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While I was waiting for the barrel of my slug gun to cool down at the range the other day, the guy at the next bench over asked me if I wanted to shoot his Mosin Nagant, which had cost him all of $100.

I said thank you very much, and soon was happily slinging 7.62 bullets downrange offhand, shooting at a stick in the backstop (it’s a very informal range. We can shoot at sticks in the backstop if we want to). I decided this Mosin was a lot of fun for a hundred bucks. Question is, other than shoot at sticks, what would I do with it?

Turns out, I could shoot Vimbar matches. “Vimbar” stands for VIntage Military Bolt Action Rifle and it’s the brainchild of Browning’s Denny Wilcox and his friend Peter Sodoma. Like me, Wilcox picked up a Mosin, shot it, and thought, “what a fun gun.” Unlike me, Wilcock has his own 1,200 yard range and, he thought further, “I need to make up a game for these rifles.” He and Sodoma came up with the rules of Vimbar and its sister event, Vimsar (VIntage Military Semi Automatic Rifle). Think “G.I. Action Shooting” and you’ve got the idea of Vimbar/Vimsar. You shoot at man-sized reactive targets from point blank out to 900 yards. In some courses you stay put, in others, you move around, shooting rifles, pistols, and sometimes even throwing dummy grenades. It seems like a hoot to me, and as long as the supply of $100 Mosins holds out, anyone can get into the game for very little money. You can learn more about it at Vimbar.com.

What do you think? Would you shoot a Vimbar match?