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The first annual Don Hamilton Memorial International Pistol Match drew competitors from 8 Northeastern states, and was one of the largest International Pistol competitions in the Northeast in recent years. The match was covered by WMUR, New Hampshire's largest TV station, and was shown on two Sunday news programs.

Hosted by Nashua Fish and Game Association at its Merrimack, New Hampshire facility, it was a USA Shooting 6-gun International Pistol Tournament which served as a preliminary trial for the US Shooting Team. There were approximately 70 match entries with the very popular Air pistol match requiring the addition of a relay to accommodate the competitors requesting positions.

Larry's Guns of Portland Maine donated a Simmons Spotting scope to the match to help increase participation. The scope was won by Dave Suitor.



About 20 competitors entered the Air Pistol match. Greg Derr was leading by 2 points with a 558 going into the finals. Four participants were in second place with 556 points, including Armin Kusig who went on to win the match with a score of 556 / 657.6

Larry Carter made an impressive 10.9 'pinwheel' on shot 6 in the finals, the hole was dead center in the target and he also captured the S1 category high score in Air pistol with 556 / 654.3

The Air Pistol match brought some new competitors to the area, George Cesarini from Maplewood, New Jersey, Kangbin Chua from Dartmouth, New Hampshire, and Clarence Spady from Union, Maine.

With separate events for men and women, air pistol shooting joined the Olympic program in 1988. Competitors use .177 caliber pistols to fire lead pellets at targets 10 meters away. The bullseye has a .45 inch 10-ring.

Trigger weight can be no lighter than 500 grams; the width of the grip and length of the barrel are also limited.

Men take 60 shots in one hour and 45 minutes, while women have one hour and 15 minutes for 40 shots.

The top eight competitors advance to a 10-shot final round, with 75 seconds allotted for each shot. The final is scored in tenths of a point and added to the match score to determine winner.

The Rapid-Fire Pistol competition had 10 entries and brought a new participant to the area as well, Ed Kavanagh from Northport, Long Island, NY. Ed won the match with a 510 / 597.8 The Rapid-Fire competition ran late, and some competitors had to leave early and could not participate in the finals. The high scores going into the finals were from Peter Jones with a 543 followed by Greg Derr with a 538.

Rapid-fire pistol has been an Olympic event since the first modern Games in 1896. Using a .22 caliber pistol from 25 meters, competitors fire once at each of five adjacent targets. As an added difficulty, pistols must be held downward at a 45-degree angle until the targets face.

Course of Fire is two five-shot series in eight seconds, six seconds, and four seconds and the same course is repeated. After 60 shots, the top eight competitors fire a final consisting of two five shot series at four seconds. The final is scored in tenths of a point and added to the match score to determine the winner.

The Free Pistol competition brought close to 15 competitors to the line on a hazy Sunday morning and was won by Peter Jones with a score of 537 / 626.4

Free Pistol also brought another new competitor to the area, Al Ortel from S. Londonderry Vermont. Mr. Ortel is retired from Winchester and is quite knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the Free Pistol, ammunition etc.

Free pistol, a precision shooting event, has been part of the Olympics since 1896. Competitors shoot.22 caliber pistols from 50 meters at bullseye targets.

A free pistol is easily identified by its grip, which completely envelopes the shooter's hand. Regulations require only that it fires .22 caliber rimfire cartridges and has metallic sights. The gun's barrel is longer than that of other pistols, providing a longer sight radius and greater accuracy at this longer shooting distance. Competitors fire 60 shots in two hours.

The top eight competitors advance to a 10-shot final round, with 75 seconds allotted for each shot. The final is scored in tenths of a point and added to the match score to determine the winner.

The Standard Pistol competition drew 15 competitors including some conventional pistol or bullseye shooters who knew Don Hamilton. One of them is Richard Johnson who was a neighbor and long time friend of Don.

The Standard Pistol event was won by Robert Walsh with a score of 558.

While the Standard Pistol event was going on, Tara Kavanagh, who accompanied her father to the match, was being coached in the dueling stage for Women's Sport Pistol. The Center-Fire / Sport Pistol event ran late and Tara and Ed had to leave and did not participate in these events as planned, but they will be back for our indoor winter pistol tournaments.

The Center-Fire match brought 10 competitors to the firing line. The winner of the Center-Fire competition was Larry Carter with a score of 575.

Some of the Email that we received after the match included:

"I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the introduction to international shooting, even with yesterday's not-so-good weather."

And another:

"You even got the event on TV and that doesn't even happen in the Nationals."

We are going to do it all over again next year. Competitors as far away as Indiana have asked to be kept informed of the scheduled date for the next Hamilton match. We are hoping to have more Women and Juniors participate then, and we look forward to an even bigger event for next year's Hamilton 2001.

Nashua Fish and Game Association in Merrimack, New Hampshire is presently scheduling a series of indoor International Matches for Air Pistol, Center-Fire/Sport Pistol and Rapid-Fire Pistol on the fourth Sunday of each month from October 2000 through April 2001. Sharon Fish and Game in Sharon, Massachusetts will be hosting Free Pistol and Standard Pistol events on the third Sunday of each month, creating a full complement of International Pistol competitions in New England.