Action Shooting team developing collegiate level in NRL’s rimfire division
11/15/2022 5:32:12 PM | Pistol
Liberty University’s fourth-year Action Shooting team, which became one of the first collegiate programs to transition from the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) — where the Flames and Lady Flames were national champions in 2021 — to the National Rifle League’s .22 caliber rimfire division (NRL22) last year, has sharpened its sights and fine-tuned its form on a team full of seniors this fall.
“It’s something that’s unique to Liberty in that we have this opportunity to build a new sport at the collegiate level,” Head Coach Bill Crawford said, noting that the NRL is already very operative among junior shooters and adults. “We’re still in the process of working with the National Rifle League to develop a collegiate division for this type of competition. We’re competing against very accomplished shooters when we go to a competition, adults who have been doing this for years, so it’s an added element of challenge to develop the team and also be able to compete.”
“We went to nationals last year and we really grew close with a lot of people that we shot with in that community,” senior Gabe Goodman added. “It’s very welcoming and very collaborative, a very friendly community and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it. We’re looking forward to getting into that community, spreading the Gospel, and letting people know that we represent Liberty and we’re representing (Christ) well at all of the competitions and (events) that we go to.”
Crawford, who also serves as manager and chief safety officer of the Liberty Mountain Gun Club (LMGC) ranges, said this type of shooting puts a premium on high-level marksmanship skills, as well as mental and physical demands to accommodate the various positions.
“The format of each competition is shooting five stages of 10-12 shots each, from varying distances (25-100 yards) at various-sized steel targets (from a quarter of an inch to 6 inches), with shots fired from a number of different ‘props,’ ranging from a 55-gallon drum to a step ladder to a cinderblock,” Crawford said, noting that all shots must be fired in under 2 minutes. “That’s the ‘action’ part of the competitions. With each plate counting as 10 points, and a total of 50-60 shots, a perfect score is anywhere from 500-600 points, with a few additional twists for bonus points, occasionally. However, the courses are designed such that perfect scores are almost unheard of.”
“It’s very different from your traditional three-position shooting,” senior Anderson Bennett added. “You’re shooting off of different props or positions. … whereas they are strictly prone, kneeling, and standing.”
Goodman, who is pursuing a B.S. in Criminal Justice, brought a lifetime of shooting experience to the LMGC rifle range. He likes the two different kinds of disciplines involved in the sport of Action Shooting, both the bolt-action shooting done through NRL and the speed shooting through SASP.
“I talked to Coach Crawford and I immediately liked him and his philosophy behind shooting and why he was doing it and why he was here, and that’s kind of what got me hooked,” he said.
By contrast, senior Madeline Ashley joined the team of six men and five women student-athletes on the team without knowing what she was signing up for, but she has enjoyed every minute of it.
“It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done before,” she said. “I didn’t have any shooting experience, but we come up a couple of times a week, we practice, we have fun, and it’s nice because there’s a really good community and it’s something really different that not a lot of schools have.”
“It is like a family,” Crawford said. “Everybody comes, they support each other a great deal, and they compare and share notes … and make adjustments. It allows them to work together closely and just the team atmosphere they have is great.”
Video edited by Kylee Lilge/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator