(left to right): 2011 Metallic Champion Rob Vadasz, 2011 Woman’s Champion Jessie Harrison, 2011 Junior Champion Tiffany Piper, and 2011 Production Champion Rob Leatham.
On the cover: The Bianchi Cup stands front and center, flanked by Doug Koenig (left), and Jessie Harrison (right). Cover art by Jody West.
“The Cup has stood the test of time...” —John Bianchi
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ewer words have ever been more true. The NRA Bianchi Cup continues to advance with the times, securing new sponsorship to fuel growth and innovation. The Bianchi Cup is the brainchild of John Bianchi, who for over forty years has been the world’s premier holster maker. Since its inception, the Cup has been traditionally held on Memorial Day week(end).
The NRA Action Pistol Championship consists of four separate matches, for a total aggregate of 1920 points. The match is a combination of speed, accuracy, and precision, including shooting at stationary and moving targets. Class awards are awarded to various categories to include high law enforcement, high woman, high junior, high international, high newcomer, high senior, high service, high semi-auto, high revolver, and Aggregate.
Bianchi Cup Sponsorship
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BETTER EQUIPPED. BETTER PREPARED.
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MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup Course of Fire The Course of Fire consists of four separate matches: •• The Practical Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits. •• The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits. •• The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8 inch round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
Larry & Brenda Potterfield (left), look on as John Bianchi (right) congratulates Doug Koenig on his latest Bianchi Cup Championship.
•• The Moving Target Event: From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages.
MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup Facts
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ompanies like MidwayUSA, Colt, Safariland, Bushmaster, Sig Sauer, Action Target, Universal Gold & Bullion, and Blade-Tech help build championships like the NRA Bianchi Cup where shooters with out of the box production firearms can participate.
Over the years, the match has become a proving ground for high-tech, cutting-edge firearm technology that competitors have been encouraged to exploit. Due to the relatively unrestricted equipment rules, there have been insights gained that can be practically applied to law enforcement applications. The event originated in 1979; by former police officer John Bianchi of holster maker Bianchi International, as a Law Enforcement Training Match. With the help of 1975 IPSC World Champion, Ray Chapman, he got exactly what he wanted with the Bianchi Cup.
World famous holster maker John Bianchi founded the Bianchi Cup in 1979.
In 1984, the National Rifle Association acquired the event and re-designated the event the NRA Bianchi Cup, National Action Pistol Championship. The competition is now comprised of four stages, which make up the match aggregate. Each of these stages consists of 48 rounds for a total possible score of 480 for each stage and 1920 for a perfect overall score. The first competitor to fire a perfect score was current Champion Doug Koenig of Pennsylvania in 1990 with a 1920-157X. Doug also has the most wins with 13 total, earning the title in 1990, 1992, 1998, 2000–2005, 2007, 2008, and 2010-2011.
Colt Celebrity Pro–Am
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he 2011 NRA Bianchi Cup featured several celebrities participating in a celebrity pro am along with some top notch Bianchi competitors. This Saturday event is well attended and is a fan favorite. Top Shot competitors Iain Harrison, Chris Cerino, Maggie Reese, and Caleb Giddings competed in 2011. Attendees in previous years have included country music star Michael Peterson; stars of film and television Patrick Kilpatrick (Minority Report), Marshall Teague (Armageddon, Road House), Michael Talbott (Miami Vice), Bo Bice (American Idol), and new for 2012, Mark Christopher Lawrence (Chuck). Cowboy mounted shooting sensation Kenda Lenseigne has competed since 2009 and won each year!
Competitors and well wishers at the 2011 Celebrity Pro–Am: (from left to right) Bo Bice, Mark Wills, Joyce Rubino, Mike Guerra, Kenda Lenseigne, Scott Carnahan, Julie Golob, Rob Leatham, Jerry Miculek, Chris Cerino, Iain Harrison, Caleb Giddings, Maggie Reese, Dave Sevigny, and Randi Rogers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit us on the web at http://www.nrahq.org/compete/nm_actionshooting.asp You can also call 1-877-672-6282 ext. 5, or e-mail bianchicup@nrahq.org Links http://www.facebook.com/NRABianchiCup @nrabianchicup on Twitter http://www.youtube.com/user/nrabianchicup