Illinois Scores Well At National High Power Rifle Championships

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Aug 14, 2012, 02:12 ET

CHATSWORTH, Ill., Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

The citizens of Illinois have good cause to be proud today given the performance of a squad of Illinois riflemen recently at the National High Power Rifle Championships held at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Illinois shooters enjoyed a host of successes this year at Camp Perry. Among the standout achievements were capturing of the Rumbold Trophy and the Soldier of Marathon Trophy by the Illinois State Gold team. Each of these achievements attests to the high quality of marksmanship programs in place here in Illinois.

First awarded by the National Rifle Association in 1910, the Rumbold Trophy is bestowed annually upon the best scoring 4-person high power rifle squad competing in the Rumbold Trophy Match. Participation is limited to civilian squads. The National Match course of fire is employed with competitors firing a total of 50 shots from various shooting positions at distances ranging from 200 to 600 yards. In taking the 2012 Rumbold Trophy, the Illinois Gold squad bested 48 other civilian teams with a score of 1955-58X. This year's win was the second time the Illinois Gold squad has taken the Rumbold Trophy. The squad's first win was recorded at the 2000 match.

The second trophy claimed in 2012 by the Illinois Gold squad is the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Soldier of Marathon Trophy. First awarded in 1876, the Soldier of Marathon Trophy is awarded annually to the best-scoring 6-person civilian high power rifle squad competing in the National Trophy Rifle Team Match. This year's victory is a repeat of the squad's 2011 performance and the sixth time that the Soldier of Marathon trophy has been taken by a team from Illinois. The Illinois Gold squad's score of 2905-85X was good enough to place third overall in the match just behind teams of active duty soldiers fielded by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. Coming in behind the Illinois Gold squad was a team fielded by the United States Marines.

The highly talented members of the Illinois Gold squad include team captain Konrad Powers, coach John Holliger, Cliff Adams, Tim Klauer, Mike Eikey, and Derek Dattner.

"We're all very proud of what Illinois shooters accomplished this year at Camp Perry," commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "The Gold squad successfully defended the Soldier of Marathon Trophy against some tough civilian squad competition. The Illinois team's ability to hold its own against active duty squads from the Army and Marines shows just how good our rifle programs are here in the state."

"There's something I'd like to point out for the benefit of our friends in the media and in the legislature," continued Pearson. "The firearm of choice for these Service Rifle competitions is the AR-15. Yes, these are the same AR-15s vilified in the press as having no purpose other than to kill and maim innocents. Yes, these are the same rifles that the gun control movement would have banned, confiscated and destroyed. Yet, many tens of thousands of rounds were fired from AR-15s during this year's matches at Camp Perry with nobody injured, maimed or killed. I'd like to hear a gun controller's explanation for that statistic."

The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding firearm owners.

WEB SITE: http://www.isra.org

SOURCE Illinois State Rifle Association