August 27th, 2012

Gullo wins 2012 Creedmoor Championship and ‘Iron Man’ Title

Story based on report by Kyle Jillson in NRAblog.
In 1874, the first Creedmoor match was shot at the Creedmoor range on Long Island, New York. Competitors lined up at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards in a match between the United States’ best shooters and a team from Ireland. The NRA has preserved that match throughout the years and the exact course of fire is shot today in the Creedmoor Championship, held most recently at Raton, New Mexico.

Raton Creedmoor Championship

After a two days of tough shooting conditions at the NRA Whittington Center, Dave Gullo received his fifth Castle Trophy after winning the Creedmoor Championship (for black powder cartridge rifles) with a score of 533-10X out of a possible 600. Gullo finished the first day of the championship in second, trailing Rick Moritz by just one point. But Gullo passed Moritz at the 800-yard relay. From that point on, Gullo didn’t look back.

Gullo’s spotting partner John Venhous finished second overall a 519-4X. For his role in Gullo’s Creedmoor victory, Venhouse also was recognized with the High Spotter award. Last year’s Creedmoor champion, Keith “Doc” Lay, finished third after a hard-fought defense of his title, shooting a 510-5X.

Raton Creedmoor Championship

Gullo also took the Iron Man title this year. The Iron Man Medal is awarded to the competitor with the highest overall score in all the NRA Black Powder Target Rifle matches: Position, Prone, and Creedmoor. Gullo, posting a 526-3X in Positon, 574-17X in Prone and his 533-10X in Creedmoor became the 2012 Iron Man with a total of 1633-30X, which was 15 points ahead of runner-up Doc Lay. An Iron Woman award is also given to the highest female shooter across all matches and this year’s winner was Kelly McNitt, who shot a 1438-11x.

Creedmoor Championship

1. Dave Gullo: 533-10x
2. John Venhous: 519-4x
3. Keith Lay: 510-5x
4. Bryan Youngberg: 498-5x
5. Rick Moritz: 491-11x

Iron Man Competition

1. Dave Gullo: 1633-30x
2. Keith Lay : 1618-21x
3. Rick Moritz: 1609-35x
4. John Venhous: 1563-26x
5. Jack Odor: 1554-24x