Florida teenager is the top youth at this year's NRA/Springfield M1A Match

Port Clinton, Ohio - Six years ago the NRA/Springfield M1A match was started at our National Rifle and Pistol Championships to breathe fresh life into a storied competition rifle and that's exactly what it's done.

Despite the rising popularity of AR-style rifles in competition, the M1A Match has done very well for itself and picks up new shooters each year.

Most importantly, the match is drawing in young shooters like James Kinley III, who shot his way to the High Junior award this past August with a 439-2x out of a possible 500.

Kinley, who is 14 and lives in Parrish, Florida, not only picked up shooting four years ago, but began with the M1A. His choice of firearm was of course helped by his father, who has been a Garand collector since the 1990s and attending Camp Perry since the turn of the century.

Once James caught the shooting bug, he joined his father at the National Matches and has shot in the M1A Match the past two years.

More this year's High Junior at the NRA/Springfield M1A Match...

She wins NRA Rifle Championships, flies airplanes for fun and sells her eBooks on Amazon

Port Clinton, Ohio - While on the fields of Camp Perry during the Smallbore 3-Position Rifle Championships, I sat down with Reya Kempley. A past Woman's Champion, Reya finished fourth overall in this year's 3-Position Championships.

"For standing and prone I was a little bit nervous because this is Camp Perry, but it was under control and I felt good. For kneeling I'm hoping to still be in the hunt."

Shooting along side her brother Tarl, Reya has enjoyed a high level of success at the National Smallbore Rifle Championships. Not only did she manage to capture the Woman's and Civilian's Smallbore Prone titles, she also finished 2nd overall in the Prone Championships. It was the 3-Position to proved to be more of a challenge.

More on Smallbore shooter Reya Kempley ...

This week in 2010, Jan Raab, then the National Manager of NRA's High Power Rifle Programs, sent NRAblog the following on Quantico's Remembering the Brave rifle match:

Quantico, Virginia - The First Eastern Armed Forces Memorial Match is being hosted by the Quantico Shooting Club Memorial Day weekend.  Each year, 14 military service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country will be honored at this match.  The trophies will bear the names of the service members and the winner of each match.  All match entry fees are donated to the Remembering the Brave Foundation, which was founded by Stephen Beck. Steve was a Casualty Assistance Officer in the Marine Corps and is a high power shooter. This match was his idea as a way to remember our fallen heroes.

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Manager brings back mementos from Collegiate Championships

Fairfax, Virginia - Everyone likes to come home with souvenirs. Whether it's a banner from a ballgame, a stuffed bear from a carnival or a keychain from a trade show, there's always something to keep the memories alive. For Tori Croft, National Manager of the NRA Collegiate & Schools Programs, it's a signed poster from her matches.

"Each year I ask competitors, volunteers and staff to sign one of the posters so that I can bring it back to headquarters," said Croft. "I usually have them framed and find a pretty good place to hang them."

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Park City, Kentucky - At the inaugural Women's Outdoor Adventure, there's been no shortage of fun. Partly because of the people involved and partly because there's been no shortage of shooting. These ladies have spent a good many hours on the range while at the Rockcastle Shooting Center and yesterday afternoon was no exception.

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Park City, Kentucky - For the participants of the Women's Outdoor Adventure, yesterday was spent on the range learning to shoot different guns. The ladies of Group C spent the afternoon on the rifle range, where I caught up with them as they learned to shoot on the move. 

The women began the course of fire by shooting at two paper targets before moving around stacked barrels to three more targets. As they shot the three middle targets, they were encouraged to move as they shot, combining accuracy with speed.

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Parck City, Kentucky - Earlier we took at look at the Group A "Alphas" pistol shooting that took place this morning at the Women's Outdoor Adventure, but just a few birms away, the ladies of Group B were rockin' their rifles. Led by champion shooter Kay Clark Miculek along with instructors Dianna Lierdorff and Judy Woolley, the ladies shot .22 caliber Smith & Wesson AR-15-platform rifles. 

In addition to learning marksmanship skills with each firearm, participants of the Women's Outdoor Adventure are also getting a chance to receive individual instruction from some of the shooting industry top competitors, including Miculek, Lierdorff, and Woolley. 

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Park City, Kentucky - There was no shortage of shooting this morning at the Women's Outdoor Adventure as the participants took to the ranges for their first day of formal instruction. The ladies broke into three groups, with each heading to either the rifle, pistol, or shotgun range. 

This morning, I caught up with Group A, who named themselves "The Alphas", on the pistol range. Led by instructor Debbie Keehart, the women got down to work with Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm pistols. After starting with basic shooting drills to reinforce the fundamentals of shooting, Keehart and fellow instructors Annette Aysen and Lori Wicen got the group the move. 

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Having just landed in Nashville, Tennessee, I'm taking the opportunity to check in before heading to the rolling hills of Park City, Kentucky. That's where the inaugural NRA Women's Outdoor Adventure takes place this week at the incredible Rockcastle Shooting Center.

Twenty women are preparing to receive personalized instruction from some of the country's top female shooters in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun world. They'll also receive some quality relaxation time with activities such as horseback riding, canoeing, exploring the area's natural caves and wine tasting.

There's a lot more in store for these ladies, so stay tuned for live coverage of the Women's Outdoor Adventure as the week progresses. I'm off to Rockcastle!