Canada Hosts World FullBore (Palma) Long-Range Championship
From August 26 through September 2, the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) will host the World Long-Range Championship at the Connaught Ranges near Ottawa, Ontario. This follows immediately after the 2007 Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championship which concludes August 25th.
World Long-Range Championship General Information
Long-Range Championship Event Schedule (.pdf file)
World Championship Daily Schedule (Course of Fire)
The World Long Range Championship is a quadrennial event. It commences on August 26th with The World Teams Championships for Veterans, Under 25 and Under 21 Int’l Teams. This is followed by the Individual Long Range Championship events (27th through 30th). The Team World Championship, also known as the Palma Trophy Match, runs from August 31st through September 2nd. Countries that have competed include the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Natal and Rhodesia.
In Team competition, the United States has won 13 of the 27 Palma competitions that have been conducted since the championship started in 1876. There are 17 firing members (16 plus one alternate) and five coaches (four plus one alternate) on the U.S. Palma Team (below). The selection process required each shooter to fire four 15-shot, 1,000-yard matches a day for four days.
The Palma Trophy Match is shot in three stages of slow fire in the prone position using an iron-sight .308-caliber rifle with a 155-grain bullet. Competitors aim for targets that have a 20-inch bull’s eye at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards away.
Connaught is located on the Ottawa River approximately 20 minutes west of Parliament Hill on the municipal boundary separating the cities of Nepean and Kanata. Connaught has been the site of military training and research for over 75 years. The DND property covers 2,600 acres (1,058 hectares) with a waterfront of approx five kilometres. It has been a crown game sanctuary since 1929.
After some delays associated with licensing issues, Whidden Gunworks has resumed production of its bullet-pointing tool. Whidden’s Pointing Die System narrows the diameter of bullet meplats. This also makes the bullet tips more uniform by smoothing the ragged edges. The result is higher Ballistic Coefficient (BC), and, potentially, more consistent BC.
