Well Safari Rifle Challenge 2018 is in the history books and Tanner Van Pelt of Sandpoint Idaho is our new champion.

Tanner with his trophy sponsored by Shawn Joyce at Diizche Safari Adventures.



Mark Wicka of Montana took second and Lance Brewer of Washington state was 3rd.



We had 70 registered shooters from 14 states and 3 Canadian provinces.
Here was our course of fire and a few photos.

Main Range Events
1. Checking Zero ---- Four shooters on the line. Starting position will be EMPTY rifle. On the signal you will load and fire two rounds at the 45yd paper target then load and fire one round at the 100yd eight inch steel plate. Open action, show clear, muzzle up during scoring and return to the gun racks.

2. Coming & Going--- Rifle loaded with two rounds, safety on. On the signal, fire at each of the two outside targets as they go away. On your second shot the targets will instantly reverse course and come back towards you. You must load one round and shoot the center target. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

3. Mad Momma --- Rifle loaded with one round, safety on. On the signal, shoot the 50yd baby elephant with eight inch steel plate kill zone. Reload and take a frontal brain shot at the charging “Momma Ele”. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done. (Kill zones will be faintly marked for scoring purposes; you must evaluate the angle then shoot at the frontal brain just like in real life).

4. Herd of Buffalo---Load 1 round, safety on, low ready position. Shoot the 50 yd buffalo in the eight inch steel plate kill zone, move to next spot, load 1 rd and shoot 75yd buffalo in the eight inch plate. Move to next spot, load 1rd and shoot the 100yd broadside buffalo (11”x16” kill zone). Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

5. Fleeing Buffalo --- Rifle loaded with 2rds, safety on. On the command “standby” the buffalo will start going away. On the “shoot” command fire 1rd at 50yd buffalo target eight inch steel plate kill zone. Then fire 1rd at the fleeing buffalo. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

6. Left or Right --- Rifle loaded with two rounds, safety on, low ready position. On “standby” command the targets will start towards you. When it passes the cone the RO will yell either left or right. You must shoot that side first then fire your second shot at the other side. Open action and show clear.

Shooting Bay Events

1. No Pressure --- Water bottles at 25, 35 and 45yds. Rifle loaded with 2rds. On the command, shoot any two bottles, reload 1rd and shoot the 3rd bottle. 10 points for each EXPLODING bottle. Timer starts on “shoot” command. 1 point deduction for every second that it takes to complete the course. Lowest possible score will be zero, no negative scores. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

2. Crossing Shot--- Starting position will be low ready with 2 rounds in the rifle, safety on. The 40yd target will travel across from left to right then back to the left again. You will fire 1rd as the target travels in each direction. All shots must be taken while target is between the cones. Show clear, Muzzle up, return to gun rack.

3. Swamp Things---2rds in rifle with safety on. On command, shoot 1 rd at the brain or spine of the 40yd crocodile head. After the shot, the 40yd hippo head will rise from the water to see what’s going on. You must quickly take one brain shot on the hippo before he goes back down. (Kill zones will be faintly marked for scoring purposes; you must evaluate the angle then shoot at the brain/spine just like in real life). Shooting sticks will be available if you want to use them.

4. Charging Water Jugs --- Two shooters, two rounds in rifle, safety on. The cart will start towards you on “standby” and you will then be given the shoot command. You must shoot the jug on your side then race to shoot the middle jug. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

Motorized buffalo



Baby elephant before......



Baby elephant after..........
P.S. Champion Targets provide us with all of our AR500 steel plate and that stuff takes a POUNDING!



Retreever and his 450No2 double taking on Charging Momma



Bolt guns on the ele course

John Harma from Phoenix AZ



Dave Snellstrom from Colorado
(The ele was 9feet tall, the steps let us reach the forehead to paste bullet holes.)


Charging water jugs



Wayne Jacobson from American Hunting Rifles with a 600 Overkill gun he built for the shoot.



Moving targets....



A 600 OK cartridge from that custom red rifle above. 825gr CEB at 2100fps. WOW!



Crocodile head



Rising Hippo



A herd of buffalo



Garry James and Gene Gordner in some period costumes.



Garry with his hammer double gun



Trying to knock off 3 little bottles!



Two of the gun racks with everything from modern Rugers to classic Holland & Holland bolt guns.



A young lady taking on the crossing targets.



The source of our power!



Putting out some of the raffle prizes from sponsors like Diizche Safari Adventures and Champion Targets. Mark Sullivan sent us a bunch of videos and books.



And last but not least, the reason we do this. The Libby Rod and Gun Clubs mission is to promote the shooting sports and most importantly expose youth to the many opportunities available at the range and in the field. The young folks below are members of the Libby area Scholastic Clay Target Program. They enthusiastically volunteer to help with setup, scoring and pasting targets and moving items between the stages. Our club is blessed with some truly world class shotgun shooters who have mentored and coached these young people to multiple state level awards! Our raffle table is used to help fund their team costs from event registration fees to travel and shotgun shells. This year we raised a total of $530 for them.


It was great to see everyone at the shoot. See you all next year!

What sort of rigs did the top three guys shoot?

First place was a Ruger Alaskan .375 Ruger. Second and third were both .375 H&H bolt guns.

Thank you for the pictures.
Looks like fun.

Interesting powerplant,
used it in forward and reverse it would appear.

Looks like a great time was had by all.

My son and I had a great time at the shoot and during our stay in Libby for the weekend. We made some new acquaintances, and met old friends again. A big thanks to all of the volunteers who kept the match running smoothly; they were really humping it to keep all of the shooters moving, fixing the contraptions that we shot instead of targets, and generally keeping everything on keel. And thank you Jay for organizing an enjoyable and well run match again. Can't wait till next year.

Glad you guys had fun
Sorry I missed it but work got the better of me this time
Good economy is a bitch, makes it at times unbearable, even bear hunting suffers thru this...
I’ll make it next year

Had a great time and got to meet many new shooters.I almost forgot about the shoot with all that good conversation.I hope to be there again next year.Thanks to Jay and everyone who helped put it together.

Man that looks like fun. I wanted to do it this year. Maybe next year and then once I move to Montana I can become a regular Retreever travelled quite far.

I need me one of them pith helmets! :-)

If you come out next year you can wear one of mine.

Careful Jay, Biebs will try to bring a Blaser. Come to think of it, there weren't any Blasers at the shoot. How civilized !

Is there a different class for iron sighted doubles? Seems unfair to pit a 375 scoped rifle against an open sighted 500.

Dave made it into two pictures this year. I'd recognize that flat top anywhere. Looks like a great time was had by all.

There are no classes; we’re all in one big pot. I’d say the iron sighted rifles had an advantage in many of the shooting scenarios. Some targets were shot at distances of feet not yards, and they were moving. I used a Leupold Delta Point reflex sight and I was able to hit from a few feet to 75 yds.

Were the top 3 scoped? In any case the 375 seemed to be the gun to beat. As a competitive shooter I understand there is playing the game and winning-2 different things at times! Looks like fun though hope to make it some day

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Were the top 3 scoped? In any case the 375 seemed to be the gun to beat. As a competitive shooter I understand there is playing the game and winning-2 different things at times! Looks like fun though hope to make it some day

I'd say most of the rifles had some sort of optic. I wouldn't say irons would be a terrible handicap though. A reflex sight would probably be the way to go.

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Is there a different class for iron sighted doubles? Seems unfair to pit a 375 scoped rifle against an open sighted 500.

I worried about that myself because the scope guys have it pretty tough during the close up and fast shooting stages but it balances out on the 50-75 yard shots where a scope comes in handy.

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55: As a competitive shooter I understand there is playing the game and winning-2 different things at times! Looks like fun though hope to make it some day

That is why all prizes are awarded by random drawing. We do not want anyone who is out there trying to "game" the shoot. We want everyone to experience some unique shooting opportunities, engage lots of moving targets and have FUN! The trophy plaque is awarded to the top shooter who turns in their score sheet, bearing in mind that most folks do not even keep score.

Is this scored on accuracy only, or accuracy and speed?

Mostly accuracy but we throw in one or two timed events each year just to add some pressure. The charging water jug event is not timed but it does require shooting against another shooter with the winner getting a higher score.

A wonderful time at the shoot - somewhat humbling, but great fun. AND, a beautiful trip out and back for me, my wife and my grandson. Met up with some great friends; hope to go back in a year or two.
And don’t worry about Biebs, I’ll take him a piss helmet next year at Dallas.

It was good getting to meet you Frank. That is a long drive. Glad you got home safe!

I got the application form. It stated minimum energy of 4,000 pounds. The doubles I have won't make the energy requirement, I passed.

Dave

The 4000 ft lbs is simply a guideline and not strictly enforced. We are just trying to keep the rifles in the spirit of African hunting. If your rifle is chambered for a cartridge capable of taking African big game then bring it.

Here is the description from our information sheet.....

"The Guns: This is a big bore, dangerous game rifle shoot. Essentially .375/9.3 caliber or larger cartridges in single shot, bolt action or double rifles with minimum muzzle energy of 4000 ft/lb. If you have an antique double rifle in a smaller caliber that is capable of taking big game then bring it! "

where did this shoot take place?

Looks like fun but obviously designed for double rifles.

Any time one designs a course to limit the number of rounds one can load.

The course is design to give an advantage to the firearms that hold the lower round count.

Realistically all firearms should be allowed to load the max number as it is done in the field.

But then some one is always willing to game the system.

We see it in all shooting sports.

Glad you all had fun.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Looks like fun but obviously designed for double rifles.

Any time one designs a course to limit the number of rounds one can load.

The course is design to give an advantage to the firearms that hold the lower round count.

Realistically all firearms should be allowed to load the max number as it is done in the field.

But then some one is always willing to game the system.

We see it in all shooting sports.

Glad you all had fun.

Actually, the stages are setup that way to FORCE a reload by everyone regardless of weapon type. Gun handling skills under pressure are a big part of our course. There is nothing challenging about standing there flat footed with a bolt action five shot .375 and banging away at a target. Forcing people to actually THINK, move, load and fire is much more of a test. It is very telling to watch guys on "autopilot" cycle their bolts and have it go click simply because they were not paying attention. Like we say in our registration flyer, we try very hard to balance the course so that it does not favor any style of rifle or sighting system.

P.S. Hydehunter, the match is the second Saturday in June in Libby, MT USA! (The extreme upper left corner of MT, bordering Idaho and Canada)