Loxton Rifle Club hosted its inaugural Long Range Rimfire Challenge on the weekend of August 13th and 14th.
This was the first time .22 rimfire shooters would compete at this club from all three of the 100, 200 and 300 yard mounds, shooting at steel gongs with a Hit or Miss scoring system. The gongs were armed with sensors that indicated a hit via a flashing light.
Shooters arrived to a forecast of changing conditions and occasional showers for the Saturday, with finer conditions expected for Sunday.
20 shots per range (10 from each side of the mound) shooting at challengingly sized targets for each range.
Saturday’s changeable winds and factory ammunition presented challenges for all shooters, however some impressive scores were still achieved. There was an understandable need for additional sighters at the longer ranges as most rimfire shooters rarely shoot past 100 yards. Plenty of comradery between shooters was on display with everyone helping each other to narrow in on the challenging targets.
Day two saw an earlier start with a cooked breaky and foggy (and breezy!) conditions welcoming the shooters as they headed out to the mounds to try again.
Once again the comradery was evident with tips, ammo sharing and shot spotting helping each other and ensuring a fun and friendly event was had.
A number of shooters did not have enough adjustment in their aiming systems to facilitate the bullet drop at 300 yards and had to hold off but, with the spotting help of their fellow competitors, were still able to score some hits and most found the challenge quite rewarding.
Grand Aggregate winner for the weekend in Standard class was Peter Larsen on a countback from Peter Arnold.
Grand Aggregate winner in the Custom class was Regan Liebich with a comfortable margin over second place Glen Pech.
Congratulations to those, and all of the competitors, for a challenging and fun weekend.
The Loxton Rifle Club have been working extremely hard to develop this mode of competitive shooting and the smiles on the faces of the participants genuinely reward all the hard work in making these events happen.
Many thanks to all participants for a fun and challenging shoot, and all the sponsors: Peter Larsen, Loxton Home Hardware, Ray Pash Enterprises, Mick and Tanya Punti, Century Orchards, Poly’s Fruit Juices, Riverland Vine Improvement Committee and all the others that have helped out.
Loxton Rifle Club committee
