By Alan Sorensen
The Montana Shooting Sports Association has announced that its 17th annual Great Northern Celebrity Bowling Pin Shoot will be held Sunday at the Deer Creek Range near East Missoula.
In a news release issued Tuesday, association representative Gary Marbut said the event will begin at 10 a.m.
Marbut said the association is the primary organization asserting the rights and prerogatives of gun owners in Montana and that proceeds from the shoot will go to support the right of Montanans to keep and bear arms.
Bowling pin shooting is designed to be fun and "shootable" for novice
shooters, Marbut said. Spectators are welcome but must have eye and ear protection.
There will be events for single-action revolvers, double-action revolvers, autoloading pistols, pump shotguns, autoloading shotguns, lever-action rifles, .22 pistols, .22 rifles, and a new and special 9mm auto event. For the handgun, shotgun, LAR, 9mm, and .22 events, the shooter will face a 4-by-8-foot table, 21 feet from the shooter. For all but 9mm, the table will have five standard bowling pins, one foot apart. For the .22s, the pins will be on the back edge of the table. For all others, the pins will be set one foot from the front edge of the table. The idea is to see how quickly the shooter can shoot all pins off the table. Each entrant will get three runs at the pin table. The best two count for score.
There also will be an event in which shooters with centerfire, autoloading rifles (any caliber, any sights) will attempt to quickly burst five pop cans at 50 yards, offhand position. Each entrant will get only one run at this event per entrance fee. This course also will be fired as a separate event with centerfire, bolt-action rifles (any caliber, any sights).
Participants may enter one, more, or all events for $6 per event. Since this is a fund-raising event, shooters may enter each event more than once.
There will be a team event near the end of the shooting day in which a team of three shooters will engage two tables with a total of 10 pins. One shooter will use a shotgun, one a revolver, and one an autopistol.
A mandatory safety meeting will be held for all shooters at 10 a.m. and again at noon for late arrivals.
Interested people may call Marbut for information at 549-1252.
