2011 Service Rifle Competition - Terrace Rod & Gun Club

The 2011 Service Rifle Competition concluded on July 23^rd 2011 and for which seventeen shooters registered. Sixteen shooters registered for ‘Vintage’ and one in the ‘Modern’ classification.

Registration started at 0800 hrs, rifle inspection at 0820 hrs and shooter safety meeting, rules review, relay and lane assignments started at 0830 hrs. Participants were shooting by 0920 hrs interrupted by a short lunch break and match conclusion at 1800hrs.

Service Rifle discipline is not as straight forward as Target Rifle, Full bore or F-Class shooting where you must focus on the principles of marksmanship, wind reading and the methodological evaluation of long range ballistics.

Service Rifle matches require a pile of cardio and gym conditioning. It is physically difficult to perform a run-down, transition into various shooting positions, engage targets that are either moving, exposed for only a few seconds, hold up your rifle, control laboured breathing, elevated heart rate and remember:

·         What sight setting should I be using for this distance?

·         Which target bay and lane is mine?

·         How long is the next exposure?

·         What position do I need to be in?

·         How many shots do I shoot at each exposure?

·         When do I change magazines or perform reloads?

I often compare service rifle shooting to the conditions and situations that hunters often find them-selves in when they spot that moose they’ve been tracking for days. Hunters often need to be moving quickly, change locations to source the best shooting angle, manage adrenaline and an elevated heart rate, control laboured breathing and figure out the numerous computations running through the hunter’s mind prior to pulling off that one shot. In many ways, service rifle shooting is as excellent a training opportunity for hunters as it is for members of the RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Terrace Rod & Gun Club offers what most service rifle matches do, such as the use of snap, rapid and deliberate type matches while using prone, kneeling and standing positions. My intention is to raise the bar a little in 2012 by introducing a few run-down serials there-by inducing the physical stress required to make this a fully rounded service rifle match. Folks that cannot run can either perform other forms of physical exercise such as push-ups or abstain and not shoot for the trophy (but still shoot the course of fire).

We run a radio operated range utilizing the Military Rifle Butts constructed by the Royal Canadian Engineers in 1943. Terrace has the only functional rifle butts north of Vernon, so why not use them for what they were constructed for? Every relay spends their turn in the butts (a re-enforced concrete bunker with a huge earthen mound in front of it) running targets. Every shooter wears a military ballistic helmet, safety equipment and a hi-vis vest while working the rifle butts. It is perfectly safe and an experience to say the least.  

This year I was especially impressed by one specific shooter by the name of Jordy Mandur from Terrace whom, despite a serious leg injury requiring crutches and the use of a vintage service rifle with a magazine capacity of only four rounds he still placed fifth in the competition. He turned a lot of heads and his determination impresses me very much.

So keep the Terrace Rod & Gun Club service rifle competition on your radar. We should be deploying the next competition by about the same time next year. You now have exactly one year to get practiced up. I hope to see more shooters from Terrace in 2012. The competition has been largely supported by ‘out of town’ shooters for many years now. 2011 represented our tenth annual competition. For more information visit the Terrace Rod & Gun Club’s website at www.rodandgun.net

The competition’s youtube video is also available for viewing on the competition official’s online BLOG at http://riflechair.blogspot.com/

Thanks owed to:
1. WO O'Connor from BC Company, 4^th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group for advocating support for this match;
2. Terrace Ranger Patrol for supplying targets, radios & patches;
3. Floyd and Verna Wickie for volunteering to run scoring, registration and the rifle butts;
4. Troy Hansen for tallying up the numerous score cards and advocating this competition
5. And finally a big thank you to the shooters that came from far and wide to attend this competition;

Richard Kean – Match Official

Vintage Class Placement (Possible 350.70)

1st Troy Hansen (TERRACE) 320.23
2nd Mark Ciemniak (KITIMAT) 298.18
3rd Dave Helps (TELKWA) 283.15
4th Noel Braucher (TERRACE) 257.08
5th Jordy Mandur (TERRACE) 254.17
6th Albert Gordon (KITKATLA) 220.05
7th Jessica Bolton (KITKATLA) 206.12
8th Jamie Tolmie (KITKATLA) 195.08
9th Leonard Price (KITKATLA) 171.08
10th Dale Gladstone (KITKATLA) 171.04
11th Warren Nelson (KITKATLA) 127.03
12th Nathan Johnson (KITKATLA) 126.03
13th Athan Ivanakis (KITIMAT) 122.04
14th David Mason (PORT SIMPSON) 102.07
15th Heather Wesley (KITKATLA) 98.04
16th Nikida Bolton (KITKATLA) 67.03


Modern Class Placement (Possible 350.70)

1st Al Lencucha (KITIMAT) 249.16 / 350.70
I Hope to see more modern platforms competing in future matches.