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By Ron Sharpe

We are a family of shooting people. I have three sons and a daughter who all like to shoot, but two boys who are particularly serious about it.

When my sons and I first started on the journey toward learning how to shoot long range, we started out with centerfire rifles. With guns like the Tikka T3x Tac A1 chambered in .260 Remington, shooting 136 gr Lapua Scenar L’s; Custom Defiance 6 Creed with a  26” Krieger barrel shooting 105 Berger Hybrid Targets, all with amazing ballistic performance. After load development we were achieving quarter inch groups at 100 yards. We were engaging targets out to 1000 yards with relative ease under light winds from a prone position.

We were basically lacking everything else like reading wind, managing the pressures of competition, and how to efficiently run the Kestrel. We were starting from scratch with PRS, NRL style positional shooting. Another problem was that we only had one chance each year to compete with centerfire in our province in Canada. There was also the issue of high cost of equipment, ammo and entry fees for the three of us.

Then in April of 2018, Rick Katigbak from Montreal decided to hold a .22 rimfire PRS style match in Owen Sound, Ontario. It started to really catch on and quickly spread all the way across Canada. There are now competitions in every province east of Quebec all the way to Vancouver Island.

When the .22 PRS matches first started, my friend told me about it and tried to get me involved. I wasn’t interested, because I thought the humble .22 wasn’t much good past 50 yards, and what could I learn that I didn’t already know?
After all, I had been using 22’s all my whole life and thought that I had them figured out. Boy was I Wrong. I really didn’t realize what I could learn from this type of competition called Canadian Rimfire Precision Series, CRPS for short. Well, as it turns out it offers everything I needed. All the skills we lacked could be strengthened in this environment. It ticked all the boxes.

Now, I have to admit that when I was getting set up for my first match I had a hard time trying to figure out the unpublished BC‘s of my favorite 22 ammo. It started with simple guess work to find the right ballistic curve to match impacts with my Kestrel and it wasn’t easy. Shimming scopes to get every last bit of elevation that I could squeeze out of a 30mm tube, and seeing 12 inch groups at 200 yards were pretty discouraging. I thought, this is impossible, why am I bothering?

One thing that I underestimated was how people will rise to great heights if presented with a challenge and necessity is the mother of invention. I realized that it was going to be a big challenge for everybody, so I thought, let’s just do it. We had competed in two Meaford Long Range Steel Challenges before we competed in our first CRPS competition at East Elgin. It was great to only pay a $50 entry fee because everything I did was multiplied by 3, 4, or 5, depending on how many of my kids wanted to compete.

Also ammo costs were drastically reduced with 22LR. One thing we realize when going from centerfire to .22 is that everything to do with ballistics gets a whole lot more complicated. Shooting 380 yards with the best purpose built .22 ammo like SK Long Range Match takes 19.7 mils of elevation. A 6 creed going the same distance only takes 1.19 mils. That’s 16 times more elevation and 16 times more difficulty. If you were to dial a 6 creed to 19.7 mils, that would get you out to 1672 yards – that’s only 88 yards shy of a mile. That’s pretty crazy when you stop and think about it. So when you go to a match where 70 % of the competitors are making first rounds hits on a 3 minute target at 380 yds in 10 mph cross winds with a .22 rimfire, you realize how high the skill level of the competitors has risen to.

These people are doing what would have been considered impossible a few years ago. I have noticed that my positional stability has improved significantly compared to a few years ago, and I am learning to deal with the stress of competition in a much better way. People like me that have been hooked by real long range centerfire thrill are using this .22 rimfire platform to hone their skills for the big leagues.

I know my way around the Kestrel 5700 elite and now the Kestrel HUD pretty well, not perfect, but getting better every day. My family now has the opportunity to compete in 5 to 8 .22 style matches per year, so I am pretty sure that when this group of guys and gals get a chance to compete in centerfire matches, they will be a force to be reckoned with. We all know that it’s so fun and challenging that many shooters may never feel the need to go to fullbore matches.

I have noticed that when I shoot my 6 BR now that it is so easy. I am now so convinced that all of these .22 matches that we have been competing in are having an incredible effect on the skill level of the Canadian sport shooting community. Let’s pray that the big centerfire matches and the US-Canadian border open up so that we go to the big matches and prove how far we’ve come.

About the author
Ron Sharpe is a father of four and a competitive PRS shooter from Ontario, Canada. He is ranked 7th in the Canadian Rimfire Precision Series 2020. He is also the shooting coach for 2020 Canadian series points’ leader Brett Sharpe and up and coming talent Sam Sharpe.

SK Ammunition is proud to announce the latest addition to our family of .22 LR ammunition, SK High Velocity Match.

Targeted for .22 LR enthusiasts that prefer lightning-fast speed, new SK High Velocity Match exits the muzzle at a blistering 1,263 feet per second (385 m/s). Where every second counts, disciplines such as PRS Rimfire and NRL22 trust High Velocity Match to strike on-target with both speed and precision. SK’s 40 grain round-nosed projectile is combined with a proprietary blend of clean-burning, high-energy propellant for reliable functioning in all platforms – shot after shot.

Until now, hi-velocity .22 LR ammunition was always “code” for cheap, plinking, and price-point, with quality unchanged for generations. SK’s Hi-Velocity Match aims to break the status quo and offer shooters the first high performance .22 LR round. SK High Velocity – Precision has no Speed Zone.

SK High Velocity Match will be available in spring of 2021. Check with your local distributor for availability in your country.

From us to you: Happy Holidays everybody, may it be filled with time spent with loved ones – and on the range!

Another SK Junior Cup is in the books and what a great event it was! A total of 63 shooters competed in ISSF disciplines 60 shots prone, 50 m 3-positions and 25 m pistol. The best team of the weekend and the winner of 10,000 pcs of SK ammo was the regional Shooting federation of Berlin-Brandenburg. Big congrats!

Many rimfire enthusiasts also shoot and compete in centerfire disciplines, and Team SK shooter Erich Mietenkorte is one who’s done a pretty awesome job at it. He brought home two titles from the 2020 Washington High Power Silhouette State Championship. Erich scored a 68/80 placing him first in the Standard Rifle. After an intense shoot-off, he also won the Hunter rifle with a score 65/80.The Washington High Power Rifle Silhouette State Championship was held at the Pe Ell Sportmen’s Club in Pe Ell, WA August 2-3. All High Power Silhouette shooting is done from the offhand position with centerfire rifles chambered in 6mm or larger. Steel targets are engaged at distances of 200, 300, 385 and 500 meters for score.In centerfire matches, Mietenkorte competes with Lapua 6BR cases and Vihtavuori N140 powder loaded with Berger 6mm 95 Grain VLD Target bullets for the chickens, pigs and turkeys, and 6mm 115 Grain VLD bullets for the Rams.

“Great people, awesome weather, and good shooting made for an incredible match! The top quality components from Lapua, Berger Bullets, and Vihtavuori Powders allow me to be at the top of my game. I always train for silhouette competition with SK rimfire ammunition. SK ammo gives me the accurate feedback I need!”Congrats Erich!

SK Junior Cup in Berlin, Germany is taking place next weekend! We’re excited and thankful that we are able to arrange the SK Junior Cup this year as well. Circa seventy junior shooters have signed up for the event, competing in both rimfire rifle and pistol disciplines. Welcome and good luck to everyone!

We had great fun at SHOT meeting up with some special people representing some of the SK sponsorships we’re proud to be part of.⁣⁣ Thanks to everyone who came over to say hi!

Our staff members Morgan and Luke meeting up with the people from SSSF youth shooting. The smiles say it all!⁣

We’re humbled and very proud to receivethe Whittington Center adventure camp sponsor thank you plaque.

Some of the junior shooters at Junior Shooters Mag. The Magazine has 35 junior shooters across the U.S. writing for them. These guys are truly building the future of the sport!

We at SK wish all of our friends, partners and employees a great holiday season! We hope it is a joyful time for you all!

The annual SHOT Show is approaching again! In 2020, it will be held on January 21-24 in Las Vegas, as always. We will be there – come and meet us at booth No. 11929!