It all started for me when I was a kid and my Dad would take me to the family farm and we would shoot some tin cans with the .22. I know that the passion for shooting sports grabbed me early in life.  I just couldn’t get enough of it.  Skip forward 30 years and I am now the Canadian National Benchrest Shooting Champion. My Dad was still there cheering me on.

What is Benchrest shooting?  It is regarded as 100, 200 and 300 yard group shooting with a center fire rifle.  Benchrest rifles are the most accurate rifles in the world. Every accuracy record for group or score has been shot with a rifle modeled after it.  Yes, you do set your rifle on a bench and support it with a front and rear rest.

What is a benchrest match? We shoot 20, 5 shot groups usually over a weekend and average all the groups.  We call this a grand aggregate and that is what every shooter strives for. It’s the grand prize.  Groups are measured to 1 thousand of an inch from the outside diameter of your group minus the diameter of the bullet caliber. For example I won the Nationals with a grand aggregate of 0.2579 inches or almost ¼ minute of angle.

The name of the game and what makes you successful is you ability to interpret the weather and wind conditions. Yes we are extremely meticulous in reloading our own cartridges. We even use the same 25 pieces of brass throughout the whole competition. But a secret among benchrest shooters is that probably 90 % of all your effort in this sport should be focused on reading the wind. How do we do it? We guide ourselves with wind flags and interpret mirage.  Keep in mind that we try to put the bullet in the same hole every time and our rifles are capable of it. It’s a constant quest for the perfect group. Only one benchrest shooter in history has achieved that goal, once. It’s not easy, luck has nothing to do with it. Here are my secrets which really have nothing to do with shooting.  Have fun, a positive attitude, focus, determination and practice. Set some goals.

When you shoot in a registered tournament you better come prepared.  The competition is fierce. First place and second place is often measured in thousands of an inch over a whole tournament. We often say in benchrest that the winner is the one who made the least mistakes. It is easy to go from 5 th place to dead last if you miss a change in your flags. I must say that the best part of a benchrest match is all the excuses we come up with as to why we shot so poorly. I must emphasize, our number one priority is always safety.

How do you get started in the sport? Join the Lethbridge Fish and Game shooting league. We shoot during the summer. Or just contact the range. You don’t need any fancy gear to get started just the will to have fun. There is no way I would have had a chance to be competitive if it wasn’t for the Lethbridge Shooting Range. I am very grateful for that.

All things considered I am a newcomer to benchrest having only shot this sport for 3 years. I have been fortunate enough though to shoot at some major events with competitors from all over the world, notably, South Africans, Australians, Italians, Germans, French, Russians, Americans and others.  They were all great people to hang out with and you can join them at:http://www.benchrest.ca/

Hope to see you there.

Michael Darlow