Darrell Buell
This month’s Shooter Spotlight Series features Darrell Buell. His experience in both National and International shooting competitions makes for an excellent read. His passport has more miles on it than the Kardashians
Q: When did you start shooting?
A: Growing up in a very rural environment, I’ve been shooting since I was a small boy. I later shot in the military, competing in the Navy Regional Pistol championships for my command.
Q: How did you get into competition shooting?
A: After the military, I didn’t shoot for several years. Gradually I got into tactical rifle competitions on an ever-increasing scale.
Eventually, I started taking those same (bare-bones by today’s standards) tactical rifles to long-range matches in Raton, NM, Sacramento, etc. F-Class was in its infancy then, having held its first World Championships just a few years earlier in South Africa. A few years later, I co-founded Team Savage and started shooting for them. With my science/engineering background, the extreme precision of F-Class, and the level playing field of F-T/R intrigued me, and I was hooked.
Q: Where do you live?
A: I live in cold, wet, emerald-green Oregon
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I’m a 100% disabled Veteran, but I put on precision rifle/reloading training classes when the mood strikes me.
Q: Do you have any family members who compete in shooting sports?
A: All of my immediate family competes. My wonderful (very patient) wife Kathy has shot in Team competitions all over the world. Indeed, she was my US Team Adjutant, without which we’d have all been lost on the many overseas trips. My eldest, Kyle, has shot in a World Championships as part of the North American Junior F-Class Team, which performed spectacularly at the last Worlds. Liam, my youngest, has also shot in a (600 meters) competition in Canada.
Q: Do you shoot F-Open or FTR?
A: I shoot F-T/R. Though the caliber is generally less efficient, the idea of shooting on a (more or less) even playing field intrigues me. At some point, though, I’ll start shooting F-Open as well.
Q: What advice do you have for new shooters?
A: Hand load! Aside from that, pick an equipment configuration and load that works, even if it’s not the most expensive rifle or the hottest ‘nuclear’ charge, and STICK WITH IT. Learning the wind is *so* much easier if you aren’t changing a dozen different parameters on your rifle and loading every match. Lack of accurate ammunition can lose you a match, but winning an event is a function of wind reading skill.
Q: Where do you see the sport going in the future?
A: I am happy to see that participation in shooting, generally, and F-Class, in particular, is booming. I’ve said it many times; we’ll only hold on to our shooting sports if we get the youth into it. With no youngsters getting into the game, it’ll be dead in a generation or two. Invite folks out to shoot, and show them that there’s a lot more to shooting sports than the doom and gloom they see on the nightly news.
Q: Do you shoot on any team or teams?
A: I was honored to Captain the US F-T/R Team to two back-to-back World Championship Golds. I also shot/coached as a part of Team Savage for many years.
Q: What was your favorite match, and why?
A: This is a tough one. There were a *lot* of great matches from Scotland, to South Africa, to Canada. If pressed, I’d probably have to pick the Creedmoor Cup in Ireland 2011. It was a fantastic match, with crazy winds and a large hybrid team (½ F-Open, ½ F-T/R) of the top shooters our country could offer.
The Irish were an amazing, hospitable bunch. Everyone from the Lord Mayor of Dublin to the Regional Police Chief and all shooters made us as comfortable and welcome as we’ve been anywhere in the world. That match ranks up there for me, as in addition to all of the Team responsibilities and formalities, I managed to scrape a win in the Individual Competition.
Q: Do you have anything you would like to add?
A: Go for it! Don’t let hesitation about equipment level, skill level, or physical handicaps hold you back. Get involved, go out to a local match, and ask questions. 99.9% of the F-Class shooters I’ve been around will happily give you detailed information about rifles, ammo, reloading, wind reading, etc. You may have to shut them up after an hour or so of expounding on their particular loading techniques at micron-level altitude.)
More than anything, relax, be patient, only change one parameter at a time, and learn from your mistakes.
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