The 7th Long-Range World Championships were held 24-27 September at Camp Butner, North Carolina, USA. Shooters from seven nations competed at distances between 300 and 1,000 yards, turning in performances worthy of the best modern target rifles.
But these were not modern high-velocity rifles, but the percussion target rifles of the 19th century, when long-range shooting was in its infancy. Typically between .40 and .50 caliber, weighing around fifteen pounds, these rifles represented the apogee of mid-1800s firearm technology.
American competitors excelled in the original-arms division of the matches. Firing 150-year-old antiques, Karl Kuehn took gold in the 1,000-yard match and silver in the 900-yard match, carrying him to triumph in the overall long-range aggregate and earning a bronze medal in the grand aggregate. Nor was Kuehn the only medalist. Al Roberts won the original division of the 600-yard match, while Mon Yee took bronze at 300 and 500 yards - scores which would earn him bronze in the mid-range aggregate as well. Meanwhile, Dave Munch and Rick Weber took bronze medals in the reproduction and original divisions of the 1,000-yard event, and while John Whittaker didn't win any one event, his overall strong performance took bronze in the long-range aggregate.
The Long-Range Muzzle-Loading World Championship was held under the auspices of the Muzzle-Loading Associations International Committee (MLAIC), the world governing body for competition with black powder firearms. The 8th World Long-Range Championship will be held in 2011, at the famed Bisley range in Great Britain.
More information on long-range muzzle-loading is available at www.lrml.org. Information on the U.S. Team is available at the team web site, www.usimlt.org. The MLAIC's web site is www.mlaic.org.
But these were not modern high-velocity rifles, but the percussion target rifles of the 19th century, when long-range shooting was in its infancy. Typically between .40 and .50 caliber, weighing around fifteen pounds, these rifles represented the apogee of mid-1800s firearm technology.
American competitors excelled in the original-arms division of the matches. Firing 150-year-old antiques, Karl Kuehn took gold in the 1,000-yard match and silver in the 900-yard match, carrying him to triumph in the overall long-range aggregate and earning a bronze medal in the grand aggregate. Nor was Kuehn the only medalist. Al Roberts won the original division of the 600-yard match, while Mon Yee took bronze at 300 and 500 yards - scores which would earn him bronze in the mid-range aggregate as well. Meanwhile, Dave Munch and Rick Weber took bronze medals in the reproduction and original divisions of the 1,000-yard event, and while John Whittaker didn't win any one event, his overall strong performance took bronze in the long-range aggregate.
The Long-Range Muzzle-Loading World Championship was held under the auspices of the Muzzle-Loading Associations International Committee (MLAIC), the world governing body for competition with black powder firearms. The 8th World Long-Range Championship will be held in 2011, at the famed Bisley range in Great Britain.
More information on long-range muzzle-loading is available at www.lrml.org. Information on the U.S. Team is available at the team web site, www.usimlt.org. The MLAIC's web site is www.mlaic.org.
