Between The Berms

Jun 22, 2011
SFC James Henderson (middle) set a new match record and won his seventh individual title at the 52nd Interservice Pistol Championships. Photo: Michael Molinaro
At the Home of Champions last week, the Army beat up on the other services as the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit dominated the 52nd Interservice Pistol Championship. The USAMU's SFC James Henderson won everything and set records doing it, while the U.S. Army Blue squad (made up of USAMU members) took the team title. Noting the collective talent of all the various servicemembers competing, LTC Daniel Hodne, commander, USAMU, said, "As we are part of a joint force that has been engaged in combat operations for nearly 10 years and a joint force that may remain engaged in combat operations for the foreseeable future, it is important to know that the marksmanship training provided to all of our fellow servicemembers will help shape the course of future battles and propel our nation to future victories." That's the West Point Army officer polite way of saying - and I'm paraphrasing here - these guys can, and will, open a can of whoop ass on our nation's enemies.'
They put the 'Action' in Cowboy Shooting... Action Target has been named the official target manufacturer for Cowboy Action Shooting by the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS). Action Target has been very active in Cowboy Action Shooting and is certainly the best known name in targets among the old west shooters. With something like 30,000 SASS members, and monthly club matches that rival most major matches in terms of attendance, there's a lot business in cowboy steel. Factor in that Action Target is already the official target for the Scholastic Steel Challenge program, and you start getting the feeling that it's not so much manufacturing that's taking place but alchemy as Chad Burdette and the Action Target crew turn steel into gold.
B.J. Norris took second at the West Coast Regional, dropping just one Steel Challenge title out of 10 in the last 25 days. Photo: Akita
Speaking of steel, Team Smith & Wesson's B.J. Norris has been doing his best 'Man of Steel' impersonation as he's crisscrossed the country since Memorial Day weekend shooting Steel Challenge matches - and collecting titles. Starting with the Rocky Mountain Steel Challenge Regional in Colorado, then on to the Northeast Steel Challenge Regional in Old Bridge, N.J. and finishing at the West Coast Regional in Piru, Calif., B.J. picked up 9 titles (2 Open, 3 Limited, 2 Open Rimfire, 2 Iron Sight Rimfire). His only defeat came last weekend in Piru when Glock's Dave Sevigny outgunned him in the Open match to claim the overall title. But with 9 out of 10 wins, it's safe to say B.J.'s fast is getting faster.
Dandini's Tactical Solutions .22LR conversion was working overtime as he won the Open Rimfire event.
Now there is one Steel Challenge match Norris seemed to have ducked, and that's the Harvard Action Shooters' 1/2 Steel Challenge which was also this past weekend. Organized by Paul Dandini, the match featured the stages Showdown, Outer Limits, Pendulum and Accelerator and drew 33 of the area's best shooters, including a certain Shooting Wire contributing editor and future Steel Challenge top gun (no wonder Norris chose to face Sevigny instead of take on New England's best). Not surprisingly, Dandini topped the field winning both Open and Open Rimfire. John Sardina won Limited, Ed Upton Open Revolver, Jerry Tetreau Production, Bob Walsh Open Rimfire Rifle, Jared Nedzel Iron Sight Revolver and Frank Ching - known as Point Blank Frank - took on all comers to win the Iron Sight Rimfire event. Harvard will host a second 1/2 Steel Challenge - featuring the other 4 stages, natch - on July 2.
T.D. Roe won 11 of 14 stages and the Women's Limited title at Area 5. Photo: Paul Hyland
Lest you think this was an all Steel Challenge weekend, 359 top competitors were running and gunning at PASA Park in Barry, Ill. for the USPSA Area 5 Regional Handgun Championship. StrikeForce's Todd Jarrett took the Open title, Manny Bragg Limited, Todd Kunz Limited-10, Ben Stoeger Production, Team Smith & Wesson's Jerry Miculek Revolver and Corey Estill Single Stack. Among the women, T.D. Roe won Limited, Nancy Huspek Production and Rebecca Jones, the reigning Women's National Open Champ, won, you guessed it, Open. The next USPSA regional is the Area 1 Regional Handgun Championship, Presented by Springfield Armory, this weekend at the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club, Shedd, Ore. Another big turnout is expected which is not surprising since match officials report they have more than 45 sponsors. Going, Going, Almost Gone... If you're looking to get into the USPSA Indiana Section & State Championship July 29-31 at the Warsaw Rifle &Pistol Club, you better hurry. Jake Martens announced this week that he only has 25 Friday slots, 2 Saturday slots and 26 Sunday slots left. The entry fee is just $100 (before July 8) and the match is an STI Contingency Match. If that's not enough incentive, there is also a cash payout. You can find all the match info online, so make your plans and get your application in before the match is full. And finally... I'd like to tell you a little more about Max Michel's second place finish at the IPSC Greek Nationals but nobody seems to be able to find the detailed results online. Of course, considering that Greece is desperately trying to keep from circling the financial drain, it is possible that the Greek austerity plan has seen it's first victim. Let's hope the news out of the World Shoot later this year comes a little faster...assuming the entire country of Greece hasn't gone out of business. - Paul Erhardt, Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network Got shooting sports news? Send us an email at info@shootingwire.com.