RIGHT ON TARGET OLD ISSUES

Jerry King files this report from the October match in Roswell.
October 18, 2008 Match

When I arrived at the range at 6:55 A.M., there was no wind and there were three shooters camping in the pits. There was a little fog, but it burned off very fast. Shooters started showing up after 7 A.M. We got the targets and everything set up and we were ready to go before 8:15 A.M. I told relay 1 to go to the 200 yd line and get set up, as we were going to start shooting at 8:30 A.M.
We had a good turn out, as we had 11 shooters. The shooters enjoyed themselves very much. A lot of the shooters plan on going to the Capitan’s league next weekend. I did no shoot this match, as I am going bow hunting up in Nebraska the next few weeks. It is going to take a while for my hand to get back in shape.

John White Match winner 753 - 18
Steve Jones Expert 736 - 12
Phil Overly Marksman/sharpshooter 727 - 7


1. John White 753 - 18		7. Mike Carter 700 - 7
2. Steve Jones 736 - 12		8. Tom Higdon 697 - 4
3. Dave Crider 732 - 14		9. Russ Dobbs 695 - 12
4. Phil Overly 727 - 7		10. Jarrod Shaner 573 - 2
5. Danny White 719 - 9		11. Sam Brown 558 - 0
6. Rick Gage 709 - 7

We had eleven shooters show up for the last match at Capitan. The morning started off very chilly but the day warmed to a very nice day. It was breezy the whole match, running 5 to 10 mph all day. Larry Kimpell was match winner with a 773-19. Ray Grado won the expert class with a master score of 758-16. Ray is starting to get the hang of this!! Shale Layher again won the combined marksman/sharpshooter class by breaking 700 for the second month in a row. Shale shot a 701-7. Guess it really does make a difference if you can see! I would like to thank those who drove long distances to come and support our matches. It’s what keeps us going. We had two gentlemen from Terlingua, Tx. come up. They didn’t bring any chili with them, or we would have let them shoot for free. Paul Wiggins and his buddy wanted to see a high power match. Paul brought his gun and ammo and of course we convinced him to shoot. So Paul shot his first X-course match and fired a 645-4. Pretty respectable score for the first time!! The club bought brats, Dave Crider brought the beer and Steve Jones brought the cooker for a little last cook out of the year after the match. I do think a good time was had by all. Here are the Capitan scores:


1. Larry Kimpell 773-19		7. Steve Jones 701-5
2. Ray Grado 758-16		8. Phil Overly 699-6
3. David Crider 741-11		9. Gary McCoy 696-4
4. Dale Barry 730-14		10. Danny White 695-7
5. Mike Irish 728-13		11. Paul Wiggins 645-4
6. Shale Layher 701-7

Well dang, another shooting season has come and gone. Gasoline prices played heck with us but we still had some good turnouts. Now the danged economy is going to play with our pocket books. If its not one thing, it's another.

News from our club members. Ron Zerr went to Phoenix and shot the Creedmore matches a couple of weeks ago and won the Creedmore Cup with a 791-31. Way to go Ron!!

As you know from my previous ranting and raving, someone was out at the range last week and was shooting from the campground and left one heck of a mess. First of all, we don’t shoot from the campground at all and especially toward the BLM land. There is a lot of equestrian activity over on the BLM and while they don’t come over next to the dividing fence they do try and stay a hill or so over from us, which is still fairly close. I don’t really want to find out how far a bullet will ricochet. It doesn’t even have to hurt someone, just a close call and I think a judge would issue an injunction and shut us down. ALL shooting must be into an impact berm!! Please!! We have got to be as safe as possible.

We do have a range rule that requires policing of brass etc. It keeps our range looking nice. Someone did pick up the shotgun hulls in the campground; I think it was Danny White, thanks Danny. But the 9mm brass is still there. While we don’t have a rule concerning breaking of clay pigeons, I would like to ask that that be done behind the big impact berm for the same reason we pick up our brass. It keeps the range from looking trashed out. And don’t forget to sign the registration book when you come out to shoot.

Mel Gnatkowski has been working the last few days on the smallbore range. It is looking really good. I need to get another grant application done for target, target frame material and Larry Kimpell and I think we should stack a dry block foundation around the firing mound next year, fill it with dirt and then the following year we can pour a concrete slab on it. Mel is also finishing the back filling of the new pit wall.

I asked for input on scheduling next year and got very little, so here is what we have applied for. The first weekend of June, June 5, 6 and 7, we have applied for a regional to be held at Roswell. It conflicts with a long range regional that Steve Cunico has applied for at Raton, but I think the NRA will approve it. Unless the Colorado association or some other group steps in, there will not be an X course regional at Raton.

The third weekend of July, July 17, 18 and 19, will be the New Mexico Hi Power Championships. This conflicts with RMPM but again, we don’t seem to draw from the same pool of shooters anymore.

I moved the Regional here at Capitan to the second weekend of September, because the fourth weekend of August was just too close to Camp Perry. I think this will conflict with the Spirit of America matches.

The annual meeting will be held January 24, 2009 at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds as in the past. Let’s count on having another swap meet like last year, that seemed to go over real well. If you have something that you would like on the agenda, let me know and I will put you down.

Unless something comes up, you won’t hear from me again until after Christmas when I put out the official notice for the annual meeting. I will forward any news or announcements that seem to be pertinent. I hope everyone is safe in their travels for the holidays and hunting trips. I would like to see all of your shining faces again next year!!

When I arrived at the range at 6:45 A.M., there was no wind and there were four shooters camping in the pits. Shooters started showing up after 7 A.M. We got the targets and everything set up and we were ready to go before 8:15 A.M. I told relay 1 to go to the 200 yd line and get set up, as we were going to start shooting at 8:30 A.M.

We had an excellent turn out, as we had 14 shooters, we got started shooting off-hand and two more shooters showed up for a total of 16 shooters. The shooters enjoyed themselves very much. Most of the shooters plan on going to the Capitan’s league next weekend. I got to shoot this match again, and it is going to take a while for my hand to get back in shape.

Tom Higdon Match winner 746 - 14
Mike Irish Expert 743 - 8
Mike Carter Marksman/sharpshooter 701 - 7
Don Field Unclassified 630 - 2


1. Tom Higdon 746 - 14		9. Pat Harges 636 - 3
2. Mike Irish 743 - 8		10. Don Field 630 - 2
3. Rick Gage 735 - 10		11. Nate Higdon (jr) 626 - 4
4. Steve Wright 721 - 5		12. Leroy Thetford 618 - 3
5. Mike Carter 701 - 7		13. Rod Phillippi 585 - 3
6. Jerry King 692 - 4		14. Phil Overly 565 - 2
7. Dave Crider 686 - 6		15. Jarrod Shaner 459 -1
8. John Kerick 648 - 5		16. Ray Pawley 387 -1

I don’t know what it is about this September, but at Capitan, we again had 16 shooters come out and shoot! Best turn out for a club match in a couple of years. The day started out really nice and calm, but by the time we got back to 300 yards, the wind was up to 8 to 10 mph and stayed that way thru the end of the match. I shot this match, first time I have shot across the course in 13 or 14 months. I was just hoping not to embarrass myself and wound up winning with a 770-15 and I didn’t have a very good 600 yards. Walt Garfield is still having trouble with his Tubb gun, even after sending it to David and getting it worked on. Mike Irish won the expert class with a 742-9 and one of the surprises of the day was junior shooter Shale Layher winning the combined marksman/sharpshooter class with a score of 718-8! Shale is a marksman but just got new shooting glasses. Makes a difference when you can see! We had 3 shooters that were unclassified so we did an unclassified class. The next surprise of the day came with new shooter Gary Shaver shooting in his very first across the course match shot a 738-11!! WOW!! A great day was had by all and I want to thank everyone for making the trip. Scores as follows:


1. Bill Rodolph 770-15		9. Shale Layher 718-8
2, Larry Kimpell 762-15		10. Jerry King 698-8
3. Mike Irish 742-9		11. Bill Lamb 695-5
4. Gary Shaver 738-11		12. Phil Overly 691-6
5. Dale Barry 733-12		13. Danny White 690-5
6. Steve Jones 732-8		14. Jim McLemore 681-3
7. David Crider 727-12		15. Clay Beevers 586-0
8. Rick Gage 724-11		16. Walt Garfield DNF

Well, another shooting season is starting to wind down. We still have matches in October in Roswell and Capitan. This coming weekend is the Rudy Buhling Memorial Match in El Paso with a last chance leg match on Sunday. I would like to encourage all those that can go, to go support the Franklin Mountain Gun Club. They have a good range and put on a good show.

I have been looking at the schedule for 2009 and need some input from you shooters. First of all, New Mexico isn’t going to sponsor a regional at Whittington Center in 2009. Jerry King is putting out the idea of having at least a registered match with leg match, if not a full blown regional in Roswell the first part of June. Jerry told me which weekend, it’s the first or the second, but I don’t remember which one. I think it is a great idea. The Roswell range needs some usage and support. Let me know what you think.

Second, we have been having the state hi power championship on the 3^rd weekend of July. In 2009, the Rocky Mountain Palma Matches, RMPM, are going to be held over that weekend. I normally try and avoid conflicts like that and I am considering moving the state hi power to the 4^th weekend. When I started shooting, if you shot hi power, you more than likely shot both across the course and long range. Now it seems that there is a definite division between long range and X course and I am not so sure that there would be much if any, conflict. The board matches at Camp Perry start on August 3^rd, which is the first Monday so if the state hi power were on the 4^th weekend of July, there would still be a week and a weekend to travel. Please let me know what you think. I would like to get dates set as soon as possible.

Third, there are 5 weekends in August. We normally have our regional on the 4^th weekend of August. Camp Perry is not done until Friday the 14^th, so people would be traveling home on the 3^rd weekend of August leaving no time for those shooters to catch their breath before coming to the regional. I think we should move the regional to the 5^th weekend, August 28^th, 29^th and 30^th or the second weekend of September which is the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th. The Spirit of American Matches are on that weekend, but again I don’t think there would be much of a conflict. Please, I need your input in setting up the schedule.

It has been brought to my attention that when you join the club and fill out the application, you sign stating you have been given a copy of the range rules and by-laws for the club. I have been derelict in giving that information out. If you would like a copy of these items, let me know and I will send them to you or Click here for BY-LAWS

I am sure there are some of you that remember the name Grady Eldridge. Grady was very instrumental in building our shooting range. I have been approached by a friend of his that would like to sponsor some sort of sign and name the range after Grady. Think about it and we will discuss it at the annual meeting. Speaking of the annual meeting, it will be on January 24, 2009, so mark it down on your calendar.

A reminder that the results for the State Hi Power Championship and the Regional are posted on our website along with some new pics, so feel free to check it out.

I think I have covered it all. Be safe in your travels and your hunting trips this fall.

Hold hard and favor center!
Bill Rodolph, President
Capitan Hi Power Shooting Club, Inc.
www.capitanhipower.com


1. Jonathon Cowen 435-11		4. Steve Jones 414-3
2. Freddy Haltom 422-13		5. Don fields 363-0
3. Brian Chatwell 428-10		6. Ben Foster DNF


1. Jonathon Cowen 196-10		4. Brian Chatwell 179-1
2. Freddy Haltom 188-2		5. Don Field 115-1
3. Steve Jones 184-1		6. Ben Foster DNF

When I arrived at the range at 6:30 A.M., there was no wind and it had just stopped misting-raining. Shooters started showing up after 7 A.M. and I asked them if they wanted to wait to shoot or start on time. At 7:30 A.M. we decided to start shooting on time and not to wait any longer. We got the targets and everything set up and we were ready to go before 8:15 A.M... I told relay 1 to go to the 200 yd line and get set up, as we were going to start shooting at 8:30 A.M... The road and shooting points were not that wet.

We had a fair turn out, as we had 8 shooters. The shooters enjoyed themselves very much. All of the shooters plan on going to the Capitan’s regional next weekend. I got to shoot this match, as the doctor cleared me on Monday, August 11th. to start shooting and doing anything that I wanted to do.


Mike Irish Match winner 753 - 14		Ben Foster Expert class winner 734 – 7


1. Mike Irish 753 - 14		5. Steve Jones 704 - 8
2. Ben Foster 734 - 7		6. Jerry King 695 - 7
3. Dave Crider 720 - 12		7. Phil Overly 676 - 3
4. Danny White 711 - 8		8. Walt Garfield DNF

We had a great weekend for the regional championships this year. No rain! Turn out was good with the All Guard Team again coming and supporting our program. They come from all over the country with Claude Trahan having traveled the farthest, from Vermont.

We had 21 shooters turn out for the 600 yard matches. Competition was fierce with 3 shooters in the end, tied for top spot in the aggregate and only the X count determining the winner. Walt Garfield had more X's than Jonathan Cowen and Mike Irish to win the aggregate with a score of 392-21. The master class was won by Raymond Diaz with a score of 389-13. Expert class was won by Mike Irish with a score of 392-5 and the sharpshooter class was won by Brooks Blair with a 381-9. Rounding out the class winners in the 600 yard matches was Scott Lockwood winning the marksman class with a 361-3. Scott smoked the competition in the iron sight match shooting a 195-3! One heck of a marksman score!

We shot a 30 shot presidents course of fire for the team match on Friday afternoon. There were 5 teams battling for top honors. But, there were no surprises here with the All Guard Team easily winning the team match with 1150-27. Team Tex Mex was second with a 1064-15.

Saturday was the Regional Championship. The morning was beautiful, cool, clear and no wind, promising a nice day. But, those evil Capitan winds decided to make an appearance after a several week layoff. By the time the shooters got back to 300 yards the wind had gotten quite frisky running at 10 to 12 mph and gusting to 15 from time to time. It didn’t really seem to affect the Regional Champion Ron Zerr at all. Ron shot a 791-35 to win the championship and commented that the wind was just another normal day at Capitan.

The day started with the offhand match and was won by Ron Zerr with a 196-5. Moving to the rapid fire sitting match Jonathon Cowen from El Paso won the match with a 200-6. Good shooting Jonathon! At 300 yard rapid prone, the wind was starting to have an affect on the rounds going down range. Winner of the 300 yard match was Alan Williams from Albuquerque with a 199-5.

At 600 yards, scores were down except for match winner Ron Zerr who shot a 199-10 for the win. Ryan Kuhn showed that the little AR can shoot in the wind by shooting a 195-8. Not bad! Ryan had a good weekend, he brought his girlfriend to New Mexico and when they left, she was his fiancée!

As stated before Ron Zerr was Regional Champion winning the gold medal with a 791-35. Silver medal went to Ryan Kuhn with a 779-19 and the bronze medal went to Claude Trahan with a 767-16. Class winners were Jonathon Cowen in the high master class with a 764-20, Ryan Kuhn in the master class with a 779-19, Rick Gage in the expert class with a 749-11, Brooks Blair in the sharpshooter class with a 716-9 and winning the marksman class was Mike Carter with a 688-6. Special awards went to Raymond Diaz for high senior and Hannah Kerr for high woman. Congratulations to all the winners!

A cookout was held after the match Saturday and special thanks go to Steve Jones and David Crider for cooking hamburgers and brats to perfection for all those hungry folks! I dare say a good time was had by all! Extra curricular activities that evening included shooting David Crider's 21/2 lb lead ball cannon at our old 300 yard outhouse and Steve Jones’s 1919A1, again at the outhouse. Good thing it’s going to be bulldozed this fall.

Sunday was a chamber of commerce day! No getting around it, it was just a gorgeous day. EIC shooters couldn’t ask for anything nicer. Senior Raymond Diaz showed the younger crowd that the old folks can still shoot a little by winning the leg match with a 484-15. Way to go Raymond. David Crider got the 6 point leg with a 464-10. We only had 12 non distinguished shooters and could only give the one 6 point leg.

Again I would like to thank everyone that came and supported our match. It makes the hard work and extra hours easy to do when people come to the matches. Thanks a whole lot! I need to thank the people that made this tournament happen. Thanks to Paul Myers for running the pits on Sunday and the line on Saturday. I would like to thank Paul’s wife Tammy for doing stats and selling club merchandise. Thanks go to Sha Lene Dobbs, for all the hard work getting the range ready, buying groceries, helping with stats and doing everything that was asked of her, and I do mean everything! Thanks to Jerry King for running the pits on Friday and Saturday and J. D. Roehrig for the fine trophies that we passed out.

Complete results below. We do have some new pictures from the State match and the regional on Photos of Events Page.

A few reminders: Lincoln County Friends of the NRA banquet is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 27. Hope everyone can make it. The first weekend of October is the Rudy Buhling Memorial Match in El Paso. They have changed the format a little with an 80 shot on Saturday and a "Last Chance" leg match on Sunday. Please try and support this program with your attendance. Especially you leg shooters that have room for one more match!

Capitan High Power Club Inc.
SE New Mexico Hipower Regional
Capitan New Mexico
August 22, 2007
2 x 600yd

Match Winner:	Walt Garfield

Name	Class	800 Yards				900 Yards				Total				Place
High Master Class
Cowen, Jonathan	HM	197	-	11	X	195	-	8	X	392	-	19	X		1st HM
Adams, Bobby	HM	188	-	3	X	194	-	1	X	382	-	4	X
Diefenderfer, Garey	HM	195	-	7	X	184	-	5	X	379	-	12	X
Master Class
Garfield, Walter	MA	195	-	9	X	197	-	12	X	392	-	21	X				MW
Diaz, Raymond	MA	198	-	5	X	191	-	8	X	389	-	13	X				1st MA
Pacheco, Timothy	MA	190	-	6	X	196	-	8	X	386	-	14	X
Kuhn, Ryan	MA	190	-	5	X	195	-	6	X	385	-	11	X
Jenkins, Rodney	MA	189	-	8	X	194	-	6	X	383	-	14	X
Trahan, Claude	MA	189	-	5	X	184	-	3	X	373	-	8	X
Expert Class
Irish, Mike	EX	198	-	3	X	194	-	2	X	392	-	5	X				1st EX
Jones, Steve	EX	182	-	3	X	181	-	3	X	363	-	6	X
Minor, Claudis	EX	169	-	2	X	173	-	2	X	342	-	4	X
Drissel, John	EX	161	-	1	X	174	-	0	X	335	-	1	X
Dennis, Clayton	EX	168	-	2	X	115	-	0	X	283	-	2	X
Thetford, Leroy	EX	121	-	1	X	124	-	0	X	245	-	1	X
Sharp Shooter Class
Blair, Brooks	SS	190	-	5	X	191	-	4	X	381	-	9	X				1st SS
White, Danny	SS	172	-	0	X	180	-	2	X	352	-	2	X
Dobbs, Russell	SS	167	-	0	X	174	-	0	X	341	-		X
Marksman Class
Lockwood, Scott	MK	166	-	1	X	195	-	3	X	361	-	4	X			1st MK
Carter, Mike	MK	173	-	0	X	155	-	1	X	328	-	1	X
Field, Don	MK	150	-	1	X	161	-	2	X	311	-	3	X

It’s been a busy month, so I will get right to it. First of all is news from Camp Perry. Ginger McLemore smoked them pretty good in smallbore prone, here are her words.

Bill, I won high Woman Iron Sights Prone 22 rifle, made the Dewar Team (top 22),
made the Randle team (top 12 women) and made the Roberts Team (top 12). The Roberts team goes to
England next year (equivalent to the Palma team). I guess my high power distinguish is on hold one
more year.
See you sometime this fall.
Cheers!
Ginger

As I type this, the team match in high power has just finished. Team Creedmore won, but it must not have been a very nice day; they dropped 20 points and only won by 2. They haven’t listed the individual scores yet, so we don’t know how Ron did.

Paul Kerr got hot in the Presidents 100 and placed second overall!! Very good shooting!! He did it with an excellent 600 yard score in the shoot off, shooting a 99-3. It brought him from the middle of the pack, top 20 go to the shoot off, to second place. Again, great shooting Paul.

In the National Trophy Individual match (kind of the national leg match) Paul again had a good day placing 15^th. George Morgan who shoots with the All Guard team and has shot here the last couple of years with the ALL Guard team had a real good day placing 4^th overall. And Wes Shumaker from Los Alamos was 23^rd.

The league match normally held in Roswell on the third Saturday was superseded by the state championship which I will cover a little later. Our league match at Capitan on the 4^th Saturday was rained out and we rescheduled and shot it the following Saturday, August 2^nd. 5 shooters came out and shot with Dave Crider winning, because apparently, no one else wanted to. You can ask him his winning score.

Ok, I want to piss and moan just a moment. When putting up the range flags, it is a real help to me when I put them back up if you will roll/fold, whatever from the small end to the big end. That way I don’t have to fight it in the wind with it completely unrolled to get to the loops for attachment. It’s much easier to snap the hooks on with the flag rolled/folded whatever up. Thanks, I will shut up now!

We have a work day scheduled for Sunday, August 17^th to get ready for the regional and yes, we will need to do some mowing and weed eating. I hope to have a tractor with brush hog this month and can get the large areas done, but the firing lines and pits will need attention. Paul and Tammy Myers stayed over this past Sunday and we all went out and cleaned up the pits. Hauled off the old roof, trash and restacked building materials behind the target house. Thanks so much to Paul, Tammy and Sha Lene for the help. I went out Monday and got the 800 and 900 yard lines trimmed up for the upcoming long range match, but ran out of trimmer cord before I got the 1000 yard line done. If someone wanted to go finish for me…………………………….

I have the RPA long range front sight for sale. It has the adjustable apertures and
a .30 diopter. Came from O.K. Weber asking $175.00
2- Redfield International rear sight with the Merit eye piece. Asking $150.00 each
Contact
Joel Crossno
HC 71, Box 1021A
Capitan, NM 88316
1-575-354-3334

sharpshooter@zianet.com

We had great weather for the matches all weekend. Only on Friday afternoon did lightning run us off the range. The rains stayed away and the winds stayed down, but changing and tricky. Turn out was down this year, a testament to high gasoline prices. But for those who came, the competition was fierce, weather was great and some excellent scores were shot.

Here is Danny White who figured out a way to beat the high gasoline prices and get all his gear shooting and camping, on the back of his 1977 BMW motorcycle!

We had 12 shooters for the 600 yard matches on Friday morning. Walt Garfield was holding hard and reading wind. Walt shot a 199-11 in the first match and a 199-10 in the second for an aggregate of 398-21. This took top honors. Raymond Diaz won the master class and Mike Irish won the expert class. The combined sharpshooter/marksman class was won by Dick Holland.

The shortened team match was won by Tex-Mex and included team members Raymond Diaz, Nez Rongero, Danny White and John Paul Simmons. By the way, thanks to Raymond and Nez for coming all the way from the Austin area.

On Saturday we shot the state championship. Ron Zerr was hot all day long and started his record setting pace with a 199-5 in the offhand match. Wow! That’s pretty dang good shooting and won the offhand match. Ron kept up the blistering pace by winning the sitting match with a 200-15, out Xing Sam Ohlinger who had a 200-9. For those of you that don’t know Sam, he is from Ohio and his sister is Hannah Kerr who with her husband Paul are in Albuquerque while Hannah does her residency. Anyway, it’s nice to have them down and supporting our programs.

Ron and Jonathon Thornton shot identical scores of 199-7 in the 300 yard match. Jonathon won the tie breaker by out Xing Ron on the last string, 5 X’s to 4.

Going back to the 600 yard line, Ron was only down 2 points. But this is when the wind got tricky, it was up and down and changing very quickly. It was very easy conditions to get caught in. Ron hung in there and won the match with a 198-9. He was later heard to say that he was very proud of that score due to the changing conditions.

Ron Zerr is our New Mexico Hi Power State Champion shooting a new range record in the aggregate of 796-38. Ron broke his old record of 794-36 set at the 05 regional. That is just damn good shooting! Jonathon Thornton won the hi master class with a 788-22. Jonathon is holding hard and coming up quickly. Raymond Diaz won the master class with a 750-12 and Ray Grado won the expert class with 749-19. Good shooting Ray! Now here is the surprise of the match. Phil Overly won the sharpshooter class with a 726-10! That’s got to be Phil’s personal best. Don’t know where it came from but rumor has it that Phil got his eyes worked on a few months ago and can see his sights and the target now. It sure looks like he will be moving up this year. Dick Holland won the marksman class with a 693-5. Good shooting Dick!

Special awards went to Jonathon Thornton, high resident, Paul Kerr is the state service rifle champion, Hannah Kerr was high woman, Wesley Ganaway was high junior and Raymond Diaz was high senior.

Sunday was just about as nice a day that you could ask for. Shooters certainly couldn’t complain about the weather, but the 13 non distinguished shooters competing for leg points, had a contest to see who could choke the worst. David Crider came out on top with the least amount of mistakes and got his first 6 points ever. Way to go David!! Paul Kerr from Albuquerque won the leg match with a 481-13.

The weekend went off without a hitch and I need to thank a whole lot of people. Paul and Tammy Myers did everything I asked for, working stats, the pits and filling in wherever I needed them. Sha Lene Dobbs for helping me put things together, running errands, buying groceries and helping with stats. Jerry King ran the line on Friday and the pits on Saturday. Thanks go to Adrian Morley for calling the line on Saturday. Adrian kept things moving and the match went very smoothly. And last but not least, club member J.D. Roehrig for the great awards that we gave away.

I hope everyone can attend our regional. It is always a very good match. But if you do, bring bug spray, we actually have mosquitoes this year!

I have also had some pics posted on the website from the state championships. Check them out.

Well, we finally got a whole long range match in. While it was a fairly breezy day it was still nice compared to what it had been. We only had 6 shooters show up for the match, I guess it’s a testament to the high gas prices. John Van Marter won the Palma match with a 417-5 on the very difficult F class target and Mike Irish won the 1,000 yd any/any match on the LR target with a 181-3. Scores to follow;


1. John Van Marter 417-5		4. Dick Vivian 368-4
2. Brian Chatwell 386-12		5. Clary 312-9
3. Freddy Haltom 374-2		6. Mike Irish DNF


1. Mike Irish 181-3		4. Freddy Haltom 137-0
2. John Van Marter 175-1		5. Clary 144-2
3. Brian Chatwell 164-3		6. Dick Vivian DNF

A reminder that there is not a long range match in July; the Rocky Mountain Palma Matches are the same weekend. So go to RMPM, you will have a ball!

The Roswell X-course match had 7 people come and shoot. It was a weird day to say the least. Strong winds for the offhand match then it started to calm done and they had nice conditions for 300 and 600 yds. We had some new shooters, or at least new to us. Jarrod Shaner shot his first hi power match ever and Mike Carter shot his first full distance match. Dave Crider was match winner with a 708-15, guess it was windy during offhand! Rick Gage won the combined master, expert sharpshooter, unclassified class. This is a reminder that there will not be a league match in July at Roswell. The New Mexico State Hi Power Championships are that weekend. Scores to follow:


1. David Crider 708-15		5. Mike Carter 588-2
2. Rick Gage 703-9		6. Jarrod Shaner 512-3
3. Tom Higdon 699-11		7. Don Field 423-1
4. Phil Overly 650-5

If you didn’t come and shoot Capitan across the course, you missed a chamber of commerce day! We had light rain the night before, helping to keep things cool. What wind we did have, less than 10mph was a bit twitchy and kept shooters on their toes. We had a good turnout with 14 shooters making the trip up. Ron Zerr was match winner with a 790-44, looks like Ron found his problem and is back on track. Walt Garfield won the master class, Dave Crider again winning the expert class and almost new shooter Kevin Tierney won the sharpshooter. Kevin shot across the course for the first time in 24 years. Not bad! We would like to welcome new shooters Bill Lamb and Jarrod Shaner to Capitan. Thanks for coming!! Scores to follow:


1. Ron Zerr 790-44		8. Rick Gage 717-10
2. Walt Garfield 756-10		9. Steve Jones 715-4
3. Tom Higdon 744-14		10. Mike Irish 709-4
4. David Crider 732-6		11. Dale Barry 691-5
5. Ben Foster 731-9		12. Danny White 683-2
6. Kevin Tierney 728-8		13. Bill Lamb 674-4
7. Ray Grado 718-6		14. Jarrod Shaner 576-0

Now for all you out there pissing and moaning about high gasoline prices. Danny White wanted to come shoot and did something about it. He loaded up his 1977 BMW motorcycle with shooting gear and camping gear, used the saddle bags for coolers and got 60 mpg coming to shoot a match. Wish I had a picture! Where there is a will, there is a way!

The state hi power championship is just around the corner. July 18th thru 19th. The program for the match and separate entry form are on out website. Its time to get those entries in. Please don’t make me resquad the match 20 minutes before we are supposed to shoot. If you are planning on camping on the range, be advised, that although it has started raining, we are still under fire restrictions. Now that could change between now and then, but I wouldn’t count on it.

We have a work day on Sunday, July 13th. Meet out at the range along about 8:30 or so. We need to weed eat the pits and firing lines. Although it has started raining, I don’t think the weeds are up where we need to do a lot of mowing, but that could change in 2 weeks.

John Gillis in Santa Fe has the following rifle for sale: BUSHMASTER XM15-E2S DCM competition service rifle for sale. I purchased this five years ago thinking I would resume competing in high power service rifle matches, but my eyes are not what they were. This rifle lists for $1,150. I will sell it, along with four new GI issue 20-round magazines and a hard case, for $900.

The rifle features a heavy 1-8" twist barrel, match sights, match trigger and butt stock weight that can be tuned to the shooter. I have fired 20 rounds of the 120 rounds of barrel "break-in" ammo recommended by Bushmaster. It is in ANIB condition. If interested, please contact John at 505-988-3777 (Santa Fe). I can work out delivery details with a buyer or leave it at Bill Rodolph's shop for pickup.

Dick Vivian and decided to sell his palma gun, old eyes and all: The rifle has a post '64 Winchester action, a tight Krieger barrel with about 800 rounds through it, and was recently restocked with a McGee laminated stock with adjustable butt plate and cheek piece and bedded by Accuracy Unlimited. Included would be a 6" bloop tube, Centra front and rear sights with adjustable apertures and a .3 and .5 diopters for the front sight. Would also provide100 plus Lapua brass fired 3-4 times and 100 new Federal brass. I also have almost 1000 155 gr. Sierra Match King bullets that I will no longer need. I was thinking of asking about $1200 for the rifle and whatever is reasonable for the bullets. I can get you in touch with Dick, Bill Rodolph

The first long range match of the year was held on May 10^th. And as is so often the case, it got blown out. 6 shooters tried to fight it and made it thru the 800 yd stage of the palma match, then gave up. Scores as follows:


1. Freddy Haltom 139-1		4. Ted Scierocinski 138-0
2. Mike Laughlin 138-6		5. Steve Jones 135-0
3. Bryan Chatwell 138-2		6. Dick Vivian 111-1

Mike, Steve and Dick were shooting palma and the rest were shooting F-class. As you can see, it was a tough day!

Walt Garfield won the Roswell match held on the 17^th and Ben foster was hi expert. Scores didn’t get turned in so I don’t have them to pass along. Jerry King is having health problems and isn’t able to run matches. If you get a chance, drop Jerry a note and wish him well.

Our first across the course league match at Capitan was the 24^th. While it was fairly breezy all day long, including offhand (which kept scores down considerably) it wasn’t near as bad as the long range day! 9 shooters came out, which I guess isn’t bad considering what fuel prices are doing. It would sure be nice tho to see us get attendance back up into the upper teens. Ron Zerr was match winner, Walt Garfield first master, Rick Gage won the expert class and Mike Schwartz was first marksman. I think a good time was had by all. Scores as follows:


1. Ron Zerr 778-28		6. Mike Schwartz 624-4
2. Walt Garfield 764-15		7. Dan Egan 584-6
3. Rick Gage 728-10		8. Don Field 587-5
4. David Crider 721-11		9. Tom Higdon 342-9
5. Steve Jones 720-6

Last month I told you of club member Bob Helman’s passing and that there would be a list of firearms for sale. I will attach the list to the email this is sent with. John Van Marter is handling the sale of these guns and his contact info is on the list. There are a few guns that have no price on them and John admits to struggling to come up with a price. Contact him and discuss it with him if you are interested.

The hi power match in Roswell on the 19^th was much better attended than the March match. We had 14 shooters come shoot in excellent conditions and a beautiful day. With no wind for the first 75% of the match and light winds at 600 yds everyone in attendance had a great time and enjoyed themselves very much.

Steve Jones has a new barrel on his M1A, so you experts had better watch out. Steve won the match with a 740-6. Winner of the expert class was David Crider with a 735-12 and Bill Dilley won the sharpshooter class with a 678-6. Way to go winners, good shooting! I would like to take this opportunity to welcome new shooter Don Field to our ranks. Don hails from Dora and I hope he enjoys his time spent with us. Scores as follows:


1. Steve Jones 740-6		8. Danny White 676-8
2. Dave Crider 735-12		9. Rod Phillippi 670-4
3. Steve Wright 730-12		10. Phil Overly 668-6
4. Tom Higdon 728-11		11. Russ Dobbs 660-0
5. Mike Irish 722-12		12. Don Field 595-2
6. Ben Foster 708-7		13. Ray Pawley 381-1
7. Bill Dilley 678-6		14. Walt Garfield DNF

We finally had a decent day for our clinic. Saturday the 26^th started off cool, but warmed quickly. Light winds for the first couple of hours than picking up and gusting then lying down again. Still, all in all, it was warm and much nicer than the last few years. We had a great turn out. Thirty people showed up to attend and participate in the clinic. I was certainly surprised with gas prices being what they are. Most everybody let me know they were coming and I managed to have enough food for all. We were able to get the entire individual instruction done in one day. I was under the impression that everyone had a great time and learned a lot. Thanks so much for all those who drove long distances to attend; it makes it worth while for us to put on events when they are well attended and enjoyed. Thanks again!

The weather forecast for Sunday was really pretty poor. 15 to 20 mph winds and temps in the 30’s. At the cook out, we talked about just meeting at the store and talking about reloading, mental aspects, etc. But Sunday morning we met at the range and guess what, the forecasters weren’t exactly right! So we shot two relays at 600 yds. The first relay had pretty nice conditions, but the wind was starting to gust in the 10 to 15 mph range when relay two was on the line. That was my relay. I want to toot my own horn a second; I haven’t shot since the state match last July. I just wanted to shoot! So I laid down at 600 yds and shot a 198-9 with no zeros. I had taken the barrel off and set it back on Thursday. Ok, enough about me. I hope people were able to leave with a little more knowledge than when they came. I know I enjoy doing it and I always come away with something I haven’t thought of. Thanks again to all those in attendance!

On a sadder note, club member Bob Hellman passed away two weekends ago. Most of you didn’t know Bob, he wasn’t a hi power shooter, but a very avid gun nut and shooter anyway. Bob played with a lot of black powder toys. Bob had quite a few nice "toys", like I said, a lot of black powder guns. John Van Marter will be helping his widow dispose of his collection and is working on a detailed list of items and prices. When he gets it ready I will put it out to the club.

Shooting season is fixing to get kicked off in a big way. Long range starts on May the 10^th and our first league match at Capitan is May 24^th. You can shoot just about every weekend this summer somewhere. If you need info, contact me. Don’t forget that the Shooting Sports USA magazine put out by the NRA has a complete listing of matches in it.

We had a work day on April 20^th and as usual, turnout was light. Mike Irish helped Sha and I fix number boards, cans and carriers. JD Roehrig and Mike LaChance came out and mowed and weed eated. Thanks so much to them for their help.

I sure hope to see everyone at matches this year. I will try and shoot a couple. Tammy Myers has been very good to me, helping me in the store on Saturdays when I need to be at the range. Remember, I will need help running the matches this year. Please let me know if you can help out.

I have had some contact with F class shooters in the Albuquerque area. Seems the Del Norte club will be conducting long range practice matches at the new range west of town on the second Sunday of the month. More info is available and contact info at their website: http://www.delnortegunclub.com/ , I hope people can make a few and help their program, and maybe in turn it will get some of them down here.

Our hi power season got started on March 15^th in Roswell. I guess the weather forecast scared a bunch of people off, it was supposed to blow hard, but didn’t get cranked up until after the match. We only had 4 shooters and Dave Crider ran the match. Many thanks to Dave!

Match winner was Mike Irish with a 742-11.
First Expert was Rick Gage with a 718-12.
Sam Brown of Lubbock shot a 619-2
New shooter Don Field from Dora, NM shot a 549-1

If you like to shoot prone, there is a mid range match in Raton the middle of May. Two days of prone shooting at 300, 500 and 600 yds., 20 shots for record at each distance. I’m sure you can find info on the Whittington Center web site.

We have a work day coming up on Sunday, April 20^th. We have number boards that need repair and a few needing repainting. I’m sure we need to mow and weed eat the pits and firing lines. PLEASE, PLEASE, come out and work.

Long range starts the second Saturday of May, which is the 10^th. You long range shooters might want to think about taking a look at your targets, etc. Or at least come early so you can face targets and so forth. I haven’t had the opportunity to do things like that this year.

Last but not least, don’t forget the clinic coming up April 26 and 27. I have been asked several times what we will do on Sunday and that is really up to the attendees. We can shoot a team match, a 50 shot individual match or just work on areas you would like to concentrate on. Of course, the weather will play a major role. Please let me know if you are attending. I need to have enough food for the evening cook out and Adrian needs to know how many booklets to print up. If you are purchasing ammo from Swantner, you need to be registered with me to qualify. I am under the impression there is going to be a good turn out, but I have only officially heard from 12 people. Please let me hear from you. You can email me or call me. Contact info will follow.

I need volunteers to help run matches this year. Please let me know if you can help.

It’s getting close to time to start our league. First league match will be March 15^th in Roswell. I hope everyone can make it.

A reminder that our clinic will be on April 26^th and 27^th here in Capitan. Schedule will be as in past years and a copy of the announcement is attached to this email. I will have ammo for the juniors, but at this time, I am not sure how much. The ammo crunch is not helping matters. The announcement should also be on our website.

A shooter called me on Feb. 20^th to tell me he had gone out to the range to shoot and the target shed door was standing wide open. Please remember to shut the door and lock it when you leave. All we need is for a skunk to take up residence inside the shed! Could make for some interesting times!

I am also attaching a revised schedule. I have added 3 work days. Basically they are the Sunday before the clinic, the Sunday before the state match and the Sunday before the regional. Please make an attempt to be here for them.

I have also put on the schedule two weekends for sight in days, open to the general public. These weekends will be Oct. 4 & 5 and Nov. 1 & 2. We will need volunteers to come out and help with that. I was thinking of charging $5.00 a person and we might run and ad or put up flyers in some of the stores to advertise it.

I need volunteers to run matches, both league matches and the state and regional. For the state and regional we may try having a different line officer for each relay. So step up and volunteer.

We had a good turnout for our annual meeting on January 26^th, 2008. 35 persons attended and we had a good meal catered by Tom’s Barbeque. The swap meet seemed to be a hit, I know for a fact that money changed hands. I can send anyone that would like a copy of the minutes of the meeting. A few of the highlights: We applied for a Friends of the NRA grant at the last minute to start dirt work on our smallbore range. Dana Terlecky who is the chairman of the local committee reported that we had been approved for our grant. This summer or fall, we will get started on that. Next we should apply for concrete for the firing line. We are also going to look at covering the smallbore firing line. Ron Zerr filled us in on some rule changes for hi power, most notably, that seniors and super seniors may now stay in position for rapid fire and do not have to rise on the command, shooters stand. We reelected the same slate of officers for the next 2 years.

There will be a new schedule posted on the website. I added 3 work days. One on the Sunday before the clinic in April, one on the Sunday before the State Championships and one on the Sunday before the regional. Please mark these days down. They will be basic clean up, mow, cut weeds, make sure targets are in order, etc.

I want to encourage everyone to try and shoot this year. It is very important to support the activities that clubs and people around the country sponsor and put on. Without attendance and support, there is no reason to have the events. I know gasoline is high, I guess its going to be part of the cost of our sport, along with increases in bullets and brass. All I know to say is, try and carpool to save on expense. If you want to come to a match, get on the phone and call or encourage a shooter to come along.

Don’t forget that Midland/Pecos, Texas have matches. El Paso has an active shooting program and Alamogordo shoots reduced hi power. I can get information on all of these events to you if you are interested.

We start in March with a hi power match in Roswell. I hope that everyone can make it. I hope to see everyone this year. Hold hard and favor center,

Capitan High Power Club Inc.
New Mexico State High Power Championship
Capitan New Mexico
July 18, 2008
Team Match

Team Match Winner:	Tex Mex				709 - 11x

Name	Individual Total				Team Total				Place
Team NM & TXZ
Garfield, Walter	183	-	1	X	685	-	2	x
Holland, Dick	174	-	0	X
Jones, Steve	171	-	0	X
Schwartz, Mike	157	-	1	X

Team Tex Mex
Diaz, Raymond	186	-	4	X	709	-	11	x	1st Place Team
Rongero, Nez	192	-	6	X
Simmons, John Paul	166	-	1	X
White, Danny	165	-	0	X

Team Lubbock
Carter, Mike	166	-	2	X	688	-	5	x
Dobbs, Russell	171	-	1	X
Higdon, Thomas	186	-	2	X
Overly, Phil	165	-	0	X

Capitan High Power Club Inc.
New Mexico State High Power Championship
Capitan New Mexico
July 20, 2008
Leg Match

Match Winner:	Paul Kerr						481 - 13x
6pt Leg Winner:	Dave Crider						453 - 5x

* Distinguished
Name		Total
Kerr, Paul	*	481	-	13	X	Match Winner
Shumaker, Wesley	*	476	-	13	X
Ohlinger, Sam	*	472	-	15	X
Williams, Alan	*	471	-	16	X
Diaz, Raymond	*	469	-	7	X
Rongero, Nez	*	465	-	6	X
Crider , David		453	-	5	X	6pt Leg Winner
Grado, Ramon		442	-	1	X
Gage, Rick		439	-	3	X
Jones, Steve		426	-	2	X
Carter, Mike		420	-	3	X
Dobbs, Russell		412	-	4	X
Overly, Phil		411	-	3	X
Phillippi, Rodney		409	-	4	X
White, Danny		403	-	2	X
Kerr, Hannah		402	-	1	X
Schwartz, Mike		397	-	2	X
Durrer, William		381	-	5	X