The 2013 Arizona State Palma Championships
has now become part of the rich history of this storied range, aka
the Ben Avery Shooting Facility. With over 70 competitors from thirteen
states the match was well attended and despite the cold temperatures and
fickle winds, some very good scores were fired. As usual I had my trusty Nikon
with me and I put together a little pictorial of the match that can be
viewed by clicking HERE
If nothing else, the scores that David
Gosnell, Match Winner and runner-up Allan Rosenthal put up in the F-Open
division, proves that in the right hands the 7MM's are still a potent
caliber. David's 1344-86X effort with a straight .284 is a new State
record for the event and Allan's 1338-68X score was a full four points
better than Steve Blair could muster with his much heavier recoiling
300WSM. Food for thought for those considering one of these calibers for FO
competition.
Back in 2008, Steve Lockwood was just a friend
at work who, at the time, was a serious paintball competitor. I remember how he
always perked up when I would talk about some match or another and little
by little I reeled him in to the point where I got him to join me at
a club match. Well the rest, as they say is history as Steve has gone from
borrowing a rifle five years ago, to getting a full blown Doan Trevor
creation of his own and along the way has turned into one of Arizona's top
F-TR shooters; underscored I might add by his wire to wire victory over
runner-up Scott Harris in this year’s Championship. In looking at the
scores I would caution against resting on your laurels though Steve as Scott
just seems to be getting better and better every match!
The winner of the Palma Rifle division needs
no introduction. Bob Gustin has been winning matches for decades and in spite
of falling short in each of the daily aggregates, Bob's solid scoring over the
three days earned him yet another victory to cap an incredibly successful year
for the veteran shooter. Fellow Californian Brian Prescott was this year’s
runner-up in the Championship with a fine 1337-55X. I would be remiss if I
didn't acknowledge one very special accomplishment in the palma division.
Fourteen year old Ryan Hayes, in his first palma match I might add, stunned the
bondage bunch with a day two victory by virtue of a very well executed
448-25X effort and then followed that with a six down 444 on day three! One can
only wonder if this young man had shot all three days would we have seen a
different outcome in the grand aggregate? Only time will tell as we continue
down the road but what a great start with the palma rifle and he doesn't even
have his learners permit yet!
Congratulations to the winners and thank you
to everyone who came out to join us in this years Championship. The weather
wasn't the best but I sincerely hope you enjoyed yourselves and I look forward
to seeing you all back next year.
Sincerely,
Rick Curtis
1 comment:
None of the links work for me in either Chrome or Safari (the results links).
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