Superior, MT
1,000-yard Range and Rifle Match
Sponsored by the
Montana Shooting Sports Association
This 1,000-yard match will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2026. It is intended to introduce this new Mineral County range to Montana riflemen, to test the new range, and to be a fun match rather than a serious competition.
Safety. We insist on full safety and safe procedures at this match. We do not mean to be unfriendly, but for any DQ (disqualification offense) we will remove the person DQed from the match roster without refund. All standard firearm safety and gun-handling procedures apply. Eye and ear protection is required for all participants and spectators.
Possible DQ offenses
- Unloaded. All rifles must come to the range unloaded, which means no ammunition in the chamber or internal magazine and no detachable magazine in the rifle. Rifles may be loaded only at the firing line and at the direction of the Range Officer. Detached magazines may be loaded with ammunition.
- Muzzle direction. When a rifle is first removed from a vehicle, it must be in a rifle case until on the firing line and must be cased again before leaving the line. At the shooting position, a rifle muzzle may be pointed only down range. The rifle case should be marked so it will have a rifle muzzle pointed down range when the case is opened.
- Unintended discharge. If an unintended discharge is down range and from the shooting position, it will be scored as a missed shot. Any other will be a match DQ.
The Challenge
All targets will be at a surveyed 500 and 1,000 yards. Feel free to bring your rangefinder to check. There will be two rectangular steel targets at 1,000 yards, one 12″X 24″, and one 7″ X 18″, both in landscape orientation. There will be 6″ round steel targets at 500 yards, and containers of Tannerite approximately 4″ wide at 500 and maybe 600 yards.
The Tannerite targets will be for fun and will not score for match points. Hits on the steel targets will be scored for match points. Points awarded for hits on steel are (tentatively, subject to adjustment to be announced at match start if changed) 3 points for the 6″ round plates at 500 yards, 12 points for the large rectangle at 1,000, and 20 points for the small rectangle at 1,000. There will be surveyor tape wind flags at both target distances.
Procedure
When shooters register, each shooter will be given a shooter number. That number will also be marked on a token and deposited in a drawing container. The MCSSA 1,000-yard shooting position has five concrete shooting benches and one prone shooting platform.
When the match starts, six shooter numbers will be drawn at random from the token container. The shooters drawn will then have a hard three minutes only to get all needed gear to the shooting line and set up. The first number drawn will go to the far right shooting position and subsequent shooters drawn will fill positions working to the left. Shooters will shoot in the order drawn from the token container. Before a go signal and during the three-minute prep time, online shooters may do any necessary preparation EXCEPT putting ammunition into their rifles. Shooters may have a spotter or may rely on one or more other shooters to spot. Official hits and misses will be called by a designated match spotter. Unreadiness of a shooter’s spotter will not extend the three-minute prep time.
At the end of the prep time, the range officer will give the first shooter a start signal. From the start signal, the shooter will have 30 seconds to load and fire one round only – no spotting shots allowed. A shot not fired within 30 seconds will expend that shooter’s opportunity for that shot, which will score as a miss. After that shot or 30 seconds expires without a shot, the shooter will open the rifle’s bolt (at the range officer’s discretion, a shooter operating a self-loading rifle may be asked to engage a manual safety after the first and second shots, rather than unloading).
The range officer will then move on to the next shooter for the same 30-second drill, and repeat until all shooters have fired one shot each. The range officer will return to the first shooter and repeat the process until all shooters have fired one more shot. That will repeat one more time until each shooter has fired three shots. After a shooter has fired three shots, the shooter will be asked to unload his rifle, show clear, and dry fire down range before casing the rifle. We hope that this can be completed in 20 minutes.
Then, after casing rifles, the shooters will clear the line and the next relay of six shooters will be drawn and called for the same evolution. This process will be repeated until all registered participants have shot.
Depending on time and number of participants, we would like to cycle through the full lineup two or more times, but we cannot promise that until we see turnout and get through the first cycle.
When a shooter is shooting, he or she will choose which target is selected. The shooter must call the intended target. Any hit on an uncalled target will score as a miss. No target engagement order is specified.
Allowed and not.
Any optics allowed. Any caliber allowed – see limitation for .50 BMG below. Bipods and rear bags allowed. Mechanical front and rear rests NOT allowed. Suppressors and muzzle brakes allowed. Incendiary, tracer, steel core, and armor-piercing ammo NOT allowed.
Prizes and trophies. Nope. Bragging rights only. This is intended to be a fun shoot and to introduce this new range to riflemen, not to be a serious competition.
Match fee. There is no match fee, but participants must be an active member of the Montana Shooting Sports Association (bring your MSSA membership card if you are already a member). Memberships will be available at the range on match day. Current annual MSSA dues are $25. Interested persons not now MSSA members can join now for $25 from MSSA’s website at mtssa.org.
Also, memberships in the Mineral County Shooting Sports Association ($60/year) will be available at the match for any participants who would like to join this group to gain ongoing access to this new 1,000-yard range (MSSA membership access is only for match day). (Note: Western Montana Fish and Game Association [Deer Creek Range] members already have negotiated access to this range.)
Location. The MCSSA range is near but northwest of the Lozeau exit to I-90, which is the next exit east and south of Superior, Montana. Assuming coming from the Missoula direction on I-90, get off at the Lozeau exit. Go under I-90. Take the next right on Cougar Creek Way. You will be traveling mostly north and parallel to I-90, towards Superior. After about a mile, you will see the MCSSA building and shorter shooting bays on the left. Keep going. After about another mile, the road will bend to the left and begin climbing. The next left turn off this sidehill road section will take you to the MCSSA 1,000-yard bay.
Special rule, .50 BMG. This caliber will be allowed, but only for the 1,000-yard targets (a .50 would destroy the 500-yard targets).
A final determination about anything not addressed or any rule or procedure conflicts will be made by the Match Director before or during the match. The MD will be Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooing Sports Association. Any such determinations will be made based on, in this order, having a safe, fair, and fun event, and spirit of the game.