[Report from Mike Jones]
Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend. We had outstanding participation with 24 shooters on Saturday and 31!!! on Sunday. We have to acknowledge Rich Elliott, Van Texas and John Hermsen as the Medics and RSO. Please thank each of them (when you have the opportunity) as we cannot shoot if we don’t have medics and RSOs with us.
I want to personally thank Gunnery Sergeant Dylan Rokos. He has been our primary advocate and conduit to get the invitations out to the Marines on base to come join us. Dylan is transferring to Okinawa so will no longer be joining us. Hopefully after his tour in Okinawa we will see him back on base and at the ranges with us.
Saturday was the usual challenging conditions with wind starting early and being very shifty in the morning and then it just turned into a blow in the afternoon. I had 4 MOA on my 284 and was still holding right 9 or 8 ring in the final stage on Saturday. Jerry McDonough was the high for the day with a 578-15.
Sunday was epic conditions with essentially no wind in the morning. Marc Mittry shot a 198 in his first string with a loose front sight! We had this low wind condition until about 11 am, and then the wind machine started again. High score for the day was Lee Davis with a 567-13. We also had 4 Marines join us for the 1000 yards on Sunday. The Marines were very thankful for the opportunity to shoot with us and do something they normally have very little experience with. I hope they will all join us for another match or at Mid-Range.
Match Winners were:
- Jerry McDonough for the sling shooters.
- Mike Jones for the F-Open.
- Lee Davis for FTR.
Scores available on the Match Results page.
Thanks to Duane Fitzgerald for preparing the food and giving up his last string of fire so everything was ready when the range was cleaned up. I hope everyone enjoyed the refreshments after the hot dry day, I know I did.
Congratulations to Walter Lange, Mark Roth and Duane Fitzgerald for their results in Lodi at F-Class Nationals. Walter and Mark won individual medals and the group finished 4th in the nation in the Team Match!
Looking forward…. We are looking at schedules for the ranges with the Gunners to set our competition schedule for the next year. I am waiting to see what the new Gunner at 29 Palms is planning for December, before scheduling our next match. We will be inviting some of the Wounded Warrior to join us at our next 1000 yard match so stay tuned for that date, and we will continue to have enlisted Marines join us at the range.
