A 'Bench-Mark' Day

Yesterday I participated in a BPCRS match at the Yaupon Creek BPCRS Club in Columbus, Texas. I’m new at this long range shooting with this match being my fifth competition. BPCRS is an NRA sanctioned shooting event. In these events a shooter is recognized when he passes a bench-mark in his shooting growth. Yesterday was my first bench-mark day.

In BPCRS, which stands for Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouette, a metallic silhouette target of must fall to be counted a hit. A shooter is awarded a small pin when he is able to knock down five targets in a row and again when he knocks down ten targets in a row. These are bench-mark occasions. The targets are chickens, fired at 200 meters offhand, pigs fired at 300 meters, turkeys fired at 385 meters, and rams fired at 500 meters. Pigs, turkeys and rams are fired from crossed sticks in the sitting or prone position. My first bench-mark day was occasioned by knocking down five pigs.

Like most bench-marks in our lives, this one caused me to reflect on the occasion. It recognized a personal achievement. I was only competing against me, and I won. I can’t help but think of the large majority of cowboys and gals in Cowboy Action Shooting, who come, pay their money, participate and applaud the winners. They return to their homes and are never recognized for their effort.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could devise some method in cowboy action with the same ability demonstrated in BPCRS? The best cowboy and cowgirl is the one standing on the firing line and supporting our clubs. Every cowboy who completes a match is a winner. In Cowboy Action we expend a lot of effort emphasizing the fellowship, friendships, and fun of the game. I believe it is time to support the winners, those whose only competition was themselves and they won.