July 25-26 marked the second “Long Range Muzzle Loading Hunter Match” here at NMLRA headquarters in Friendship, Indiana.

Marksmen began arriving Friday night to get their gear sighted in on the NMLRA range. Some shooters remarked that our range behaves unlike any other range as they dialed in their scopes for expected crosswinds.

With the introduction of sponsored prizes at this match, coordinators Bob Wetzler and Rod Scobee didn’t want to make the match a custom gun arms race, shutting those without expensive rigs from the winners circle. Medals, sponsored by “Bestill Creations” were given out for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place

Saturday morning arrived with early morning sun casting its warmth across the range. The wind was calm, but mirages were expected on the line, already shooters were remarking that their settings had changed completely from the night before. The practice began at 8:30 and ended at 9:30 am. After resetting the targets, it was nearly 10 degrees warmer than when practice started and the wind was beginning to tease the shooters. After a safety meeting lead by Range Officer Dan Thomas and a prayer lead by Jeff Fisk, the first relay began at 10 am. 

The Pigs at 200 Yards 

With 18 competitors and 6 sets of animals, we rotated shooters every 18 minutes. Each shooting team would have 2 spotters and one shooter each round. Even as the wind began to change, creating crosswinds every 100 yards, the majority of the shooters cleared, or nearly cleared their bank of pigs. 

Gobble Gobble Wobble

By 11 am the shooters were ready for the Turkeys, and the Turkeys were ready for them. Without a cloud in the sky, you could see the heat radiating from the gravel berms behind each bank of animals. This heat creates a mirage in your scope and, combined with the Friendship wind conditions, creates a real mess for even veteran long-range marksmen. A few shots rang out quickly at the start of each relay but missed their mark. The turkeys would become the real separator of the match this morning. 

The 500 yard Rams

After a much-needed lunch break and another change in the conditions, shooters returned to the lines for the last bank of animals, the Rams. With most of the marksmen shooting a copper swedged bullet propelled downrange with Western Powder’s “Blackhorn 209”, many cracked off shots hoping to cut through the wind and drop the rams, but it was nearly 50/50 on who would clear their rams and who would struggle. 

Only 2 shooters this weekend used a “traditional” grooved lead bullet, (Right) all others were using the previously mentioned copper bullets. The advantage being the shape of these precision bullets, they are super aerodynamic, but as several learned this weekend, they don’t always knock over the 500 yard Rams. We kept seeing good shots, hearing the classic “DIIING” come back to the firing line, but the rams stood strong. During target resets, no tampering was evident. From the best we could tell, either by wind or by being too small, upon making contact, no matter how well (Left), there was a chance you could hit the rams but not take them down. 

With the relay complete and scores counted, we had a clear winner in Jeff Fisk, who cleared each animal we stood in front of him. For 2nd place though we had a tie on the turkeys. Reid Walker and Chris Cartwright returned to the line for simple, miss and you are out shoot-off. With Turkeys reset on the 385 meter line. Chris missed his first shot in the blustery conditions, we moved down the line to Reid who was just getting set on his bench. After waiting 30 seconds for the wind to calm Reid took his shot and hit the turkey dead on. He looked to his spotter, waiting to hear how Chris’s shot went and upon hearing that he had missed and Reid had won Reid remarked “I didn’t even know he shot”. A true testament to the focus of these marksmen on the line. 

The Apex Hunter match

With the medals secured it was now time to set up the “APEX HUNTER” Side Match. This $20 buy-in, winner takes all match was started to give the shooters a different kind of match with some cash incentives to participate. With Saturdays participants, the pool was nearly $400

The course of fire for this match was kept secret to keep everyone on their toes. Shooters got no spotters or sighters here, they were to rely on their knowledge and their guns to get to the top. 

First, each shooter had to take out 1 turkey at 385 Meters. Then they had the choice to go up to the pigs at 500 yards, or down to the chickens at 300 Meters. This course forced the shooters to either know where to hold over/under their target or remember how many clicks to adjust their scope by. Ideally, they would remember their stats from the main match and be able to apply their learnings here.  

After a nearly 20 minute relay and a 4 way shoot off, 2nd Place winner Reid Walker took the money home from the Apex Hunter Match. 

We’d like to give a special thanks to our match sponsors for contributing $3000 in prizes for our shooters. 

Vortex Optics - 800-4Vortex info@vortexoptics.com

EGW - (215) 538-1012 egwguns.com/contact

Arrowhead Rifles - 319-558-8621 sales@arrowheadrifles.com

Fury Bullets - 810-404-2973 furycustombullets@gmail.com

The Beauty Shoppe- 812-621-0085 Friendship, IN

Friendship Tavern & Restaurant- 812-667-2337 Friendship, IN 

After a short awards ceremony, several shooters stuck around to continue shooting on the range, all while talking gear, loads, and settings as they shared insights with participants of all skill levels. Shots were heard on the line until about 8 pm when they called it quits and headed home for a night’s rest before the Sunday Match.  

As day broke on Sunday morning, the range was fogged in, making it hard to see past the 50-yard marker. This didn’t stop 10 marksmen from unpacking and signing up for the match. The day started humidly and ended just the same, as with Saturday, conditions had totally changed once again. 8 shooters returned from Saturday, having experienced the match the previous day they hoped to take the top spots, but the range had other plans. The match started the same, with 18-minute relays, one shooter per spotter, rotating each relay. 8/10 shooters came out strong, clearing their pigs. Knowing the turkeys were the wild card yesterday, 4 shooters were on target clearing their banks. In the final round, it was Andrea Goodwin, Eric McKittrick, Morgan Greenly, and Chet Marks in a dead tie as they headed towards the 500-yard rams. Shot after shot the rams fell until 3 shooters remained, having wiped their bank of rams. 

Match coordinators Rod and Bob jumped into action, they had hoped for a shoot-off. After discussion and target resetting was complete, Andrea, Eric, and Morgan had 3 targets at the 385 Meter line. A Turkey, a chicken, and a 4x4” square of metal. If they missed, they would be out of the running. 

Andrea came out of the gate fast and deadly accurate, tossing her turkey from the rail. She took a pause to observe the other shooters and began reloading for the chicken. Down the line, both Eric and Morgan were getting set, adjusting their scopes for the distance. BOOM, a shot rang down the line. Morgan had missed. Eric takes his shot and misses the turkey just to the left of the breast. BOOM, Andrea shoots again and blows the chicken back, setting the tone for her win. She’s won the match. Coordinator Rod Scobee congratulates her and says, “There’s a hat and a t shirt in it for you if you hit the square!” She smiled and loaded one more round. Eric and Morgan both return to the line, but Eric comes out on top. Focus turns back to Andrea, she’s set up on the bench and lets her last shot fly right into the 4x4” square set at 385 Meters. It was the best shot of the weekend. 

The remainder of our sponsored prizes were handed out in a small awards ceremony just afternoon on Sunday, but many stuck around once again to shoot each other’s guns and swap stories as they prepare for the 2020 hunting season. 

With the success of this match, especially with the addition of a 2nd day, match coordinators are looking forward to the next one. An official date and course of fire have not been set, but we hope to have concrete plans set and published soon. 

As always, keep an eye out on NMLRA.org as well as the NMLRA social media platforms for official and up to date announcements regarding this match. The media team is working hard to publish the video of this match soon, keep an eye out on the NMLRA youtube channel and subscribe so you don’t miss the action-packed recap.