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August 2nd, 2014
by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
There are five days in the NRA’s National Long Range High Power Rifle Championship. Five days of firing round after round at 6’ by 6’ targets up to 1,000 yards away. Five days of Camp Perry’s wind bouncing off Lake Erie while the sun fights to break through the occasional cloud.
This report was filed on Friday, August 1, 2014. CLICK HERE for the latest results.
Two sets of relays have already taken their respective Shooter Shuttles out to the pits, home of those 6’ by 6’ targets. There competitors take their turn at lifting and lowering the behemoth squares with every shot. Once fired upon, the target is lowered, scored, and raised back into place.
[As of Friday morning], only one round of relays is in the score books. Already, this is shaping up as a tightly-fought match. Only one point (and X-count) separates the top five shooters. Philip Crowe is currently in first with 798-47X. Just one X back, at 798-46X, is past champion Nancy Tompkins. A point behind Nancy are USAMU Shooter SSG Brandon Green, the legendary David Tubb, and Waylon Burbach. Nancy’s daughter Michelle Gallagher is in sixth. The other “Gallagher Girl”, SSG Sherri Jo Gallagher (below) is also competing this year.
CLICK HERE for Latest 2014 Long Range National Championship Results.
Photos courtesy NRABlog.com.
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July 11th, 2011
USA v Scotland F-TR at Blair Atholl
Match Report by Laurie Holland
After their success in Ireland (Bulletin June 27th) a third of the American shooters, Tony Robertson in F Class and a complete F-TR team captained by Darrell Buell, travelled to Scotland to shoot over Perthshire’s famous Jubilee Range above Blair Atholl. As well as competing in six individual 900 and 1,000-yard matches in the Scottish Long-Range Meeting, the USA challenged Scotland to a 900-, 1,000-, and 1,100-yard yd F-TR team competition, to be held on the American Independence Day, July 4th.
After practice on Friday, July 1st, US competitors did well in the six individual matches over the weekend taking four out of the top six places overall with Stan Pate and Michelle Gallagher leading the way. However, Scottish home team captain Paul Crosbie took all three 900-yard matches and one 1,000-yard yard match. Winners of the other two 1000-yard events were Michelle Gallagher, and Scotland’s Laurie Holland, shooting his .223 Rem (That’s right — Laurie beat all the .308s with a .223). The weekend’s overall F-TR winner was Paul Crosbie on 405.23v (ex 450.90v) narrowly leading Stan Pate and Michelle Gallagher. After tying on Saturday, Scottish Shooter Les Bacon slowly pulled ahead of Tony Robertson in F Class and took this section by five points on an aggregate of 420.25v.
Scottish team captain Paul Crosbie and coach Tim Kidner pause during a wind change.
Independence Day Challenge — Team Scotland Beats Team USA
The 4th of July started cooler and cloudy with a near calm disturbed by intermittent light fish-tailing breezes from behind. The 900-yard scores benefitted from this, the six strong teams averaging 70 or more points per shooter out of the possible 75. After the 900-yard stages, Team USA was ahead with 427-24V against Scotland’s 420-20V.
By the time the teams relocated to 1,000 yards, the overcast had gone, sunshine alternated with moving shadows from big white puffy clouds to produce heat-induced, variable winds and intermittent mirage. Scores tumbled and there were many gaps between shots as the wind coaches stayed their hand waiting for a previous condition to return or trying to read a new one. Different wind doping approaches were apparent with Scotland’s Tom Kidner and Hamish Hunter relying mostly on the wind flags and plots while Nancy and Michelle spent considerable amounts of time glued to a pair of massive spotting scopes trying to read the mirage.
Nancy calls 1K wind for daughter Michelle Gallagher. USA captain Darrel Buell is just behind them.
At 1000 yards, the Scots produced 357-8V against the visitors’ 346-8V, putting them into a four-point lead overall. Remarkably, however, the youngest American shooter, Sierra Scott nailed the best individual 1,000-yard score, a 65-2V. With everything hanging on the 1,100-yard stage, conditions were as for 1,000 yards only more so — warmer, still more variable winds and intermittent aiming difficulties from a boiling mirage downrange. The Scottish coaches’ experience really paid off now, their shooters scoring 295-2V, 23 points ahead of the visitors. Three out of the top four individual results (with scores of 50 or better) were by Scots, and top scorer Paul Crosbie posted a 59 shooting the big 210gr Bergers. Michelle Gallagher (shooting Berger 155.5s) nailed an excellent 57 to edge Scotland’s Peter Burbridge (55 points shooting 208gr Hornady A-Max). Laurie Holland posted an impressive. His .223 Rem ‘mouse gun’ was obviously still in the groove at 1,114 yards!
So, the home team kept its honor and Blair Atholl’s reputation intact. While disappointed, the visitors knew they had done really well given their inexperience with the quirks of this most difficult of venues. Everybody had a great time, some old friendships were renewed, new ones made. This was F-TR at its most enjoyable with four days shooting that no participant will ever forget. There was even an informal 1,233-yard competition on the Saturday afternoon won by US team captain Darrell Buell.
CLICK HERE for Full Match Results (PDF file) | CLICK HERE for Match PHOTO GALLERY (139 pix).
| USA v Scotland F/TR 4th July Results |
| Team |
900 Yards |
1000 Yards |
1000 yards |
Total |
| USA |
427.24v |
346.8v |
277.2v |
1,050.34v |
| Scotland |
420.20v |
357.8v |
295.2v |
1,072.30v |
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October 26th, 2010
 By Brian Lepley, Michael Molinaro, Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown
Sgt. Sherri Gallagher of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, a soldier with 21 national rifle shooting records, added one more trophy: the U.S. Army’s Soldier of the Year award. This award is given to the top Soldier at the Army’s Annual Best Warrior competition. At the U.S. Army Assn. Annual meeting on Oct. 25th, Sgt. Gallagher was named Soldier of the Year by Kenneth Preston, Sergeant Major of the Army, and Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, Army Vice Chief of Staff. Sgt. Gallagher was selected for SOY honors over 11 other Best Warrior competitors from the Army’s major commands.
Sgt. Sherri Gallagher’s young life has been one of high achievement. Gallagher, one of the nation’s top long-range rifle shooters, won the National High Power Rifle Championship this summer. Now the 26-year old rifle shooter/instructor for the Army Marksmanship Unit is the first female ever to win the Army’s Best Warrior competition.
“This is such an honor — I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Gallagher said moments after the announcement here Monday. “Any one of us could have won the competition. I learned so much from everybody out here and loved every minute of this experience.” The Best Warrior event, held Oct. 18-22 at Fort Lee, Virginia, is a multi-faceted test of soldiery. This year’s competition included hand-to-hand combat, urban orienteering, detainee operations, casualty evaluation, weapons familiarization and night firing. “The reason I was successful is the training my sponsor, Sgt. 1st Class David Steinbach, developed for me,” said Gallagher. “He pushed me so hard that I was ready for everything during the competition. I wish that I could share this with him because it truly was a team effort.”
 CaptionWASHINGTON -- Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, stands with Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army Vice Chief of Staff, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston Monday after being named the 2010 Army Soldier of the Year by Preston during the Association of the United States Army annual meeting. Gallagher and 23 other Soldiers and noncommissioned officers competed in the 2010 Best Warrior Competition at Ft. Lee Oct. 18-22.
(Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO) Sgt. Gallagher’s preparation was tested at every level during the week at Fort Lee. Following a board led by SMA Preston Oct. 18, competitors were tested on their knowledge in a written exam and essay. Three days of field exercises Oct. 20-22 came next. The candidates conducted urban orienteering Wednesday and each led a squad through simulated battle operations that included engaging insurgents, tending wounded soldiers on the battlefield, and a stress shoot while moving under ‘enemy’ fire.
One event Gallagher was expected to ace, of course, was M4 rifle qualification. “It was faster-paced, quick, reactive shooting, but all shooting’s the same,” she said, “Keep your sights aligned and you’re good. I’m always more comfortable with a gun in my hand.”
 In between preparing for her boards and Soldier competitions, Gallagher became the first U.S. military shooter since 1987 to win the Nat’l High Power Rifle Championship. She was only the second woman ever to win — the first being her mother, Nancy Tompkins.
Sgt. Gallagher’s family is legendary in U.S. shooting competition. Gallagher fired her first weapon at 5 years old. She spent her childhood summers touring shooting competitions with her parents, both competitive shooters, and now participates in the World Championships every four years. “My goal is to make the Olympic team,” Gallagher said, although long-range shooting is not yet an Olympic sport.
“My family is always there for me — we are really close,” Gallagher said. “Being named Best Warrior was that much more special since my mom was there sitting next to me today. I am who I am today because of my family. We have so much fun and live life that way.”
Sgt. Gallagher also gave credit to her fellow soldiers: “My Army family is awesome. My teammates on the service rifle team have always had my back. The entire unit went out of its way to support me in any way they could. Even the leadership at Accessions Support Brigade and Accessions Command would call me and offer help.”
This week begins a year of Gallagher representing the Army as its best enlisted Soldier. Next week, however, it’s back to training — Gallagher heads to Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA, before attending Warrior Leaders Course soon after that.
“How great is the Army?” Gallagher asked. “I just got to spend a week with some of the most talented people this Army has to offer, and in a few weeks I get to jump out of an airplane. Nothing is better than being a Soldier.”
Related Story from Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier (Interview with Sherri and family members.)
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September 20th, 2010
 by Michael Molinaro, USAMU
Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher set high goals for 2010. To say she met them is an understatement. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Soldier recently won the National High Power Rifle Championship, is on the brink of competing to be the Army Soldier of the Year, and relishes every moment serving her country.
“I wanted to be in the military since I was very young — I was drawn to the challenge and excitement of it,” said Gallagher. “I wanted to learn how to be a leader and make a difference in life. Then I had the opportunity to join the USAMU and turn my favorite hobby into my daily life. Nothing could be more fun than that.”
Gallagher became the first service member since 1987 to win the high-power competition at the National Championships held annually at Camp Perry, Ohio. She set a new national record in the match with a 2396-161x, dropping only four shots during the entire competition. She shot 21 more “X”s than anyone else in the field, which included legends of the sport and past champions. She also became the second woman ever to win the championship — her mother, Nancy Tompkins, being the first.
“Mom won in 1998,” Gallagher said. “We were both competing that year so I didn’t get to watch her that much — but she wasn’t shooting high-power this year so she was able to watch me shoot. She brought me coffee every day. It was very nice.”
Gallagher grew up around the sport of shooting. Her stepfather managed a U.S. national rifle team, her mother is a living legend in the sport, and her sister is a three-time national high-power long-range rifle champion and finished third overall in the long-range event this year. “I started shooting when I was five,” Gallagher said. “My step-dad had us pulling targets by about seven and the best way to get out of the pits is if we volunteered to shoot. So it was good motivation.”
Gallagher currently holds 21 National records in rifle. In 2009, she won the National High Power Long Range Rifle Championship for the first time and credits her success on the firing line to some very simple advice she received at a young age.
“The biggest thing we learned growing up was to have fun and if you’re not having fun something is wrong,” she continued. “There is no point getting worked up over what you do because all you can do is your best.”
Gallagher took that advice to heart in training for the nationals this year because besides winning the coveted title at Camp Perry, she was named TRADOC Soldier of the Year just a few weeks prior. A process that started at the unit level back in the spring now has her set to go head-to-head against the best the Army has to offer at the 2010 Best Warrior Competition with the title of Army Soldier of the Year on the line.
“It’s been an awesome experience,” said Gallagher, who was promoted to the rank of Sergeant since competing at TRADOC (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command). One of the reasons soldiers in her unit believe Gallagher is thriving is the approach she takes to every task she is given: “She has a ‘can do’ attitude about everything she does”, said SFC Kyle Ward, NCO-in-charge for the service rifle team. Gallagher hasn’t lost focus on the mission at hand for the USAMU: “The most important thing is training Soldiers, assisting with research and development, and helping the war fighter,” she said. “My goal for next year is to learn how to be a better instructor. I like to use everything I learn through competition to help train others. I get to use a skill I grew up using and help people with their marksmanship.”
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August 16th, 2010
 Following SGT Sherri Gallagher’s record-setting victory in the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship, many readers have asked what caliber (chambering) Sherri was shooting. Well, Sherri was shooting a .260 Remington at all yardages, as confirmed by SFC Emil Praslick, USAMU rifle coach. Runner-up Carl Bernosky was shooting a 6mm Hagar in an AR-platform rifle.
To capture her first High Power Championship, with a record 2396-161X score, Sheri used a Tubb 2000 bolt gun chambered in .260 Rem. According to Praslick: “[the rifle has] the same barrel as last year. I believe it has close to 2000 rounds on it.” To our surprise, Sherri’s ammo was loaded in relatively inexpensive Remington brass. Praslick explained: “We use Remington brass, Federal 210Ms, and Varget powder. For the 300/600 yard lines we use the Sierra 142gr bullet. Her 300RF load is around 2650 fps, the 600SF load approximately 2750 fps. At the 200 [yard line], we use a reduced recoil load using the Sierra 107gr MK.”
 Accuracy Trumps Raw Velocity
Praslick noted that Sherri’s load, while not particularly fast, is ultra-accurate: “All these loads rely much more on accuracy than they do velocity. SGT Gallagher’s rifle has been tested repeatedly at 600 yards. It will easily shoot 3″ to 4″ groups all day long. This is evident by her X-count.” Praslick added: “I am a big believer in the .260 for High Power shooting. [It offers] easy load development, ballistic advantage, and long barrel life.”
.260 Rem Resources
To learn more about the .260 Rem, read Zak Smith’s article: 6.5mm Shootout: .260 Remington vs. 6.5×47 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor. Zak compares three popular 6.5mm cartridges, weighing the pros and cons of each. Zak himself shoots the Rem .260 loaded with 139gr Lapua Scenar bullets and Alliant Reloder 17.
Another great load for this cartridge is the 123gr Lapua Scenar pushed by Hodgdon H4350. That was the best overall performing load in this Editor’s .260 Rem. I was able to run the 123s at 2950 fps with great accuracy and extremely low ES and SD. Compare the 600-yard ballistics of the Scenar 123s at 2950 fps with Sherri’s 142gr SMKs launched at 2750 fps. You may be surprised. The 123s have less drop, and the 10 mph wind drift (at 600 yards) is very close: 23.9″ for the 123s vs. 22.8″ for the 142s. (Calculations done with JBM Online Ballistics Calculator using Lapua and Litz field-measured BCs, 59°, 500′ elevation.)
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August 12th, 2010
 Sherri Gallagher, the 2009 NRA National Long-Range Champion, could add a High Power Championship to her list of victories, if she stays on pace. Only one woman has ever won the National High Power Championship — Sherri’s mother, Nancy Tompkins. All of Sherri’s fans nationwide all pulling for her to be the second-ever female High Power Champ. But the competition will be tough.
Sherri Gallagher is beginning to pull away in the X-Count, but she could still be overtaken by any of the shooters close behind her in the standings. Carl Bernosky, a multi-time National High-Power Champion, is just one point behind Sherri. Stephen Culpepper and Eric Swearingen are still in striking distance. Ten-time champion David Tubb is not far behind either. Shooting against those male “all-stars”, Gallagher has been very impressive and looks to continue her pace, but this isn’t over just yet. This year’s Championship could go down to the last shot of the last relay.
On the Service Rifle front, Eric Swearingen is in the lead for the Service Rifle Championship with a 1789-86X, but both 2009 Service Rifle Champion Grant Singley (1785-97X) and Troy Lawton’s (1785-70X) are just two points back.
For the latest news from Camp Perry, including High Power Championship standings, visit the NRA Blog. Here is the “leaderboard” after the High Power Rifle Championship’s third day, with one more to go. Tomorrow’s forecast is clear and sunny with no threat of rain.
| Match 400 – NRA National High Power Rifle Championship |
| Name |
Results |
| Sherri Gallagher |
1797-129x |
| Carl Bernosky |
1796-109x |
| Stephen Culpepper |
1790-91x |
| Eric Swearingen |
1789-86x |
| David Tubb |
1787-86x |
Late-Breaking News from Camp Perry
Steve Clark Reports: Sherri missed 1st last year from a crossfire. This year so far she’s shooting 71.6% Xs, dropping only 3 points out of 1800. Norm Houle (last year’s Champion) apparently cross-fired today, putting himself back a good number.
Carl’s shooting SOLID — again — this year with his 6mm HAGAR. He’s second, by ONE POINT, after 180 shots, but he’s down 20 Xs. Carl has won the High Power Championship 9 times so far, most recently in 2008 — the first victory with an AR15-platform rifle.
What a great show! Like last year, I think it’s going to come down to the last shot fired tomorrow afternoon to decide the winner.
Report and photo courtesy NRA Blog.
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July 22nd, 2010
A “Dream Team” composed of four of America’s top lady shooters set a new national long-range Palma record at the Rocky Mountain Palma Championships at Raton, NM last week. The four-woman squad of Trudie Fay (Captain), Michelle Gallagher, Noma Mayo, and Nancy Tompkins shot brilliantly to establish a new National Palma record of 1796-112X, breaking the existing 1791-102X record held by the USAMU (Praslick) team.
Officially listed as “The U.S. National Team”, but dubbed “Team Estrogen” by one of the gals, this squad of four female High Masters was coached by Steve Conico, a veteran long range shooter from New Mexico. Michelle told us that Coach Conico did a great job calling the wind, and all the team members performed well: “Our strategy was simple: lay down, shoot, let Steve think for everybody. Steve’s a fantastic coach. We all just had a good day. All four trigger-pullers were on top of our game. The combination of good conditions (for Raton), great coaching, and good shooting allowed a memorable team performance. That combination is rare. It’s not going to happen again any time soon.”
SCORES: T. Fay: 448-39X | M. Gallagher: 450-35X | N. Mayo: 449-26X | N. Tompkins: 449-22X
For Michelle, competing in this match with a team of female all-stars (who are all close friends) was a dream come true: “We’ve been planning to have a womens’ team for 10 years and it finally happened. It’s fun getting everyone together. We’re all delighted it worked out so well. And I loved being able to shoot with my mom.” Michelle shot a perfect 450 in the match, not dropping a single point.
 Record-Setting Equipment
All four Dream-Teamers were shooting conventional single-shot .308 Winchester Palma rifles — no tube-guns in this arsenal. Nancy Tompkins’ rifle featured a wood stock, Stolle Panda action, and 30″ Krieger barrel. Michelle’s rifle was similarly configured but she used a fiberglass McMillan stock. Nancy and Michelle shot ammo loaded with Hodgdon Varget powder, Wolf (Russian) primers, and the 155.5gr Berger Palma bullet. The other two team members, Noma and Trudie, may have been using Sierra #2156 155gr Palma bullets but that’s not confirmed.
Loading for the 155.5gr Berger Palma Bullet
Michelle observed that the 155.5gr Berger Palma bullet doesn’t require any special tuning: “With the 155.5, it’s pretty easy to swap out any load you’ve used successfully with any of the other 155s. The 155.5 doesn’t require a lot of extra load development. As far as seating depth goes, some people are successful jumping them, some people are successful jammin’ them in. Personally I’ve always soft seated. I haven’t found them to be very finicky.” Editor’s note: “Soft Seating” refers to deliberately loading the bullets long, with fairly light neck tension, and then allowing the bullet to find it’s position as one closes the bolt. The potential benefit is that the bullet ogive is always in the same position relative to the start of the rifling.
Good Conditions Aid Record-Setting Team Performance
During the July 10 team match, the weather gods smiled, providing good conditions (by Raton standards) for the female Dream Team’s record-setting performance. Michelle observed: “Have you ever shot at Raton? It can be the devil. Raton can be really nasty, but it was a pretty benign day by Raton standards. The wind was switchy but not what I’d call ‘blow you off the paper’ wind. We were all able to concentrate on the mechanics — just ‘lay down and squeeze’. Steve did all the work.”
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August 23rd, 2009
 The Tompkins Trophy goes to the overall Long Range High Power Champion. Along with bragging rights, the winner receives a Tompkins Trophy plaque, a goldtone medallion, a gold and diamond National Long Range Championship ring, a $500 Visa gift card, a $500 check from Sierra Bullets, a $500 check from Berger Bullets, and a Remington Model 700 Sendero SF2 300 Ultra Mag Rifle.
With a record score of 1245-62x, this year’s winner is Specialist Sherri Gallagher of the U.S. Army. According to USAMU Head Coach Emil Praslick, she was shooting a 6.5×284 with Sierra 142gr Matchkings and in the Palma matches she shot a 308 with the new Sierra 155gr 2156 Palma bullet.
“This win is not mine, at least not mine alone,” said Sherri. “Its all due to the team (Army Marksmanship Unit).”
 Her upbringing probably had a bit to do with it, too. Some might not know that Sherri’s sister (Michelle Gallagher), mother (Nancy Gallagher-Tompkins), and step-father (Mid Tompkins) have all won major National Championships. In fact, there are now 14 National Championships in the family. “It would have been nice to have mom here, but she’s over in England shooting the F-Class Championships.” One could say that shooting is in their blood. This was not Sherri’s first major championship. Sherri won the 2003 World Long Range Championship in Bisley, England.
“Growing up, every summer vacation was spent traveling to the different tournaments and watching my mom compete. After a while, it was either sit in the sun or grab a rifle. It was an easy choice.”
Now that she has a national championship to hang on the wall, what’s next for Specialist Gallagher?
“The shooting season is winding down, so we go into training mode. Most of us won’t even pick up a rifle for a few months. Instead, we’ll travel to different bases, overseas, any place where they’re a group of soldiers with a desire to improve their shot. I think it’s a great position to fill and an incredible opportunity to serve my country.”
Report and photos copyright the NRA Blog, used with permission.
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August 19th, 2009
SPC Sherri Gallagher (of the USAMU) triumphed in the Tompkins Trophy Match, earning the title of 2009 NRA Long Range Champion. Gallagher shot a 1245-62X score, a new National Record, topping former champion John Whidden (1239-61X) by six points. Fellow USAMU shooter SFC Lance Dement finished third, with 1238-67X. Proving that accuracy runs in the family, Sherri’s sister Michelle Gallagher finished in fourth place with a 1238-65X, and Sherri’s step-father Mid Tompkins was the High Grand Senior with a 1230-58X.
L to R: John Whidden, SPC Sherri Gallagher, SFC Lance Dement. Photo courtesy NRABlog.com.
Miller Edges Litz on X-Count in Palma Match
The Palma Individual Trophy Match was hotly contested, going right down to the wire. Larry Miller (448-25X) eventually emerged the winner, edging Bryan Litz (448-23X) by two Xs. Bryan has written articles for this website and he is the author of the important new book, Applied Balllistics for Long Range Shooting.
In Team Competition, John Whidden’s Southeast Rifle Club won the Herrick Trophy Team Match, beating the USAMU Praslick Team by just one point, 791-30X to 790-41X. Sherri Gallagher also shot with the Praslick USAMU team, which was the winner of the Roumanian Trophy Match with a 793-42X Team score.
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