Competitors’ Corner: September 2019

The September issue kicks off with NRA National Matches coverage, with this month’s cover recognizing 100 years of competition at the National Smallbore Rifle Championships. Since 1919, competitors have gathered 94 times at seven different locations to participate in this prestigious match. For more history about this event, check out the first installment of Hap Rocketto’s series of articles on the website here. We hope to complete the entire series before the end of the year.

Released this past January, the Swarovski Optik dS 5-25x52 mm smart riflescope represents a huge leap in the integration of optics and ballistic solvers. There’s not anything quite like it on the market today. Incorporating a laser rangefinder, along with the associated electronics into a 40 mm scope tube is an engineering feat unto itself. Earlier this year, I had the chance to test out this smart scope at FTW Ranch in Texas Hill Country, and it did not disappoint. Read my review of the Swarovski dS.

This was the last year the NRA National Pistol Championships were conducted at Camp Perry, and the competition was fierce as usual. A big thank you goes to John Rickards, who was the photographer responsible for many of the excellent snapshots you’ll see in my article about the 2019 NRA Pistol Nationals. Additionally, be sure to check out our gallery with more photos from Camp Perry on the shores of Lake Erie near Port Clinton, OH, this summer.

Shooting Sports USA Assistant Editor Kristen Walter was in Bristol, IN, this summer covering the 2019 NRA Smallbore Nationals, which by all measures was dominated by Texas women shooters. One of the talented Texas shooters, Malori Brown, won the Lones Wigger Smallbore Iron Man Award for the first time. She will be joining the West Virginia University rifle team this fall as a freshman, and some are already pointing out the parallels between Brown and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Ginny Thrasher. You can read our coverage of the 2019 NRA Smallbore Championships here.

Brad Miller’s latest feature explores the shortcomings of the five-shot group for testing the accuracy of handguns. The intention is to help readers gain a new perspective on using a small number of rounds for accuracy testing. Backed up with the kind of data we expect from our favorite writer with a Ph.D., Miller makes a good point about the limitations of five-shot groups. Read this intriguing article.

Next month’s issue will include coverage of the NRA High Power Nationals at Camp Atterbury, IN. While I was there, the Director of NRA Competitive Shooting, Cole McCulloch, along with rifle shooting legend Mid Tompkins, gave me a tour of the future NRA range site on the Indiana National Guard base and needless to say, I was very impressed. Competitive shooters have a lot to be excited about for 2020 and the NRA National Matches. Be on the lookout for my article on the new range and other Camp Atterbury updates featured in the SSUSA Insider email newsletter. You can subscribe at this link.

—John Parker
Managing Editor, Shooting Sports USA