Inter-Club Challenge Match

We're back from the Inter-Club Challenge Match, and it's been a long and tiring day. KeeWee kept score, and I did my best to hold up the 4th. position on the CWSA team.

We started out on the Bowling Pin range, shooting four tables worth of pins against the clock. I think everyone was kinda tight, and no one shot very well, considering how I've seen most of these folks shoot pins in the past.

The Taurus PT-92 Econo Race Gun shot reliably, but I was having a hard time hitting the pins squarely. I also seemed to be getting a lot of smoke out the barrel. It almost looked like I was shooting black powder in it! After I shot, Tom from Master Blaster Bullets suggested that the .355 diameter bullets were too small for the Taurus (and Beretta) barrels, and I should go up to . 356 or even a .357 diameter bullet.

Apparently the Beretta design barrels have really deep rifling and a bigger bullet is often needed to get good results. Too small a bullet diameter allows gases to go past the bullet and you don't get the velocity or the accuracy. Since I had only gotten the Taurus ready to go late last week I hadn't had much time to experiment with bullets and powder and so forth, so I was using pretty generic spec's. To add to the bullets not having much velocity or accuracy, on the first table the very first shell managed to land inside of my glasses and started to burn my cheek. I have no idea how it happened, as I keep the bill of my hat down on top of my glasses and it got inside of the right lense and I shoot left handed! Go figure. That sure does disrupt your concentration, though!

After the pin shoot stage, CWSA was dead last, with Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club second, and Oak Harbor in first.

We then went over to the pistol range and shot two Steel Challenge match stages. For the steel targets I had switched at the very last minute to a 147 grain bullet to make a louder noise when the targets were hit. The 147 was also slightly larger, so I had decent accuracy and very little smoke. Again the Taurus cycled without a hiccup.

After shooting two stages, we adjourned to the clubhouse for BBQ'ed burgers, hot dogs, and cake for desert. Larry and Steve did us proud in the food department, and no one went away hungry!

After lunch it was back out to the pistol range for the final steel challenge stage. It was more to my liking, with big targets in close! Everyone seemed to enjoy the last stage the most.

After the final stage was complete the scores were added up, and CWSA had managed to pull past Holmes Harbor to take a solid second place, but didn't gain enough to catch the Oak Harbor team.

We weren't first, and we weren't last! For the last few years CWSA has been getting stomped in the inter-club matches, so it feels good to put in a good solid showing, even if things didn't go exactly as planned.

Next year's Inter-Club Challenge will be hosted by Holmes Harbor, and they get to pick the match rules. It will probably be something like 100 yard silhouette, or something like that! Of course, they DID just build their own set of steel challenge targets and stands.........