2 MWVMS Midwest Regional

The 2017 Midwest Regional Varmint Match was shot at the Wabash range on May 6^th. For the first time in the match's 14 year history, the range was flooded at the 300 and 400 yard lines two days before match day. The decision was made late Thursday evening to run the match anyway shooting ten field mice (instead of the usual five) at the 100 yard line and bringing the 300 yard targets in to the 200 yard line. This prompted several shooters to scurry to their reloading rooms and prepare ammo for 30BR rigs. That cartridge is not often shot at the Midwest Regional since it usually does not fare too well at the longer distances.

A total of 33 shooters with 66 guns were registered for the match. That meant there would have to be 3 relays at each distance on the 15 bench shooting line. Two range officers patrolled the line calling the open fire and cease fire commands and watching for rule violations. Two quad ATVs raced downrange at the end of each relay to gather targets and set new ones. It is a well-run match that very seldom has any crossfires.

The match progressed in 1/3 less time than usual because only two distances were shot instead of the usual three. Early conditions during the 100 yard relays were good with the expected corresponding high target scores. By the 200 yard relays, wind had gotten gusty enough to cause a few shooters to throw a shot outside the groundhog silhouette. Total scores in general were higher than normal because of the shorter distances involved.

Winner of the factory class was George Cabrera with a total of 193 – 4X. Winner of custom class was Kent Sickmeyer with a total of 196 – 7X. George Cabrera also won the aggregate with a total of 389 – 9X.

More photos of the 2017 Midwest Regional can be seen here; https://goo.gl/photos/2U32xiXatoxGNHnT7

Photos compliments of George Cabrera

Awards presented by match director Dave Todd.

State Teams

The MWVMS regional match is the only one of the matches in this circuit that features a state team prize. State teams consist of four shooters from the same state whose aggregate scores are totaled in an attempt to best the other teams. Only one cash prize is awarded for this category, and it is typically divided equally among the four shooters. There were a total of seven teams this year. Three were from Ohio, three from Indiana and one from Michigan.

The winner this year was an Indiana team named the Toad Stool Shooters with a total score of 1477 – 32X. This was the first time they have won state team since that category was implemented. Second place went to the Michigan Wolverines (2015 winner) with a total of 1446 – 40X.