I will admit: I shot rifle competitions for years and didn’t grasp what Palma meant. Until that point, I had never shot a Palma course of fire (hint), so it never popped up on my radar.

Like Pearl Harbor, the swarm bearing down on me wasn’t a flock of birds.

I assumed that Palma was an alternative definition of Sling Shooting. Do you know what they say about making assumptions? I was certainly guilty of that mistake. To make it even worse, I lived within a stone’s throw of the highly coveted Midwest Palma event.

One afternoon I was having a conversation with a US National Champion. I don’t recall how the subject came up, but I asked him what the definition was.

He told me the meaning, and I’m quite sure my IQ instantly dropped a few points. He says, “no worries, it’s a common misconception.”

That’s when this article started bouncing around in my head.

Okay, I will finally get to the point. What is Palma shooting?

Palma is a specific course of fire.

Long-range, you shoot at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. Each string is 15 rounds for record. For mid-range, you shoot 300, 500, and 600. And you are permitted the same amount of freedom seeds.

I will briefly talk about the Midwest Palma event to keep this article from being annoyingly short. Then see how much trouble I can get into.

This year will be the 20th anniversary of Midwest Palma. People travel from all over the United States and the world to participate. This event is five days long, but if you include the State Championship directly following the event, it adds up to seven straight days of competition.

There is also 1600 point match at the lacrosse rifle club just before Mid West Palma. If you shoot that match, and most do. You are looking at nine straight days of competition.

In that region of the country, you can have a tornado one day and 105F the next. That’s a true test of endurance.

Hmmm, let me think about that. That would be over a week of hanging out with cool people, eating good food, and shooting guns. “That’s a pretty tough call.”

I know PRS is a very physically and mentally challenging sport. I know I’m going to catch hell for this next statement. Are there any PRS matches that shoot close to 700 rounds for record in nine days?

Keep in mind: The majority of Sling shooters are doing this with iron sights.

The inbox filling ceremony is complete. Lol

I hope I have answered the question, what is palma shooting?

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