What began as a new Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA) postal competition in 2026 quickly grew into an international relationship between Australian and U.S. smallbore shooters.
The inaugural SSAA NRA Smallbore International Postal Match drew 19 Australian competitors to Southern Districts Rifle Club in Western Australia, while six American competitors completed the same course of fire at St. Joseph Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Bristol, Indiana. SSAA contests NRA Smallbore as one of its own disciplines under the NRA Smallbore Rifle Rules, so both clubs were already shooting from the same rulebook.
The winner of the 2026 postal was U.S. shooter Cameron Zwart with 1161. Solid scores posted by both countries gave the new international postal format an encouraging start, but the bigger result was a new pathway between NRA Smallbore and its SSAA counterparts in Australia.
Following that success, discussions between representatives from both countries led directly to a reciprocal U.S.-hosted postal event, the Hands Across the Sea International Team Match.
Held in conjunction with the 2026 NRA National Smallbore Rifle Championships at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio, Hands Across the Sea expanded the concept into a four-team international competition, with Australia and the United States each fielding A and B teams.
USA A won the inaugural match with 4621-196X, followed by USA B at 4555-168X, Australia A at 4550-146X and Australia B at 4402-86X.
The match delivered excellent competition, but the greater success has been what developed around it.
In the space of a single season, an SSAA-hosted postal has been reciprocated by NRA Smallbore, giving shooters another chance to compete internationally without the significant cost of overseas travel.
That relationship is now moving beyond postal competition. The NRA Smallbore Committee has accepted an invitation to send a U.S. team to Australia for the 2027 SSAA NRA Smallbore National Championships, where competitors who first met across postal scorecards will compete together on an Australian range.
From one postal match has grown a genuine two-way international pathway—and this is only the beginning.
The new smallbore postal competition season is already underway. The 2026/27 NRA Any-Sight Postal Shoot, again hosted by SSAA and fired under the NRA Smallbore Rifle Rulebook, runs Oct. 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027. It is open to current members of SSAA, an approved member organization or the NRA. Entry is free, shooters may enter as many times as they like and only the highest score counts.
Medals and certificates go to the top three overall, in each classification and in the under-18 and under-15 junior categories. SSAA grades follow NRA classifications and anyone without a current classification will compete as a Master. (A note on terms: “targets” and “cards” mean the same thing here, as do the NRA’s “classification” and SSAA’s “grade.”)
Targets may come from any registered match or any match signed by an authorized range officer. Entrants email full scores, a photo of their targets signed by the range officer in charge and the match results bulletin where applicable. Entries also need the shooter’s name, NRA or SSAA number with expiration date, address, state, club, classification/grade, contact details and junior age if applicable. Results will be ratified and awards distributed in August 2027.
Learn more about NRA Smallbore and SSAA.
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