MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW FOR DALLAS, 2024!

MAY 16 - 19 / DALLAS, TX

Make your plans now for the 153rd NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits held from May 16 - 19, 2024 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas - Don’t miss out!

2024 Rooms are Now Available! Book now through our housing partner, ConferenceDirect to receive the special NRA discounted rate negotiated just for you!

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2024 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS & EXHIBITS

MAY 16 - 19 / DALLAS, TX

Friends of NRA Announces 2022 Volunteers of the Year

Volunteers are the backbone of the Friends of NRA Program. It takes more than 13,000 volunteers from across the country to tackle over 660 annual Friends of NRA events. Their grassroots fundraising efforts have raised well over $1 billion gross dollars for The NRA Foundation, which supports firearms education and training—including more than 180 NRA programs—at the local, state, and national levels.

“Our volunteers are the backbone of Friends of NRA,”explains Director of Volunteer Fundraising Sarah Engeset. “They are a fundraising force with tireless energy, determination and passion to move our mission forward.”

Since 1992, Friends of NRA has held over 25,000 events, reached more than 4.5 million attendees and awarded nearly $457 million in grant funding, contributing to 57,000 NRA Foundation grants.

NRA Field Representatives evaluate volunteers on a number of criteria including event tickets sold, years of service, leadership and overall impact on the program. Each Field Rep selects one Volunteer of the Year (VOY) for their area, and then the Regional Directors determine their Regional Volunteer of the Year from those nominations. The four 2022 Regional Volunteers of the Year have more than 35 years of combined volunteering experience, during which they’ve raised over half of a million dollars for The NRA Foundation.

The VOY program also recognizes an exceptional Friends of NRA committee each year. Falls of the Ohio Friends of NRA in Indiana topped the charts in 2022. With approximately 1,000 attendees, they raised more than $262 thousand net and earned the title of Outstanding Committee of the Year.

Award recipients received an all-expenses-paid trip to the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits. This year they joined the 152th NRA Annual Meetings in Indianapolis, IN, on April 13-16. Special recognition was given to each Region Volunteer of the Year and the Committee of the Year during the National NRA Foundation Banquet & Auction on Thursday, April 13.

Visit friendsofnra.org/news/volunteers/ to view more of our 2022 volunteers of the year. A volunteer is highlighted every other week.

2022 Regional Volunteers Of The Year

EASTERN REGION

Indiana

Pete Neiman Falls of the Ohio Friends of NRA

CENTRAL REGION

Illinois

Roger Needham Winnebago-Boone County Friends of NRA

SOUTHERN REGION

Tennessee

Karen Hinkle East Tennessee Friends of NRA

WESTERN REGION

Montana Judy & Mark Atwell Hamilton Friends of NRA

2022 COMMITTEE OF THE YEAR

Falls of the Ohio Friends of the NRA

Indiana

Help secure American freedoms and shooting sports traditions for generations to come! To join in the fundraising efforts near you, contact your local Field Rep or attend a local Friends of NRA event.

Ohio makes it # 11 !

Members of the NRA Affiliated Ohio Gun Collectors Association, NRA’s largest gun collectors affiliate, gather with NRA Editorial Director Mark A. Keefe IV at their display booth during the NRA’s 152nd Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sean McCarter of the OGCA holds the coveted NRA Gun Collectors Committee Trophy, which has been awarded annually since 1960 to the best overall exhibit at the Annual Meetings.

This makes the 11th time that the OGCA has won the trophy since its inception and the 67th consecutive year that the OGCA has participated in the Annual Meetings. Their winning exhibit, “19th Century Semiautomatic Pistols”, was assembled by Dr. Leonardo Antaris and featured Kaiser Wilhelm II’s fully engraved and cased Mannlicher pistol as well as many other rare and significant pistols that figured prominently in their early development.

The OGCA was one of 19 affiliated collector clubs that participated in the NRA Annual Meetings. Each year, the Gun Collectors Department of the NRA makes exhibit space at the annual meetings available free of charge to affiliated collector clubs. If you wish to see your club represented at the NRA’s 153rd Annual Meetings in Dallas, Texas next May, then contact Philip Schreier at pschreier@nrahq.org to reserve your booth today.

NRA Announces Silver Mountain E-Targets Returning For 2023 High Power National Championships

After a successful first year at the 2022 NRA National Matches, electronic targets are returning to Camp Atterbury for the 2023 NRA High Power Nationals.

Last year at the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury, Ind., the High Power Rifle Nationals were fired on electronic targets from Silver Mountain Targets. The e-targets that made their debut last summer were by all measures a huge success, and will be returning for use again in competition this year at Camp Atterbury during the High Power and F-Class National Championships.

Camp Atterbury Range Six

An active National Guard facility, Indiana's Camp Atterbury has served as the home of the NRA National Matches since 2021 and the High Power Rifle Nationals since 2017.

“For 2023, we are continuing with range improvements, including 50 Silver Mountain electronic targets to support High Power Rifle and F-Class,” NRA’s Director of Competitive Shooting, Cole McCulloch, said. “We will have these targets in place for the 2023 National Matches.”

The NRA used the Silver Mountain Solo system, an open-sensor electronic target from Germany that retails for $850 per unit. David Schnelle, the owner of Silver Mountain Targets’ U.S. distributor, was at Camp Atterbury during the 2022 NRA National Matches to assist with the transition from the paper targets. “It was very nice to work with NRA on its first venture with e-targets at the National Matches,” Schenlle said. “We had a few bumps to work through the first day, but things ran perfectly smooth afterwards.”

E-target and shot display

For many years, there really weren’t any notable electronic target systems deployed on a grand scale, but the technology has come a long way over the past 20 years.

The number-one request of NRA High Power Rifle National Championship competitors, the addition of e-targets to Range Six at Camp Atterbury last summer not only eliminated the chore of pit duty, but also provided for real-time scoring. Shooters on the firing line could view the results with live targets online using tablets or smartphones connected to Wi-Fi originating from the Solo e-target systems. After a few hiccups on day one of the 2023 NRA High Power Nationals, which were quickly rectified, the Silver Mountain electronic targets performed without any major issues for the duration of the championship— including Across-the-Course, Mid-Range and Long-Range.

High Power Rifle shooters at Camp Atterbury last summer expressed their happiness about the introduction of electronic targets at the 2022 NRA National Matches. “E-targets were a godsend, as they totally eliminated the need to pull in the pits, which was especially valuable this summer in the scorching Indiana heat,” Charles Rowe, a longtime NRA High Power shooter, said. “And, after the first day of setup and teething issues, the e-target systems generally ran flawlessly. Well done and thank you to the NRA for listening to competitors.”

NRA High Power Rifle competitors

Last summer, the NRA High Power Rifle National Championships were fired on electronic targets for the first time ever.

In addition, by employing electronic targets, the daily matches at the High Power Nationals go by much faster than with paper targets. While there is much to be said about the camaraderie found during long days on the range spent with friends, having extra time each day is something that all High Power Rifle competitors should take note of. Last year, shooters at the NRA High Power Nationals had the opportunity to use the time saved by the use of e-targets to enjoy everything that Camp Atterbury and the local area offers.

Since the 2021 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury, the National Rifle Association of America and its partners have been working tirelessly to improve the state of the competition. This hard work has been noticed—in 2022, there was a year-over-year increase in entries at the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury across all three disciplines. High Power especially has enjoyed significant improvements at the National Matches, which McCulloch explained is due to “exceptional communication between NRA staff and competitors, sponsor support and range improvements, and support from the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association (ISRPA).” (You can read more about the 2022 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury by reading our recap.)

Camp Atterbury range six with e-targets

2023 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury Registration

New for this year, by registering for the NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury prior to Wednesday, June 14, competitors can order a T-shirt, polo shirt or hoodie with the NRA National Matches logo and one of three disciplines.

Below is the 2023 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury schedule.

National High Power Rifle Championships: July 8-28

National Precision Pistol Championships: July 18-22

National Smallbore Rifle Championships: July 25-August 6

Register for the 2023 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury at the NRA Competitive Shooting Division website: competitor.nra.org.

For more information, email comphelp@nrahq.org.

A lot can go wrong at the club from property damage to third-party injuries, but Club insurance helps cover the costs if something does. Plus, Lockton Affinity Outdoor’s Club insurance is available to a variety of firearm-related clubs like:

Outdoor rifle and pistol ranges

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If you have your own range, meet at a range, participate in competitions and events, travel or own land, Lockton Affinity Outdoor has coverage for you. See what coverage will look like for your club by completing a quick, five-minute price indication at LocktonAffinityOutdoor.com.

Crnokrak

Scouts BSA – Life Scout, Jacob Gates-Ehlers (a.k.a. Jake) from Troop 209 in the Pathway to Adventure Council, drove his wheelchair down to the rifle range with his mom Betsy like he did in years past, but this year was different. He would be able to use a 0.22 rifle to shoot at targets by himself using a Robotic platform that was designed by Crown Point, and Portage Indiana VEX VRC Robotics students.

The story begins last year, on September 10, 2022, when Jake drove his wheelchair down to the rifle range at Scouts BSA’s – Pathway to Adventure Council’s - Camp Frank S. Betz with his mom to have fun shooting 0.22 rifles at the range. Jake and his mom listened to the NRA instructors and when directed, Jake drove up to a shooting bench while his mom stood by his side. His mom would play a critical role as she would hold the rifle on the shooting bench, while Jake whispered in her ear – “Up, Down, Left, Right, shoot…” Mr. Nick Crnokrak (Eagle Scout, NRA Instructor, and prior Robotics Mentor) was helping Jake and his mom that day, ensuring that they were safe, and that Jake had a great time. But when Mr. Crnokrak left Camp that night, he started thinking that there might be an alternative way for Jake to shoot a rifle safely at the range by himself.

Fast forward to March of 2023, when Gage Bagwell, Cameron Mucha and Daniel Crnokrak were in the family room at the Crnokrak’s home, playing with a new 3D printer and talking about Daniel and Cameron’s trip to the VEX World Robotics Championships that would occur at the end of April in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Crnokrak walked by and asked the three students a question. “How hard would it be to design a platform to allow Jake to shoot a rifle on his own?” The three students were intrigued and asked Mr. Crnokrak several questions. The students drafted the prototype on paper within an hour. In the next couple of weeks, they would design, build, program, and test the prototype to ensure it would work safely and properly while having the functions needed for Jake to control the platform. They would meet Jake at Camp Betz a week prior to the shooting event to ensure the platform would fit on the shooting benches and get feedback from Jake on the controller portion. (Jake has limited mobility in his hands but can use a joystick and press a button.) Jake signed off on the controller design and the students went back to work 3D printing housings for the platform circuit boards and controller boxes to house the joystick and firing button for Jake.

On May 13, 2023, at 1:00 PM on the Camp Frank S. Betz rifle range, Jake was able to safely, look down the iron sights of the rifle, aim the rifle towards the target, and fire the rifle when he was ready. Jake did this multiple times all while his mom and grandmother sat in chairs taking pictures and videos, of Jake independently shooting on his own. Jake, his mom, and grandmother expressed their gratefulness to everyone that helped make this day be a memorable one. Everyone in attendance left with big smiles and a sense of accomplishment because they made a difference...by giving back.

Many thanks to:

• Jacob Gates-Ehlers o (Life Scout – Troop 209)

• The Gates-Ehlers Family

• Mr. Nick Crnokrak o (NRA Instructor, Eagle Scout, and former Robotics Mentor)

• Gage Bagwell o (Former VEX VRC Robotics Student at Portage High School – Team 2567 MARS)

• Daniel Crnokrak o (VEX VRC Robotics Student at Crown Point High School – Team 1233W - Whiplash, Eagle Scout – Troop 45)

• Cameron Mucha o (VEX VRC Robotics Student at Crown Point High School – Team 1233W - Whiplash)

• Scouts BSA – Pathway to Adventure Council – Camp Frank S. Betz

• The REC Foundation and VEX VRC Robotics!

• Robotics Coach – Matthew LeBlanc – Crown Point High School Robotics Coach – John Kappes – Portage High School