Konrad's journal of Highpower Rifle Competition

"Mental Focus. Not Equipment Hocus Pocus."


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The 2019 Season

The Scores

Date Location Standing Sitting Rapid
Prone
Slow
Prone
Aggregate
April 7 Bonfield 98-2 99-4 95-1 195-8 487-15 97.4%
May 5 Bonfield 98-3 100-7 99-4 199-12 496-26 99.2%
May 11 Bonfield 198-6 200-9 178-9 - 576-24 96.0%
May 25 Lodi 95-1 98-4 98-0 196-5 487-10 97.4%
May 26 Lodi 195-5 200-12 197-11 382-11 974-39 97.4%
June 1 Milan 194-4 199-9 197-9 199-12 789-34 98.6%
June 2 Milan 89-0 100-6 99-2 195-10 483-18 96.6%
June 9 Bonfield 98-4 100-4 100-5 197-5 495-18 99.0%
June 22 Milan 197-5 199-11 199-11 198-8 793-35 99.1%
June 23 Milan 193-4 200-12 200-8 198-10 791-34 98.9%
July 4 Bonfield 198-4 199-6 194-4 197-13 788-27 98.5%
July 21 Bonfield 196-9 198-10 197-9 - 591-28 98.5%
July 29 Camp Perry 97-1 - 96-0 92-2 285-3 95.0%
July 30 Camp Perry 93-2 100-7 100-4 195-9 488-22 97.6%
July 31 Camp Perry 91-1 - 100-6 99-6 290-13 96.7%
August 1 Camp Perry 98-5 98-2 100-4 195-5 491-16 98.2%
August 6 Camp Atterbury 100-3 100-10 98-4 196-11 494-28 98.8%
August 7 Camp Atterbury 98-1 100-4 99-5 193-5 490-15 98.0%
August 9 Camp Atterbury 195-5 200-9 200-7 199-11 794-32 99.3%
August 10 Camp Atterbury 196-8 198-14 198-10 196-8 788-40 98.5%
August 11 Camp Atterbury 193-7 199-12 197-9 194-6 783-34 97.9%
August 31 Milan 196-6 198-10 198-7 200-11 792-34 99.0%
September 1 Milan 199-10 199-10 199-8 198-9 795-37 99.4%
September 14 Bonfield 199-8 200-7 200-10 200-12 799-37 99.9%
October 5 Milan 196-7 197-3 199-10 - 592-20 98.7%
 
2019 Season Average: Standing Sitting Rapid
Prone
Slow
Prone
Aggregate
97.1% 99.5% 98.4% 98.0% 98.1%



I bought another flat-top service rifle upper over the winter so now I have two. I put my 4X service rifle scope on the new upper but I kept the 25X scope that I borrowed at the end of last year on my old upper. While the service rifle configuration will be the primary one for the year, I want to try the higher power scope in a few matches as well. I think this will let me see some things with my technique that isn't as easily seen with a lower power optic.

 

The weather keeps changing every day but today was fairly mild although rain was predicted. The start was delayed due to some showers and we also had to pause in the middle of the match as the rain passed through. I felt quite disconnected from my shooting all day. The positions felt foreign and I lacked a comfortable cadence for rapid fire.

Standing: 98-2
Sitting: 99-4
Rapid Prone: 95-1
Slow Prone: 195-8
Aggregate: 487-15

I'm much more comfortable in a rifle match when I'm used to the process and I can anticipate everything that might happen. Today, there were a lot of differences from my normal routine. First, we were going to shoot on electronic targets. This greatly altered my routine of looking at shot locations and the pace of shooting. Second, I was using a 25X scope on my service rifle. This brought out a lot of detail in my shooting but it also brought new challenges.

Standing: 98-3
Sitting: 100-7
Rapid Prone: 99-4
Slow Prone: 199-12
Aggregate: 496-26

Things look a lot different when looking through a 4X scope compared to a 25X one. The target appeared so much smaller today as I'm back to my service rifle optic. We shot again on electronic targets and I was more comfortable in the routine but I still have yet to get fully used to the process. The skies were merely overcast when we started with temperatures in the 40's. The rain started in early afternoon and the last quarter of the match was cancelled.

Standing: 198-6
Sitting: 200-9
Rapid Prone: 178-9
Slow Prone: DNF
Aggregate: 576-24

 

Over this past week I had the flu which really took the wind out of my sails. The feelings were still lingering as I headed into the weekend. My concentration was below par and with all my coughing, congestion and shortness of breath it made me feel like I was really exerting myself although I really wasn't. Unfortunately, this mean that I couldn't give my team mates my best effort in the team match.

Standing: 95-1
Sitting: 98-4
Rapid Prone: 98-0
Slow Prone: 196-5
Aggregate: 487-10

 

This morning I didn't feel as ill as I did yesterday. I was still coughing and there was plenty of congestion, but I was able to concentrate much better. The weather, though, was fantastic. Just slightly cool in the morning so you needed a sweatshirt. Then, what the sun came out a little later, it was nice and warm without a lot of heat. Blue skies above punctuated by some occasional puffy clouds. I wish every highpower match had weather like this.

Standing: 195-5
Sitting: 200-12
Rapid Prone: 197-11
Slow Prone: 193-3
Slow Prone: 189-8
Aggregate: 974-39

 

It's been raining around here a lot so the grass is long and wet. In addition, the range was infested with gnats that seemed to gravitate to the shooters. There was a chance of rain in the afternoon but we got the whole match in and stayed dry. A hazy sky kept the sun from making the day too hot.

Standing: 194-4
Sitting: 199-9
Rapid Prone: 197-9
Slow Prone: 199-12
Aggregate: 789-34

 

The weather was really nice for the Leg match. Just a little breeze and lots of sunshine. My problem was that my allergies seemed to become active. I was sneezing and coughing and it was hard to concentrate.

Standing: 89-0
Sitting: 100-6
Rapid Prone: 99-2
Slow Prone: 195-10
Aggregate: 483-18

 

We spent most of the day under overcast skies. It wasn't until the very end of the match that the sun came out. It was the end of the match but time-wise it was only early afternoon because we were shooting on electronic targets and the day went fairly quickly. The day seemed rather odd as I felt I shot a decent score, and one that would normally be a winning one, but I came in fourth. The competition here is so keen that it's days like this where I see how much I still need to work to be able to climb higher and shoot better scores.

Standing: 98-4
Sitting: 100-4
Rapid Prone: 100-5
Slow Prone: 197-5
Aggregate: 495-18

 

When I was at this range a few weeks ago the gnats were out in force. This time they were only annoying. It was overcast when I arrived at the club but then the sun came out for most of the day. Temperatures were mild but the humidity made it seem warmer than it really was. Because of the odd number of shooters, I was on a firing point with only one other person. That meant that I would have to go back and forth to the pits whenever there was a pit change. This made me feel a bit detached from the match. As if I was shooting by myself.

Standing: 197-5
Sitting: 199-11
Rapid Prone: 199-11
Slow Prone: 198-8
Aggregate: 793-35

The second day of this 2 day aggregate was a bit overcast. The air was humid from all the rain we have had but there was a little breeze that made things tolerable.

Standing: 193-4
Sitting: 200-12
Rapid Prone: 200-8
Slow Prone: 198-10
Aggregate: 791-34


There were two sets of weather conditions today. In the morning, the temperature was warm and tolerable with a little breeze that kept us comfortable. By the time we were back at 300 the air was still, the sun was beating down, and the humid air made the range brutal.

Standing: 198-4
Sitting: 199-6
Rapid Prone: 194-4
Slow Prone: 197-13
Aggregate: 788-27


We had hot weather all week but at least it was dry. As soon as the weekend came, the rain did as well in the form of thunderstorms. Storms were predicted for the afternoon and sure enough, they brought lightning and rain which halted the match after rapid-prone. In the meantime it was very humid and that tended to make the day a little more difficult.

Standing: 196-9
Sitting: 198-10
Rapid Prone: 197-9
Slow Prone: -
Aggregate: 591-28

 

The President's Rifle Match at Camp Perry and the temperatures were pleasant. Unfortunately the wind wasn't very pleasant as it got stronger as the day went on. This was not the result I was hoping for and I have already started making plans on how I can perform better in these types of conditions in the future.

Standing: 97-1
Rapid Prone: 96-0
Slow Prone: 92-2
Aggregate: 285-3

 

The great weather continued for the National Trophy Individual. This was only my second day here and I already felt tired. It's so easy to get behind on sleep at this place.

Standing: 93-2
Sitting: 100-7
Rapid Prone: 100-4
Slow Prone: 195-9
Aggregate: 488-22

 

It was heavy overcast in the morning for the Hearst Doubles match. By the end of the day the skies were clear.

Standing: 91-1
Rapid Prone: 100-6
Slow Prone: 99-6
Aggregate: 290-13

  

The National Trophy Team Match and the match that I focus on when I come to Camp Perry.

Standing: 98-5
Sitting: 98-2
Rapid Prone: 100-4
Slow Prone: 195-5
Aggregate: 491-16

 

I start off here at Camp Atterbury with a 2-man team match. The morning weather was great with very calm conditions but then it got windier as the day went on. It was warm with some humidity but certainly not uncomfortable.

Standing: 100-3
Sitting: 100-10
Rapid Prone: 98-4
Slow Prone: 196-11
Aggregate: 494-28

We had a fog delay this morning before the team match. Not very long but it sure would have been difficult to see the targets. After that the day was warm and sunny.

Standing: 98-1
Sitting: 100-4
Rapid Prone: 99-5
Slow Prone: 193-5
Aggregate: 490-15

Is it bad when you hear the match director call your name over a loudspeaker when you are walking on to the range? It was only because I was re-squadded and I didn't do anything wrong. This is what happened on the first day of the individual championship. The forecast called for upper-80's today but I had to put on a sweatshirt in the morning.

Standing: 195-5
Sitting: 200-9
Rapid Prone: 200-7

I checked the scores last night and saw that my performance put me high on the leader board. So I headed to the range this morning with what I would call relaxed nervousness. I was nervous about making some kind of mistake that would really hurt my standings but at the same time I was strangely relaxed about it. Like I knew I could shoot well and all I had to do was execute.

Standing: 196-8
Sitting: 198-14
Slow Prone: 199-11

Another day of calm conditions, sunshine, and warm temperatures. The third day of the championship is supposed to be the easy day where you shouldn't drop many points (if any).

Sitting: 199-12
Rapid Prone: 198-10
Slow Prone: 196-8

More calm conditions this morning as we have reached the final day of the Championship.

Standing: 193-7
Rapid Prone: 197-9
Slow Prone: 194-6
   
Championship
Aggregate:
2365-107

 

We had cool and mostly overcast conditions for our state championship today. There was some sun but most of the time it seemed like there was cloud cover. I was running the match and I had other stuff on my mind so I wasn't the most focused person on the range.

Standing: 196-6
Sitting: 198-10
Rapid Prone: 198-7
Slow Prone: 200-11
Aggregate: 792-34

Very calm for pretty much the whole of today's team match. We had some humidity but it never got very hot so the day was pretty pleasant.

Standing: 199-10
Sitting: 199-10
Rapid Prone: 199-8
Slow Prone: 198-9
Aggregate: 795-37

 

We have these kind of days in September where the temperatures are cool in the morning and warm and pleasant later in the day. Just real nice weather to shoot a match. It's hard to describe how distracted I was today. Not during shooting because I was pretty focused when aiming at the target. But I was running the match and was always thinking about when I was going to be able to enter scores in the computer and if there was some problem going on elsewhere on the line. There was also other personal stuff that I would be thinking about as the day went on. I had a good performance but in some ways I didn't really enjoy it because of the distractions.

Standing: 199-8
Sitting: 200-7
Rapid Prone: 200-10
Slow Prone: 200-12
Aggregate: 799-37

 

The last match of the year and it's time for a little experimentation. So I did the same thing as last year. I shot a service rifle with a 25 power scope. Unfortunately the weather was about the same as this match last year and we got rained out before we could shoot at 600. But before that the weather was overcast and cool.

Standing: 196-7
Sitting: 197-3
Rapid Prone: 199-10
Slow Prone: -
Aggregate: 592-20