2019 Montana NW Regional Championship
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 4:53 pm
We finished the 2019 Montana NW Regional Championships this past week/weekend shooting two 40 shot Iron Sight matches on Thursday and Friday and finishing with two 40 shot Scope matches on Saturday and Sunday. We had 41 Iron Sight shooters arriving from as far away as North Carolina and Florida on the east to California and Washington on the west to Arizona on the south. Over the weekend we lost two Iron shooters but gained eight Scope shooters for a total of 47 for both days.
A great turnout for the match as this was the first year after moving the match to September which is always risky as it messes with people's schedules. I apologize to those faithful attendees that were not able to make the changes required to attend this year as I know that it changed some people's summer significantly. We did, however pick up a significant number of new shooters that have never attended before so our number of attendees was about the same. A number of our attendees were at the Quigley Match last June which was the primary reason for moving the match. Hopefully it will work out for the other shooters to be able to attend in a few years again.
The weather leading up to the match was rainy and cold but was improving as the match started. We turned the targets to white for the first day of Iron Sights as the berms were still pretty wet. With very little wind, the smoke lingered and made visibility difficult but competition was good. At the end of the day, I was high overall with a 33, Johnny Spratling from Idaho was 2nd overall with a 30 winning in a shootout, and Dave Toavs from Kalispell was 3rd overall with a 30.
With just a sprinkle during the night, the berms were pretty dry Friday so we took a vote and changed the animal colors to black for this day. Good or bad, the day was more overcast for the day than the weather report was forecasting and again with minimal wind and smoke issues, visibility was tough but scores were still good. Jim Brannon from Idaho (coming back from a many year hiatus from shooting) was 1st overall with a 31, my son, Brad Niemeyer from Scottsdale, Arizona, was 2nd overall with a 30, and Toby Crisler from Anaconda, MT was 3rd with a 29.
The overall winners for the Iron Sight aggregate were Jim Brannon in 1st overall with a 60, Johnny Spratling in 2nd overall with a 58 (winning in a shootout), Dave Toavs in 3rd overall with a 58. Master class winners: Steve Neustrom from Stevensville, MT was 1st Master with a 55, Toby Crisler was 2nd Master with a 52, and Dave Eichenlaub as 3rd Master with a 52. AAA class winners: Brad Niemeyer was 1st AAA with a 56 (winning in a shootout), Jonathan Currey from Idaho was 2nd AAA with a 56, and I was 3rd AAA with a 54. AA class winners: Don Johnson from Idaho was 1st AA overall with a 54, Blair Svihra from Florida was 2nd AA with a 50, and Ryan Trickett from Washington was 3rd AA overall with a 47. A overall class winner was Gale Boyle from Idaho with a 31 and B overall class winner was Chris Steinmetz from Washington with a 36.
Weather for the weekend was better with more sunshine, which brought it's own issues. The Missoula Deep Creek Range is situated in a small valley facing mostly north with trees on both sides of the range. As a result, shadows can be an issue for banks 3 and 4 early in the match. As we were shooting scopes, it wasn't a big issue but some of the animals were ghosts when looking with the naked eye. As the morning progressed, the shadows abated and the bright white was great from crosshairs to see on it.
Saturday's overall shooters were myself in 1st overall with a 35, Dave Eichenlaub was 2nd overall (winning in a shootout) with a 31, and Dave Yount from Washington was 3rd overall with a 31. Sunday's overall shooters were John King from Kalispell, MT with a 35, Blair Svihra was 2nd overall with a 34 (AA shooter that shot all his laydowns and hit 4 chickens and pushed him up to AAA!!), and myself in 3rd overall with a 32.
The overall winners for the Scope aggregate were myself in 1st overall with a 67, John King in 2nd overall with a 65, and Blair Svihra was 3rd overall with a 64. Master class winners: Dave Yount was 1st Master with a 62, Dave Eichenlaub was 2nd Master with a 61, and Darrell Smithson was 3rd overall with a 60. AAA class winners: Dan Smrdel from Seely Lake, MT was 1st AAA with a 57, Jonathan Currey was 2nd AAA with a 56, and Gaylen Merrell from Jackson Hole, WY was 3rd AAA with a 55. AA class winners: Dan Steinmetz from Washington was 1st AA with a 57, Ritchie Tilton from Col. Falls, MT was 2nd AA with a 55, and Brad Niemeyer was 3rd AA with a 52. A Class winner was Chris Steinmetz with a 39 and B class winner was Rob Allen with a 25.
We also presented an "Ironman" award for the overall of both Iron and Scope this year which was also myself with a score of 121.
Our club supported potluck dinner on Saturday was great with lots and lots of food. Following the dinner, we drew tickets from door prizes from the following supporters: Quiltworx/Judy Niemeyer Quilting, Montana Vintage Arms, Buffalo Arms, Shiloh Rifle, Redding Reloading Equipment, Starline Brass, Schuetzen Powder Energetics, Walter's Wads, John King Wads, Treebone Carving, MidwayUSA, Wyoming Sight Drifter, John Venhous, and Green Mountain Barrels. Thanks so much for their participation in our regional match!
URL addresses from all the scores:
Iron Sight Match: http://www.mtbpcr.com/2019NWRegionalIronFinal.pdf
Scope Sight Match: http://www.mtbpcr.com/2019NWRegionalScopeFinal.pdf
A great turnout for the match as this was the first year after moving the match to September which is always risky as it messes with people's schedules. I apologize to those faithful attendees that were not able to make the changes required to attend this year as I know that it changed some people's summer significantly. We did, however pick up a significant number of new shooters that have never attended before so our number of attendees was about the same. A number of our attendees were at the Quigley Match last June which was the primary reason for moving the match. Hopefully it will work out for the other shooters to be able to attend in a few years again.
The weather leading up to the match was rainy and cold but was improving as the match started. We turned the targets to white for the first day of Iron Sights as the berms were still pretty wet. With very little wind, the smoke lingered and made visibility difficult but competition was good. At the end of the day, I was high overall with a 33, Johnny Spratling from Idaho was 2nd overall with a 30 winning in a shootout, and Dave Toavs from Kalispell was 3rd overall with a 30.
With just a sprinkle during the night, the berms were pretty dry Friday so we took a vote and changed the animal colors to black for this day. Good or bad, the day was more overcast for the day than the weather report was forecasting and again with minimal wind and smoke issues, visibility was tough but scores were still good. Jim Brannon from Idaho (coming back from a many year hiatus from shooting) was 1st overall with a 31, my son, Brad Niemeyer from Scottsdale, Arizona, was 2nd overall with a 30, and Toby Crisler from Anaconda, MT was 3rd with a 29.
The overall winners for the Iron Sight aggregate were Jim Brannon in 1st overall with a 60, Johnny Spratling in 2nd overall with a 58 (winning in a shootout), Dave Toavs in 3rd overall with a 58. Master class winners: Steve Neustrom from Stevensville, MT was 1st Master with a 55, Toby Crisler was 2nd Master with a 52, and Dave Eichenlaub as 3rd Master with a 52. AAA class winners: Brad Niemeyer was 1st AAA with a 56 (winning in a shootout), Jonathan Currey from Idaho was 2nd AAA with a 56, and I was 3rd AAA with a 54. AA class winners: Don Johnson from Idaho was 1st AA overall with a 54, Blair Svihra from Florida was 2nd AA with a 50, and Ryan Trickett from Washington was 3rd AA overall with a 47. A overall class winner was Gale Boyle from Idaho with a 31 and B overall class winner was Chris Steinmetz from Washington with a 36.
Weather for the weekend was better with more sunshine, which brought it's own issues. The Missoula Deep Creek Range is situated in a small valley facing mostly north with trees on both sides of the range. As a result, shadows can be an issue for banks 3 and 4 early in the match. As we were shooting scopes, it wasn't a big issue but some of the animals were ghosts when looking with the naked eye. As the morning progressed, the shadows abated and the bright white was great from crosshairs to see on it.
Saturday's overall shooters were myself in 1st overall with a 35, Dave Eichenlaub was 2nd overall (winning in a shootout) with a 31, and Dave Yount from Washington was 3rd overall with a 31. Sunday's overall shooters were John King from Kalispell, MT with a 35, Blair Svihra was 2nd overall with a 34 (AA shooter that shot all his laydowns and hit 4 chickens and pushed him up to AAA!!), and myself in 3rd overall with a 32.
The overall winners for the Scope aggregate were myself in 1st overall with a 67, John King in 2nd overall with a 65, and Blair Svihra was 3rd overall with a 64. Master class winners: Dave Yount was 1st Master with a 62, Dave Eichenlaub was 2nd Master with a 61, and Darrell Smithson was 3rd overall with a 60. AAA class winners: Dan Smrdel from Seely Lake, MT was 1st AAA with a 57, Jonathan Currey was 2nd AAA with a 56, and Gaylen Merrell from Jackson Hole, WY was 3rd AAA with a 55. AA class winners: Dan Steinmetz from Washington was 1st AA with a 57, Ritchie Tilton from Col. Falls, MT was 2nd AA with a 55, and Brad Niemeyer was 3rd AA with a 52. A Class winner was Chris Steinmetz with a 39 and B class winner was Rob Allen with a 25.
We also presented an "Ironman" award for the overall of both Iron and Scope this year which was also myself with a score of 121.
Our club supported potluck dinner on Saturday was great with lots and lots of food. Following the dinner, we drew tickets from door prizes from the following supporters: Quiltworx/Judy Niemeyer Quilting, Montana Vintage Arms, Buffalo Arms, Shiloh Rifle, Redding Reloading Equipment, Starline Brass, Schuetzen Powder Energetics, Walter's Wads, John King Wads, Treebone Carving, MidwayUSA, Wyoming Sight Drifter, John Venhous, and Green Mountain Barrels. Thanks so much for their participation in our regional match!
URL addresses from all the scores:
Iron Sight Match: http://www.mtbpcr.com/2019NWRegionalIronFinal.pdf
Scope Sight Match: http://www.mtbpcr.com/2019NWRegionalScopeFinal.pdf