Today marked the third day of competition at the Berger Southwest Nationals. The superstitious types among the competitors viewed the day with some trepidation. There was actual bad luck for some folks, including Mid Tompkins, who broke his leg in a parking lot accident in the morning. But most shooters didn’t worry too much about the date — they were more concerned about calling the wind correctly. As Bryan Litz said: “I don’t believe in superstition. We make our own luck”. In the video below, you’ll see highlights of Day 3 at the SW Nationals from the break of dawn to the final shots on the 1000-yard line.
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Today the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), Berger Bullets, and Nightforce Optics will officially dedicate a new Multi-purpose Building at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility. The building dedication ceremony will be held Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 8:15 a.m. during the Berger Southwest Nationals, one of the most prestigious long-range rifle matches in the nation.
“The Ben Avery Shooting Facility is recognized as one of the nation’s top venues for recreational shooting,” said AZGFD Director Larry Voyles. “With the donation by Berger Bullets of a new multi-purpose building at the 1,000-yard rifle range, and expansion of the parking area paid for by Nightforce, our long range recreational shooters will enjoy the addition of much needed facilities and a better shooting experience at a world-class facility.”
Berger Bullets and Nightforce Optics have together provided Arizona with $420,000 in funding to cover the costs of the new building and adjacent parking facility.
“We’re proud to partner with Arizona Game and Fish Department to improve recreational shooting facilities in Arizona,” said Eric Stecker, President of Berger Bullets. “Arizonans should be proud that their state is actively working to benefit shooting sports enthusiasts.”
Fireworks and Firepower
After the National Anthem and an address by AZGFD Commission Chairman Robert Mansell, there will be a fireworks display, and an aerial display by vintage World War II aircraft.
Ben Avery 1000-Yard Range To Be Named the Middleton Tompkins Range
During the Saturday ceremony, Ben Avery’s 1,000-yard shooting range will be dedicated to U.S. Air Force Veteran and World Champion rifle shooter Middleton “Mid” Tompkins. Tompkins has dedicated his life to shooting sports. His success as a shooter is matched only by his contribution to the shooting sports in his role as a member of the NRA Board of Directors and director of the matches held at the 1,000-yard rifle range since Ben Avery opened in 1957.
Mid Tompkins Inteview
In the video above, Mid talks candidly about his storied career as a shooter and a shooting coach. He explains what it takes to win, and offers advice on how new shooters can improve their skill sets. Mid also offers invaluable advice on how to dope the wind at Ben Avery. Mid also offers some thoughts on the advancements in rifle hardware and bullet design.
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Many shooters are familiar with ballistics tables, weather programs, and even wind meters for smart devices, but few may know about a very handy Leveling Tool that comes factory-installed on Apple iPhones. The leveling function is a little-known option in Apple’s Compass App. It works well for a multitude of tasks.
There are a numerous reasons that a leveling tool should be in every rifleman’s range bag. From leveling optics during mounting to figuring out how much extra compensation is going to be required for a tricky angled shot, knowing just how far off things are from plumb can go a long way towards realizing success in the field.
This writer has used the leveling app on his iPhone to level a rifle on a rest while at the range. It definitely worked for “field expedient” leveling duties. That’s especially important for long-range applications. Just one degree of cant (tilt) can move your point of impact 7 inches at 1000 yards.
Of course, the iPhone level doesn’t use an actual bubble to find angles. Rather, it relies on the device’s sophisticated accelerometer to do so, and with a great degree of accuracy. Navigating to the level is done by first selecting the Compass App, at which point the device will need to be calibrated by rotating it a full 360 degrees. Once the compass is fully calibrated, simply make right swipe gesture to bring up the level — it will start operating immediately.
From there, use is intuitive and easy, like most iPhone Apps. Switching from horizontal plane to vertical is done by simply changing the physical axis of the phone. How do you know when you’ve got things just right — well the entire lower half of the screen turns green when everything is perfectly level. You’ll also see a zero° read-out, like this:
Bottom Line: If you already own an iPhone, you should definitely give this App a try. The price is right (free), and for a wide variety of tasks the iPhone Level App is actually pretty handy.
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Berger Bullets and Nightforce Optics have together provided Arizona with $420,000 in funding to cover the costs of the new building and adjacent parking facility.
Ben Avery 1000-Yard Range To Be Named
Many shooters are familiar with ballistics tables, weather programs, and even 
