From the SSUSA archives: Damian Allen’s match report from the 2014 NRA Open Air Gun Nationals. As published in the July 2014 issue.
2014 NRA Open Air Gun Nationals
By Damian Allen
The 2014 NRA National Open Air Gun Championships were held during March 29-30 and April 5-6 at 15 locations, thus retiring the longstanding tradition of hosting the matches at a central site. NRA also implemented the Orion scanning/scoring system so that the scores from all 436 competitors were reported in near-real-time. Even the National Champion was declared within moments of firing the final shot. Shooters from the East and West Coast, the Midwest and even Alaska and Hawaii were able to compete without traveling halfway across the globe.
In order to make the competition more accessible, this year’s Championships also began accepting a wider variety of competitors, including adults. Some veteran shooters dusted off their air rifles from long ago, while others had kept their skills current and were among the first to register. In addition to presenting more opportunities for adult competitive shooting, the expanded format allows older shooters to pass on the marksmanship lessons they have learned throughout their lives. Though currently dwarfed by the number of junior competitors, adult air gun competition is expected to expand in the coming years.
One of the main goals of the NRA Open Air Gun Championships is to include as many competitors as possible. In addition to a category for adults, the 2014 Open Air Gun Championships introduced a category for Adaptive Competitors. Programs such as those run by the Paralyzed Veterans of America use air guns to introduce adaptive shooters to competition. The Open Air Gun Nationals represent yet another opportunity for individuals with disabilities to compete.
The 2014 NRA Precision Rifle Champions were Tim Sherry (Fairbanks, Alaska), Jack Anderson (Franklin, Pennsylvania) and Michael Steinel (Lowell, Ohio). The top scores in Sporter Rifle were delivered by champions Justine Hamilton (Zion, Illinois), Kevin Hamilton (Zion, Illinois) and Carmen Paige (Ft. Benning, Georgia).
There is a great deal of air gun talent throughout the United States, with national awards sent to competitors in Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington. Every participant from each of the 15 different locations had a chance for a national award and, while many locations stand out as having excellent programs that produce fantastic marksmen, no single region dominated the competition.
The new format for the Championships allowed more shooters to compete than ever before, reaching all the corners of the United States. With more locations, one might have expected many more problems and logistical concerns, but each location was able to post their scores online within the allotted time period.
The chief lesson of the 2014 NRA Open Air Gun Nationals was the value of local shooting clubs. The multi-location format benefitted from the fact that there is a great deal of know-how at the clubs and schools that run air gun events each month. Taking advantage of the regional expertise has brought more shooters to the Nationals this year, and promises to allow increasing improvements in the years to come.
