Select a story:

2010 Midway USA/NRA Bianchi Cup

5/26-29/2010 Doug Koenig emerged as the Open Division Champion after two days of close competition at the 32nd Annual Midway USA/NRA Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Missouri.

About 200 shooters representing seven different countries competed in the 2010 Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championship held at the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club in Columbia from May 26th to May 29th.

Bruce Piatt kept the competition intense, beating Koenig in Match One - the Practical Event - the first day of Cup competition with a score of 480-46, just ahead of Koenig’s 480-45. Koenig ended two days of shooting ahead of Piatt to take the Open Division competition with a score of 1920-179. Piatt shot a respectable 1918-183. Kevin Angstadt came in third, shooting a 1918-169.

First Place in the Metallic Division went to Robert Vadasz, who shot 1904-146, followed by Rob Leatham with 1894-153 and Troy Mattheyer, 1892-127.

Shooters from the USA competed with others from Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands for the Bianchi Cup, one of action shootings most coveted prizes. Sixty of those competing for a share of the $300,000+ prize money were first-time Cup competitors.  To encourage new competitors to the event, special prizes were awarded to the top first time shooters, including Ruger and Smith & Wesson firearms.
Skies were clear throughout the event, with no rain and little or no winds during the event. Temperatures ranged from the mid-70s to the mid- to upper-80s, with humidity above 60%.

Among the celebrities competing in the competition were country music artists Mark Wills and Michael Peterson and Kenda Lenseigne, known for her six world records in the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting.

The event was started in 1979 as a law enforcement training match by John Bianchi of holster-manufacturer Bianchi International. Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of Midway USA, the event’s title sponsor, and Midway USA, donated $65,000 to help this year’s event, $15,000 of which was to go as prize money to first time competitors with production firearms. Potterfield expressed his desire to see the Bianchi Cup continue to be one of the most prestigious pistol competitions in the world, saying that new shooters are critical to the event’s success.  Columbia is Potterfield’s hometown.

Comment on this story: