On the cover is John Wilson, the winner of the Tompkins Trophy at the 2024 NRA National High Power Rifle Long-Range Championship held at Camp Atterbury this summer. Claiming his first NRA High Power Long-Range title, Wilson triumphed over a talented field of precision rifle shooters that attended this year’s competition. You can read all about Wilson’s victory, as well as the High Power OTC Nationals, Mid-Range Nationals and the Lones Wigger Iron Man Trophy Smallbore Rifle Championship in part two of our match report from this year’s NRA National Matches.
In Product Focus, you’ll find my evaluation of Beretta’s new A300 Ultima Competition 12-gauge shotgun. Beretta pulled out all the stops with this shotgun, giving it 10+1 capacity when its extended tubular magazine loaded with 2¾-inch shotshells, oversized operating controls, an enlarged loading port for speedy reloading and a cutout on the receiver for mounting a red-dot optic. This semi-automatic scattergun is a solid choice for multigun and tactical competition and can even hold its own on the sporting clays field.
Author P.E. Fitch says the Heckler & Koch VP9 Match pistol chambered in 9 mm Luger is “a premium, striker-fired pistol built around sophisticated and high-quality assemblies.” Featuring a longer slide with an optics cut, 5½-inch barrel and four 20-round extended baseplate magazines, the company designed the VP9 Match with features action shooters want in a competition pistol. Don’t miss Fitch’s review to learn more about this polymer-framed, semi-automatic pistol that’s designed for excellence on the firing line.
You may not be familiar with Mountain Billy Gun Lab, but the Utah-based company has released an intriguing AR-style rimfire rifle with the GOAT-15. Ostensibly a lightweight “survival” rifle, the GOAT-15 doubles as a safe .22 for acquainting prospective junior High Power shooters with the AR-15 platform, thanks to its receiver-mounted, tamper-resistant cap that allows an instructor to control the rifle’s safety selector. Be sure to read Field Editor Art Merrill’s inside look at the GOAT-15 rimfire rifle.
At the 2024 Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championships, held at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio, this past July, more than 3,100 student-athletes competed side by side in trap, skeet, sporting clays and five-stand events. Sponsoring competitions for student-athletes from elementary school all the way to the collegiate level, the Scholastic Clay Target Program not only instructs young people about the safe use of firearms, there is also an emphasis on teaching skills they will use throughout their lives. Author Maggie Kelch attended the 2024 Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championships and shares her match report.
John Parker
Editor-in-Chief, Shooting Sports USA
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