High Plains Rifle Challenges Field

Popplewell, Andersen, Stearns, O'Glee Take Division Wins

Chris Andersen, Accurate Iron/Loki Weapon Systems

Here in Oklahoma we are never surprised by high winds, and a sustained 20-25 mph gale arrived right on cue for this year’s High Plains Rifle Challenge at the Oklahoma City Gun Club. Then I check the weather and find that we can expect yet another unwelcome guest in the form of 100-plus degree temperatures for the duration of the weekend. June has been unseasonably hot for us here in Oklahoma this year, and that little surprise made hydration as important as stage planning for this match.

Traditionally the High Plains Shooting Challenge offered by Trapr Swanson and Kurt Miller has been a world class, all-shotgun match that presented challenges not seen anywhere else, so this year’s switch to all-carbine was highly anticipated and did not disappoint. Top rifle shooters from all over the country converged in Oklahoma City to accept the challenge.

A unique scoring system put a heavy emphasis on accuracy. Accurate hits afforded you the opportunity to reduce your overall time, while bad hits on paper added to it.

One of the most unique aspects of this tough match was its divisions. Magnified and un-magnified centerfire were an arrangement that we 3-gunners are used to. But magnified and un-magnified rimfire offered 20 competitors a challenge not often seen at a major match. Special rimfire-specific arrays on certain stages leveled the playing field and kept the scores relatively close across all the divisions. I believe this is one of the few places you shouldn’t be surprised to see a $2,500 optic on a rimfire rifle.

Every stage offered a different type of test, making this a true shooting match. Field courses were a good mix of simple to elaborate, utilizing everything from paper to steel to unusual falling targets. The stage designs were such that three to four completely different stage plans may each prove to be equally effective. I would discuss my plan with a squad mate only to find that they were going a completely different direction with similar results. The added twist of an available one-time-use stage mulligan made match strategy very interesting as well.

Standards-type stages gave shooters a real test from every shooting position. We even got a few curveballs, including shooting from a suspended tube at targets with fast-swinging no-shoots in front of them.

The long-range stage offered three shooting areas for 15 targets with steel and paper arrays varying from 100-300 yards (25-100 yards for rimfire). The stage description called for only ten shots to be fired from any one shooting area and at least one shot to be fired from all shooting areas. The twist of having numerous shooting positions available at each area was only made more interesting when having to contend with a 20-plus mph crosswind.

Magnified centerfire saw Adam Poppelwell set a blistering pace for the win (and the overall) with 932.18 match points. James Darst (782.57) was second, followed by Sheldon Blackwell (781.72), Chris Sechiatano (771.00), Josh Mazzola (764.32), J.K. Rowzee (730.69), Eric Miller (727.05), Mike Chambers (670.31), Jared Millanazzo (666.76) and Jeremy Campbell (666.44).

I took the win in un-magnified centerfire with 869.97 points. James Casanova (804.03) placed second, followed by Ting Sun (796.94), Cameron Thompson (778.20), Maurice Griffin (773.50) and JJ Johnson (773.12).

Rimfire magnified top 3 were Dwight Stearns (845.83), West Chandler (826.26) and Ryan Muckenhirn (747.35).

Kyle O’Glee took rimfire un-magnified with 887.46 points, followed by Don Bednorz (808.24) and Mike Cyrwus (785.16).

Despite the adverse conditions, I saw smiling faces all day, as shooters addressed a new set of interesting challenges on every stage. High Plains will switch back to shotgun next year, but it has definitely established itself as one of the premier rifle matches in the country. A big thank you to Trapr Swanson, Kurt Miller and all of the RO’s/personnel that worked hard to make this match a success.

To see match footage from Jesse Tischauser, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NIIkESKUJaM.

For a full listing of results, go to http://www.highplainsshootingchallenge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/HPSC_Results_2011.pdf.

Posted on 6/28/2011