2026 Georgia State Smallbore Rifle Prone Championship
River Bend Gun Club
Dawsonville, Georgia
Oct. 24
16 competitors
Submitted by David Rabin
Sixteen competitors from five states gathered for the two-day 2026 NRA Georgia State Smallbore Rifle Prone Championship at River Bend Gun Club in Dawsonville, Georgia. Nine competitors shot F-Class (front rest or bipod) and seven shot conventional prone (sling). The match followed its customary format: 160 record shots each day, with most of the sling shooters shooting with metallic (iron) sights the first day and any sights (irons or scope) the second day. The F-Class competitors, who shoot on the challenging international targets, shot with scopes both days. A perfect score for one day would be 1600-160X, and for two days would be 3200-320X.
The days began chilly but warmed to pleasant temps in the afternoon. There was full sun and plenty of wind. At last year’s state championship, held in September amid mild winds, 18 NRA national records were set. This year there were none.
In the sling class, River Bend member Larry Sollars battled it out with Tennessean Mike Carter. They are two of the finest prone shooters in the country and demonstrated that all weekend. At the end of the first day, shooting with metallic sights, Mike edged out Larry by a single X, 1592-116X to 1592-115X. South Carolinian Tom McManus was close behind with 1588-93X.
On day two, shooting with scopes, Larry flipped the script, shooting 1599-139X to Mike’s 1595-115X. Mississippian Odie Redmond was only two Xs behind with 1595-113X. When the dust settled, Larry had a two-day aggregate of 3191-254X and Mike scored 3187-231X. In addition, Tom McManus placed third overall with 3177-195X.
Congratulations to Larry Sollars, the 2026 NRA Georgia State Champion in Conventional Smallbore Prone.
In F-Class, River Bend’s .22 rimfire maven and board member Simon Bailey showed everyone how it’s done, shooting 1587-102X on day one. Alabamian Danny Biggs was close behind with 1584-108X, followed by River Bend member Bill Treder with 1581-105X.
On day two, River Bend board member Doug McNash placed first with 1588-117X, followed by Simon with 1586-123X and Danny with 1586-110X.
The final aggregates were Simon Bailey in first place with 3173-225X, Danny Biggs with 3170-218X and Doug McNash with 3167-222X.
Congratulations to Simon Bailey, the 2026 NRA Georgia State Champion in F-Class Smallbore.
Many thanks to Fran Bailey, who ran the Statistical Office and to Steve Hardin, who scored the targets. They gave up their weekend to enable our competitors to shoot this registered match.
2026 Georgia State Smallbore Rifle Prone Championship Leaderboard
| Conventional Prone | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Hometown | Score |
| Winner | Larry Sollars | Cumming, Ga. | 3191-254X |
| 2nd | Mike Carter | Hendersonville, Tenn. | 3187-231X |
| 1st Master | Tom McManus | Fair Play, S.C. | 3177-195X |
| F-Class | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Hometown | Score |
| Winner | Simon Bailey | Marietta, Ga. | 3173-225X |
| 2nd | Danny Biggs | Huntsville, Ala. | 3170-218X |
| 1st Master | Doug McNash | Ellijay, Ga. | 3167-222X |
Want to see your club’s match on Shooting Sports USA? Download the Reporter’s Worksheet, then email the completed form, your photos and a write-up to [email protected].
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