Team Hornady member Adam Popplewell, won the Centerfire Magnified division of the inaugural High Plains Carbine Challenge Match at the Oklahoma City Gun Club and Range in Arcadia, Oklahoma, June 25-26, 2011. Popplewell shot Hornady 75 grain Steel Match ammo in 223 Rem. The match included centerfire and rimfire divisions, with magnified and unmagnified classes. The match drew 120 registered shooters from 12 states, who shot 10 IPSC-styled challenging stages over two days, using a scoring system that rewarded accuracy while acknowledging speed.
Match director and stage designer, Trapr Swanson, himself a world-class shooter, created the European-style match, allowing rifle targets to fall once engaged and hit instead of having a shooter or range officer interface. "Using IPSC full-size and half-sized targets, along with poppers and knock down steel," said Swanson, "I designed the stages so competitors had to use standing, prone, kneeling or sitting rifle positions. Competitors with very little experience were able to learn something new, yet be motivated to return in the future."
Popplewell noted that targets ranged from four to 300 yards away. "I used Hornady 75 grain Steel Match because in a match that rewards accuracy, you can always count on the dependability of Hornady ammo. The match's scoring system kept you honest with your shooting accuracy."
Team Hornady member Jared Milinazzo, a first-time entrant in a carbine match, finished a respectable ninth in the Centerfire Magnified class. "I handloaded Hornady 55 grain V-MAX ammo for the short range targets," he said, "and used Hornady 69 grain BTHP for the long-range targets, because of its down range energy." Milinazzo particularly enjoyed shooting at softballs resting atop orange cones at 25 yards, as they challenged competitors to compensate for the holdover.