hosted by one or two driven individuals. When they are gone for whatever reason, someone else either has to pick up the ball and hold the matches or it dies at that club. Building up participation probably has less to do with cost than having some place close by to shoot that holds matches. Not many just starting out drive 200 miles one way to shoot a match. I did when I started, but where I live you're used to driving long distances.

Mike, the last time I talked to Scott, he told me what you just reinterated. He jokingly said that so few people know about their deal, that they might be able to just sneak in and renew their lease.

It seems that site started out as a private golf club, then went public, and the paperwork kinda got lost in the process. Or something to that affect.

At Tombll, we are pretty well set as far s the longevity of the range. We won all of our cases in court with the interlopers trying to hassle us. The Texas Safe Range Act was a huge help. As long as we have somebody willing to run the Matches, we will be there. The only thing is, I think might be headed for more one day matches.

I have thought about having a Grand Agg over two days. On Saturday, you don't start shooting until noon, and Sunday Morning you start the 200 yard at 8:AM. That way, shooters can be out of there and headed home just past noon.

I am definitely going to try and make the Seymour Matches this year, if they are the only group matches I shoot. Heck , Our Shop just won the bid for the entire underwater running gear on 3 new 2500 HP Inland Tugs. That is great for business, but not so great fo me being able to get away too many week ends.

 

[Bill Gammon]

From what I understand, and I could be wrong, but in Michigan the old Governor Gandhome, I thing that is how you spell it, passed a law that stated that no sporting facility could be closed down, because of encroachment. She never thought about shooting ranges. So needles to say I have kept my mouth shut, when it comes to surface that she was born in CANADA, and all of you, that know me know I would never start anything like that, EH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tim Singleton]

The learning curve is pretty steep in all aspects of the sport. Not only is the obvious in shooting and wind reading to loading and attempting to learn the concept of tuning.
Then there is the equipment part. Learning what makes a gun capable of being competitive. Then there is the lead time for the highly in demand actions and stocks that will compete

It's not for the average guy for sure. It's a fight to make your way into it.
I think who ever said it earlier is right your either born with the curse or not

 

[Joe Maisto]

Benchrest Rifles are no more expensive than any other custom Rifle, or many top end Factory Models for that matter.

And, at any given moment, there are multitudes of used Rifles on the market that will shoot just as well as the new Rifle the seller just put together. We all know that many Benchrest Shooters are slaves to the "new things of the moment". We go into a little slump and start buying everything new because somebody just won a Match with it. We tend to forget the multitudes of sub .200 aggs we shot with that old "junk", and how many wins we garnered with it.

Everybody has to have the latest rest, the latest bag, the latest loading gizmo that might help you knock 1 second off of your shooting time..........only to be beat by some guy with a old Hart rest, a 25 year old bag, and a crusty old Panda in a scratched up old fiberglass stock.

New shooters look at all of this and sure, they say, "I can't afford all of that". But, I guarantee you right now that with a little shopping, starting from scratch, I could put together an entire Equipment List for a Match for less than $5000. That includes a Rifle, Bench Equipment, Windflags, Loading Equipment, Bullets, Primers and Powder and a tank of gas to get there.

Here is a typical used BR Rifle straight from our classifieds. It's just one I picked at random.
http://benchrest.com/class/index.php?a=2&b=9426


Of course, it will all be used. But in Benchrest, more times than not, used does not mean wore out. It means......"wow, He just won the Super Shoot with a new (insert item), I better get one of those".

Great post Jackie. I'm one of those with an old Hart rest, and I have often looked at equipment being used by top shooters who can well afford the latest and supposedly "best", then I take a deeper look at some, ( one in particular that usually places in the top 5 or thereabouts) at the SS using an old RCBS jr and other older equipment , and realize it's the man knowing what to do with what he has and when...
I'd like to print his name but do not have permission. He is also quiet spoken and humble. Jerry knows him well ...

 

[jackie schmidt]

The learning curve is pretty steep in all aspects of the sport. Not only is the obvious in shooting and wind reading to loading and attempting to learn the concept of tuning.
Then there is the equipment part. Learning what makes a gun capable of being competitive. Then there is the lead time for the highly in demand actions and stocks that will compete

It's not for the average guy for sure. It's a fight to make your way into it.
I think who ever said it earlier is right your either born with the curse or not

Tom, you can see by your post, and my post #137, that there is considerable contrast in how different competitors see the game.

 

[Tom Thomson]

more thoughts

I have read a lot of the posts on this thread and I'm getting a sense that there is a concern about declining attendance, lack of interest etc. I have a Savage 110 in 308 which I enjoy shooting. I also reload for that gun (and others) and have the load, the gun and myself down to abt 1/2 min, so I am thinking why not enter a match and see how I do? I have read abt guys shooting in the ones and twos. Is that better than my 1/2?
I also see scores posted in the hundreds. Are those better than ones? Am I a palma or an ftr?
So, my question is, where can someone like me get basic info on classes, scoring etc. I posted this question on another forum and was told to go to the NRA site and look it up. How about a sticky on classes or on scoring or acronyms and abbreviations.
I'll bet I'm not alone.
tommyt

 

[Tim Singleton]

As far as group shooting 1/2 min or approx 1/2" at 100 yds is .500" of an inch. So when there is talk of shooting in the 1s. They are talking about shooting 5 shot groups smaller then .200" of an inch like a .198" group or even an aggregate or average of 5-5 shot groups
Then there are weight and stock dimensional requirements for the rifle. The NBRSA website has links to rules that will help a lot. I was where you are now a few years ago. This site has a lot of information and guys here will help a lot.

 

[Jammer Six]

I posted this question on another forum and was told to go to the NRA site and look it up.

Google produces this site when "benchrest" is googled.

This is one of the main things you guys could change.

If someone is here, it's either because they're benchrest shooters (that would be you guys) or they have at least one question about benchrest. That's why they googled the word "benchrest". If we came up to you at a match, I'm told you would all drop what you were doing and answer our questions. All our questions, no matter how inane.

There are four differences between questions here and questions at a match.

1. You're not obligated to answer. Even the tiny obligation created by a face to face encounter is absent. If you don't answer, no one will ever know you were involved.
2. You're not answering one person's questions. Your answer will be read, quite literally, around the world by any number of people. Now and stretching into the future. People who googled "benchrest".
3. The person asking the question hasn't committed to attending a match, much less your sport. They're deciding whether or not to attend a match. Guess what they will base that decision on after you answer?
4. Links work better here than in a face to face question. And they work much, much better than a "go look it up" answer, at least if you're trying to grow attendance. The people are here because they've already done research. You're either the answer to that research, or you're not. Your choice. If you don't want to bother, then see number one. Of course, if your goal is to drive people away, or to get rid of newbies, since one of the very best ways to judge the character of any group is how they treat newbies, then a "go look it up" answer will be one of the most effective tools you could choose.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Tom-

Here is a FAQ to read so you can see exactly what questions to ask
http://www.benchrest.com/FAQ/

Your gun doesnt fit into any of our categories in BR proper but there is a thing called UBR that has a factory class and shoots a caliber neutral score target. Another path would be an nra shooting class called F/TR. it is shot at multiple ranges, prone off a bipod and is limited to 223 and 308 only. If you post where you are there will be a mentor available to help you decide what to do whether it be borrow a gun and try a br match or tune yours up for a class it fits into. There is an offer from our forum operator here to bring everything but your trigger finger to try at a match. Once we figure out your intentions we can go from there- i.e. Are you wanting to use your gun or step up to a br gun. Its a large financial step to get into our game thats why we recommend you getting with a mentor to not buy useless stuff. If you decide to go the ftr path i can help you in the direction you need to go to do that! So with a little more info we'll be ready to go just let us know! Welcome aboard!!