Lifelong Competitive Shooter

"Unlike many other American sports such as football, baseball, and basketball, competitive shooting is a lifetime sport."

 

I have been a competitive shooter my entire life. I was probably not much more than ten or twelve years old when my father took me to compete in my first trap shoot. Over my lifetime I have competed in a wide range of shooting sports and loved every one and learned from them all.

From trap, skeet and sporting clays to NRA Police Pistol Combat, NRA Precision Pistol, International Free Pistol and Air Pistol, to Service Rifle and High Power Mid-Range to F-Class Mid-Range and F-Class Long Range, plus several others, I have had the privilege and pleasure of shooting with and knowing some of the finest people in the world - all of them competitive shooters.

OPINION - WHERE I STAND

I believe, and have always believed, that Competitive Shooting and NRA's competitive shooters are the strong backbone of the NRA. We are, after all, the National RIFLE Association.

I also believe that to the extent that NRA has developed weaknesses over the years it is largely because certain NRA leaders have mistakenly taken the competitive shooter and the competitive shooting community for granted - we ARE the backbone of the NRA.

NRA Competitive Shooting Programs have been allowed to languish and wither on the vine - and that must end!

Competitive shooters are the heart and soul of the NRA. When NRA-ILA needs volunteers, it is the competitive shooting community that responds to the call.

When activists are needed to attend rallies, lobby the legislature, make phone calls, hand out literature, and help elect pro-Second Amendment politicians to office, it is the competitive shooters who lead the way, take the time off from work - frequently with a loss of pay - to "show the colors," and perform the hard work necessary to defend the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

In most clubs it is the competitive shooters who are the club leaders and the club volunteers who do so much of the hard work to keep the club going, keep the ranges safe, and keep the education and training classes operational.

When I was NRA President I made NRA Competitions the centerpiece of my presidency, even going as far as to establish NRA's first Competitive Shooting Endowment. But since that time far too many of my successors turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder to NRA Competitions and America's competitive shooters.

Far too many competitive shooters have come to believe that the NRA has forgotten them, used them, abused them, and all but cast them aside. Sadly, I cannot tell them they are wrong.

AND THAT MUST CHANGE!

If NRA is to fully recover from its current situation and return to its glory days of strength and leadership, NRA must return to its roots and once again embrace the competitive shooting sports and America's competitive shooting community.

When I lost my last Board election and left the Board, I was the last active High Power Rifle shooter left on the Board - now there are none. The incredibly sad fact is that very few of the current members of the NRA Board of Directors are now, or ever have been, active competitive shooters.

And that too must change if our beloved NRA is to fully recover, rebuild and once again become strong and effective.

 

My Competitive Shooting Career

I began my "career" as a competitive shooter with shotgun sports, moved on to pistol, back to the shotgun sports, and then finally to the rifle. All have been fun, and all have been great learning experiences.

At various times in my life I have been a member of other shooting organizations in addition to NRA, including the Amateur Trap Association (ATA), the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA), the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FSCA), the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) and the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS - I have the gear and have "fooled around" with my SASS guns, but have never really shot SASS competitively - my SASS name is "Fat Jack").

Accomplishments

Shotgun:

I have nothing to brag about when it comes to either trap or skeet. Look for my name in the middle of the pack. But Sporting Clays is another matter.

My wife, Ingrid, and I enjoyed shooting Sporting Clays together for many years. During that time, I was honored to be named to NSCA's Delaware All-State Team five times.

 

 

Pistol:

I began my pistol "career" as a police officer shooting NRA Police Pistol Combat (PPC) ultimately achieving NRA's "Master" classification (that was before there were "High Masters"). My career as a police shooter ended when I went to law school.

 

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With my Two-Man Team partner at the NRA National Police Shooting Championships

Mississippi Highway Patrol Range, Jackson, Mississippi.

(We were also partners on the job)

 

Like many long-time competitors I have boxes full of medals and trophies won while shooting NRA PPC. But, among those that mean the most to me are those representing three State Championships and two Delaware Governor's Twenty First Place Championships.

 

Delaware Police Memorial Trophy

Dedicated to the Memory of Delaware's Fallen Heros

Awarded to the NRA PPC Delaware State Champion

 

 

At the same time I was shooting NRA PPC I was also shooting NRA Precision Pistol (Bullseye), International Free Pistol and NRA Air Pistol. Look for my name in the lower half of the Results Bulletins in each of those disciplines - "you can't win'em all," but I tried.

 

High Power Rifle:

 

I began my career as a High Power Rifle competitor while serving as NRA's 59^th President, in 2007. I began shooting "Across the Course" and Mid-Range with an M1A Service Rifle.

Springfield Armory M1A

 

 

But my true love and shooting success came with F-Class High Power Rifle. I currently hold NRA High Master Classifications in F-Class Long Range and F-Class Mid-Range and NRA Master Classification in NRA F-Class Fullbore.

 

In 2015, I was honored to be invited to travel to Ireland as a member of the United States F-Class Rifle Team to represent the United States in the Creedmoor Matches.

 

 

US Team Member and NRA Past President John Sigler speaking at the Opening Ceremony

2015 Creedmoor Matches - Ireland

 

 

The United States F-Class Team won the Creedmoor Cup that year, and every year, both before and since.

 

I was again honored to be a member of the 2017 United States F-Class Rifle (Open)Team that represented the United States in the 2017 World Championships in Canada where our team took home the Bronze Medal.

 

 

 

 

 

In 2023, I was honored to be a member of the United States F-Class Rifle (Open) Team that won the World Championships in South Africa, bringing home "The Gold" for the USA.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, in 2023, I was awarded the NRA's International Distinguished Rifleman's Badge # 67.

 

 

 

 

 

Very High Power:

 

Several years before becoming a serious F-Class Rifle Competitor, a friend invited me to try "Very High Power," with the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association. I have nothing to brag about in that regard except to say that "I did it."

 

I had the pleasure of competing in three FCSA World Championships, all with a rifle and ammunition provided by my good friend, John Burt.

 

 

Fifty Caliber Shooters Association World Championships

Whittington Center, Raton, New Mexico

 

I also served on the FCSA Board of Directors and was President of the Fifty Caliber Institute (See 2A Grassroots Activist Page).

 

NRA Referee:

 

I am an NRA certified referee giving back to the shooting sports I love so much.

 

At Camp Perry:  For fifteen years I served as a Line Referee for the Pistol Phase of the NRA National Matches.

 

At NRA's NPSC:  I also served as a Line Referee at the NRA's National Police Shooting Championships in Jackson, Mississippi, eventually moving up to serve as the Chief Referee for those matches.

 

Although I still hold the certification, I am no longer an active referee.