Pennsylvania's Doug Koenig has notched his eleventh victory in the NRA's Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship. Koenig narrowly beat 2006 NRA Bianchi Cup champion Bruce Piatt on the virtue of center shots, 1918-185X to 1918-182X, respectively. Piatt has won four NRA Bianchi Cups.
Koenig has now won two in a row after losing two years ago to Piatt, whose score of 3818-320 notched him the 2008 National Open/Metallic Aggregate Championship. The tournament was held May 21-23 at the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club's Chapman Academy Range just outside of Columbia, MO.
The National Championship is an aggregate of four matches, including the Practical, Barricade, Moving Target and Falling Plate events. Each event is worth 480 points, equaling a total of 1920 possible points.
Koenig's fellow Pennsylvanian, Carl Bernosky took the third spot with a score of 1918-176X. Bernosky is the 2007 NRA High Power Champion at the NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships in Camp Perry, OH.
In the Metallic Championship, Robert Vadasz of Tampa, FL, just edged shooting legend Jerry Miculek of Princeton, LA, by one X. Each competitor shot a score of 1902 but Vadasz, who is a member of the U.S. Border Patrol, hit the X mark 138 times compared to Miculek’s 137.
Other notable category winners include senior winner Ian Coates of New Zealand. Coates shot a 1904-144X. The junior category winner was Jordan Dick. Dick, a resident of Hutchinson, Kan., shot 1901-139X. The women's category had Vera Koo of Atherton, Cal. Koo registered a score of 1870-136X.
The NRA National Action Shooting Tournament is a money-winning event and has been since its establishment in 1979. For his victory in 2008, Doug Koenig took home the 2008 Bianchi Cup trophy, plus total cash awards of over $8,000. Robert Vadasz Metallic Sight win netted him over $4000. In all, over $95,000 in cash and prizes were awarded, making it one of the richest competitions in the shooting sports.
On Saturday, an invitational match called the Bianchi International Speed Event will be held. The top-shooting competitors in the open championship, plus the top-scoring four women, junior, and senior competitors, are invited to an elimination contest to see who can draw, fire on, and knock down five steel silhouettes in the shortest time.
For more information on the championship, or on the NRA Action Shooting Program, call Tom Hughes at (703) 267-1478, or send an email message to actionpistol@nrahq.org.
