2014 Crawfish Cup NRA Action Pistol Regional Tournament By George Mowbray Fifty-one competitors from seven states and three countries made their way to Southwest Louisiana to shoot the 2014 Crawfish Cup NRA Action Pistol Regional near Lake Charles, which is held on the last Saturday in April each year. The race for the Overall Champion was tight through the first two events. In the Open Division, Craig Ginger, from Australia, and Doug Koenig set the bar high by shooting 480-48X Barricade event, with Kevin Angstadt and Ben Boyette right on their heels with clean scores and 46 X’s. KC’s Jeremy Newell was also clean on the Barricades, but down a few X’s. All five of the competitors cleaned the Falling Plates. However, the gremlins struck two top shooters on the Practical Event, when defending Crawfish Cup champion Doug Koenig experienced a misfire and Craig Ginger suffered a malfunction and failed to get a round off, costing them both ten points. After three events, Kevin Angstadt with a 1440-138X had a slight lead over Tim Theno, who had a 1438, and Jeremy Newell and Ben Boyette who both had a score of 1436 going into the Mover. Doug Koenig and Craig Ginger were 10 points behind, each with a score of 1430. In Open Division, on the final event, the Moving Target, Kevin Angstadt posted a 478 with 39 X’s to win the Regional Championship with a 1918-177X. Jeremy Newell shot a 473, finishing second overall with a 1909 and 145 X’s. Doug Koenig was third with a 1908-181X performance. Doug took it all in stride, explaining how he considers this match to be a very important part of his preparation for the upcoming World Championship and NRA & Midway USA Bianchi Cup. In the Metallic Division, it was a close match between Kansas' Troy Mattheyer and Daniel Hauserman and Martin Johnson, from Northern Virginia. Troy started strong on the Barricades with a 470-21X, with Martin and Daniel only two points behind. Martin then cleaned the Falling Plates, with Mattheyer and Hauserman close behind with 47 plates each. The Moving Target was next up and Troy posted a 465 to scores of 458 for both Martin and Daniel. Going into the Practical Event, Martin was leading Troy by one point and Daniel by ten points. Troy edged Martin by two points in the event, shooting a 474 to Martin’s 472. The Metallic Regional Champion was Troy Mattheyer who won by one point, 1879-117X to Martin Johnson’s 1878-125X, who finished in second place. Daniel Hauserman couldn’t overcome the deficit and finished in Third Place with an 1855-119X. Despite finishing second, Martin Johnson broke three of his own National Records for Senior Metallic shooters, setting new marks in the Practical, Falling Plates and Moving Target, (Mod) events. In the Production Division, Vance Schmid and Jack Ragsdale were locked in a close battle. Both competitors shot 46 plates, leaving Jack ahead by two points after two events. Jack expanded his lead on the Practical Event with a 468 to Vance’s 455, but, as happens often; the Mover decided the race, with Vance Schmid posting a new National Record score of 478-29X for an aggregate score of 1854 and 121 X’s to win the Production Regional Champion’s plaque. Jack Ragsdale was second with a score of 1850-115X. Thomas Noto, from Louisiana, was third with a 1674x90. Vance Schmid also won High Senior and High Law Enforcement. Mississippi's Ruthie Conn won the High Woman Award. Mike Flagler took High Grand Senior honors. Christian Noto won the High Junior Award. Congratulations to all the winners. The event was well supported by sponsors, with approximately $7000 in merchandise on the prize table. Approximately $1400 was also distributed as prize money based on the number of competitors in each Class, Category and Gun Type. Complete scores, as well as photos are available at http://www.swla-rifleandpistol.org/compete1.htm. Next year’s event will be on April 25th, 2015. Come start or continue your preparations for the 2015 NRA & Midway USA Bianchi Cup with us; enjoy some Cajun food, hospitality and enjoy an optional airboat tour of the Atchafalaya Swamp either before or after the match. CRAWFISH CUP SPONSORS ZERO BULLETS MIDSOUTH SHOOTERS SUPPLY GRAF AND SONS WHAT-YA-SAY HEARING PROTECTION BAYOU BULLETS HOGUE GRIPS SECURE FIREARM PRODUCTS REDDING RELOADING DECOT HY-WYD SPRINGFIELD ARMORY BIRCHWOOD CASEY MIDWAY USA VERA KOO BROWNELL’S BURRIS MONTANA GOLD BULLETS SIERRA BULLETS STARLINE BRASS BAR-STO BARRELS UNIQUE-TEK WILSON COMBAT PRECISION K & M OTIS TECHNOLOGY LEE PRECISION BIG DADDY’S SPORTS GRILL CREECH PHOTO – SMUGMUG.COM Save the Date! The 2015 Crawfish Cup Regional will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2015 Contact George Mowbray at [email protected]