Precision pistol shooters from across the country traveled to Indiana this summer to compete at the 2021 NRA National Pistol Championships. The match was held July 20–25 at the new home of the NRA National Matches, Camp Atterbury, which is located about 37 miles south of Indianapolis, near Edinburgh, Ind.
Conditions for the match were the usual for this part of Indiana in the summertime—hot and humid, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Despite the muggy weather, the wind is generally not too brutal at Camp Atterbury—at least for the precision pistol shooters. Plus, the new 100-point covered range provided some protection from the elements for competitors on the firing line, as well as for spectators, referees and other match officials.
AMU Shooters Dominate
With a score of 2645-139X, SFC Greg Markowski of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is the 2021 NRA Precision Pistol National Champion. In addition, Markowski was the High Service shooter and took this year’s .22-Caliber Championship with a score of 889-55X.
In second place was Jonathan Shue with 2642-128X. Shue’s score also garnered him the Civilian Championship and the Military Veteran award.
Taking third place was Markowski’s AMU teammate, SSG Ryan Franks, who finished the match with a score of 2623-119X.
The top three finishers—Markowski, Shue and Franks—are all High Master-classified precision pistol shooters.
As for High Woman, that honor went to Master-class shooter 2LT Lisa J. Emmert of the Army National Guard Pistol Team, who finished the match with a score of 2619-111X. (Note: Brenda Silva won the High Civilian Woman award and the Vincent Trophy with 2560-84X, but was not in the results bulletin at the time of publication. Article updated Sept. 17, 2021.)
The 2021 Metallic National Championship title went to SFC David A. Paquette of the Army National Guard with a score of 2555-77X. Paquette is classified as a Master. The runner-up was Sharpshooter John Dervis of Sheridan, Ill., who finished with 2402-47X.
Classified as a High Master, Steven D. Pardieck of Indianapolis, Ind., was the High Police winner with a score of 2570-97X.
The High Senior win went to Franklin Dessuit of Valparaiso, Ind., with a score of 2593-101X. Dessuit is a Master-class bullseye pistol shooter.
Rounding out the special awards is High Grand Senior, which went to Ron Steinbrecher of Wyndmoor, Pa., with 2549-85X. Steinbrecher is classified as a High Master.
Mayleigh Cup Team
The Mayleigh Cup Team Match is an international postal competition that has U.S. shooters compete against teams fielded by other countries, such as Great Britain. The U.S. Mayleigh Cup Team is comprised of high scoring competitors at the NRA National Matches in the .22-Caliber Slow Fire Match, and the slow fire stage of the .22-Caliber National Match Course. The team consists of the top 10 shooters, plus two alternates. For the Mayleigh Cup International Postal Match, the team shoots 30 slow fire shots at 50 meters.
Twelve NRA National Matches pistol competitors were selected for the 2021 U.S. Mayleigh Cup Team after a hiatus last year because of the pandemic. One competitor selected for this year’s team, Jonathan Shue, declined to participate.
Here are the 11 shooters that fired the 2021 Mayleigh Cup Team Match at Camp Atterbury: Carl Clegg, Franklin Dessuit, Latief Dickerson, Ryan Franks, Jason Gregoire, Travis Jorgenson (alternate), Daniel Kupar, David Lange, Greg Markowski, Brenda Silva and Hiem Trang.
SSG Ryan Franks of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit took U.S. Mayleigh Cup Team Match top honors this year with a high score of 266. He also had the highest score in the 30-shot qualifier with 291-4X. Fellow AMU pistol team member and 2021 NRA Precision Pistol Champion, SFC Greg Markowski, had the second-highest score with 266, only a few points down in the X-count from Franks. Third place went to Franklin Dessuit with a score of 264.
Match Director Kenn Boyd is the current keeper of the U.S. Mayleigh Cup Team history and records. At Camp Atterbury this summer, Kenn gave me some great insight into the Mayleigh Cup Team Match from his archives that date back to the 1930s. Be on the lookout for more Mayleigh Cup-related historic articles in the future.
Staff Talent
This year marked the first time that the NRA Precision Pistol National Championships were held at Camp Atterbury. The First Lady of Indiana, Janet Holcomb, kicked off the NRA National Matches during the smallbore rifle phase at the First Shot Ceremony on Tuesday, July 6.
This year marked another first for the NRA Precision Pistol National Championships. Longtime NRA referee, Kenn Boyd, served for the first time as the match director. Boyd is no stranger to working at NRA championships—he’s worked as a match official in different capacities at Camp Perry for many years, along with important jobs at the Bianchi Cup Action Pistol Championship. Boyd’s experience made him ideal for the new role. Facing a tough situation at a new match venue for the NRA Pistol Championships at Camp Atterbury, Boyd tackled the job with enthusiasm and aplomb.
“Kenn Boyd is completely selfless and has answered the call to help the NRA every year,” said NRA Competitive Shooting Division Director Cole McCulloch. “This year, as the match director at a new facility, Kenn ran a great crew and gave us a fantastic match, given the circumstances.”
It wasn’t just Boyd, either. He was backed up by Karl Hoffman, a previous Camp Perry referee who worked as his deputy, but don’t let the title fool you—this year, Hoffman carried an enormous amount of responsibility. The venerable Jon Nortemann was also on hand to serve as a referee. Nortemann is another long-serving ref at Perry and Bianchi Cup. (These dual-hatted pistol referees are immensely talented.) In addition, NRA Board member Ted Carter was part of the referee crew, along with another Camp Perry veteran, Mike McShea. They were joined by Line Officer Randy Tomac.
As for the tower talkers, one-half of the team was Carl Rattay, who boasts enormous experience between working at both Camp Perry and the NRA National Police Shooting Championships. The other, Richard Ashmore, has worked as an NRA match official for many years.
I’ve attended the NRA National Matches in some capacity since 2007, and the team staffing the 2021 Pistol Nationals at Camp Atterbury was the among the hardest-working I’ve ever seen. Without their help—as well as that from the many NRA volunteers—the 2021 NRA National Matches would not have been possible.
2021 NRA National Precision Pistol Championship Leaderboard
See the full results of the 2021 NRA National Pistol Championships here.
Read more: The Best .22 Caliber Pistols for NRA Bullseye
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