Gustin’s Near Perfect Performance Wins Wimbledon

100 points and nine Xs gives California’s Gustin NRA Rifle win.

Port Clinton, Ohio – It’s been a long wait for Robert Gustin of Cameron Park, California. But that wait was well because this year he is going home as the 2012 NRA Wimbledon Cup Champion.

Qualifying for the shoot off with a score of 200-14x, Gustin was side by side with contenders from the earlier relays. His numbers were last in that bunch of rifleman. With two members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in the mix, there was every chance that Gustin would leave the range empty handed again. But he pulled out a performance that left the crowd in awe.

Going a near perfect 100-9x (that’s ten shots in ten ring with nine of those shots landing inside the even smaller X ring), Gustin’s Wimbledon Cup victory almost brought a few spectators to tears. That’s when we heard the story about the wait.

“Back in 1985, Bob thought he won the Wimbledon Cup,” explained multiple NRA Long Range High Power Rifle champ Nancy Tompkins. “But they couldn’t find one of his shots in the shoot off. He was devastated. Later, after everything was finalized, they pulled his target and found an X they missed.

“My heart just broke watching it happen. So this is great.”

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