Photo By Christopher Fletcher | Sgt. Matthew Sweeney visualizes firing prior to his semi-final match at the 3-Gun...... read more read more
By Chris Fletcher
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Public Affairs
TULSA, Okla. – The last two marksmen awaited the air horn signaling the start of their match. Each firer was crouched in their starting area, straining towards their final sprint towards a win and the title of 3-Gun Nation champion.
Twenty-two seconds after the air horn blew, the match was over and Staff Sgt. Daniel Horner was the first repeat champion in 3-Gun Nation history when he beat teammate, Sgt. Matthew Sweeney.
Horner and Sweeney are both members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s (USAMU) Action Shooting team and were two of the five Soldiers from the team invited to participate in the 2014 3-Gun Nation Championship, Saturday, Oct. 25. The championship hosted a field of the 32 best 3-Gun Nation Professional Series firers.
3 Gun is an action-packed multi-gun competition using three different firearms requiring shooters to transition between them through a variety of stages.
However, the championship was not a traditional 3-Gun event.
As this event was the culmination of 2014 season, each of the top 32 shooters in 3-Gun Nation competed head-to-head in a shoot-off for the title according to Chad Adams, vice-president of 3-Gun Nation.
Similar to the NCAA March Madness brackets, competitors faced off in three stages of fire. Each of the 32 shooters was paired against another based on his series rank. The first of the paired competitors to complete the course of fire advanced to the next stage.
This was Sweeney’s first time competing in the 3-Gun Nation Championship. While he was excited to be in the championship, he did not expect to make the finals.
“My biggest goal was to make it to the top eight, and I figured the rest was gravy after that,” Sweeney said.
“I had an awesome time. You’re shooting against this level (of competition) and you make it to the finals and if you’re going to lose to somebody. Daniel Horner is not the worst guy to lose to,” Sweeney said.
Based on his number one ranking in the sport, Horner was granted a first round bye in the competition.
Horner dominated his competition, winning easily over each competitor as he advanced through the brackets.
However, Horner was not just a competitor; he was a consummate teammate too.
Adams said he could see the camaraderie and team mentality on Horner’s face and body language as he coached, mentored and pushed his teammates to excel in their matches.
Adams added this was the largest representation USAMU has had at a 3-Gun Nation championship.
“It’s easy to shoot good when you don’t care who wins,” Horner said, of the opportunity to participate in an all – USAMU final. “It feels even better to be here with a great team.”
The other three Action Shooting team members invited to participate in the competition were Staff Sgt. Joel Turner, Sgt. Shane Coley, and Sgt. Tyler Payne.
USAMU is part of the U.S. Army Accessions Brigade, Army Marketing and Research Group and is tasked with enhancing the Army’s recruiting effort, raising the standard of Army marksmanship and furthering small arms research and development to enhance the Army’s overall combat readiness.
| Date Taken: | 10.27.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2014 12:29 |
| Story ID: | 146323 |
| Location: | TULSA, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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