The centerfire World Benchrest Championship (WBC) is being hosted in Volmerange-Les-Mines, France this year. Matches commence on Tuesday, the 23rd of August. Practice has been underway since August 18. The official WBC website includes an event schedule plus a list of this year’s WBC competitors. It appears that the number of shooters is down slightly this year, compared to the 170 participants who attended the 2007 WBC in Austria. However, it looks like there will be a record number of countries represented at this year’s Championship event, with first-ever attendees from nations such as Colombia and Ukraine. The WBC has truly become a “world” competition, attracting the “best of the best” from around the globe. The match will be held at the modern Eurostand facility, one of Europe’s best-equipped indoor/outdoor shooting ranges.
The three American squads attending the 2011 WBC will include many Benchrest legends:
Team USA ‘A': Tony Boyer, Larry Costa, Gene Bukys, Chris Harris
Team USA ‘B': Mike Ratigan, Jack Neary, Andy Shifflett, Wayne Campbell
Team USA ‘C': Larry Baggett, Robert Hammack, Dave Coots, Tim Oltersdorf
Story tip by Fergus Bailey. Photos courtesy Association Bench Rest France.
Dennis DeMille, Gen. Manager of Creedmoor Sports, fired a rare 100-4X in the standing stage of the 2011 Springfield Rifle Match, winning the event and setting a new record in the process. DeMille’s 297-8X Aggregate score broke the previous record of 295-6X set by Douglas Armstrong last year. DeMille fired a 98-2X in slow-fire prone, and a 99-2X rapid-fire prone. DeMille then capped his record-setting match with his remarkable 100-4X in the final offhand stage. MSG Julia Watson, USMC, the only female competitor, placed second with a 293-4X Aggregate.
DeMille is Former National High Power Champion
A former U.S. Marine Rifle Team member, Dennis is no stranger to the podium at Camp Perry. Dennis won the NRA Nat’l High Power Championship in 2005 and the Service Rifle National Championship in 2003. This year Dennis proved this year that he still has what it takes. Congratulations to Dennis — Well done! After Dennis returned from Camp Perry, we asked him some questions about his 1903 Springfield rifle and his performance.
Interview with Dennis DeMille
Q: How does it feel to win an elite competition at age 46 compared to your other championships earlier in your career?
Dennis: Notwithstanding my freakish friend Carl Bernosky, as you get older, for a variety of reasons, winning becomes a little bit harder — in my case it’s poor vision. So of course each victory tastes a little sweeter and nothing is taken for granted.
Q: What were conditions like at the match this year?
Dennis: We had beautiful conditions that day — just a little warm.
Q. What ammo were you using?
Dennis: Hornady 168 grain .30-06, as issued at the Match.
Q: Was anything special done to accurize your rifle?
Dennis: No. This was the first match for this stock though. I think that might be why I shot two 9s in prone slow fire — it was still settling in. Nothing has been done to any part of the rifle to make it more accurate. The rifle is “as-is” from the CMP … complete with nasty trigger. Before I shoot it again though I am going to swap out the front sight blade for a fatter USMC type blade so I can see it [better].
Q. You nailed the standing, often considered the hardest stage. What advice can you give to shooters who want to improve their standing abilities?
Dennis: No secret there — snap-in, holding exercises, and a good mental program. In particular I recommend 20 one-minute holding exercises, with 30-second breaks in between each hold. That is the quickest and best way to identify a poor position (because it will be painful), and build a well-supported position.
Q: Does Creedmoor Sports have any specialty products for shooters of the 1903 Springfield or other vintage military rifles?
Dennis: We really don’t have many products specific to those rifles. But the beauty of those rifles and that course of fire is that there isn’t much you need to buy.
Photos Courtesy Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).
The 8th Western CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will be held at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona, on 15-23 October 2011. The Western CMP Games run 15-18 October while the Creedmoor Cup Matches follow on 19-23 October. This event typical draws hundreds of shooters who compete with a wide variety of rifles — Match Rifles, Service Rifles, Vintage Military Rifles, and Rimfire Sporters. All interested shooters, whether new or experienced, recreation-oriented shooters or national championship contenders are invited to participate in these unique, national-level competitions. CLICK THIS LINK to register for the match. This event is co-sponsored by the Civilian Marksmanship Program and Creedmoor Sports.
The Montana Northwest 1000-Yard Benchrest Association held its annual Championship match last weekend at the Deep Creek Range near Missoula, Montana. The match drew talent from across the nation. 57 shooters attended the two-day event, and many states were represented: California, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington — even Pennsylvania.
Dashers Dominate Two-Gun Results
Dashers ruled the roost for the most part, with four of the top five in the Two-Gun shooting 6mm Dashers. Leo Anderson (Dasher) finished first in Two-Gun, followed by Robert Hoppe (Dasher), Mike Thomas (Dasher), Richard Schatz (Dasher), and Don Nielson (6.5×47 Lapua). Leo Anderson also won the Heavy Gun Overall, followed by Dennis Peterson, and Robert Hoppe. Cody Finch topped the 17-pound class, ahead of runner-up Robert Hoppe, with Leo Anderson coming in third. Lonnie Anderson won the 11-Pound Sporter Class, ahead of Scott Nix and Kevin Watson.
Conditions Were Hot But Relatively Calm
Montana shooter Tom Mousel, who finished 6th in the two-gun overall, reports that: “It was a very calm, high pressure weekend, so much of the home field advantage wasn’t there. There was some mirage in the 90° heat, but mirage was really quite manageable. The stable conditions made for a very close match, with competitors from outside Montana giving the locals a run for their money.” As usual, the club had a rich prize table — there were over $27,000.00 worth of prizes and give-aways.
Highlights for the weekend included Barry Bluhm’s 3.624″/99 in Heavy Gun class on Saturday. Barry, who shots a 6-6.5×47 Lapua, proved you don’t have to run a Dasher to shoot small. Three perfect 100 scores were shot at the match. In Light Gun, Roger Hoppe fired a 100/5.947″ on Saturday, while Mike Thomas got his first perfect score with a 100/6.664″ on Sunday with his Light Gun. Deep Creek Ace Leo Anderson nailed a 100/5.432″ in the Heavy Gun class on Sunday.
Two-Gun Overall
1. Leo Anderson 15
2. Robert Hoppe 17
3. Mike Thomas 20
4. Richard Schatz 22
5. Don Nielson 23
6. Tom Mousel 26
7. Cody Finch 28
8. Bud Williams 28
9. Jack Peterson 30
10. Monte Foust 31
Heavy Gun Overall
1. Leo Anderson 6
2. Dennis Peterson 9 (5.876″)
3. Robert Hoppe 9 (8.3155″)
4. Mike Hern 9 (8.419″)
5. Tom Mousel 10 (7.083″)
6. Mike Thomas 10 (9.0685″)
7. Richard Schatz 10 (9.8235″)
8. Don Nielson 11
9. Vince Kruse 13
10. Lonnie Anderson 14
17-Pound Gun Overall
1. Cody Finch 7
2. Robert Hoppe 8
3. Leo Anderson 9
4. Mike Thomas 10 (7.1765″)
5. Bud Williams 10 (7.566″)
6. Jack Peterson 10 (7.609″)
7. Monte Foust 12 (8.690″)
8. Don Nielson 12 (8.787″)
9. Richard Schatz 12 (9.165″)
10. Ray Huffman 12 (9.294″)
11-Pound Sporter Class
1. Lonnie Anderson 6
2. Scott Nix 7
3. Kevin Watson 9
4. Cody Finch 10
5. Terry Hettich 13
6. Richard Schatz 13
7. Dirk Bluhm 15
8. Jack Peterson 17
9. Gary Christian 17
10. Bruce Bangeman 17
Leo Anderson Equipment:
Light Gun: 6mm Dasher, Stiller Viper drop port, Lawrence rifle barrel, Nightforce scope, Shehane stock, metal smithing by King Machine.
Heavy Gun: 6mm Dasher, Stiller Viper drop port, Lawrence rifle barrel, Nightforce scope, Bangeman stock, metal smithing by King Machine.
Dennis Peterson Equipment:
Light Gun + Heavy Gun (Dennis shoots one 17-pounder in both): 6mm Dasher, Defiance action, Lawrence rifle barrel, Nightforce scope, Shehane stock, smithing by Jeff Lawrence.
Match Sponsors Included: Bartlein Barrels, BAT Machine, Berger Bullets, Brownells, Burris, D&B Supply, Defiance, Dewey Mfg., Forster Products, Hodgdon Powder, Ron Hoehn, Lee Precision, Leica, Krieger Barrels, Lilja Barrels, Don Nielson, Nikon, Pacific Tool & Gauge, Pro-Shot, Sierra Bullets, Sure-Fire, Swarovski, Vortex Optics and Zeiss.
This fall, November 4-6, 2011, a new two-man tactical challenge match will be held at the Blue Steel Ranch in Logan, NM (site of the popular Steel Safari match). Sponsored by Competition Dynamics and Thunder Beast Arms, the 2011 Thunder Beast Team Challenge (TBTC) is a 3-day, 8-stage test of practical field rifle shooting and related skills. This will be a physically-demanding match! Two-man teams must navigate rugged desert terrain, recognize, locate, range, and engage multiple rifle targets from challenging shooting positions, and complete the 8-stage course under daily time constraints. Most targets will be steel plates, set at distances from 100 to 800 yards.
Skills used at the TBTC will include target recognition, range estimation, wind doping, trail skills, and marksmanship. The competition is designed to test a 2-man team’s skills shooting rifle and carbine to their effective ranges at practical targets in the natural terrain using what gear they can carry. One team member will use a precision bolt gun and while the other carries a tactical-style carbine. Targets for the carbine range from 20 to 400 yards, with some “move and shoot” assault-style stages. Bolt-gun targets are generally positioned at 150-800 yards
The TBTC is being run by Competition Dynamics, whose staff has a proven 10-year track record as practical field match organizers. Zak Smith is Match Director. The TBTC will be held at the Blue Steel Ranch, a private ranch near Logan, New Mexico. The Blue Steel Ranch, which also hosts the Steel Safari, offers some of the best geography for field shooting available anywhere.
The Thunder Beast Team Challenge costs $585.00 per team. To register, or to learn more about the match, visit the 2011 Team Challenge webpage. Or, email thunderbeastarms [at] gmail.com.
Many of the nation’s top shooters were honored Tuesday evening during the NRA Long Range Championship Awards Ceremony. Standing tall on the podium was David Tubb, 2011 Long-Range National Champion. This is the seventh time Tubb has won the Long-Range title. Last year’s Long-Range Champion, John Whidden, finished second. Notably, Rodrigo Rosa finished third — a superb performance by a relative newcomer to the competition. In addition to the Mumma trophy for the LR Championship, numerous other awards were given for the many separate long range trophy matches conducted over the past week. Among the award-winners were Rodrigo Rosa, John Whidden, Nancy Tompkins-Gallagher, Noma Mayo, and SGT Sherri Gallagher, 2010 High Power National Champion.
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:
David Tubb, 11-time National High Power Champion, won the prestigious Wimbleton Match at Camp Perry earlier this week, and David currently leads the field of competitors for the 2011 Long-Range Championship. John Whidden is close behind, but Tubb has been at the top of his game this year. Tubb credits much of his success to his wind-reading: “Honestly, my wind reading is the best it’s ever been and my prone skills are coming around.” If you want to learn more about David’s wind-reading methods and strategies, watch the video interview below, filmed at the 2010 SHOT show.
David Tubb on Reading the Wind
Tubb Wins Wimbleton Cup Match
David Tubb, shown below, earned his second Wimbledon Cup title after drilling ten shots inside the ten ring for a final shootoff score of 100 points with five Xs. The Wimbledon Cup is one of the oldest of all NRA trophies. First presented to the American rifle team attending the British matches at Wimbledon in 1875, the Cup now is awarded to the top shooter in a two-part, 1000-yard event. The highest scoring competitors from each initial relay are chosen to shoot in a second “shoot-off relay”. Shoot-off competitors fire three sighting shots and 10 record shots. In case of a numerical tie for winner, the winner is determined by a shot-by-shot elimination shoot-off without regard for Xs.
David Tubb looks downrange after scoring 100-5X in the shoot-off to win the Wimbleton Cup Title. The scoring board in the foreground replicates David’s shots on target. The yellow dots are for three sighters, while the red markers show David’s 10 shots for record.
Iain Harrison of “Top Shot” fame won the inaugural National Defense Match at Camp Perry this weekend. This is a new practical/tactical match designed to mimic real-world training and tactics. Marking a departure from the usual Camp Perry matches, scores are based on both time and accuracy as shooters engage targets positioned at 7, 15, 30, 60, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 yards. The 5-zone NDM5-120 target is used out to 30 yards, while the NRA D-1 Tomestone target is used at 60 yards and beyond. The event is open to AR15s, FN SCARs and other modern defensive rifles with either iron sights or optics. There are three classes: Tactical Limited, Tactical Optic, and Open. The first two classes are limited to 20″ barrels with 4.5-lb or greater triggers. Open guns may have longer barrels, lighter triggers, bipods, and multiple sighting systems. CLICK HERE for Nat’l Defense Match Guidebook.
Harrison, who now works as marketing manager for Crimson Trace, showed the skills that made him the Season 1 “Top Shot” Champion. In a neck and neck race with Team FNH’s Tommy Thacker, the two shot almost identical times during the first half of the match, until Thacker made a procedural error. That gave Harrison the edge he needed to win. Also joining Harrison for the event was fellow Top Shot finalist and Ohio native Chris Cerino.
Match Director and ex-Navy SEAL Trey Tuggle masterminded the event and brought in Swiss-manufactured electronic targets from Shot Response. Although new technology played an important role in the national match, the course of fire is designed to be adaptable to the club level. “We wanted to remove barriers to people enjoying competitive shooting and get more folks involved in the sport,” said Tuggle. “This match is designed to be challenging, but not so overwhelming that the average guy with an off the shelf semi-auto rifle can’t come out and play. We hope that clubs across the country will adopt the new format as a way of getting new shooters involved in competitions.”
The NRA National Long Range Championship commenced Saturday, August 13 with the Band of Brothers Trophy Match followed by the Mustin Trophy Match. All Long Range matches are shot from the prone position from ranges between 800 and 1,000 yards. The Band of Brothers Match course of fire was twenty shots at 1,000 yards. Saturday’s second event, the Mustin Match, was also shot slow fire in the prone position from 1,000 yards. Mustin competitors have more time than during the High Power Championships, being allotted 30 minutes to get off their 20 shots for record on the Long Range targets.
Whidden Leads LR Championship, Not Dropping a Point So Far
Last year John Whidden won the Mustin Match with a 198-11X and a shoot off score of 100-8X. Whidden won again this year, shooting 200-9X to edge David Tubb by two Xs. With his Mustin win, and his second-place showing in this year’s Band of Brothers Match, Whidden is leading the 2011 Long Range Championship so far, not dropping a point in either event. Listed below are initial results:
Band of Brothers Trophy Match
1. Lance Dement, 200-14X
2. John Whidden, 200-14X
3. Tyrel Cooper, 200-13X
4. Phillip Crowe, 200-12X
5. Justin Skaret, 200-12X
Mustin Trophy Match
1. John Whidden, 200-9X
2. David Tubb, 200-7X
3. Norman Houle, 199-12X
4. Rodrigo Rosa, 199-11X
5. Sherri Gallagher, 199-11X
Dennis DeMille, Gen. Manager of 
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