(INDIANAPOLIS) – Gov. Eric J. Holcomb announced Friday that Camp Atterbury will be the site of the National Rifle Association’s new National Marksmanship Competition Center.
“Camp Atterbury will serve as an exceptional venue for marksmanship championships that promote education and responsibility,” Gov. Holcomb said. “This new center will provide great economic benefits for central Indiana with the safety, training and competition opportunities for thousands of citizens, law enforcement and military personnel.”
Camp Atterbury, located on approximately 35,000 acres just west of Edinburgh in Johnson County, has a long history of marksmanship training. Since opening in 1942, Camp Atterbury has hosted units from all branches of the military. Civilian law enforcement agencies also use the ranges to gain experience that is otherwise logistically difficult and costly.
The NRA’s competitive shooting division, which has been holding marksmanship competitions since 1876, will bring national and regional competitions as well as firearms training and safety courses to Camp Atterbury.
Smallbore Rifle Championships and Precision Pistol Championships will begin in 2020 and the High Power Rifle Championships, which have been held at Camp Atterbury since 2017, will continue. The NRA expects to add collegiate marksmanship events and other related competitive shooting events at the center over the course of the ten-year agreement.
Additionally, the NRA will work in conjunction with Camp Atterbury Museum to develop the NRA Military Heritage Museum.
“Since our inception, the NRA’s roots have been in our competitive shooting programs,” NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said. “We look forward to having our National Matches at Camp Atterbury, Indiana and to offer competitive shooters a centralized location to compete while protecting our Second Amendment freedoms.”
As a part of the agreement, the NRA will lease space at Camp Atterbury, and the state will upgrade several shooting ranges. The improvements are also expected to draw another military, law enforcement, and civilian training and competitions as well.
The annual meeting of the National Rifle Association is underway in Indianapolis this weekend and returns to the capital city in 2023.
