Gary Ocock
Member
Visalia april 2019 5 shot unlimited match report
The match weekend started off with VSA club member and Accurate Shooter Joe Stanovich, holding a class to introduce new and past participants to the disciplined art of Accurate Shooting. Joe started doing this several months ago with the hope that Visalia Sportsman members would come out and experience benchrest shooting at the highest level. Ultimate goal being members would want to try their hand and benchrest competition. It worked. We had 2 shooters from Joe’s classes shoot all or part of the weekend. Thanks Joe.
This match was a NBRSA registered UNLIMITED 100 yard all weekend; 4 aggregates. We also had a few shooters who didn’t shoot Unlimited shoot their varmint guns. I commend those shooters. With the right mind set it’s good practice to try and keep up with the Rails.
The weather for Saturday started out with temps in the high 60’s and the shooting ended with the temperature 85+. Winds were on the breezy side for Visalia. The range is cut out of the ground and not that wide. So when the wind moves around, your flags almost never hold or do the same thing down your shooting lane. The challenge is to figure out what part of the range has the most influence on your bullet. The upside the range usually doesn’t punish you very much if you make a mistake.
Winning the first aggregate was Gary Ocock with a nice .1290. In second place, close behind, was Lester Bruno shooting a .1358. In third place was Chuck Bump with a .1552. This was Chuck’s first time shooting a Rail gun in a match. Chuck is one of the Shooters that was exposed to Benchrest by attending Joe’s Accurate Shooting class. Chuck had the good fortune that one of the local shooters wasn’t able to shoot and he loaned his Rail to Chuck. I am compelled to point out that the student Chuck beat the teacher Joe by .0462. Small group was fired by Mike Sosenko a .053 in match #2. Three of the matches were won with shooters shooting zero groups; our new shooter Chuck Bump was one of them shooting a .066 in match #4.
The second 100 yard aggregate was shot in conditions that worsened. I’ve shot Visalia for 25+ years and I’ve only seen it worse a few times. The wind picked up, switched in either direction with let-ups thrown in for good measure. Winning the second 100 yard aggregate was Jack Childers with a .1686. In second place was Gary Ocock with a .1936 and third place went to Lester Bruno with a .2060. Jack shot a nice agg considering the quickly changing shooting conditions. Jack shot 4 one’s and a mid 2. He was the only shooter that beat the wind for the aggregate; just barely. Small group for the yardage was shot by Duke Rovarino a .072 in match #5.
The third 100 yard aggregate was shot Sunday morning. The wind let up slightly from the day before and the temperature dropped to the high 40’s as well. There was intermittent cloud cover that at times counteracted the mirage. Mirage usually isn’t a problem shooting a rail, but when your trying to hold off for a wind change it can slow you down. Winning the yardage was Gary Ocock with a good .1184. Gary shot 4 nice one’s for the first 4 targets and closed with a .053, small group for the yardage. In second place was Lester Bruno with a .1702 and in third place was Phil Peterson with a .1898. Of note, again Chuck Bump the student beat the instructor Joe Stanovitch.
The forth 100 yard agg was shot immediately after the finishing the morning agg. I think this was appreciated by the shooters that had a distance to travel, allowing us to get home at a reasonable time. It was rumored that Joe Stanovitch left the range quickly after the last match as he was scheduled to be the Easter Bunny at a Visalia city wide Easter egg hunt; it was Easter Sunday after all. Joe made a mistake when he bought the Easter Bunny outfit and ended up with a Playboy Bunny outfit. Joe not one to let things get in his way, made due and ended up as the Easter bunny master of ceremonies at the Sam’s Bar and Grill Easter Egg hunt. He didn’t last long though as the participants were expecting a Playboy bunny. Rumor has it that Joe ended up in an egg throwing battle with some of the senior Easter egg hunt participants. The 4th Aggregate for the weekend was won by Phil Peterson with a .1534. Phil started the aggregate off by shooting the small group for the yardage, a .042 in match #1. Phil’s target is being submitted for NBRSA World Record consideration. In second place was Lester Bruno with a .1774 and in third place was Don Pumpkin Nielson with a .1804. Of note is that Lester Bruno finished 2nd three times and 3rd the other time in the 4 100 yard aggregates.
The weekend 4 aggregate winner was Gary Ocock with a .1564. In second place again was Lester Bruno with a .1724 and in third place was Don Pumpkin Nielson with a .2036. Forth place was Duke Rovarino with a .2074 and in fifth place was Chuck Bump with a .2142. Again I’m compelled to point out that the student beat the instructor again, this time by .0245. Lesson learned here: attend Joe’s Accurate Shooting class and move up the ladder at your shooting competitions.
Next match at Visalia Sportsmans Range is June 15th and 16th 4 aggregates at 200 yards. This will be great practice for all of us as most of us don’t practice 200 that often. You can get in the mind set of shooting 200 and stay there. You can practice holding off, being aggressive with your hold or being more patient; 20 groups the whole weekend.
Gary Ocock
Match reporter
The match weekend started off with VSA club member and Accurate Shooter Joe Stanovich, holding a class to introduce new and past participants to the disciplined art of Accurate Shooting. Joe started doing this several months ago with the hope that Visalia Sportsman members would come out and experience benchrest shooting at the highest level. Ultimate goal being members would want to try their hand and benchrest competition. It worked. We had 2 shooters from Joe’s classes shoot all or part of the weekend. Thanks Joe.
This match was a NBRSA registered UNLIMITED 100 yard all weekend; 4 aggregates. We also had a few shooters who didn’t shoot Unlimited shoot their varmint guns. I commend those shooters. With the right mind set it’s good practice to try and keep up with the Rails.
The weather for Saturday started out with temps in the high 60’s and the shooting ended with the temperature 85+. Winds were on the breezy side for Visalia. The range is cut out of the ground and not that wide. So when the wind moves around, your flags almost never hold or do the same thing down your shooting lane. The challenge is to figure out what part of the range has the most influence on your bullet. The upside the range usually doesn’t punish you very much if you make a mistake.
Winning the first aggregate was Gary Ocock with a nice .1290. In second place, close behind, was Lester Bruno shooting a .1358. In third place was Chuck Bump with a .1552. This was Chuck’s first time shooting a Rail gun in a match. Chuck is one of the Shooters that was exposed to Benchrest by attending Joe’s Accurate Shooting class. Chuck had the good fortune that one of the local shooters wasn’t able to shoot and he loaned his Rail to Chuck. I am compelled to point out that the student Chuck beat the teacher Joe by .0462. Small group was fired by Mike Sosenko a .053 in match #2. Three of the matches were won with shooters shooting zero groups; our new shooter Chuck Bump was one of them shooting a .066 in match #4.
The second 100 yard aggregate was shot in conditions that worsened. I’ve shot Visalia for 25+ years and I’ve only seen it worse a few times. The wind picked up, switched in either direction with let-ups thrown in for good measure. Winning the second 100 yard aggregate was Jack Childers with a .1686. In second place was Gary Ocock with a .1936 and third place went to Lester Bruno with a .2060. Jack shot a nice agg considering the quickly changing shooting conditions. Jack shot 4 one’s and a mid 2. He was the only shooter that beat the wind for the aggregate; just barely. Small group for the yardage was shot by Duke Rovarino a .072 in match #5.
The third 100 yard aggregate was shot Sunday morning. The wind let up slightly from the day before and the temperature dropped to the high 40’s as well. There was intermittent cloud cover that at times counteracted the mirage. Mirage usually isn’t a problem shooting a rail, but when your trying to hold off for a wind change it can slow you down. Winning the yardage was Gary Ocock with a good .1184. Gary shot 4 nice one’s for the first 4 targets and closed with a .053, small group for the yardage. In second place was Lester Bruno with a .1702 and in third place was Phil Peterson with a .1898. Of note, again Chuck Bump the student beat the instructor Joe Stanovitch.
The forth 100 yard agg was shot immediately after the finishing the morning agg. I think this was appreciated by the shooters that had a distance to travel, allowing us to get home at a reasonable time. It was rumored that Joe Stanovitch left the range quickly after the last match as he was scheduled to be the Easter Bunny at a Visalia city wide Easter egg hunt; it was Easter Sunday after all. Joe made a mistake when he bought the Easter Bunny outfit and ended up with a Playboy Bunny outfit. Joe not one to let things get in his way, made due and ended up as the Easter bunny master of ceremonies at the Sam’s Bar and Grill Easter Egg hunt. He didn’t last long though as the participants were expecting a Playboy bunny. Rumor has it that Joe ended up in an egg throwing battle with some of the senior Easter egg hunt participants. The 4th Aggregate for the weekend was won by Phil Peterson with a .1534. Phil started the aggregate off by shooting the small group for the yardage, a .042 in match #1. Phil’s target is being submitted for NBRSA World Record consideration. In second place was Lester Bruno with a .1774 and in third place was Don Pumpkin Nielson with a .1804. Of note is that Lester Bruno finished 2nd three times and 3rd the other time in the 4 100 yard aggregates.
The weekend 4 aggregate winner was Gary Ocock with a .1564. In second place again was Lester Bruno with a .1724 and in third place was Don Pumpkin Nielson with a .2036. Forth place was Duke Rovarino with a .2074 and in fifth place was Chuck Bump with a .2142. Again I’m compelled to point out that the student beat the instructor again, this time by .0245. Lesson learned here: attend Joe’s Accurate Shooting class and move up the ladder at your shooting competitions.
Next match at Visalia Sportsmans Range is June 15th and 16th 4 aggregates at 200 yards. This will be great practice for all of us as most of us don’t practice 200 that often. You can get in the mind set of shooting 200 and stay there. You can practice holding off, being aggressive with your hold or being more patient; 20 groups the whole weekend.
Gary Ocock
Match reporter
Last edited:
