A shout out for shooting

A few king salmon are reportedly being caught at the Eklutna Tailrace and in the lower Little Susitna River, but I’ll let Andy Couch talk fishing this week while I concentrate on shooting sports.

If you enjoy the smell of black powder smoke, you should know there’s a major muzzleloading handgun shoot starting tomorrow at the Upper Susitna Shooters’ Association (USSA) shooting range located at Mile 94, Parks Highway. This 2013 1,000-point pistol aggregate match will begin about 8 a.m., Saturday and run until folks get tired of shooting, or 5 p.m. — whichever comes first. Similar hours apply for Sunday’s activities, although a wrap-up by around 3 p.m. would be appreciated by those with longer distances to drive to get home.

The match qualifies as a classified shoot. That means shooters with a marksman classification shoot against other marksmen-rated shooters, sharpshooters against sharpshooters, and expert-rated shooters shoot against other expert-classed shooters. If a shooter has not received a score-based classification rating, he/she can become classified by shooting this match. Individual shooters will be placed in the appropriate group based on their score. Award plaques will be given to the top shooter in each class.

The aggregate score consists of 10 individual matches shot in 30-minute relays, with each match involving 10 shots for score. Three different types of muzzleloading handguns are used in the aggregate. Three matches are fired with a flintlock pistol: a 25-yard slow fire, a 25-yard timed fire and a 50-yard slow fire match. The cap-lock pistol follows the same three-match structure as the flintlock pistol. The first three cap-and-ball revolver matches are also similar, but a fourth match, fired at 25-yards at an international target (different scoring ring spacing) is done in slow fire mode to round out the 10-match aggregate structure.

Shooters can shoot the various matches in any order they prefer and a revolver may be used to shoot the cap-lock pistol matches, but not the other way around. If shooters don’t have all the handgun types required, loaner guns should be available. The cost for the entire aggregate is $30, which covers range fees, targets and associated costs. Camping is allowed at the range or take advantage of some of the B&Bs in the area.

I shot portions of this match last year. To get all the matches fired in the two-day timeframe is fairly intense. I’m not much of a pistol shot, so I was only shooting for practice and to try out a couple of handguns I have. I mostly enjoy the companionship of hanging out with other black powder shooters. In shooting muzzleloaders for nearly 50 years in several states, I’ve always found the black powder crowd to be friendly, helpful and just fun to be around.

The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Alaska state championship match is currently ongoing at the Grouse Ridge Shooting Facility north of Wasilla. As I mentioned last week, the theme of this year’s competition is “2013 SCTP Clay Target Safari.” More than 100 shooters are registered and of those, about 52 are varsity shooters (high school level). There are six shooters who are fifth-grade and younger with all ages in between being represented. Within the state championship is the Alaska SCTP Varsity Championship for the four Mat-Su Borough School District high schools. These four schools will be competing for the honor of taking the championship trophy home to their school’s trophy case.

There are 13 SCTP teams statewide and 12 of those are expected for these state championships. The newest team is from Sitka and won’t be attending this year. According to Lindy Moss, one of the founders of the SCTP program in Alaska, there are more than 200 kids involved in the SCTP shotgun sports statewide and the number is growing almost daily.

The awards banquet will be held tomorrow (Saturday) in the early afternoon. If you can, stop by sometime Saturday morning and watch the kids shooting sporting clays matches. Then stay for lunch and applaud the medal winners during the banquet. A little positive encouragement for these kids is a good thing.

News releases I’ve received recently say the United Nations small arms regulation treaty is expected at the White House for President Obama’s signature sometime this week. If he signs it, and he said he would, only a U.S. Senate ratification vote stands between our Second Amendment and international regulation of our firearms ownership rights. How’s that for hope and change?

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.