Cool Stuff From Cool People
Keep checking back for cool stuff from cool
people!  Sometimes it will be my (Jack)
musings.  Other times it will be articles,
stories, and pictures from our customers. So
let us hear from you!  Tell us about your
hunts, send us your pictures,  and give us your
thoughts on your favorite places, guns, knives
or whatever!   
August 2011
                           Check out another of our favorite people - Bryan Dailey.  


I probably shot my first gun when I was 10. It was a .22 rifle,
but I don't remember what I was shooting at, or if I hit it or
not. I do remember wearing a really big pair of ear muffs, and
I'm sure I looked pretty silly. Flash forward two decades, and
I'm a nationally ranked high power service rifle shooter. How
did this happen? I doubt I could attribute it to any one thing;
it is more like a combination of natural gifts. For starters, I
have excellent vision, 20/15 to be exact. I'm also very attentive
to details, perhaps (ok, definitely) a little obsessive compulsive.
Although that can be a handicap in some areas, it can be a big                   
benefit in shooting. And finally, I probably inherited a lot of my
ability from my dad, who qualified expert rifleman in the Marine            
Corps, and has always been an excellent shot with a pistol.                Just Made the President's 100

Getting back to shooting that first .22, I don't remember a lot of other rifle or pistol shooting following it. I
know I didn't immediately take an interest in shooting. A few years later though, I decided I wanted to get into
bow hunting. So I bought a bow and some arrows, and spent God knows how many hours practicing. It
became evident pretty quickly that I was good at it. I ended up competing in some local archery competitions
and was immediately hooked on competitive archery. I competed throughout my high school years all over the
Southeast, winning numerous state championships and placing third in the World Championship in 1996. After I
graduated high school, work and school got in the way and I kind of lost the itch for competitive archery. I had
started shooting deer rifles and pistols and so forth, but not competitively. I mainly just shot for fun and to
practice for deer season. In 2001, I moved to the Atlanta area from Alabama to begin a career in the fire
service, and a lack of outdoor ranges all but shut down my rifle shooting. Occasionally, I would shoot pistols
indoors and would always outshoot my friends.

After I had been in Georgia a few years and had some extra
money to spend on hobbies, I decided to join River Bend Gun
Club in Dawsonville.  I began shooting a little more, and practicing
longer range rifle shooting for an elk hunting trip. After the elk
hunt, my Dad surprised me for Christmas with a present of
his prized M1 Garand he had bought before I was born. I can
remember him taking it out to show his friends, he was so proud
of it. He had trained with one in Marine Corps basic training and
always wanted one after that. I can't express how proud he was
of that rifle. So for him to give it to me was almost overwhelming.
I started shooting the Garand soon thereafter, and found out I
was pretty competent with it as well. My gun club has monthly
high power rifle shooting clinics put on by Ben Franklin, where he
teaches position shooting for high power rifle competition. I learned
a lot at these clinics.  My foundation for high power rifle shooting        
came from these clinics and was further refined by Steve Hardin.  Both of these men are accomplished coaches
and high power
competitors. I went on to win the River Bend Gun Club M1 Garand match with the very rifle my Dad gave me.
Later that same year, I took my AR15 (also known as a service rifle) and placed 16th in the President’s 100
Match at the National Trophy Matches at Camp Perry Ohio. This match draws over one thousand of the best
service rifle shooter countries in the world!

Now here I am, three years after I picked up a service rifle for the first time, a Distinguished Rifleman.  I have
placed in the top 20 both times in the President’s Match, am the current Georgia Service Rifle state champion,
and frankly can't believe how far I've come with a rifle in three years’ time. I have high hopes for the President’s
Match and the National Championships this year at Camp Perry, and hope to win the World Police and Fire
Games, High Power Rifle Competition in August of this year.
Congratulations Bryan Dailey!

One of our favorite people, Bryan Dailey has returned
from the Police and Fire Games and he again showed
his amazing talent!

In the international match, Bryan was the winning
service rifle shooter, with a 563 out of 600.  He also
finished 7th overall, being bested only by shooters with
scopes and superior calibers.

In the NRA match, Bryan was the winning service rifle
shooter, with a 775 w 25x's.  He had the second highest
score overall, again only being bested by someone with a
superior caliber rifle and sights.  Bryan fired the high score
for the day at 600 yards, a 196 w 11x's on a notoriously
difficult range to shoot from 600 yards.

Being that Bryan was high service rifle both days, he had the
high service rifle aggregate score for the two matches.

Bryan also competed in three team matches, which consisted of the individual scores of his 4 teammates in
the two matches.  They won the team match for the international match, the NRA match, and the aggregate
score of the two matches.

Overall, Bryan won 6 gold medals in the matches, three individual and three team - An amazing showing!  To
learn more about Bryan read below.
September 2011

______________________________________________________________________________