Applied Ballistics, LLC is proud to announce that its founder and owner Bryan Litz, has received the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) 2019 Carlos N. Hathcock II Award. Bryan was given this honor on June 4, 2019 at the NDIA Forum in Virginia.

The Hathcock Award honors an individual who, in the opinion of the Small Arms Committee Executive Board, has made significant contributions in operational employment and tactics of small arms weapons systems which have impacted the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. military or law enforcement.

Not just a brilliant ballistics expert, Bryan Litz is also a Championship-winning marksman.

Litz’s contributions to the U.S. Military include his numerous publications to help snipers understand complex external ballistic problems, promoting the advanced G7 ballistics model vs. the older G1 drag model, and developing Applied Ballistics solvers for Kestrel weather meters and other devices in widespread use by snipers for the U.S. Military and NATO allies. Bryan is also a frequent speaker at DoD forums and conducts ballistic seminars across the country.

Bryan stated: “It is truly humbling and deeply gratifying that my work has value to our nation’s Armed Forces. Being selected for the Hathcock award is the highest honor I’ve received in my career.”

Bryan received the award on June 4, at the NDIA 2019 Armament Systems Forum in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Past winners of the Hathcock Award include Todd Hodnett, Buford Boone, and SGM Pete Gould (U.S. Army Retired).

Bryan Litz helped develop global-leading ballistics solutions for civilian and military marksmen. Now Applied Ballistics solvers are integrated into Kestrel Weather Meters as well as advanced electro-optical devices. Bryan also helped create the successful Applied Ballistics APPs for iOS and Android smartphones.

Article based on story by Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer
Jim Laughland, age 77, was the presenter of the Alice Bull Trophy during the 2016 National Trophy Rifle Matches at Camp Perry. To Jim, the Alice Bull Trophy is something very special … it rekindles memories of a cherished friend and mentor, and his many decades at Camp Perry. “I just thought it’d be nice to have the chance to present it because I don’t know if I’m coming back again,” he said. “Otherwise, you might have someone presenting who never knew [Alice Bull] or loved her like I did.”

The first female to earn the Distinguished Rifleman Badge, Alice Bull was an extraordinary individual. A true pioneer, she was the women’s rifle team captain at the University of Washington. Before WWII, Bull competed at the National Matches from 1935 – 1937. In 1949, Alice became the first woman elected to the NRA’s Board of Directors. She went on to become the first female to earn the Army’s Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1961.

The Alice Bull Trophy, awarded to the highest aggregate civilian competitor during the National Rifle Matches, was first presented in 1991 by the Washington State Rifle and Pistol Association to commemorate this legendary woman and competitive shooter. The trophy features a bronze figure of Alice on top, with two rifles below, one the actual M1 Garand with which Alice earned her Distinguished Rifleman Badge.

Jim first met Alice Bull when he was a young member of the Seattle Rifle & Pistol Club. He had been friends with her son, Lee, and Jim shot with Alice in an indoor smallbore league. She helped him develop his marksmanship skills, including perfecting the cross-ankle sitting position that he still uses. Now, the woman he knew is immortalized in a perpetual trophy.

“I think it’s wonderful. And, incredible that she was a woman,” he said. “I treated her like my mother. She was very kind — a brilliant, wonderful person.”

Sixty Years of Marksmanship Starting at Camp Perry
During his 60 years of marksmanship experience, Jim has traveled all around the country and has competed with many of the most recognized individuals in the world of shooting. And, it all began at Camp Perry. “When I come to Camp Perry, there are a lot of ghosts I know, walking around,” he said.

Jim’s first visited Camp Perry in 1955, when he was just 17 years old. Jim even skipped his first week of high school to attend the National Matches. Jim started out unclassified, but left an Expert Marksman. During his early career, he shot with the Washington State National Guard and the New York National Guard. In 1962, he moved to Baltimore and joined the Maryland State Team which went on to win the Hilton Trophy for the High National Guard Team in the National Trophy Team Match. Later, he earned his Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1964.

Head to Head with Carlos Hathcock
In August 1965, Laughland shot in one of his most memorable Camp Perry matches — going shoulder-to-shoulder with Carlos Hathcock, famed marksman and Marine Corps sniper in Vietnam. Hathcock won the Wimbledon Cup Match by a single point. “He’s the one who made me famous”, Jim said with a smile.

Jim also notably shot with two-time Olympic gold medalist and Director of Civilian Marksmanship Emeritus, Gary Anderson, in the 1960s while both were members of the All National Guard Team. Shown below are Anderson and Laughland at Camp Perry.

Another memorable match for Jim came in 1977, when he joined the All National Guard National Rifle Team and traveled to Camp Perry with them as only an alternate – or so he thought. On that day, with blustery 30 to 40 mph winds, Jim remembers remarking to his friend, “I’m glad I don’t have to shoot in this wind today!” Soon after, the colonel came up to Jim and told him he’d be shooting. At that point in his career, it had been 10 years since he had shot with the All Guard team. “I looked at my friend, thinking, ‘Should I cheer or cry?’” he joked.

At the end of the match, he and his friend were the high shooters on the team and won the National Trophy Team Match for the National Guard for the first time in 65 years.

“When I think about it, I get teary. It was such an honor,” he said. “I think it was one of the highlights of my shooting. It was like going into the World Series, in the 7th game with bases loaded, 3 runs down with a 3-2 count and hitting a Grand Slam.”

High Master and Three Grand Senior Service Rifle Championships
In 1979, the NRA introduced the High Master Classification, and Laughland became the first on the All Guard team to earn the title. Most recently, Jim won the Grand Senior Service Rifle Championships in 2008, 2009 and 2014 at Camp Perry, saying the desire to win is what keeps him shooting.

“When I found out they had the ‘old folks’ award, I switched to Service Rifle,” he said. “And I figured I’d never win it again, because these younger guys are coming in — you know, who are only 70 or 75. But when I looked and saw my name on the bulletin in 2014, I started to cry.”

Laughland Leaves a Legacy
In 2015, Jim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which has left him with some ailments that make it difficult to compete at his top level. But, with the reputation that precedes him, he has many friends at the National Matches, both old and new, that are always eager to welcome him back. “I have a hard time coming to Camp Perry and walking around without someone stopping me and asking me to take a picture with them,” he said. “I get choked up.”

“I’d like to leave a legacy,” he said. “When I don’t make it to Camp Perry anymore, it’s the people I’ll miss the most. It’s been my life….”

In I, Sniper, four Vietnam-era peaceniks are shot dead and retired military sniper Carl Hitchcock is framed for their murders. (The Hitchcock character is based, as you’ve guessed, on famed USMC sniper Carlos Hathcock). Swagger soon realizes that Hitchcock, a fellow ex-Marine and Vietnam vet, is innocent, while the real killer, who’s using high-tech, electronic sniper gear, is still at large. Swagger sets out to find the actual shooter.

If you liked Hunter’s Point of Impact, you’ll probably love the new book. The plot is compelling and Bob Lee Swagger remains the ultimate marksman/crime solver. Hunter, an avid shooter and Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist, knows his firearms, so the gunfights and other action scenes are believable, and the discussions of long-range shooting and ballistics are correct.

One of the best things about I, Sniper is that Hunter takes on the liberal media. One character is a New York Times reporter, who is used as a foil to show the ignorance of the mainstream media about gun matters. In an interview with American Rifleman magazine, Hunter explains: “One of the themes in I, Sniper is how an extremely sophisticated news organization can make a really stupid gun error and have no idea that they’re doing it. How can you be so certain of your politics if you have such an infirm grasp of the reality of the instrument (firearms). You know, maybe if your grasp of the reality of the instrument is ludicrously incorrect, maybe your grasp of the politics of the instrument is ludicrously incorrect [also], and you want to re-examine both issues.”

CLICK HERE for Stephen Hunter’s Commentary on I, Sniper

CLICK HERE for Massad Ayoob’s Review of I, Sniper

Below is Michael Bane’s DownrangeTV VIDEO Interview with Stephen Hunter:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re thinking about buying this book, read some of the 50+ reviews on Amazon.com. Most reviews are four-star or five-star, but some folks feel Hunter’s writing is sloppy in places and the book should have been more tightly edited. Other critics say Hunter gets “too political” in this book. This Editor believes the jabs at the liberal media are one of the book’s better features. I suspect Hunter’s viewpoints will be welcomed by most of his readers. Here are representative reader reviews from Amazon.com:

This book is classic Bob Lee Swagger. Great read. Also, as a gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter, I love the not-so-subtle-jabs at the liberal media and their woeful understanding of the south, gun culture, law abiding citizens who own guns legally. [Hunter] picks on the New York Times, which is hilarious and accurate. Great job Mr. Hunter.

Hunter is at his best in I, Sniper. Dialogue? Crisp, real, down to earth, and sometimes hysterically funny. Action? Have a box of Depends at the ready. Technical support? Pay attention. Reading Hunter is like taking a Master’s course in armament.

CLICK HERE to ORDER I, Sniper: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel
($9.99 Paperback, $9.99 e-Book, $10.19 Audiobook, $14.30 Hardback)