[Jeff Higgins]

Our local Kenmore gun club is a hotbed of competetive benchrest. While I don't compete, I have had the pleasure of shooting some buddies' rifles. On a calm day at 100 yards, ten shot groups from a .22 or 6mm PPC in one of their bench rifles will look like one bullet hole, maybe a .30 caliber hole. Almost any competent shooter can do it with one of their rigs. At actual matches, they have to use rotating target backers that clock 36 degrees between shots, so they can actually tell where each shot went. I guess nowadays they sometimes use the Ohler sonic target set-up that will precisely locate each shot.

The point is, this is more of a test of equipment than of shooter. I'm glad some one does it, as it holds no interest for me, but it does serve to improve the breed (again, rifles, not shooters). Far more telling is how a guy can do with a real rifle (one you can carry around with you) from field positions, at unknown ranges, on the first shot, when in a bit of a hurry. Guys that can hit consistantly under those conditions are riflemen. The other guys only think they are.