J
Jeff Welker
Guest
2011 Arizona State Championship - Match Report - Photos Added
BEN AVERY – ARIZONA BENCHREST SHOOTERS
January 8th and 9th we held the Arizona State Championship at Ben Avery Shooting Facility. Not unlike NASCAR, the Arizona Benchrest Shooters start the new year with its biggest match. This competition typically attracts some of the best benchrest shooters in the southwest. This year was no exception; a total of 30 competitors from Arizona, California, Utah and New Mexico participated. A few snowbird shooters from the Midwest also competed. Conditions were typical for Arizona this time of year. For the locals, it seemed on the cold side. For the shooters from colder climates, it was very comfortable. When we started the competition Saturday morning the temperature was 40°. By noon temp’s had reached the low 50’s and it was right at 60° on our final target of the day. The wind was generally out of the ESE and averaged 4 mph, with gusts to 7 mph. Sunday’s conditions were similar to Saturday’s. Temp’s ranged from the high 30’s to 60° when the last shot was fired. Wind on Sunday was nearly the same in intensity and direction from Saturday; however, there were more switches and some mirage.
Detailed match results attached.
Saturday we shot Light Varmint 100 in the morning. Winning the yardage with an even .2000 aggregate was Stephen Everson. Jack Snyder of New Mexico fame took second with a .2038. Rumor has it that Jack was shooting a new custom bullet made entirely of leather – confirmation forthcoming. Hot on Jack’s heels in third place was local legend Ed “Mr. Happy” Maxwell with a tidy .2058. Small group for LV-100 was shot by Jack Snyder with a .117 in match #2. Apparently, Jack was also wearing a special leather thong that helped his shooting posture. Sorry for the bad mental image!
After lunch, we shot Heavy Varmint 100. Winning the HV-100 in dominating fashion with a .1972 was Ed Maxwell. Mr. Happy shot the only teen agg at 100 yards for the weekend and shot very consistent from first target to last – including small groups for the 2nd and 5th matches. Second place went to Pennsylvania Expatriate Lester Bruno with a .2356 and Bob Hammack (Illinois Snowbird Extraordinaire) shot a .2408 to finish third. Small group for HV-100 went to Lester Bruno with a .142 in match #4.
Sunday we started with HV-200. Winning the aggregate with a very nice .1760 was the King of Camp Verde – Randy Burgess. In second place was the Clown Prince of Benchrest – Tom Libby with a .2271. The Bob Hammack took third place with a .2293. Small group for HV-200 was shot by Randy Burgess with a .199 in match #5. Not only did Randy dominate the HV-200, he finished in impressive style with a sweet small group in the center of the mothball. No match nerves for Mr. Burgess!
After a short luncheon recess, we shot LV-200. A shooter from the Left Coast – Keith Cottrell bested the other shooters and won the yardage with a.2327. Gary “The Oozer” Ocock took 2nd with a .2383 and Lester Bruno came in 3rd with a .2493. Jeff “Mr. Wiggly” Welker shot the small group for LV-200 with a .301 in match #5. It must be noted that Mr. Wiggly had a quarter on the line with The Oozer on the 5th target – imagine a nice fist pump when I took The Oozer’s coin.
The 2011 Arizona State Light Varmint Grand Winner is Lester Bruno. Lester shot a consistent .2501 to win the grand. Jack Snyder was 2nd with a .2536 and Jeff Welker shot a .2599 to take 3rd.
The 2011 Arizona State Heavy Varmint Grand Winner is Randy Burgess. The King of Camp Verde bested the other shooters with a .2317. Bob Hammack took 2nd with a .2351 and Gene DeLoney was 3rd with a .2512.
THE 2011 ARIZONA STATE 2 GUN CHAMPION IS LESTER BRUNO. Lester shot a .2561 to take the 2 Gun. Jack Snyder’s trip from New Mexico was vindicated with his 2nd place and a .2614 grand agg. Randy Burgess finished third with a .2624. Congratulations to Lester, Jack and Randy.
POST MATCH OBSERVATION.
For a single target, Libby was able to wrestle the microphone away from Doris. The majority of benchrest proprieties were violated during the next four minutes or so as Tom counted-down the time and yodeled the command to “CEASE FIRE”! Notice to match directors everywhere, keep the microphone out of Libby’s reach. Personally, I thought it was a nice change of pace from Tom’s lip stick, hats, wigs and costumes.
Gary Ocock and his crew did another great job of putting on a fun and very competitive match – Thanks Oozer!
CACTUS CLASSIC WARM-UP
We will shoot the Cactus Classic Warm-Up match (LV & HV) on February 5th and 6th. Come join in the fun and hone your skills in preparation for the Cactus.
Big Winners Randy Burgess & Lester Bruno
THE WINNERS (from left to right) Bob Hammack, Ed "Mr. Happy" Maxwell, Jeff "Mr. Wiggly" Welker, Randy "The King of Camp Verde" Burgess, Jack Snyder, & Lester Bruno. In the background (upper left side of photo) we captured a rare glimpse of Gary "The Oozer" Ocock setting up his karaoke music equipment. In addition to running the matches at Ben Avery, Gary entertains the shooters after each competition with a medley of his favorite songs. Gary was recently inducted into the Karaoke Hall of Fame in Trinidad, Colorado. His favorite tunes include "Dancing Queen" by Abba and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People.
Match Reporter – Jeff Welker
BEN AVERY – ARIZONA BENCHREST SHOOTERS
January 8th and 9th we held the Arizona State Championship at Ben Avery Shooting Facility. Not unlike NASCAR, the Arizona Benchrest Shooters start the new year with its biggest match. This competition typically attracts some of the best benchrest shooters in the southwest. This year was no exception; a total of 30 competitors from Arizona, California, Utah and New Mexico participated. A few snowbird shooters from the Midwest also competed. Conditions were typical for Arizona this time of year. For the locals, it seemed on the cold side. For the shooters from colder climates, it was very comfortable. When we started the competition Saturday morning the temperature was 40°. By noon temp’s had reached the low 50’s and it was right at 60° on our final target of the day. The wind was generally out of the ESE and averaged 4 mph, with gusts to 7 mph. Sunday’s conditions were similar to Saturday’s. Temp’s ranged from the high 30’s to 60° when the last shot was fired. Wind on Sunday was nearly the same in intensity and direction from Saturday; however, there were more switches and some mirage.
Detailed match results attached.
Saturday we shot Light Varmint 100 in the morning. Winning the yardage with an even .2000 aggregate was Stephen Everson. Jack Snyder of New Mexico fame took second with a .2038. Rumor has it that Jack was shooting a new custom bullet made entirely of leather – confirmation forthcoming. Hot on Jack’s heels in third place was local legend Ed “Mr. Happy” Maxwell with a tidy .2058. Small group for LV-100 was shot by Jack Snyder with a .117 in match #2. Apparently, Jack was also wearing a special leather thong that helped his shooting posture. Sorry for the bad mental image!
After lunch, we shot Heavy Varmint 100. Winning the HV-100 in dominating fashion with a .1972 was Ed Maxwell. Mr. Happy shot the only teen agg at 100 yards for the weekend and shot very consistent from first target to last – including small groups for the 2nd and 5th matches. Second place went to Pennsylvania Expatriate Lester Bruno with a .2356 and Bob Hammack (Illinois Snowbird Extraordinaire) shot a .2408 to finish third. Small group for HV-100 went to Lester Bruno with a .142 in match #4.
Sunday we started with HV-200. Winning the aggregate with a very nice .1760 was the King of Camp Verde – Randy Burgess. In second place was the Clown Prince of Benchrest – Tom Libby with a .2271. The Bob Hammack took third place with a .2293. Small group for HV-200 was shot by Randy Burgess with a .199 in match #5. Not only did Randy dominate the HV-200, he finished in impressive style with a sweet small group in the center of the mothball. No match nerves for Mr. Burgess!
After a short luncheon recess, we shot LV-200. A shooter from the Left Coast – Keith Cottrell bested the other shooters and won the yardage with a.2327. Gary “The Oozer” Ocock took 2nd with a .2383 and Lester Bruno came in 3rd with a .2493. Jeff “Mr. Wiggly” Welker shot the small group for LV-200 with a .301 in match #5. It must be noted that Mr. Wiggly had a quarter on the line with The Oozer on the 5th target – imagine a nice fist pump when I took The Oozer’s coin.
The 2011 Arizona State Light Varmint Grand Winner is Lester Bruno. Lester shot a consistent .2501 to win the grand. Jack Snyder was 2nd with a .2536 and Jeff Welker shot a .2599 to take 3rd.
The 2011 Arizona State Heavy Varmint Grand Winner is Randy Burgess. The King of Camp Verde bested the other shooters with a .2317. Bob Hammack took 2nd with a .2351 and Gene DeLoney was 3rd with a .2512.
THE 2011 ARIZONA STATE 2 GUN CHAMPION IS LESTER BRUNO. Lester shot a .2561 to take the 2 Gun. Jack Snyder’s trip from New Mexico was vindicated with his 2nd place and a .2614 grand agg. Randy Burgess finished third with a .2624. Congratulations to Lester, Jack and Randy.
POST MATCH OBSERVATION.
For a single target, Libby was able to wrestle the microphone away from Doris. The majority of benchrest proprieties were violated during the next four minutes or so as Tom counted-down the time and yodeled the command to “CEASE FIRE”! Notice to match directors everywhere, keep the microphone out of Libby’s reach. Personally, I thought it was a nice change of pace from Tom’s lip stick, hats, wigs and costumes.
Gary Ocock and his crew did another great job of putting on a fun and very competitive match – Thanks Oozer!
CACTUS CLASSIC WARM-UP
We will shoot the Cactus Classic Warm-Up match (LV & HV) on February 5th and 6th. Come join in the fun and hone your skills in preparation for the Cactus.
Big Winners Randy Burgess & Lester Bruno
THE WINNERS (from left to right) Bob Hammack, Ed "Mr. Happy" Maxwell, Jeff "Mr. Wiggly" Welker, Randy "The King of Camp Verde" Burgess, Jack Snyder, & Lester Bruno. In the background (upper left side of photo) we captured a rare glimpse of Gary "The Oozer" Ocock setting up his karaoke music equipment. In addition to running the matches at Ben Avery, Gary entertains the shooters after each competition with a medley of his favorite songs. Gary was recently inducted into the Karaoke Hall of Fame in Trinidad, Colorado. His favorite tunes include "Dancing Queen" by Abba and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People.
Match Reporter – Jeff Welker
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