Nils Jonasson joined an elite club on Friday, earning the title of 2025 NRA World Shooting Champion at this year’s competition, held October 1-4 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and sponsored by Walther.
The next day, during a break in the inaugural Team Shoot-Off, where he captained the winning squad, “Team Nils,” alongside father-and-son duo Brian and Cole Shanholtz, Jonasson shared his thoughts on the match. What follows is our conversation, only edited for length and clarity.
On the weather at this year’s match.
“The weather was exponentially better this year compared to last year. Last year had torrential downpours and cold temperatures. The weather this year was perfect. You couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.”
On this year’s NRA World Shooting Championship stages.
“The stages had the same degree of challenge. They were slightly different, with some exceptions, like the biathlon stage, which was almost identical to last year. They threw in some additional PRS-type stuff, both with a .22 and a high power rifle chambered in 6.5 mm Creedmoor … that was more like building positions and transitioning from position to position, which I really enjoy, rather than just a single firing position. That was really nice with the PRS-style shooting.”
“They still had Cowboy Action, which I didn’t do very well on, but was super fun. Oddly enough, my favorite stage of the match was actually the Olympic Air Pistol stage. It’s something I used to do—never in competition—but more as like practice more than a decade ago. So, I have a little bit of familiarity with it, but I haven’t done it in a long time. That was probably my favorite stage, just to shoot, because it’s so different from what I normally do, which is USPSA, IPSC, Steel Challenge, Three-Gun, etc. That was really fun for me.”
“I believe my only stage win of the match was the USPSA stage, which makes sense, because, you know, I shoot a lot of USPSA.”
On the Walther Air Pistol Stage at the 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship.
“It was a really unique stage. And, the guns were super accurate and only retail around $1,100. They’re very affordable for what they are capable of doing.”
On his sponsor Canik USA and the IDPA stage.
“Canik USA had the SFx Rival, which is the company’s five-inch, Palmer frame, 9 mm Luger striker-fired gun on the IDPA stage this year at the NRA World Shooting Championship.”
On the second year for the match at Camp Atterbury.
“This is my second year ever shooting the NRA World Shooting Championship. So, I’ve only ever shot it at this range. This is a fantastic range. If people haven’t been here before, I highly recommend coming to Camp Atterbury. They have been more than gracious to allow us to run the match here, and NRA did a very good job administering the match.”
On why competition shooters should attend the NRA World Shooting Championship.
“At the NRA World Shooting Championship, you can shoot alongside and against the best shooters in the world. I am a multi-time USPSA, IPSC, IDPA and Three-Gun national champion. The best shooters in the world come and compete in this match. Even if you’re not at that level, to be able to watch them perform at the level they’re capable of is a real opportunity for a lot of people.”
“If you’re a pro and you come and shoot this match, check your ego at the door, because you’re going to do really good on some stages and really terrible on some others. Again: check your ego at the door.”
Be on the lookout for a full match report from the 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship in a future issue of the digital magazine.
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