NRAblog

1. Eddie Eagle flys south to start 2012

   Jon Draper, Program Coordinator for the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program, wrote this article about a couple new Eddie Eagle costumes that have popped up in Florida. 

   

   The Eddie Eagle mascot costume program is starting off 2012 at a great pace and has already made sure that two brand new Eddie Eagle mascot costumes have found new homes with law enforcement in Florida!

   The Dunnellon Police Department and the Lake City Police Department are extremely appreciative of the grant funding that they received from the NRA Foundation to purchase these costumes. The new costumes will undoubtedly have a lasting positive effect on the children in those areas.

   The funding for the costumes, $2800 each, was awarded to the departments through an NRA Foundation Grant with funds raised by the Friends of NRA in Florida.

   We strongly encourage all law enforcement agencies to improve their Eddie Eagle presentations by applying for an Eddie Eagle mascot costume grant through the NRA Foundation.

   Learn more about NRA Foundation Grants for Eddie Eagle costumes on their website or call (800) 231-0752.

2. Top Shot trench wars bring out Brownings and grenade launchers

   Top Shot Team Blue dominates the challenge round, allows Red nominees a shot with the Milkor M32A1

   
   Top Shot Season 4 Competitor Gabby Franco taking a shooting break in her 2000 Olympic souvenir ... photo courtesy of Gabby Franco.

   After reading a variety of comments about last week’s recap of History’s Top Shot, I thought I’d reach out to a competitor from Season 4 to keep me on the straight and narrow. Who better than NRA Certified Instructor Gabby Franco!

   Gabby was nice enough to share a few insights about her experience shooting the BAR and a few other surprises from “In the Trenches.”

   There was a great deal of excitement heading into last night's episode of Top Shot. Not only was History Channel bringing out the big 'ole Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), there was also talk of throwing a grenade launcher into the elimination round. How's that for taking things seriously?

   As with almost every obstacle competitors face of Top Shot, there are several that will be performing the task or firing the gun in question for the first time. Olympic shooter Gabby Franco experienced that very obstacle when they brought out the Browning.

   "That was the first time I shot that rifle," said Franco. "Not the first time I shot a rifle, but the first time for the BAR."

   Although all found their shots in the practice rounds, several experienced a flub or two during the actual challenge. Gabby, like fellow female competitor Michelle Viscusi, found the target with relative ease. That was surprising given her lack of experience with the BAR.

   "It wasn't difficult maintaining accuracy because the fundamentals are the same for handguns and rifles," Franco explained. "What was critical was my upper body position. I needed to lean forward as much as I could in order to recover my sights quickly and shoot faster. I knew that recoil would not be easy so I learned to control my finger in order to avoid shooting unnecessary and inaccurately rounds down range ."

   
   Top Shot Season 4 Competitor Gabby Franco at the Accuracy International booth during SHOT Show 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada ... photo courtesy of Gabby Franco.

   But it wasn't that easy for everyone. Red Teammates Keith Gibson and Kyle "Papa Bear" Sumpter suffered from a variety of complications. The same could be said for Team Blue's Terry Vaughan, but his misses were more the cause of poor teamwork than poor aim. When Terry (the final Blue shooter) found his target, Team Red was left with several competitors still at the starting block. Then they brought out a big gun. Well, not a big gun, but definitely a bigger bang.

   The Big Bang came courtesy of the Milkor USA M32A1 grenade launcher. Six cylinders of style and grace, the Milkor was placed in the capable hands of the elimination nominated Keith and Kyle. The trick, it appeared, would be the reloading.

   While Kyle battled through the smoke of the explosions, it was Keith's fumbling of the reload that made the difference. After only producing a series of clicks when pulling the trigger, Keith scrambled to find one of the filled cylinders in his partially loaded Milkor ask Kyle blasted his way back into the house.

   After the all the excitement, and obliteration of the countryside, I asked what I asked many a competitor who witnessed (but did not shoot in) an elimination round. Did Gabby get to shoot the grenade launcher?

   "I did," she exclaimed. "But only once and in my dreams that night. I hit all my targets and I had a lot of FUN! Then I woke up."

   So Kyle is back with Team Red, Gabby is dreaming grenade launching dreams and there's a whole mess of shotgun shooting scheduled next week for episode #3. We'll load up on shells and see you then.

   Don't forget ... if you want to learn how to shoot like these Top Shots then the first place to start is a Basic Pistol or Rifle class. Go to NRAInstructors.org and sign up today!

3. Team FNH adds new shooters to roster

   
   Greg Jordan (in green) is just one of six new shooters joining Team FNH USA.

   Team FNH USA is off to a great start in 2012. Just a few weeks ago, team members Mark Hanish and Tommy Thacker faced off in the 3-Gun Nation Finale Shoot-Off, with Hanish taking second place and Thacker winning first place – and $50,000. The two split their winnings and donated $20,000 to charity, helping their team start the year with a strong presence both on and off the range.

   Now they’ve added even more fuel to the fire by adding six new members to their shooting team. Joining the ranks are former Top Shot contestants Chris Cerino and Ashley Spurlin. Well-known 3-gun competitors Karla Herdzik, Greg Jordan, Joe Satterfield, and Jayson Smith have also been added to the roster.

   These six are joining not only Hanish and Thacker, but other top shooters including Larry Houck, Dianna Lierdorff, Erik Lund, Ken Pfau, and country music star Mark Wills.

   To learn more about Team FNH USA’s newest shooters, check out 3-Gun Nation for more info and access to all things 3-gun. For more about FNH USA, visit www.fnhusa.com.

4. Upcoming Friends of NRA Events: February 22 - 28
   

   Courtesy of Nicole McMahon, NRA Field Operatons' Senior Event Services Coordinator, some of the upcoming Friends of NRA events across the country are listed after the jump.

   There are about 1,200 Friends of NRA banquets that take place each year and with the season just begun, most of them are scheduled for the near future.

   If you're interested in attending an event near you but don't know when it will be held, be sure to check the Friends of NRA website to see a list of upcoming events by state.

   2/23/12
   Okachee, Wisconsin
   Charleston, West Virginia
   Griffin, Georgia
   Terra Haute, Indiana
   Whipple, Ohio

   2/24/12
   Columbia, Tennessee
   Florence, South Carolina
   Idaho Falls, Idaho
   Libby, Montana
   Santa Maria, California
   Shreveport, Louisiana
   Yerington, Nevada

   2/25/12
   Coleman, Texas
   Colusa, California
   Concord, North Carolina
   King City, California
   Lancaster, Pennsylvania
   Monaca, Pennsylvania
   Osage, Iowa
   Payson, Arizona
   Sedalia, Missouri
   Yakima, Washington

   2/26/12
   Norfolk, Nebraska

5. 5 Quick Thoughts on Top Shot's "In The Trenches"

   
   Top Shot Season 4 Competitor Gabby Franco taking aim at the 2012 SHOT Show ... photo courtesy of Gabby Franco.

   We'll have a complete rundown tomorrow, but here are five quick thoughts on tonight's episode of Top Shot on History:

   1. The ladies, Michelle Viscusi and Gabby Franco, had little to no problem shooting the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) in both the practice session and challenge round.
   2. The Challenge round will make more then just the losing team think about their performance. Sure Keith and Kyle had the hardest time finding the target for Team Red, but Team Blue almost fizzled out at the end with all the yelling.
   3. Is there a romance brewing between Michelle and Dylan?
   4. The jealously of the house upon hearing that they were using the Milkor M32A1 grenade launcher for the elimination round was pretty funny. Would they really like to be the one's shooting?
   5. Keith panicked in the elimination round. Couldn't recover from the misfire when trying to realign the chambers. But explosions that accompanied every hit were amazing. As host Colby Donaldson tweeted, "The single largest explosion concussion I have experienced in the history of #TOPSHOT. Our pyro team got a little over zealous."