Local Hero

A local hero here in Oregon has been announced by the Shooting Wire

Leonard Scores Open Rimfire Steel Challenge Win

(Click the link above for the full article)

Ryan Leonard is the son of Nick Leonard, who has been running the Speed Steel matches at Tri County Gun Club for ... well, the better part of the last decade.

Nick has always been an extremely competitive shooter. He either wins, or he crashes and burns ... badly. There are no half-hearted attempts when Nick shoots; he always gives 110%, and he is always trying to win.

Nick started Ryan shooting in competition when Ryan was about 10 years old. (Heck, he may have been younger.) Ryan learned to be as competitive as Nick, but had the advantage of starting earlier in life, and the further advantage of having a great coach.

Nick always ensured the Ryan had good equipment, lots of practice, and the advice of a seasoned shooter. That would be Nick. That was as true for IPSC/USPSA competition as it was for Steel Challenge.

In the past couple of years, as Ryan became even more proficient and self-confident, Nick may have focused more on Ryan's training and maturation as a competitive shooter than on his own competitiveness. Whatever the reason, Ryan has become one of the stronger young shooters in both disciplines.

Keep your eye on this young man. When I saw them at the Dundee match last month, Ryan had grown in height, bulk and confidence. Since then he WON the Columbia Cascade Championship as an Open/Master Class shooter, coming in a comfortable 6% ahead the next closest competitor (also a Master Class shooter), and beating the nearest GM/Open shooter by 9%.

And then he won the Open Rimfire Steel Challenge:

PIRU, Calif. - When the last shots were fired in the Steel Challenge's Open Rimfire pistol event, it was 17-year-old Ryan Leonard of Oregon City, Oregon, who outgunned the likes of Glock's Dave Sevigny, Blackhawk's Todd Jarrett and Smith &Wesson's B.J. Norris to claim the World Speed Shooting Championship title.

Leonard posted the fastest score on three of the eight stages - 5 To Go, Smoke & Hope and Outer Limits - to finish in a final time of 69.76 seconds to edge out Team Glock's captain Dave Sevigny of Smyrna, Ga. by 1.45 seconds.

Congratulations to both Nick and Ryan. I think you'll be seeing Ryan winning in Level III USPSA competition, too. Ryan has outgrown the local field, and should be ready to challenge the National Best in even more competitive fields.