J
Jeff Welker
Guest
We shot the first two legs of the AZ State Benchrest Championship this past weekend at Ben Avery. 25 shooters had sufficiently recovered from their New Year's celebrations to join in the fun. Conditions were interesting to say the least. On the one hand they were typical for Ben Avery this time of year (cold and windy in the mornings - getting calmer and very pleasant in the afternoons). On the other hand we had some serious wind issues on Sunday. Temperatures ranged from the 40's at the first match to around 70° by mid-afternoon. Skies were clear as a bell.
Saturday morning we started with gusty/switchy winds that ranged from 5 to 25 mph. Around mid-morning the winds calmed to more manageable conditions. On Sunday morning we were greeted with extremely gusty/switchy winds that ranged from 12 to 40 mph. These conditions were much more intense and did not calm down until early afternoon.
Saturday we shot Sporter 100 in the morning and UL 5-100 in the afternoon. Sunday we shot UL 5-200 in the morning and Sporter 200 in the afternoon. Shooting in the wind on Sunday morning and early afternoon was very challenging. Gary "The Oozer" Ocock called it “carnival shooting”. The Oozer even used some of Chuck Miller's bullets (Miller's Rockets) in a desperate attempt to overcome the wind. Using the sighter was nearly useless because conditions would change before you could get to the record. I saw my flags/tails perform some aerobatics that I’ve not seen before.
Lester Bruno and Doc Marsh were the big winners. Doc won the UL Grand and Lester won the Sporter Grand and the 2-Gun. Results are attached below.
We also held another Ocock Match during the lunch break on Sunday. In this match you had 1-minute to shoot a single bullet as close to the center of the record mothball as possible. You were also given one sighter shot. Anyone shooting more than one sighter or going past the 1-minute time limit would be disqualified. The conditions were still terrible and the single sighter shot proved useless. I was lucky and won the Ocock Match with a shot that was slightly left and low of dead center. As it turned out, I was the only shooter to get a bullet in the record mothball! Ed Maxwell was declared 2nd as he split the 10-ring at the 12 o’clock position. Gary Ocock and Lester Bruno tied for third with shots that were touching the outside of the 10-ring. Even if I say so myself, I am very good at closing my eyes and flinching when I’ve got to make a shot that counts
The next match at Ben Avery will be February 5th and 6th (LV & HV). This is a warm-up match for the Cactus – come join the fun.
Below are some photos from the match for your viewing pleasure.
7:00 AM Sunday Morning. Flags already at attention and jackets required. )chill(
The line looking west. Dave Woodward has to hold onto his hat while getting his gun on target.
The line looking east.
Walt Berger getting ready to tape his gun to the bench so it does not blow away.
The Reloaders Den of Iniquity. From L-R; Thomas Maxwell, The Oozer, Ed Maxwell & Doc Marsh all hiding from the elements in Doc's trailer.
Doc's probes at mid-morning Sunday. A second after I took this shot the probes snapped over and pegged in the opposite direction. This happened all morning and into the early afternoon.
Your Ocock Match Champion.
The Winners. From L-R; Gary "The Oozer" Ocock, Doc Marsh, Roy Damron, Chuck Miller, Lester Bruno, Bob Brackney (hiding behind Lester), Don Carter, Jim Gardner, Jeff "Mr. Wiggley" Welker. I can't see Chuck's or Bob's hands and Lester has a look of discomfort on his face - what the heck is going on?
For clarification purposes - this is Chuck Miller (his name is on his jacket so if he gets lost the police can get him home). He is smiling with his eyes closed because he is facing into a 40 mph cold wind. His hair is the result of a recent medical procedure (injections of Viagra mixed with Hoppes). The wind shield on his rail is a new tuner device Chuck engineered from parts he obtained from an F-16. Chuck claims sub-zero groups with his new design. I think he just added the thing to keep the wind out of his face so his new hair style does not get messed-up.
Close-up spy photos of Chuck's new rail tuner.
Here is a photo of Chuck leaving his F-16 to get the parts for his tuner.
Saturday morning we started with gusty/switchy winds that ranged from 5 to 25 mph. Around mid-morning the winds calmed to more manageable conditions. On Sunday morning we were greeted with extremely gusty/switchy winds that ranged from 12 to 40 mph. These conditions were much more intense and did not calm down until early afternoon.
Saturday we shot Sporter 100 in the morning and UL 5-100 in the afternoon. Sunday we shot UL 5-200 in the morning and Sporter 200 in the afternoon. Shooting in the wind on Sunday morning and early afternoon was very challenging. Gary "The Oozer" Ocock called it “carnival shooting”. The Oozer even used some of Chuck Miller's bullets (Miller's Rockets) in a desperate attempt to overcome the wind. Using the sighter was nearly useless because conditions would change before you could get to the record. I saw my flags/tails perform some aerobatics that I’ve not seen before.
Lester Bruno and Doc Marsh were the big winners. Doc won the UL Grand and Lester won the Sporter Grand and the 2-Gun. Results are attached below.
We also held another Ocock Match during the lunch break on Sunday. In this match you had 1-minute to shoot a single bullet as close to the center of the record mothball as possible. You were also given one sighter shot. Anyone shooting more than one sighter or going past the 1-minute time limit would be disqualified. The conditions were still terrible and the single sighter shot proved useless. I was lucky and won the Ocock Match with a shot that was slightly left and low of dead center. As it turned out, I was the only shooter to get a bullet in the record mothball! Ed Maxwell was declared 2nd as he split the 10-ring at the 12 o’clock position. Gary Ocock and Lester Bruno tied for third with shots that were touching the outside of the 10-ring. Even if I say so myself, I am very good at closing my eyes and flinching when I’ve got to make a shot that counts
The next match at Ben Avery will be February 5th and 6th (LV & HV). This is a warm-up match for the Cactus – come join the fun.
Below are some photos from the match for your viewing pleasure.
7:00 AM Sunday Morning. Flags already at attention and jackets required. )chill(
The line looking west. Dave Woodward has to hold onto his hat while getting his gun on target.
The line looking east.
Walt Berger getting ready to tape his gun to the bench so it does not blow away.
The Reloaders Den of Iniquity. From L-R; Thomas Maxwell, The Oozer, Ed Maxwell & Doc Marsh all hiding from the elements in Doc's trailer.
Doc's probes at mid-morning Sunday. A second after I took this shot the probes snapped over and pegged in the opposite direction. This happened all morning and into the early afternoon.
Your Ocock Match Champion.
The Winners. From L-R; Gary "The Oozer" Ocock, Doc Marsh, Roy Damron, Chuck Miller, Lester Bruno, Bob Brackney (hiding behind Lester), Don Carter, Jim Gardner, Jeff "Mr. Wiggley" Welker. I can't see Chuck's or Bob's hands and Lester has a look of discomfort on his face - what the heck is going on?
For clarification purposes - this is Chuck Miller (his name is on his jacket so if he gets lost the police can get him home). He is smiling with his eyes closed because he is facing into a 40 mph cold wind. His hair is the result of a recent medical procedure (injections of Viagra mixed with Hoppes). The wind shield on his rail is a new tuner device Chuck engineered from parts he obtained from an F-16. Chuck claims sub-zero groups with his new design. I think he just added the thing to keep the wind out of his face so his new hair style does not get messed-up.
Close-up spy photos of Chuck's new rail tuner.
Here is a photo of Chuck leaving his F-16 to get the parts for his tuner.
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