NMT Shooting Sports Club Participates in Smallbore Match

by Seth Price, Shooting Sports Club

SOCORRO, N.M., Sept. 28, 2007 -- Every September, there is a smallbore rifle match held at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. On September 8 and 9, the NMT Shooting Sports Club was represented at the Whittington Center Smallbore Rifle Range Proceeds match. Nick Spinhirne (Vice President), Seth Price (President), Dr. Virginia McLemore and Jim McLemore (faculty advisors) competed in this year’s match.

The NRA Whittington Center is the largest shooting facility in the United States. It has many well maintained shooting ranges, trap and skeet facilities, guided and unguided hunting tours, and cabins, lodges, RV hook-ups and campsites. Antelope, deer, elk, turkeys, and even bears are abundant at the facility.

The match was established in the 1980s to raise funds for the NRA Whittington Center smallbore range. This range requires targets, target holders, and general maintenance, and the entry fees help to pay for these expenditures. The NRA Whittington center is completely funded by range fees and donations.

The match itself consists of two days of firing 160 shots each day, for a total possible score of 3200, with 320-Xs. Xs or center shots are worth ten points and used in the event of a tie. All shooting is done from prone position (laying down), and shot at targets 50 yards and 100 yards away. Single shot .22 LR rifles are used for the competition. While this was a benefit match, geared towards helping new shooters, smallbore competition is serious business. The rifles can weigh up to 17.6 lbs. and heavy gloves limit the shooter’s pulse beat from moving the gun. Many experienced shooters set up small anemometers to measure wind speed and direction, commonly referred to as “doping the wind.” A similar match (Whittington Smallbore Rifle Regional Championship) is held in July every year, in which US Olympians, former Olympians, and Olympic coaches compete with everyone else.

This year’s winner was 78 year-old Joe Farmer, with a score of 3196-252X. Unlike many sporting events, age is not a significant factor in rifle competition. “You can’t go play with the Green Bay Packers, especially not at 78 years old, but you can come out and win a smallbore rifle match and compete against the US Olympians” Jim McLemore said.

In addition to the match itself, there was plenty of opportunity to consult the competitive shooting veterans. Price adds, “the best part about these competitions is the expert advice- everyone is willing to help newer shooters get accustomed to shooting competitively, especially at the benefit match.”

After the match, the Shooting Sports Club representatives enjoyed the rest of the facility, shooting at the pistol silhouette range and the high power rifle silhouette range with targets as far away as 550 yards.

To practice for events like this, the Shooting Sports Club offers weekly air rifle practice at 5:30pm on Monday nights in the Gym Basement. Make no mistake- these are precision air rifles, not BB guns. These practice sessions teach safety, marksmanship, and standard shooting practices. Once students have attended air rifle practice a few times, they are eligible to attend the Civilian Marksmanship Program School, taught approximately once a month at the shooting range south of town. Here, the McLemores teach the basics of competition and students get to shoot high power service rifles (1903 Springfields, AR-15s, M1 Garands, or M1 Carbines) to 100 yards. Both of these activities are free for students.

-NMT-