Port Clinton, Ohio – For Woburn, Massachusetts shooter Jim Clark, the skills learned as a junior in smallbore and precision air rifle made his transition into highpower rifle competition a quick learning curve. Within the first couple of years of trying the sport, he had been fortunate to receive good coaching, particularly with the Trickett family whose own son now shoots for the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU). It seemed like a case of being in the right place at the right time for Clark, and the camaraderie, new friends and loose atmosphere of highpower shooting was a welcome break from his more rigorous collegiate shooting schedule at Ohio State University.

This coming fall Clark along with two sisters would be in college, so he made the decision to work fulltime over the summer to save for his tuition and expenses. He felt fortunate to land a summer engineering internship, however, it meant this would be the first time in three years that Clark would not be able to compete in the National Trophy Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Despite the calls to compete from his coaches and fellow shooters, Clark had not touched his service rifle since competing in a local Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) match shortly after National Matches in 2008. He had resigned himself to the fact that he would miss his last year as a junior shooter to work through the summer. Maybe next year he could enter competition again and be with his other family; the family of shooters that reconnect every year for the National Matches.

That all changed in July when one of his sisters narrowly escaped serious injury in a car wreck. This event was followed a week later by another car accident that claimed the life of a close friend. Searching for a way to help Clark regroup and clear his head, friends, parents and coaches convinced him that he needed to get out of town for a while. Coincidentally the National Trophy Matches were ten-days away. So after a short notice request for time off from work was granted, the decision was made for Clark to head to Camp Perry with the Reading Rifle and Revolver team.

Massachusetts Junior Highpower shooter Jim Clark was the High Overall competitor firing a Bushmaster Rifle in the Mountain Man Aggregate. He was awarded the Junior Bushmaster Cup by Mr. Jarrod McDevitt of Bushmaster Firearms, Inc.

With only a couple of afternoons available before Nationals to zero his sights and test ammo at 600 yards, Jim shot the Massachusetts service rifle championship as a practice match. He then pulled his equipment together and left for Ohio with no expectations, hoping only to do his best and contribute to the team.

The first competition opportunity for junior shooters at the National Trophy Matches came at the end of a two-day Marine Corps Clinic with an EIC match. Encouraged by a fourth place finish in the match and narrowly missing a win by 4-points, Clark saw this as a first sign of what the week might bring.

The first open day of National Trophy Match competition was the President’s Rifle Match. A 30-shot event with 10 shots fired at 200, 300 and 600-yards. Clark finished 28th overall out of 1,262 shooters and forth out of 210 junior shooters, earning his third consecutive President’s 100 Medal.

On the second day of competition, the National Trophy Individual Match (NTI) was fired. This consisted of a 50-shot EIC course of fire, in which competitors can earn “Leg Points” towards the prestigious Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge. Firing a 481-14x, Clark earned a gold medal for the match and a silver medal for EIC credit, holding 28 of the 30 points required for his Distinguished Badge. He placed 16th of the 940 civilian competitors, placing him in the hunt for the Alice Bull trophy, awarded to the civilian with the highest aggregate of the Presidents and NTI match.

On the third day of competition the inaugural CMP Freedom’s Fire National Trophy Junior Team Match (NTJT) was held. Clark fired the two-person team match with Chris Lane of Gloucester, Massachusetts as the pair represented the Reading Rifle and Revolver Junior Team. Clark and Lane battled the wind to earn a fifth place finish out of the 88 teams, which earned both shooters Freedom’s Fire medals.

GySgt Lee Ermey, star of the History Channel’s Lock ‘n Load show, presented Jim with a Col. William L. Deneke Trophy medallion.

The aggregate of individual scores in the President’s Match, NTI and NTJT determine the winner of the Bill Deneke Trophy, and from these scores six junior shooters were named to the 2009 Deneke National Trophy Junior Team. In his last year of eligibility to compete, Clark’s third place finish in the Bill Deneke Trophy aggregate earned him a place on the National Trophy Service Rifle Junior Team.

On the fourth day competition in the National Trophy Rifle Matches, and Clark’s last event for the week, the National Trophy Team Match (NTT) was fired. Clark was shooting with the six-man Reading Rifle and Revolver team from Reading, Massachusetts. Going into the final phase of the match in slow fire prone at the 600-yard-line, the Bushmaster Mountain Man Trophy was on the line. On his last string of shots in the 2009 Nationals, with coach Charlie Trickett at the scope making the wind calls, Clark settled into his gun and fired a 98-4X. This secured Clark’s title of the highest scoring competitor firing a Bushmaster service rifle in an aggregate of the President’s, NTI and NTT matches. Clark finished in first place for the High Overall Champion and Junior Champion for the Bushmaster Cup Trophy.

On the night of the National Trophy Matches closing awards ceremony, Clark was awarded the Bushmaster Cup by Bushmaster and Remington Arms; the junior award went to friend Amanda Elsenboss who had the second highest junior aggregate. Clark was also awarded the “Bill Deneke“ highpower team medal and was welcomed to the 2009 National Trophy Service Rifle Junior Team.

This concluded the story of one shooters National Match experience that was never suppose to happen, and one that he will never forget. Proving that at anytime, anything is possible if you believe in yourself.

There is a good chance we will be seeing Jim Clark back at Camp Perry soon with his highpower family.