Konrad's journal of Highpower Rifle Competition

"Mental Focus. Not Equipment Hocus Pocus."


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The 2017 Season

The Scores

Date Location Standing Sitting Rapid
Prone
Slow
Prone
Aggregate
April 9 Bonfield 90-1 99-2 87-0 195-6 471-9 94.2%
April 23 Bonfield 97-2 99-5 97-2 199-13 492-22 98.4%
April 29 Milan 98-3 98-3 97-2 - 293-8 97.7%
May 7 Bonfield 92-1 100-9 100-7 197-8 489-25 97.8%
May 13 Bonfield 194-6 200-14 197-6 200-9 791-35 98.9%
May 27 Lodi 99-3 99-8 100-5 183-6 481-22 96.2%
May 28 Lodi 191-3 199-10 192-3 381-14 963-30 96.3%
June 10 Milan 191-5 199-15 200-8 197-9 787-37 98.4%
June 11 Milan 93-1 99-3 98-1 197-4 487-9 97.4%
July 1 Van Meter 99-4 - 99-5 95-2 293-11 97.7%
July 1 Van Meter 99-2 100-5 99-4 191-5 489-16 97.8%
July 2 Van Meter 189-2 199-9 196-7 194-3 778-21 97.3%
July 4 Bonfield 198-7 200-13 200-15 199-7 797-42 99.6%
July 8 Camp Atterbury 99-3 100-4 98-5 189-4 486-16 97.2%
July 9 Camp Atterbury 97-3 99-4 100-3 192-7 488-17 97.6%
July 10 Camp Atterbury 195-4 199-11 198-7 187-2 779-24 97.4%
July 12 Camp Atterbury 197-7 - 198-12 194-7 589-26 98.2%
July 13 Camp Atterbury 190-1 - 199-14 200-11 589-26 98.2%
July 16 Camp Perry - 100-2 96-0 92-1 288-3 96.0%
July 17 Camp Perry 95-2 - 99-5 95-2 289-9 96.3%
July 18 Camp Perry 96-2 100-6 93-0 196-9 485-17 97.0%
July 19 Camp Perry 96-4 - 97-0 95-2 288-6 96.0%
July 20 Camp Perry 97-1 98-4 98-1 190-4 483-10 96.6%
July 30 Bonfield 95-0 100-6 100-4 199-12 494-22 98.8%
August 7 Milan 197-6 200-12 200-13 195-5 792-36 99.0%
August 19 Bonfield 195-4 200-8 198-6 198-10 791-28 98.9%
September 2 Milan 197-8 199-11 198-5 194-8 788-32 98.5%
September 3 Milan 196-2 200-14 200-8 197-6 793-30 99.1%
September 10 Bonfield 97-2 100-6 93-0 200-12 490-20 98.0%
September 16 Bonfield 197-7 199-12 198-5 199-13 793-37 99.1%
September 17 Bonfield 195-7 200-14 200-8 198-11 793-40 99.1%
October 1 Bonfield 197-5 195-12 200-7 197-9 789-33 98.6%



After some experimentation at the end of last season, I have now committed to shooting a scoped service rifle starting this year. As I learned before, all those things that made up my process before will require a fresh examination. Hopefully I can come up to speed quickly and I won't have to throw away the early part of the season. But the reality is that there just isn't enough time to take care of all the little things before shooting starts.

 

The temperatures were warm for early April but the wind was gusting. Even though there was no sun, the light was pretty even all day.

Standing: 90-1
Sitting: 99-2
Rapid Prone: 87-0
Slow Prone: 195-6
Aggregate: 471-9

 

This was a really nice day to shoot. Perfect temperatures with plenty of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. We did have a little breeze for the whole day that was mostly in our faces. I had adjusted my zero from last match and now the scope knobs were set so my zeros were only a few clicks away from the displayed zero position.

Standing: 97-2
Sitting: 99-5
Rapid Prone: 97-2
Slow Prone: 199-13
Aggregate: 492-22

 

The weather forecast didn’t look good for the entire weekend as I drove out for this match. When morning came the skies were dark, the winds were active, and it was quite chilly. We started shooting in the hopes that we could get the entire course in before the rain came. Unfortunately, it started raining as we were at the 300 yard line and we decided to stop things there.

Standing: 98-3
Sitting: 98-3
Rapid Prone: 97-2
Aggregate: 293-8

 

There was a cool start to the morning but the sun was out all day and that brought the temperatures to a comfortable level. It was decided to run only two relays and to set up on every other target. This wouldn't bother me too much except I was given the radio to call the line while I was shooting. So I had to yell out the range commands when I was in position as well as call for target marks.

Standing: 92-1
Sitting: 100-9
Rapid Prone: 100-7
Slow Prone: 197-8
Aggregate: 489-25


I was running today's match so that made things a lot more hectic. The weather was going to be great so we had a very good turnout. With some late entries I was delayed getting out to the firing line to get things started. That put everything behind and I felt like I was slowing everyone down.

Standing: 194-6
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 197-6
Slow Prone: 200-9
Aggregate: 791-35

 

Today's team match for this weekend's Regional and we're shooting on electronic targets all weekend. They worked much better than they did last year. There were six of us there so we split up into two three-man teams. That way we could do some experimenting even though the target system won't let us pair-fire.

Standing: 99-3
Sitting: 99-8
Rapid Prone: 100-5
Slow Prone: 183-6
Aggregate: 481-22

After overnight rain the weather turned out great for the day. The electronic targets worked pretty well but the biggest problem was that they didn't match my zeros all weekend. This had to do with the way they were calibrated but you really had to pay attention to your sighters. Otherwise, a shot that was called in the middle might be interpreted by the software as way out.

Slow Prone: 195-8
Slow Prone: 186-6
Rapid Prone: 192-3
Standing: 191-3
Sitting: 199-10
Aggregate: 963-30

 

The forecast called for temperatures around 90 today for our state highpower championship. But that wasn't what was on my mind this morning. It seemed like so many people were shooting well recently that I felt like I had to perform at a high level to keep up. Competition can bring out the best performance in people but it can also be a heavy burden.

Standing: 191-5
Sitting: 199-15
Rapid Prone: 200-8
Slow Prone: 197-9
Aggregate: 787-37

 

Today was a little bit hotter than yesterday and it just felt more oppressive than yesterday. This was a Leg match and I don't shoot very many of these. But I was pretty relaxed for most of the day despite the high temperatures.

Standing: 93-1
Sitting: 99-3
Rapid Prone: 98-1
Slow Prone: 197-4
Aggregate: 487-9

 

With hot and muggy conditions being the norm in Van Meter in July, today was quite pleasant. It was warm but nowhere near as hot and unpleasant as we've seen in year's past. In the morning we were shooting a 2-man team match.

Standing: 99-4
Rapid Prone: 99-5
Slow Prone: 95-2
Aggregate: 293-11

After the team match this morning we went back to the 200 yard line to start the Leg match.

Standing: 99-2
Sitting: 100-5
Rapid Prone: 99-4
Slow Prone: 191-5
Aggregate: 489-16

The weather forecast wasn't promising for the individual today. Rain was predicted and so we hustled along to get all four stages in today before the rain came. Although the last couple relays shot in drizzle, it wasn't too bad.

Standing: 189-2
Sitting: 199-9
Rapid Prone: 196-7
Slow Prone: 194-3
Aggregate: 778-21

Temperatures climbed into the upper 80's today and it was a "wet heat". There was a lot of humidity in the air and it felt oppressive. I'm glad I brought a water jug to the range as I drank most of it over the course of the match.

Standing: 198-7
Sitting: 200-13
Rapid Prone: 200-15
Slow Prone: 199-7
Aggregate: 797-42

 

It feels really weird that driving to the Nationals means not driving to Ohio. Today's match is a two-man team and we had good weather for it with sunshine and light breeze.

Standing: 99-3
Sitting: 100-4
Rapid Prone: 98-5
Slow Prone: 189-4
Aggregate: 486-16

Today was the 4-man team match and the weather was perfect for it.

Standing: 97-3
Sitting: 99-4
Rapid Prone: 100-3
Slow Prone: 192-7
Aggregate: 488-17

 

Today is the first day of the NRA Championship and there was a 40% chance of rain. The air felt like it was going to rain any minute but the sprinkles held off until we got off the range.

Standing: 195-4
Sitting: 199-11
Rapid Prone: 198-7

 

Yesterday we barely started the matches when storms moved into the area. This brought lots of rain cancelling the day's matches. Today, we would shoot three matches with the additional 600 from yesterday. That would make for a long day in the heat and the humidity.

Standing: 197-7
Rapid Prone: 198-12
Slow Prone: 187-2
Slow Prone: 194-7

 

 

It has been decided to just cancel the two unfired sitting matches and just shoot today as scheduled. There was a forecast of rain coming in and the skies were overcast all day. In addition the humidity also made things seem warmer.

Standing: 190-1
Rapid Prone: 199-14
Slow Prone: 200-11

 

I arrived at Camp Perry a couple of days ago and had a very relaxed acclimation period. Very unlike the last ten years or so when I had to shoot the day after I came in. This was a new match the CMP was running and since I was already here I gave it a go. While the day was really nice, the match started at 11:00 so we started to get mid-day winds.

Sitting: 100-2
Rapid Prone: 96-0
Slow Prone: 92-1
Aggregate: 288-3

 

I usually get very nervous before shooting the President's Rifle Match. There were a few butterflies this morning but overall I was much calmer than I have been in recent years. The weather was great with a few clouds and lots of sunshine.

Standing: 95-2
Rapid Prone: 99-5
Slow Prone: 95-2
Aggregate: 289-9

 

The weather just keeps getting better and better. Clear skies for almost the entire day. It was warm but not really hot and quite comfortable. A long day but I was off the range by 3:15.

Standing: 96-2
Sitting: 100-6
Rapid Prone: 93-0
Slow Prone: 196-9
Aggregate: 485-17

 

This was a 2-man team match and the weather just seemed hotter than it has all week. It was a short day but I felt run down already by mid-morning.

Standing: 96-4
Rapid Prone: 97-0
Slow Prone: 95-2
Aggregate: 288-6

 

The National Trophy matches culminate with one of the most important matches I shoot all year, the NTT 6-man team. As a shooter and team captain, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and not let down my team mates. It was a warm day with rain forecast for the afternoon.

Standing: 97-1
Sitting: 98-4
Rapid Prone: 98-1
Slow Prone: 190-4
Aggregate: 483-10

 

This match caught me off-guard a little bit. I didn't know about it until the last minute and in some ways I felt like I was just going through the motions all day. I was definately making an effort but my performance wasn't reacting to the environment. It was more like I was throwing out a particular level of performance and seeing what happens. A better way to describe it would be like this. If I hadn't known my score and someone asked me what I shot at the end of the day, I would tell them about mid-480's.

Standing: 95-0
Sitting: 100-6
Rapid Prone: 100-4
Slow Prone: 199-12
Aggregate: 494-22

 

I almost gave up on this match because the weather forecast looked rather bad. The day turned out pretty nice with overcast skies in the morning but clearing towards the afternoon. Not too hot and very little wind.

Standing: 197-6
Sitting: 200-12
Rapid Prone: 200-13
Slow Prone: 195-5
Aggregate: 792-36

 

Since having a scoped rifle built, I have always used a UBR buttstock. But this stock has a comb that has a wider flare than my old A2. I wanted to see if this has been making any difference in prone so I used my lower with the A2 stock today. It was a nice day to shoot with very little wind.

Standing: 195-4
Sitting: 200-8
Rapid Prone: 198-6
Slow Prone: 198-10
Aggregate: 791-28

 

A really nice day to shoot for our state service rifle championship. Most of the day was overcast with the sun only coming out at the end of the day. Very little wind and mild conditions. I also forgot my mat at home so I had to borrow one from another shooter on my firing point.

Standing: 197-8
Sitting: 199-11
Rapid Prone: 198-5
Slow Prone: 194-8
Aggregate: 788-32

 

This was the team match for this weekend and the weather was a bit warmer than yesterday. Still pretty calm but we had more sunlight and you probably wanted to keep more hydrated. The fact that we didn't have any sighters put more focus on getting things rights from the beginning of each stage.

Standing: 196-2
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 200-8
Slow Prone: 197-6
Aggregate: 793-30

 

The weather for shooting just stays fantastic. The skies were nice and clear and the tempertures were quite mild. Still, we only had 8 shooters for this match. A disappointing turnout considering the weather and how many shooters are in the area.

Standing: 97-2
Sitting: 100-6
Rapid Prone: 93-0
Slow Prone: 200-12
Aggregate: 490-20

 

Warm and sunny today. I went through the day not feeling very well. Not really bad but just a little queezy. I just wanted to be done with the day.

Standing: 197-7
Sitting: 199-12
Rapid Prone: 198-5
Slow Prone: 199-13
Aggregate: 793-37

Our team match today was a humid affair with some rain in the forecast. Even in the morning the air was heavy with moisture and very still so it felt hotter than it really was. We did get some rain later in the day. It didn't last long, but when it did rain it poured down hard.

Standing: 195-7
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 200-8
Slow Prone: 198-11
Aggregate: 793-40

 

The shooting season is winding down but we're still getting good weather although it was a bit brisk this morning. My shooting today was very much on "auto-pilot" as I was just following the actions that I've ingrained during the year. I was trying out a tinted cap for the occular lens of my scope today. My hope was that this could cut down on the high brightness that I have seen when shooting when the range is bathed in sunlight. This is especially apparent when shooting prone in the afternoon.

Standing: 197-5
Sitting: 195-12
Rapid Prone: 200-7
Slow Prone: 197-9
Aggregate: 789-33