In 2002 I gave the sport a try and had the priviledge of joining these three die-hard competitors. Last year, Floyd and John could not make it, so Joe Lutz and I made the trip and represented the NJACC contingent. (see Dominion of Canada Rifle Association Match Report '03).
Connaught Range is located on a Canadian Army base, and has been the traditional home to the DCRA and their annual matches for many years. If you have never been to a full-sized competition shooting range, it really is a sight to behold. There are multiple ranges, with distances of up to 900 meters, and large enough to accommodate over a hundred shooters at a time. It was a truly uplifting experience to be in one place with so many people from around the globe who were all dedicated to shooting, compared to most of my usual social circles where I am a bit of an outcast for having such an interest.
The Long-Range Blackpowder Rifle matches are shot with blackpowder cartridge or muzzleloading rifles, at increasing distances of 200 yards to 900 meters, over two days. The top eight shooters each from the U.S. and Canada then are invited to form respective teams, who compete at 800 and 900 meters on the third day. When all is said and done, awards are given for high scores at each of the distances, aggregate scores, team awards, etc.
Report from the 2004 Dominion of Canada Rifle Association Long-Range Blackpowder Rifle Matches, August 15th - 17th.
Once again the NJACC was well represented at the Long-Range Blackpowder Matches at Connaught Range in Nepean, Ontario. Joe Lutz, Floyd Russel, and Glenn Kaye attended, and brought back several medals. John Rountree was unfortunately unable to attend due to illness, but we hope to see him back next year.
To review, these blackpowder matches are a part of the annual Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championships, administered by the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association. They are held at Connaught Range, an old military rifle range (steeped in the tradition of almost 100 years of such matches) in Nepean, Ontario (just outside of Ottawa). The entire series of matches is ten days long, and consists mostly of the different classes of international full-bore or highpower rifle matches, but the blackpowder matches are held over three of those days. There is also a historical military rifle match on the afternoon following the blackpowder matches, for four different classes of original military longarms.
Most of the blackpowder competitors shoot blackpowder cartridge rifles, either with pure blackpowder or duplex loads, though there are a few that shoot caplock muzzleloaders with paper-patched bullets. The firing includes five sighters and ten shots for score, though you can convert your last two consecutive sighters to scoring shots. Shots are scored out of a possible five (rather than our traditional ten), and a center five is a "V-bull" (equivalent to our "X"). Shooting is all done prone. No slings are allowed, but a rest under the weak hand is permitted.
Our matches started out a bit soggy on Friday, August 13th, in a light rain. The first match we shoot is kind of a warm-up, but it is fun. Called the Wilf Black (all the matches have historical names, in the Anglo-Canadian tradition), and is fired at 200 yards with all-original military or sporting arms, and pure blackpowder loads (called "Class C"). The most popular arm used in this match is a .45-70 trapdoor Springfield with Buffington sights, simply because the Buffington is the most accurate military rifle sight of the blackpowder cartridge era. Joe scored a 38V1 (38 out of possible 50, with one V-bull) and won a bronze medal in this match with his trapdoor, and using ammo he reloaded with bullets that had been pulled from original U.S. government .45-70 ammo! I gave them all a run for their money, though, by scoring a 39V2 and winning the silver medal with one of my Connecticutt Militia Peabody rifles in .45-70. If you're going to shoot an original military Peabody, this is the one to use, because it is the only military Peabody that was ever issued with a windage adjustable rear sight.
The next match is the Victorian, fired at 300 yards. This match, and the rest, are for blackpowder cartridge or muzzleloading arms, original or repro, with non-optical sights, firing either blackpowder or duplex loads. The classes are separated depending on whether you are using blackpowder, duplex loads, or a muzzleloader. No blackpowder substitutes are permitted. I won the bronze medal with a 44V3, shooting a Browning BPCR (Model 1885) Creedmoor model in .45-90, with pure blackpowder loads.
Most blackpowder cartridge shooters are familiar with the Browning BPCR in either .45-70 or .40-65, with a 30-inch barrel, tang rear sight and spirit-level globe front sight. They were introduced in the early 1990's when BPCR (blackpowder cartridge rifle) shooting (both silouhette and long-range) experienced a resurgence of popularity, and were only discontinued a couple of years ago. During one year only, they made the Creedmoor model, in .45-90 with a 34-inch barrel and an extra windage adjustment on the front sight. The other popular rifles on the line are Ruger No. 1's, Sharps 1874's, Winchester High Walls, Sharps-Borchardt 1878's, Remington Rolling Blocks, and Martini's. Joe was shooting his very fine, custom-made Ruger No. 1 in .45-100. Floyd was shooting a custom Remington Rolling Block in .45-70.
The rain fortunately cleared by mid-morning (though was surplanted by heavy and aggressive mosquito activity) and the matches continued with the Creedmoor (500 yards), and the Wimbledon (600 yards). We did break for lunch in between, taken at the mess-hall on base. The range is on an active military base, which is mainly populated by young cadets at this time of year.
The following day includes the BP-700 (700 meters), the Long Range (800 meters) and the BP-1000 (900 meters). I guess the names get less creative at longer ranges. Try as we might, we were not able to do well enough to win any medals that day. Both Joe and Floyd were plagued by some technical difficulties. I actually did pretty well, but this being only my third time in the matches, couldn't quite edge past the many longtime serious competitors.
During the 800 meter match, despite careful spotting and sight adjustment, we simply could not get Floyd's rifle to consistently hit the target at all. Out of frustration, he stood up and took a shot offhand. And scored a four (remember that's out of a possible five)! Joe suggested he not shoot prone anymore. At 900 meters, his rifle was still not cooperating. When I was done with my string, he asked if he could try a couple of shots with my rifle. Again offhand, he took one flyer to get a feel for the gun, but his second shot was another four! Let me reiterate, that's a four out of five, standing, with a nearly twelve-pound rifle with a 34-inch barrel, at nearly 1,000 yards. He may have not won any medals that day, but that sure is was a damned good impromptu Quigley shot. Joe and Floyd headed for home the next day, but I stayed for the Team Matches.
They take the top seven or eight shooters each from the U.S. and Canada, and make an American Team and a Canadian Team. We shoot at 700, 800, and 900 meters for an aggregate score. I am proud to say that once again, I helped the U.S. bring home the gold.
In the afternoon, is the Historical Military Rifle Match. This is not part of the Blackpowder matches, but is a separate match open to any shooter. Rifles must be original military configuration and sights. Shooting is prone, without rests, but slings are permitted. Targets are life-sized pictures of a charging enemy at 300 yards. Ammunition is "any safe load for the rifle", so smokeless loads can be used in the blackpowder cartridge class. The classes are for Single Shot, Bolt Action, Semi-Auto (pre-1960), and Sniper (pre-1960). Even with the more modern guns, it's harder than you would think to get good scores on this type of target. The target is tall, narrow, and gray, and the scoring rings in the vitals area are proportionally tall and narrow. You have very little margin of error in windage, and have to estimate the vertical center.
Again, the most popular single-shot was the Trapdoor Springfield with Buffington sight. At this match I realized the one comparitive shortcoming of the Connecticutt Militia Peabody; they were issued with no sling swivels. Maybe next year I'll try a .43 Spanish or .41 Swiss. The other classes showed quite a variety of bolt actions including Enfields, Swiss straight-pulls, Rosses, Springfields, Mausers, etc. Most of the semi-autos were Garands, though there was one military officer with a real M14. Snipers included Lee-Enfield T-4's, Russian Mosin-Nagant's, and M1D's.
Once again, we really had a great time. I can't adequately express how great a feeling it is to be at one of these large, international matches, surrounded by people who share your same hobby and interests. Even shooting at such an enormous range is quite a treat, over 1,000 yards long and wide enough for over a hundred shooters at once. As blackpowder shooters at this match, we are actually quite a novelty. There were just under 20 of us, compared to the hundreds of highpower shooters that come from all over the world to attend their part of the matches. At one point, a 16 year-old German fellow walked over from the highpower range to check us out. We were admiring his high-tech, Anschutz/Walther hybrid space-rifle, while he handled Dave Gullo's (owner of Buffalo Arms Co.) custom-made, finely engraved, original action Sharps-Borchadt. He was just as impressed as we were, and in broken English referred to it as "… like Grandfather's rifle". I encourage anyone interested in shooting "Grandfather's rifle" to consider coming up to Nepean next year. It's only about a seven hour drive from New Jersey.
Here are some pictures of this year's event.
 Floyd Russell |
 Joe Lutz |
 Glenn Kaye |
 Floyd Russell |
 Joe, Glenn and Floyd |
Glenn Kaye |
 Joe and Floyd |
 Joe and Floyd |
 Joe and Glenn |