Horner, Watson Establish Big 3GN Divisional Leads

Micuelk, Dueck, Neal Hold Leads in Remaining Divisions

U.S. AMU's Daniel Horner picked up his third 3GN Divison Tactical Optics win of the season at JPRM3G.

By Chad Adams

Following wins in their respective divisions at the 2012 JP Rocky Mountain 3-Gun, DSG Arms’ Kuan Watson and U.S. AMU’s Daniel Horner have set the tone in the 3-Gun Nation Divisional Series. Each competitor has pulled away with leads that make them favorites to win their division and a check for $5,000 from Hornady.

In Tactical Optics, Horner picked up his third Divisional match win of the season, brining his top three series scores to a perfect 300 points. Stag Arms’ Kalani Laker (281.90) is second, followed by Burton Thompson (273.38), Rustin Bernskoetter (270.29) and junior Cody Leeper (254.86).

For anyone to catch Horner now, a competitor would have to run the table at the remaining partner matches where 3GN Divisional points are available: Ozark, Fallen Brethren and Blue Ridge. With Horner expected to compete at Fallen Brethren and Blue Ridge, where he has been dominant, that’s a tall order for anyone to catch the Army shooter now, though mathematically not impossible at this point.

Stag Arms' Kalani Laker is second in 3GN's Tactical Optics division, but needs match wins to stay alive.

In Heavy Metal, Watson picked up his second Divisional win of the season, putting him squarely in the driver’s seat. Trapr Swonson, Ting Sun and Rob Romero have all earned points, but Watson has 200 points and looks hard to catch at this point in the season. An interesting match-up will take place at Ozark, where Bryan Ray will enter the mix along with a few other solid Heavy Metal shooters. If Watson can win there, he will wrap up a 3GN Divisional win as well.

In Open, Jerry Miculek took control following a win at Rocky Mountain. With 298.66 series points, Miculek leads second-place Tony Holmes (289.89) and Craig Outzen (248.25). Miculek’s wife, Kay (225.32) is fourth, followed by Matt Burkett’s two-match total of 190.49. While Holmes and others are in striking distance, also interesting is Mike Voigt, who currently sits seventh win 100 points. That match win may loom large down the stretch, as last year’s race came down to the wire with Clint Upchurch outlasting Voigt on the final weekend.

Jerry Miculek controls his own destiny in Open, but will face a charge from Holmes, Voigt and others.

In Heavy Metal Optics, Stag Arms shooter Jesse Tischauser’s one-time big lead has evaporated to defending division champion Barry Dueck. A second place finish at Rocky Mountain enabled Dueck (297.99) to slip past Tischauser (296.51). Scott McGregor (188.94) is third, followed by Erik Lund (185.67) and JP Gangl (154.98). While McGregor and Lund are still within striking distance, this race looks as though it will go to the end between Tischauser and Dueck. Of note, defending Heavy Metal champ Rob Romero has indicated he might switch to Heavy Optics. While he can't win the division (not enough matches remaining for three scores), Romero could potentially steal points away from Dueck and Tischauser down the stretch, making Heavy Metal Optics even more interesting to watch.

With James Casanova’s Rocky Mountain win, Tactical Iron is shaping up to be a two-horse race to the finish. Kelly Neal currently leads the division with 297.72 series points. Casanova (281.23) is second, followed by Trip McIngvale (189.17), West Chandler (85.71) and Travis Gibson (85.51). With just enough matches remaining to trade wins, Tactical Iron potentially could come down to a tie-breaker between Casanova and Neal to decide the winner.

SureFire's Barry Dueck moved into first place in Heavy Metal Optics and is the defending division champ.

The next 3GN Divisional match takes place Sept. 7-9 at the Ozark 3-Gun Championship. The 3-Gun Nation Divisional Series is sponsored by Hornady. Each division winner will earn a check for $5,000, to be presented at the 2013 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

To see the full 3GN Divisional leader boards, powered by RangeLog, go to http://memberships.3gunnation.com/type/divisional.

James Casanova's match win puts him within striking distance of Tactical Iron division leader Kelly Neal.

(Eds. Note: All standings posted are current through RM3G. Pro Am results are being tabulated for all series now and will post soon.)

Posted on 8/31/2012