Secure your spot at this year's National Matches from the comfort of home

Fairfax, Virginia - For 105 years the National Rifle & Pistol Championships have been held on the shores of Lake Erie at Camp Perry, Ohio.

From July 8 to August 14, the best pistol, smallbore and high power rifle shooters in the world test their mettle against other top marksmen for NRA's prestigious trophies.

More Camp Perry's online registration...

Get free waterproof phone bags from NRA Competitive Shooting

Fairfax, Virginia - This weekend's NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits will feature over 440,000 square feet of exhibit space and more than 550 of the most spectacular product displays from every major firearm company in the country, as well as knives, wildlife art, shooting accessories, hunting gear, and much more.

Aside from being able to see so many cool things, conventions mean there will be a lot of SWAG. No, not the style your teenager is so concerned with. SWAG is Stuff We All Get - freebies, samples.

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Long Range High Power Rifle Championships bring in teams from the United States and Great Britain

While gearing up for the National Rifle & Pistol Championships this summer in Camp Perry, Ohio, we decided to wet your appetite with news from an international long range high power match taking place this week in South Africa

The General de Wet Range is located just outside of Bloemfontein, South Africa. It sits about 4,500 feet above sea level. The air is thin, the conditions are dry and the winds can be unforgiving … a perfect place for an International Long Range High Power Rifle Championship.

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Searching for the perfect training rifle with NRA's Shooting Illustrated

That's the subject of Bob Owens' latest investigation. Take a look at his findings in NRA's Shooting Illustrated magazine:

The Ideal Training Rifle
Here's a great way to turn a .22 LR rifle into a platform that will help new and experienced shooters practice marksmanship skills.

If you want to train to improve your rifle-marksmanship skills, you need a goal and a rifle. A solid goal to make yourself a rifleman (or riflewoman) is to be accurate to within 4 MOA out to a distance of 500 yards—the “rifleman’s quarter-mile”—with iron sights using a properly functioning military-surplus rifle.

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Friends of NRA's 2013 Gun of the Year is an instant classic

Fairfax, Virginia - Friends of NRA's 2013 Gun of the Year is a beautiful rifle from Weatherby's masterful Vanguard collection - the Eurosport Sub-MOA 270Win. This exclusive, 24” cold hammer forged barrel is beautifully complimented with a select Turkish Walnut stock that is hand rubbed in oil for a custom finish unlike any other in the Vanguard family.

Suitable for hunting or acquiring a target downrange, the Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 Eurosport Sub-MOA 270Win is a perfect fit for any firearm owner. Comprised with a match quality 2-stage adjustable trigger, the Eurosport is guaranteed to shoot a 3-shot group of .99" or less at 100-yards. In other words, you're going to hit your target.

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Support the NRA this next week at dinners in Utah, Iowa, Ohio and more

Fairfax, Virginia - Courtesy of Senior Event Services Coordinator Nicole McMahon, here are the Friends of NRA events for this next week.

At Friends of NRA events, you can find friendly, generous people who gather out of their love of the Second Amendment to raise money for the programs run by the NRA. It is these programs that include education, training, conservation and competition, that help people to continue exercising their right to bear arms.

Is a committee near you a member of the High Caliber Club? Banquets that raise over $25,000 join an exclusive group of committees who take Friends of NRA fundraising to the next level. A little over one in four committees earned this prestigious title in 2012 - what an accomplishment. As a showing of appreciation, these committees receive a special firearm to auction off the following year.

Find out where Friends dinners are happening...

Shoot in the NRA's largest competitive match from your home range this winter

Fairfax, Virginia - We're almost a month into this year's NRA National Indoor Rifle & Pistol Championships but there's still plenty of time to take part. Unlike NRA's Bianchi Cup or National Matches at Camp Perry, the Indoor Championships are shot through multiple sectional tournaments across the country during the winter.

Your results are sent to the NRA where they're compared to everyone else's and winners are determined. It's a fun way to compete with many other shooters and it's easy to get involved.

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With multiple National Championships, national records and Grand Slams, this 14 year-old can do it all

Fairfax, Virginia - Mallory Nichols isn't your typical 14 year-old. When the "How I spent my summer" essay comes around at the beginning of the school year, she has a lot to share.

Three years ago Mallory decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandfather by becoming a competitive shooter. The shooting sports didn't transform when she picked up a rifle, but it just might by the time she puts it down.

After only a few years, Mallory has made quite the name for herself and is turning heads. With multiple accolades and a sponsorship by Lapua, it seems like the sky is the limit.

Recently, Barbara Baird of Women's Outdoor News caught up with Mallory to get an exclusive scoop for Shooting Sports USA: What's in her range bag?

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Have what it takes to stand amongst the best of the best?

Fairfax, Virginia - Did you know the NRA keeps track of nearly 7,000 national shooting records? Is that more than you thought there were? With that many, your chances of tying or breaking one in 2013 probably go from "impossible" to "unlikely," but hey, that means there's a chance! Maybe this will be your year.

Are you wondering how there are so many records? They add up rather quickly once you stop to consider it.

The NRA keeps track of a lot of disciplines including Air Pistol, Action Pistol, High Power Rifle, Silhouette Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, Fullbore and to name a few. And from each of those disciplines it branches out further.

Within each discipline there are records for metallic sight, any sight, rapid fire, slow fire, prone, standing and all the variations of ways to shoot. Don't forget about shooting indoor, outdoor, distance and number of shots fired. Think the number is big enough? Don't forget about all of this being stored for both individuals and teams. The final whammy comes with all of the possible classifications (e.g. Open, Civilian, Service, Woman, Junior, Senior, Police, etc.).

More on the NRA National Shooting Records...