Tischauser, Neal Establish 3GN Divisional Leads

Miculek, Bernskoetter, Watson Top Remaining Divisions

3-gun veteran Jerry Miculek has established a solid lead in Open. Miculek finished third in Open in 2011.

By Chad Adams

At the midpoint of the 2012 3-Gun Nation Divisional Series some familiar names sit atop the standings; however a few new names are challenging the veterans as well. With a $5,000 prize on the line for the winner of each division from Hornady, the races promise to get even hotter heading down the back stretch of the 2012 season.

In Open, Jerry Miculek is the only competitor with three scores posted, giving him a big lead with 296.56 series points. Tony Holmes (197.77) is second with two match scores posted, followed by Matt Burkett (190.49), James Darst (177.07) and Craig Outzen (158.05).

Kay Miculek (150.66) is sixth with two scores, while Mike Voigt and Ben Fortin are tied for seventh, each with a 100-point win at MGM Ironman, Voigt and Open, and Fortin in Trooper, which gets scored as Open. Travis Gibson (96.01), who also earned points shooting Trooper at Ironman, is ninth.

Heavy Metal is currently wide open, with Kuan Watson establsihing the early lead with 100 points. Trapr Swonson is second with 87.60 points, however an injury puts much of his 2012 campaign in jeopardy.

FNH USA's Erik Lund has one match win this year, but has more work to do to challenge for a division title.

Defending 3GN Heavy Metal Champion Rob Romero plans on getting three matches in and making a run at the title again in 2012. And after watching Romero go three-for-three, in the last three matches of 2011, to outrun Bryan Ray to the win, Heavy Metal should be exciting to the finish once more.

In Heavy Metal Optics, Stag Arms’ Jesse Tischauser opened a lead following Northwest MultiGun Challenge, becoming the only competitor to notch two match wins in the division, running his total to 200 series points. Defending division champion Barry Dueck is second with 198.78 series points. Erik Lund (185.67) is third, followed by Scott McGregor (98.85), who was narrowly edged out by Tischauser at Northwest, and FNH USA's Mark Hanish (94.78).

Kelly Neal opened up a comfortable lead in Tactical Iron after winning Northwest, giving the veteran 3-gunner 200 series points. James Casanova (181.23) is second, followed by Trip McIngvale (99.54), West Chandler (85.71) and Jay Schmitt (70.82).

Kelly Neal jumped out to a big lead in the 3GN Tactical Iron Division with two match wins already this season.

While Neal has a solid cushion, Casanova last year made a monster push down the stretch to nearly catch division winner Kurt Miller. While he came up short, in the final match he did earn a division win at FNH 3-Gun, which prevented Neal from taking the title. This race could shape up for a dramatic conclusion once again in 2012.

In Tactical Optics, Rustin Bernskoetter’s three match scores give him the division lead with 258.73 series points. However, lurking in second place is defending division champion Daniel Horner. With only two scores posted, both wins, Horner’s 200 series points loom large in the standings.

Stag Arms’ Kalani Laker (190.89) is third, followed by Burton Thompson (184.90), Cody Leeper (176.87), Carl Carbon (174.85), Travis Gibson (174.50), Mark Hanish (168.36), Ben Fortin (166.27) and Andrew Daun (165.75) rounding out the top 10.

Rustin Bernskoetter has the lead in Tactical Optics, but it will take match wins to hold off Daniel Horner.

The next chance for 3GN Divisional points comes this weekend at the JP Rocky Mountain 3-Gun at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM.

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

Posted on 8/7/2012