Official Bulletin – 2014 5-Buckle Overshoe Matches

Sponsored by: Bismarck-Mandan Rifle And Pistol Association

Fired on May 3 and 4, 2014

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 2014 5-Buckle Overshoe matches on May 3 and 4, 2014. We had an excellent turnout for our first event of the 2014 High Power Season again this year. A big thanks goes out to Bob Cunningham – my statistician, and Tom Eckroth – the Pit Officer for the long range match. I couldn’t do these matches without their help. I always need some extra hands to help keep the match moving along – and we always need some help getting competitors on target during the long range events. Be sure thank them if you see them down the road.

We had our usual challenging winds for the long range event on Saturday. However, the match moniker – the 5-Buckle Overshoe – lived up to its reputation on Sunday with cloudy skies, winds and highs in the mid-30 – it was COLD. All in all though, it was a great opening weekend and I hope to see many – or all – of you at the High Power events this summer.

Our M1 Garand Match winner was Don Granlie from Underwood. Don fired an impressive 261/300 for the M1 Garand match win. The High Competitor in the Garand Match firing an AR-15 (Modern Rifle) was Kohl Klein from Bismarck. Kohl fired a very nice 285-8x in the breezy conditions.

The Long Range shooters had to put up with 15 to 25 mph winds in the afternoon matches. We had 25 mph winds which let offs to 15 mph, and then it often picked right back up to the 25 mph stuff. If you were slow on the trigger or not paying attention it got ya – it was a challenging day. Coby Dalgliesh (Sarles, ND) fired a 559-12x to win the Conventional category. Eric Johnson from Detroit Lakes, MN, fired a 551-9x to take the F-Open Class Rifle category. We had 8 competitors in the F-Target Rifle category this year. Seems we are picking up a bunch of folks trying the standard .308 in the F-Class events at 1,000 yards. Dave Rohrich from Napoleon won the F-TR firing a 521-5x.

If you wish to purchase an M1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), you must be a member of a CMP affiliated organization and you must have evidence of rifle marksmanship activities. This certificate can be used as evidence of marksmanship activities. The Bismarck-Mandan Rifle and Pistol Association and the North Dakota Shooting Sports Association (NDSSA) are both CMP affiliated organizations. If you join one of these organizations, you will have met CMP’s membership requirement in order to purchase your M1 Garand rifle. Please consider joining one (or both) of these organizations.

If you plan to participate in North Dakota Championship events, I encourage you to join the NDSSA. In order to be eligible as a state champion, you must be a resident of North Dakota, and a member of NDSSA. NDSSA is the NRA state affiliated organization. NDSSA is a great organization. In addition to promoting the shooting sports, the association has also helped pass some pro-gun legislation in North Dakota. Check out their website at ndssa.org for additional information.

Non-residents can compete in our State Championship events. We encourage and welcome your participation. Non-residents can be the match winner. However, the high overall resident is recognized as the North Dakota State Champion.

The next High Power event at our range will be the North Dakota Long Range State Championship the weekend of June 7 and 8. Please plan to attend – pass the word and bring a friend along.

If you wish to get on my email list for High Power match notices, please send me an email.

The 2014 Summer High Power season is here. As always, plan your summer shooting sports schedule NOW. This is North Dakota – we ain’t got a lot of summer up here (if you haven’t figured that out yet) – so do not wait – if you do the summer will be over and you’ll have to wait until next year to “get going” – (how many times have I heard that).

You can download the NDSSA shooting sports schedule below. There are more events than what I’ve listed. Be sure to contact the match directors for specific information on the events listed below. You can also check the web sites for the Bismarck-Mandan Rifle and Pistol Association and the Grand Forks Rifle Club for specific information concerning these matches. In addition, there are events in Montana and Minnesota. Be sure to the check their State Association websites for match information and match director contacts.

As always – you should pre-register for State Championships and Regional events. We have not had problems with space at our matches in North Dakota – but attendance continues to pick up a bit – so you never know. This also helps the match directors plan their events when they know who will be attending.

Thanks again and I hope to see all of you at more events this summer.

2014 NDSSA Summer High Power Activities

Tom Thompson