by Bea Peterson
Rick Ingraham of Grafton has been involved in Berlin school sports for years. He has coached basketball, softball, wrestling and cross country. He has given them all up except cross country. “As I get closer to retirement age I wanted to find something for me,” he said. He has been a fisherman, archer and rifleman all his life. “I’m a competitive person. I tried 10 meter Olympic style air rifle basics for two to three months, but my eyes aren’t good enough for off hand and peep sights.” That’s when he settled on Light Varmint and Heavy Varmint air rifle benchrest shooting. “This is not a well known sport in the U.S.,” Ingraham said. “In the whole rest of the world it’s a huge sport.” Some of the competitors at the World Championships at the Palmetto Gun Club in Charleston, SC, at the end of July and into early August will be professionals with corporate sponsors. The first World competition was held in Italy in 2008.
Home Built Rifles
Ingraham has made a living building long bows and recurves.
“I’m a big believer in beauty, form and function. There has to be harmony in the piece. It’s an art form,” he said. “Germany is the number one maker of air rifles. I was adamant I wanted my rifles to be as much American as possible.” He admits he couldn’t have attempted such a task without his previous experience. “People in the sport are helpful with their knowledge and their equipment.” Some are even loaning others equipment for the World match.
He’s had five different barrels on his rifle. The one he’s taking with him to the competition is the third rifle he has completed in the last seven months. It has a 36″ scope. “It’s not the most expensive scope, but I trust it,” he said. His two competition rifles are basically built from custom parts. Ingraham did all the woodworking and machining himself. Today’s rifles are not spring powered. They haven’t been for years. They have a reservoir on them to hold compressed air from scuba tanks.
Precision Sport
With his latest rifle Ingraham said he has gained three points over his worst gun. Three points is meaningful when you are shooting at a target spot the size of a pellet. There are 25 shooting spots on a target for a possible 250 or total aggregate score of 750. He has shot perfect 250s with both rifles in practice. “A lot of people score 740 to 745. Very few people score 747,” said Ingraham. “It’s all about the wind.” The pellets are light and wind is not consistent. “You have to know how to shoot in the wind,” he said. “The wind can totally move the pellet the whole width of a bullseye.”
Salem Rifle And Pistol Club
To have his targets scored to qualify for the World Championships Ingraham had to shoot at a certified club, outdoors, between 9 am and 5 pm. The trick with the wind is to watch the flag and detect the wind direction, then shoot. The shooting must be completed in a half hour. “We’re very lucky to have the Salem club,” he said. “They’re a very active club and offer shooting indoors in the winter.” He and fellow club member Todd Banks have both qualified for the Championships. Ingraham qualified number one in Light Varmint and number two in Heavy Varmint. He and Banks shoot together at least two days a week. Ingraham figures he has shot between five to ten thousand pellets in the last six months. He believes they will both do well in the competition.
Great Honor
The 15 members of the U.S. team are from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, California, Oregon, Texas and, of course, New York. “We’re a diverse team,” said Ingraham. He and Banks leave July 27 for the weekend matches. “I’m 62 years old, and it’s a great honor to represent the United States. I’m looking forward to meeting like minded people from all over the world and making new friends. I want to represent the U.S. well in all aspects of the sport.”