The Leech Cup is an cup named after Major Arthur Blennerhassett Leech, and awarded to long range shooters by the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...

. It is the oldest trophy awarded in competitive

target shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms su ...

in the United States. Firing is with rifles equipped with metallic, non-magnifying sights.

History

The cup was presented to the Amateur Rifle Club of New York by Maj. Arthur Leech. He was the Captain of the Irish Rifle Team and in 1874 he had the cup made to celebrate his team coming to America. The US team won the 1874 match by 3 points. The event was shot with the US team using American-made rifles and the Irish team using rifles from Irish maker John Rigby. It was presented to the National Rifle Association in 1901 by the Amateur Rifle Club of New York. The Cup was lost in 1913 and was not recovered until 1927. The trophy is awarded each year in the NRA National High Power Championships. The 1903 Cup was awarded to Corporal Charles Blish Winder of the

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fede ...

References

{{reflist Shooting sports in the United States American sports trophies and awards Awards established in 1875

History

See also

References