To say that RMAC 2025 was a “good” experience would be a bit of an understatement if you ask me. There were world class shooters at every event, everywhere you looked. 100 yard bench rest, speed challenge, precision marksman challenge, and big bore air gunner are the events you might expect to see on any given day out at the Garth Kilpatrick Shooting Range in the Hobble Creek Canyon.
100 yard benchrest, what a humbling experience. In Arkansas you might be hard pressed to find a day with sustained 15mph gusts, in the Hobble Creek Canyon, this might be considered a calm day. On registration morning the sponsor flags stood flapping what barely clinging to the support rods they were anchored to. I knew at this point that I was in for a challenge. I won’t dwell on benchrest or the PMC challenge much here as my regulator stuck wide open on my rifle so accuracy became a problem. Even with a regulator problem and throwing pie plate size groups I was able to have the time of my life learning new shooting formats and watching some of the world's best shooters duke it out.
Big Bore airguns, wow, what an experience. I was expecting targets in the 200-300 yard range and honestly thought they might be on the large side. Just go ahead and write it down in your shooter's notes that any target presented at RMAC is going to be a challenge. I had the opportunity to spot for Jerimiah, an excellent shot and even better person. We were able to lob some cannon balls out of the Umarex Hammer with great effect on steel out to 350 yards’ish.
Speed Challenge, this is where the Zelos 25 really showed out for me. I was a little intimidated walking up to the shooting line looking at these $4K +/- purpose built speed rifles I was going to be going up against. First challenge of the day I was able to secure a swift victory against said high dollar rifles, while shooting a sub $750 rifle. This happened with surprising regularity throughout the challenge. I was able to clench 3/10 wins cleanly, while tying up on the stop plate in 3 other challenges. Some of these losses were to the winners of this challenge. I can’t beat myself up over that. At the end of the event I felt surprisingly evenly matched with these guys. With practice and a couple modifications to the rifle I feel as if a finals finish is within reach.
Takeaways: I might start spending more time developing long range skills with the Zelos as it is a very accurate, speedy, consistent platform to start shooting from. Not to knock the gauntlet but it is a little large and temperamental in comparison. After letting myself settle back into real life over the past week I have taken the time to order some speed oriented targets for the back yard. I can’t get enough of that style of shooting. It really brings your nerves to the front and makes you fight for stability while encouraging speed and precision. During the PMC match, they wanted us to shoot 1” plates off of a water bed, these folks are crazy. But in all seriousness, PMC set a new bar for what I thought a good shooter was. Chad Heckler and
Francis Colon were in my squad and watching those guys was a learning experience. They build rock solid positions in the most precarious stages.
I can’t get back fast enough to this event. Knowing what to expect next year for PMC and speed challenge has got me building out a more complete range in the back yard. Since March I have not touched a rimfire and can’t say that I miss it. Between the Zelos and Notos I have been able to accomplish everything I have needed to without using my 22. This new world of air rifles is something else and I am just thankful to get to play in it.
Kolby Rasmussen, rookie member of the Umarex USA Shooting Team, is a veteran speed silhouette shooter, firearms enthusiast, hunter, twin-dad, and husband.