Taking a Knee at Camp Perry’s 3-P Championships

You never know what will happen at the NRA National Rifle & Pistol Matches at Camp Perry. The national matches weren’t the only engagement last year. Here’s a heartwarming story from John Parker up in Competitive Shooting about two lovebirds from the 2011 Smallbore 3-Position Championships.

After only dating for a few months, Kirstin was planning to return to the National Rifle Championship at Camp Perry in the summer of 2009. She insisted that Justin come along for the week-long adventure knowing that Justin would enjoy the shooting enthusiast atmosphere (he did).

The two decided they wanted to make it a yearly trip but in 2010, Kirstin’s classes interfered with her ability to travel. So, in 2011, even though Kirstin was still taking classes, she arranged her schedule so they could travel out to Ohio for just the 3-position portion of the national matches. The competition lasted 3 days, but they had an extra day on the front and back for travel.

On the last day of competition, which happened to be Kirstin’s birthday, it rained and poured. Shooters were pulled off the line 2 or 3 times due to lightning. The competition lasted 3 more hours due to rain delay. When the shooters were all finished, they made their way down range to get their last targets. As Kirstin turned to walk back to their tent, Justin was standing half way down the shooting line. As she approached, he got down on one knee (in front of about 200 people) and proposed.

With over a hundred years of championships at Camp Perry, there are sure to be plenty of memorable stories like this one. Got one of your own to tell? Email us at GOblog@nrahq.org and your tale could show up here.

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