COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Under a heavy, humid Ohio sky, 869 of the nation’s finest marksmen ready their rifles. They are competing for the prestigious Presidents Hundred, an achievement given to the top 100 competitors. U.S. Air Force Capt. Elijah Edwards, an instructor pilot assigned to the 41st Flying Training Squadron, stands among the line, ready to make the shot of the year.
The 2026 National Rifle Matches, conducted by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, are prestigious to competitive shooting in the United States. Held from July 21 to Aug. 2, the competition required participants to shoot from standing, sitting and prone positions at distances up to 600 yards. The event brought together approximately 4,500 annual competitors from all service components, civilian sectors, and international partners to compete in high-power rifle matches.
Edwards reflects on his performance at the matches, expressing pride in representing his service, career and history.
“It's an honor to get to represent the Air Force,” said Edwards. “I remember when I was a kid, I'd see guys on the Air Force team, and I was like, ‘Man, that's so cool! One day I want to be like them.’ Now I get the opportunity to do that, and so I always try to remember that I represent not only myself, but the Air Force, the rated community and the pilot training community.”
To prepare for the competition, Edwards spent months practicing dry-firing techniques, focusing on repetition and fundamentals. This systematic preparation is used by professionals aiming to optimize their performance in demanding roles.
“I practice just about every day; just dry fire (no ammunition). I have a little paper printout that's been reduced for the 12 feet in my house, and I practice my standing, sitting and prone,” Edwards recalled. “I do the same thing every single time. It is all about repetition and fundamentals. No matter whether you're the new guy or somebody who is competing for the trophy, it is all about who can do the fundamentals.”
Fundamentals are key when competing against 869 other riflemen. Edwards relied on his months of practice when firing in the unruly conditions at Camp Perry.
“There is a giant crowd, hundreds of people out there watching. There are 869 competitors, the top 100 are in the President’s Hundred. The top 20 then go off to a shoot off. They put everybody on the line at 600 yards. You have to read the wind, take your shot, and then after 50 seconds they say, ‘stop.’ You do that 10 times. You shoot, you see how that affected your shot, you reevaluate what it's doing now, and you shoot again. You have to treat every single shot as a new shot because there is so much time between when you're allowed to shoot,” said Edwards. “Out of that the final rankings are determined. This year the scores were incredibly tight. There were only three points between the top and number 20.”
Edwards established several historical benchmarks for active-duty Air Force competitors during the multi-week event. In the President's Match, Edwards finished 15th out of 869 competitors. This performance secured a spot in the shoot-off finale, representing the first time an active-duty Airman has qualified for the finale in six decades.
Additionally, Edwards secured third place out of 532 competitors in the individual match category and finished fourth out of 262 pairs in the doubles match. In the vintage rifle category, Edwards placed eight out of 207 competitors.
“I'm very lucky that leadership here has been very supportive of me,” Edwards said. “They always give me their full support to let me go and do this. I know that's not the case everywhere that I get that opportunity, so I'm very grateful.”
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