Shooting the National Defense Match

While I held the camera, American Hunter Managing Editor Jeff Johnston handled a rifle—and handled it well at the NRA National Defense Match on August 14 and 15 at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Jeff, who had never been to Camp Perry, grabbed an FN SCAR and a Nightforce scope, hopped in his truck and headed to the Mecca of competitive shooting. As I was running a still or video camera, Jeff ran his rifle over the surprisingly challenging course.

The NDM target has five tombstones in blue, yellow, green, red and white, and the shooter has to look at the menu to see what order and from what position he or she has to shoot. As the video I shot of Jeff shows, it’s harder than it looks, but a whole lot of fun. The targets at this match were electronic from the Swiss firm ShotResponse, and they were great for instantaneous scoring, but as you’ll see, Jeff had a little trouble here and there.

Jeff is a good shot and has done some 3-gun shooting but is new to NRA Competitions, so I chronicled what a new match shooter might expect. I followed him throughout day one on the NDM, and my biggest regret is I didn’t hand him the camera.

Next time, you won’t catch me without a rifle at this one.