Team Cabot Guns: Jon Shue is the 2018 National Pistol Champion
The Civilian Pistol Marksman Jonathan Shue of Team Cabot Guns stuns Camp Perry, placing first and taking Gold at NRA National Pistol Matches
Jonathan Shue, Cabot Guns' top shooter was crowned Champion at the 2018 NRA National Precision Pistol Championship. Repeating his performance from last year, Shue beat military, civilian and international shooters to win the Gold at the three-day tournament at Camp Perry in Port Clinton Ohio. Shue placed first among 532 of the world’s most accurate pistol marksmen. Shue, a former Marine, now competes as a civilian.
“This is an amazing achievement, squared" said Rob Bianchin, Founder and CEO of Cabot Guns. “We’re all very proud of Shue and the entire Cabot Team for an outstanding showing.” Team Cabot Guns is captained by William Bethards and includes Grayson Palmer, the top manufacturer of American-made precision 1911 firearms.
Jonathan Shue, of the Team Cabot Guns
At the end of the first day, Shue found himself down by 13 points, in the 22 caliber matches enough to rule him out from even placing at the Nationals. The tournament then turned into a neck to neck battle. On day one, Shue delivered the rapid fire performance of a lifetime saving his chance at a repeat, and came back to tie by points after winning the Center Fire Championship and sit atop in first place overall after day two.
At that moment, he had the same points, with only X's separating him separating the top two shooters. After day two, ten of the top shooters going into the final day of the tournament were separated by only 6 points.
He ultimately persevered and won the competition with a score of 2625 out of a possible 2700 points. Achieving this score involved making 132 perfect shots, hitting the X on the target at 25 and 50 yards shooting one-handed. He beat the US Army’s top shooter, Adam Sokolowski, by only two points. Shue also won The High Veteran and High Civilian trophy.
“This was like a good ole' fashion ‘Carolina comeback,” Shue said, referring to his home state’s Tar Heels basketball team and their remarkable comebacks. Not that it was easy. “Temperature and lighting were almost perfect, but there was a slight wind that was just enough to aggravate your process," he explained. “This type of condition is difficult. You want to settle into your process, but that bit of excess movement throws you off your game. Fighting your heart rate, nerves, mayflies, and the AMU, you have to be mentally strong. That why I love this sport. It's a mental marathon, not a sprint."
The Cabot Guns Jones Deluxe 1911
The Cabot Guns Jones Deluxe 1911
The Cabot Guns Jones Deluxe 1911
Shue has quickly become a dominant force in the sport of Bullseye. Precision Bullseye Pistol is the most challenging. In the sport, the shooter attempts to hit a 1.7-inch bullseye target at distances of 25 and 50 yards, one-handed. Known as an affable shooter easily identified by his wild beard, Shue also took gold in the Center Fire Championship on day two of the tournament.
To win, Shue uses a Cabot Guns limited-edition Jones Deluxe Bullseye 1911 hand crafted by Cabot Guns. Cabot is famous for its 1911s, the .45 caliber handgun that was in use by the US Army from 1911 to 1986. This is the fourth National Pistol Championship in six years that has been won using a Cabot Guns 1911. Shue has 27,000 rounds through his Cabot 1911 and his gun remains extremely accurate.
Shue’s accomplishment is truly unique, given that the tournament is known as the “World Series of Pistol Shooting.” The event is attended by over 500 hundred of the world’s finest marksmen. Each year the Army, Navy and Marines send their top marksmen to compete alongside law enforcement, international shooters, industry, clubs and civilians. It involves three stages of fire: Slow fire, timed fire and rapid fire.
Cabot Guns is renowned for its attitude and pedigree, refusing to settle for anything less than the best of both. Originally, they challenged America’s top engineers, machinists and master craftsmen to build the perfect precision handgun from scratch without compromise. What has resulted is a superior collection of 1911 pistols made from only the finest of materials, technology and minds that this great country has to offer.
Over the past seven years, four National Pistol Championships have been won using a Cabot 1911. A remarkable fact in that only four or five Cabot 1911's are used at Camp Perry out of the 500 plus pistols that are shot at the National Matches.