At the 2024 National Trophy Pistol Matches, John Bickar, 47, of Menlo Park, CA, became only the third competitor in history to earn back-to-back wins in the President’s Pistol Match.
The event, a staple at the century-old National Matches since 1981, was facilitated by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and saw a total of 414 competitors on the historic ranges of Camp Perry. Bickar fired an overall score of 384-17X over the day – just one point above the second and third place finishers.
“Honestly, my confidence level was pretty low,” he said of coming to Camp Perry this year. “I have not been shooting well. I’ve been shooting and training and dry firing a lot – but, I know how to shoot here, and I know how to put a match together.”
He’s originally from Canton, just a short drive from Camp Perry, and competed at the National Matches as a junior. He comes from a line of pistol enthusiasts – with his mom, Judy, a competitor until her passing in 2003, and his dad, John, the president of the Canton McKinley Rifle and Pistol Club for 17 years before his passing in 1994.
John, with his parents’ guidance, earned his Distinguished Pistol Badge in 1993 at the age of 16 – the youngest at the time – and went on to compete in college as well as internationally within World Championships and Pan American Games, all while training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. He even earned his Distinguished International Badge in 2001 and his Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 2018.
When life took over and new interests emerged, Bickar racked up a 22-year hiatus from the National Matches before deciding to return in 2023, using his mom’s hardball pistol.
He shot on Team Ultradot as well as the California Rifle & Pistol Association Team – the 2023 champions of the Oglethorpe Trophy, awarded to the highest scoring civilian team in the National Trophy Pistol Team (NTT) Match. This year, the California team finished in second behind the North Carolina Rifle & Pistol Association Team.
“I had no expectations coming into this year. I’m here to shoot team matches,” he said. “I’m really just here to support my teammates.”
Still, whether with others or alone, he came to compete.
The conditions on the day of the President’s Match were ideal – presenting hardly any challenges of nature on the firing line. Again, Bickar kept his expectations simple.
“I was just like, ‘Let’s just make sure I have zeroes. I’m going to shoot as best as I can – I think I’ve got everything together,’” he said. “I walked off the line, and I thought I had a decent score.”
As he packed up his gear and waited for everyone else to finish the match, friend and member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, SSG Christopher Hudock told him, “That’s the highest score I’ve seen so far.”
“And I thought, ‘I might’ve won this again,’” Bickar recalled with a smile.
He had. And, just like last year, he was proud to do it with his mom’s 1911.
“Glad to carry on the tradition,” he said.
Finding second behind Bickar was 1LT Lisa Emmert Traciak, 28, of Colorado Springs, who claimed the High Woman honor in the event. She went on to also earn the National Woman’s Trophy as the top scoring woman in the National Trophy Individual Match (NTI), garnering a score of 280-14X, and the Rose Krelstein Trophy as the highest scoring woman in the President’s/NTI Aggregate for her skillful performances in each event.
Tanya Chowdary, 18, of Belle Mead, NJ, found her own success in the junior category – claiming the top score with 359-9X in the President’s Match.
Jonathan Shue, 43, of Liberty, NC, was the overall competitor of the NTI with a score of 293-15X. It was Shue’s second time earning his name on the General Custer Trophy, having previously won the match back in 2019. He also claimed the High Civilian title with his win and went on to earn the Anheuser Busch Trophy as the leading competitor in the NTI/NTT Individual Aggregate, with a score of 584-24X. Shue is the current national record holder in the aggregate event.
Earning the G.P. Perry DeFino Trophy as the highest placing junior in the NTI was Elie Arkin, 16, of Falls Church, VA, who accumulated a score of 274-8X.
Other leading competitors of the National Matches included Travis Jorgenson, 46, of Dent, MN, who overtook the Service Revolver EIC Match, renamed the Philip Hemphill Memorial Match for 2024, with a score of 383-11X.
Winning the M9 EIC Pistol Match that accompanied the Pistol Small Arms Firing School, along with earning his first Excellence-In-Competition (EIC) points, was Cpl Max Musselman, 36, of Apple Creek, OH, with a score of 275-3X.
In team competition, AMU Black (SFC Ryan Adams, SGT Daniel Byrd, SFC Joshua Kingery and SSG Anthony Heinauer) led the NTT with a score of 1113-29X.
For a complete list of results of the 2024 National Trophy Pistol Matches & National CMP Pistol Championships, visit https://ct.thecmp.org/24NMPistolResults. Photos of all events of the 2024 National Matches may be viewed and downloaded for free at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f456222492.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
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