Tell us a little about yourself.
Living and working in north-west Montana means I have a beautiful home state to travel back to after attending matches around the United States. I’ve been fortunate enough to be shooting competitively on and off for the last 25 years while working in the ever-evolving firearms industry.
What age were you when you started shooting and who introduced you to the sport?
My grandfather was a great influence by keeping many years’ worth of American Rifleman magazine to read cover to cover, as well as teaching me to shoot my first 22LR at the age of six. I still have the Marlin Lil’ Buckeroo today.
When did you start shooting competitively and how often do you compete?
I started shooting in competitions around the age of 13 with my local junior rifle team, getting weekly practice for positional rimfire. Continuing that for the next few years laid down a pretty decent foundation to build on after diving back into the practical precision long range game, as well as 3-Gun.
What discipline do you specialize in and why?
Most of the matches now have a strong focus on long range practical team matches. They generally focus on team work, long range engagements for both shooters, rucking from each shooting position under an aggressive time constraint, along with some pistol engagements for good measure. This style of competition has become more popular the last few years and makes for a very rewarding match, requiring a versatile team to do well against a very talented field of competitors.
What’s been the most valuable lesson you learned from shooting?
Always make sure you are competing for the right reasons. That will keep the sport fun and rewarding for a very long time.
What is your preferred handgun set-up?
Most of the time I shoot with a custom 2011 in 9mm. Eddie Garcia from EMG Customs built the 6-inch version in a limited configuration. The additional sight radius of the 6-inch, paired with consistent ammo makes for a smooth and accurate combination.
What ammunition do you use for competing?
Hornady has been producing some great ammunition and components that we utilize in our team matches. The 6mm Creedmoor combined with 108gr ELD Match, the 223 Remington and 75gr ELD Match, along with the 125gr HAPs through 9mm takes care of each of my specific needs in a match. These are my go-to favorites for consistency and long range accuracy.
What has been your proudest achievement in shooting?
Each team match has its own rewards that you get to share with your partner. Regardless if it is rucking for 30 miles in the rain at the Mammoth Sniper Challenge or putting on the miles in the Wyoming high desert to pull off a success at the Competition Dynamics Sniper Challenge, each match is just as fun and rewarding as the last.
How long have you been a Hornady sponsored shooter?
Although I have been using Hornady products at work and as a competitive shooter, I am very new to the team and 2018 was my first year as a sponsored shooter. The Hornady team has been doing great work developing products for the hunter and competitive shooter. Becoming an ambassador for the brand was an exciting move for me as a competitor and hunter going into the 2019 season.
