Cooper Firearms One-Shot Competition in Montana
Today, Cooper Firearms hosts its annual One-Shot Competition. Originally conceived as a fun promotional contest to help Cooper find its niche with the shooting public, the One-Shot Competition has grown into a nationally-recognized event. Rifles must have Cooper actions and stocks made by Cooper or a recognized Cooper Arms vendor. The premise is straightforward. Shooters get one (1) shot at a dot the size of a pencil eraser at 150 yards. No sighters. No spotting scopes. The closest shooter wins the target to take home to put on his wall and a chance to compete for a new rifle.
One Shot at a Dot on an Oil Painting
What makes this competition unique is that the targets are placed on a collection of oil paintings! Eight shooters are assigned to each painting. Their eight names, and corresponding numbers (1-8), are written around the edge of the canvas. The target is a 1/4″ dot on a paper paster target that measures about 2 inches in diameter. One at a time, competitors take a shot at their paster. Shooters are judged by the bullet strike relative to this 2″ paster, not the symbolic target added to the painting as a reference point. The bullet hitting closest to the target’s center will win the painting. The top two shooters on each painting get a chance to compete for the grand prize, a wood-stocked Cooper TRP-3 rimfire benchrest rifle.
The one-shot competition carries a hefty $150.00 entry fee, but there is a 100% payout of the entry fee to the winners of each group shoot. The one-shot competition officially begins today, August 16, at 9:30 am. After lunch (catered by Cooper), the painting shoots commence. The final competition for the TRP-3 will begin around 3:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., Cooper’s all-you-can-eat and drink party (which is rightfully as famous as the competition itself) caps off the event.
Note: It’s too late to sign up for the 2008 event, but next year, if you own a Cooper, you might head up to Montana and join the Cooper folks for a one-of-a-kind competition.
