On the cover is Sam Simonton, who walked away from the 2024 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Final held in New Delhi, India, in October with a women’s skeet gold medal. Picking up the only gold medal for USA Shooting at this unique match for elite athletes, Simonton now has amassed a career total of 10 medals in international competition. Read our coverage for more details about her podium finish in India at the ISSF World Cup Final, along with the results of this year’s ISSF Junior World Championships held in Lima, Peru.
Compact and mobile shooting chronographs are currently in vogue, and the Labradar LX is one of the newest arrivals on the marketplace. A smaller cousin to the larger Labradar unit released in 2014, the new LX is an engineering marvel, packing a Doppler radar system into a tiny footprint—measuring projectile velocity with a range of 50 to 5,000 f.p.s. for air guns, handguns, rifles, bows and crossbows. Check out Product Focus to learn more about the Labradar LX chronograph, as well as Field Editor Art Merrill’s evaluation of new scope rings from Warne.
Hillsdale College in Michigan is known for fostering the ideals of liberty, the Constitution and the Second Amendment, and a great example of the latter is the school’s Halter Shooting Sports Education Center. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit the facility, which is best described as a competition-shooting megaplex, complete with multiple shotgun ranges, a new seven-bay action-shooting range, plus a 62,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor rifle and pistol building under construction and slated to open in June 2025. Additionally, USA Shooting’s National Team trains at the Halter Center for the Olympics and other big competitions. Read about my trip to the Halter Center and learn what it has to offer shooters.
For champion trapshooter “Ohio Joe” Charnigo, competitive shooting is a way of life. Armed with an outstanding shooting resume and a gregarious personality, the 37-year-old already has a reputation in the Ohio trapshooting community for his dedication to getting more people engaged in the sport. Maggie Kelch’s interview with “Ohio Joe” details his work to improve the shooting sports for the next generation.
A U.S. Navy Rifle Team shooter in the 1980s, Field Editor Art Merrill knows a thing or two about M16/AR-15 rifles in competition. In his feature “Twisting Stoner’s Mouse Gun,” he shares how military experimentation, including experimental load development and faster twist rates, made the M16 a contender for service rifle competition at 600 yards.
Happy Holidays and Good Shooting to all our readers in 2025!
John Parker
Editor-in-Chief, Shooting Sports USA
Are you a subscriber?
Not receiving the monthly digital magazine announcement in your inbox? Become a subscriber. Not only is it completely free, it only takes a minute to sign up and it guarantees you’ll never miss a single issue of the NRA’s competitive shooting journal. Subscribe here.
