Results
First ASI Match - April 6th, 2024
We had 16 shooters Saturday, April 6 with good weather for our latest Action Shooter match. There were 4 new shooters too. It was a great crowd. We had some spectators who tried their hand too.
Folks used lots of different guns: 1911s, Glocks, 357 revolvers, even a 45 revolver, along with stock and comp semiautos.
We also were missing a few regulars so I expect a bigger crowd next month. Remember the next match is May 04 and starts at 1000, our summer start time. Registration begins at 0900.Hope to see you at the next match.
First Long Range Handgun Match - April 2nd, 2024
Polk County Gun Club's dedicated pistoleers turned out on a sunny but windy Tuesday evening for the first Long Range Handgun competition of the year on 2 April. Seven shooters braved the 15 mph gusts to eliminate all the (paper) groundhogs on the range - a substantial achievement given the gusty wind! This year's competitions featured two matches, one right after the other. Each match consisted of twenty record shots in fifteen minutes, with the entire event lasting about an hour. Kudos to April match winners Shawn Risdon in center-fire handgun, Dan Henk in specialty and custom rimfire and Dexter Estes in Bullseye rimfire. All the match scores are attached below.
Long Range Handgun is a relatively new competition at PCGC. Match Director Shawn Risdon has made a considerable effort to define the classes and equipment rules so that almost anyone with a handgun can find a suitable category in which to shoot and a fun way to hone long-range handgun skills. The next Long Range Handgun competition is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 May. Shooting starts at 6:30 pm (competitors should plan to arrive no later than 6:15 to register and place their equipment).
The May event also is open to revolver shooters. They will shoot 15 rounds in 15 minutes at a special buffalo target at 100 yards. Fun for all!
The 17th annual Polk County Gun Club, Korean War Commemorative, Frozen Chosin Vintage Rifle Match
The 17th annual Polk County Gun Club, Korean War Commemorative, Frozen Chosin Vintage Rifle Match was held on February 17, 2024. (Gosh I reported that wrong last year.)
Greg Ficklin did an excellent job as always calling the match in addition to shooting the match.
We had 12 competitors vying to have their names engraved on this coveted trophy. It proved to be a close match between Greg Ficklin (shooting a M1 Garand) for First Place 370-5x, Thomas McManus (shooting a M1 Garand) for Second Place 368-6x, and Devon Cole (shooting a 1903A3 Springfield) 363-5x for Third Place. Most competitors were shooting the M1 Rifle but Devon Cole, (shooting a 1903A3 Springfield) bolt action rifle, turned in a respectable score of 363-5x. As in past years, this match is a 40 shot (400point) match shot Standing (slow fire) Sitting (rapid fire) Prone (rapid fire) and Prone (slow fire) with firearms that pre-date 1953. Greg, over the last 15 years, has won the Frozen Chosin Club Trophy 4 times, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2024.
This year we had several competitors shooting Modern Sporting Rifles (M1A, AR-15). I will mention their outstanding performance. Haley Robinson shot 385-10x, her dad Bobby shot 380-8x, Malen Bagwell one of the PCGC Juniors shot 351-6x and another Junior Lindsey Bagwell shot 338 9x. Sid Landers shot 343-8x, and Steve Lyons shot 304. The total of competitors on Saturday was 18.
This match is the yearly “kick off” match for the 2024 season NRA Approved Service Rifle across the course tournaments starting April 20. These will be 80 shot matches conducted at 200 and 300 yards with a reduced size target for 300 yard slow fire prone. Scoring will be with our Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System. Those participating in these matches are encouraged to bring their own tablet. PCGC does have new loaner tablets.
And the winner was... Greg Ficklin! I want to thank everyone who has supported and continues to support the PCGC High Power Rifle Programs. I look forward to seeing everyone in April!
Final Buffalo/Vintage Rimfire Rifle Match of the Year - December 30th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club's intrepid mountain men assembled on 30 December for the final vintage match of the year (and for that matter, the FINAL PCGC match of the year). A total of fourteen rifles were placed on the firing line. Temperatures hovered in the high 30s, but winds stayed calm until close to the end of the last match. Despite the frigid temps, the rimfire shooters turned in some very impressive scores. All scores are attached below. Kudos to first place winners Bill McCall (rimfire iron and scope), Dan Henk (mini-buffalo challenge), and Lyn Denny (buffalo rifle). This is a quarterly match, with the next one scheduled for Saturday, 30 March.
Final F-Class Rifle Match - October 28th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club hosted its last F-Class tournament of the season on 28 October, and this was the final of our seven annual F-Class tournaments. Twelve precision rifle shooters competed on the high-power firing line and nine shooters on the small bore firing line. (Regrettably, some F-Class competitors had to make the difficult choice of F-Class competition or opening day of whitetail season.) Weather conditions for this competition were ideal: temperatures were pleasant throughout the morning, and wind was minimal. (This was a great contrast to the stormy weather at the start of the shooting season and allowed us to end on a high note - with some excellent scores!)
Mark Thompson took first place in F-Open, with a very impressive perfect score of 600 (49X). Charlie King achieved an equally impressive perfect score in F-Target rifle - 600 (46X). Bill Grubbs showed us how to shoot small bore with a winning score of 591 in Small Bore (Heavy). Al Vincoli took top honors in Small Bore (Light) with a score of 575. Bear Lewis shot a very respectable score (530) as top shooter in Small Bore (Sporter).
Final Long Range Handgun Match - October 3rd, 2023
Nine dedicated Polk County Gun Club handgunners assembled on a beautiful early October Tuesday evening for a final (paper) groundhog cull in 2023. The pistol shooting was fast and furious, and when the smoke and dust cleared, all the groundhogs were nothing but a memory. Aided no doubt by the pleasant weather and minimal wind, scores were impressive. The Polk County groundhog is a challenging target and any score over 100 is a significant accomplishment. All scores in this match exceeded that measure, some by a considerable margin.
Congratulations to our match winners: Bill Harper took home the Bullseye "gold," - well, paper money, anyway - followed pretty closely by Dexter Estes. Terry Lynch turned in his usual great score in rimfire specialty and custom. The three center fire competitors decided to go for headshots only - and achieved remarkably similar scores, with Match Director Shawn Risdon the clear winner. All the scores are attached below.
Due to the imminent end of Daylight Savings Time, this match marked the end of the PCGC LRH yearly shooting season. We anticipate that the monthly Long Range Handgun matches will commence again in April of next year. LRH is a short, fun match with a category for just about any handgun - except for very minimum-range jobbies. It definitely helps a shooter appreciate the capacity of his or her handgun. Consider giving it a try next year!
The LRH community would like to publicly express its gratitude to Shawn Risdon for conceiving, organising and running this competition for us! As we apply lessons learnt from our experience this year, we have no doubt handgun competition at PCGC will be even more exciting next year.
Sixth F-Class Rifle Match - September 23rd, 2023
Polk County Gun Club's precision rifle competitors shot their sixth F-Class tournament of the year on 23 September. Despite the hurricane conditions in the low country, the weather at our club for this event was exceptionally pleasant - perhaps the best of the year, with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and minimal wind until the third and final match (when it began to pick up).
Sixteen center fire shooters competed on the 300 yd firing line and ten rimfire shooters filled up the 100 yd firing line. (Small bore competition set a club record for participation - continuing a gradual, steady growth over the past year.) Shawn Risdon took first place in high power F-Open with a very impressive score of 600/53X. Not to be outdone by his dad, Robert Risdon took first place in high power F-Target Rifle with an equally impressive 600/47X. Ron Howell shot a very respectable 592 to take first place in Small Bore (Heavy), Bill Harper did likewise in Small Bore (Light) with a score of 572, and Bear Lewis continued to define Small Bore (Sporter) for us with a score of 558. All the scores are shown below.
The October tournament, scheduled for Saturday, 28 October, will be the final PCGC F-Class competition of the year. At the completion of that tournament, we expect to recognize our top shooters of the year with seasonal aggregate awards - based on the three best monthly scores in each class.
Sixth Long Range Handgun Match - September 5th, 2023
Seven of Polk County Gun Club's long-range handgunners assembled again on the evening of 5 September for the sixth Long Range Handgun (LRH) match of the year. The weather was warm and sunny with minimal wind - ideal match conditions but devastating for the poor (paper) groundhogs. . .Match Director Shawn Risdon and Dan Henk were the sole centerfire shooters, and they challenged each other to a duel: groundhog headshots only. When the smoke cleared, Dan had slightly edged out Shawn, but both groundhogs took all twenty shots in the kill zone! Terry Lynch turned in his usual excellent performance in rimfire Specialty and Custom. Dexter Estes achieved an extremely impressive score (170 out of 200) in rimfire Bullseye Class. In fact, all the scores were good - the LRH community is "upping its game"! Scores are recorded below. The final LRH match of the year is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 October. Start time will be 6:30 pm.
Shawn
Fifth F-class Rifle Match - August 26th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club hosted its fifth F-Class tournament of the year on 26 August. Fifteen shooters took their places on the high-power firing line and seven on the small bore firing line. The day was sunny and VERY warm - perhaps the warmest yet encountered in a PCGC F-Class event. Despite the heat, competitors turned in some truly remarkable scores. Special thanks to Shawn Risdon who ran the match, and who also shot an incredible 600/53X in F-Open, closely followed by Mark Thompson with a 600/52X. (These would be spectacular scores in any F-Class competition!) A complete listing of scores is provided below. The next monthly F-Class tournament is scheduled for 23 September, with the final tournament of the year on 28 October.
August High Power Rifle Match - August 19th, 2023
The day started out beautiful and lasted all day. The temperature was no higher than 88 with a breeze from the Northeast in the morning, switching to the Northwest and ending the match from the Southwest as usual.
Again Greg Ficklin did an outstanding job operating the Silver Mountain electronic targeting system and calling the match. The system and match ran smoothly. The Polk County Gun Club purchased 10 real Electronic Tablets that are a vast improvement over the “Kindles” the club previously supplied.
We had 14 competitors for this match which required Greg to run two relays of shooters. We started the match at ~10 AM and concluded the match by ~12:20 PM. The match ran smoothly and quickly, no one was rushed and plenty of time was provided so everyone enjoyed the match.
Dwayne Lewis was the match winner with a score of 791-37x shooting a Match rifle setup. Ken Lore, with a Service rifle, shot an outstanding score of 783-23x as 1st High Master. PCGC Junior, Raymond Allen was the 1st Master with a score of 775-23x. Elliot Kirkman was the 1st Expert with a score of 769-37x.
We had some first time at PCGC Junior shooters from the Marksman Support Group from Raleigh/Durham. This team of young shooters; are led by John Ayala who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Rifle and Pistol Association. In addition, Elliot was a returning competitor, and a competitor from TN, Mark Prince, shot with us for the first time since 2014. Mark really liked the results of 2015-2018 range renovation. We had several new competitors with us Darrel Bush, Jeff Smith, Savannah Andrews, and James Cole, along with regulars Thomas McManus of the Belton SC club, Jeff Minder, and Dwayne Lewis.
If anyone wants an Excel file of the match report send me an email at [email protected] I will be glad to send it to you.
Thanks,
Sam Summey
PCGC F-Class Shooters Cover Themselves with Glory in the Low Country
Shooting against a large number of skilled shooters at the Palmetto Gun Club, Team Polk County distinguished itself once again in the F-Class match on 12 August. Shawn Risdon established two new range records (and a personal best) with F-Open (FO) scores of 599-52X and a 200-19X. Greg Chapa won second place in FO aggregate with a 599-42X. Tyler Vojta took fourth place FO aggregate with a 598-32X. Robert Risdon took third place in F-Target Rifle (FTR). Roger Powell shot an impressive personal best in FO with an aggregate score of 597-28X. These achievements speak VERY well for our club's F-Class community. We can imagine that shooters elsewhere groan in frustration when they see Team Polk County arrive on the firing line!
Dan
August ASI Match - August 5th, 2023
First off all thank you all for coming out and making it a great day on Sat, Aug 5. Great crowd. Good sportsmanship and fantastic shooting. There were 17 shooters today. It made it the biggest match this year by 1.
We had 9 members and 8 guests. It was a really hot day and no wind whatsoever. It took us 2:35 hours to shoot.
The link is to the group photo and a copy of the match results. I submitted the match to PractiScore already. I logged in to check it is posted and it is.
I hope to see everybody back on September 9. We will have 4 different stages. Pass the word and bring a friend next month.
Caton
Fifth Long Range Handgun Match - August 1st, 2023
Polk County Gun Club's long-range handgunners competed in their fifth match of the year on the evening of the first day of August. Seven hardy souls ventured out into the gloaming to protect our great land from predatory paper groundhogs. I am proud to report that within fifteen minutes, each and every groundhog was on its way to the woodchuck morgue.
Despite the time of year, it was a very pleasant evening to shoot - sunny and warm without being hot and sticky. Unfortunately, there was just enough tricky little wind to suppress the scores. But everyone had a good time and enjoyed the evening air perfumed with the unmistakable aroma of burned gunpowder! Kudos to Bill McCall for taking the cash prize in Bullseye Class and Robert Risdon for trouncing the competition in centerfire custom pistol. (Robert may eventually get rich from his regular winnings in Long Range Handgun!) All scores are attached below.
LRH at Polk County Gun Club is a short, fun, evening match with a category for just about any handgun. All fees go into the cash prizes for winners. The next match is scheduled for Tuesday evening, 4 September.
Shawn
Fourth High Power Rifle Match - July 15th, 2023
The morning started overcast with a threat of rain. Temperature was in the mid 76-86.
Again Greg Ficklin did an outstanding job operating the Silver Mountain electronic targeting system while he was also competing in the match. The system and match ran smoothly. The Polk County Gun Club purchased 10 real Electronic Tablets that are a vast improvement over the “Kindles” the club previously supplied.
We had 6 competitors for this match. We started the match at ~10 AM and had concluded the match by 11:10 AM. The match ran smoothly and quickly, no one was rushed and plenty of time was provided so everyone enjoyed the match.
Bobby Robinson was match winner with a score of 786– 24X out of a possible score of 800 points. Junior Raymond Allen was the top scoring person in the Expert classification with a score of 761-20X. Ray’s scores continue to climb; he is to be congratulated on his performance progress. The score Ray shot was a Master Class score.
If anyone wants an Excel file of the match report send me an email at [email protected] I will be glad to send it to you.
Thanks,
Sam Summey
July ASI Match - July 8th, 2023
It was a hot one and I am glad we finished up early. We started shooting at 1020 and finished up at 1200. The sun was beginning to come over the trees. All we need is an overhead cover and climate control. We have gone from very cold to extreme heat since we began. It does make it interesting. All we need is a blizzard. I think that if we have to defend ourselves or loved ones we can not control the surroundings and environment.
We had 8 shooters today. With the July 4 holidays, this wasn’t too bad. We had two new shooters. We had 4 stages all involving cover and movement. Everybody was safe today. Accuracy was very good as there were very few misses. I have seen a lot of improvement in some of those who started with little to no competitive pistol experience or basic gun-handling skills. Since every stage requires a reload this skill has improved. I am curious to see if there is interest in conducting a basic handgun training class introducing those and other skills.
I hope to see everybody back at the next ASI match on August 5. We will start at 1000. Registration at 0900. I will try to be there by 0830 to begin setting up. If anybody wants to help you are welcome.Thank youCaton McBride
Fourth Long Range Handgun Match - July 6th, 2023
Third F-Class Tournament - June 24th, 2023
PCGC hosted its third F-Class tournament of the year on June 24th. A total of twenty competitors completed the course of fire. Significantly, for the first time at PCGC, the number of small-bore shooters equaled the number of high-power shooters. (Small bore F-Class has seen a slow but steady increase at PCGC over the past year, which parallels a national trend.) In contrast to the very challenging weather in earlier tournaments this year, Saturday's weather was sunny and pleasant. However, the light breezes in the first two matches gave way to significant, switching wind in the final match - a factor that impacted scores. Mark Thompson and Shawn Risdon battled for first place in F-Open with the winner decided by X count. Todd Vojta shot very well in F-Target Rifle for first place in that class. Dan Henk took first place in small bore heavy, with Rusty Chasteen (shooting F-class small bore for the first time) a very close second. Al Vincoli was our winner in small bore light, and Bear Lewis served as our first-ever competitor in small bore sporter (a very challenging class due to limits on equipment weight and scope power). All the scores are posted below. The next monthly PCGC F-Class tournament is scheduled for Saturday, July 22nd.
Third High Power Rifle Match - June 17th, 2023
The morning started sunny and bright and lasted all day. The temperature was in the mid-80s.
Again Greg Ficklin did an outstanding job operating the Silver Mountain electronic targeting system. The system and match ran smoothly. The Polk County Gun Club purchased 10 real Electronic Tablets that are a vast improvement over the “Kindles” the club previously supplied.
We had 13 competitors for this match. Jeep Ford from Vale NC drove over to shoot with us. Jeep has been out of the Service Rifle Competition for several years but he turned a respectable score of 759-18x. PCGC hopes that Jeep will continue to compete with us in the future his next match he will be classed with the Masters. We started the match at ~10 AM and concluded the match by 1:30 since we had enough competitors we had 2 relays. The match ran smoothly and quickly, no one was rushed and plenty of time was provided so everyone enjoyed the match.
Haley Robinson was the match winner with a score of 786– 25X out of a possible score of 800 points. Junior Raymond Allen was the top-scoring person in the Expert classification with a score of 735-6x. John Arcularius was visiting his family and came over to shoot with us. It was great to see John since we haven’t seen John in several months.
Jeff and Bobby two of our better competitors had some ammo failures that affected their performance this month. I am sorry this occurred, I am sure next month will they will have better luck.
I want to thank Devon Cole for calling the second relay, he pitched in and did an excellent job.
If anyone wants an Excel file of the match report send me an email at [email protected] I will be glad to send it to you.
Thanks,
Sam Summey
Third Long Range Handgun Match - June 6th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club's Long Range Handgunners celebrated the 79th Anniversary of D-Day with a bang by blasting a herd of obnoxious paper groundhogs to smithereens in the club's third Long Range Handgun match of the year. Eleven shooters turned out for the event. As a very pleasant contrast to the gale force winds of the previous match, the weather for this one was warm and pleasant with minimal wind, and scores were correspondingly impressive.
Special congratulations are due to the class winners who took home cash prize money: Robert Risdon in Specialty and Custom Centerfire, Steve Bengston in Specialty and Custom Small Bore, and Gary Woeltjen in Bullseye (of note, Robert and Steve were first-time competitors in this match). We are grateful as well to Shawn Risdon for organizing the match and designing the (soon to be famous) Polk County Groundhog Target.
This is a fun, informal match. The purpose is to encourage us all to take our handguns out of the closet and develop our long-range handgun skills. To make it as fair as possible, the match has a number of different "classes." Just about any handgun can be competitive in one of those classes, and class winners take home serious money! It also is a short, "after hours" event lasting no more than an hour, with the shooting itself consisting of twenty shots in fifteen minutes. The groundhog target is interesting and challenging. Competitors can achieve a maximum of 200 points, although to date, the maximum score on this target in any class has been 194. (Competitors shooting factory .22 semiauto handguns are shooting very well for any score above 100.) Practice copies of the target are available in the clubhouse. Everyone seems to have a good time in the match, with plenty of good-natured ribbing as scores are counted. All scores from the June match are shown below.
The next monthly Long Range Handgun match will be held on Thursday, 6 July. Competitors are asked to show up for registration at 6:30 pm and the first shot downrange will be at 7 pm.
June ASI Match - June 3rd, 2023
We had another good ASI match with 11 competitors. The first shot went down range at 10:23 and last at 12:23. The early start was good. It was starting to get really warm as we were finishing. There were 5 non members today. Thank you all for coming. Our next match will be July 8 same time.
Canton McBride
First and Second F-Class Matches - May 27th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club hosted its first F-Class tournament of the year on 27 May. In fact, the club hosted its first two tournaments of the year on that date. (The Board of Directors had authorized the F-Class community to hold a second tournament as a makeup for the April tournament, cancelled due to inclement weather.)
Both tournaments on 27 May were completed just before the arrival of predicted rain - although the wind throughout the morning was substantial, posing a considerable shooting challenge. Despite the weather, some twenty-five hardy souls showed up to shoot. A couple of shooters were unable to complete the event due to physical problems or equipment malfunctions, but all competitors deserve considerable respect for keeping rounds on paper in that ferocious wind. (We will petition the club leadership to turn down the wind machine for the June tournament...)
Although the weather clearly had an impact, scores were surprisingly good in view of the shooting conditions. The next F-Class monthly tournament is scheduled for 24 June.
Second High Power Rifle Match - May 20th, 2023
The morning was overcast initially turning to sunny and bright by 10:30AM.
Again Greg Ficklin did an outstanding job operating the Silver Mountain electronic targeting system. Bobby Robinson assisted Greg and the system and match ran smoothly. The Polk County Gun Club purchased 10 real Electronic Tablets that are a vast improvement over the “Kindles” the club previously supplied.
We had 7 competitors for this match. Elliot Kirkman, from the Winston-Salem area drove 2 hours to shoot with us. Elliot has been out of the Service Rifle Competition for several years but he turned a respectable score of 748 16x. PCGC hopes that Elliot will continue to compete with us in the future. We started the match at ~10 AM and had concluded the match by 11:30 (Greg and Bobby are doing the job, many thanks to both). The match ran smoothly and quickly, no one was rushed and plenty of time was provided so everyone enjoyed the match.
Haley Robinson was match winner with a score of 790– 29X out of a possible score of 800 points. Dwayne Lewis finished 2nd with a score of 785-25x and Jeff Minder 3rd with a score 766 29x.
If anyone wants an Excel file of the match report send me an email at [email protected] I will be glad to send it to you.
Thanks,
Sam Summey
Bench Rest Spring Match - May 7th, 2023
The final Bench Rest match of the Spring was held on Sunday, March 7. Here are photos and results
2nd Long Range Handgun Match - May 2nd, 2023
The Polk County Long Range Handgun pistoleers assembled again on Tuesday evening, 2 May, for the second great monthly "groundhog cull" of the year. It appears that the groundhogs may have ordered the ferocious winds that evening - with 20 mph gusts - to protect themselves. But to no avail. Fortunately, the stiff winds fell off just before the match, leaving just enough to make shooting quite challenging. Despite the wind, ten keen shooters showed up for the match. All the groundhogs sustained multiple mortal wounds (except the one Dan Henk was shooting at - and that one was terrified by the twenty shots whizzing over his head!) Enough pistoleers shot in Bullseye class for a cash award, and Bill Harper took the Bullseye gold. Likewise, Centerfire Specialty and Custom drew enough shooters for Shawn Risdon to walk away with cash as top scorer in that class. All the scores are shown here. We also are indebted to Shawn for directing the match and for designing our Polk County groundhog target. This is a fun and friendly short match - twenty shots in fifteen minutes, with enough classes for just about any handgun. The next monthly long range handgun match is at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, 6 June. Come on out and join the fun!
First High Power Rifle Match - April 15th, 2023
Polk County Gun Club initiated the 2023 High Power Rifle Season last Saturday 4/15/2023.
The morning dawned, after a night of rain, sunny and bright.
Greg Ficklin, Ed Skeels, and I had to do some remedial reinstallation of our auxiliary target numbers first thing. Greg did an outstanding job of creating these numbers to alleviate confusion of our Service Rifle Competitors as to what their target number is. At the 300 yard backstop there are 20 target frames we only have 10 Silver Mountain targets and to give the competitors a nice wide firing point we only utilize every other target frame so a re-number is required. Greg created a convenient method of having flip over numbers and blanks to negate the unused frames.
We had 7 competitors for this match and 2 new juniors that are getting their first taste of shooting in a match. Bobby Robinson uses this method of introducing new shooters to the match atmosphere and it has proved very effective in the past producing some excellent World Class junior shooters.
We started the match at ~10 AM and had concluded the match by 11:45 (Greg and the Silver Mountain System are doing the job). The match ran smoothly and quickly, no one was rushed and plenty of time was provided so everyone enjoyed the match.
Jeff Minder was the overall match winner with a score of 772 – 19x out of a possible score of 800 points. Thomas McManus finished 2nd with a score of 762-24x and Ken Lore 3rd with a score 761-13x. Ray Allen one of PCGC’s Juniors finished in 4th place at 751-10x. If anyone wants an Excel file of the match report send me an email at [email protected] I will be glad to send it to you.
Thanks,
Sam Summey
16th Annual Frozen Chosin Vinage Rifle Match
The 16th annual Polk County Gun Club, Korean War Commemorative, Frozen Chosin Vintage Rifle Match was held February 18, 2023.
Greg Ficklin did an excellent job as always calling the match in addition to shooting the match.
We had 10 competitors vying to have their name engraved on this coveted trophy. It proved to be a close match between Devan Cole (shooting an M1 Garand) for First Place 369-7x, Thomas McManus (shooting an M1 Garand) for Second Place 368-5x, and Jeff Minder (shooting an M1 Garand) 368-4x for Third Place. Most competitors were shooting the M1 Rifle but Ken Lore, (shooting a 1903A3 Springfield) bolt action rifle, turned in a respectable score of 360-12x. As in past years, this match is a 40 shot (400 point) match shot Standing (slow fire) Sitting (rapid fire) Prone (rapid fire), and Prone (slow fire) with firearms that pre-date 1953. Jim Laietta Shooting an M1A turned in a score of 378-8x.
This match is the yearly “kick-off” match for the 2023 season NRA Approved Service Rifle across the course tournaments starting April 15. These will be 80 shot matches conducted at 200 and 300 yards with a reduced size target for 300 yard slow fire prone. Scoring will be with our Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System. Those participating in these matches are encouraged to bring their own tablet. PCGC does have loaner tablets but a bigger tablet would be preferred.
I want to thank everyone who has supported and continues to support the PCGC High Power Rifle Programs.
LRH (Long-Range Handgun) Match 1 Results
The Tuesday evening calm in western NC was shattered on 4 April as seven eager handgunners took to the rifle firing line to shoot Polk County Gun Club's first long-range handgun (LRH) match of the year. The weather for the event was sunny and warm with just enough wind to make things interesting. Five shooters competed in the rimfire Bullseye class, one in rimfire Specialty and Custom, and one in centerfire Specialty and Custom.
Kudos to Bill McCall, who walked away with the cash prize after outshooting the four other Bullseye Class competitors with his High Standard Victor pistol. Thanks also to match director Shawn Risdon for producing our new groundhog target, the result of quite a bit of experimentation and testing, (Reportedly, no groundhogs survived the lethal hail of lead from PCGC's skilled pistoleers.) Match scores are attached here. The total possible score is 200. Given the challenging target, any score over 100 should be considered praiseworthy.
The Long Range Handgun match is designed to be a short, fun evening event with shooting categories for just about any handgun. The idea is to help us all see just how well we can shoot our handguns at longer than normal handgun ranges. Held once a month during Daylight Savings time, the match starts at 6:30 pm on the first Tuesday of the month. Shooters fire twenty shots at a groundhog target in a period of fifteen minutes. Targets are scored, cash prizes are awarded, and shooters are on their way home by 7:30.
Dan
ASI (Action Shooting) Pistol Match 3 Results
On April 1, 2023, PCGC held its 3rd ASI match. There were 16 competitors that came out in this great weather to show their stuff. We had a 9-year-old that came with his dad. He was safe and attentive while on the firing lane and I hope to see him again. I think he was most impressive when he had a jam on one station and racked and cleared it himself before I or Tom could even help.
We had shooters that have made all 3 events, some for the second and a few for their first time. Word is spreading. We were also split with members and nonmembers.
The top shooter was Jim McBurnett with the next 5 close. We even had a competitor shooting an EDC finishing in the top end. So again it’s all about the shooter.
We had 4 stages shooting about 50 rounds again. There was some movement and use of cover along with strong hand-only shooting.
Everybody was safe and the match went mostly smoothly. We did get some strong winds toward the end. I will have my wall ready for next month. I ran out of juice that morning and did not have it finished. That is on me.
Again as the match went on everybody got more comfortable. We do need to work more on our commands and getting people up on the line and ready to go. We did do well on the time finishing up around 315 I think.
I want to thank Tom Brooks and Kathy McBride again for their assistance and all the others that jumped in.
I hope to have some new props and scoring system in place. I can’t do it all without your help. I am interested in seeing who might be willing to step up and run the clock, keep score, and be a good RSO. ASI has a zoom video class available for those that do.
Then maybe Tom and I can jump in and shoot. I have really enjoyed doing this and plan on continuing.
Another one on me is I forgot to get a group photo.
Stay posted to the PCGC website for the next match date.
Again thanks everybody!
Caton McBride
ASI (Action Shooting) Pistol Match 1 Results
- Kathy McBride for registering and tracking the scores.
- Tom Brooks for his assistance as Range Safety Officer and providing pointers.
- Doyle Estes for his support, advice, and who probably pasted more holes than everybody together.
There was a report that the Chinese spy balloon passed overhead during the match, recording the obvious quality of the shooters, but this remains unconfirmed as of this date.
Year-End F-Class Tournament Results
With the completion of the PCGC 2022 F-Class competition season, it is with the greatest pleasure that we can publish the names of the folks that shot particularly well in the 2022 tournaments.
While we single out the top three shooters in each subclass for seasonal awards, it is important to note that other competitors achieved scores that came very close to those of the top winners, with the best shooters winning purely on "X-count." This competition also has proven that shooting excellence is not limited by youth, age, or gender! The PCGC F-Class community as a whole is a very "high achieving" group and the top-scoring competitors deserve our commendation for very impressive shooting!
The "top three" PCGC F-Class competitors in each subclass for 2022 were as follows:
Our thanks to all those who participated in the F-Class tournaments, and our particular praise for the superb achievement of the top shooters! We look forward to even greater successes when F-Class competition resumes at PCGC in April of next year.
7th F-Class Tournament - October 22nd, 2022
PCGC hosted its final F-Class Tournament of the year on Saturday, 22 October, with a total of twenty competitors on the firing line. The weather for the tournament was exceptionally nice - pleasant and sunny with minimal wind, except for the usual tricky breezes at the end of the morning.
Mark Thompson maintained his position as the "shooter to beat" in F-Open while Jim Laietta did the same in F-Target Rifle as did Bill Grubbs in Small Bore. Shawn Risdon "wowed" his colleagues again by shooting F-Open and F-Target Rifle simultaneously and achieving second place in both subclasses.
It was a great pleasure to see four new F-Class shooting colleagues on the firing line in this tournament. Competitors seemed to enjoy great shooting fellowship with a good exchange of ideas and techniques, and there was some disappointment that F-Class had ended at PCGC for the year. F-Class competition will resume at PCGC in April 2023.
6th NRA High Power Rifle Match - September 17th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held the 6th and final NRA High Power Rifle Match of the Season Saturday, September 17th, 2022. I want to thank Bobby Robinson for calling the match. Also a big thanks to Greg Ficklin for another great performance operating the SM Targeting System even while he was competing in the match. Our attendance in September was 7 competitors.
Thomas McManus attending from the Belton SC Club was the match winner 775-24Xs. Junior Ray Allen was the high Expert 735-14Xs. The Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System ran flawlessly. Having direct, accurate feedback to the competitors allows them to perform at a level not previously enjoyed.
The NRA HPR Service Rifle match season will begin in April on the third Saturday, it is my fondest hope we will see all of our regulars. The CMP Garand/Springfield/Modern Military matches throughout the Fall and Winter Season on the 3rd Saturday starting October 15th, 2022, and will run through January 21st, 2023.
Plan to attend the club Frozen Chosin Match on February 18th, 2023. The winner will have their name and score inscribed on the coveted club trophy. The only restriction is your firearm must have been designed prior to 1953. Anyone wanting to shoot with us using a Modern Service Rifle is welcome too, you just won’t be competing for the trophy.
By the way, if anyone wants to have a copy of the Excel files of this year's match reports please contact me [email protected] and I will e-mail the files to you.
~ Sam Summey
3rd Long Range Handgun Match - October 4th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted its third and final Long Range Handgun match of 2022 on Tuesday evening, 4 October. Nine shooters assembled on the firing line for the match and fired their twenty record shots at a groundhog target in the allotted time of fifteen minutes. The club's Board of Directors distinguished itself in the competition, with Doyle Estes taking first place amongst the rimfire competitors and Terry Lynch taking first place in the centerfire class.
The 2022 Long Range Handgun match was an experiment at our club, the brainchild of Shawn Risdon whose misspent youth included lots of time shooting accurate pistols in soybean fields amidst piles of dead varmints. He wondered if there were fellow club members that had long-range pistols languishing in gun safes that would enjoy an opportunity to shoot them competitively. The result was the PCGC match. It was designed to evoke the atmosphere of an evening groundhog hunt on a family farm. From the outset, it was structured to provide a separate but equivalent competition for rimfire shooters and for centerfire shooters. Somewhat surprisingly, the competition proved to be particularly attractive to rimfire handgunners.
The three Long Range Handgun matches this year saw a significant increase in attendance and interest as they went along, enough so that the Board of Directors approved a continuation of the competition in 2023. The match depends on enough evening light for effective shooting, so it is conducted during the daylight savings time of the year. The next PCGC Long Range Handgun match is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 April 2023 at 6:30 pm, and the program will then continue on the first Tuesday of each month through October.
6th F-Class Tournament - September 24th, 2022
PCGC hosted its sixth F-Class tournament of the year on September 24th with a total of twenty competitors. Shooting weather was very pleasant, though with the usual tricky PCGC range winds to keep everyone on their toes. The F-Class community was happy to welcome several new shooters (new to us, anyway). Kudos to the high scorers: Robert Risdon in F-Target Rifle, Shawn Risdon in F-Open, Bill Grubbs in F-Small Bore Heavy and Greg Ficklin in F-Small Bore Light. Team Risdon deserves special mention for a particularly noteworthy shooting performance - perfect scores with extraordinary X-counts. (Robert's score of 600/50x is rarely equaled anywhere in FTR competition.) Special thanks to Shawn for also serving as Match Director during this tournament. All scores are attached below. The seventh and final F-Class tournament of 2022 is scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd.
2nd Long Range Handgun Match - September 6th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted its second Long Range Handgun match on Tuesday evening, September 6th. Eight intrepid pistoleers turned out to shoot their handguns at long range: six rimfire shooters and two centerfire shooters. Interest in this match seems to be growing, and participants appeared to enjoy the relaxed evening atmosphere. Ron Shook amazed us all by shooting a perfect score at 100 yards with his Bergara .22. Other match scores are noted below.
The Long Range Handgun match currently offers two classes: centerfire at 300 yards and rimfire at 100 yards. The match consists of twenty shots for the record on a "groundhog" target marked by scoring rings, with a potential maximum score of 100. The twenty rounds are fired within a time limit of fifteen minutes. First-place winners in each class are awarded a cash prize if the class has three or more participants. The entire match, from setup to prize award, takes about an hour. It is designed to evoke the atmosphere of an evening groundhog hunt on the family farm.
The next match in this series is scheduled for Tuesday evening, 4 October. The tentative start time is 6:30, though the start time may be adjusted slightly to ensure enough shooting light.
~ Dan
5th F-Class Tournament - August 27th, 2022
PCGC hosted its fifth monthly F-Class tournament of the year on August 27th, with a total of twenty competitors. Shooting weather for the event was sunny and relatively pleasant (for late August) with just enough wind to make things interesting. Mark Thompson set a club record in F-Open, with a truly remarkable score of 600/58x. Jim Laietta took first place in F-Target Rifle with an impressive 599/43x. Ron Howell took first place in F-Small Bore (Heavy) with a score of 587 and Dan Henk took first place in F-Small Bore (Light) with a score of 592. Shawn Risdon amazed us all by shooting both F-Open and F-Target Rifle simultaneously and taking second place in both. The F-Class warriors have two more opportunities this year to demonstrate PCGC shooting excellence - with the next tournament scheduled for September 24th. Scores for the August tournament are posted here.
5th NRA High Power Rifle Match - August 20th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held the 5th High Power Rifle Match of the Season Saturday 8/20/2022.
I want to thank Jim Laietta for filling in for me while I was on vacation with my wife and older son and his wife to Alaska. Also a big thanks to Greg Ficklin for another great performance operating the SM Targeting System
Our attendance in August was 5 competitors. I want to apologize to all our regulator competitors that didn’t show up for the match because of the mix-up between the 4-H competition and our regular 3rd Saturday match date. As you well know I set the dates on the 3rd Saturday back in January for the entire season, this is the traditional day (since the HPR program was restarted in 2002-2003). It is NEVER my intention to deviate from the 3rd Saturday date. Once this date is reserved and approved by the NRA Competitions Division it cannot be modified by a whim or inclement weather.
Jeff Minder was the match winner 772-23Xs. London Howell, one of our new Junior Competitors, shot her first, full-stage across-the-course match. The Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System ran flawlessly. Having direct, accurate feedback to the competitors allows them to perform at a level not previously enjoyed.
Next month’s HPR Service Rifle match will be held Saturday, September 17th which will be the last match of the NRA Summer season, it is my fondest hope we will see all of our regulars and there will be no other competitions scheduled over the High Power Rifle Program in the future.
It hasn’t been announced or placed on the PCGC Calendar yet, but I assume we will be having a CMP Garand/Springfield/Modern Military matches throughout the Fall and Winter Season on the 3rd Saturday starting in October.
~ Sam Summey
3rd Buffalo/Vintage Rimfire Match - July 30th, 2022
1st Long Range Handgun Match - August 2nd, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted its first Long Range Handgun (LRH) match on Tuesday evening, the 2nd of August. Four intrepid pistoleers turned out for this inaugural event. Two center-fire competitors fired at groundhog targets at the 300 yard line and two rim-fire competitors fired at similar (but reduced) groundhog targets at the 100 yard line. The event started at 7 pm, with a safety briefing, and competitors then were given five minutes to move their shooting gear, by hand in one trip, from the parking lot to the firing line. They then were given a two-minute prep period to settle into place. This was followed by the shooting - twenty rounds fired at one groundhog target in a time period of fifteen minutes. The event took about 45 minutes and shooters were on their way home by 8 pm.
This match was designed to evoke the informality, camaraderie and generally relaxed atmosphere of an evening groundhog hunt. It also was intended to allow participants to develop proficiency with handguns they have but rarely get to use in any kind of competition. As in all competitions, it is a great opportunity to compare notes about equipment, borrow ideas and techniques, and think about how to "improve the game" personally. Participants in the inaugural match seemed to enjoy the event and were eager to shoot in future Long Range Handgun competitions. Two more are scheduled this year, the next on Tuesday, September 6th at 7 pm. For additional information, please contact Dan Henk at (828) 440-1029 or email: [email protected].
4th F-Class Tournament - July 23rd, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted its fourth F-Class tournament of the year on 23 July. Competitors included eighteen high-power shooters on the 300-yard firing line and six small bore shooters on the 100-yard firing line. (The tournament consists of three 20-round matches, for a potential score of 600 points.)
The day itself was sunny and exceptionally warm - what the old drill sergeant would have called "character building" - but wind was relatively light, allowing for some superb shooting despite the heat. Kudos to the high scorers: Tyler Vojta in F-Open with a score of 600/45x; Shawn Risdon in F-Target Rifle with a score of 600/46x, Ron Howell in Small Bore-Heavy with a score of 593 and Ken Weglarz in Small Bore-Light with a score of 569. Shawn Risdon was serving as interim match director for this match, a role that easily distracts from shooting, so his outstanding score was particularly noteworthy.
The next monthly F-Class tournament is scheduled for August 27th. For additional information, contact F-Class Match Director Dan Henk at ph (828) 440-1029 or email: [email protected].
4th NRA High Power Rifle Match - July 16th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held the 4th High Power Rifle Match of the Season Saturday 7/16/2022.
The morning dawned with sunshine. The temperature started around 87 degrees F. As the day progressed, the sun got hotter and the competitors welcomed retiring to the 300 yard to enjoy the shade/shadow provided by the firing line cover.
Our attendance in June was 8 competitors, and we were joined in July by one of our past Juniors, Page Arrington and her dad Nelson. The Nelson’s are preparing to compete at the National Matches at Camp Perry Ohio along with our Junior Team members, Ray Allen and Ethan Fullman. Sarah Konieczny and Haley Robinson are also preparing for the Nationals at the end of this month. Bobby Robinson has developed an effective program to turn out successful young High Power Rifle Competitors.
Junior Ray Allen won the Expert Class. Ethan Fullman won the Sharpshooter Class and Haley Robinson won the High Master Class and was the overall Match Winner. It was good to see Steve Lyons and Jeff Minder attending also.
The Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System ran flawlessly. Having direct, accurate feedback to the competitors allows them to perform at a level not previously enjoyed.
Next month’s HPR Service Rifle match will be held Saturday August 13th and it is our fondest hope we will see all of our regulars and some new faces there.
June F-Class Tournament - June 25th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted its third F-Class tournament of the year on June 25th, with twenty high power shooters and six small bore shooters competing in the event. This is close to a record number of participants in a PCGC F-Class competition.
Despite a little drizzle early on, the weather for the tournament was remarkably good - the wind came up in the third match and blew the bullets around a bit, but overall scores were impressive. It also was gratifying to see several new-to-PCGC High Power shooters. The club has seen some extraordinary shooting improvement during the past 8 years of F-Class at PCGC, thanks to the shared experiences of our members. We hope that the new shooters will help us continue this trend.
For future tournaments, the club is working to find a workable solution to placing more than twenty shooters on the high power firing line in order to add shooters while maintaining our one-relay (3 match) format. We also are looking at ways to speed up the scoring process and installing permanent wind flags along the sides of the range.
Our next F-Class tournament is on Saturday, July 23rd.
3rd NRA High Power Rifle Match - June 18th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held the 3rd 2022 High Power Rifle Match of the Season Saturday 6/18/2022. The morning dawned overcast with a threat of rain. A light shower arrived but ended up being of no consequence. The temperature high was around 87 degrees F. As the day progressed, the sun came out.
Our attendance in June consisted of 9 competitors, which included new SC shooter Scott Johnson, new competitor (PCGC) Ron Nelson, and Juniors Ray Allen (who won the Expert Class) and London Howell. This was London’s first experience shooting at a match. She is a pleasant and attentive person and did quite well for a first event.
Also attending was match and High Master winner Haley Robinson. It was good to see Sid Landers, Steve Lyons, Thomas McManus (SC), Jeff Minder attending also.
Greg Ficklin has gotten a handle on the Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System and it ran flawlessly. Having direct, accurate feedback to the competitors allows them to perform at a level not previously enjoyed.
Next month’s HPR Service Rifle match will be held Saturday July 16, and it is our fondest hope we will see all of our regulars and some new faces there.
May F-Class Tournament - May 28th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club hosted this year's second monthly F-Class tournament on Saturday, 28 May. Twenty-three competitors participated, including four that were shooting with us for the first time.
The day was sunny and pleasant, but a very tricky wind provided some interesting shooting challenges - particularly in the third and last match of the morning. Special thanks to Jim Laietta for his considerable work to repair and restore our target reflectors in time for the tournament and to Shawn Risdon for serving as match director this time around. Kudos also to the tournament champions: Mark Thompson (shooting with us for the first time) in F-Class Open, Charlie King in F-Class Target Rifle, Bill McCall in Small Bore-Heavy and Al Vincoli in Small Bore-Light. These shooters definitely earned their medals in the windy conditions of our tournament!
The next F-Class tournament is scheduled for Saturday, June 25th. For additional information, contact match director Dan Henk at phone (828) 440-1029 or email: [email protected].
2nd NRA High Power Rifle Match - May 21st, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held the 2nd 2022 High Power Rifle Match of the Season last Saturday 5/21/2022.
The morning dawned with the prospects of a beautiful day. The temperature high was around 90 degrees F with a cloudless sky. As the day progressed moving back to the 300 yard was enjoyed by all due to the shade/shadow provided by the firing line cover.
Our attendance was off this month because of a match at Oak Ridge Tenn and several others in the area. Bobby Robinson had two Juniors, Ethan Fullam and Ray Allen, attending along with Sarah Konieczny and Haley Robinson. It was good to see Sid Landers and Steve Lyons attending as well.
Greg Ficklin has gotten a handle on the Silver Mountain Electronic Targeting System and it ran flawlessly. Having direct, accurate feedback to the competitors allows them to perform at a level not previously enjoyed.
Next month’s HPR Service Rifle match will be held Saturday June 18th, and it is our fondest hope we will see all of our regulars and some new faces there.
May Vintage Rifle Tournament - April 30rd, 2022
The Polk County Gun Club had a great day for our Vintage Rifle match on 30 April. The weather was clear and sunny, with a good turnout. We had 7 shoot the Buffalo rifle, 4 shoot the mini Buffalo and 12 shoot Rimfire. All the participants seemed to enjoy themselves, commenting positively on the matches. We were excited to see the success of the tournament. The next scheduled Vintage Tournament is scheduled for 30 July. We hope to continue our success and growth of this shooting activity.
April F-Class Tournament - April 23rd, 2022
Polk County Gun Club held its first monthly F-Class tournament of 2022 on Saturday, 23 April. Twenty-one shooters turned out to participate in the tournament. The weather was sunny and pleasant, the morning starting with mild wind and finishing with some rather challenging gusts. The late morning wind impacted the scores of the final match. Despite the late-arriving wind, scores were surprisingly good - and close. Special congratulations are due to our first-place competitors, Robert Risdon (our youngest shooter) in F-Open, Jim Laietta (NOT our youngest shooter) in F-Target Rifle, Dan Henk in F-Small Bore Heavy and Barry Postell in F-Small Bore Light. Our next F-Class tournament is scheduled for 28 May.
NRA High Power Rifle Match Season Begins - April 16th, 2022
Polk County Gun Club initiated the 2022 High Power Rifle Season last Saturday 4/16/2022. The morning dawned with rain, and the prospects of holding the match were definitely in question. Around 8:00 AM the stalwarts, Greg Ficklin, Bobby Robinson, and the Junior Team arrived. They held off installing the Silver Mountain Target System until almost 9:00 hoping the rain would cease. Right on time the rain stopped, the sky lightened, then the clouds parted and the sun began to shine.
Shortly after 8:30 competitors began to arrive, Carol Willard drove from the southern part of SC 3 hours away Friday night so she could compete with us on Saturday even with the prospect of being rained out. John Arcularius was visiting family, shot with us, Dewayne Louis came up from Greenville, Thomas McManus from the Belton club, and a young junior shooter, Hunter Blankenship, from Eastern NC around Camp LeJeune was visiting relatives locally and decided to shoot with us. Hunter won the Marksman Class. We had 14 competitors including our Junior Team Members. Haley Robinson and Sarah Konieczny (won Master Class) shot as adults for the first time this year. These two young women can teach us old guys a thing or two about high-power rifle competition. Bobby Robinson was in his usual fine form and won the High Master Class and was also the highest-scoring competitor (793/800).
I would like to thank our regular competitors Ken Lore, Steven (Bear) Louis, Steve Lyons, and Junior Tem members Colby Cossette and Ray Allen for their continued support of the PCGC High Power Rifle programs.
Frozen Chosin Vintage Rifle Match Results - February 19th, 2022
The 13th annual Polk County Gun Club, Korean War Commemorative Frozen Chosin Vintage Rifle Match was held February 19, 2022.
Jim Laietta was the Match Director in Sam Summey’s absence. It was a truly warm and beautiful sunny day. Greg Ficklin did an excellent job as always calling the match.
We had 8 competitors vying to have their name engraved on this coveted trophy. It proved to be a close match between Tom McManus (Belton Gun Club) for First Place 374-7x and last year’s winner Ken Lore 374-5x. Most competitors were shooting the M1 Rifle but Walter Smith shooting a Springfield 1903A3 bolt action rifle, turned in a respectable Third Place score of 336-3x. As in past years, this match is a 40 shot (400 point) match shot Standing (slow fire) Sitting (rapid fire) Prone (rapid fire) and Prone (slow fire).
This match is the yearly “kick off” match for the 2022 season NRA Approved Service Rifle across the course tournaments starting April 16. These will be 80 shot matches conducted at 200 and 300 yards with a reduced size target for 300 yard slow fire prone.
We want to thank everyone who have supported and continue to support the PCGC High Power Rifle Programs.
