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May 16, 2012 (Washington, DC) – The Republican team of marksmen outdueled their Democrat counterparts yesterday at the Congressional Shoot-Out held at the Prince George’s County Trap and Skeet Center in Glenn Dale, Maryland.
A record turnout of Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) members, both Democrats and Republicans, put partisanship aside to enjoy a friendly competition shooting rounds of trap, skeet and sporting clays.
“The members of the CSC do a tremendous job of protecting and advancing our interests and traditions in the halls of Congress and we thank them for turning out in record numbers for this event,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane. “In addition to the members of Congress who showed their support for sportsmen, the outdoor industry and conservation leaders who care about hunting, fishing, shooting sports and conservation also helped make this a very successful shoot-out.”
Current CSC Co-Chair and team captain Rep. Jeff Miller (FL) joined by his co-captains, CSC Vice-Chair Rep. Bob Latta (OH) and CSC Vice-Chair Sen. James Risch of (ID) accepted the trophy on behalf of team Republican. Team Democrat was lead by current CSC Co- Chair Rep. Mike Ross (AR).
“The shoot-out is a great opportunity to highlight the issues that are important to the outdoors community, while at the same time fostering effective bipartisan collaboration on these crucial issues,” said Miller. “It is a real pleasure to work with other members of the Caucus and sportsmen’s community to promote conservation efforts and to preserve our critical habitat.”
“With all the Democrats who competed using full chokes and one arm tied behind their backs, we expected the Republicans to at least be more competitive than they have been in recent years,” said Ross. “As it turned out, our efforts to give them a fighting chance proved to be too much and they surprisingly won the “Top Gun” title this year. I fully expect a different outcome next year. For now, I congratulate my Republican colleagues who work with us in a bipartisan manner on the many important issues facing those of us who enjoy the great outdoor traditions of hunting, fishing, and sport shooting.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA) won the Top Gun Member of Congress. The Top Gun from team Democrat was Rep. Mike Thompson (CA) and the Top Gun from team Republican was Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC). The Top Skeet shooter was Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI); Rep. Tom Rooney (FL) won the Trap competition and Rep. Collin Peterson (MN) won Top Sporting Clays.
Also in attendance were members of the sportsmen’s community who competed in three categories: Elite, Experienced and Beginner. In the Elite Category: David Radulovich of Remington won the Top Gun; John Bauer of Remington was Top Skeet shooter; Charlie Conger of Remington won Top Trap shooter and Gebben Miles of Remington won the Sporting Clays competition.
In the Experienced Category: Don Parrish of American Farm Bureau Federation won the Top Gun; David Lattimer of FN-USA/Browning, and Kevin Reid of Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. tied for Top Skeet shooter; Dave Butz, board member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), won top Trap shooter; and Forrest Wilson of ATK won the Top Sporting Clays. In the Beginners Category, Andy Bopp, Hearing Industries Association, and Beth Daniel, Towson University and Hearing Industries Association, tied for the Top Gun award.
On Monday, the CSF also hosted the annual Industry Challenge at Prince George’s County Trap and Skeet Center, which coincides every year with the Congressional Shoot-Out. The First Place Team was Team Remington, made up of Charlie Conger, Gebben Miles and David Radulovich. Second place was Team Cabela’s, made up of Jim Heeren, Sean McLelland and Justin Smith. Third place went to Team ATK, which included Ryan Bronson, Steve Rodgers and Forrest Wilson. In the Elite category of the competition: Gebben Miles of Remington won Top Gun; Top Skeet went to Sean McLelland of Cabela’s and USA Shooting; Scott Robertson of Outdoor Channel won Top Trap and David Radulovich of Remington won Top Sporting Clays. In the Experienced category, Dave Butz, board member of the NRA, won Top Gun; Top Skeet went to Justin Smith of Cabela’s; Forrest Wilson of Cabela’s won Top Trap, and John Bauer of Remington won Top Sporting Clays.
Title Sponsors of the Congressional Shoot-Out were Alpha Natural Resources, ATK and Outdoor Channel.
The Host Sponsors were Cabela’s, NRA, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Remington and Winchester Ammunition.
Co-Hosts were Amgen, Ash Grove Cement Company, Beretta, Boone and Crockett Club, CropLife America, Dallas Safari Club, National Pork Producers Council, Oracle, Richard Childress Racing, SCI, Shimano and Yamaha.
Additional thanks to our other generous donors: Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Deer Park, Diageo, Old Virginia Tobacco Company and White Flyer.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
