{"id":20389,"date":"2018-06-07T21:13:08","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T21:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/07\/army-shooter-makes-history-in-national-action-pistol-shooting-match\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:11:00","slug":"army-shooter-makes-history-in-national-action-pistol-shooting-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/06\/07\/army-shooter-makes-history-in-national-action-pistol-shooting-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Army shooter makes history in national action pistol shooting match"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A top Army <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/01\/18\/the-army-is-working-on-big-changes-to-your-annual-rifle-qualification\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">shooter <\/a>who recently made history in the premiere action pistol shooting competition has a simple tip for handgun <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2016\/03\/15\/army-tackles-marksmanship-shortfalls-with-new-training-course\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">marksmanship <\/a>that doesn\u2019t require bullets \u2013 dry fire until you can achieve ideal trigger control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski, 39, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/off-duty\/military-sports\/2016\/06\/07\/marksmanship-unit-member-becomes-7th-soldier-on-road-to-rio\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">shot <\/a>competitively since he was 12 years old but first entered the National Rifle Association National Action Pistol Championship, known as the Bianchi Cup, in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then he has won the production division, the metallic division and this year the open division. He\u2019s the first shooter to claim each division in three consecutive years in the 40-year history of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh, and last year, when he shot the metallic sights division, he shot the first-ever perfect score.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/04\/06\/soldier-joins-elite-ranks-of-triple-distinguished-shooters-at-army-shooting-match\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balsley1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Soldier joins elite ranks of triple-distinguished shooters at Army shooting match<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Army Staff Sgt. Brad Balsley is one of only 17 soldiers in more than 130 years to earn the coveted status.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The course of fire for the competition includes a practical event, barricade event, falling plate event and moving target event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sokolowski didn\u2019t begin shooting this specific competition because, since shortly after graduating from Indian Valley High School in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, he enlisted in Army infantry and quickly found himself busting caps for the Army Marksmanship Unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And until just a few years ago, the AMU didn\u2019t compete in the Bianchi Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"806\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski2.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski2.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski2.jpg.jpg?resize=300,202 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski2.jpg.jpg?resize=768,516 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski2.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,688 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski of Somerville, New Jersey, fires his pistol during The Barricade Event at the Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Missouri. Sokolowski, the team chief of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit\u2019s Service Pistol Team, made history by winning the Open Division and 2018 Overall Bianchi Cup Champion title, making it his third consecutive win in three separate divisions\u2014something no one else has ever accomplished in the 40-year-old competition. What\u2019s even more interesting, is that the Soldier just started shooting the Bianchi Cup discipline four years ago. After learning the ropes in 2015, in 2016, he won the Production Division Champion title. In 2017, he not only won the Metallic Division Champion title, he set a record for the first-ever perfect score of 1920 with an iron sight gun. And in 2018, he won the Open Division, beating out the reigning 18-year Champion Doug Koenig.(Michelle Lunato\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He\u2019s spent his nearly 20-year career with AMU at Fort Benning, Georgia, and focused his efforts on Bullseye pistols shooting, a precision-accuracy type of shooting done with one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the kind of shooting his father Frank Sokolowski got him and the sergeant\u2019s siblings involved with at an early age. And it\u2019s the kind of shooting that got AMU staff to first notice a teenage Sokolowski while he was plinking away at targets at the renowned Camp Perry, Ohio shooting matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His father first introduced the junior Sokolowski to shooting with a Smith &amp; Wesson .22 LR pistol, a far cry from the custom-built 1911 Colt 9mm he shot for the most recent competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Smith &amp; Wesson is the same pistol that he taught his son, Joena, 15, to shoot with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About halfway into his career so far, Sokolowski nearly saw it end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He noticed his \u201carc of movement\u201d or how much the pistol was moving as he held it out, was growing. What would be a normal arc, say 3 inches, had widened to as much as 8 inches. Also, there was the pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After trying to push through it by doing more shooting work and exercises rather than less, a doctor told him he had tendinitis and he might have to give up the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, he did something no top-level shooter wants to do \u2013 he switched hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over months of reconditioning himself, Sokolowski shifted from a right-handed to left-handed shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luckily with time, he recuperated enough to return to his dominant hand and when he did more of the action shooting, which is two-handed, the problem didn\u2019t affect him as much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski4.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44714\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski4.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski4.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski4.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski4.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski of Somerville, New Jersey, fires his pistol in the rain during his last stage, The Falling Plate Event, at the Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Missouri May 25. Sokolowski, the team chief of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit\u2019s Service Pistol Team, made history by winning the Open Division and 2018 Overall Bianchi Cup Champion title, making it his third consecutive win in three separate divisions\u2014something no one else has ever accomplished in the 40-year-old competition. What\u2019s even more interesting, is that the Soldier just started shooting the Bianchi Cup discipline four years ago. After learning the discipline in 2015, in 2016, he won the Production Division Champion title. In 2017, he not only won the Metallic Division Champion title, he set a record for the first-ever perfect score of 1920 with an iron sight gun. And in 2018, he won the Open Division, beating out the reigning 18-year Champion Doug Koenig. (Michelle Lunato\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heading into this year\u2019s competition, which was held in late May, the sergeant was aware that he had a chance to make history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He just didn\u2019t let it get into his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best way to understand how the shooting matches work is to think of golf tournaments \u2013 multiple competitors, aiming for the best score on the same course over multiple days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s easy to psyche yourself out by watching other shooters\u2019 scores and realizing that\u2019s where the bar has been set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1152 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sokolowski3.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,1536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Sokolowski of Somerville, New Jersey, makes history at the Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Missouri. Sokolowski, the team chief of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit\u2019s Service Pistol Team, made history by winning the Open Division and 2018 Overall Bianchi Cup Champion title, making it his third consecutive win in three separate divisions\u2014something no one else has ever accomplished in the 40-year-old competition. What\u2019s even more interesting, is that the Soldier just started shooting the Bianchi Cup discipline four years ago. After learning the discipline in 2015, in 2016, he won the Production Division Champion title. In 2017, he not only won the Metallic Division Champion title, he set a record for the first-ever perfect score of 1920 with an iron sight gun. And in 2018, he won the Open Division, beating out the reigning 18-year Champion Doug Koenig. (Michelle Lunato\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Sokolowski took a different approach, doing what he tries to always do \u2013 individualized training such as dry fire drills, followed by record days in which AMU shooters go through the same sequence of shooting events as the match they\u2019re about to compete, which helps gauge where they\u2019re at, score wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team shoots five to six action pistol matches a year, so he had a good idea of where his scores were. They were good enough going in to place, but not to guarantee victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he progressed through each stage he had an idea he was in the running. Then, on the last event, it started to rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, that\u2019s not a big deal in the metallic sights division. But when you\u2019re shooting with an optic and laser, one bad raindrop landing can make that pinpoint laser dot smudge and fill the entire scope with red light, rendering it worthless for precision shooting at high speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So Sokolowski used a plastic Gatorade bottle cap to keep the scope dry while he waited to shoot and added a small cleaning cloth to dry the gun and his hands to his normal routine of \u201cShoot-reload-holster-think about what I do-reset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was nerve-wracking but I knew if I just followed my plan, kept my hands as dry as best I can I could do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of that last stage, he realized he\u2019d shot all 48 plates \u2026 and that he\u2019d won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A short while later he called his dad to tell him he\u2019d won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was ecstatic, he tracks the scores so he probably knows how I\u2019m doing better than I do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his dad, ever the diehard for accuracy, will still ask how that two-handed action pistol shooting is affecting his son\u2019s single-hand Bullseye shooting style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Sokolowski\u2019s shooting tips:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Try the old-school dime and washer drills, those where a shooter places the items on the gun end of the pistol, sight in the target and squeeze the trigger in a dry fire, trying to ensure the dime doesn\u2019t drop. This helps the shooter work on holding steady through the trigger pull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A technology-updated way to measure that is to take a 3-by-5-inch index card, draw a line on the card and place it a close distance from the muzzle of the pistol. When using a red dot sight, the shooter would again dry fire the weapon, noticing where the dot goes as he or she squeezes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you move a lot, that\u2019s going to cause issues,\u201d Sokolowski said. \u201cThat drill pays major dividends as compare to shooting 400 to 500 rounds at the range.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Bianchi Cup shooting events:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><b>Practical Event: <\/b>From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.<\/li><li><b>Barricade Event:<\/b> From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.<br><\/li><li><b>Falling Plate Event:<\/b> From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8-inch round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.<br><\/li><li><b>Moving Target Event:<\/b> From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.<br><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NCO does something no one else has accomplished in 40 years of competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[67,13],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3405],"class_list":["post-20389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearscout","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MCWZED473JBDXILCYMU6MFHZJM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2018\/06\/07\/army-shooter-makes-history-in-national-action-pistol-shooting-match\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Army shooter makes history in national action pistol shooting match - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NCO does something no one else has accomplished in 40 years of competition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army shooter makes history in national action pistol shooting match\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NCO does something no one else has accomplished in 40 years of competition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/06\/07\/army-shooter-makes-history-in-national-action-pistol-shooting-match\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-07T21:13:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T02:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": 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