MAY 24,2015 - MEMORIAL/MACGILLIVRAY MATCH - RESULTS

The day started off with some pretty heavy rain while some of us had our last cup of tea and others were already on the road to attend the Memorial/MacGillivray Match on the Batouche Range at CFB Gagetown.  By the time we were all gathered at the range, however, The rain had stopped, the clouds were breaking up and the sun was beginning to shine. This progressed throughout the day to become a steady sun with only few clouds and temperatures easily approaching 20C. All in all, a perfect day for a match.

The wind was a bit of a different story - it blew and blew! Most left to right but sometimes down range. Some of the flags would be consistent while others gave a very different indication. One flag blew loose while another became wrapped around the pole.
This Match, under the capable direction of Match Director, Don Coleman, who was also the RSO, was attended by 14 shooters who came from many areas in the province. Bouctouche, Shippegan, the Moncton area, the Fredericton area, the Saint John area and even Grand Manan Island. A big "welcome" to Matt Lambert on his first day out.
The Match consisted of one relay at 800m and 2 relays at 900m. The 800m  and the first 900m ranges were shot under "Coached" conditions, while the

last 900m was an individual match for score. We paired up to coach for wind and elevation - a "serious excercise in what the . . was that?" or "I sure didn't see that change". We learned a lot about calling difficult wind conditions and the poor shooter had to tolerate large groups.
But such is the learning experience.
We did much better, we thought, in the individual match where we controlled our destiny - at least we had to take "credit" for our wind calls and scores. We thought our groups were smaller at least.

INDIVIDUAL MATCH RESULTS -- TR CLASS:
Don Coleman - 70V5
Mike Lutes - 69V4
Mark McMullin - 67V3

INDIVIDUAL MATCH RESULTS -- FO/BR CLASS:
George Cook - 51V0

INDIVIDUAL MATCH RESULTS -- FTR CLASS
Adam MacDonald - 66V3
Matt Wolf - 65V1
Matt Lambert - 65V0
Paul Bastarache - 63V2
Ron Mason - 61V1
John McCluskey - 60V4
Bert deVink - 59V2
Francis Bezeau - 59V1
Gordon Holloway - 58V0
Harrison Brown - 44V1

L>R: Don Coleman (TR) Adam MacDonald (FTR)

ACOUSTIC CHRONOGRAPH FROM ADAM MACDONALD

From Adam MacDonald
Hi everyone,

I brought my acoustic chrono to the match in St Gabriel and there was some interest in people wanting their own. So here is what it is and if you would like one please let me know. (e-mail: adamjmac@gmail.com) Pass on the word to anyone else you think might be interested.

I buy this Caldwell chrono: http://www.opticsplanet.com/caldwell-ballistic-precision-chronograph.html

And then replace the optical light sensors with microphones - the same circuit board that is in the (Silver Mountain) electronic target microphones. The conversion process takes a few hours. It uses the same timing circuitry and display - this is not modified. The chronograph can talk to a phone/tablet through a cable which will record all the readings as you shoot.

The main advantage over a standard chronograph is precision. I measured a Chrony to have an SD of 15 fps (over 50 shots). I measured two of the converted acoustic chronos to have an SD of 4 fps. This data was measured using a system that has an SD of 1 fps. These numbers may vary based on your setup, but the acoustic chrono is much more capable of telling the difference between a good load and bad load (6-10 fps SD) making it much for useful for our purposes.

The acoustic sensors are not affected by light or rain. The sunshades are not needed. You can shoot anywhere around it but it's best if you shoot 2-3 feet over top. It is more affected by alignment error than an optical - it needs to be parallel to your bore. If you have a misalignment, it will report the wrong absolute value but the deviations will be right. You should use it to measure your velocity SD and use scope elevations at different distances to figure out your actual velocity. You should also have a sturdy tripod or place it on a wooden board on the ground so it does not move around in the wind.

The price is $200 each for these. I want to place one order for a number of these and convert them all at once. If I already told you it would be a lower price then it is what I already told you.

68th ANNUAL VICTORIA DAY MATCHES - RESULTS

The Victoria Day - 68th Annual Matches were well attended by 
13 F-Open shooters, 
15 FTR shooters and
27 TR shooters.
In the latter category, our good friend and shooting colleague, Don Coleman, acquitted himself very well indeed. Congrats to Don.

See here the Victoria Day Matches - Results

MAY 17, 2015 - MINUTES OF THE FULLBORE EXECUTIVE MEETING

MINUTES OF THE FULLBORE EXECUTIVE MEETING ON MAY 17, 2015

AT SAINT GABRIEL RANGE

Following the Saint Gabriel Match, the Fullbore Executive convened a meeting to discuss several issues as reported below. In attendance were Mike Lutes, Daniel Chisholm, Conrad Leroux and Bert deVink. 

1.     TROPHIES: It was reported by Conrad that some of the Fullbore trophies that were formerly stored at the Base Museum are presently in his and Murray Watts' basements. The Museum is less eager than in years past, because of lack of space, to house our trophies. Conrad recommended that we look for other storage options including the old YMCA in Fredericton which will rent a 10'x10' room for $150 plus parking fee of $25 (total $175 per month). About 1/2 of the trophies are Fullbore Trophies and all are the property of the RNBRA. Mike stated that the RNBRA is also paying for storage for its files and these items should be combined and brought to the RNBRA Board.

2.     MTR MATCH IN WOODSTOCK - MAY 30, 2015: Conrad mentioned that this match is advertised as a MTR/Sporter match and asked when the TR portion of the RNBRA Smallbore Championship would be held. It is our understanding that this year all classes of the Smallbore Championship will be shot in Woodstock on the 30th of May. Bert will send a notice clarifying this issue to all members. (Done - there will be 3 Classes for Senior and for Junior shooters. These include Scoped Target Rifle - MTR, Non-scoped Target Rifle - TR, and Sporter Rifle which may be scoped or not depending on the shooter's preference. In order to form a Class there must be 3 or more shooters in it.).

3.     FULLBORE TRUST FUND INVESTMENTS: Bert updated the Executive on the status of the Trust Fund Investments. At present, we are waiting for some recommendations from the bank and will be in touch with the RNBRA Treasurer when this is complete. Investments will be 1/2 growth and 1/2 secure/conservative oriented.

4.     E-TARGET MARKERS: Daniel stated that as we regularly use 3 e-target markers for our matches, we need to make a decision about either purchasing another marker or renting from Silver Mountain Targets. Another system would cost about $3000 and a $1500 down payment with periodic payments to follow would be acceptable. Alternatively, a rental fee of $10 per shooter/per target system will apply to any rentals we make.

Moved: Gordon Holloway/ Seconded: Mike Lutes

That, once we have an updated financial statement and have had a trial with the Generation II Marking System, we lease-to-own another system from Silver Mountain Targets. This will involve a down payment of $1500. Until this decision is made final, we continue to rent at the above rates.

Motion adopted unanimously with Daniel abstaining due to a conflict of interest.

Regular members present were also in agreement.

5.   AMORTIZATION OF E-TARGET MARKERS: As adopted at our Annual Meeting of 2014, we will set aside $10 per shooter after each match in order to be able to replace our e-target markers when this becomes necessary. Maintenance and upgrades of the software is not included in this.  

6.   SAINT GABRIEL 600 MATCH + FINANCES PERTAINING TO THE MATCH: We thank the members of the Saint Gabriel Range for hosting a really excellent match on their beautiful range. Paul Bastarache reported that a total of $325 was realised today and that Saint Gabriel would only need $40 of this to replace targets etc. The $125 that would normally have been their share of the proceeds is being donated to the Fullbore Section by the Saint Gabriel Range. We thank Paul, JC and other members for their very generous donation. The Fullbore Section realised a net gain of $245 (after $40 rental was paid to Silver Mountain Targets).

G.H. (Bert) deVink

Chairman-RNBRA Fullbore Section

16-05-2015 - SAINT GABRIEL 600 MATCH - RESULTS

Our trip to Saint Gabriel Range, outside of Bouctouche NB, began oh so early in the morning - it is hard to imagine how beautiful New Brunswick can be in the spring, early in the morning, with sun slowly rising in the sky. There wasn't a cloud
to be seen and the air was totally still. What luxury - to be up so early, with the smell of coffee AND to be a passenger heading to a shoot across the province.

We arrived at the range a bit later than expected having taken an unscheduled detour to
Rexton. The range is beautiful - the guys there certainly deserve a lot of credit for making an excellent shooting facility up to 600 meters, (actually 615 meters they tell me). Everything was shipshape and even the signs did not have holes in them!! All the ranges were marked and the covered benchrest firing points were immaculate. Even the mounds were reasonably comfortable - what a treat.
The Match Director today was Paul Bastarache and the RSO was JC Gautreau. Many thanks for your efforts guys. Rest
assured that we had a wonderful day with you at your range!

It should be noted also that Daniel Chisholm and Adam MacDonal have worked hard during the winter to improve the software for the electronic marking system. It now provides many useful operations and tons of data for our analyses and worked like a charm during the match.
Thirteen eager shooters attended and were treated to almost no wind at all during the first relay. Unfortunately, this did not last for the whole match. As the day developed, off shore winds - from up range to the firing points - picked up in strength. This was complicated by cross winds (mostly right to left) at the targets. So while the mirage ran one way at the end of the range (visible in our scopes focused on the targets), the wind would run another way. Tricky for most of us - especially in the last relay when most of the "fours" were recorded. The FTR shooters were using 1/2 MOA centers - a new thing for most of us - but challenging in these wind conditions. What was nice was that the sun was out all day and the light did not change.
After the match, the Fullbore Section Executive held a meeting - Minutes in the post above.

RESULTS - TR CLASS:

L>R - Paul [FTR] and Mike [TR] winners

Mike Lutes - 222V23
Daniel Chisholm - 216V17
Edgar Poirier - 153V9

RESULTS - FTR CLASS:
Paul Bastarache - 221V16
Bert deVink - 215V11
JC Gautreau - 208V14
Adam MacDonald - 207V14
Ron Mason - 207V12
Conrad Leroux - 201V7
John McCluskey - 201V7
Gordon Holloway - 200V10
Francis Bezeau - 192V11
Harrison Brown - 163V0

MAY 8, 2015 - MIKE LUTES - RAMBLINGS OF A SHOOTING BUM

RAMBLINGS OF A SHOOTING BUM - May 8, 2015 
As the ranges dry up and access improves, it's hard to spend a nice day working around the yard but there are things more important than shooting.  The "Honey-do" list for the yard has high priority this time of year as I clean up the broken trees and winter mess.  I'm still recovering from what has been my longest experience with the flu and the warm sun is restoring my strength and endurance.  
It's going to be a great summer of Fullbore target rifle shooting! The rifle I put together last year on the Eliseo stock has been upgraded with a new wood grip for my trigger hand and initial impressions are positive, the 2156 Sierra bullets fly well and I've got lots of them on hand.  
Unfortunately due to limited vacation time I had to withdraw from the Canadian team to Bisley. This is the first time that I qualified for the team despite coming close a few times years ago. I believe that Bisley is likely the Mecca of Target Rifle shooting and I certainly hope to qualify for the team again when I can make the three week commitment in July to represent Canada at the Imperial championship.  
My withdrawal from the Bisley team has opened up the opportunity to shoot the Individual World

MAY 09, 2015 - FREDERICTON CENTENNIAL MATCH - RESULTS

It was a terrific day for a Fullbore Shoot and sixteen eager shooters came out for the Fredericton Centennial Match. The showers predicted earlier failed to develop and we enjoyed constant sunshine. Lots of wind though - of all kinds.
Harrison measured the wind and found 26 mile per hour gusts with the wind dying down to almost nothing at times. The direction was another challenge as the wind came from 6 o'clock some of the time, switching from 3 to 9 o'clock without a predictable pattern.

This was the first time that some of us FTR shooters experienced a 1/2 minute of angle "V-bull". Needless to say our V-bull count was low. I guess this was a great learning day for everyone.
The Match Director was Conrad L. while Daniel C. and Adam MacD. looked after the electronic scoring. Some wonderful changes have been made to the scoring program and we all listened enraptured during pre-match briefing.  Don C. was the statistician while many of those attending helped with flags, setting up targets and taking down the range. Thanks fellows - your help is much appreciated.
Below are the final scores - congratulations to Don C. who won the TR match and to Paul B. who won the FTR Match. Good shooting guys!




RESULTS - TR:

L>R: Paul B. - FTR and Don C. - TR winners

Don C. - 139V6
Daniel C. - 139V5
Mike L. - 135V9

RESULTS - FTR:
Paul B. - 132V6
Matt W. - 129V10
Adam MacD. - 127V5
Wayne K. - 121V5
Conrad L. - 121V1
John McC. 117V4
Bert deV. - 116V1
Ryan deM. - 114V1
Gordon . - 111V4
Mike L. - 107V2
Ron M. - 106V1
Maurice B. - 98V3
Harrison B. - 95V1