Competitors at the 2015 Berger Southwest Nationals were treated to something special on Saturday morning. After a short address by Eric Stecker, fireworks boomed from downrange and a flight of three warbirds streamed overhead, trailing smoke. Watch these dramatic moments in the video below.
This ceremony marked the dedication of Ben Avery’s 1000-yard range as the Middleton Tompkins Range. With his family by his side, Mid was recognized for his achievements in the shooting sports and his decades of service. This was a heart-warming event honoring Mid, a six-time National High Power Rifle Champion, and the leading member of America’s first family of shooting. Wife Nancy Tompkins and step-daughters Sherri Jo Gallagher and Michelle Gallagher have all been National rifle champions (High Power and/or Long-Range). This was an emotional day for Mid — he revealed to us that this was certainly one of the greatest highlights of his life.
Berger President Eric Stecker speaks at range dedication ceremony. Mid Tompkins stands with his family members Sherri Jo Gallagher (to Mid’s left), wife Nancy Tompkins, and Michelle Gallagher.
Along with the dedication of the 1000-yard range, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new multi-purpose facility at Ben Avery. Situated at the 1000-yard range, this facility was constructed with $420,000 in funding from Berger Bullets and Nightforce Optics. Mid Tompkins cut the red ribbon on the facility’s front doors, officially opening the multi-purpose center for public use.
Mid jokes with the crowd, showing his quick-witted sense of humor.
Panorama of Middleton Tompkins 1000-Yard Range at Ben Avery (CLICK to ZOOM)
Interview with Past NRA President John Sigler at Ben Avery
In the video below, we interview past NRA President John Sigler. An avid long-range shooter himself, John is the current chairman of the NRA High Power Committee. John was at Ben Avery this week competing in the F-Open Division. John says that the emergence of the F-Class discipline has extended his competitive shooting career. He had high praise for the Ben Avery Range and the new multi-purpose building dedicated on February 14th.
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.
Thursday at the Berger Southwest Nationals was Team Match day. Teams of sling shooters as well as F-TR and F-Open marksmen competed at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. Conditions on Thursday (Feb. 12) were much better than on Wednesday (Feb. 11) when strong, fish-tailing winds created big problems for the shooters. For the Thursday Team Match, the winds were variable, but generally the mirage was a good indicator of speed, and the flags were showing the angles. The wind coaches for the teams told us that the conditions “were quite readable”.
Here is AccurateShooter.com’s video wrap-up of the Team Match on Thursday. F-TR shooters should watch carefully — Ray Gross, captain of the F-TR USA Team. talks about the latest equipment used by the top shooters. In addition, Ray announced a Team Try-Out Session on Monday February 16, 2015.
In team competition, the shooter relies on his coach and spotter.
This could be the most beautiful F-Open rifle we’ve ever seen. Look at the figure in that wood.
Nancy Tompkins dials wind for Anette Wachter (aka “30 Cal Gal”).
Matt Schwartzkopf excels despite lacking two lower legs. He works as a range manager at Ben Avery.
Tube-gun chassis-maker Gary Eliseo shot in the Sling Division. His company, Competition Machine, is now based in Cottonwood, Arizona.
Dan Polabel’s F-TR Rifle with Flex Bipod.
Walt Berger enjoyed the Team Match. “Seems like the wind’s a bit better today” he joked.
Was this Ben Hur or Ben Avery? With all the wheels rolling around the place, the Berger SW Nationals looked a bit like the Chariot scene from the 1959 Hollywood blockbuster movie.
Folks attending a big match such as the Berger Southwest Nationals must haul a lot of gear — both to the range and from vehicles to the firing lines (and then back again). This transportational necessity has inspired shooters to develop a wide variety of modern chariots. Here’s a selection of the “wheeled contrivances” we found at Ben Avery This week.
Don’t mess with Texas. That kind of says it all…
Folding carts were the favored mode of transport. Yes there are TWO carts in the back of this SUV.
Grizzly President Shiraz Balolia, appropriately enough, customized his cart with ursine artwork.
This rig had a custom bracket to support a rifle vertically. This clever invention preserves space in the main cargo section.
Felix Solis of the U.S. Veterans’ Rifle Team customized his travel van’s interior. Rifles are secured upright in the left compartment, with shooting coats on the right.
The little red wagon offers four-wheel stability. This one even has its own license plate.
Wait a minute — is that a stroller? Actually these rigs can be easily adapted to hold rifles and rests. Check out Craigslist for low-cost, “previously owned” strollers.
Past F-Class Nat’l Champ Larry Bartholome was seen rolling around with a familiar cart. This cart used to belong to our good friend German Salazar. Hey German, we all miss your presence at Ben Avery…
This was supposed to be the “easy day” at the Berger Southwest Nationals (SWN), with targets at the “shorter” distance of 600 yards. But the wind gods did not cooperate. The wind blew all day long, with significant velocity changes (from strong to very strong) and tricky angle changes. It was a challenge even for a National Champion. James Crofts, reigning F-TR National Champ, said today presented the toughest wind conditions he’s ever witnessed at Ben Avery: “Conditions were brutal, to say the least. At 600 yards I found the 7 Ring, so it wasn’t easy”. But James was up to the task, winning the F-TR division. Forum member Erik Cortina took top F-Open honors in this Wednesday mid-range match. But he agreed with Crofts that the blustery winds were very challenging — with the high velocities you had to watch the right flags to pick out the angle changes.
In the video below, James and Erik talk about the challenge of shooting in these kind of conditions, and they also talk about their choices in F-Class hardware (rests, bipods, scopes).
At the Berger Southwest Nationals we had a chance to meet with many friends, including past and current champions. Here are some of the interesting comments from some top F-Class and Sling Shooters.
James Crofts talks wind with Erik Cortina at the Berger SWN. At Wednesday’s 600-yard match, James topped the F-TR field while Eric won the F-Open Division.
James Crofts
“The thing that has helped my shooting the most this past year was not fretting so much about the ammo — getting out of the reloading room. I’m putting more focus on shooting the gun and calling the wind. What advice would I give other shooters? Buy high-quality gear and cry once. For example, the Nightforce competition scope — it’s a great scope and we do use the full 55 power at times.”
Erik Cortina
“I shot a .284 Shehane today with 180gr Scenars. I’m glad I had that BC working for me, even at 600 yards. Do 6mm Dashers have a place in F-Open? Not on a day like today. If I was able to hold a 10 with my .284, the Dasher guys were over in the nine ring. If I shot a 9, they might shoot an 8. When conditions are tough, you want the heavy bullet.”
Larry Bartholome
“What trends do I see in F-Open? Well, for 600 yards, maybe more guys will start using the Dasher, now that Norma Dasher brass will be available thanks to Shiraz. Personally, for mid-range I’m shooting a .284 Shehane with 180 Bergers. I’ll stick with my 7mm/270 WSM for 800 [and longer].”
John Whidden
“It’s good to see so many old friends here. But I can’t say Ben Avery has been friendly today. This certainly gives me a chance to practice my wind calling — that should come in handy later this year at the Fullbore world championships at Camp Perry. On the business front we’re expanding our range of cartridge dies. I know a lot of guys at this match are now using our dies. That makes me proud.”
Carl Bernosky
“What with the back surgery, I haven’t had a sling on in nearly two years. Today was tough — my rifle felt like a log. The Southwest Nationals is a great match mind you, but it’s all on the ground and I miss standing up… I like to shoot standing.”
Mid Tompkins
“Electronic targets, you want electronic targets? That would change the whole game. Sure I can see my own shot locations on a monitor, but what about the other guys’ shots? I learn a lot looking at where other shooters’ shots end up [displayed by the shot markers]. Take that away and things are completely different. Looking at shots from other shooters on the line is a big part of the game today.”
The Berger Southwest Nationals (SWN) kicked off Tuesday, February 10th, with an instructional clinic at the Ben Avery 1000-yard Range. This combined a lecture/Q&A session with live-fire training. Ballistics “Professor” Bryan Litz reports: “The clinic was a big hit as usual, with lots of competitor participation. There was a big crowd this year, as you can see.”
The clinic started with a class on Exterior Ballistics hosted by Bryan. This focused on why ballistics is important to competitive shooters, and how to balance ballistic performance objectives against real world constraints. Topics included bullet weight options for F-TR (155 to 215 grains), barrel/chamber considerations, plus the real-world trade-offs involved with heavy bullets (yes the BC may be better but recoil becomes an issue). Many of the questions related to content from Bryan’s recent books, and discussions in AccurateShooter.com’s Ballistics sub-Forum and Daily Bulletin.
Following the ballistics class, shooters made their way to the firing line for one-on-one instruction with experienced shooters in each discipline (sling, F-TR and F-Open). During this segment of the clinic, champion shooters worked directly with novice and intermediate shooters. Bryan said: “It was great to see the ‘top guns’ sharing their knowledge.”
Last but not least, Mid Tompkins directed a wind clinic with live fire demonstrations. Bryan reports: “Mid has a way of getting your attention. Personally, I thought his 2 MOA wind call that put the very first shot in the 5 inch X-ring at 1000 yards got everyone’s attention!” After the demonstrations, clinic “students” went to the firing line to put wind-clinic lessons into practice, and to verify their zeroes.
Mid Tompkins at the SWN Shooters’ Clinic
Here are some more images from the instructional clinic held last year at the 2014 SW Nationals.
The International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) just secured a great alliance with long-range shooters out West in Big Sky Country. The Montana NW 1000-Yard Benchrest Club (www.Montana1000yd.com) is now officially affiliated with the IBS. This is an exciting development. Many world records have been set at the Deep Creek Range near Missoula, Montana, “home base” for the Montana NW Club. Deep Creek enjoys some of the best conditions a long-range shooter could ask for. This is definitely the place to bring that “hummer” barrel if you want to shoot small.
Here is a report from Montana NW Club member Alex Wheeler:
“The decision was made this year to join the IBS and hopefully grow our matches. We have been affiliated with the Original Pennsylvania 1000-yard Benchrest Club (Williamsport, PA) for almost twenty years. Now our Montana-based shooting club enters a new era as an IBS-affiliated operation.
The Deep Creek range is a great place to shoot. Conditions are generally excellent, and the setting is beautiful. The firing line is a raised berm with covered concrete benches. We have full pits and a scoring shed to properly handle the targets. We typically start at 8:00 am to take full advantage of the calm conditions. Many visitors enjoy camping near the range during match weekends. Facilities include water, electric, and restrooms. There are also many hotels in the area.
The group that shoots here regularly are some of the most skilled and serious shooters in the country, but you could not ask for a friendlier group. They seem to always be thinking of ways to shoot smaller and better their equipment. We hope to see some new faces and see the IBS start to make more of a presence in the western states. See you at the first match in March!”
Got a minute — one minute and six seconds to be precise? Then you should watch this excellent “trailer” video from the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) TV channel. You’ll see virtually all the major Olympic/International shooting disciplines. Even if you’re not a skeet/trap shooter you’ll enjoy the clips of shotgun champions at the top of their game. And the footage of position rifle shooters reveals the intense concentration requied in that discipline. We really enjoyed this short clip. The MTV-style editing and soundtrack holds your attention, and the cameramen did a great job of capturing the exact moments when shooters took the winning shot. Enjoy.
The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Club (Williamsport) is now accepting applications for its 2015 Long-Range Benchrest School. If you want to learn how to shoot accurately at very long range, one of the very best places to learn is the Williamsport 1000-Yard Benchrest School. The 8th Annual Benchrest School will be held Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7, 2015. Classes, taught by top 1K shooters, are held at the Williamsport Range, one of the best 1K ranges in the country.
From June 5-7 2015, the club will host a multi-day, long-range Benchrest Academy for novice to intermediate shooters. For $350 students will enjoy 1 night and 2 days of intensive training under the guidance of top 1000-yard shooters. Prospective students will be taught all aspects of long-range benchrest shooting by highly skilled instructors. All areas are covered: load development, precision reloading, bench skills, and target analysis. Much time is spent at the loading bench and on the firing line. And you don’t even need guns and ammo — all equipment and ammunition will be provided. The sign-up deadline is June 1st. To reserve a spot, email School Director/President Ryan Miller: ryanmiller @ htva.net.
School Schedule, Friday Through Sunday
On Friday night (June 5th), students will meet their mentors. Saturday (June 6th), the class moves to the range for a full day of hands-on technical training. Topics will include precision reloading, load development, gun handling, use of chronograph, analysis of shooting results, gun cleaning, and target analysis. The club will provide the rifles and all reloading components. Saturday’s training sessions are followed by a steak dinner which is included in the $350 seminar price.
On Sunday (June 7th), after an early training session covering bench set-up and match strategies, students will participate in a 1000-yard match, spending time both behind the trigger and in the pits. Instructors will explain how to read conditions, and will demonstrate target measuring and analysis after the relays. The program wraps up by 4:00 pm on Sunday.
To see what the 1K Benchrest school is like, watch the slide show/video below, produced by Sebastian Reist, an alumnus of the 2009 Williamsport 1000-yard BR school.
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