milanuk
Well-Known Member
Well, another one in the books. I'm still scouring the multiple layers of sunblock and sand out of various nooks and crannies, as this was a scorcher. Well into the upper 90's if not more on all three days (measured 93°F in the shade in the pits, 98° in the open on Saturday) and the wind made things interesting.
Three different wind conditions, one for each day. Day one (Friday), it was doing the typical 'Rattlesnake Twitch' - wind coming from 10:30 to 1:30, occasionally swinging over to 2:30 just enough to throw some vertical into the mix as it came up a draw down @ midrange. Speeds were up and down, but generally stayed in the 5-10 range w/ gusts up to 15mph (if that).
Day two (Saturday) the wind 'theme' was from 2 to about 4:30, so not a lot of significant direction change, but the velocity changes were startling - from 8-12 to 0-5 in just a few seconds - barely enough time for it to register on the flag and give you any warning. Not uncommon at all for a shooter to get caught by a let off for a 8 or a 7, correct, and get bit for a 7 or a 6 out the other side. Firing fast and knowing when to hold up paid off. High BC bullets helped too, of course
Day three (Sunday) was when the wind stopped playing nice. As I told people on the line "...may the bullet fairies smile on you, because the wind gods surely hate us today!" Relays #1 & 3 got off easy @ 800 with almost zero wind - it started building right as Relay #3 finished up 800. After that... the kid gloves came off. Winds averaged between 15-18mph, w/ swings from down a little below 10 to over 22-24mph (depends on whose wind meter you believe ). The real cause for grief was it was doing the Rattlesnake Twitch again, this time from 6 to 7 to 8 to 6 to 7 to 5 to 8, and often just about that fast. Usually keeping track of your time and sitting out the more psychotic episodes paid off. Even then, by the 1k yard line people were pretty happy with 9's, and X's were pure luck.
When the dust was settled and it was all over save for the cryin', here's how it turned out...
2008 WA LR F-Class match winner - Glen Taylor (Alberta, CA)
1st F-Open Tom Hines (Boise, ID)
2nd F-Open Jesse Thomson
1st F-TR Monte Milanuk
2nd F-TR Jeff Williamson
Some interesting things to note... Tom lost by one point... and gave up 18 pts in crossfires. I was down by 10pts... after giving up a miss because I didn't have my windage knob zeroed after 900yds one day. Ron ended up 30 pts down... because he had gun problems and didn't finish one yard line, where he could have easily made up 50-60pts with his eyes closed. The scores are what count at the end of the day, but its always interesting how just a little twist here or there can make a huge difference in how the dust settles...
And then the official results if you want to look at the ups-n-downs...
Three different wind conditions, one for each day. Day one (Friday), it was doing the typical 'Rattlesnake Twitch' - wind coming from 10:30 to 1:30, occasionally swinging over to 2:30 just enough to throw some vertical into the mix as it came up a draw down @ midrange. Speeds were up and down, but generally stayed in the 5-10 range w/ gusts up to 15mph (if that).
Day two (Saturday) the wind 'theme' was from 2 to about 4:30, so not a lot of significant direction change, but the velocity changes were startling - from 8-12 to 0-5 in just a few seconds - barely enough time for it to register on the flag and give you any warning. Not uncommon at all for a shooter to get caught by a let off for a 8 or a 7, correct, and get bit for a 7 or a 6 out the other side. Firing fast and knowing when to hold up paid off. High BC bullets helped too, of course
Day three (Sunday) was when the wind stopped playing nice. As I told people on the line "...may the bullet fairies smile on you, because the wind gods surely hate us today!" Relays #1 & 3 got off easy @ 800 with almost zero wind - it started building right as Relay #3 finished up 800. After that... the kid gloves came off. Winds averaged between 15-18mph, w/ swings from down a little below 10 to over 22-24mph (depends on whose wind meter you believe
). The real cause for grief was it was doing the Rattlesnake Twitch again, this time from 6 to 7 to 8 to 6 to 7 to 5 to 8, and often just about that fast. Usually keeping track of your time and sitting out the more psychotic episodes paid off. Even then, by the 1k yard line people were pretty happy with 9's, and X's were pure luck.When the dust was settled and it was all over save for the cryin', here's how it turned out...
2008 WA LR F-Class match winner - Glen Taylor (Alberta, CA)
1st F-Open Tom Hines (Boise, ID)
2nd F-Open Jesse Thomson
1st F-TR Monte Milanuk
2nd F-TR Jeff Williamson
Some interesting things to note... Tom lost by one point... and gave up 18 pts in crossfires. I was down by 10pts... after giving up a miss because I didn't have my windage knob zeroed after 900yds one day. Ron ended up 30 pts down... because he had gun problems and didn't finish one yard line, where he could have easily made up 50-60pts with his eyes closed. The scores are what count at the end of the day, but its always interesting how just a little twist here or there can make a huge difference in how the dust settles...
And then the official results if you want to look at the ups-n-downs...
Code:
WASHINGTON STATE PALMA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tri Cities Shooting Association
Rattlesnake Range, Richland, WA May 16-18, 2008
****************************************
FINAL RESULTS
Fri. PALMA Sat. PALMA Sun. PALMA Grand AGG.
------- F -------
GLEN TAYLOR FOP F 401-2 423-9 2F 399-7 1223-18 1F
TOM HINES FOP F 417-9 1F 401-5 404-6 1222-20 2F
JESSE THOMSON FOP F 405-5 405-1 406-4 2F 1216-10
MONTE MILANUK FTR F 399-6 420-7 394-5 1213-18
JEFF P WILLIAMSON FTR F 401-5 414-6 397-4 1212-15
GREG SWEZEY FOP F 416-2 2F 399-5 392-1 1207-8
RORY RUSSELL FOP F 400-6 399-2 402-3 1201-11
RON HERMS S FOP F 350-6 432-11 1F 411-9 1F 1193-26
TANNER FURNISS FOP F DNF 417-8 DNF 417-8
ROBERT STOREY S FOP F DNF 397-2 DNF 397-2
DONNA JENSEN W FTR F DNF 371-2 DNF 371-2
WASHINGTON STATE PALMA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tri Cities Shooting Association
Rattlesnake Range, Richland, WA May 16-18, 2008
****************************************
FINAL RESULTS
MATCH 1 Fri. PALMA
------- F -------
TOM HINES FOP F 145-4 137-3 135-2 417-9 1F
GREG SWEZEY FOP F 141-2 139-0 136-0 416-2 2F
JESSE THOMSON FOP F 144-4 135-1 126-0 405-5
JEFF P WILLIAMSON FTR F 138-2 132-2 131-1 401-5
GLEN TAYLOR FOP F 139-1 131-1 131-0 401-2
RORY RUSSELL FOP F 138-2 135-3 127-1 400-6
MONTE MILANUK FTR F 138-4 133-1 128-1 399-6
RON HERMS S FOP F 144-4 144-2 62-0 350-6
WASHINGTON STATE PALMA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tri Cities Shooting Association
Rattlesnake Range, Richland, WA May 16-18, 2008
****************************************
FINAL RESULTS
MATCH 2 Sat. PALMA
------- F -------
RON HERMS S FOP F 149-6 138-2 145-3 432-11 1F
GLEN TAYLOR FOP F 138-3 146-4 139-2 423-9 2F
MONTE MILANUK FTR F 145-5 137-1 138-1 420-7
TANNER FURNISS FOP F 146-5 134-0 137-3 417-8
JEFF P WILLIAMSON FTR F 139-1 141-3 134-2 414-6
JESSE THOMSON FOP F 139-0 132-0 134-1 405-1
TOM HINES FOP F 133-2 131-2 137-1 401-5
GREG SWEZEY FOP F 139-3 135-1 125-1 399-5
RORY RUSSELL FOP F 139-1 135-1 125-0 399-2
ROBERT STOREY S FOP F 135-2 129-0 133-0 397-2
DONNA JENSEN W FTR F 125-0 120-2 126-0 371-2
WASHINGTON STATE PALMA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tri Cities Shooting Association
Rattlesnake Range, Richland, WA May 16-18, 2008
****************************************
FINAL RESULTS
MATCH 3 Sun. PALMA
------- F -------
RON HERMS S FOP F 146-3 143-4 122-2 411-9 1F
JESSE THOMSON FOP F 142-2 132-1 132-1 406-4 2F
TOM HINES FOP F 143-3 137-3 124-0 404-6
RORY RUSSELL FOP F 143-3 131-0 128-0 402-3
GLEN TAYLOR FOP F 147-4 134-2 118-1 399-7
JEFF P WILLIAMSON FTR F 144-4 127-0 126-0 397-4
MONTE MILANUK FTR F 147-3 132-1 115-1 394-5
GREG SWEZEY FOP F 141-1 129-0 122-0 392-1
WASHINGTON STATE PALMA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tri Cities Shooting Association
Rattlesnake Range, Richland, WA May 16-18, 2008
****************************************
FINAL RESULTS
PALMA Team Match
****************************************
ONE SHORT F 1133-23
Capt.: Monte Milanuk / Coach:
FFF F 139-3 DNF DNF 139-3
STEVE PODLESKI FTR F 137-3 137-3 DNF 274-6
MONTE MILANUK FTR F 146-1 142-3 DNF 288-4
GLEN TAYLOR FOP F 144-1 148-5 DNF 292-6
RON HERMS S FOP F DNF 140-4 DNF 140-4
****************************************
"F" TROOP F 1104-17
Capt.: / Coach:
GREG SWEZEY FOP F 143-4 136-2 DNF 279-6
TOM HINES FOP F 145-6 136-0 DNF 281-6
JESSE THOMSON FOP F 132-0 139-2 DNF 271-2
RORY RUSSELL FOP F 141-2 132-1 DNF 273-3
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