Competitors from California and Arizona once again gathered at the Los Angeles Rifle & Revolver Club as the Club’s 100th Anniversary year continued with an NRA Metric Prone Regional Championship: the most challenging format in the NRA Smallbore world. Shooting on ISSF targets at 50 meters and 100 yards, the competitors have no margin for error as the 10 ring at 50 meters is a mere 10.4 mm (0.4”) and the 100 yard 10 ring is just one inch across. Given LAR&R’s notorious wind, every competitor had to bring his or her best game to this match in order to succeed.
German Salazar who won the Conventional regional and the All American 6400 this year returned from Arizona as did Rick Curtis who was second in each of those earlier matches. Salazar and Curtis have been hard on each other’s heels all summer long in the Arizona matches, often no more than a point difference in their scores, and that competition continued without letup during the Regional. Richard Blankenship, Nick Van Egmond, Mel Flint, Charlie Lynn, Bob De Pasque and other club members were on hand, however, to give the Arizonans a run for their money. The women’s category was also well represented with Helen Flint, Amanda McMullin, Jennifer Smith, Sarah Hommes and Shannon Deaker adding a touch of grace and beauty to our gathering. Ray Del Rio, Eddie Abalo, Vickie Linn and Hammer Sui served as the match officials.
Metallic Sight day opened with moderate winds and cool temperatures as Richard Blankenship took the Dewar match at 380-13, followed closely by Charlie Linn at 380-11. Bob De Pasque led the Experts at 378-13 and John Giles was top Sharpshooter at 370-10. Out two youngest competitors, both 11 years old and both shooting their first Regional were Kevin Sui and Shannon Deaker, both posted fine scores, with a 334 for Kevin and a 309 for Shannon.
The second match, 100 Yards, brought the desert dwellers to the forefront with Salazar’s 383-12 topping the list, followed by Curtis and De Pasque, both at 382-11. Giles stayed in the lead in the Sharpshooter class and Shannon got a bit closer to Kevin’s scores with a 320-3 to Kevin’s 324-1. Tom Smith was one X ahead of his daughter Jennifer 362-6 to 362-5 and everyone worked hard to shoot that little one inch 10 ring at 100 yards while the wind gusted and let off many times during each card.
The first day closed with a test of precision, the 50 Meter match. Curtis found some magic (or was it voodoo?) in his Russian Ural rifle and shot a strong 384-18 to win the match over Salazar’s 382-9. Blankenship moved back to the top of the Expert class with a solid 376-11 and Tom Smith led the Sharpshooter/Marksman class at 366-7. Shannon also shone, with a 319-2 that put her past Kevin’s 315-1 as she gained a bit of experience during the day.
Final standings for the day found German Salazar topping the list at 1143-34, a score reflective of the day’s windy conditions and Rick Curtis close behind at 1141-40. Bob De Pasque’s 1134-30 was good for third overall and first Expert, second Expert going to Richard Blankenship at 1130-34. John Giles’ 1099-24 and Tom Smith’s 1097-17 made for a close 1-2 battle in SS/MK. Charlie Linn led the Juniors with an 1124-31. Scope day would definitely be the deciding factor in every class as no one had an insurmountable lead.
Sunday dawned cool and breezy with no sign of the forecast Santa Ana winds, a relief to the competitors. Gary Eliseo arrived for the day’s match with his newly crafted Tubegun, a tubular aluminum stock housing an Anschutz 1907 barreled action inside. At the opposite end of the technological spectrum, Richard Blankenship brought out a one of a kind left-handed rifle made in the 1940’s by long time club member C.C. Pierson who passed away some time ago. While Richard didn’t shoot the rifle in the match, its display was appreciated by all. German had his own techno-wizardry (or lack thereof) on display, with a barrel tuner made from a long ¾” bolt hung from the barrel of his Anschutz 2013 by a short section of scope rail and rings. It seems the need for a small edge brings out the experimenter in us all, and that urge spans the history of the sport as well as the skills of the experimenters.
The Dewar was fired under modest wind which decreased as the match (and the day) progressed. Curtis stayed hot from the previous day’s final match and scored a 395-17 which not only topped Salazar’s 392-21 but also put Curtis into the aggregate lead by one point. Nick Van Egmond was first Expert at 392-24; John Giles was first SS/MK at 368-10 with Tom Smith a single X behind. Shannon gained a few points on Kevin in the Sub Junior category with a 343-2 to Kevin’s 336-4.
During the 100 yard match, the wind became very calm, with only a slight and steady breeze blowing. Van Egmond took advantage of the conditions for a match win at 388-9 followed by Salazar’s 387-12 for first Master and Mel Flint at 386-15. Curtis faltered uncharacteristically to 384-11 and thus Salazar reclaimed the overall lead by two points. Helen Flint led the Experts at 384-16 and the Giles-Smith battle continued in SS/MK with Giles’ 362-4 just nipping Smith’s 361-7 for the win. Kevin and Shannon also stayed close with Kevin’s 340 just a bit ahead of Shannon’s 338.
The final match, 50 Meters, once again tested every competitor’s technical, physical and mental abilities as the wind was near zero and everything was on the line. Curtis moved into a tie for the overall match with a two point edge on Salazar on the first card. As the final targets were hung, the two friends shook hands and wished each other luck. Salazar bore down and shot a 198-12 while Curtis got into a bit of trouble and ended with a 193-6. The final scores for the 50 Meter match were: Mel Flint 395-18 for the win, Salazar’s 393-21 First Master, Blankenship 388-20 First Expert, Giles 379-13 First SS/MK.
The Any Sight match went to Salazar’s 1172-54, Curtis second at 1169-46, Mel Flint at 1168-49 in third and Van Egmond in fourth overall (1st Expert) at 1166-47. John Giles won SS/MK 1109-27.
The overall Metric Prone Championship gold medal was presented by Olympian and World Champion David Kimes to two-day winner German Salazar with an aggregate score of 2315-88. The silver medal went to Rick Curtis at 2310-86 and in third place was Richard Blankenship with a fine 2281-81. John Giles was the SS/MK champion (2208-51) Charlie Linn the Junior Champion (2273-72) Jennifer Smith 2nd Junior with a 2187-42 and Kevin Sui was the Sub Junior Champion at 1986-13.
Asked for comments after the match, Curtis said: “It turned out to be a real back and forth battle. The funny thing is it's been going on since spring, either of us looking over our shoulder for the other. This was my first big match on the metric target and it is one tough target. Someone said it was designed to be shot on a baffled range to minimize wind effect; shoot the kind of wind we had really makes you start talking to yourself.” Salazar chimed in: “Rick and I have a great rivalry in Smallbore and Highpower prone matches; I think it helps both our scores to shoot together and we’re always looking for a little edge. This match was one more chapter in the books but certainly not the last, Rick is always tough. The LAR&R Club is one of my favorite places to shoot, conditions are always challenging and the members are a wonderful bunch. We’ll be back!”
We hope to see all of you and more at the Fall Roundup match November 4 – 5; come on down and bring a friend!