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FORTY YEARS OF ENJOYABLE COMPETITION
Except for a few years in the middle to meet the demands of my career
JOE WHITE
As did most Tennessee farm boys in the 1930s, I had my own 22 rifle when I was
twelve and hunted for food with a shotgun as a teenager. I joined the Tennessee
National Guard when I was eighteen and at twenty went to the national matches in
1940 as a member of the Tennessee National Guard high-power rifle squad. There
were ten members of our squad, two teams of four shooters each, plus two extra.
There was also a ten-member civilian squad from Tennessee. One of my proudest
possessions for years was a medal with a colorful ribbon that I won for having the
highest score of anyone from Tennessee—the high-state award in the president’s
match. As I recall, that was a three-stage match, with firing at 200, 300, and 600
yards.
In September, 1940, my organization, Company G, 117th Infantry, went to Fort
Jackson, SC, as a part of the army of the United States. The national guard was
federalized in preparation for probable action in the war that was already raging in
Europe. In 1941, the Colonel commanding the regiment announced that the soldier
who fired the highest score in qualifying with the new M-1 rifle would get a
seven-day pass to go home for a visit. That was eight shots (one magazine) slow
fire standing and ten shots rapid fire sitting and ten shots rapid fire prone. The
rapid fire stages required a change of magazines during the time limit, and each
bullseye counted five points. Out of approximately 2,000 shooters, I had the
highest score, 136 0ut of a possible 140, and I rode the bus to my home and back.
In late 1942 I transferred to the army air corps and eventually became a pilot. In
later years that flying skill helped me to get several promotions in the Border
Patrol.
After the war my brother and I worked on the farm for a year to help our father,
and then I went to Auburndale, Florida, in December, 1946, to work in the Citrus
harvest. While browsing in a hardware store one day I bought a 22 caliber target
pistol for forty dollars. I had no use for it, but some impulse made me buy it.
In 1947 I started working for a construction company in Tampa and in November
I got married. My wife got a job with the telephone company in Tampa. She had
been working in a similar job in Lakeland, about thirty miles away.
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My wife’s cousin got me involved in a little informal tri-city pistol league—
Tampa. Clearwater, and St. Petersburg—and I did so well that I shot in a state
championship match in St. Petersburg. It was a three gun match, but I shot only
the 22 because that was the only gun I had. I also shot one gun in the National
Midwinter match in Tampa in March of 1949. I shot two guns in the 1950
Midwinter match because I had bought an old 38 caliber revolver to use. Later that
year I bought an old model 1911 army 45 semi automatic, so in 1951 I shot all
three guns. But so far none of my scores had been above average.
Then in late 1951 I met John Giles at a little local match. He was a toolmaker
turned gunsmith and had set up a little shop in back of his house in Clearwater. I
bought a new Colt 38 Super and got him to convert it to shoot the 38 special
wadcutter cartridge, the ammunition of choice for serious center fire competitors. I
later persuaded him to make an extension to give it an extra one-and-a-half-inch
sight radius, and I shot it in the 1952 national matches at Jacksonville, Florida. I
shot 868 with it and was second to Tom Mitchell, a Marine Corps shooter. That
was thirty points higher than I had ever shot with my old revolver. John also let me
borrow a new 45 he had just finished but hadn’t had time to fully test fire. I had
several malfunctions with it in rapid fire and lost a few shots. I had been in first
place after the center fire match because my 22 score was better than what Mitchell
had, but I dropped from first to eleventh place after the 45 match. The 45 score was
still better than anything I had ever shot with my old gun. So I bought the gun and
had John tune it up to get rid of the jamming problems.
A summary of three-gun-conventional national pistol matches
1952, Jacksonville, Florida, eleventh place over all.(As a civilian.)
1953, Camp Perry, Ohio, eleventh place over all.(As a civilian.)
1953, Tampa, Florida, National Midwinter Matches, third place.(As a civilian.)
Joined Border Patrol in October, 1953, and stationed at New Orleans after the twomonths training session at McAllen, Texas.
1954, twelfth shooter to score 2600 out of a possible 2700 points in a match
registered by the NRA.
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1954, Camp Perry, second place to Harry Reeves, Detroit Police, a six-time
national champion.
1955, Camp Perry, national champion police category and second place over-all to
Army Sergeant Joe Benner, a six time national champion.
[Although they were not national matches, won five state championships in 1955:
Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Indiana, and Texas. In early 1956 was promoted to
Border Patrol Pilot and transferred to the regional office in Richmond, Virginia.
That reduced my shooting activities significantly.]
1956, 1957, 1958, and 1959, finished in the top ten each year out of an average of
more than a thousand shooters each year. [NRA didn’t list top ten scores over all,
so I had to research the scores in all of the categories to find out where I stood
against the field.]
1956 and 1957, shooting member of national champion center-fire pistol team,
Camp Perry. Border Patrol won out of more than 100 teams competing each year.
1954, 1956, and 1958, shooting member of national champion 45 caliber pistol
team. Average of more than 100 teams competing each year. That trophy retired to
the Border Patrol after third win.
Except for the first three listed as a civilian, all of these were as a member of the
Us Border Patrol.
Re-assigned in early 1960 to be District Director in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and no
longer eligible to shoot with the BP team. Didn’t go back to Camp Perry for 21
years.
Retired from federal service in 1974 and went back to real estate business.
Divorced in 1978 and went to Washington, DC, in December to work in NRA
headquarters. Started shooting again in early 1981, at the insistence of G.W. Ness,
an ex-army shooter. Finished second that year at Camp Perry for the senior pistol
championship to a man named Coghe, a former army shooter.
Married again in June, 1982, and did not go to Camp Perry that year.
In 1983 tied with Gil Hebard for the senior trophy, but he had more Xs than I did,
so he got the trophy. By this time the rules had been changed and the senior trophy
was for any shooter who would be 60 or older during that year. In the past it had
been age fifty five or older.
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I won the senior trophy in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988. By then I was 68
years old.
In 1989, Don Hamilton became eligible for the senior trophy. He was a former
Navy shooter and held the record of 2667 out of 2700 for the national matches. I
lost to him that year. But I won the Delaware State championship with a score of
2653 and at that time was the oldest shooter, at age 69, to qualify for the 2650 club.
In 1990 I won it again, my senior trophy number six out of competing ten years as
a senior. But I had some help from the weather. I was one point ahead of Don
going into the last day of shooting, and a storm came through that was so bad NRA
had to cancel the last day of shooting. They gave the awards based on the first two
days, and that gave me the trophy for the last time, at age seventy. The next year
he beat me convincingly, and that was my last trip to Camp Perry. I sold all of my
guns and related shooting equipment in 1992 and haven’t fired a shot since. I used
the money to pave the driveway and put a new roof on the house.
Some have asked me why I don’t shoot just for fun and not be concerned about
whether I win or lose. But if they don’t know the answer already, nobody can
explain it to them. It’s the same reason that I don’t go to the beach now wearing
Speedo bathing trunks. I don’t want to look ridiculous.