Preview: 2026 Spirit Of America NRA National Fullbore Championships

Anyone still weighing a trip to Raton this fall has until Saturday to decide.

Mail-in entries for the 2026 Spirit of America matches close Aug. 15, a little less than a month before the NRA National Fullbore Championships open at the George Tubb Range at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. Competition runs Sept. 10-17, with four days of individual matches, three days of team matches and a squadded practice day to open the week.

Spirit of America is a benefit match. Sponsored by the United States National Rifle Team, the event sends its proceeds back into domestic and international Target Rifle fullbore competition—the pipeline that stocks U.S. teams for Palma and other international fixtures. Registration is hosted online by the Oklahoma City Gun Club through Targetscore, though entry funds go by mail to USNRT in Norman, Oklahoma.

Competitors get a look at the range before anything counts. Squadded practice opens Thursday, Sept. 10, with sign-in at the clubhouse between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m., a $10 fee and roughly an hour apiece at 300, 500, 600 and 1,000 yards. Shooters pair up, because targets are pulled in the pits by the competitors themselves.

The George Tubb Range at the NRA Whittington Center hosts the 2026 Spirit of America National Fullbore Championships Sept. 10-17.

Individual competition begins Friday, Sept. 11, and follows a rhythm that repeats for four days: three short-range matches at 300, 500 and 600 yards, then a single long-range match that alternates between 900 and 1,000 yards. Short-range matches call for two convertible sighters and 10 shots for record at each yard line. Long-range matches stretch that to 15 for record. Everything is fired two to the mound at 45 seconds per shot, timed from the moment the previous score is accepted, and no one shoots string fire.

Each day carries its own trophy. Match 100 on Friday is the Camaraderie Trophy Match, Saturday’s aggregate is the U.S. Armed Forces Trophy Match, Sunday delivers the Freedom Trophy and Monday closes the individual portion with the End of the Trail Trophy. Aggregating all four crowns the Spirit of America Championship in both Target Rifle and F-Class. Separate Short-Range and Long-Range championship trophies split the week’s 300-, 500- and 600-yard matches from the 900- and 1,000-yard stages.

Team competition takes over Tuesday. Each of the three matches—Cimarron on Sept. 15, Angel Fire on Sept. 16 and Raton on Sept. 17—is a four-person event fired at 300, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards, with two sighters and 10 shots for record per firing member at each distance. Time limits run 27 minutes per firing pair at the short lines and 33 minutes at the long ones. Squads that register under the same name for all three, with the same four firing members plus a designated captain and coach, become eligible for the Spirit of America Combined Four Person Team Match Championship Trophy.

That combined title went to USNRT Meade/Gill in 2025, and the squad did not leave much room for argument. The team posted 4763-270X across the three matches, a 16-point cushion over runner-up USNRT Hardin.

Awards are split by rifle type. Target Rifle, Any Rifle Optics, F-Open and F/TR each draw separate recognition, provided five rifles of that type show up to make a category. Organizers have reserved the option to combine the two F-Class categories if entries fall short. Ammunition rules bite hardest in Target Rifle, where Spirit of America caps .308/7.62 bullets below 156 grains and .223/5.56 bullets below 92 grains. F-Class shooters follow Rule 3.17 in the NRA F-Class rulebook. All of it is subject to testing.

Pit duty is part of the deal. Competitors mark and pull targets in every match unless the match director excuses them, and shooters 70 and older are exempt from the pits but may still be asked to help on the firing line. No paid pullers are available. A competitor who brings a puller pays for that person and still reports to the pits to answer for the work.

Match administration sticks to a tight clock. Everyone checks in at the statistical office by 7:30 a.m., with firing at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Preliminary scores go up at the range within an hour of the last card and should be posted by 8:00 p.m., and the challenge window closes at 7:15 a.m. the next morning. Challenges on the line cost $5, refundable to the winner, with a three-person jury handling rule interpretations.

Entry runs $350 for the full match, $300 for three days, $250 for two, $200 for a single day and $100 for juniors. Registration goes through targetscore.com under the Oklahoma City Gun Club’s high power events, with entry forms and checks payable to USNRT mailed to Pat Morris in Norman, Oklahoma. International competitors with questions can reach Randy Pike at [email protected]. Cancellations carry a $25 fee, and anyone who withdraws inside three days of the first shot forfeits the entry.