Each stage of the Rock Chuck Olympics was designed to be fun and challenging, but also cater to the strengths of one or more of the competitors. Stage one, Hidden Rock Chucks, was designed with our hunters in mind, Who-Tee-Who and Backfire.
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About Stage One
Each competitor was given 20 rounds and their STAG AR equipped with Athlon Talos BTR Gen2 1-4×24 optic.
They had five minutes to walk down a winding trail in search of ten rock chuck targets. Each firing position was marked with two flags. One to indicate the firing position, one to indicate the direction of the target. Competitors had to find each target and engage it with two rounds from any position. There is some strategy involved. This stage was blind so no one knew what it looked like until they had to shoot. This stumped some of our competitors. Competitors could skip a target and use those rounds to engage a target they shot at and missed, but they could not impact a target more than twice. They could also not move backwards once they advanced. Total scores included number of impacts plus a time multiplier.
Multiplier:
(# sec. remaining / 60) = # minutes remaining
# of minutes remaining * 0.10 = multiplier
Multiplier * impact score = bonus
Bonus + Impact Score = Final
Performance
Excitement mounted as each competitor advanced to the stage. The other competitors couldn’t watch, but made guesses at how their competition was doing based on the number of steel hits they could hear. Adam Wies, Mr. Who-Tee-Who, went first as this stage was designed for him. He breezed through the stage with 17 impacts.
He wisely used his extra shots on targets he found and missed rather than risk not being able to find a target down the road. He found the targets incredibly quickly and displayed commendable offhand shooting skills with 2:35 minutes remaining.
Piet Malan followed, his running speed giving him more time on the clock to engage and hit the last rock chuck twice, far out on the hill. He was the only competitor to do this. He still ended with 2:45 on the clock and 11 impacts.
Nils Jonasson took a much different approach, going prone on the first target to double confirm his zero. He missed once on the first target and made the decision to engage it a third time to secure a sure hit.
His transitions were smooth, 2-gun training kicking in, and he ended with 17 impacts and 2:48 remaining, making him the fastest of the competitors.
F-Class champion Erik Cortina struggled to find some of the targets. Combined with a platform he’s not used to, he barely avoided timing out with 35 seconds remaining. He skipped a target and later regretted it, faced with the far rock chuck Pieter Malan was the only one to impact. Even so, he made 16 impacts.
Backfire finished up the stage and was the only competitor to time out. It took him a minute to find some of the targets hidden in the woods and he took a more cautious and careful approach compared to the other competitors. He made it to the final rock chuck but timed out before he could take a shot, ending with 14 impacts.
Stage Standings
Follow the Competitors!
Erik Cortina – Cortina Precision
Watch the Full Series!
Episode 1: Kick-Off and Meet the Competitors
Episode 2: Training & Sight In
The 2023 Rock Chuck Olympics is brought to you by:
D-M Targets (get your Rock Chuck Targets HERE)
Caldwell Shooting Supplies, Wheeler Tools, and Tipton Gun Cleaning Supplies
Additional Sponsors Include:
Hornady Ammunition, Athlon Optics, Canik Firearms, LongShot Cameras
More Rock Chuck Olympics action coming very soon! Please stay tuned and make sure you’re subscribed to the Ultimate Reloader YouTube Channel to catch all of the action.
Thanks,
Gavin
