Inaugural 22 Rimfire Single Shot Rifle National Match

It is truly odd how important events somehow come together at exactly the right moment and at the right place, with very little planning or forethought. This is especially odd for someone like me who does not believe in coincidence! Coincidence, Fate, Devine Intervention or just Dumb Luck, somehow, I managed to attend the recent Inaugural 22 Rimfire Single Shot Rifle Match in Phoenix, Arizona, and was asked to write a report for The Black Powder Cartridge News magazine. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to mix it up by shooting with the competitors and was relegated to spectator status. The fact is that I was there, and I was impressed!

In retrospect, I suspect this story started last October when Jim Gier (President of Montana Vintage Arms) called and told me I could pick up my 1885 Low Wall action. I had ordered a rimfire, pistol grip, double set trigger action to be the heart of a purpose-built 22 BPCR Silhouette Rifle. While completing the paperwork, I made a comment to Jim that I was going to try to start shooting rimfire matches in the southern states, and what were his thoughts? He told me he had just received a flyer from Byron Goff (602-315-4246) in reference to 52nd Arizona Schuetzenverein Thanksgiving Schutzenfest, which was held on November 21-23, 2025. I asked Jim if he was going to shoot the match, and he replied “No, but we do support them, and I hear they do a really good job.” I called Byron, asked a bunch of questions, and got on the list of potential competitors. It became clear that I was not going to be able to make the time frame for the match. Byron told me that Scott Elliott was putting together a three-day match that was going to be an “event” and was limited to 50-shooters at the end of January, 2026. He sent me the information on both matches.

I packed up the MVA action, a Lilja barrel and wood by George Peterson of Treebone Carving, and sent everything to my close friend Earl Hines in Tucson, Arizona. Earl is a Master Gunsmith, and as far as rifle competitions go, he quit counting after winning 13 National Titles. Earl has a full-service gunsmithing shop, and while perfection in all endeavors is the standard, he is best known for his stocking and checkering abilities. Earl called me in December, and reported he had my rifle completed and wanted to know if he should ship the rifle. I told him I did not want the rifle in transit, at that time, and suggested we wait and watch how things turn out. He suggested I should come down in January, and we would take in the Inaugural 22 Rimfire Single Shot Rifle National Match (22RFNM). Dear Reader, that is the long and short story of how I managed to attend the match.

Let’s call it “Dumb Luck”. 

The 22RFNM was and will be held in the future at the Ben Avery Shooting Complex in Phoenix, Arizona. The facility is located on 1,250 acres and has shooting ranges for most disciplines. It is owned by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and operated by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. To say it is immaculate is an understatement. 

The individual range where the 22RFNM was held provided 50 benches under an overhead cover, an ancillary meeting building, and restrooms with running water. Each shooter was assigned a bench, and it was the shooter’s responsibility to take his individual target board to the 100-yard target position, set it up and attach his targets. Safety was the paramount issue, and competitors were required to bring their rifles from their vehicle to the range in cases, and firearms were required to stay cased until the shooter was called to their individual bench, where they could uncase the rifle place it on the bench with the muzzle pointed down range. The case was stowed underneath the bench while shooting. Exiting the bench was the reverse procedure. This was a revelation to me, as compared to most matches I have attended.

As noted above, Scott Elliott is the mastermind behind this match and has excellent organizational and people skills. While watching him field and answer questions it became clear to me that he treated everyone with respect. However, there was no question that it was going to be done according to his thoughts and plans. Nice!

The most novel aspect of the match was two-hour swap meet before the match. This brought shooters together, doing what they love to do more than shooting – gun trading! There were introductions, some hard-core trading and by the time the match started, the contestants were laughing, shaking hands, and everybody knew each other. I have been looking for an RCBS A2 cast steel loading press for more than 50 years and, low and behold, I purchased a nice example at the swap meet. I asked Earl for the keys to his car, so I could stow the press in the trunk. Earl handed me the keys and said, “Have you given any thought as to how you are going to check your rifle, take your carry-on, and haul that thing on the airplane?” Well, that is another story by itself.

The overall competition consisted of a practice session, and six separate matches spanned over four days. The match was limited to 50 competitors and held on the Benchrest Range. Each competitor was assigned a bench by the bench number, and that was their bench for the duration of the match. One-piece rifle rests and barrel tuners were prohibited. No hooked butt plates for cross-stick matches and the basic match rules were according to the ASSRA and may be accessed on their website. A nice touch was each individual match was named for an outstanding competitor from the “Golden Age” in order to provide a historical link to our competitive shooting history! The schedule of events was as follows:

Thursday January 22 

08:00 -13:00 Swap Meet

09:00-13:00 Practice

Friday January 23 

08:45-10:00 Cross Stick Match, 50 shots

12:00 Buffalo Cross Stick Match, one shot

Saturday January 24

08:45-11:30 Benchrest Match, 50 shots

12:00-13:30 Group Match, two 5-shot groups 

Sunday January 25

08:45-11:30 Offhand Match, 50-shots

12:00 Offhand King Match, one shot

13:00 Awards Presentation

15:00 Banquette at Edelweiss Biergarten

There were 39 competitors and the match went smoothly without any glitches. 

Match Winners:

• Cody Match: Scott Elliott 1213-23 (50-Shot Cross Stick)

• Talan Ska White Buffalo Target: Robert Wilkes (One Shot)

• Pope Match: Neil Eddington 1227-30 (50-Shot Benchrest)

• CC Johnson Match: Aaron Wilkes .522 (Three-Shot Group)

• Hubalek Match: Greg Tryon .696 (10-shot Group)

• Jacoby Match: Kevin Erickson 1073-3 (50-shot Offhand)

• Overall Match Winner: Scott Elliott

I was very impressed with all aspects of the competition, especially the organization, which allowed it to run smoothly. I have notified Scott to sign me up for next year’s match as I will make the pilgrimage to Phoenix. A huge benefit to shooting the match is the nice 70° F temperatures, compared to below zero temperatures here on the Northern Plains. I would like to thank all of the people affiliated with the competition, as well as the contestants that gracefully responded to my questions.

Now let’s get back to the rest of the story about the RCBS A2 reloading press. Earl suggested that we should find a case to transport the press, hopefully through TSA as a carry-on. We headed to the Bass Pro store in Mesa, Arizona, and purchased a spotting scope case that ultimately did the trick, after answering various questions as to exactly what it was, and how it was used. Finally, the manager of the TSA office came out and said, “I am going to let you take this as a carry on, but please be careful with it!” 

Back at the Bass Pro store, Earl had spotted an indoor laser shooting range, so we had to give it a try. It became clear to Earl that the guns were not sighted into his liking, so I spotted for him and then the hits started coming. About the time we got things ironed out, we ran out of quarters. The mother of two boys that were spending their afternoon at the shooting range, graciously offered to exchange quarters for us and kept us in the match! The two boys were not the least bit intimidated by shooting next to a 13-time National Champion. The scores were not recorded, but the two boys may have had the lead by the time the match was concluded because Mom ran out of quarters. More importantly, a good time was had by all!

In this day and age, when it seems the entire world is shoving political correctness down our throats and at times there seems to be little – if any hope – for the simpler life of yesterday, along comes two kids at an indoor shooting range that reminded me of myself so many years ago, shooting tin cans at the town dump. Maybe there is hope if you just know where to look for it!