Leupold Announces Tactical Optics Shooting Team for 2010
BEAVERTON, Ore. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Leupold’s Tactical Optics Shooting Team for 2010 features 10 accomplished shooters including Tasha Hanish, one of the dominant female competitors in 2009 multi-gun matches.
The team’s newest member, Hanish was the top woman in the tactical optics class in three major 2009 competitions: United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Multi-Gun National Championships, DPMS Tri-Gun Challenge and Rocky Mountain 3-Gun. An avid hunter, she is married to fellow team member Mark Hanish. They reside in Arizona.
Robby Johnson and Adam Popplewell join Tasha and Mark Hanish as new members of the Leupold Tactical Optics Shooting Team. Returning members are team captain Dave Neth; Bennie W. Cooley, Jr.; Cameron Grantham; Tony Holmes; Charles “Tate” Moots and Kelly Neal.
“We have expanded our team and look forward to another successful year,” said Kevin Trepa, Leupold’s vice president of tactical sales and marketing. “It is an honor to have these world-class competitive shooters representing Leupold in big matches around the country.”
A national champion competitive shooter, Dave Neth is proficient in a wide range of disciplines including 3-Gun, USPSA / International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), manual rifle / sniper matches and tactical shotgun. He has achieved top ranking in each of these disciplines. Neth is a USPSA 3-Gun Master Class national champion, and has won championships in many other major 3-Gun matches. He is an Idaho State Trooper and state-certified firearms instructor.
Bennie Cooley is a multiple winner in numerous shooting competitions, including the USPSA Multi-Gun National Championships, the 3-Gun World Championships and the International Tactical Long-Range Rifle Championships. He has more than 25 years experience in counter-terrorism and SWAT training, and is widely recognized for his outstanding ability to instruct and develop individuals in CQB shooting, sniper training and hostage rescue operations. Cooley, who lives in Idaho, has received the Excellence Award from the Mountain States Tactical Officers Association in recognition for winning back-to-back National SWAT Team Championships.
Cameron Grantham has competed in major matches around the country in a wide range of shooting disciplines: 3-Gun, sniper, manually operated rifle, USPSA and IPSC. A former Leupold employee in the Tactical Optics Division, he has an extensive background in law enforcement and training. Grantham resides in Oregon.
Mark Hanish holds the rank of USPSA Grandmaster, the highest possible classification. A competitive shooting champion at the world, regional and state levels, he is one of the founders of the Scottsdale Gun Club, the world’s largest public indoor shooting facility. Hanish’s titles include American Handgunner World Champion, stock class; and Winchester World Challenge winner, limited class.
A seasoned veteran, Tony Holmes competes in a wide variety of disciplines. He cites 2006 as a banner year in his competitive shooting career. At the 2006 NRA Action Pistol World Shoot in Australia, Holmes was a member of the United States Gold Team, which took second place overall. He placed second overall in the tactical optics class at the 2006 Ft. Benning 3-Gun Championship, and at the 2006 World Action Pistol Championship, won the falling plate event, setting a new record. Holmes lives in Indiana.
A Georgia resident, Robby Johnson shoots competitively in sniper, high power and 3-gun competitions. He was a member of the top team at the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition in 2007 and 2008, and in recent years has won the tactical irons division in several 3-Gun competitions. Johnson has served 13 years of active military duty – eight years in 3rd Ranger Battalion and five years with the Army Marksmanship unit.
A sponsored shooter since 2004, “Tate” Moots competes in “as many matches as I can get to” annually. He has participated in IPSC matches as well as the USPSA 3-Gun National Championships, among others. Moots has served as a sheriff’s deputy, a firearms instructor for SWAT dignitary protection duty, and a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. He resides in New Mexico.
Kelly Neal’s competitive shooting accomplishments include wins in the following matches: Ft. Benning 3-Gun, Tactical Optics Division; LaRue Tactical 3-Gun, Heavy Tactical Division; DPMS Tri-Gun Challenge, Heavy Tactical Division; USPSA Multi-Gun National Championships, Limited Division; and USPSA Open Rifle Championship. He has won matches at the state level in his home state of Arizona as well. Neal works in law enforcement, specializing in narcotics/methamphetamine interdiction and street gang drug prosecution.
Adam Popplewell competes in several different disciplines and has won many regional and national USPSA titles. He has placed in the top five or higher in matches that include the USAMU Ft. Benning 3-Gun, DPMS Tri-Gun Challenge, Rocky Mountain 3-Gun, Blue Ridge Mountain 3-Gun, and LaRue Tactical 3-Gun. In addition, Popplewell has many top finishes at sniper competitions. His home state is Nebraska.
Leupold & Stevens, Inc., the most prominent American-owned and -operated optics company, employs more than 600 people in its state-of-the-art facility near Beaverton, Ore., where rugged, dependable, high-performance Golden Ring® and Mark 4® optics are designed, machined and assembled. Leupold is a fifth-generation, family-owned company whose products are sold worldwide to American warfighters, law enforcement officers, hunters, wildlife observers and competitive shooters. The product line includes rifle, handgun and spotting scopes; binoculars; rangefinders; flashlights; mounting systems; and optical tools and accessories.
Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is a Charter Supporter of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation.