The purpose of the “Shooter Spotlight” is to help shooters get to know their fellow competitors a little bit better. We cover a wide range of shooters from “Marksman to Master.” This is the 52nd interview in the series.
Where do you call home?
My home is in Roswell, GA, a suburb just north of Atlanta.
How long have you been shooting?
I have been shooting since I was eight years old – 58 years – when my dad gave me a used Winchester Model 60 single shot bolt action rifle.
How did you get involved in shooting competitively?
A good friend, Gil Muñoz, asked me to serve as statistical officer at the NRA Conventional Outdoor Pistol (bullseye) Georgia State Championship in May 2000. What I saw at the match intrigued me and the following month I competed in my first bullseye pistol match. I was an avid bullseye pistol competitor until 2005 when Gil suggested that I try my hand at smallbore prone. My first match was the Dixieland Regional Championships in May 2005 and, ever since I took the first shot laying on my belly, I’ve been hopelessly hooked. Since then, I have focused most of my competitive efforts on NRA smallbore rifle prone but, thanks to the urging and encouragement of my good friends Jim Hardy and Wayne Forshee, I also began competing in NRA High Power Mid-range Prone in late 2008.
What is a little known fact about yourself that your fellow competitors might not know?
I am a native “Conch”, born and raised in Key West, Florida
What do you consider your finest shooting achievement?
Winning the NRA smallbore rifle prone Georgia state championship in 2008 and, with my shooting partner, Charlie Kemp, breaking the 2-man team conventional prone any sights outdoor 50 meter senior national record.
What is your favorite pre-match meal?
Scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast
What is your favorite post match drink?
Root beer or ginger ale
Do you have a favorite shooting range?
Camp Perry’s Rodgriguez Range
Do you have any short term and/or long term goals?
My primary short term goal is to earn an NRA master classification in conventional smallbore prone. I came within one point of earning a master classification in two consecutive years (2007 and 2008) and I am determined to correct that in the next twelve months. For my longer term personal shooting goal, I have my sights set on earning the NRA Distinguished Smallbore Rifleman Award. In addition, I am also involved in promoting and developing shooting sports in my club, River Bend Gun Club, and one of my broader long-term goals for the club is to establish a robust junior shooting program.
What shooting skills are currently focusing your energy on?
Over the past five years I’ve harvested the bulk of “low hanging fruit” and I was fortunate to have the resources needed to acquire top of the line match rifles, ammunition and shooting equipment. My scores have improved markedly but the downside is that performance improvement is now measured in terms of a point or two or a few x’s in 160 shots. Accordingly, my improvement efforts are now focused on developing my wind doping skills, refining my position and reducing inconsistency in shot execution. I am fortunate to belong to a great club with superb smallbore and 600 yard high power ranges and more than a dozen outstanding smallbore and high power prone shooters who are unselfishly willing share their skills and knowledge with me. I work on my wind doping skills at River Bend Gun Club but, for my position development and shot execution training, I rely primarily on my Anschutz 8002 air rifle in my 10-meter basement range.
Thanks Tommy for sharing a little bit about yourself with the pronematch.com community!
Nice article. However, a few points to consider. In the picture, the guy in the background is holding up a red paddle and saying, “Wait! Don’t take that picture now”. Also, there are no anti-oxidants in ginger ale.
TN
Tommy left the range April 27 2023 age 78. After initially planning a church
funeral the immediate family reconsidered because they knew big funerals
made him uneasy when he had to attend one. They changed the plan to a
celebration of life at Buffalo’s bar and grill in Cumming GA that drew a near
capacity crowd. Preacher said it was the first in his long life to preach a funeral
in a bar and grill. Tommy supervised construction of a dedicated smallbore
range at River Bend G C that became the Jim Hinkle range after Hink left the
range a few years ago, but Hink got to call the line a few times there before that.