A Lifetime of Accomplishments

By Stephen Leow

The first time that Charlie Daniels competed at Camp Perry was in 1968 when he was a shooter in the National Pistol Championships. Now in 2008, Charlie is at Camp Perry competing in the Smallbore Rifle 3-Position Metallic Sight Championship of the NRA (National Rifle Association) National Rifle and Pistol Championships.

“It’s a lifetime sport,” said Charlie, who has been a competitor for about 51 years.

His experience with firearms began when he was a member of the William Penn Pistol League as a teenager, where he finished third in the league overall in 1959. While enlisted in the United States Air Force, Charlie’s participation in national matches was at a standstill. After his time in the Air Force, it took him about 25 years to become a distinguished shooter; he would later become the 36 member to be awarded the honor of double distinguished civilian.

Charlie made the President’s 100 Club during the President’s 100 Rifle Match in the 1980’s which featured about 1,600 competitors. In order to make the President’s 100, Charlie had to finish as one of the top 100 competitors during the match. To add more to his shooing resume, Charlie is also a member of the 990 Club, which consisted of about 22 members when he became a member during the 1990’s. To become a member of this club one must receive an aggregate score which is within ten points less than a perfect score of 1000 during a regional championship. Charlie accomplished this on two different occasions with the same score of 993, once in Iowa and another time in Missouri.



In the 1980’s Charlie began shooting in the High Power Rifle Championships at Camp Perry, but has now made the transition into the Smallbore Rifle Championships. At his residence in Lincoln, Neb., Charlie practices shooting at his air rifle range in his basement which also features an electronic target system.

Now a retired fiber optic technician, Charlie has been competing at Camp Perry for the past 19 consecutive years as a smallbore shooter. Last year he was the winner of the Any Sight Senior Championship. Charlie admires the overall size of the championships at Camp Perry, and says that it is a more difficult range to compete at because of the wind. As one of the most recognizable shooters on the range, Charlie wears a red outfit as he either competes with red equipment or avoids the sun underneath his red canopy tent.

In his retirement, Charlie has found more time to commit to competitive shooting. However, this past March, Charlie was diagnosed with colon cancer which was causation for surgery and chemotherapy. After the primary tumor and portions of his small intestine were removed, cancer was still discovered in his lymph nodes. Charlie has been in chemotherapy sessions for the past three months. In fact, his most current session was on Monday, before arriving to Camp Perry on Wednesday. Although a setback to his everyday life and overall health, Charlie hasn’t let cancer restrain him from competitive shooting.



”[Being diagnosed with cancer] was just another bump in the road. I still have enough body parts to compete, so I’m good for another 100 years,” said Charlie.

The only side effect that Charlie faces is occasional loss of feeling in his fingertips when coming in contact with cold objects. Other than that, the surgery and chemotherapy haven’t distracted him from competing. ”You can’t live if you don’t take chances,” said Charlie.

Taking his chances is what Charlie has continued to do still to this day. Prior to being diagnosed in March, Charlie was walking about 14 miles each day in preparation for backpacking that he did this past May. Other than focusing on his own accomplishments and competitive edge during competitions, Charlie encourages the involvement of junior competitors in the national matches.


An Anschutz 1600, free rifle