David Tubb Wins NRA Long-Range Championship
Story by Lars Dalseide for The NRA Blog.
David Tubb Won the Long-Range National Championship today, shoting a perfect 45 for 45 inside the 10-Ring during today’s Individual Palma Trophy Match. Tubb’s impressive performance secured David the 2011 Long Range High Power Rifle Championship, edging out 2010 LR Champion John Whidden. We believe this is David’s seventh individual long-range title. Tubb last won the Long-Range Championship in 2004, when he shot an “perfect” 1450-101X Aggregate, not dropping a point. Tubb has also won the NRA High Power National Championship 11 times.
Tubb Wins Title, Not Yielding to Whidden’s Strong Challenge
As he took his spot in the final round of the Palma Match, Tubb was stationed to the right of last year’s Long Range champ and 2011 runner-up John Whidden. Whidden, donning his favorite red cap, started with two well-placed sighting shots at 1,000 yards before jumping into the scoring phrase of the match. Tubb, waiting for the wind and that instinctive feeling that’s developed over time, took his first sighter after Whidden started scoring tens.
“Ten” shouted Whidden’s spotter. “X” rang out next. The race was on.
Tubb’s spotter echoed his counterpart’s calls with Tens and Xs of his own. But Whidden had the advantage … he was two shots ahead and two points behind. Scoring ten after ten after X, Whidden was applying the pressure to Tubb as he mounted a final charge. There was even a moment when The Pit mistakenly pulled Tubb’s target as he was about to fire. If there was ever an opportunity for a man to feel the pressure — this was it. I don’t know about the shooters, when when Whidden hit his 13th shot inside the ten ring, my heard started to pump a little bit faster.
The spotter’s calls grew louder and louder as the shooters kept firing and firing. Waiting for one to drop a point, slip outside the ten, make that fatal mistake that would allow the other a path to the championship. Ten, Ten, X, Ten … they just kept coming.
After Whidden Cleaned his Target, the Pressure Was On
Whidden finished clean. Tubb still had two shots to go. Whidden and his spotter silently shifted their scope and glasses to Tubb’s target. I inched a little closer. Hearing a noise, I turned to find an RSO peering over my shoulder to check on Tubb’s progress. The 14th shoot was an X. One shot left. A nine or ten meant Tubb would earn his first Long Range title in seven years. An eight meant we’d go to the X count and a seven or less would give the title to Whidden.
Whidden rose when the spotter cried out ten. The match and the championship was over. “Congratulations David. That’s some great shooting.”
Tubb accepted Whidden’s hand, allowed a smile and returned the admiration. Two shooters with almost a decade’s worth of Championships between them. But this one was for David Tubb. The end of a long road back to the title.
David Discusses his Championship-Winning Tubb 2000 Rifle
In the video below, David Tubb discusses his Tubb 2000 Rifle and the many records it has set. Over the past 11 years, Tubb 2000s have been used by 30 of the 33 “Top Three” finishers in the NRA High Power Championships — that’s a remarkable winning record:
