This year is going to be a big one for NRA Competitive Shooting.
For starters, the three NRA National Matches disciplines—pistol, smallbore and high power rifle—will be reunited at Camp Atterbury, IN. The NRA worked closely with the CMP to develop a schedule that avoids any conflicts. And, the Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship will be hosted by the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club in Hallsville, MO. The Bianchi Cup remains an official NRA National Championship, but Green Valley will take over the match administration. Similarly, all four of the NRA National Silhouette Championships will be conducted by the Ridgway Rifle Club in Ridgway, PA. The NRA will continue to promote and support all of these championships as it has done for generations.
By far, the biggest news is Camp Atterbury and the new pistol and smallbore range that's coming. To aid in this large project, the NRA has wisely included top talent to help with this process—including one name familiar to many competitive shooters. The legendary Mid Tompkins himself has been deeply involved in the process for over a year now. Not to be outdone, the NRA has also recruited its former Rifle Programs Manager George Harris to help out. With a roster this deep working with NRA, the Indiana National Guard and the state of Indiana, we can certainly expect the new NRA Marksmanship Competition Center at Camp Atterbury to be a shooting paradise for competitors.
“This is going to be a phenomenal range for shooters,” said Tompkins when I asked him about the new facility at Camp Atterbury during the NRA High Power Nationals last year. You really can't find a better endorsement then that.
Essentially, the new range is going to be a continuous 1,500-yard one designed for both smallbore rifle and precision pistol competition. The location is a 6-mile square impact box that will be dedicated for National Matches use. There will be plenty of room for competitors with 200 covered firing points on an asphalt firing line. Even better, the statistical office will be conveniently located a scant few yards away from the firing line.
View the 2020 NRA National Championship schedule in its entirety below. Each link will send you to a page with additional event details, as well as registration information.
National Matches at Camp Atterbury
Registration for the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury is slated to begin on March 3, 2020.
- National Pistol Championships—July 1-5. Preliminary Match, .22 Cal. Rimfire, Centerfire and .45 Cal.
- National Smallbore Rifle Championships—July 23-August 4. Metric 3-Position, Conventional 3-Position, Metric Prone and Conventional Prone.
- National High Power Rifle Championships—August 9-25. High Power Across-the-Course, Mid-Range, Long-Range, Palma.
Action Pistol
The 2020 Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship will be hosted by the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club in Hallsville, MO. Registration is via Practiscore and open now. Currently, the NRA National Action Pistol Championship is scheduled to be a two-day event, along with a concurrently fired three-day multi-gun championship and team matches.
Air Gun
Divided into 3-Position and Standing matches, as well as sporter and precision, the NRA Junior Air Rifle Championship will be held at the Central Illinois Shooting Range in Bloomington, IL. The match will be hosted by the Central Illinois Precision Shooters.
- National Junior Air Gun Championships—April 30-May 2.
Collegiate Pistol and Rifle
The NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships and Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships will be held at Ft. Benning, GA, and conducted with the help of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. Qualifying shooters and teams are selected based on the latest sectional scores. Note that no registration is available, since this is a qualifying event.
- Intercollegiate Pistol Championships—March 14-17.
- Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships—March 20-22.
F-Class and Fullbore
Once again, the National Fullbore Championships will be held at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. The F-Class Championship will conducted at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility outside of Phoenix, AZ. Finally, the Under 25 National Championship will be held at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. The NRA has sanctioned the Bald Eagles Rifle Club to conduct this match.
- Under 25 High Power National Championship—July 6-10
- National Fullbore/Spirit of America Championships—September 8-14.
- National F-Class Championships—October 25-November 1.
Silhouette and Muzzle Loading
The 2020 NRA Black Powder Cartridge Rifle and Silhouette National Championships will be conducted by the Ridgway Rifle Club in Ridgway, PA, from July 28 to August 15. And, two major National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) National Championships will be held at the organization's Walter Cline Range in Friendship, IN, in June and September, respectively.
- NMLRA June National Shoot—June 13-21.
- National Silhouette Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Championship—July 28-31.
- National Silhouette Lever Action Rifle Championship—August 3-6.
- National Silhouette Smallbore Rifle Championship—August 9-11.
- National Silhouette High Power Rifle Championship—August 13-15.
- NMLRA National Muzzle Loading Championship—September 12-20.
NRA World Shooting Championship
Held at the Peacemaker National Training Center in Glengary, WV, the NRA World Shooting Championship gathers the best shooters in the world to compete in multiple disciplines with pistol, rifle, shotgun and combined firearms stages. Shooting Sports USA author Dick Jones succinctly summed up the event in a recent article: “Most shooters with a broad background in firearms have at some time imagined a match that challenged multiple shooting skills, and removed the equipment race that invariably becomes part of shooting competition. The WSC is just that, with shooters only needing eye and ear protection and all the guns and ammunition furnished.”
- NRA World Shooting Championship—September 16-19.
To find local matches near your area, check out our Coming Events section. And for the latest competitive shooting news and updates, be sure to subscribe to the SSUSA Insider newsletter.
