Photo By Brian Godette | Members of the German team, who won second place overall, pose for a photo in front of...... read more read more
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CAMP BUTNER, N.C. – Marksmen from eleven countries, rifles in hand, hung their flags, loaded their barrels and took aim, in the same direction, a target 1,000 yards away at the North Carolina National Guard’s Camp Butner ranges Sept. 8-12, 2015.
“This is the World Championship with the Muzzle Loaders Association International Committee (MLAIC) for black powder,” said Francis V. Kapper Jr., MLAIC statistician and committee member.
The eleven countries represented included Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, South Africa, and the USA, with South Africa being proclaimed champion in the overall team grand aggregate at the end.
“What we do every other year is have all the countries that are members of MLAIC come together in different countries to shoot course-of-fire in long range black powder firearms,” said Kapper.
This years’ competition landed the shooters in North Carolina, at the National Guard Camp Butner training Center where the event was held the last time it was in the US.
“At Camp Butner, you have an excellent mix of facilities and you have the correct yardages. Trying to get a 1,000 yard range is not easy to find,” said Kapper.
When the international muzzle loading championship was held at Butner six years prior, the staff and competitors were very pleased with the level of cooperation received by the North Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Camp Butner staff.
“Everyone at Camp Butner has been extremely accommodating and professional helping us,” said Kapper. “This is one of the top ranges around.”
“We have a great history with the National Guard and other armed forces,” said Kapper. “We work so well together because a lot of our shooters are ex-military, so they understand when they come on the post what they need to do.”
Why they compete
“Black powder is interesting because there is a movement to go back to some of our roots and try some of the older firearms, that you don’t have to put night scopes on,” said Kapper. “This is open sights and you’re shooting the original guns that your grandfathers and great grandfathers shot.”
The shooting nostalgia isn’t the only benefit. The international dynamic of the competition allows for interaction with those who share a common skill to meet their counterparts from all across the world.
“You meet new people and new team dynamics every time you travel,” said Corena de Beer, with the South African team, woman’s long range champion since 2011. “I’ve been competitively shooting black powder shooting since 2006.”
Marnus Steyn, who won the mid and long range championship competition in Cape Town 3 years ago and also a member of the South African team shared the bonding and camaraderie sentiments of his teammate, de Beer.
“It’s amazing to make friends with all the people,” said Steyn.
“In the competition earlier I had a problem with a bullet on the 900 yard range because I damaged my barrel unfortunately. An American guy, a Dutch guy, and a British guy tried to help me,” said Steyn. “That’s really awesome.”
Bringing together several nations, with no sign of hostility, interaction with the U.S. Army National Guard, in a competitive atmosphere mirrored a United Nations utopia according to some of the competitors on the range.
The shooters came to be challenged and have fun.
“It really test your skill as a shooter, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun,” Kapper said.
Technical sport
The fun anticipated by the competition didn’t leave a false idea for how difficult it would be, or how technical the sport actually is.
Team by team, they lined the shooting area on the range, carrying their replicas, some carrying their original rifles and kits.
Assuming comfortable spots, measuring their targets distance, and arranging their ammunition, the shooters got prepared.
“They have to have powder measured in vials because they’re not allowed to have flasks on the range, so they use a long funnel, put the powder into the barrel, put a felt wad over the powder, they seat the bullet with their ram wad down onto the powder, and then they are ready to have their shot,” said Dianne Humberstone with team Australia.
With the competition being held every other year, the teams must practice when they can, but many have been shooting for much of their lives.
“We have a practice every now and then, to keep going as good as we can go,” said Laurie Kerr with the New Zealand team and former black powder world champion.
“I’ve been shooting all my life. I grew up with a gun as a little fellow,” said Kerr. “I had my first International competition in 1983, in France.”
Past competitions have little to do with future victories according to many of the shooters.
“Every range is different, every day is different, so one can have exactly the same distance shot two days in succession, things will be completely different,” de Deer said.
“On a good day you’ll get guys, from a 1000 yards away, hitting all their shots in a tight group, with a muzzle load,” said Kerr. “On a bad day, you’ll hear them swearing from a mile away.”
The technical aspect plays a factor in determining a shooter's success.
“The bullet travels at 1226 feet per second, but down from here to there, the wind affects it, so you have to be able to see what the wind does to your bullet so you can set your sight, so that you can compensate and when it hits the target down there it is where it should be,” said de Beer.
There are a number of factors each shooter has to take into account when shooting, especially during the championship event.
“There’s two things that can affect your shot. The wind, the movement of air has an impact on your projectile, and then there is a mirage, the haze that you can see, which influences your sight picture,” said Steyn.
“A mirage is more and less dense air moving, and you can see that air moving through the spotting scope,” said Steyn. “What that also means is that it slightly displaces the target you’re shooting at, just like when you are looking through water at an object, it’s not exactly where you see it, it has the same effect, but not as pronounced.”
Every shooter at Butner participating in the championship was aware of the difficulties and tried their best to overcome them.
“In my opinion this is the hardest form of target shooting there is. The technology is against you, your muzzle velocity is slow, flight time is longer, the way you hold the barrel is very technical, it’s a hell of a challenge,” said Steyn. “That’s what I like about it.”
Push through the heat
The North Carolina combination of heat and humidity is nothing new for the NCNG Soldiers who perform their duties in it all the time, but for some of the international competitors, it proved to be a shock.
“When we shoot in the summer it goes up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit quickly in South Africa, but not with this humidity,” said Steyn. “This humidity is a real challenge, I can feel it, and at the end of the day you’re totally bushed.”
“The weather is really good, but it’s the kind of weather you want when you’re at the beach,” Kerr said.
What made it so drastic for some was their geographic location below the equator which put them in a different season altogether.
“We’re just coming straight from winter to this, so it’s kind of a culture shock,” said Ross Whetton with the New Zealand team.
Like true competitors, they all persevered.
“It’s a difficult game, and anything can happen,” said Steyn.
And the winner is
Four days of mid to long range muzzle loading firing, both individual and team, undoubtedly created many new memories and friendships between the 11 countries involved.
The goal, however, was to win and be crowned World Champion, and although many of the teams respected the skill of the others, they did not hesitate to mention their own talents.
“South Africans are really on top of our games, so most people think to come to us to learn, but the Americans also have a very strong team, and doing really well, so it’s always a tough one to win,” Steyn said.
During the final day of competition, the team long range match, everyone looked focused and concentrated on the sight of winning.
“Shooting is 80 percent is in your head and 20 percent of what you’re doing,” said Steyn.
In the end, one country was number one, flag flying, and that was South Africa.
Team Germany placed second overall and Team USA placed third.
Committee members and competitors thanked their NCNG host and even let them shoot a few muzzleloaders as a sign of respect and thanks, before heading back to their country of origin.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2015 15:25 |
| Story ID: | 176814 |
| Location: | BUTNER, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 528 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NCNG hosts 10th Long Range International Muzzle Loading Championship, by Brian Godette, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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