THIS is a leader!

[dustinflint]

After being told by certain people at the NRA that there was no way in hell that an Air Rifle Silhouette National Championship would ever be possible, I got in touch with Dennis Willing, the Director of Competitive Shooting at the NRA. Dennis has been a PLEASURE to work with. He has vision and perspective and found a way to make the Nationals happen. He understands that the competitors are the most important people in the shooting sports and he genually wants to see our shooting sports grow.

After out match, several competitors wrote emails to Denny and Greg Connor. Of course, Greg does not know how to respond to an email but Denny has responded to almost all of them. Below are three of those emails and Denny's responses. While I am concerned about the direction that silhouette is heading under the current SILHOUETTE DEPARTMENT leadership; I am thankful that the right guy is at the top. If you see Dennis Willing at an event anytime soon, shake his hand and tell him that he is doing a good job!!

Dear Sirs,

Myself and two other airgun shooters fom Little Rock, Arkansas ( Benton Gun Club ) drove to Baton Rouge this past weekend for the 2013 NRA Air Rifle Silhouette National Championships. I must say that Dustin Flint and his associates hosted a great match. Having participated in a number of local and regional matches in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas we all three were very impressed with the well organized and professional manner in which the match was run. There was not a single glitch noted or complaint heard. The range facilities and resettable targets were firstclass. Also the lunch provided for the competitors was outstanding. Both competitors and spectators were complimentary. I strongly urge the NRA to approve and support the NRA Air Rifle Silhouette National Championships being held in Baton Rouge in 2014.

Charles Sullivan, M.D., NRA Life Member AMX2954M.

Dr. Sullivan,
Thank you for your feedback on the tournament. Dustin Flint has been easy to work with and brings new level of excitement to Air Gun Silhouette competition. It appears that the competitors enjoyed themselves and the competition between them was first rate. I will approve Dustin’s dates for 2014 as soon as this year’s results are in and finalized. This year we will have some time to work with Dustin and help him publicize the event in Shooting Sports USA, the NRAblog, on our Facebook account, and in other communications sent to competitors in order to increase participation. We might be able to include a match flyer or program for our air gun competitors in other NRA, CMP, and U.S. Army events that we’re involved in. If my calendar works out right next year, perhaps I can at least visit to see what’s going on down there that everyone is so excited about.

Again, thank you for your feedback, it’s important to know that all went well.

Denny

Mr. Willing,
Dustin Flint copied me on his email to you. I would like to echo his views on this being a viable sport. True, the price of admission can be high, but one of the groups it appeals to is the 4H kids. This is a way to bring them into the game. The Sporter and Open classes are actually easy for them to transition to and the Target class is something for the position shooters in Precision Air Rifle to do for fun. We offer a different (more relaxed and fun) atmosphere. Having gone the 4H route, we have found that we offer the difficulty without the stuffiness that position shooting tends to breed. The kids seem to enjoy it, and this makes them want to practice and participate. Also it provides the unique opportunity for kids to beat the stuffing out of their parents at the range. We shoot everything from 10meter air rifle to 1000yd prone. My mom was on the 1972 Olympic Trap shooting team and this is the best group of people we have ever competed with. I invite you to attend and participate in ANY of our matches. We will have a gun and ammo for you. If you are in Houston for the NRA show, please try to come by the Bayou Rifles Range (I10/Eldridge) and look in at our Texas State smallbore match. We are shooting in the morning, and finishing early so people can attend the show in the afternoon. Dustin and his whole group claim they will be there.

Thank you VERY much for your support.

Pat Steiger

Pat,
Thank you for your feedback on the Air Gun Silhouette Championship. Dustin convinced me that this would be good thing to support and I approved him conducting the event. It appears that I made a wise choice because everything came off well and the competitors are very happy. I've received a number of emails in support of the continuation of this event. As I told Dustin recently, when this event is finalized, I will approve his dates for next year and will make every effort to go if my calendar will allow it.

I will be in Houston in May but these will be work days for me and I will have daily assignments so I doubt that I will be able to get to the range. I appreciate the invite though.

If possible, sometime during my stay in Houston, I would very much like to meet you, Dustin, and whoever else might be with you.

My congratulations to Elisabeth (daughter?) on her win and excellent performance at the Nationals.

I look forward to meeting you in Houston and I look forward to NRA's continued involvement with the Air Gun Championship.

You can reach me in Houston on my cell phone: (redacted)

Thank you again for your email. We need to know how well our events are being conducted, good or bad. I'm pleased with such positive support.

Denny

Hi Dennis and Greg
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending and competing in the AirGun Nationals in Baton Rouge, LA. After many years I was finally able to attend a National level tournament and it was a hoot. Unfortunately I didn't place in my class but frankly being able to compete among the best shooters in this discipline was exciting and a great learning experience. The venue is beautiful and the match was very well run. The match director, Richard Harper, kept everything on schedule and very safe. Frankly if all the National matches are run as well as this one was, I will make an effort to try and attend others in the silhouette venue. Many folks helped put on the match from setting targets to cooking the lunches. The Baton Rouge Recreation Dept kept the sanitation and trash pickup on schedule and was much appreciated. All in all an A+ result and I hope that this match will continue to have your support in years to come.

Respectfully

Doug Singer

Doug,
Thank you for your insight and remarks concerning the National Air Gun Silhouette Championships. I have received a number of positive emails about the events and I am very pleased that we were able to work with Dustin to make the tournament available to our competitors. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Dustin and also look forward to helping him grow this event into an ever larger tournament. With sufficient competitors we might be able to attract industry sponsorship that will help grow the available awards schedule.

Thank you again for your support.

Denny

[ppkny]

Great job Dustin. I met you at Winnsboro last year. To bad it's such a long drive from NYS.
ppkny

[Bob259]

Great job Dustin. I met you at Winnsboro last year. To bad it's such a long drive from NYS.
ppkny

It was an easy drive when your BFF lived in NY admit it You can fly out to PHX and we can drive from here, same distance, or we could fly to Houston and let Steiger drive us in while we sleep ;)

[hugh]

better watch it, or he'll sick his kids on you!

hugh

[psteiger]

Bob,

I'd love to drive you, it would be nice not to be the LOW SCORER in the van on the way home. It is a long ride home.............

p

[dustinflint]

Great job Dustin. I met you at Winnsboro last year. To bad it's such a long drive from NYS.
ppkny

It was an easy drive when your BFF lived in NY admit it You can fly out to PHX and we can drive from here, same distance, or we could fly to Houston and let Steiger drive us in while we sleep ;)

Believe it or not, we actually have several airports in Louisiana too! The match is March 21-23 next year. Book your flights now and get a good rate! We'd love to have all of you guys.

Dustin

[Bob259]

Bob,

I'd love to drive you, it would be nice not to be the LOW SCORER in the van on the way home. It is a long ride home.............

p

Now that hurt.....

[Innocent]

It's the truth, 259!
Innocent

[BCloninger]

Given the shooters in the Steiger entourage, having the low score could still be bragging rights...

[duckgumbo]

Congratulations to Dustin and his entire team. I now know that we have turned over the reins of the Southern Nationals in Winnsboro to a quite capable leader of a first class team. After 22 years, Jerry and I had had enough and are glad that Dustin and Jerry Tureau thought enough of the sport to continue the Southern Nationals in Winnsboro. Jerry and I took a break this year and did not attend SHOT but look forward to going next year and just being laid back! We are fortunate that many of our National Sponsors chose to support us in 2013 and our Party. It is my hope that we can take Dustin and some of his team to SHOT in 2014 and introduce them to our sponsors so that we can transition everything over to them.

We are glad to furnish Winnsboro Gun Club and our facilities to Dustin and his team for future first-class events. Jerry and I have enjoyed our years running the matches and bringing quality prizes and awards to the competitors that are second-to-none in the Silhouette Competition World. We are just trying to host a Party to be able to relax and have a good time with NO pressure on us or our members.

Please support Dustin and his Team this year with your attendance so that they will be able to move forward with many more Southern Nationals!

The success that they achieved this year by hosting a NRA Nationals is to be commended and maybe they will be able to bring another NRA Smallbore Nationals to Winnsboro in the future.