Top Guns Duel at Piedmont 600

The regular, monthly 600-yard benchrest match at the Piedmont Gun Club in Rutherfordton, NC rivals a National event in terms of the quality of the shooters and the rifles. On May 10th, there were multiple IBS-record holders in every relay, with a dozen rifles capable of going sub-inch at 600 yards. Piedmont, the “home of world records”, attracts many of the top mid-range benchrest shooters, such as Terry Brady, Mike Davis, Sam Hall, Larry Isenhour, Joel Kendrick, Buster Long, Mark Schronce, and Rodney Wagner. That line-up includes some IBS Shooters of the Year.

Piedmont Gun Club:

CLICK HERE for Equipment List and Match Results

There was a very competitive field on May 10th at Piedmont. Larry Isenhour, shooting a 6 BRX, took Light Gun Overall by winning the Light Gun Group size Agg, and placing third in Score. In Heavy Gun, Mark Schronce combined a fourth in Group and first in Score to take the HG Overall. Schronce also shoots a 6 BRX. Rodney Wagner, yet another 6BRX pilot, shot a very consistent match, with all four targets under 2.55″ to place first in HG group Agg.

In both Light Gun and Heavy Gun, about half the guns were straight 6BRs, with quite a few BRXs. There were a half-dozen 6.5x47s or 6-6.5x47s, and a few 6.5-284s and 243 AIs. Learn more about the shooters’ rigs by reading the Equipment List (scroll to bottom of linked page).

NRA Honors Four Women for Support of Gun Rights

The NRA has selected four women to receive the 2008 Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Award for their contributions to the Second Amendment and the shooting sports. This year, the prestigious award, named for the NRA’s first female president, was presented to: Linda Hill of Pueblo West, CO; Cathy Lynch of Renton, WA; Paula Radcliff of Dexter, KS; and Patricia Stoneking of Bonner Springs, KS.

Linda Hill is on the board of directors of the Pueblo Municipal Shooting Range in Colorado. She started a women’s shooting group at the range and a youth shooting program. An NRA Certified Instructor, Hill is involved with Women On Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics, NRA Basic Pistol classes, NRA Range Safety Officer training, and personal protection seminars. An experienced hunter education instructor, Hill has taught in both Alaska and Montana.

Cathy Lynch is a shooting sports director at the Cascade Scout Reservation for the Boy Scouts of America. An NRA Certified Range Safety Officer and Instructor in rifle, shotgun, and muzzleloading firearms, she is an instructor at the Boy Scout National Camp School, and a hunter education instructor for the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Paula Radcliff is a member of the Kansas State Rifle Assn. and served as the group’s legislative representative when Kansas’ concealed carry law was passed in 2006. Her efforts were instrumental in Kansans winning the right to carry concealed firearms. Radcliff has supported the NRA’s Women On Target® and Youth Hunter Education Challenge programs, hosting events for both programs on her ranch.

Patricia Stoneking is a legislative advocate, and NRA Certified Instructor in multiple disciplines. Stoneking owns Target Master Shooting Academy in Bonner Springs and is head instructor at The Bullet Hole Shooting Range. She led a grassroots effort to pass Kansas’ concealed carry law, hand-delivering a petition to the governor’s office.

For more info on the Marion P. Hammer award, and to nominate a deserving woman, visit www.nrahq.org/women/awards.asp or call (800) 861-1166.