Arizona State Service Rifle Championships Hosted by the Desert Sharpshooters Rifle Club Sponsored by the Arizona State

Rifle and Pistol Association January 11-13 2013 at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility

Winter has arrived here in the desert southwest and seized the shooting capitol of the world in its icy grip. With overnight lows below freezing and daytime highs in the 40s, along with a bone chilling breeze from the north, most people chose to occupy themselves in the comfort of their homes this past weekend. However, competitive rifle shooters are not most people. It matters little if the weather is

hot, cold or raining as you will always find them pursuing their passion; not only here at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility but on dozens of ranges throughout this country. Nearly one hundred of the hardiest shooters came out for the three days of intense competition and here without any further delay are some of their stories. Poets, screen and song writers have dubbed the wind Mariah; the shooters in Fridays 600 yard match dubbed the wind reader Nancy as in Nancy Tompkins. Her nearly perfect performance all day, stood head and shoulders above the rest of the competitors in the sling division. Hubby Mid tells me that Nancys brand new 6X47L midrange chambering is spitting out Berger 108s at nearly laser like velocities, thanks to a stout 42 grain charge of H-4350! It would be a safe bet to assume that those of us who will be shooting the first ever Mid-Range Nationals at Camp Perry this year will be seeing more of this exciting setup. In the Master class a true battle between the young and the once young was waged all day between Jaden Swartwood and Frank Behl. Though Frank led through the first two matches, Jaden and his highly accurate AR 15 prevailed in the third to take the win by two points and a handful of Xs. The Expert class saw a similar struggle ensue between Mick Walker and Frank Lucero. Had Frank been able to avoid falling on that ever present sword in the third he might very well have taken the class win. However with the wind at its zenith Mick stayed the course to sit atop the class by a hefty margin. In the Sharpshooter class, Donnie Smith trailed match rifle shooter Tim Kulow by two points after the second stage but if there is one thing I have learned about Donnie, its that there is no quit in this young man. Taking the line in the third, with a very determined look in his eye, Smith played a savvy game of cat and mouse with the wind to capture not only the stage but the overall victory as well. The Marksman class, not to be outdone by the upper classmen, had their own drama unfolding as Robert Oyster and Maury Garand Man Krupp locked horns. On the strength of an outstanding first stage score and a solid showing in the second, Oyster weathered a disappointing go in the third to take the class win over Krupp decisively.

Turnout for the F class divisions was a little light compared to the numbers attending some recent matches, but as you will see this did nothing to hinder the intense competition in both F-TR and F-Open. When Gentleman Jim Murphy shows up with his heavy hitting 308 the F-TR division collectively knows he is the man to beat as his first go of the day clearly proved. With Matt Schwartzkopf and Jeff Russell hot on his heels the trio went at it again in the second where Murphy not only triumphed, but also gained a considerable lead over the pair of hopefuls with one stage to go. In the childrens song Wheels on the Bus we are told that the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town. But the wheels on Jim Murphys bus clearly came off in the third as his disappointing score sent him plummeting down the leaderboard to a third place finish. Schwartzkopf capitalized on Murphys blowout and grabbed the F-TR victory by a mere three points over Russell. Top notch F-Open shooter Bill Berta has, in recent matches, been a numerous time bridesmaid in the final standings but when he and his flat shooting 6BRX mounted the line Friday it quickly became evident that things were about to change. Holding his own in the first against Allan Rosenthal and Charles Goodings withering assaults on the ten and X-ring, Berta surged to the fore by winning the second and never looked back as he sailed to the overall division win. Congratulations to Nancy, Matt and Bill on your victories as you all are very worthy champions! For complete results please click here http://www.scribd.com/doc/120451009/AZ-State-600-Yard-Match-January-112013 Saturday the thirty-seven participants who arrived at Ben Averys high power range for the State Service Rifle Championship were greeted by a brilliant blue cloudless sky, 25 degree temps and the same icy wind as the day before. With trigger fingers already numb from the biting cold the cadre of competitors began their quest for excellence at exactly 0830. The wind for all three relays was as equal as you could want for the standing match and some were able to craft some pretty good scores despite the heat leeching cold.

Notable scores in the standing match include Vincent Norlings dominating 188-1X in the Sharpshooter class. Arizona Rifle Team junior Donnie Smith, fresh off of his class win Friday, led the Experts with his 181-1X. Bronson Scotts excellent 190-2X score led the Master class, and High Master Justin Skarets 193-3X total bested all comers for the match one victory. Moving into the second match of the day, 200 yard rapid fire, Mark Fazio stunned not only his fellow Masters with a brilliant match winning 200-12X score but the entire field as well. Fellow Master class shooter James Wagner was right behind with a great 200-11X total. In the other classes Norling easily handled the sharpshooters, Ryan Hayes jumped into the fray by besting the experts and Skaret increased his lead for the overall with a solid 200-8X score. Match three, 300 yard rapid fire, would once again see the Master class answering the call to greatness as Bronson Scott reeled off a fantastic score of 199-9Xs to just edge out Swartwoods 198-3X and Skarets 197-8X efforts. Hayes and Norling continued to whip their fellow classmen like rented mules as both now had comfortable leads with only twenty shots to go. As the first relay took their positions on the 600 yard line for the fourth and final match of the day, the wind began to die a bit and you could actually feel some warmth from the sun. Norling wasted no time as he pounded out a great score at the longest line of the day and not only won the Sharpshooter class but his 76915X aggregate would have earned him a third place in the Master class! Way to go Vinnie. The battle in the Expert class was substantially tighter as Hayes took the class win by a slim three point margin over Smith. Nice work Ryan. The Master class was even tighter as Swartwood and Scott, who had been battling all day, went down to the wire with Jaden pulling off the win with a great go at 600. Well done young man. In the High Master class no one could do anything to derail the juggernaut Skaret had become as he pounded out a stage winning score at 600 giving him a dominating win for the aggregate victory. Congratulations Marine, well done indeed!

For complete scores click here http://www.scribd.com/doc/120452195/ServiceRifle-Final-January-12-2013 For a picture presentation I put together click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzYFiGMY_Y Last but certainly not least Sundays Leg match was won by Jaden Swartwood with a very good score of 483-17X in what was arguably the coldest day of the event. Congratulations Jaden as you are now one step closer to your goal of Distinguishing with the Rifle! Below is a picture of Jaden with his Dad.

In closing I want to thank Mid Tompkins for the excellent statistical support, Noble Hathaway, ASRPA President, for presenting the trophies to the winners and

a huge thanks to Mike Anderson and Brownells/Sinclair for donating over $1500.00 in gift certificates! See you on the line, Rick Curtis 623 224-4277