GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation Inside the Gunny Challenge: a History
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
www.GSSFonline.com Volume II, 2012 The newsletter of the GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation Inside The Gunny Challenge: A History. The Gunny Challenge: The GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation began in 1991. The goal was to in- A History Pgs 1-3 troduce new GLOCK shooters to sport shooting and the use of stock GLOCK firearms. Benefits of GSSF Member- ship & FAQ Pgs 4-5 As with any sport, some Welcome to GSSF / GSSF competitors will excel. How- Rules Pgs 6-27 ever, if a few skilled shoot- ers are allowed to garner all Gunny Challenge VIII Charity of the prizes, it can discour- Donation Pg 29 age others from participat- Course of Fire: Five to ing. In order to prevent this, GLOCK Pgs 31-33 GSSF divides participants into two shooting classes. Course of Fire: GLOCK’M Pgs 34-38 Special Pullout Section: An Amateur is any GSSF participant who has not achieved Master status. Mas- 2013 GSSF Match Schedule ter class participants are those shooters who rank Master or above in other Pgs 39-42 shooting disciplines or have won three performance firearms awards at GSSF matches. As Master shooters, they mostly compete against other Master classed Course of Fire: GLOCK the Plates Pgs 43-44 competitors and do not take awards out of the reach of Amateur GSSF competi- tors. The only divisions in which Amateur and Master shooters compete for the GSSF Armorer’s Service same prizes are Master Stock and Master Unlimited. Pg 45 In 2000, GSSF instituted the Matchmeister title for the best single score across all The “New River GLOCK” Pg 46 comparable stock divisions within a given match. Such competitors are deemed Matchmeisters, the best of the best GSSF competitors. Although Amateur com- GSSF Indoor League petitors are eligible, Matchmeister winners are typically Master shooters. Pgs 48-56 In 2005, several factors came together that resulted in the creation of the “Gun- New Lifetime GSSF Members Pg 57 ny Challenge”. R. Lee “Gunny” Ermey, well known for his role in the movie “Full Metal Jacket” as well as many commercials, was the spokesperson for Members’ Corner Pgs 59-65 GLOCK, Inc. At the time, The Gunny was hosting the TV show “Mail Call”, which showcased firearms and shooting, a rarity in the broadcast industry at the time. Juniors’ Page Pg 66 GLOCK, Inc also introduced its first .45 GAP pistol, the GLOCK G-37. Photo Gallery Pgs 67-73 The idea was to introduce an exciting contest which might appeal to the Gun- Staff Spotlight: GSSF’s ny’s at home audience. At the same time, demonstrate what the latest GLOCK Newest Rangemasters product could do in the hands of a skilled GLOCK shooter, but still someone Pg 75 with whom the Gunny’s viewers could identify. GSSF devised all-steel target versions of its three standard match stages and invited its growing collection of Matchmeisters to shoot for the Gunny Challenge Champion title as well as cash prizes. It was decided to conduct the Gunny Challenge the Continental Divide, proved problematic, even in in conjunction with the introduction of the GLOCK a day when fuel prices were not hovering around G-37 and .45 GAP cartridge at the 2005 Shooting, $4 per gallon! Hunting, and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) show held in Las Vegas, Nevada that year. The first Gunny Challenge was won by Mr. Bobby Carver who has since become well known for his “Carver Mounts” devices to add optical sights to handguns. For 2007, it was decided to move the Gunny Chal- lenge closer to GLOCK’s US home in Smyrna, Georgia and reinstitute the original all-steel target match format introduced two years prior. Since the Gunny’s support of the US Military is well known, it was decided to hold the Gunny Challenge in conjunction with the annual GSSF match, then held at the US Army Ft. Benning training base in Columbus, Georgia and hosted by the Army Marks- In 2006, the Gunny Challenge was again held in manship Unit. conjunction with the SHOT Show using the new- est .45 GAP models, the models G-38 and G-39. GSSF staff encountered a slight obstacle in at- The standard “all paper” GSSF stages were used tempting to pry Gunny away from the Army’s Public rather than the steel target format. The Matchmeis- Information Officers, who recognized a good thing ter competitors used the G-37, G-38, and G-39 .45 when they saw it and lured him away from GSSF for GAP models on the three standard paper match morale boosting talks among the soldiers in various stages. training battalions across the sprawling complex. The Gunny Challenge itself went off without a hitch. When the results were totaled, the winner was Mr. Dennis Kirchhoff. It was won by Matt Kartozian. The Gunny Challenge had again proven to be a After the Challenge was complete, only a single great success and has since become a GSSF tra- Rangemaster and the Gunny were left on the range dition. However, the logistics of transporting targets with the targets, guns, and remaining ammo. Gunny on a 5,000 mile round trip, in January, twice across wanted to get in some extra trigger time, so he en- page 2 ©GLOCK, 2012 The GLOCK Report® / Volume II, 2012 joyed running through about 300 rounds of ammo mat has been repeated every year since. while the Rangemaster pulled the ropes to reset the steel targets and kept him in loaded mags! The eighth annual Gunny Challenge was recently conducted in conjunction with the GSSF Annu- al Shoot XIX in Conyers, Georgia. GLOCK, Inc. spokesperson R. Lee “Gunny” Ermey’s annual ap- pearance added additional spice to the festivities, as did the Gunny Challenge named in his honor. Butch Barton defended his title, reclaimed in 2010, securing his position as the “winningest” Gunny Challenger to date. This was his fourth win. Butch once again received $3,000 for his first place finish. He was followed by Justin Shurley, who took home $2,000. Third place went to Jay Shebuski who was awarded $1,000. Coming in fourth, David Knight took home a new GLOCK. The GSSF Annual Shoot XIX set an all time record 2008 was a near repeat of 2007, including the task with 1,046 entries. In addition to being the largest of getting Gunny back from the PIO officers. It was match in GSSF’s 22 year history, the total num- also the first win by Butch Barton. ber of entries made it the largest “Action Shooting” shooting sports event ever, anywhere! Awards from For 2009, it was decided to move the Gunny Chal- the match will amount to approximately $16,000 lenge to the GSSF Annual Shoot held at the South and 56 new GLOCK firearms. This does not include River Gun Club’s beautiful facility near Covington, the separate Gunny Challenge awards. Georgia. It was also decided to change the format of the Gunny Challenge. So, if you wish to take part and shoot for big bucks: Buy a GLOCK. Learn to shoot it well. Become a Previously, each Matchmeister shot individually Matchmeister at your local annual GSSF match. and the winner was the shooter who turned in the Come to the Gunny Challenge and take your best lowest accrued time over his multiple shot strings. shot at unseating Butch! The format was changed to an exciting Match- meister versus Matchmeister elimination com- petition. Two Matchmeisters had to hit 7 individ- ual steel targets and then a designated “stop” target before their opponent. Each Matchmeis- ter had to shoot both sides of the setup using a GLOCK-supplied firearm in turn to win. The shooter who achieved the best score in 2 out of 3 setups would advance. For semi-final and final bouts this was increased to the best 3 out of 5. When the smoke cleared, Dennis Kirchhoff had earned his second Gunny Challenge win. This Matchmeister versus Matchmeister for- The GLOCK Report® / Volume II, 2012 ©GLOCK, 2012 page 3 GSSF Membership Benefits A question we often hear is: “What do I get for the $35 I paid for joining GSSF or the $25 I pay for an- Armorer’s Classes nual membership renewals?” As a GSSF member you are allowed access to the basic GLOCK Armorer’s class. As a GLOCK Initial Membership Package owner, this teaches you how to detail strip and Your initial membership package will in- maintain your GLOCK collection. GSSF members clude a copy of the GLOCK Annual magazine, a are no longer eligible to purchase additional fire- GSSF hat, a copy of the GLOCK Report detailing arms through their Armorer certification. the GSSF program itself, and several other promo- tional items. CMP Affiliation GSSF is now affiliated with the Civilian Matches Nationwide Marksmanship Program. The CMP makes World- The biggest single benefit is to allow you to War II-era military long guns and ammunition for attend the GSSF matches themselves. There are them available to those eligible to purchase them at over forty of these per year, nationwide, at out- preferential prices. door venues. Prizes at an average outdoor match amount to 18 firearms and $5,100 in cash awards. Pistol Purchase Program The larger the match, the larger the number of and New members who join for two or more greater the quality of the awards. With record-set- years and all renewing GSSF members are eligible ting attendance, our Conyers, GA match in 2012 to participate in the Pistol Purchase Program, as al- awarded a total of 57 firearms and $22,000 in cash lowable by local laws.