Based in Kingsville, Texas, Jonathan is a keen hunter and competitive shooter, first taking up competition pistol at college before entering the world of long range shooting. 

A family man, Jonathan is married with five kids aged 10 and under and as a family pastime they enjoy shooting. Jonathan is very excited as his eight-year-old daughter has recently expressed an interest to compete in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) with her dad.

Jonathan, what age where you when you started to shoot?

I first started hunting with my dad when I was five years old and shot my first deer with an old .243 when I was seven. I got a Benjamin .22 pellet gun when I was seven and that was the primary gun I shot until I was a teenager. I don’t know how many thousands of rounds I went through shooting birds, squirrels and rabbits growing up, but I loved that old gun.

Who introduced you to shooting?

My dad taught me how to shoot as a kid. Back then we didn’t have a lot of money and if I was able to shoot 5–10 shots with the deer rifle every couple of years I was lucky. Shooting my pellet gun growing up really allowed me to get a lot of trigger time without realizing it. I carried that old Benjamin air gun with me across all the countryside.

I was introduced to the competitive shooting world by accident. I was walking around the campus at Texas A&M and they had a fair where all the clubs at the school had informational tables. Whilst browsing I happened to see the pistol team’s table and thought that would be cool to try. I tried out the next day and qualified for the team and the rest is history.

After college I wanted to start competing again and learn how to shoot a deer at long range, like 200–300 yards. I started researching long range hunting and eventually I pulled the trigger on a Remington 700 PSS 20” .308 topped with a US Optics 1.8–10. Luckily I found a couple of guys in Texas that competed in long range competitions and they took me under their wing. Since then I have shot tens of thousands of rifle rounds, several private lessons with Jacob Bynum of Rifles Only and a slew of PRS competitions. It has been a great journey seeing the sport grow rapidly from outlaw style matches and maturing into the PRS with over 40 national matches and hundreds of local club matches each year.

What’s been the most valuable lessons you learned from shooting?

The best lesson I have learned from shooting is a great life lesson: PRS shooting in particular is a sport that rewards those who work hard and spend the time practicing to get good. What some of the guys are doing these days is absolutely mind blowing compared to when I started. The life lesson is that if you diligently apply yourself, set goals and work hard at what you are passionate about, you will get better and possibly rise up to compete at the highest level. There are numerous shooters in the sport today that were bottom third of the pack when they first started, and now they are winning national level matches. It’s been awesome to see them progress in their journeys and to watch the sport mature and grow so quickly.

What advice would you pass onto others with regards to shooting and guns?

Besides the obvious of gun safety is to just go out and have fun. Whether you want to compete in club level, national level or just to challenge yourself, get involved and have fun with whatever discipline you choose.

Also pass American heritage onto the next generation. They are the future so get them involved early, teach them to respect guns and show them how much fun it is to exercise our Second Amendment freedoms.

You used to compete with pistols, tell us about your experience.

I got into competing with pistols as I mentioned above through the Texas A&M Pistol Team. We competed with Hammerli standard and free pistols. It was a very fun and challenging time to immediately get inserted into competing at the collegiate level. I learned a lot about sight alignment and trigger control, especially in the free pistol discipline. That Hammerli free pistol had a 40-gram trigger and you were shooting at the 10-ring that was roughly the size of a dime at 50 feet.

Why did you choose to specialize in long-range shooting?

Long-range hunting is what really got me turned on to this style of competition. Once you get the satisfaction of banging steel repeatedly at long range you are hooked. These competitions are so fun, and they are made up of the best people you will ever meet. Everyone is willing to share their knowledge, equipment and stage strategy. While everyone is there to compete, it’s more of a fraternity of brothers than it is a competition. Half of the fun going to matches is getting to catch up with your friends from across the country. It makes for an awesome atmosphere at a match and I have met my best friends through this sport.

Do you have any pre-match rituals? How do you prepare for competitions, in terms of training and practice?

When I start to get ready for a competition, I do a couple of things. I like to check my zero and my dope on at least three separate occasions prior to the match. Showing up to a match with a gun that is zeroed and having validated your dope immediately puts you ahead of half of the competition. After I have done that, I like to run through mock stages and different positions to ensure that I am managing the clock, building solid positions and being efficient with my movements. Finally, I like to run through some small 1 MOA targets at long range to validate that my dope is good and to work on my wind reading skills. Reading wind is my weakest area so I try and practice that every time I go to the range.

What has been your proudest achievement in shooting?

My proudest moment has been my finishes over the last six years at Rifles Only, where I have won three times and placed second twice. There are some places where you feel at home and it’s easy to get in the zone and that’s Rifles Only for me. Jacob always puts on very challenging matches and so to be able to perform so well in that arena has been very rewarding. I feel that as my daughter starts to get her legs under her in the competition arena, my proudest achievement will change very soon.

Tell me about your long-range rifle set-up

My competition rifles are all exactly the same minus the caliber which is either a 6.5 Creedmoor or 6mm BR. I use Impact Precision short action receivers. The incredibly tight tolerances of the Impact Precision action allow me to buy off-the-shelf Impact by Stuteville precision barrels. I use in stock barrels from Impact Precision and they show up at my door in less than a week after I order them. This allows me to quickly replace barrels without having to wait for months on a replacement. I use Foundation stocks that are not bedded. These stocks are made out of micarta and CNC machined, so they fit perfectly with the Impact actions without having to bed them. Jewell triggers, Harris bipods and Impact Precision muzzle brakes complete my rifle builds. For my scopes I run Vortex Gen II Razors, with the EBR-2C MRAD reticle mounted in a SPHUR mount. Ultimate reliability is what I get with the Vortex scopes and SPHUR mounts. Finally I use Rifles Only slings and WieBad bags to keep me stable on the barricades and natural terrain shooting positions that we see in the PRS.

What ammunition do you use for competing?

My match ammo is all hand-loaded using a Prometheus powder scale. For the 6mm BR I’m running Hornady’s 105 gr BTHP Match or 108 gr ELD Match bullets, Varget powder and CCI BR-4 primers.

For the 6.5 Creedmoor my load is Hornady’s 140 gr ELD Match bullets, H4350 powder, CCI BR-2 primers and Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor cases. Both of these cases are very easy to load for and shoot incredibly well. The 6.5 Creedmoor is my primary match gun and I use the 6mm BR as my backup rifle but depending on the style of match, I may shoot it instead of the Creedmoor if it’s a fast paced position match with little wind.

You’re also a keen hunter, what’s been your most memorable hunt to date, and what would be your dream hunt?

All the hunts where my three oldest children have taken a deer, they were eight, six and five respectively when they shot their first deer. It’s been awesome being with them each step of the way, from when they started hunting with me at three years old until they harvested their first animals.

My dream hunt is a plains game hunt for kudu, gemsbuck, springbuck, black and blue wildebeast and warthogs. I want to go to Africa badly. The other one would be to do a high country, horseback hunt for elk with my dad.

What is your favorite gun and ammunition to hunt with and why?

My favorite gun to hunt with is one that Wade Stuteville recently completed for me. My grandfather gave me a Weatherby Vanguard when I was nine, chambered in .270 Winchester. Last year Wade rebarreled it with a Bartlein barrel in 6.5/06 and now I shoot Hornady 143 gr ELD bullets through it. He bedded the barreled action to a McMillian carbon fiber A5 with the stock bottom metal and a Timney trigger. It’s a great lightweight, long range hunting rig that I hope I will be able to pass onto my grandkids.

How long have you been a Hornady sponsored shooter?

This is my second season but I have shot Hornady for many years. The accuracy of the Hornady line, along with the amazing factory ammo available today provides a reliable, consistent performer. I am a very busy person, so while some people chase the highest BC bullet or the fastest, barrel burning caliber, I am always looking for consistency. It’s hard for me to balance work, family life and shooting and having a rifle and cartridge that performs match after match, with very little tuning or chasing the lands is what I look for. Hornady bullets have been very jump tolerant and easy to keep in tune over the years. Whether it’s been the tens of thousands of 80 gr A-MAX bullets or 140 gr ELDs, they continue to perform for me. I am very appreciative and thankful that I get the opportunity to be able to represent the Hornady brand as a sponsored shooter.