Berger Southwest Nationals — 2017 Match Wrap-Up
The 2017 Berger Southwest Nationals (SWN) are now history. This was a great match, with extremely close competition, and record-setting scores. For the first few days, conditions were very mild. That allowed the “top guns” to shoot “cleans” and even set a few new National records. In individual competition, there were familiar faces among the Top Ten, but also some rising stars. In the F-Open and Sling team events, two new squads topped some of the experienced “all-star” teams. Overall it was a great match — one of the most tightly contested ever. Even with 400 competitors, everything ran smoothly. For those who attended the 2017 Berger SW Nationals, this has been a truly memorable week at Ben Avery. F-Open and F-TR Final Results Posted HERE.
This is our final Berger SW Nationals video for 2017, with interviews with the three class winners: John Whidden (Sling), David Gosnell (F-Open), Donald Erpenbach (F-TR).
| Top Five Competitors in Each Class | ||
| SLING John Whidden, 1248-84X Adrian Harris, 1243-74X Allen Thomas, 1242-65X Justin Skaret, 1242-59X Erik Rhode, 1241-59X |
F-OPEN David Gosnell, 1247-84X Jay Christopherson, 1246-74X Keith Glasscock, 1245-79X Pat Scully, 1243-71X Dan Bramley, 1243-70X |
F-TR Donald Erpenbach, 1230-53X James Crofts, 1225-43X Alan Barnhart, 1224-32X Ian Klemm, 1222-55X Bryan Litz, 1222-49X |
Bryan Litz congratulates Sling winner John Whidden. John is reigning National Long Range Rifle Champion.
Below are SWN F-Open Champion David Gosnell (left) and F-TR Winner Donald Erpenbach (right).
Record-Setting Performances in 2017
This year Ben Avery conditions were very good — calm mornings, and little wind in the afternoons for the first three days. With the very calm Day 1-3 conditions, we witnessed some spectacular individual and team performances. Lester Bruno shot a brilliant 200-23X at 600 Yards, setting a new National record. Ian Klemm set a new 60-shot, 600-yard National record of 599-38X. The Cluster Ducks set a new National F-Open Team Record for 800/900/1000 yards with their 1789-100X Score. And the talented North-by-Southwest F-TR squad set both a National Record and an overall SWN match record.
The North-by-Southwest team won the 2017 SWN F-TR team event in fine fashion, setting new National and range records in the process.
And here is Team Longshots, winner of the F-Open Team Title. Individual F-Open Champ David Gosnell is at far right. The winning Sling Team was Scotland Thistle.
Forum Admin Finishes a Very Close Second in F-Open
Hats off to AccurateShooter.com’s very own Systems Admin, Jay Christopherson. A talented tech expert, Jay runs our web servers and manages our Forum software. His skills and dedication keep the Forum running smoothly, even as we approach 35,000 members. Jay shot a brilliant match at Ben Avery this week, finishing second in F-Open, just one point behind F-Open winner David Gosnell. We’re proud of Jay, and we want to recognize his achievement. It’s interesting to note that Jay shot the entire match with the new SEB Mini rest, and he was using a Vortex 15-60x52mm Golden Eagle scope. Here’s a short video of Jay shooting his .284 Win rifle on Saturday.
The show’s over — it’s time to pack up the gear and head on home. We’re already looking forward to the 2018 Berger SWN. See you next year!
Big News for Berger Bullets
Big news in the Industry is that Berger Bullets is becoming part of the Nammo Group, parent of Lapua, Vihtavuori, SK and other companies. This major acquisition will combine Nammo’s resources and advanced engineering with Berger’s match-winning bullet designs and strong focus on competition. Yes, you can expect to see factory-loaded ammunition with Berger projectiles and premium Lapua brass. To learn more about the big Berger/Nammo deal, watch this interview with Berger President Erik Stecker.
Eric Stecker, Berger’s President, says the exact timing of the move has not yet been set, nor has the location been chosen. Arizona is high on the list of potential sites, but Berger is considering other states as well. Once the new factory location is determined, Eric says he expects the move to be completed “by December 2018 at the latest”.
Similar Posts:
- Berger SWN Day 3 Report — Individual 800, 900, 1000 Yards
- Berger Southwest Nationals — Match Wrap-Up
- Berger SW Nationals: Litz Wins Overall, Biggs Breaks F-Open Record, Spindle Shooters Excel
- 2019 Berger Southwest Nationals — This Week in Arizona
- Berger Southwest Nationals Event Commences Today in Phoenix
Tags: Arizona, Ben Avery, Berger SW Nationals, David Gosnell, Eric Stecker, F-Class, F-TR, Jay Christopherson, John Whidden, Lapua, Nammo, Southwest Nationals, The Longshots, Walt Berger
Great job by all. Are the full results posted somewhere?
Spent a couple of days there as a spectator , and everyone should put this on their “Bucket List” . You’ll learn something good just by “eavesdropping”, while munchin on a good Brat .
If anybody at Berger is listening ,
ARIZONA IS THE PLACE TO MOVE TO ! Ask the folks at Pro-Mag . Good work-force . Great climate & weather year round . And PRO-GUN to the Max ! Unlike Commie-fornia .