It sounds like you are interested in attending our benchrest match as a participant. If you have previous experience and are well aquatinted with the rules and routines but new to the area, we certainly welcome you.  And if not ? we still would be pleased to have you attend to see what we are all about. In either case, registration is Saturday morning and someone will be available to get you on a bench. If you have not experienced an organized match before, i highly recommend you do as i did. I drove to Elmira Saturday morning and spent most of the day watching. I discovered i was certainly not prepared for the regimented routines of a competitive match and i had been shooting benchrest in my much younger years. During a conversation at lunch, a participant said he had everything available to get me started. A visit later to his home and i aquired a nice Kelbly panda, dies, powder, some brass and loaded shells and assorted bits to get me started. In summary; we would be very pleased to have a new shooter join us for what we believe to be an incredible journey into one of the most challenging and addicting shooting sport there is.

Hi Biill. It has indeed been a long time! About 47 years long. And we looked very different all those years ago. But when I saw you it was easy to " connect the dots" because I often watch your YouTube channel! Anywhere I can learn to refine my basic machine skills on a lathe; is a channel I will subscribe to!
    It was a great shoot Bill! And the fact that you still shoot the same rifle from so many years ago, is really "cool". A word we used a lot in the 70's. I wonder how many shooters remember the Witchita Mini action. They were very accurate and unique. Anyway; keep getting to shoots Bill. I Still look forward to every one. And all the best.  Stan.

The archives of the old Benchrest Newsletter, are a wealth of information and memories. And Bill; your memory is just fine. I knew I remembered meeting you. But it was a long time ago. And yes; seems you participated often at Namaka. Long drive or not. Some digging in the archives and I found this match. Stan.

FYI. The World Benchrest championships begin this morning in St. Louis. Canada has a strong team representation and the results might be found on the website Benchrest Central heading: Competition Benchrest Only. Someone has posted a link that will be updated daily.

I've watched with interest; both videos posted on this new forum...Jack Neary-All things Benchrest. The opening comments are relevant in an important way. They are trying to make available their vast knowledge so that folks interested in shooting Benchrest for Group; will have a wealth of information to help those ew to our incredible shooting sport. Hopefully limiting the concerns one might have about getting started. When I was young, it seemed that I could find nothing more fascinating and addicting as it pertains to shooting; than shooting a group of 2 shots that actually touched each other. Perhaps it was in an Era of less avaliable TV to watch, or maybe more folks liked hunting " groundhogs", and maybe other so called Varmints from a long distance. There really wasn't even that many cartridges and rifles appropriate for this venture. As a young lad, I went with my dad to a home where the father and son had built rifles from falling block single shot actions. Chambered in .218 Bee, and 219 Zipper. Wilcatting cartridges was not uncommon. And if you hosted a Benchrest shoot, the turnouts were such that new ranges were being built to accommodate the increasing numbers of Benchrest participants. So what happened? Flash forward to today. In Ontario, at least 4 or 5 ranges that hosted big shoots..are no more. Our numbers are dwindling because the participants are aging. I'm sure Jack and hosting friends are noticing too. But yet; F-class seems to be growing. And for that I'm sure we are all pleased. It has its challenges, and rewards, similar very sophisticated equipment etc. Kelblys builds far more F-class actions than Benchrest actions. Not even close. Is it that there is no longer an interest in what some consider the apex of accuracy. Benchrest shooters are for sure very serious about shooting groups that measure less than .200" out of round. And many of us want to and do shoot groups even half that size. Regardless; I don't see much interest  anymore.
      So I see a club such as the Rosebud range in Alberta, hosting clinics and teaching sessions. And sometimes they even get a new participant. I know having shot there, that those folks took me "under their wing" and I was made to feel welcome. Shooters with significant Hall of Fame points, supplied and put out my wind flags. It works I think. And Jack and friends are trying to help feed whatever interest there is.
    I'm concerned. But I'm old!!! I'm just hoping we can continue to host shoots in this part of Ontario! I can say with certainty; that if Benchrest shooting dies here, it will leave a hole in my world that would swallow the Titanic. I can also say, that when I started shooting in competitions not more than 8 years ago, I did not know why the shooters were loading at the range. I knew nothing!!! I believed for at least a year, that it must be because the brass is hard to make, they only make a few so they can't preload. I had the desire but not the knowledge. Perhaps the greatest blessing was, I did not mind being in last place. As long as I was there. Folks started noticing I guess, and one fellow in particular, spent hours answering emails. Letters so long and detailed, that I have binder full and still refer to them. Tony Boyer's book I have read 8 times and counting.  Every spring I still go back to certain chapters.
    So if you "lurk" on this site, please consider reaching out to us. Visit a shoot and watch. Oh sure, we are busy and all serious looking when you see us at our loading benches. But we don't often have a lot if time between relays....however lunch is going to occur. And there are times when we can visit about stuff .Some of us even have guns and equipment to get a person started. I know that happened to me. Dave gave me everything I needed to start!!!!! And really reasonably priced too.
   In summary. I want to apologize for this long winded treatise. But I won't.  I really want those folks with interest, to think about trying! I'll leave it at that. Stan Walter.

SOLD...Stolle Panda, dual port, right bolt, left load, right eject, action. Bolt face accepts ppc and .308 rimmed cartridges. The rifle has the same carbon fibre paint as the rifle I sold recently and was my competiton rifle since 2022. Includes Jewell trigger and a barrel chambered in 6ppc with .268" neck. $2100 plus shared shipping cost. Price is negotiable. I'm in the Owen Sound, Ontario area.

Great note Jeff. It will be great to get back to our favorite shooting sport! Not to mention warmer weather and an absence of copious dumps of heavy snow.
   It would be great to see one or more new shooters attend a shoot. And even better if they persevered. It is a challenging type of shooting but the pursuit of the small group can be very addictive.  I remember my first days which really weren't that long ago; and I'd like to share a few things I wish I'd known in advance. A guy or girl needs a rifle that can shoot and has done; a fairly small group. That little target we must hit on Saturday morning is 3.5 inches wide by 4.75 inches tall. So I'd try to have my rifle shooting close to the center. Having that first shot in the sighter ( lower target), settles the nerves and the game is on. We have 10 minutes for that first group. I remember also, the anxiety on Sunday when I had no idea how far up my scope need to be adjusted to hit that proportionately small target at 200 yds. If one has that knowledge in advance, that's very reassuring. I remember holding up the proceedings due to my mistakes and feeling quite bad. However; the patience of everyone there was very much a appreciated. I watched the routine and learned what to do and that occurred pretty quickly. Incidentally; for a 36X Leupold and now my other scopes too....it was 7 clicks up and I was in the box at 200 yds.j

Great post Rick. What a great way to introduce new shooters to our sport....and it appears to have been well attended. Once a shooter has a chance to actually shoot a dedicated benchrest rifle off a solid bench and state of the art rests, then sees the tiny group forming, it's hard to believe!. You want to do this again and again. Looks like the sport is growing in western Canada, no doubt due in part to the great range and shooters who help make this clinic and take time to promote Benchrest.

Fantastic video. Didn't notice the link before.
. Thanks for doing that and great shooting!

Bill. Many of us have searched exhaustively for ppc brass. We prefer Lapua Russian brass for its metallurgy and flashole size, but my best efforts have been thwarted. Even when I found it in the US; they wouldn't ship to Canada.                                   
      Recently an interview of a Hall of Fame shooter; Jeff Pienhardt, revealed he forms his brass from 6.5 Grendel brass by Lapua. He makes his forming dies but I now do the same and have been successful with an appropriate bushing and a sizing die closely approximating my chambering reamer diemensions. After forming I machine my necks in a collet lathe, trim to the correct length and anneal the neck and shoulder again. I can do 100 brass relatively quickly and I no longer bother with the fireforming process. He shoots the first shot of virgin formed brass on the record target at major matches. I have found the finished case so close to my fired cases that I find the virgin brass as accurate. Careful forming of  your cases will have very little or no bullet runout. The 6mm ARC, Grendel, and ppc share the same base diemension. I have used Starline 6 mm ARC brass with good results but don't know if 25 would hold up in a 2 day shoot or National event. Lapua will. After this interview it seems that all of Lapua Grendel brass has now been found and purchased  I have found enough... but may be able to get 2 or 3 boxes of 100 Lapua 6.5 Grendel cases from a private vendor. I'm taking 2, and on spec and may buy the rest at the same price. I'm paying. $140/box.
   It would be great to see you shooting Benchrest again. Many years ago we shot in Namaka at a Shoot I believe Al Murdoch named "Super Shoot". I'm just starting back at this as well. 2019 was my first shoot in Elmira, Ontario. Stan.