FN is one of the newest Bronze level sponsors to come on board with the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). “We’re pleased to have FN join SASP as one of our newest sponsors of the program and know that its commitment to getting our youth involved in the action shooting sports is something that is you can’t put a price on," Tammy Mowry, national director of the SASP, said. “FN is pleased to sponsor Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation’s ‘Scholastic Action Shooting Program’ with the donation of our FNS-40 pistols and P-12 pump shotguns,” said Jarrod McDevitt, channel marketing manager for FN America, LLC. “We fully support and appreciate the work that SSSF does to introduce young firearms enthusiasts to the shooting sports with safety and discipline, helping them become responsible firearms owners as adults.” The World’s Most Battle-Proven Firearms.™ | FN America, LLC, is a U.S. subsidiary of FN Herstal, S.A., a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high quality, reliable firearms for military, law enforcement and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia with manufacturing operations in Columbia, South Carolina, FN America is passionately committed to providing its customers with a portfolio of products, training and support services under the FN brand name that enhance their performance and safeguard their lives. For more information, visit us atwww.fnamerica.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Press Contact: Kristina DeMilt, media@fnamerica.com 
The SASP welcomes Steel Target Paint as a new sponsor and appreciates the discount it's offering to SASP teams. Formulated for steel targets, the paint covers quickly, is fast drying, protects from rust and is environmentally compliant. Steel Target Paint comes in a 20-ounce aerosol can. This unique, water-based formula protects steel targets from rust and oxidation and is designed for shooting ranges, shooting clubs, parks, private ranges and match competition. The company has set up a special discount for SASP Teams. If you visit its website, you can get a special discount on paint. Visit https://www.rangestore.net/collections/distributor-products and enter the code SASP20 at checkout for a 38% off the retail price. 
HIVIZ has once again joined the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) as a Platinum level sponsor this year. HIVIZ is founded on the basic principle that the better people shoot, the more success and fun they enjoy, therefore the more likely they are to continue the sport. It has always had a vision to improve the art of shooting. "HIVIZ has been a great partner of the SASP for several years. We’re so happy to have them onboard again this year as our Focus stage sponsor, as well as our medal and trophy sponsor, and our side match sponsor,” said Tammy Mowry, national program director for the SASP. Leaha Wirth, vice president of sales & marketing for HIVIZ, said, "HIVIZ has always put grassroots programs like SASP at the front of the line. We are proud to be a part of such a successful youth program that builds the shooters of tomorrow." 
SASP is pleased to announce Eliot Jardines as the new Virginia State Advisor. Jardines began working with youth shooting sports when he ran the BB gun range at Cub Scout day camp. He holds NRA certifications as a level 2 pistol coach and CRSO. Jardines is the founder and head coach of Team LoCo Motion in Purcellville. In addition to SASP, he has worked with both Civil Air Patrol and Sea Cadets units on marksmanship and pistol qualification. Jardines has three sons and his older two are involved with SASP. He has been actively involved with getting two new teams up and running and is very excited to help expand SASP in the Commonwealth.
BOOM! The report jars your insides. Everyone knows a 105mm Howitzer is loud, but the wave of overpressure stuns mind and body. As you recover, you see the breech slam closed and the Section Chief’s sabre tip drops slowly. BOOM! The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets brings their field howitzer to ball games, ceremonial events, and once a year, to their own pistol shoot. The 2017 Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) Southwest Regional has almost begun. BOOM! 230 people cheer the last shot. Together with the gun, they're shouting, “play ball!” in a distinctly gun-friendly way. Here in Texas, just outside of College Station, youth teams from all over the West have traveled far to find out who's the fastest. College students, cadets, high school, and middle school students alike shoot .22 pistols, 9mm service pistols, and just recently, .22 rifles in a fast-moving contest of speed and accuracy. “This is the second-largest regional in the country,” says Rick Leach, SASP's new director of development.
Rapid growth in Texas fueled by the Texas State Rifle Association Foundation (TSRAF) and the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets' prestige has made the SW Regional one of the most popular regional events in the country. Teams from states as far away as Washington (a four-hour flight!) came to duke it out with not only the A&M Corps of Cadets (defending Collegiate National Champions) but also the South Texas juniors – the defending High School national champions. With 134 shooters on the line, the program's growing strength and influence really showed. “Last year we had 117 athletes in Texas,” says Leach. “So far this year, we're at 150, and it's early.” He's excited not just about the numbers, but about the demographic. At this year's regional, 30% of the shooters were female. “It's the fastest-growing state in the nation right now,” says Leach. Angela Gerlich, Executive Director of the TSRA Foundation brought together public financing, private financing, and successful local coaching to drive Texas SASP forward. Under Mrs. Gerlich's hand, discounted ammunition, steel target sets available for loan, expert coach trainers flown in from out of state, and above all the Texas Youth Action Shootout (TYAS) match series have all come about since August 2016. To give you an idea of the panache shown by the Texas program, the night before the match, Texas A&M welcomed students to the military college's Hall of Honor, showing off the history that propels the culture of A&M. A barbeque in the cadets' dining hall (with the cadets present in full Class A uniform) added more prestige. The TSRAF and match sponsor Magpul made everyone welcome, setting the bar for hospitality very, very high! According to Mrs. Gerlich, the Texas 4H program has more than 10,0000 students involved in the shooting sports. Most of that is shotgun, but handgun and rifle sports are coming on fast. 
As far as SASP goes, “the part I'm most proud of is how we're recruiting using the A&M cadets and coaches to go out and work with our Texas youth that are interested in the SASP program. They are the most experienced group with the program in Texas and have really stepped up to help. These cadets are now able to continue their leadership training in a whole new way, and it's working,” says Gerlich. On match day everyone has their game face on. Within a few minutes of the last cannon report, the distinct “ping-ping-ping” of gunfire on steel targets fills the air. SASP courses closely resemble Steel Challenge – but no one uses a holster. Students start at low ready, then shoot five targets as fast as they can. Each shooter gets five runs on four sets of targets, discarding the slowest run. All told, the kids fire 100 rounds – plus any misses. While the targets LOOK easy, the eye is deceived. It's one thing to stand there and pot away at an 18X24” rectangle at 25 yards. When time is no object, the shots are easy, but once you get a timer out, everything changes. “Go Fast” features four 18”X24” targets at just 7 yards, plus a 12” stop plate in the middle. Getting hits on the targets is easy – if you take your time. If you want to win, you've got to move. The fast guns shoot all five targets in under two seconds. The best ones shoot them in 1.5. That's 1/3 second each, including a low-ready start! “Focus” pushes the accuracy side, with small steel circles stashed as far back as 18 yards. Walking around the range, clusters of kids wearing uniforms from their local gun clubs and schools smile and goof around. The adults are all business, discussing rules and herding their charges when needed, but the kids enjoy themselves at every turn. Four-person teams get organized by equipment and age group. High School teams with .22s compete against other High School teams with .22s in “Senior Rimfire,” Middle School teams with 9mms compete in “Intermediate Centerfire.” Teams that don't have enough of any one age group to make a team compete in “Open.” Thanks to the support of the MidwayUSA Foundation donors (Larry Potterfield in particular), successful teams can win cash prizes that go into a special endowment to support the team. Most teams have relatively small endowments, but some successful fundraisers have pushed their endowments north of $250,000 – giving them more than $10,000 a year to help supply their athletes. State and private colleges have jumped in as well, offering scholarships to successful athletes and hiring coaches to lead college-level programs. Yes folks, your kids can actually win a scholarship to shoot steel in college. The numbers are small, but you'll see college recruiting stations at the SASP National Championship. 
The Corps of Cadets and South Texas came into the 2017 match as the favorites, expected to win the centerfire and rimfire contests. The Cadets won centerfire by forfeit, posting a strong 192-second combined time. (Anything faster than 200 seconds is nationally competitive, putting A&M in strong position for the College nationals in March.) In rimfire, the South Texas crew brought their top gun – none other than Ethan Inocando – a name that Blue Press readers have seen before. Inocando did not disappoint, winning the rimfire match with a blistering time of 35.32 seconds. Only a handful of athletes can break the 40-second mark. However, one athlete does not a make a winning 4-person team. Hot on his heels was “Team Gotta” captain Jake Overstreet, shooting a 36.89 for his team from Custer, Washington. Overstreet and his red-shirted teammates controlled the top of the leaderboard, posting a 179 second combined time. That was good enough to beat second-place South Texas' score of 203. Team Gotta's JV crew stumbled when ladies' Middle School champion Naomi McKay's Buckmark exploded in her hand, but McKay's group won the JV contest anyway, shooting the second-fastest time in the match – a 186. SASP has started changing the dynamic for shooting sports in this country, making practical pistol into a scholarship-level sport. If you'd like to know more about the program, look them up at www.sssfonline.orgA Girl & A Gun (AG & AG) announces that 14-year-old Jenna Jones, an AG & AG Youth Member from Comfort, TX, is the recipient of scholarship from AG & AG to be a 2A Heritage camper. Jenna earned High Junior at 3-Gun University on March 19, at the CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park.
The 2017 2A Heritage Junior Camps will take place this summer in Forest Lake, MN, and Topton, PA. Only 25 campers will be accepted into each event. Classes will take place on the first two days, followed by a match-style shοot on the last day. Juniors will receive instruction on pistol, rifle, shotgun (basic), long-range rifle, shotgun on the move/slugs/buckshot, advanced pistol skills, and transitions and stage planning.
“AG & AG has welcomed thousands of women into the shooting community, so we have seen an increase in family participation as well,” says Julianna Crowder, Founder of AG & AG. “Shooting sports have traditionally been a family activity; however, over the past 20 years, participation tapered so that most children only touched on marksmanship with pellet gυns at summer camps. 2A Heritage gives juniors the shοoting skills at the highest level. We are proud to support their programs to educate the next generation of competitive shooters.”
AG & AG sponsors the 2A Heritage website and will host a pizza dinner for the participants and their parents during the events. More information can be found at www.2AHeritage.org and AG & AG Youth Memberships.*Reprinted by permission from A Girl and A Gun. Learn more at AGirlandAGun.org.
NOTE: Jenna is an SASP athlete with the Texas Hill Country Junior Marksmen. This is new SASP team that competed in their first SASP match at the Southwest Winter Regional in February.
What do you think of when you hear the word "Talladega"? Of course, the SASP College National Championships. This weekend SASP college teams from around the country converged on the CMP Range in Talladega, Alabama, to compete for bragging rights of being national champions. Ed Fitzgerald, with SASP founding partner GLOCK and Tom Yost from silver sponsor SIG SAUER joined us for the match and were on the range with the athletes. Thanks, Ed and Tom, for all of your help. 
SASP's sponsor Larry Steeley from Steel Target Paint was on hand to assist and also sponsored the paint at the match. Thank you, Larry. Steel Target Paint is such a big supporter of the SASP, it has decided to help out SASP teams that want to purchase paint for their matches. It has set up a great discount code that coaches can request from SASP staff. One Shot Covers The Spot! Thank you to the staff of the CMP Range for allowing us to use their beautiful range and for their staff and all their help. We had great help from our Safety Officers; we appreciate your help and support. This year’s champions are:
Centerfire Pistol 1st Texas A&M Corps of Cadets A 186.88 2nd Texas A&M Corps of Cadets B 199.31 3rd West Point 1 210.58 Centerfire Pistol – Open 1st Bob Jones University 2 424.98 2nd Florida State University Black 431.61 3rd Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Alternate 498.12 Rimfire Pistol 1st University of Vermont B 198.70 2nd Michigan State University Green 199.28 3rd Texas A&M Corps of Cadets A 229.25 Rimfire Pistol – Open 1st John Brown University 340.01 2nd Bob Jones University 3 402.91 Rimfire Rifle – Optic 1st University of Vermont B 205.55 2nd University of Vermont A 217.50 Rimfire Rifle – Iron 1st John Brown University 233.45 Rimfire Rifle – Iron – Open 1st University of Vermont C 368.92 High Overall Awards Centerfire Male – Kyle Post 44.55 Female – Savannah Butters 60.60 Rimfire Male – Tanner Pond 40.95 Female – Cheyenne Richardson 62.46 Rimfire Rifle Male – Collin Villarn 40.25 Female – Catherine Todd 51.71 Results are posted on the website www.sssfonline.org, click on "Results," "SASP Shoot Results," "Nationals," "2017 College Nationals," "Leaderboard" and you can choose what discipline and division you want to see. Congratulations everyone!!
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