This is part of a posting from the Wyoming Schuetzen Union Forum. Fred Center Shot 61 by Steve Garbe In this installment of the Center Shot I would like to talk about a subject that has been “simmering” for a couple of years. It involves the definition of a “Schuetzen” match. The Schuetzen style of shooting has always been an offhand discipline. That being said, I know that there were some matches, mostly in the German communities in Texas, where the rules allowed the rifle to be rested while the shooter stood in an upright position. I think we could agree that these matches were the exception and not the rule. Generally speaking, both in Europe and America, Schuetzen shooting was a strictly offhand affair. So why do we now have bench rest matches incorporated into the aggregate on almost all our Schuetzen matches? The answer that I have received from most “old-timers” was that when the Coors matches started back in the 1980’s, bench matches were thought to be necessary in order to attract a sufficient number of contestants. It seems that bench shooting has also been part of the ASSRA’s shooting programs although they are generally not referred to as specifically “Schuetzen” matches. Members of both associations have assured me that bench shooting was necessary to insure participation. And, both the International Single Shot Association and the American Single Shot Rifle Association do not have the word “Schuetzen” in their names. I don’t think that anyone could argue against the statement that rest shooting and offhand shooting are two distinctly different disciplines. Go to any Schuetzen match and look at the difference between the benchrest and offhand rifles. Serious competitors have a completely different rifle for each discipline. The problem that I see is, historically, Schuetzen means “offhand”; and if we are to pay attention to history, we need to keep it “offhand”. When a competitor wins an overall aggregate in today’s Schuetzen matches he may not have been the best offhand shot…he may simply have turned in the best bench score and good, but not the best, offhand score. If there are several excellent offhand shooters present at a match, many times the winner is decided by the benchrest score. I think that this is in contradiction to the historical definition of a Schuetzen match. It has often been said that offhand shooting tests the man and benchrest shooting tests the rifle. Anyone who has competed in both matches will tell you that offhand and benchrest shooting are drastically different and require their own set of abilities. This is not to say that there weren’t rest matches in the old days. Quite to the contrary, there were many organizations that were focused strictly on benchrest shooting. The National Rifle Club, the Nypano Rifle Club and the Jamestown Rifle Club were but a few of the organizations whose main interest was in rest rifle shooting. Rest rifle shooting, in many different guises- turkey shoots, chunk rifle shooting, double rest matches- were uniquely American shooting sports and as such, a big part of our shooting heritage. Many present-day black powder shooters have not the slightest clue about the old rest rifle matches and shooters. Hopefully, through the efforts of individuals associated with the National Rifle Club, that will change. With the resurrection of the National Rifle Club and it’s focus on rest rifle shooting, it begs the question that the Wyoming Schuetzen Union should become truly a “Schuetzen” organization. In several phone meetings with the Schuetzen Board of the Wyoming Schuetzen Union the decision was reached to focus the Wyoming Schuetzen Union on offhand shooting in its sanctioned competition. Pat Bowland, Schuetzenmeister for the Bitterroot Schuetzen Society has also informed me that the Montana State Schuetzen Championship for 2008 may be a strictly offhand match. The National Rifle Club will host the benchrest competition that has in the past been associated with the WSU Wyoming State Championship and will award NRC Wyoming State Championship medals. Combining offhand and benchrest scores to determine an overall Schuetzen winner will be a thing of the past at Cody. The National Rifle Club will be the sanctioning body for benchrest matches at the National Championships at Raton, New Mexico as well. In conversations with the principals of the National Rifle Club, it was decided that the addition of an “Open Class” to the NRC rules would serve the function of providing for a venue under which our current bench rest rifles could be shot. The NRC’s “Traditional Class” will still adhere to their “pre-December 31, 1900” technology cut-off. However, the new Open Class will allow equipment, sights, powder and single shot rifles produced after that date. The “any plain-base lead bullet” rule will be common to both classes, as well as the definition of “Time Rules” when they are used in a match. As I said, this issue is one that has been brought up frequently over the years and I think that the Wyoming Schuetzen Union is leading the way on returning Schuetzen matches to what they were originally- a test of marksmanship from the offhand position. I’m well aware that other single shot rifle organizations will probably not agree w
|