First on the agenda was the Palma Individual title. That’s fifteen shots from 800, 900, and 1000 yards. And how many times did Bob drop out of the ten ring? Not once. “I cleaned it,” said Gustin. “I’ve shot a perfect round before, but never with this many Xs.”

Bob’s 450-33X score beat the old Camp Perry National Championship mark by six Xs. The previous record of 450-27X was held by Bob’s Palma teammate Nancy Tompkins-Gallagher. Just to show there were no hard feelings, Nancy and her daughter Michelle Gallagher joined Bob along with Bryan Litz to set a new Palma Team Match record of 1796-119x.

Gustin Sets Camp Perry Record After Decades in the Sport
Bob started shooting on the smallbore range. Then, in 1980, he switched to reserve shooting with the service rifle section until ultimately moving to High Power in 1990. Now, twenty years later, he’s perfected the shot and found more time for the range. After retiring from a 31-year stint on the California Highway Patrol, Bob now gets to do what he really loves.

“I shoot,” Gustin laughed. “Well, I also drive my wife around in our motor home. Last place we saw was Shipshewana, Indiana. There’s a nice Amish community there that she likes to visit for the quilting, the food and the people.” But Bob always finds a time for practice: “I just like shooting. It’s fun and you meet a lot of interesting people. Especially here at Perry.”

Historical Note: Bob’s 450-35x is a record for the Palma match at the Camp Perry National Championships. However, the absolute National Record for any American Palma Match still belongs to John Corning. John fired a 450-39x at Forbes Range, Colonie, NY in 2007.