Koenig Captures 16th Bianchi Cup Victory

Team Hornady® member Doug Koenig adds another trophy to his collection, winning High Overall and High Open at the 2015 MidwayUSA & NRA Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Missouri. This is his 16th Bianchi Cup victory. A perfect score of 1920 with 180 "x-count" shots, or dead center tiebreaking shots, ensured a comfortable lead over the second-place shooter.

The challenge of this year's event was not only in the taxing matches and world-class competition, but also the weather, which brought high winds and cold rain. Despite these excruciating conditions, Koenig and his Hornady bullets delivered a faultless performance.

"In order to perform well in any competition, you need to have the utmost confidence in your equipment," said Koenig. "Things like the weather, your physical health, and other exterior circumstances are always going to be difficult to predict, but your equipment is an important piece of the puzzle that you can control. I'm fortunate to have a great group of sponsors and each piece of gear I use, like my Hornady handloaded 110 grain XTP® ammunition, was utterly reliable throughout the match."

Koenig won his first Bianchi Cup in 1990, and was the first to finish with a perfect score. Since then, he has achieved a perfect score in all but one match. He and fellow Team Hornady shooter Jessie Duff also finished first in their divisions in the Colt Speed Event held on the final day of the match.

Carl Bernosky, who was also shooting with 110 grain XTP bullets, seized a 3rd place win in the Open Division. He was followed by Mark Blake in 6th place and Michael Voigt in 10th. Shooting with 115 grain HAP ammo, Duff clinched a 3rd place victory in the Ladies Division, with Maggie Reese and Cherie Blake hot on her heels in 4th and 5th place, respectively. In the Metallic Division, Marc Kleser came in 9th place and Andre Schroeder got 15th place.

The NRA Bianchi Cup, established in 1979 to test police shooting skills, is now one of the most prestigious shooting events and the ultimate trial in shooting accurately under pressure. It consists of four separate, fixed time matches: Practical Event (with shots fired from 10-50 yards), Barricade Event (shots taken from behind simulated cover), Falling Plate Event (banks of six 8" falling plates), and the Moving Target Event (shots fired at a moving target exposed for six seconds).