The 2026 Southwest Nationals (SWN) have concluded. Held at the impressive Ben Avery range in Arizona, the 2026 SWN was a very successful event with good conditions (for the most part) and impressive scores by shooters in all three divisions: Sling, F-Open, and F-TR. We congratulate the new SWN Grand Agg Champions: Bobby Gill (Sling), Ryan Mitchell (F-Open), and Brad Sauve (F-TR). This was familiar territory for Sauve who has won the SWN F-TR title before.
The SWN has both individual and team competition in all three classes. The winning team in the Sling Division was Team USAMU 2564-124X (Capt.: Jarrod McGaffic / Coach: Verne Conant). The top F-Open team was LOS CHINGONES 2590-153X (Capt.: Dennis Ray / Coach: Brian Bowling). The F-TR team competition was dominated by Team USA F-TR VORTEX 2575-123X (Capt.: Ian Klemm / Coach: Keith Trapp).
The 2026 SWN had very high participation in all classes. Observers said that 2026 may have rivaled the highest total turn-out in many years. Weather-wise, we’re told that conditions were “very manageable” for most of the week until the final day of individual competition. Wind angles and velocities became quite hard to diagnose on that last day. As a result many top shooters dropped multiple points in the last individual relay and this created major shake-ups in the leaderboard, with some very skilled shooters dropping out of the Top 20 after an otherwise impressive week.
A special congrats to our friend Gary Eliseo who actually ended up with the highest Sling Division overall score, 1240-64X. But because he used a scope throughout the match he could not win the Sling Grand Aggregate.* Gary Eliseo reported: “I had a great time at SWN 2026. It was a privilege to catch up with so many friends from around the country, managed to shoot a PB too! My UMRS/6.5 El-Mo did everything it could to make me look good.”
SLING TEAM Top 3
Team 44 USAMU HM 2564-124X
Team 49 USNMT VFB MRNAK HM 2564-115X
Team 46 USNRT GILL HM 2562-122X
F-OPEN Grand Aggregate Top 10
1. Ryan Mitchell, 1245-83X, Match Winner
2. Joe Traylor, 1245-74X
3. Tim Vaught, 1245-69X
4. Jason Simes, 1243-73X
5. Gwen Basalla, 1243-66X
6. Brad Johnson, 1242-78X
7. Pat Scully, 1242-74X
8. Erik Cortina, 1242-71X
9. Emil Kovan, 1242-64X
10. Brian Bowling 1241-78X
F-TR TEAM Top 3
Team 23 USA F-TR VORTEX HM 2575-123X
Team 21 USA F-TR BERGER HM 2568-118X
Team 13 CREEDMOOR SPORTS GOLD MA 2556-111X
Report from F-Open Competitor John Masek (F-Class John)
This year’s Southwest Nationals appeared to have the highest attendance I’ve ever seen. The Mid-Range match on Wednesday isn’t usually all that full but this year every firing position was used which is something I’ve never seen before in Mid-Range. Long range was also sold out which I believe is around 365 shooters with the majority being in the F-Open category. I don’t know the exact count, but there were nearly three full pages of F-Open shooters listed — that means there could’ve been close to 200 F-Open shooters. Overall there was beautiful weather with mostly gorgeous conditions during the week, and it was great seeing everyone from across the country and even the world.
Conditions were manageable for a lot of the shooters throughout the week with some of the highest scores I’ve ever seen — 16 F-Open shooters all shot a perfect 450 points on the Palma day Friday. Saturday got just a little trickier, but still many of the top shooters were managing to only have dropped a couple points over the two days. Sunday started with mild conditions again, but the final relay on Sunday afternoon completely shook the leaderboard up. While there were certainly top shooters who were able to hold their positions… but just as many dropped quite a few places down. It was one of the trickiest conditions I’ve ever seen that didn’t involve giant winds.
* Scopes help older sling rifle shooters whose eyes are starting to wear out. But, Gary Eliseo explains: “In this event, the match director dictates that a Palma rifle be used on the first day, and if you want to shoot an ‘any rifle’ on Day Two it also must have iron sights with the third day being ‘any sights’ so ‘F-sling’ is a category where ‘any sights’ are allowed to be used on all three days but that makes us ineligible to win the Grand Aggregate.”
The 2024 Southwest Nationals (SWN) concluded Sunday, February 18, 2024. It was a great event this year, with very close competition and some spectacular scores being shot in all divisions. We congratulate the new SWN Long Range Champions: Jay Christopherson (F-Open), Brad Sauve (F-TR), and Philip Crowe (Sling). We also congratulate the talented 600-Yard Champs: Tod Hendricks (F-Open), Tom Hubbard (F-TR), and Jarrod McGaffic (Sling).
This is Jay’s second SWN Long Range Championship — the talented F-Open shooter also won in 2020 (SEE Jay 2020 Report). Jay was on a roll through the competition, not dropping a point until the last day and finishing with 1248-79X, just two points from a 1250 “clean”. F-Open runner-up Tim Vaught finished just one point back at 1247-83X, and Tim had the highest X-count among all F-Open LR competitors.
Tod Hendricks, a team-mate of Jay C. on Team Lapua-Brux-Borden, won the F-Open 600-yard competition with 600-52X. Notably, the Top Ten F-Open Shooters at 600 all finished “clean” with 600 points, so the rankings were decided on X-Count.
Senior F-TR ace Brad Sauve (1245-71X) also shot a brilliant Long Range match, finishing a full five points ahead of second place Tom Hubbard (1240-67X). Sauve also notched the highest X-Count among all F-TR shooters. Very impressive performance by Brad this year. And we should note that Tom Hubbard won the F-TR 600-yard competition held earlier in the week, nailing an excellent 599-38X.
F-Open Champion Commentary
We had a chance to talk with 2024 SWB F-Open Champion Jay Christopherson. Jay stated that, for most of the match, conditions were very good. But Jay also noted that the general level of accuracy for F-Open improves with each season.
Observations by F-Open Winner Jay Christopherson — Wind Wisdom and More…
1. The wind was pretty mild all week. I personally never held more than 4 lines of wind (mostly on the left), with zero wind dialed on my scope.
2. A solid wind zero was absolutely key. I saw and heard plenty of people talking about conditions that just didn’t exist. In most cases, my guess would have been a bad wind zero, which would have had you chasing your tail or thinking that the mirage or flags were lying.
3. I’ve never seen so many cleans (i.e. no dropped points, all ten scores) at long range in my life. In my opinion, E-Targets are the catalyst for this. The data and instant feedback you get help set the bar extremely high. It’s much easier to really understand what a good load looks like using an E-Target.
4. I had a plan for the wind coming in to each relay (usually developed during prep time). Most of the time, my plan worked out pretty well, but being ready to stop and execute a backup plan is a really useful skill to develop. It worked out for me on the last relay.
5. Even though I won the F-Open class, I still learned a few things watching the shooters around me — there’s always something nifty to learn if you are paying attention.
Great Performance by 2024 F-TR Champion Brad Sauve
Brad Sauve shot superbly to secure the overall F-TR Aggregate win at the 2024 SWN. Brad dropped only one point during the Palma match, was clean during the first day of the LR Aggregate, and finished with a 1245-71X, setting at least three new National Records in the process (one a 200-18X at 1000 yards). We commend Brad on his remarkable 2024 performance.
F-Open LR Top Ten
Jay Christopherson 1248-79X
Tim Vaught 1247-83X
William Kolodziej 1247-74X
Johnny Ingram 1246-82X
Norman Harrold 1246-69X
David Christian 1245-74X
Peter Johns 1245-73X
Erik Cortina 1244-76X
Brandon Zwahr 1244-73X
Jim Murphy 1241-71X
F-TR LR Top Ten
Brad Sauve 1245-71X
Tom Hubbard 1240-67X
Alan Barnhart 1237-55X
Brad Traynor 1234-47X
Eric Bisson 1233-58X
Joaquin Bolsa 1231-56X
Carl Matthews 1231-52X
Robin Retzloff 1231-52X
Robert Garibay 1231-39X
Michael Walters 1230-41X
SLING LR Top Ten
Phillip Crowe, 1243-60X
Justin Skaret, 1242-74X
Verne Conant 1241-59X
Nate Guernsey 1240-66X
Trudie Fay 1240-61X
Jarrod McGaffic 1239-62X
Oliver Milanovic 1237-75X
Justin Utley 1237-59X
Nicole Rossignol 1236-66X
Benjamin Lucchesi 1236-62X
F-OPEN 600 Top Ten
Tod Hendricks 600-52X
Johnny Ingram 600-46X
Erick Cortina 600-42X
Ted Wedell 600-42X
Barry Holcomb 600-42X
Jim Murphy 600-41X
Dan Di Leva 600-40X
Roger Mayhall 600-40X
Lou Murdica 600-38X
David Christian 600-36X
F-TR 600 Top Ten
Tom Hubbard 599-38X
David Park 599-28X
Mike Sowa 598-39X
Brad Sauve 598-34X
John Moreali 598-26X
Chrstopher Faloon 597-41X
Oleg Savelyev 597-36X
Jeremy Newell 596-36X
Eric Bisson 596-36X
Brad Traynor 596-35X
SLING 600 Top Ten
Jarrod McGaffic 600-42X
Trudie Fay 600-39X
Nicole Rossignol 600-35X
Tom Whitaker 600-28X
Oliver Milanovic 599-45X
Adam Fitzpatrick 599-43X
Zevin Linse 599-39X
Benjamin Lucchesi 599-38X
Kimberly Rowe 599-37X
Justin Utley 598-37X
2024 SWN F-Open, F-TR, Sling TEAM Matches Top Five
F-OPEN Team Match
Team Vihtavuori 2589-156X
Bayou Boys 2580-155X
Team Grizzly 2577-128X
Team Lapua-Brux-Borden 2576-162X
Team Canada Red 2571-131X
F-TR Team Match
USA F-TR KWS 2561-112X
Team Texas 2558-100X
Canadian Gun Runners 2554-126X
USA F-TR Blue 2554-112X
USA F-TR Red 2550-118X
Sling Team Match
U.S. Palma MRNAK 2580-150
Brits Abroad 2573-112X
U.S. Palma Gross 2567-128X
Canada Red 2563-127X
USAMU 2554-146X
SEB MINI Rest — Good for Gold (Twice), Silver, and Bronze
You don’t necessarily need the newest or most expensive equipment to succeed in Long Range competition. Jay Christopherson won the F-Open division using an older MINI STANDARD rest with a standard front bag. See the unit at right. Jay says it works great, and is easier to transport that some of the very large heavy, benchrest-style front rests. Jay has now won the SWN match twice with this rest, finished second in 2017, and third in 2018.
Jay sent a message to Sebastian Lambang, creator of the SEB MINI: “Hi Seb, I thought you might like to see a picture of the rest that took Silver in 2017, Bronze in 2018, Gold in 2020, and Gold again in 2024. A little older, a little more wear and a lot more mileage, but still winning when it counts. Thank you for such an amazingly reliable rest. I always enjoy the fact that the original MINI still gets it done. Winning the 2024 SWN still using the original one-piece bag generated a bit of a conversation on the line. I think my rifle rest setup was the easiest one to inspect by far for Matt [Schwartzkopf] and his team.
Modern F-TR rifle looking down-range at Ben Avery Shooting Facility.
Top competitors show focus and concentration in mid-range match 2022.
Stunning F-Open rifle with SEB Mini front rest with Blake Machine accessories.
Working in the pits is part of the Berger SWN experience.
Hundreds of Competitors from the USA and Many Other Countries
Along with top American F-Class and sling shooters, the Southwest Nationals attracts competitors from around the world.
Photo by Nancy Tompkins near Ben Avery Shooting Facility in 2022. Nancy posted: “Thank you to all of the sponsors, volunteers, and shooters who have traveled from all over… to make this match so special.”
See you next year!
This article Copyright 2024 AccurateShooter.com. Any republication on a different website is unauthorized.
Adding to its undefeated resume, Team Sinclair Int’l racked up an unprecedented fifth Team F-TR National Championship at Raton, New Mexico, last week. The team, consisting of firing members, Paul Phillips, Brad Sauve, Jeff Rorer, Derek Rodgers (Captain) and wind coach, Ray Gross, prevailed over 12 other teams representing the best F-TR shooters from the USA, South Africa, Australia, and Canada.
Boasting the highest attendance of any F-Class Nationals, the 2012 competition was made up of dual 1,000-yard matches, with 800 possible points per match. Team Sinclair scored 1561-48X to win the F-TR championship, finishing ahead of second-place North State X-Men (1542-39X) and third-place Team Savage (1541-47X). Team Sinclair’s Day 1 score of 790-31X topped all other F-TR teams and set a new (pending) U.S. F-TR National record for 1,000-yard F-Class competition.
“We’re grateful for Sinclair International’s support,” said the team in a joint statement. “All of us use Sinclair’s precision shooting components and reloading supplies when preparing for these events. We need products of the highest quality and consistency for us to succeed. We’ve never been defeated, and that’s a testament to Sinclair International.”
Sinclair’s F-TR Team has been competing since 2007. The newest member, Jeff Rorer, joined the team in 2009. Team Sinclair Int’l remains undefeated in F-TR National Championships. Here’s an interesting factoid about the Team Sinclair shooters. One or more members of the current Sinclair squad have been on the winning F-TR team at every U.S. F-Class National Championships since they were first held in 2004, except for 2010 when Sinclair did not field a team. Brad Sauve has been on the winning F-TR team every year except 2010: Great Lakes Express (2004, 2005 winning team); Team Green (2006 winner); Team Sinclair (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 winner). Ray Gross and Paul Phillips were also on most of those winning squads.
The 2026 Southwest Nationals (SWN) have concluded. Held at the impressive Ben Avery range in Arizona, the 2026 SWN was a very successful event with good conditions (for the most part) and impressive scores by shooters in all three divisions: Sling, F-Open, and F-TR. We congratulate the new SWN Grand Agg Champions: Bobby Gill (Sling), Ryan Mitchell (F-Open), and Brad Sauve (F-TR). This was familiar territory for Sauve who has won the SWN F-TR title before.
This is Jay’s second SWN Long Range Championship — the talented F-Open shooter also won in 2020 (
You don’t necessarily need the newest or most expensive equipment to succeed in Long Range competition. Jay Christopherson won the F-Open division using an older MINI STANDARD rest with a standard front bag. See the unit at right. Jay says it works great, and is easier to transport that some of the very large heavy, benchrest-style front rests. Jay has now won the SWN match twice with this rest, finished second in 2017, and third in 2018.
