Libby's Harma wins Safari Rifle Challenge
Lance Brewer, left, presents the Safari Rifle Challenge championship buckle to winner John Harma, center, while Match Director Jay Sheffield presents the championship trophy. (Courtesy photo)
Flathead Valley’s Gene Gordner fires his custom, self-built 10 bore double rifle at a charing rhinoceros target at the Safari Rifle Challenge. (Courtesy photo)
The Stufflebeam brothers from Stevensville fire at the charging water jugs at the Safari Rifle Challenge. (Courtesy photo)
The Libby Rod and Gun Club recently hosted the 13th annual Safari Rifle Challenge at the Lincoln County Shooting Complex.
The big bore rifle competition drew shooters from Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Canada. They were armed with everything from .375 and .416 caliber bolt actions to custom .600 Nitro Express and 10 Bore double rifles.
Ten different stages required shooters to engage everything from a photo realistic life-size moving Cape buffalo targets down to small, steel plates, all at distances from 30 yards to 120 yards.
Two of the events that proved to be very popular were the life-size photo target of a fast-charging rhinoceros powered by a modified ATV and the “charging water jugs” event where two competitors must shoot the three one-gallon water jugs swinging from a car racing toward them.
Match director Jay Sheffield said that the competition would not happen without the help of the numerous volunteers who show up every year to set the various stage scenarios and to immediately repair severely damaged targets.
The competition is also the main fundraising event for the youth participants of the Scholastic Clay Target Program. Seven high school age members of the team came out to assist with scoring, target setup and to provide some youthful energy to several of the rope-towed moving targets.
Four of the team’s parents also provided a catered meal for the shooters and guests.
Each year the match competitors prove to be extremely generous to the youth shooting programs and this year was no exception.
The event’s primary sponsor, Shawn Joyce of Diizche Safari Adventures, provided the first place trophy of a bronze lion as well as a large number of great items for the raffle table.
While many participants also quietly made cash donations, the gentleman who brought the .600 Nitro Express double rifle offered other competitors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shoot that rifle for $50 a shot with the proceeds going to the youth shooting team.
With factory ammunition normally selling for $100 per round, a dozen adventurous folks took advantage of the unique opportunity to launch a .620 caliber, 900-grain bullet at more than 2,050 feet per second as it generated more than 8,400 foot pounds of energy. They quickly raised $600 while earning themselves a few bruised shoulders in the process.
The final tally of money raised to support the youth shooting team was more than $2,300.
When the dust finally settled, Libby’s John Harma was declared the winner with a score of 193/220. It was exceptional shooting considering that all shots were taken offhand and several of the 10 rings were only one inch in diameter.
Many of the competitiors had attended the shoot in previous years and all were impressed by the dramatic expansion of the range and improvements to its infrastructure.
The Libby Rod and Gun Club, Lincoln County Board of Commissioners and our local National Forest Service Supervisors Office have all worked together to create what is truly the finest free public range in the state of Montana.
The competition is held every year on the second Saturday in June.
For those who own a safari rifle in caliber .375 or larger and would like to shoot against some of the best in the country, contact safaririflechallenge@yahoo.com for more information.
