August 29, 2012 (Washington, DC) – On Tuesday, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted the Stars and Stripes Shoot-Out at the Tampa Bay Sporting Clays facility in Tampa, Florida.
The Shoot-Out served as an opportunity for members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) and partners and friends of CSF to promote sportsmen’s issues and enjoy a day of shooting archery, trap and skeet.
CSF President Jeff Crane welcomed all event attendees and spoke of the importance of America’s sportsmen’s heritage and why bipartisan cooperation is critical to protecting outdoor traditions. “CSF works in a bipartisan fashion to protect the sportsmen’s legacy. Events like these bring together sportsmen and women to participate in the shooting sports and promote hunting and conservation.”
Among those in attendance was Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Vice-Chair of the GSC. Governor Branstad spoke of the importance of the sportsmen’s heritage in his family and how traditions are carried down to the next generations. “My son Marcus, an avid sportsman, dreamed of interning for the NRA. And, he got that honor.”
Representative Jeff Duncan, member of the CSC, voiced his appreciation for CSF and the importance of passing sportsmen’s legislation. “CSF is your voice on Capitol Hill. I am a proud member of the CSC and Members of Congress, like me, appreciate what CSF does to protect the outdoor heritage.”
Five-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode, who recently won the gold medal at the London Games for Women’s Skeet Shooting, was in attendance. She spoke about her life-long dedication to the shooting sports and how the 2012 Olympics brought more attention to the industry. “It has been an honor to not only represent the outdoor industry but the United States in five Olympics. My fellow Olympians and I have set out to put a face to the shooting sports, and we were very successful in doing that.” Afterwards, Rhode posed with fellow sportsmen and women for pictures and showcased her recently awarded Olympic gold medal.
Sportsmen and women participated in a number of shooting competitions including skeet and clay shooting as well as archery target shooting, and awards were given to the top in each category. The Top Shot award went to Stephen Aaron of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Representative Jeff Duncan won the Top Elected Official prize. First place in the archery competition was Bill Johnson of ATK, second place was Walt Smith of Locke Lord Strategies and third place went to Nickie Currie of Amgen.
For the sporting clays competition, Beau Greenwood of CropLife placed first, second place went to Jeff Murray of the C2 Group, and third place went to Jim Baker of the NRA.
The title sponsors for the Shoot-Out were: the NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The host sponsors were Amgen, ATK, Barnett Crossbows, Cabela’s, Remington, Richard Childress Racing, Safari Club International, Shimano, Soundgear and Starkey. The co-host sponsors included the Dallas Safari Club, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, GSM and the Hearing Industries Association.
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?
