Congratulations Erud!

[minnesotatv]

Erik:

Congratulations on making it into the Top 5 at the 2017 Berger.
That's a real feat! Sounds like the competition was fierce this year.

Tom

[Scratch]

Congratulations!

[aprilian]

Way to go Erik

[Erud]

Hey thanks guys, that is very nice of you. It was definitely a good week. The Berger folks put on one of the best Long Range matches in the country, and it is always a blast to get to go down to AZ for a week of shooting in the middle of February. The competition was indeed fierce this year, so I was pretty happy to finish as high as I did.

Thanks,
Erik

[BigDog58]

Nice shooting Erik.

[Rip Van Winkle]

If anyone's interested, Erik's wife does a shooting blog with a couple nice write ups on the Berger Nats.

https://lifeofashooterswife.com

[Erud]

If anyone's interested, Erik's wife does a shooting blog with a couple nice write ups on the Berger Nats.

https://lifeofashooterswife.com

She does indeed, thanks Mark. She also does an email newsletter with info on local Highpower/Prone/F-class type matches if anyone is interested in that sort of thing. You can sign up to get them through the web page in the link above. It's fairly quiet at the moment, but will be picking up in the next month or so as the 2017 match schedule gets going.

[MJY65]

Congratulations!

I'd be interested to hear how you got to where you are. Military? Grew up on a farm with a ton of shooting land??

I'm guessing you didn't go directly from popping tin cans with a .22 to 600 yard competition.

[Erud]

Congratulations!

I'd be interested to hear how you got to where you are. Military? Grew up on a farm with a ton of shooting land??

I'm guessing you didn't go directly from popping tin cans with a .22 to 600 yard competition.

Well, it's nothing as exciting as either of those, but I'll tell you if you really want to know. I was not in the military, and I didn't really grow up shooting. I shot pistols a couple of times with a buddy from work, then bought my first handgun in 2000. Started playing with rifles in 2004 or so, then ended up with a White Oak Armament match grade A2 Service Rifle upper that I got in a trade for a Chinese AK47. I figured I should probably figure out what it was good for, so I started doing some research and stumbled upon a Service Rifle Clinic up at GRRC in the spring of 2007. They put on a 3 or 4 hour classroom presentation followed by a 200-yard introductory sort of practice match - very similar to what Rip Van Winkle puts on every year at the American Legion Post 435 gun club. For those not familiar, traditional NRA/CMP Highpower matches consist of firing from standing, sitting, and prone positions at distances from 200-600 yards. Standing at 200 and prone at 600 are both fired "slow fire", with 20 minutes to fire 20 shots, while sitting at 200 and prone at 300 are "rapid fire", requiring 20 shots on target in 60 (sitting) and 70 (prone) seconds. Rifles are supported only by a sling and your body, no bipods, rests, etc. Up until very recently, only iron sights were allowed, but rules have changed the last 2 years to allow optics.

I had an absolute blast at the practice match. Every new shooter had an experienced coach with them to help with questions on positions, gear, rules, etc. After it was over, some of the GRRC guys stuck around and offered to let us new guys shoot at 600 if we wanted. I managed to shoot a few 10's and was hooked from that moment on. I shot that A2 service rifle from 2007 through 2010, when I earned the Distinguished Rifleman badge from the CMP. After the 2010 season I switched from the Service Rifle to a Match Rifle, which is just sort of the "unlimited" rifle class of NRA Highpower. I got a dedicated "Palma" (single-shot .308) rifle built in 2012, and started shooting some Mid Range (300-600 yards) and Long Range (800-1000 yards) prone-only matches.

In the fall of 2013, one of my prone shooting friends talked me into skipping a Highpower match to go with him to a tryout for the US National Rifle Team that was being held at GRRC that weekend. I figured it would be a good learning experience, and didn't really have any expectations beyond that. Much to my surprise, I made the cut and was accepted into the developmental program. That sort of changed the direction of my shooting goals, since 2014 I have been focusing entirely on prone-only shooting, particularly Palma and Long Range. I am currently trying to make it onto the 16-person team that will represent the USA at the 2019 World Long Range Championship matches in New Zealand. Those 16 shooters are selected from the developmental team prospects, which is what I tried out for in 2013.

Anyways, sorry to ramble. I love this sport so much that I can go on and on about it if someone gets me started. Some people are more geared towards 3-gun, or the other more "action" oriented shooting sports, but for me, Long Range fits my personality type like a glove. Once you get past the physical aspect of positions and equipment, shooting this way at 1000 yards is sort of like playing chess against the conditions, and against yourself. All sorts of factors come into play, and all have to be considered and accounted for before making your decision on how to make the shot. The wind is sort of like a language that you just slowly learn to understand bits and pieces of. You can get pretty good at understanding, but you will never be fully fluent. Sometimes it does things that just can't be followed and leaves everyone scratching their heads. While this makes it not the most spectator-friendly sport, it is terribly exciting internally. I have probably shot close to 400 days of matches since I started, and I still get nerves at big matches. Shooting well in a tough condition is one of the most challenging and rewarding things in my life. When it works out, it is a great feeling.

I'm lucky enough to have a very supportive wife, an extremely flexible job, and kids that are grown and moved out, so I am able shoot a pretty ridiculous number of matches every year. I don't drink, smoke, gamble, chase women, etc - I just do this.

And argue on the internet...

[gun_fan111v2]

Congrats!

[yukonjasper]

Congratulations and thanks for the background. I often wonder how people end up doing what they do.

Good luck to you.

[OldmanFCSA]

Congrats Erik.

Would like to watch you shoot sometime with you giving advice on how to read the WIND.

[shooter115]

Well done! Hopefully you make it to New Zealand.