WI State Results and a Salute to Dean Bircher

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Tenspot

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WI State IR50 was contested at Willow River Rod & Gun Saturday, of the shooters to show up the cagey old (heavy on the old) veteran Dean Bircher came to play. Dean turns 80 years old in a few weeks and we were very pleased to once again see him at the range. For those of you that know Dean, well what can I say, Dean is his same old self, still sporting that sly smile of his that makes you wonder what he is up to, and we all know he is always up to something. One of the things he was up to Saturday was winning 10.5# class in Meters with a 250 in a total downpour. Imagine that with 80 year old eyes. If you haven't met Dean, well I dont know what to say, but that you have been missing out on one of the sports bigger personalities and talents. When I first opened up Willow River in 2006 for IR competition, Dean promptly christened the range with its first 250 the very first match. There have literally been hundreds more to follow, the range can be friendly to big scores, but with sharks like Dean in the water you better bring your A game if you want to even think of top 3. Example being Saturday in Yards when the 2012 IR50 Shooter of the Year Louise Wickstrom shot a 250-14x, which was just good enough for 5th place in the 10.5# class. In anything people do, the bottom line is the people themselves make it what it is, and shooting with people like Dean Bircher have made shooting rimfires one of the more enjoyable activities I've ever participated in. Dean, thank you for making your way down this weekend and tearing things up with us! I'd also like to thank everyone that came to shoot, even that big guy from Illinois Gene, and especially Louise, Fred, and Doug for the help keeping things running smoothly.

Brian Headlee
President, Willow River Rod & Gun Club

Yards Results
Sporter - Doug Bell 249-16x
10.5 - Gene Stroyan 250-20x
13.5 - Fred Wickstrom 250-20x
2 gun - Fred Wickstrom 500-39x
3 gun - Gene Stroyan 748-50x

Meters
Sporter - Brian Headlee 248-9x
10.5 - Dean Bircher 250-11x
13.5 - Louise Wickstrom 249-15x
2 gun - Mitch Johnson 498-29x
3gun - Mitch Johnson 745-41x
 
Bircher

Brian...you did a good job of describing that Bircher guy. Something I will add is that Dean has not shot a gun since a year ago at the Wis. State Shoot. He ended up for the day with (2) 250's. In yards he came in 3rd in 2 gun with 499 33X. In 3 gun he came in 2nd with a 747 48X. Not to shabby for an 80 year old that hasn't shot a gun for a year.

I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that Dean Bircher is a legend in the shooting world. Through the years Dean has built a lot of top shooting guns for a lot of people. He has also helped and encouraged a lot of people with shooting including myself. Dean is always ready to answer any question for anybody when it comes to shooting or gun smithing.

Brian...thank you for all the work in putting on another great shoot. I really enjoy shooting with all those Wisconsin and Minnesota (hot shots).
Gene Stroyan
 
I'll never forget watching Dean Bircher shoot a state match in Minnesota a few years back. The conditions were horrid, no I mean horrid. If you've seen a Chinese fireworks display then it may be possible to start to imagine what the wind flags looked like...... At least the ones that still had their tails attached, the switches were so sudden tails were tangled in props. Yup the conditions were that good. Most of the shooters were happy to still be in the 240's, not Dean, not hardly. Nope he shoots a 250 20X, then follows it up with a 250 22X.

To this day if I didn't see with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it possible. Oh and it took him about 15 minutes total for both cards, most guys were still shooting sighters and Bircher is putting his gun away!!

The man is a legend and I am a better man for knowing him - Good shooting Dean.

Mitch Johnson
 
Glad to see Dean is holding up. A while back I had one of his guns and got to know him a bit, he is certainly one of the true gentlemen and turned out quality work, send along my well wishes.
 
Good shoot but pretty strange day. Cool in the morning, hot by noon, then the rain, and back to hooded sweats by aftenoon. Good to see Dean at the bench even though he out X'ed me for third in 10 1/2 yards. Tough crowd to shoot against but a great bunch of people. Thanks for another great match, Brian. See you next weekend.
Mike Cummings
 
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