Philip Hemphill, Pistol Champion, Has Left the Range
We are sad to announce that champion pistol shooter and Team Lapua member, Philip Wayne Hemphill, has passed away at age 71 at his home in Meridian, Mississippi. Hemphill was one of the greatest-ever American pistol shooters. Hemphill was a 10-time National Police Pistol Combat Champion and two-time NRA Precision Pistol Champion. Above is Hemphill after winning the .22 LR Rimfire pistol championships at Camp Perry in 2019.
Philip Hemphill served 30+ years with the Mississippi Highway Patrol before retiring as a Captain in 2011. The Shooting Wire recounted his remarkable history with the National Police Pistol Combat (PPC) series: “Hemphill shot his first PPC in 1985 in Des Moines, Iowa. He competed every year [except 2005] until he served as a referee in 2008. In 2008, he returned to the range in Albuquerque as a shooter to compete one final time, and captured his tenth title. [In his competition career] Hemphill represented Lapua, Team Zero, Rock River Arms, and AimPoint. He remained one of the few people who drew the attention of competitors, fellow vendors, and spectators at shooting events.”
Funeral services for Mr. Philip Wayne Hemphill will begin at 11:00 am Monday, October 16, 2023 at Cross Mountain Ministries in Porterville, Mississippi. Online condolences may be expressed at robertbarhamffh.com which hosts the Philip Hemphill obituary and photo collection.
Philip enjoyed squirrel hunting and turkey hunting. He enjoyed traveling and spending time with his grandsons, who lovingly referred to him as Papaw. He was a friend to all who knew him, with friendships spanning all over the world.
Here is an NRA-TV interview with Philip Hemphill from 2016. Hemphill has been a 10-Time NRA National Police Pistol Champion, and has won multiple National Pistol Championships:
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Philip Hemphill Wins NRA .22 Caliber Pistol Championship
Team Lapua member, Philip Hemphill, scored a 888-49X to bring home the 2019 NRA .22 Caliber Pistol Championship. Hemphill uses Lapua Center-X .22 LR Rimfire ammunition in .22 caliber disciplines such as Smallbore, PRC Silhouette, new ELR and more.
The 2019 NRA National Pistol Championships took place July 7-12 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Since 1907, the nation’s finest marksmen and women come together annually at Camp Perry to shoot a variety of handgun formats and events, both rimfire (.22 LR) and centerfire. The annual Camp Perry Championships represent the most prestigious bullseye pistol competitions in North America.
“It’s an honor to be able to come out here and test my shooting skills in one of the longest-running pistol events in the nation. My whole team, Team Zero, shoots Lapua Center-X, because we know it will outperform all other .22 Caliber [rimfire] competition ammo,” said Hemphill.
Along with receiving the Walker Trophy Plaque for winning the Championship, Hemphill also won the NRA Precision Pistol Championship (Police Division), and came in third in the .22 Caliber Slow Fire Match with a score of 194-9X.
About Lapua – Lapua produces the highest quality small caliber cartridges and components for civilian and professional use. Lapua is a part of the Capstone Precision Group, exclusive U.S. distributor for Berger, Lapua, Vihtavuori and SK-Rimfire products. For more information, visit Lapua.com.
Here is an NRA-TV interview with Philip Hemphill from 2016. Hemphill has been a 10-Time NRA National Police Pistol Champion, and has won multiple National Pistol Championships:
See Photos from 2019 NRA Pistol Championships
Shooting Sports USA recently released a nice slide-show featuring 40 images from the 2019 NRA Pistol Championships at Camp Perry. SSUSA Editor John Parker noted: “A big thank you to Mr. John Rickards for his hard work on the firing line to grab the majority of these great images from the 2019 NRA Pistol Nationals at Camp Perry.”
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This has been pistol week at Camp Perry, site of the NRA National Trophy Pistol Championships. The handgun events started with the NRA Revolver matches and Prelim Pistol Agg on Monday, July 10. This was followed with .22 LR individual and team matches on Tuesday, and the CF Championship and Team Match on Wednesday. The pistol competitions conclude today, July 13th, with the NRA individual .45 Championship, .45 Team Match, and Pistol Awards Ceremony.
The nation’s top bullseye pistol shooters were at Camp Perry this week. If you’ve every wondered what it takes to win a pistol match using the classic, one-handed hold, here are some tips from one of the best ever, Brian “Gunny” Zins, 12-Time NRA National Pistol Champion.
Brian has authored an excellent guide to bullseye pistol shooting. Brian’s Clinic on the Fundamentals recently appeared in The Official Journal of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. The CMP scanned the story so you can read it online. CLICK HERE to read full article.
Top Tips from Brian Zins:
Trigger Movement: If trigger control is ever interrupted in slow fire the shot needs to be aborted and the shot started over.
Relationship between Sight Alignment and Trigger Control: Often when the fundamentals are explained these two are explained as two different acts. Well, truth be told it’s really kind of hard to accomplish one without the other. They have a symbiotic relationship. In order to truly settle the movement in the dot or sights you need a smooth, steady trigger squeeze.
Trigger Finger Placement: Where should the trigger make contact on the finger? The trigger should be centered in the first crease of the trigger finger. Remember this is an article on Bullseye shooting. If this were an article on free pistol or air pistol it would be different.
Proper Grip: A proper grip is a grip that will NATURALLY align the gun’s sights to the eye of the shooter without having to tilt your head or move your or move your wrists around to do that. Also a proper grip, and most importantly, is a grip that allows the gun to return to the same position [with sights aligned] after each and every shot. The best and easiest way to get the proper grip, at least a good starting position… is with a holster. Put your 1911 in a holster on the side of your body[.] Allow your shooting hand to come down naturally to the gun.
It took decades of competition to acquire all those patches — that’s dedication to the sport.
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Army Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson won the 2009 NRA National Pistol Championship with a 2646-141X score, followed by Philip Hemphill (2642-131X), and Brian Zins (2637-131X). SFC Henderson, who shoots for the USAMU, also won the Regular Service Champion Title. For his victories, Henderson received the Harrison Trophy, a new firearm, and $550 in Visa gift cards. Below are other winners by category:
Civilian Champion: Brian Zins, 2637-131x
Woman Champion: Judy Tant, 2566-72x
Grand Senior Champion: John Farley, 2538-77x
Senior Champion: Ron Steinbrecher, 2607-99x
Junior Champion: Bryan Layfield, 2545-81x
Collegiate Champion: John Gunn, 2442-45x
Police Champion: Philip Hemphill, 2642-129x
Army Reserve Champion: SFC Keith Sanderson, 2623-109x
National Guard Champion: SFC Ralph Young, 2565-65x
SFC Henderson put in a truly dominant performance. Henderson swept every major individual award, breaking national records along the way and establishing himself as the standard bearer in service pistol. He is the first active-duty Soldier to win the national championship in 24 years. Henderson won every event he was entered in and also led his team to a championship. The Soldier’s dominance commenced at the NRA’s Pistol Championship when he won the Harrison Trophy as the top individual with a score of 2646. He also finished in first-place in the individual .22-caliber and center-fire events.
Next up was the National Trophy Individual Pistol Match, where Henderson won the General Cluster Trophy for the third time. In the process, Henderson set a new national record with a score of 297 out of 300, breaking a record that had stood since 1978.
“What Sgt. 1st Class Henderson accomplished this season is best left undescribed, as there are no words that can put it in a context that does the feat justice,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jason St. John, service pistol team noncommissioned officer-in-charge. “Imagine that never in the history of marksmanship competition that dates over 100 years has anyone done this. No one ever has or probably ever will.”
Congratulations to all of the Champions from the 2009 NRA National Pistol Championships! Complete match standings (with scores) are available in .pdf format from the NRA Championship Results webpage.
Philip Hemphill served 30+ years with the Mississippi Highway Patrol before retiring as a Captain in 2011. The Shooting Wire recounted his remarkable history with the National Police Pistol Combat (PPC) series: “Hemphill shot his first PPC in 1985 in Des Moines, Iowa. He competed every year [except 2005] until he served as a referee in 2008. In 2008, he returned to the range in Albuquerque as a shooter to compete one final time, and captured his tenth title. [In his competition career] Hemphill represented Lapua, Team Zero, Rock River Arms, and AimPoint. He remained one of the few people who drew the attention of competitors, fellow vendors, and spectators at shooting events.”
Army Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson won the 2009 NRA National Pistol Championship with a 2646-141X score, followed by Philip Hemphill (2642-131X), and Brian Zins (2637-131X). SFC Henderson, who shoots for the USAMU, also won the Regular Service Champion Title. For his victories, Henderson received the Harrison Trophy, a new firearm, and $550 in Visa gift cards. Below are other winners by category:
