Stecker Reports from 2009 Super Shoot: Final Results

Super Shoot Final Report
by Eric Stecker, Berger Bullets

Greetings from Sunny Ohio. Normally calling the weather “sunny” in North Lawrence, Ohio is sarcasm. During the last two days of the Super Shoot the word “sunny” is the best description of what shooters faced from Mother Nature. Day 3 provided some cloud cover in the morning which lasted for a while but was soon turned into bright and clear skies. High 40° temperatures and mid 80° highs was more of the same for those who were expecting the rains to come eventually. In case you haven’t heard yet, Tony Boyer was the big winner at this 37th Super Shoot. Congratulations to Tony Boyer for another impressive performance. Tony sets the bar for benchrest excellence.

Boyer Wins Two-Gun and HV Grand Agg
Tony Boyer, already the top Benchrest Hall of Fame shooter in history (by quite a margin), won the Two-Gun Aggregate (Agg). Tony shot very consistently, with top five placements in most events. But he really hammered the HV 200-yard stage, with a brilliant 0.1846 Agg. Combined with his fine 100-yard HV shooting, that gave Tony an 0.1997 for the HV Grand Agg win. Lee Hachigan was the LV Grand Agg winner with a solid 0.2235. Lee finished third overall in the Two-Gun, behind Larry Costa:

1. Tony Boyer – .2191 Two-Gun Agg
2. Larry Costa – .2307 Two-Gun Agg
3. Lee Hachigan – .2503 Two-Gun Agg
4. Bill Symons – .2581 Two-Gun Agg
Tie 5. Larry Scharhorst – .2589 Two-Gun Agg
Tie 5. Bill Forester – .2589 Two-Gun Agg

Competitors tackled the Heavy Varmint stage at 200 yards on Friday. 200 yards is usually where Grand Aggs are won and lost during most BR matches and the 2009 Super Shoot this would be no exception. The following are the top five finishers in the Heavy Varmint 200-yard stage:

1. Tony Boyer – .1846 agg
2. Stan Bowerman – .2045 agg
3. Larry Costa – .2148 agg
4. Jim Carmichel – .2329
5. Chris Harris – .2343

Once the 200-yard stage was over the Heavy Varmint Grand Agg was determined. See if you don’t spot a few of those who did well at 200 yards in the following list of the top 5 of the Heavy Varmint Grand Agg.

1. Tony Boyer – .1997 HV Grand Agg
2. Larry Costa – .2235 HV Grand Agg
3. Stan Bowerman – .2432 HV Grand Agg
4. Greg Reed – .2461 HV Grand Agg
5. Wayne Campbell – .2464 HV Grand Agg

By the time the last day started the shooters were commenting on how the Super Shoot had not seen four clear, dry days in a row since 1995. There is little question that this year’s Super Shoot provided some of the best weather conditions we’ve had for some time. Temperatures were similar to previous days and winds continued to be tricky but not extreme.

The Light Varmint 200-yard stage gave us all a chance to break out the 10.5-lb guns again after two days of getting spoiled with the 13.5-pounders. Most folks were ready to shoot at 200 yards but a few shot flags indicated that some BR shooters still are working on which way to turn the knobs when the distance increases. The following is a list of the top 5 shooters who were on top of their adjustments for the Light Varmint 200-yard stage.

1. Steve Turner – .2085 agg
2. Jeff Stover – .2120 agg
3. Jeff Summers – .2137 agg
4. Tony Boyer – .2159 agg
5. Larry Costa – .2217 agg

Lee Hachigan Wins LV Grand Agg
The completion of this final stage provided the Super Shoot with not only a Light Varmint Grand Agg Champion but also a Two-Gun Champion. For those who have been keeping track of the top five in the lists so far some of the names you see below will be no surprise. Here are the top five in the Light Varmint Grand Agg.

1. Lee Hachigan – .2235 LV Grand Agg
2. Dave Coots – .2263 LV Grand Agg
3. Bill Symons – .2365 LV Grand Agg
4. Larry Costa – .2379 LV Grand Agg
5. Tony Boyer – .2385 LV Grand Agg

Final Thoughts — 1/4 MOA ‘All Day Long’
Another thought crosses my mind as I look at these scores. I hear many times how shooters who do not compete in Benchrest matches say that their rifles are capable of “1/4 MOA… all day long”. Take a look at these scores you will see that 1/4 MOA accuracy “all day long” would put you in the top three of the largest and (arguably) most competitive BR match in the country.