Back in Spring of 2004, I wanted to add a little variety to my long range benchrest competition and do something a little different. After seeing the success of the Benchrest.com postal matches, I thought to myself: Self, you should come up with a tactical postal match so guys who can't make it to matches scattered all around the country can test themselves and their rifle against people from all over the country (even different countries!).

All you need is a 100 yard range or a spot you can set a target up at 100yds and shoot the match on your own time! You can buy up to four targets which give you four chances at your highest scoring target. Once you have your best target, you simply send it back to me at the address on the back, and I score and rank them. The results, along with scans of the top three targets are posted on SnipersHide.com, SniperCentral.com and SnipersParadise.com. The first few matches were only advertised on SnipersHide.com, but after I saw it had gained some interest, I conferred with the owners of SniperCentral.com and SnipersParadise.com and began advertising it there as well.

These three sites were the only venues to read about the match, until now. The first match had 33 entrants and about 15 people actually shot targets and returned them to me. Since then, the Smack the Smiley Postal Match (STS) has steadily grown to an average of 70+participants each time. Thanks to member "Froggy" for coming up with the catchy title around mid 2004!

Each target combines field precision and accuracy, as well as a cold-bore-shot (CBS), and a test of confidence (Confidence Shot) all on one target. A little stress is also induced as you must disturb your position after the initial CBS to open the target completely to finish. A 3-shot group was added around 2009 to complete the target.

The year 2005 began with regularly scheduled seasonal STS matches during Spring, Summer and Fall, with the Winter match being dubbed "Smack The Snowflake." Some of us here in the northeast actually have to battle snowy and blustery conditions during this match, but many are up for the challenge! In 2005, I also started keeping track of yearly aggregates (average score for the 4 matches) and will post the results at the conclusion of the Snowflake match

2006 began a new chapter of the STS match. I wanted to take the match one step further and collaborate with AmericanSnipers.org to help them raise money. Brian Sain and the guys at AmericanSnipers.org were very interested, so 2006 will be a great year for another set of matches, and to top it off, we will be helping out a great cause by supporting our guys in the sandbox! We continue to contribute to AmericanSniper.org to this day.

Please see the Rules page for further information on course of fire and entry information.