Competitors’ Corner: March 2023

Highlights from the March 2023 issue of Shooting Sports USA, the NRA’s competitive shooting journal.

by
posted on March 1, 2023
** 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. **
Eyedominance SSUSA 03 2023 Cover 1
NRA

This issue’s cover feature focuses on vision, which is something just as important to beginning competitive shooters as fundamentals like grip and sight picture. Equally essential as maintaining excellent visual acuity is determining your ocular dominance. Field Editor Chris Christian’s article on sighting in new shooters includes a simple test to find which eye has stronger vision, along with techniques for handling cross dominance in rifles and pistols, i.e., when your lead eye and lead hand are not on the same side. One statistic that popped out to me—cross dominance occurs in approximately 25 percent in the population.

Sighting In New Shooters

 

In Product Focus, you will find a roundup of match grade .22 Long Rifle ammo loads for 2023 compiled by Field Editor Art Merrill, including popular rimfire brands such as Eley, Lapua and SK. In addition, there is my preview of Smith & Wesson’s newest competition pistol from the Performance Center, the aluminum-framed M&P9 M2.0 Competitor 9 mm. Sporting an optics-ready slide and four magazines in the box, just add a red dot and you’re ready for action pistol competition.

With no shortage of new products, the 45th edition of SHOT Show was the biggest ever. This year, there were 2,525 exhibitors spanning two venues and more than 816,000 square-feet between them. Field Editor Art Merrill, Frank Melloni and I were among the 52,305 attendees in Las Vegas, Nev., for SHOT Show 2023, and you won’t want to miss our report, which features 12 of the best competitive shooting products from the show floor.

The brainchild of pro shooter Dianna Muller, the D.C. Project is an all-women Second Amendment advocacy organization with a message that has resonated with lawmakers around the country—from state legislatures, all the way to the U.S. House of Representatives. Starting with one woman, the D.C. Project now boasts a star-studded lineup of 51 delegates from 48 states. Learn more about the D.C. Project and how its members are making a difference.

A nice pair of shooting glasses can be a solid upgrade for your clay target game. To develop its new Duster line, shooting glasses manufacturer Ranger went deep into its bench of designers, product experts and pro staff to incorporate features attractive to new shooters. Author Dana Farrell brings us the scoop this month on the Duster and its four variants.

Finally, some housekeeping—in last month’s Camp Valor Outdoors feature, the lead photo on page 34 was mistakenly attributed to CVO. In fact, the shooters in this photo are members of Veterans Family Brigade, another top-notch veterans’ organization started last summer by Jim Maurer and former Camp Valor Outdoors staff that fielded a team at the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury.

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.

Latest

Karen Miles 2026 Nsca 1
Karen Miles 2026 Nsca 1

Karen Miles Rules Ladies Field at NSCA Nationals

Karen Miles won five Ladies titles at the 2026 National Sporting Clays Championship in San Antonio, including Main Event High Overall.

Beretta Marks 500 Years With One-of-One APX Falco

Beretta and Burris unveil the APX Falco, a one-of-one 500th anniversary pistol with a red dot machined from the slide’s steel.

Alfred State College Wins Team Title at 2026 USA College Clay Target League National Championship

Alfred State and Montcalm’s Tanner Schmaus won national titles on tiebreakers at the 2026 USA College Clay Target League National Championship.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte Opens New PROOF Research Facility

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte opened PROOF Research’s newest Columbia Falls building, toured barrel and rifle production and fired a 22 Creedmoor rifle.

New: Watchtower Defense Vantage Handguns

Watchtower Defense’s new Vantage Series pairs ported slides and barrels with double-stack 1911 frames in full-size and compact versions.

Trijicon Gives RMR HD A New Look In Coyote Brown

Trijicon has added a Coyote Brown anodized finish to its RMR HD reflex sight, offered with 1.0- or 3.25-MOA dots for $1,066.



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