Ray Gross

Captain

Ray's shooting career began quite early in life hunting with his Dad.  By 12 years old, a hand-me-down .22 rifle was a constant companion.  He began competing in NRA matches in 1991, as a Service Rifle shooter and earned a place on the Michigan Rifle team in 1993 and 1994.  He earned his Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge in 1995 and began competing in the Palma class that year.

Ray has represented the USA as a Shooter or Coach on two Palma teams, two Australia Match Teams and eight America Match teams.  He has been the winning coach on numerous events in Canada and the U.S. over the last decade.  His international accomplishments include a Silver medal as a shooter on the 2003 U.S. Palma Team, a Silver medal as coach on the 2015 U.S. Palma Team, two Gold medals as a coach on the 2008 and 2014 U.S. America Match Team. The 2014 team set a new record for team aggregate score. He was Captain of the 2016 Gold medal America Match F-Class Team.

In Farquharson Class, he was the FTR individual Silver medalist at the first F-Class Nationals in 2004 and has coached the FTR National Championship Team squad in 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016, the latter five as part of Team Sinclair. 

Paul Phillips

Adjutant

Paul Phillips is the Adjutant of the US Rifle Team. He served in the United States Marine Corp as an Infantryman and earned his Combat Action Ribbon. After the service, Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University while also winning the 1996 NRA Long Range Collegiate Championship. Later, he graduated top of his class in FBI sniper school. Since then, he has won Gold Medals as a shooting member of both the 2009 and 2013 World Championship teams, four America Match teams and Ten National Championship teams. Paul has set, tied or broken over 45 NRA National Shooting Records and earned his International Distinguished Shooting Badge #19 in 2016. Paul started shooting ELR in 2016, and won the King of 2 mile as the wind coach. His contagious interest, and success, in pushing the boundaries in ELR has helped generate growing interest in the sport!

Al Barnhart

SHOOTER

Al spent 4 years in the Navy in the late-70s as an Aircraft Engine Mechanic and worked on F14 Tomcats at Pacific Missile Test Center in Oxnard, California. This is where he became interested in shooting. Al spent his early shooting career in handgun silhouette winning a Michigan championship in 1985 in standing class.  He started shooting F-class in 2006. Al is an F-class midrange and long range High Master.  

He began shooting team events with the Michigan F-TR team in 2013.  With the Michigan team, he has won numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze medals including, a Bronze medal at the 2013 F Class World Championships in the Rutland Cup.  Al’s highest individual award was the overall F-TR win at the 2015 Sinclair East Coast Full Bore Nationals. He achieved his highest shooting accomplishment by being named to the US F-TR team.

Al likes all sports but is an avid fan of MOTO GP and Football. 

He is a 30-year veteran of the printing industry, and now works his dream job as a Lab Technician at Applied Ballistics LLC. 

Doug Boyer

SHOOTER

Doug began shooting F-TR Mid-Range in 2012 at local Northern Michigan ranges and he achieved High Master Mid-Range that same year. In 2013 the Michigan F-TR team was formed and Doug became a team member. He has medaled at the 2013 Worlds, 2013 and 2014 Berger SW Nationals, 2014 Nationals and the 2015 Sinclair East Coast Full-bore Nationals. In 2014 at the F Class Nationals Doug shot a 200-9 to win that match and set a Senior National Record.

Doug has worked in the Marine Business in Northern Michigan since 1975. He was owner- operator of DeWitt Marine on Torch Lake until 2009 when he sold his company. He continues today with a Michigan marine operation with facilities in both Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Doug has always been a dedicated sportsman achieving high ranking in hydroplane and tunnel boats throughout the country, winning five National Championships, one World Championship and still holds the World Kilo straightaway record in SST 45.

Doug and his wife Kathy have lived in Northern Michigan since 1975. They have three married children and four grandchildren.

Robby Burton

Shooter

Robby Burton lives in Martinsville, VA with his wife Holly and three children Mallory, Ava, and Gray. He serves as President of Burch-­Hodges­-Stone, Inc., a family owned insurance brokerage business, located across southside and southwest Virginia. He began shooting competitively in 2012, after growing up playing golf competitively, soccer for a local men’s club, and participating in triathlon and running events throughout the region. Robby has developed a successful resume of local and regional matches, and has finished in the top ten in all but one national level event in the last 2 years. He has also held several NRA records for individual and team performances. Outside of shooting Robby has a real passion for serving the community in which he lives, and spending time with his family.

Lane Buxton

SHOOTER

Lane and his wife Donna reside in Orangevale, California, located 90 minutes east of San Francisco Bay and 90 minutes west of Lake Tahoe.  There are four major rivers within 50 miles of home, which provide a variety of seasonal fishing opportunities.  Depending upon the time of year, one will find Lane in the Sacramento Delta pursuing striped bass and sturgeon or on the Feather River or the Sacramento River targeting salmon and steelhead in his jetboat.

Just to the north of home are a number of natural marshes and over half-a-million acres of flooded rice fields.  This area comprises the southern end of the Pacific Flyway for millions of migratory ducks and geese.  During the winter months, one is likely to find Lane sitting in a duck blind scanning the skies for moving targets.

In the free time between days spent either hunting or fishing comes time for target shooting.  The mild California weather offers opportunities to compete almost 52 weeks a year.  It’s simply a matter of picking out a rifle, loading up some ammo, and heading out with friends.

David Conrath

SHOOTER

My passion for accuracy and precision began early in life shooting long range archery and bow fishing.  I transitioned to F-class shooting in 2007, shooting mostly four-man team events as we set three team national records. I serve the shooting community as a board of directors member for MCB Quantico shooting club over the past several years.

Shooting achievements have included; 2016 Gold Medalist match two four-man team F-Class National Championship, 2016 Canadian F-Class National Championship four-man team Lum Trophy. Gold Medalist 2015 US FTR Emerald Isle four-man and Creedmore cup eight-man team matches; as well as individual Gold Medalist. 2015-16 Virginia State individual and four-man Team State Champions; 2013 Runner up team Rutland Trophy  4-man Team World Championships Raton New Mexico.

We have two firms serving as consultants and trainers to the USMC Shooting Teams Weapons Training Battalion at MCB Quantico Virginia. Our core competency is circadian rhythm scheduling, sleep architecture, wellness and Marksmanship. Three years of hard work and training has resulted in the highest performance in 30 years by the USMC Shooting Team sweeping many National and inter-service events.

I am a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a Master’s degree in Industrial Design where I met my incredibly Patient wife of 26 years Deena Stone.

John Droelle

Shooter

John was born in Detroit, MI in 1964 and now resides in Midland, MI.  He is currently serving as a Lieutenant with the City of Midland Fire Department and has over 33 years of experience in the Fire / Rescue community.  

John has been a competitive shooter for many years. Starting out in Service Rifle during the early 1990s and switching to mid / long range Match Rifle a few years later.  In 2004 he was introduced to F-Class and was a shooting member of the FTR National Championship Team in 2004, 2005 and 2008.  He also placed 5th individual FTR in 2005.

As a long term member of the Midland County Sportsman’s Club, John has served many years on the board of directors and has been instrumental in the planning, construction and maintenance of the club’s 600 yard High Power Rifle Range.

Mitchell Fitzpatrick

SHOOTER

Mitchell is a junior shooter from Beaverton, Michigan. He started shooting F-Class in 2013 at the age of 16. He has just graduated from high school, Class of 2015, and will be attending Michigan Technological University perusing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with an Emphasis in Aeronautics. His parents are Mark and Mary Fitzpatrick, he also has a brother, Mason. In his spare time, Mitchell enjoys building his own custom rifles in the family machine shop and practicing his long range marksmanship skills. He is currently interning at Applied Ballistics LLC.

Throughout the 2013 season he honed and developed his marksmanship skills along with the Michigan FTR Team. Mitchell was the 2013 Junior World Champion, then, in 2014 he was the Junior National Champion. Mitchell is classified as an Expert for F-Class Long Range and High Master for F-Class Midrange.

Morgen Fulmer

SHOOTER

Morgen began shooting bench rest with her dad when she was 9 at the local gun club.  From there she transitioned to air rifle for a few years before picking up a .308, when she was 15, to join her dad on a once in a lifetime trip to South Africa.  Morgen is currently in college, working toward a degree in biology with a focus on nutrition.  In her free time, she loves to go biking, hiking, and participate in crossfit. 

Morgen is a member of the Virginia F-Class team and has medaled in both international and national competitions for long range.  In 2016, she earned high junior in F-T/R at the Berger Southwest Nationals. Later that same year she was a shooting member on the gold medal winning US F-Class team at Eastern Regional’s in Canada. She was also a supporting member on the gold medal winning US F-T/R team in the Lum Match at Canadian F-Class Nationals in August.

Scott Fulmer

COACH

Scott started shooting 15 years ago after a friend introduced him to long range shooting. Starting out shooting Palma style, he competed for many years both shooting and coaching, with numerous team match wins in Canada. Scott has competed on 3 continents, in a total of 4 countries. Recently moving over to shoot and coach F-Class, he has been able to bring this experience to help the team. Scott works for Carrier Transicold, and has a business specializing in wood flooring install/refinish. When not at a match, or at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 24 years and their 2 golden retrievers.

Jim Grissom

SHOOTER

Jim is married to Lynnetta and has 2 daughters (Holly and Hannah) and 2 sons (Nathan and Taylor). Jim is retired as a Toolmaker and has volunteered as a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 228 of Rockford, MI. He has also volunteered as the Youth Program Director of the Muskegon Pistol and Rifle Club and is a member of the Michigan Rifle and Pistol Association, Women’s, Junior’s, and Club’s committee.

Shooting History:

Jim began competitive shooting in high school on the High School Rifle Team, shooting 50 foot indoor small bore. During Jim’s Junior and Senior year of High School, he was the Top Competitor of the 4 High Schools in the Grand Rapids area and was the Captain of his rifle team.   In 1999, Jim began High Power Rifle competitions shooting across the course. And in 2008 began Long Range competition shooting a Palma rifle. Jim began FTR competition in 2011.  Jim served as the Captain of the Michigan Rifle team, FTR, for the years 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Jim has placed in several regional events and was the top FTR competitor in the 2013 Midwest Palma Championships.

Steve Hardin

COACH

After 30 years on the competitive shooting circuit I now possess eight NRA classification cards in center fire and rim fire rifle, over that time I have taken a lot from the shooting sports and have decided it’s time to give back. I am currently the President of a gun club with 1700 members and believe that the greatest impact I can make these days is as a coach and mentor for less experienced shooters. Apparently I also have an ability for reading wind and encouraging the best from shooters in team matches. To my credit, I have coached on many winning International teams since 2008. I am honored to have been asked to work with the US FTR team and look forward to some outstanding performances in Canada at the 2017 Farquharson World Championship.

Tracy Hogg

SHOOTER

Tracy began competitively shooting in 2008 in Service Rifle. In 2010 he switched to F-Class after hearing there was a discipline that went beyond 600 yards. After the first F-Class match he never looked back. Tracy’s accomplishments include winning the Carlos Hathcock Long Range Challenge in 2012 and 2013. He is a two time State Champion winning the North Carolina Fullbore Championship in 2012 and the North Carolina State Long Range match in 2013. He has competed in the Sinclair Fullbore Nationals and has been a podium finisher in 2013, 2014 & 2015. Tracy is also a shooting member of a team that has won gold and silver in several National & State Competitions. His proudest shooting accomplishment is making the U.S. Rifle Team. Tracy lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his supportive wife of 19 years, Jennifer and two boys he is very proud of, Zachary and Cooper. He is the President of Advanced Comfort Concepts, Inc., a heating and air conditioning company he started in 2002, serving the triangle area.

Sierra Huggins

SHOOTER

Sierra Scott is a native Texan, as a child she enjoyed hunting and target practice with her father. However, as an adolescent, softball and other sports took precedence.  She attended the University of North Texas on an athletic scholarship where she earned a varsity letter for her first three years and then chose to focus on her academics her fourth. For the first time she found herself without a hobby and thus began shooting competitively with her father in July of 2009, she quickly fell in love with the sport.  Her competitive nature allowed her to achieve success and recognition early on.  By the following fall she had set three new national records and was invited to be a part of the 2011 USA Team traveling to Ireland for the Creedmoor Cup. She is currently working as a Lead Teacher at a preschool in her home town of Flower Mound, Texas. She anticipates going back to school in the near future to earn her master’s degree in Education. Sierra spends her free time coaching her nephews little league baseball team and her dog, Zee.

Ian Klemm

Shooter

Ian’s dad taught him the fundamentals of marksmanship during the long Midwest winter months while shooting small-bore in the basement range of his grade-school.  This lead to a lasting interest in all things related to precision marksmanship.  Ian later earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Wisconsin and fostered a career specializing in weapon, munition, armor, and sighting system design.  Ian started shooting F-class in 2010 and, since then, has earned a seventh-place finish or better, individually, in four of the last five F-class US National Championships.  He has broken a few US National Records along the way and has helped win gold medals while team shooting in the 2015 US Nationals, the 2016 East Coast US Nationals, and the 2016 Canadian F-Class Nationals.  He also placed 17th overall individually in the 2013 F-Class World Championships.  When not competing, Ian enjoys metal and woodworking, and building his own rifles.  Ian currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his lovely and supportive wife, Beka, and works as a Senior Engineer for Vortex Optics.

Dan Lentz

SHOOTER

Dan' dad is the one that started it all by sitting him in his lap with a Remington model 514 single shot .22 rifle with multiple tin cans as targets, learning the value of taking a good shot! Early on in youth, he started honing his rifle skills by shooting apples out of his uncle's trees.                 

Post 9/11 Dan enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to 101st Screaming Eagles. In four years active of active service, he saw two tours in Iraq, 2003-04 and again in 2005-06.  Army awards include the combat infantry badge, expert infantry badge, and the coveted Air Assault Wings to name a few. After leaving the service in 2007 with a skillset of rifle marksmanship, a friend invited Dan to a NRA service rifle competition. From there he learned of the Farquharson Target Rifle class and knew that is where he belonged. His competition accomplishments include 2010 WI State long-range title, 2013 WI State midrange title, and a long-range Regional win. In 2015 at the South West Berger Nationals, he placed 5th and followed up with another 5th place finish at the Sinclair's East Coast Nationals. Dan is now the newest member of the North State X-Men National Rifle Team.

Bill Litz

SHOOTER

Bill started shooting with his brothers, sisters and dad. His dad shot for the U.S. Army both pistol and rifles in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Bill is retired from the U.S Army with more than 23 years of honorable service.  He has a very understanding and supportive wife, Pat who travelswith him to some local matches. He has two children Bryan and Jennifer, two step children Carrie and Tim and 11 grandchildren.

Bill is also an active member of the Michigan F-T/R team, as a shooter and team captain on occasions.  Bill was a shooting member of the Michigan F-T/R team winning the Berger, Night force Southwest Nationals team match in 2013. In 2014 Bill was acting captain winning the Berger Night Force Southwest Nationals.  Bill was also a shooter on the Michigan F-T/R team, winning the Sinclair East Coast Nationals in 2015. Bill placed 3rd in the F-T/R nationals at Ben Avery Az. in 2015.

Bill, with his wife Pat currently resides in Grant Michigan. He and Pat enjoy fishing, kayaking, biking. Bill also enjoys turkey hunting in the spring, archery hunting and waterfowl hunting. 

Bryan Litz

Coach
 

Bryan Litz has spent the majority of his shooting career in the Palma discipline where he’s won numerous regional, national and international level matches in addition to holding many national records.  Most notable was winning the Queens Prize in Australia, 2010.  As a firing member on 3 winning America’s Match US Palma Teams, Bryan is a seasoned team member and knows how a team needs to work in order to win at the highest levels.

In 2002, Bryan earned his degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State University and spent the next 6 years working on air-to-air missile design with the US Air Force.  After that, he was lucky enough to land a job with Berger Bullets as Chief Ballistician.  Bryan later went on to found Applied Ballistics where he works as a ballistician; testing and reporting on all things related to long range shooting and external ballistics.

Bryan lives in rural Michigan with his wife and 4 kids.  After having a very busy start to his career, Bryan is now trying to spend more time with his family.  Spring 2015 the Litz family began working together on a small fruit orchard and garden.  They’re looking forward to learning more about nature and gardening and growing closer in future years.

Monte Milanuk

SHOOTER

Born & raised in western Nebraska, Monte left for the U.S. Navy straight out of high school.  He specialized in nuclear propulsion & electrical power generation, and served on two different fast-attack submarines based out of Groton, CT.  After six years in the Navy, Monte entered the private sector, working in industrial/utility electrical controls and power transmission for several years before settling in the Pacific Northwest as a power plant operator at a hydro-electric dam in Washington state.  It took a few years for him to get into F-class, mainly because there were no local matches - so he spent a couple years shooting sling and iron sights, both XTC and Palma, until F-Class gained some traction.

Monte attended his first national level match in 2007, taking 3rd in the Spirit of America match and 2nd at the FCNC.  Since then, he has travelled to Canada, England, Ireland and Scotland shooting F/TR at the 2009 and 2013 World Championships, the 2011 Irish FCNC and the Creedmoor Match.  Back in Washington Monte uses his experience to help promote F-class at local and regional matches.  He does (occasionally) shoot other venues - the odd tactical/field match, score benchrest match, and sometimes even dusting off the Palma rifle.

When he's not busy with gun-related stuff, Monte enjoys making sawdust in his basement shop, tinkering with computers, and travelling with his wife Kathleen in their RV.

Stan Pate

RESERVE SQUAD

Having started his competitive shooting career in the Marine Corps Stan has become a long-time factory shooter for Savage Arms and other related companies as well as a member of the U.S. F-T/R Team.  Stan has enjoyed a great career as a member of the U.S. F-T/R Team competing in many different countries around the world resulting in a variety of medals and awards that include setting at various times 13 national records, some still standing today.

Having competed in two consecutive World Championships the first in 2009 where he managed to collect gold medals for two-yard line wins, a silver for an aggregate medal, and the overall Bronze medal in the individuals for a podium finish as well as becoming the first person to qualify as Internationally Distinguished.  In the 2013 World Championships he brought home a gold medal earned in the team matches.

In addition to shooting matches Stan can often be found on his home range working with both the Junior programs or new shooters who express an interest in long range shooting.

John Pierce

Shooter

Shooting and competing has become a passion for John.

He proudly served with the United States Army in a direct support missile battalion, Wiesbaden, Germany.

He has also competed in short range NBRSA and IBS Benchrest over 10 years prior to transitioning into long range with the Michigan F/TR Team, honing his skills even further and aided by his mentor in long range , Bryan Litz.

He has won Michigan State Championship Tournaments as well as consecutive, 2014 & 2015 Remington Long Range Challenge, Reade Range , PA.

John currently holds 7 NRA National Records in F/TR.

His NRA ranking is Mid-range HIGHMASTER and Long range EXPERT.

Shirley Leahy, his Beautiful soulmate, is ever present to assist and support his shooting passion.

Dan Pohlabel

SHOOTER

Dan Pohlabel is a self-employed manufacturing engineer from Englewood, Ohio.  My wife Patti is supportive of my passion to shoot and compete.  Together we have one daughter, Beth.

I began shooting at a young age, receiving my first air rifle at the age of 10.  I still shoot air rifles, and smallbore rifles for practice.  I began shooting F/TR in 2009, competing in a few events and became hooked on F-Class.  While competing in 4 F/TR National Championship matches, I’ve finished in the top ten 3 times.  In National Championship Team matches I’ve shot on teams finishing 1st and 2nd & 6th .  In 2012 I had the opportunity to shoot on the US Rifle at the America Match held at Camp Perry.  Our combined F-Open & F/TR Team won that match and the event was a personal highlight for me as a shooter.  I shot on the US Team that won the Rutland Cup at the 2013 World Championship matches.

I enjoy building my own rifles, also enjoy hiking, cycling, hunting, and gardening.

Ronnie Ralston

SHOOTER

I started competitively shooting pistols in 2009: active in USPSA, steel challenges, bulls-eye, PPC, and competing in the International Police Games twice.  In 2012, on the invite of a friend, I decided to give long-range shooting a try.  Finding just enough success to keep me coming back and a mentor who was a past National FTR Champion, I was hooked. 

I’ve been lucky enough and blessed to win several state and regional championships, and have been competitive in the last three F-Class National Championships.  I’ve also enjoyed success at mid-range, winning state and regional contests three consecutive years and finishing second in the Nation at the Mid Range Nationals held at Camp Perry in 2014. 

Serving in law enforcement since 1991, I have had the opportunity to set several national records in the police class, as well as holding a couple of civilian and open records for a short time.  I attribute my success to the support of my family and sound advice from fellow competitors and my mentor.  I am excited to have earned a spot on Team USA and look forward to representing my county in 2015 and beyond. 

Kent Reeve

COACH

Kent does not like writing bio’s, but for the past two decades he has been one of the top NRA Long Range Competitors in the United States. He has been on five Palma teams, many America Match Teams and at least two Australia Match teams. He has competed on four continents and has been especially successful in Canada, twice winning both the Governor General’s and the Grand Agg in the same year!

While not shooting, coaching, spending time with his family, you will have a hard time finding him, for likely he will be in quiet thought wading in remote North Carolina trout waters, wetting a line with hopes of at least catching at a memory, and at most catching dinner!

Kent is a great teammate, he is positive and helpful and always seems more interested in his fellow teammate’s success, than his own.  He has been a great example to me and the team has gained from his help.

                                                    Ray Gross

Derek Rodgers

SHOOTER

Derek Rodgers (born October 11th, 1976) is a former National Champion, record holder, and one of the most decorated FTR shooters of all time.  He is from Albuquerque, NM and still resides in the Land of Enchantment.  

As a child, he was introduced to shooting by his father.  His passion for hunting and marksmanship continued to grow through his formative years.  Rodgers discovered F-Class in 2006.  This discipline matched his desire to become a better long range shooter.  He shot his first NRA sanctioned match in 2007, and has since won several major National level matches.  He is part of the award winning multi-time National Championship Team Sinclair and also participated on the 2013 Team USA squad that took home the Gold Medal at the World Championship match held in Raton, NM.  

In 2010, Rodgers won the gold medal in F-Open during the Nationals in Sacramento, CA.  Additionally he also won the gold medal at the 2013 F-TR Nationals in Raton, NM.  This makes him the only person to win both F-Class divisions at a national level event.  He has added numerous gold medal victories from various matches, including the 2013 Sinclair East Coast Nationals in Butner, NC and both 2015 & 2016 Berger Southwest Nationals held in Phoenix, AZ.  Rodgers also set the bar high and holds the present 1000 yard, 20 shot, Berger Southwest Nationals Record with a score of 200-10x.  Respectfully, he also held 3 of the last 4 Individual NRA 1000 yard records with outstanding scores of 200-11x, 200-12x, and the current record of 200-14x.    

Rodgers enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and two daughters.  He is blessed by his faith and supported by his family.  He is humbled by his many accomplishments.  Rodgers is most satisfied knowing he has been able to overcome the long strides at perfecting his skills and continues to learn from his errors.  His goal is to be able to pass on what he has learned to the next generation.

Jeff Rorer

SHOOTER

Jeff Rorer began competitive rifle shooting in August, 2005 with help from his friend, Reid Perry. He is a regular shooter at Camp Butner, NC, where he developed much of his shooting skills.  Highlights of his individual shooting career include a string of top 5 finishes at the F-Class Nationals from 2008-2012, 2011 US National Champion, and the 2010 Canadian Fullbore Nationals with a double Grand Aggregate and Governor General’s prize.  Jeff was also a shooter on the gold medal US Team in Bisley (2009) and Raton (2013).  Jeff has also set over 30 open and civilian individual and team national records in F-TR, including the first ever NRA National Record for F-TR.

While not shooting, Jeff is the Science Department Chair at the local college. He also enjoys educational technology and has won three major awards for teaching, including the coveted NISOD medal.

Laura Perry

SHOOTER

Laura currently resides in Athens, AL with her husband, gunsmith and re-loader, Keith. After learning to shoot at the 2007 Camp Perry Rifle SAFS, she has become an avid shooter competing in FTR, Palma, service-rifle, match-rifle, and smallbore competitions. She has set 17 confirmed NRA National Records and has one record pending. In 2009, she won the Alabama State FTR Long Range Championship and the Alabama State Mid-Range prone championship shooting a match rifle, setting 3 NRA Any Sight Prone Women’s national records in the process. In 2010, she won the Tennessee State Mid-Range FTR Championship and placed 2nd in the 2010 Spirit of America FTR matches. In 2011, she placed 1st in the Mid-West Palma FTR Championship and 3rd overall in the US F Class Nationals. In 2012, she set a new Overall, Civilian and Women’s NRA National Record for Mid-Range FTR, won the Tennessee Mid-Range Regional and won the Tennessee FTR Long Range Championships. At Camp Perry, she won the FTR Palma Regional match (with a new NRA women’s record score), was on the winning USA F-Class team in the America Match, and set a new NRA Women’s national record at 1000 yards with a 199-5x. In 2013, Laura traveled to Bloemfontein, South Africa with the US F Class Team to compete in the SA Open Bisley Championships. She earned numerous individual medals and participated on the silver medal winning US Team in the Southern International Challenge. Laura was also a member of the gold medal winning US FTR Team in the 2013 National Championship and 2013 World Championship. In 2014, Laura participated in the Canadian F Class National Championship and was a supporting member of the gold medal winning US F-Class Team in the America Match.

Laura works in the computer industry and spends her spare time training and competing in triathlons.

Brad Sauve

Shooter

Brad Sauve started shooting competitively in 2002 attending the first F-Class World Championship in Canada.  Since that time, he has been a member of the U.S. National Rifle team for Palma shooting and a member of the first U.S. F-Class Target rifle teams competing at the World Championships in 2009 and 2013.  Brad won the first U.S. National Championship for F-Class Target rifle in 2004, and then won again in 2006 and 2007.  He also placed as one of the top five individual shooters at U.S. Nationals four other times.  His proudest achievement though is being a shooter on the winning U.S. National Championship team in nine different years of the ten times he has attended U.S. Nationals.  Brad was also a shooter on the winning 2013 World Championship team and holds several U.S. National individual and team records.

Aside from shooting, Brad has four children he is proud of, has a CPA license and is a CFA charterholder and currently resides in Luxembourg as group finance director for a large specialty chemicals company where he has worked 27 years.  When not working, you can find him riding Harley Davidson motorcycles somewhere around the world.

Matthew Schwartzkopf 

coach

Matthew Schwartzkopf has been an avid shooter and outdoorsman his entire life. At an early age he would go hunting and fishing with his father every chance he could. He began shooting competitive 3-D archery tournaments in his early teens, but it wasn’t till his early 20’s that he began shooting firearms competitively. Matthew has shot trap, skeet, sporting clays and practical pistol (USPSA) competitively. In 2011, Matthew began shooting F Class. Since then he has won Gold Medals as a member of the 2014 America Match team and USA F/TR Team Blue during the 2015 Southwest Nationals; a Bronze Medal as a member of USA Development Team Red during the 2013 Southwest Nationals. Matthew also took home a Gold medal for an individual match in the 2014 F Class National Championships, 3rd place in the 2015 Southwest Nationals, and 2nd place in the 2013 & 2014 Arizona State Mid-Range Championships. Matthew works for the Arizona Game and Fish Department as the Assistant Range Manager for the Ben Avery Shooting Facility. In his spare time he also works for Applied Ballistics Munitions (ABM Ammo).

Ed Shelley

SHOOTER

Ed is retired from the United States Army with 25 years of service in a wide variety of assignments with tours in Vietnam earning awards for valor and his Combat Infantryman Badge.  He began competing while being assigned with the United States Army Marksmanship Service Rifle Section shooting competition with M-14’s. 

As a member of the Army Team Ed has earned numerous individual and team awards in Interservice and National competition including his Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge in 1978, and multiple Presidents’ Hundred Tabs at the National Matches.  In 1991 he won the Reynolds Memorial Trophy for being the high competitor on the prestigious Interservice Ten Man Team Match.  Ed equaled a Nation Record at 1000yds co-holding the Open and Service Record and was a team member on the US Army National Record Short Range Four Man Team.

Following a twenty year break in his shooting career, Ed began his new challenging adventure competing in F-Class competition.  In 2014 he won the North Carolina State Mid-Range Championships and in 2015 he was the North Carolina State and Virginia State Long Range Champion.   At the 2015 Canadian Championships, he won a gold medal in the Four Man Lum Team Match and in the 2016 Berger South West Nationals he was a team member on the 2nd place team. 

Ed is married to his lovely wife Shawna and is currently the Live Haul Manager for Mountaire Farm’s, North Carolina Division, which has the distinction of being the largest big bird processing facility in the world.