Competition Corner: September 2024 | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal

The cover features USA Shooting athletes Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince, who topped the men's skeet leaderboard at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Both athletes earned spots on the podium in men's skeet, with Hancock winning the gold medal and Prince securing silver. The USA team's performances in men's skeet represent just two of the five medals the Americans won in the event this summer in France. Other medalists include Sagen Maddalena's silver medal in the women's 50m smallbore rifle and Austen Smith a bronze medal in women's skeet. Additionally, the duo of Smith and Hancock finished second and took silver in the new mixed team skeet competition. Learn more about the USA Shooting athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games by reading my match report.

In the Product Focus section, don't miss my review of the TriStar Arms Cypher SP 12 gauge, a feature-rich over/under shotgun with 3″ chambers and a steel monoblock barrel. Sporting clays shooters will appreciate the Cypher SP's 30″ barrels, imported from Turkey by TriStar, with a target rib, adjustable comb, fiber optic sights and automatic ejectors that round out this impressive 12 gauge shotgun.

Also, be sure to check out our insider review of the Armasight Contractor 640 in Product Focus this month. This thermal imaging device is packed with features in a small form factor.

This year marked the fourth annual NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury, an Indiana National Guard base located about 37 miles south of Indianapolis. The first part of our 2024 NRA National Matches match report includes three features, including the opening ceremony with Indiana Congressman Greg Pence as keynote speaker, the Precision Pistol Nationals and the Smallbore Rifle Prone Nationals. Also, look for the second part of our 2024 NRA National Matches coverage, featuring the High Power Rifle Nationals and the Smallbore Lones Wigger Iron Man Trophy, in the next issue.

Field Editor Chris Christian argues that revolvers still have their place in competitive shooting and present a unique challenge for shooters. In this month's article, he shares his tips for competitors in the USPSA, IDPA, ICORE, Action Pistol and Steel Challenge revolver divisions, as well as personal anecdotes from his many years as a revolver shooter.

The Semmerling LM-4 pistol is considered the world's smallest five-shot .45 ACP and is, according to Field Editor Art Merrill, “the most counterintuitive pistol of the 20th century.” Despite its flaws, the LM-4 is a popular choice for collectors. In his article “Semmerling's Backwards Cold War Pistol,” Merrill provides a detailed history of this tiny handgun, which was designed with several interesting engineering choices.

John Parker
Editor-in-Chief, Shooting Sports USA

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