Konrad's journal of Highpower Rifle Competition

"Mental Focus. Not Equipment Hocus Pocus."


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The 2020 Season

The Scores

Date Location Standing Sitting Rapid
Prone
Slow
Prone
Aggregate
June 7 Bonfield 191-4 199-10 200-11 197-7 787-32 98.4%
June 9 Bonfield 189-6 199-9 199-7 200-9 787-31 99.2%
June 16 Bonfield 192-3 200-10 200-9 200-11 792-33 99.0%
June 23 Bonfield 188-6 197-8 200-10 199-13 784-37 98.0%
June 27 Milan 189-6 198-12 199-7 199-12 785-37 98.1%
June 28 Milan 93-3 98-3 98-1 198-11 487-18 97.4%
June 30 Bonfield 198-7 200-11 198-7 199-13 795-38 99.4%
July 4 Bonfield 198-5 200-13 200-11 200-15 798-44 99.8%
July 7 Bonfield 195-8 200-9 199-7 196-10 790-34 98.8%
July 11 Bonfield 199-9 200-9 200-11 200-11 799-40 99.9%
July 12 Bonfield 195-3 200-9 200-12 198-13 793-37 99.1%
July 14 Bonfield 193-8 200-14 199-10 199-11 791-43 98.9%
July 25 Bonfield 197-6 200-13 200-7 198-15 795-41 99.4%
July 28 Bonfield 195-7 200-14 198-10 199-12 792-43 99.0%
August 4 Bonfield 195-9 199-7 199-10 198-14 791-40 98.9%
August 11 Bonfield 197-5 194-9 200-8 199-14 790-36 98.8%
August 16 Bonfield 192-5 200-11 200-10 197-9 789-35 98.6%
August 18 Bonfield 193-5 200-12 198-7 200-13 791-37 98.9%
August 25 Bonfield 195-5 200-15 200-14 200-7 795-41 99.4%
August 29 Marshall 193-4 200-13 - 198-10 591-27 98.5%
August 30 Marshall 96-1 - 100-5 97-4 293-10 97.7%
August 30 Marshall 97-1 99-1 99-2 198-10 493-14 98.6%
September 5 Milan 198-8 199-14 196-2 197-13 790-37 98.8%
September 6 Milan 191-6 200-11 198-8 194-9 783-34 97.9%
September 10 River Bend 99-6 100-8 100-5 200-13 499-32 99.8%
September 11 River Bend 197-3 199-14 200-12 197-6 793-35 99.1%
September 12 River Bend 197-5 200-10 195-2 199-5 791-22 98.9%
September 13 River Bend 97-3 100-8 99-6 198-12 494-29 98.8%
September 19 Bonfield 196-4 200-15 196-3 199-10 791-32 98.9%
September 20 Bonfield 198-6 200-14 198-13 200-12 796-45 99.5%
October 3 Milan 198-5 200-8 200-14 199-9 797-36 99.6%



The shooting season that had so much promise has stalled. Government mandated shut-downs have cancelled matches including the National Matches at Camp Perry and Camp Atterbury. Instead of starting in April like normal, our season is now starting in June. I didn't shoot any smallbore over the winter which is a first for me in 20 years. Additionally, I bought a new range cart and I have to find the best way to move it around the range and position it on my firing point.

 

There's always lots of rust for the first match of the year and today was no exception.

Standing: 191-4
Sitting: 199-9
Rapid Prone: 200-12
Slow Prone: 197-7
Aggregate: 787-32

This was perhaps one of the most challenging shooting experiences I have had in recent memory. Every stage threw me a curve and it took effort and patience to get through it. I arrived at the range and found that we had to start at 300 yards and then shoot the remaining stages. Despite the challenges I'm glad I shot, as the adversity gave me something else to think about.

Standing: 189-6
Sitting: 199-9
Rapid Prone: 199-7
Slow Prone: 200-9
Aggregate: 787-31

Today's weather was really custom-made for highpower shooting. It was warm but still comfortable without a lot of humidity. A 1-2MPH breeze would sometimes come up but for the most part there wasn't any wind. Mostly blue skies with a few puffy clouds floating overhead.

Standing: 192-3
Sitting: 200-10
Rapid Prone: 200-9
Slow Prone: 200-11
Aggregate: 792-33

It was a really nice day to shoot today. But that didn't stop me from screwing things up and having an unacceptable performance.

Standing: 188-6
Sitting: 197-8
Rapid Prone: 200-10
Slow Prone: 199-13
Aggregate: 784-37

 

The day turned out to be pretty hot and humid. Not the worst I've shot in, but pretty oppressive. I tried to stay hydrated and wound up drinking an entire gallon of water. I was still feeling the heat by the end of the day.

Standing: 189-6
Sitting: 198-12
Rapid Prone: 199-7
Slow Prone: 199-12
Aggregate: 785-37

The heat index wasn't as bad as yesterday's but it was still pretty warm for today's Leg match. Clouds came over late morning making things more tolerable.

Standing: 93-3
Sitting: 98-3
Rapid Prone: 98-1
Slow Prone: 198-11
Aggregate: 487-18


A couple of days since my last match and I'm out shooting again. The heat and humidity continues but we were able to move right along and finish the whole match in about three hours.

Standing: 198-7
Sitting: 200-11
Rapid Prone: 198-7
Slow Prone: 199-13
Aggregate: 795-38

It was another hot one today. The fact that we started in the morning and we were done by noon certainly helped. As did the gallon of water I drank. There wasn't much breeze and if there was, it wasn't very strong.

Standing: 198-5
Sitting: 200-13
Rapid Prone: 200-11
Slow Prone: 200-15
Aggregate: 798-44

 

The heat has shown no sign of going away. Another day in the 90's and it's amazing how it makes everything harder to accomplish. More effort is required to move, plan, and concentrate.

Standing: 195-8
Sitting: 200-9
Rapid Prone: 199-7
Slow Prone: 196-10
Aggregate: 790-34

 

There was finally a respite from the continual heat we've been getting. It certainly wasn't cold, but morning was quite comfortable and it didn't start to get warm until far into the match.

Standing: 199-9
Sitting: 200-9
Rapid Prone: 200-11
Slow Prone: 200-11
Aggregate: 799-40

 

Another pleasant day. There was humidity in the grass from yesterday's rain but the temperatures were only in the mid-80's so shooting was pretty comfortable.

Standing: 195-3
Sitting: 200-9
Rapid Prone: 200-12
Slow Prone: 198-13
Aggregate: 793-37

 

This was a nice day to shoot with blue skies and sunshine. But I'm starting to get a little worn down with the amount of shooting I have done in the last week.

Standing: 193-8
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 199-10
Slow Prone: 199-11
Aggregate: 791-43

 

Warm and sunny but not as hot as some people were predicting. It was good to get a break from shooting for a couple of weeks.

Standing: 197-6
Sitting: 200-13
Rapid Prone: 200-7
Slow Prone: 198-15
Aggregate: 795-41

The afternoon started with mild temperatures but then rose to about 90. This was starting to work against me by the end.

Standing: 195-7
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 198-10
Slow Prone: 199-12
Aggregate: 792-43

 

It was actually almost chilly on the firing line when we started. There was an occasional wind that would speed up to about 5-7MPH but a generally pleasant day to shoot. Last year I shot a 25X scope on my service rifle because I felt that I could learn more about my techniques if I could see more detail. I have brought that scope out again to see if I can decode some improvement in my shooting that I can carry back over to the service rifle.

Standing: 195-9
Sitting: 199-7
Rapid Prone: 199-10
Slow Prone: 198-14
Aggregate: 791-40

 

We had storms in the area last night. When I got to the range the power was out and there were multiple trees down which had to be cleaned up. We spent a couple hours taking care of that before we started shooting. Last week I had a chance to move the 25X scope forward on my rifle so I could get better eye relief in prone. But now I was back to trying to get zeros again for all stages.

Standing: 197-5
Sitting: 194-9
Rapid Prone: 200-8
Slow Prone: 199-14
Aggregate: 790-36

Today's format was a team match, with a twist. The experienced shooters were matched up with newer shooters with the intent to form roughly even teams and to get people some coaching. The day was really nice but 80 shots from four relays took a while to get done. Even with electronic targets. I still used the 25X scope for this one but it feels like I'm not shooting to its potential.

Standing: 192-5
Sitting: 200-11
Rapid Prone: 200-10
Slow Prone: 197-9
Aggregate: 789-35

It's been pretty dry and the skies have been blue. Mild temperatures made it a great day to be outside.

Standing: 193-5
Sitting: 200-12
Rapid Prone: 198-7
Slow Prone: 200-13
Aggregate: 791-37

 

Temperatures were in the low 90's but it was comfortable for most of the day. A little breeze and lots of sunshine contributed to a great day to shoot.

Standing: 195-5
Sitting: 200-15
Rapid Prone: 200-14
Slow Prone: 200-7
Aggregate: 795-41

 

I travelled to Marshall, Missouri to shoot in their service rifle championship. I had always wanted to shoot there but the 7 1/2 hour drive was previously a hindrance. We had some rain come into the area after my relay shot 200. The weather delay was long enough that the rapid prone stage was cancelled and the match was only three stages.

Standing: 193-4
Sitting: 200-13
Rapid Prone: -
Slow Prone: 198-10
Aggregate: 591-27

A team match this morning and the weather is great. Lots of water from yesterday falling off the trees along the range.

Standing: 96-1
Rapid Prone: 100-5
Slow Prone: 97-4
Aggregate: 293-10

Since I drove all this way I wanted to get in as much shooting as I could. So I stuck around for the Leg match in the afternoon. The weather was very nice and I was enjoying myself so it seemed like the right call. We started at 600 yards since the MR targets were already set up in the pits following the team match.

Standing: 97-1
Sitting: 99-1
Rapid Prone: 99-2
Slow Prone: 198-10
Aggregate: 493-14

Today's weather was tailor-made for a highpower match. Blue skies, warm temperatures, and mild wind.

Standing: 198-8
Sitting: 199-14
Rapid Prone: 196-2
Slow Prone: 197-13
Aggregate: 790-37

While yesterday's weather was great for shooting, this morning was just the opposite. Thunderstorms were overhead bringing rain that delayed the start of the team match. When the storms departed, they left nasty looking skies and lots of wind. The wind would be the story of the day as it was blowing strong for the rest of the match.

Standing: 191-6
Sitting: 200-11
Rapid Prone: 198-8
Slow Prone: 194-9
Aggregate: 783-34

 

A team match today and the conditions were very calm. The weather was great except for a fair amount of humidity hanging in the air. The day went by quickly and it seemed too easy for the score that I shot.

Standing: 99-6
Sitting: 100-8
Rapid Prone: 100-5
Slow Prone: 200-13
Aggregate: 499-32

It was hotter today than yesterday. In addition, it seemed so much more humid. A lot had to do with the fact that there was less cloud cover. Still, I kept trying to get through the day without dropping too many points.

Standing: 197-3
Sitting: 199-14
Rapid Prone: 200-12
Slow Prone: 197-6
Aggregate: 793-35

There was rain forecast for today and it didn't disappoint. The skies varied from sun, overcast, misting, and full out raining. So my gear got wet early and stayed mostly damp for the rest of the day.

Standing: 197-5
Sitting: 200-10
Rapid Prone: 195-2
Slow Prone: 199-5
Aggregate: 791-22

The final day of the tournament and my gear hasn't fully dried out. It was overcast for the start but the sun came out strong later on. Today's format was no sighters and no alibis.

Standing: 97-3
Sitting: 100-8
Rapid Prone: 99-6
Slow Prone: 198-12
Aggregate: 494-29

 

I shoot in most of the matches that I run. Running things presents its own challenges to my shooting but today I was more distracted than normal. Actually I would say that I was more focused on the details of the conduct of the match than my own shooting. When I stepped up to the line I was thinking about shooting but the other stuff crept in. At least I enjoyed being outside as it was a great day with not a cloud in the sky.

Standing: 196-4
Sitting: 200-15
Rapid Prone: 196-3
Slow Prone: 199-10
Aggregate: 791-32

 

If yesterday was a nice day to shoot, today was even better. There was a chill in the morning but with blue skies and plenty of sun it was pretty comfortable. I was still running the match but with a lower turnout than yesterday I didn't have the same level of distraction. My focus on my shooting was higher and my performance showed it.

Standing: 198-6
Sitting: 200-14
Rapid Prone: 198-13
Slow Prone: 200-12
Aggregate: 796-45

 

It's the last match of the year and I'm honestly a bit relieved. The trees are turning color and it's getting chilly each morning. Today's weather was pretty poor. It drizzled all day. Not enough to soak us or stop the match, but enough to dampen everything and create a gloomy mood.

Standing: 198-5
Sitting: 200-8
Rapid Prone: 200-14
Slow Prone: 199-9
Aggregate: 797-36

 

It was a year like I have never experienced before. A season that normally starts in April was postponed until June. My annual journey to Camp Perry and Camp Atterbury was cancelled. This was the first time I didn't go to Camp Perry since my first year in 1998. Taking some of the sting out of that was my ability to shoot on Tuesdays and travel to places like Marshall, MO and River Bend, GA.

Performance wise, this was my best season ever. The numbers bear this out as well. I went into matches with a lot of confidence knowing that I could put up a score in the low to mid 790's. X-counts were also good as I was expecting good groups in the rapids. Working with the 25X scope for most of August helped me to identify some aspects of my shooting that I have been using to improve overall. But, with the limited amount that I used it, there wasn't much advantage over the service rifle. To get a true advantage I would have to change a couple things on the scope and then use it for the entire year. For right now, I feel that I can still shoot the service rifle well and have no plans to change in the immediate future.

Individual Stages

I started the season with some frankly poor standing scores, upper 180's and low 190's. My wobble was large and it was very difficult to control and predict the rifle's approach to the target. By the end of June a switch was flipped and suddenly I had much better control. I attribute this to better support under my forward arm to take the weight of the rifle. That way I was using less muscle tension. The result was ten examples where I fired a 197 or better. The downside is that further improvement may prove difficult as now I'm trying to improve on just a couple of shots each string.

This year's average sitting score was, statistically, not the best I have ever had. It just felt that way. I shot a lot more matches but even with all those opportunities to drop points, I still fired this stage knowing I would clean it. Out of 26 times shooting a 20-shot sitting match, I fired a 200 eighteen of those times. My average group size was 15.3% smaller than last year and 4.8% smaller than 2018. At one point it became hard to write my thoughts about them as the string just felt "normal" and any shots out of the 10-ring were the outliers. There is still work to be done on shrinking the groups by making sure I'm shooting the same for all 10 shots instead of just 8 or 9 of them.

Rapid prone was a personal best this season with almost half the matches scoring a 200. That's quite an improvement for a stage that I have traditionally struggled with. Even when I didn't clean both strings, I still felt good about most of them as average group size was 5.3% smaller than my previous personal best group size. This is despite the fact that I hold my breath for the second magazine of each string. Letting the sights cant a bit has been an improvement as this lets the rifle rest naturally.

Slow prone has been a dramatic improvement over previous years. I have been up and down with this in the past but 2020 scores were not only high but consistent. The double digit X-counts bear this performance out as well. Taking my time and being discerning with my shots selection has certainly helped. As has the aforementioned natural cant of the rifle.

2020 Averages
Standing: 97.1%
Sitting: 99.6%
Rapid Prone: 99.4%
Slow Prone: 99.2%
Aggregate: 98.8%