Here at NRA, the staff works tirelessly to improve matches, and with the help of our corporate partners, new side matches will often debut, complete with awesome prizes. These side matches are usually run concurrently with big NRA matches such as the Bianchi Cup and the World Shooting Championships. The 2018 NRA National Smallbore Rifle Championships in Bristol, IN, were no exception, with a unique BB gun side match at the Chief Wa-Ke-De Range, conducted with the help of our friends at Daisy Outdoor. The company provided an inflatable BB gun range, complete with targets, ammo and Red Ryder guns for anyone to shoot for prizes at the side match.
Here’s the coolest part: each of the 20 Red Ryder BB guns that were awarded this year had the 2018 NRA Smallbore Championships logo engraved on the stock. This is a memento that 20 lucky shooters aren’t soon to forget.
The Daisy Red Ryder side match was the brainchild of 2018 Smallbore Nationals Match Director Clyde Furr, a longtime NRA match official and shooting coach. Daisy Outdoor provided 10 of the Red Ryder BB guns that were awarded each day of the event, and Mr. Furr himself purchased 10 Red Ryders out of his own pocket for the benefit of the competition. What a great guy!
“This is a fun and unique side match, I had a lot of fun organizing it,” said Furr. “Working with a fantastic company like Daisy; with the help of a great organization like the NRA, makes it easy to do things like this―where everyone has a chance to win something that’s both cool and unique.”
Shooters were divided into junior and adult divisions, although both groups were often shooting side-by-side. The inflatable range had two lanes and a rope-driven target retriever. The side match was very popular with competitors in the afternoons, after the conclusion of official aggregate shooting each day. Furr would tabulate the scores and read the names of the winners at the end each day.
Smallbore competitor Elizabeth Harty was one of the many shooters in Bristol this year that enjoyed the BB gun side match.
“Here at Nationals, everyone has a competitive bone in their body. The Daisy BB gun inflatable range added a new challenge this year for competitors,” said Harty. “The goal to get 50 out of 50 was definitely what everyone was striving for. It was very fun, and for Clyde it was the highlight of his day to announce the winners!”
More 2018 NRA Smallbore Nationals coverage:
- Metric and Grand Aggregate Position Round Up
- Gallery: 2018 Smallbore Conventional 3-Position Championships
- NRA Junior Smallbore Camp Helps Shooters Reach New Personal Best Scores
- Teenage Competitor Displays Extraordinary Act Of Sportsmanship
- Prone Conventional Metallic Sights, Day 1
- Smallbore Nationals: Metallic Sights Aggregate, Day 2
- Smallbore Nationals: Prone Conventional Concludes, Metric Metallic Sights Day 1
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