SK’s Erich Mietenkorte Wins US National High Power Silhouette Championship
Sedalia, MO – Congratulations to Team SK’s Erich Mietenkorte on winning the 2023 US National High Power Silhouette Championship for the third consecutive year shooting a 187 – 120X.
MietenKorte’s victory did not come easy. On the third day of the match during the standard rifle match, Mietenkorte accidentally shot his last set of targets on the wrong relay, causing him to take a zero score and to loose out on the standard rifle title. Mietenkorte worked to mentally overcome the error and tough wind conditions to win the Hunter Rifle National Championship for the second year in a row with a score of 98 -120X.
After the six high power matches, Mietenkorte found he had tied with Berger’s Dustin Flint with a score of 187/240. The two competitors battled it out with a five shot shoot off, with Mietenkorte coming out on top, earning the 2-Gun Aggregate National Championship Title.
“The support and encouragement I received after making that morning match error reaffirmed that the silhouette shooting community is made up of some of the best shooters, competitors, and people around! This sport and the people who are on that firing line mean more to me than any number on that score board ever will. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone in the future but if it does, I’ll be there to repay their kindness,” commented Mietenkorte. “An error like this can be incredibly difficult to recover from, but when you don’t have to worry about the quality of your ammunition, it makes it much easier. I can always count on SK Rifle Match to build my confidence in training, and my components from Lapua, Berger, and Vihtavuori to be on target during competition!”
The 2023 US High Power Rifle Silhouette National Championships were held at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico on July 21st through the 23rd. These championships, which typically alternate in location with the Ridgway Rifle Club in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, had not been held in New Mexico since 2018. High Power Silhouette is shot with centerfire rifles at steel targets from 200 to 500 meters (chickens at 200, pigs at 300, turkeys at 385 and rams at 500). This challenging and exciting discipline is all fired from the standing unsupported firing position. Competitors often use rifles chambered in 6mm BR, 6.5×47 Lapua, and similar cartridges.
About SK
SK Rimfire has a storied 190-year history of producing top-quality.22 LR ammunition in Schonebeck Germany. SK .22 LR is offered through the Capstone Precision Group, exclusive U.S. distributor of Lapua, Berger, Vihtavuori and SK products. For more information, visit sk-ammunition.com.
