Casanova Dominates Ozark

Chandler Picks Up 1st Major Win; Miculek, Tischauser, Watson Win Divisions

West Chandler picked up his first major 3-gun match win, edging out Rustin Bernskoetter for the victory.

By Chad Adams

Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. – The 2012 installment of the Adams Arms Ozark 3-Gun Championship re-solidified Ozark’s place among the can’t-miss major outlaw 3-gun matches with several challenging and fun stage strewn across a natural terrain setting. Following last year’s criticism of the match, one would imagine match director Kirk Broyles felt he needed a home run this year. Broyles and his team delivered on nearly every front, with most competitors walking away ready to shoot the Ozarks again next year.

The largest criticism for this year’s match revolved around an interesting pistol-shotgun stage that literally wreaked havoc on the game’s top shooters. After a number of pistol targets through ports, competitors moved to a suspension platform to engage six slug targets. These reduced-size IPSC-shaped steel targets, with the completely unstable firing position, placed well past 50 yards presented a formidable target presentation.

In short order, word spread throughout the match that most competitors were simply going to engage quickly and take the misses. Others took one fairly well-aimed shot at each target and moved on. And then there were the stubborn few who decided to go to war to hit the steel, with most times getting very large. But by and large, the field had decided these targets were simply too tough to hit.

James Casanova, seen here at JPRM3G last year, dominated Ozark, winning six of eight stages for the win.

But nobody told West Chandler or James Casanova.

Chandler and Casanova were two of just a handful of competitors that took on stage seven, engaged the slug targets and hit all but one to establish monster leads on their divisions. Each hit five of six slug targets, while their primary competition struggled with severe penalties (each missed target incurred a 10-second penalty), giving Chandler and Casanova 50-percent stage wins or more on much of the field. In short, where many gamed the stage, Chandler and Casanova simply shot it. For Chandler, it was the difference for a major match win; for Casanova, yet another big stage win in a monster performance.

Jerry Miculek cruised to an Open division win, his third 3-Gun Nation Open division win of the season.

Overall match winner James Casanova took honors in Tactical Iron in dominating fashion. Casanova won six of eight stages, racking up 794.20 of a possible 800 match points. Fellow 3GN Pro Series shooter, and 3GN Junior Series, Cody Leeper (670.03) continued his phenomenal rise with a second place finish, including one stage win.

3GN Pro Series’ Brian Vaught (562.63) finished third, followed by Paul Clark (560.39) and Stewart Judy. 3GN Semi-Pro’s Rick Birdsall (532.44) was sixth, followed by Jeremy Moore (507.26), Jason Carillo (504.15), Blaise Sanford (502.55) and Kyle Simank (497.89).

In Tactical Optics, 3GN Pro Series competitors dominated the leader board, with West Chandler picking up his first major 3-gun match victory. Rustin Bernskoetter (705.91) finished second, followed by Adam Popplewell (676.26), Rob Romero (669.55) and Chris Andersen (647.70).

Stag Arms' Jesse Tischauser won Heavy Metal Optics in dominating fashion, taking seven of eight stages.

3GN Semi-Pro shooter Ryan Zamberlan (624.00) finished sixth, followed by Josh Flyntz (600.57), Andrew Daun (600.39), David Hill (597.73) and Scott McGregor (589.79).

Jerry Miculek picked up his third 3GN Divisional Series win of the season, cruising to victory with 744.92 points. Tony Holmes (662.56) edged out Nick Kalishek (662.13) for second, followed by Dale Alcorn (588.54) and Anthony Raborn (586.38). Tanner Larsson (556.29) finished sixth, followed by Joe Cuccia (535.02), Jeff Blackmon (520.59), Mark Roth (461.93) and Deane Graves (428.48).

Stag Arms’ Jesse Tischauser picked up his third Heavy Metal Optics win of the season, a dominating performance in winning seven of eight stages and totaling 790.96 points. 3GN Semi-Pro shooter Joe Niederbrach (631.44) posted a personal best in finishing second, followed by Ken Flood (579.21), William Long (520.02) and Dave Sommers (502.48).

Kuan Watson continued his dominating season in Heavy Metal, besting Ray, Johnson, Villamor and others.

In Heavy Metal, Kuan Watson continued his impressive summer of shooting with a match win over a solid field of Heavy Metal shooters. Watson’s dominating rifle performance lead him to four stage wins and a point total of 753.39. Samson’s Bryan Ray (667.95) finished second, followed by JJ Johnson (641.38), Richard Boyes (580.84) and Jomar Villamor (574.58).

Posted on 9/17/2012