Viking Arms and Leupold Optics, sponsors of the British Army Shooting Team, wish all competitors the best of luck as they head to the United States to take part in the 52nd Winston. P. Wilson / 32nd Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting (WPW/AFSAM) Rifle and Pistol Championship.

The National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC) is hosting a national competition, an international and interservice competition at Camp J. T. Robinson, Arkansas to test the skills of service members from all over the world from April 24 – May 7, 2023. The British Army Shooting Team includes Ruger and Leupold brand ambassador Jimmy De Ville, who will be taking part in the competition.

Viking Arms' Head of Sporting, Andy Norris delivered the sponsorship package of Leupold Optics to Jimmy ahead of the competition. The British Army Shooting Team will be using Leupold Mark 4 Tactical Spotting Scopes and Leupold RX 1600i TBR/W Rangefinders to support their competitive shooting. 

Here's the team busy on the ranges training at Bisley Camp in preparation over the last few months:

Service members will execute combat marksmanship tasks during the 52nd annual Winston P. Wilson (WPW) Rifle and Pistol Championship. Concurrently, the 32nd Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting (AFSAM) will be held for international and interservice competitors. These championships offer the National Guard active and reserve service branches, and foreign allies the opportunity to test combat skills and weapon systems in a battle-focused environment.

This year’s match attracts competitors from all 54 states and territories, and allies from as far away as the Netherlands. Throughout the week, there will be 14 marksmanship events, three weapon-systems utilised and each marksman will fire more than 600 rounds during the match.

Each four-man team will be evaluated on field firing, advanced marksmanship, and target engagement. Courses of fire will test the abilities of shooters in a number of scenarios based on both individual and team proficiency with the M9/M17 Pistol, the M4/M16 Rifle, and the M500 Shotgun.

“Participation in these events can provide opportunities to expose traditional Guardsmen to advanced tactics, techniques and procedures used by allied foreign military forces and active-duty units,” said Lt. Col. Dwayne Page, Administrative Officer for the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center.

“WPW is the largest weapons competition/ training event in the Army,” said Col. David Cox, Commander of the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center.

While the championship is competitive in nature, the training received during this event is valuable.

“Although the WPW is considered a competition, the true value of the matches is the cross learning between teams,” he continued. “The only ones who loose when they leave here are those who refused to learn from others.”

Both matches begin April 24 and WPW will close out with an award ceremony on May 5 and AFSAM on May 6, celebrating the winners for the WPW and AFSAM Rifle and Pistol competitions.

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