Remembering When Michelle Gallagher Won Her 3rd Long Range Championship

by
posted on October 11, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
1-gallagher-throwbackarticle.jpg
Editor's note: The 2001 NRA National Long Range Championships at Camp Perry saw Michelle Gallagher successfully defend her title. On a roll, this was the third long range title the 20-year old shooting prodigy added to her collection. Here’s our coverage, as published in the November 2001 issue of Shooting Sports USA.

Michelle Gallagher, a Prescott, AZ, native and member of a high power family dynasty, successfully defended her NRA Long Range Rifle Championship against nearly 600 competitors. Her aggregate score of 1436-63X was enough—by a mere three Xs—to best the 1436-60X posted by second-place finisher Norman Crawford, of Fayetteville, NC, and the 1434-79X fired by Gallagher's mother, former NRA High Power Champion Nancy Tompkins-Gallagher. The win gave Gallagher the Tompkins Trophy, which is named for Nancy's husband and former NRA High Power Champion Middleton Tompkins.

"The biggest challenge was that I was shooting my [AR-based] space gun through half of it, so I didn't know how I was going to deal with it," said Gallagher afterward while humbly acknowledging, "I guess it turned out OK."

As expected, members of the U.S. Armed Forces also figured strongly at the 2001 Long Range competition. SFC Kevin McMahon, of the Fort Benning, GA-based U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, posted a score of 1395-40X to earn the title of NRA Long Range Service Rifle Champion.

The Long Range Championship aggregate includes scores for six selected matches—three consisting of 20 shots each at 600 yards, two consisting of 20 shots 

Latest

Harrison 2026 IPSC Nationals 2
Harrison 2026 IPSC Nationals 2

Jessie Harrison Closes Season on Top at U.S. IPSC Nationals

Team Taurus Captain Jessie Harrison topped the Ladies Open leaderboard at the 2026 U.S. IPSC Nationals.

Mein Doubles Up at 2026 NSCA South Central Regional

Team Federal’s Derrick Mein won FITASC and Five-Stand at Providence Hill, dropping just one target in Five-Stand along the way.

New: Savage Revel Tactical Puts an MDT Stock on a Rimfire Lever Gun

Savage’s new Revel Tactical outfits the rimfire lever gun with an MDT stock, threaded barrel and optics rail, from $629.

Kate Estes Wins 2026 IPRF Ladies World Title

Proof Research shooter Kate Estes won the Ladies world title at the 2026 IPRF Centerfire World Championship, where Team USA swept every individual division title.

Suppressor Cleaning Starts At The Workbench

Your suppressor is dirtier than you think.

Team Remington’s Connor Thigpen Sweeps 2026 World Skeet Championships

High schooler Connor Thigpen won High Over All, High All Around and Mini World HOA at the 2026 World Skeet Championships.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.