RAPID CITY - For more than 40 years, William Thompson Jr. of Rapid City had a goal in his sights. And in June 2007, Thompson took his final shot and became part of some elite company.association with the .45 caliber M1911-A1 service pistol began. As an MP, his proficiency with the service pistol was mandatory, though it was not until he transferred to South Dakota that he was introduced to competitive shooting.
Thompson earned the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge through the Civilian Markmanship Program, an honor earned by only slightly more than 1,400 civilian pistol shooters since 1884. Thompson, in particular, is honoree No. 1403.
"It's real hard to come by," said Thompson, who received a certificate and a medal engraved with his name, number and the date of which he earned the honor. Only 18 competitors nationwide earned the honor in 2007. "To me, it's a big deal. It only took me 40 years. This has been one of my goals for years."
What made the honor particularly tough to earn was his age. Thompson was just short of his 82nd birthday when he notched the final two points of the 30 total he needed. The age is thought to be the oldest for any shooter to earn the honor, Thompson said. Winning at an advanced age was tough, Thompson said, because he must shoot with an open sight, and his eyesight is not as keen as it once was.
"As time went on, it got increasingly more difficult," Thompson said.
Thompson knew he was close to the honor, and there was no surprise when he attained the badge.
Thompson is the match coordinator for the Rushmore Shooters - which is the pistol branch of the Rapid City Rifle Club. He organizes and guides all pistol shooting competitions in western South Dakota, including sectional matches, a state championship and regional competitions.
"It was a match that I had scheduled," he said about his badge-winning effort. "When I got the winning score, I knew I had it done and sent it in."
This past year, he guided three teams at the state indoor pistol league, with his top team taking first place. He said one of the Rifle Club's young competitors in past years has competed in Olympic-level shooting competitions.
Thompson has been shooting for about 60 years. He began when he was drafted into military service at the age of 18 and was assigned to an Army infantry unit. Thompson served in the military for 25 years - a span that includes time during World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. He is a firm believer that everyone who wants to own a gun should be able to, but only after screening and proper training.
When the time came for Thompson to reenlist in the military, he decided to continue his career in the service as a military police officer and his
Thompson received the first 10 points for the badge in 1962. He later received six points at the Billings, Mont., Regional in July 1979, and six points at the Pierre Regional in June 1984. It was not until June 2006, at the Rapid City Regional, that he earned his next six points. He earned his final two points and the badge when he earned six points in June 2007.
The final points were tough to earn because recent matches have a low number of entries and highly skilled shooters can easily push the scores upward, Thompson said.
The distinguished badge is awarded to a competitor when he accumulates 30 points through excellence in competition matches. Strict guidelines determine what is considered a competition and who is awarded points.
Points are awarded based on placing at the event and the number of competitors, and the points accumulate throughout a competitor's lifetime. According to the Civilian Markmanship Program, points are awarded on the basis of an individual's placement among the top 10 percent of non-distinguished competitors in a match with many competitors.
Most local pistol competitions are small. A minimum of six non-distinguished shooters must compete in a match for it to be approved, but in such matches, only one competitor is able to earn points.
The pistol national match course is used for all competitions and it consists of 30 record shots in three stages. Slow fire is first with 10 shots fired in ten minutes at a target 50 yards away. The second stage is timed fire: 10 shots in two five-shot strings with a 20-second per string time limit. The third stage, rapid fire, is two five-shot strings, with a 10-second per string time limit. The military service pistol or its commercial equivalent - .45 M1911, M1911 A1 or the 9mm M9 - is required.
Besides the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge, Thompson is a five-time South Dakota Indoor Pistol Champion - 1965-66, 1984, 1992, 1994 - a senior indoor state champion 14 times and an outdoor senior champion five times.
Thompson still shoots with the Rushmore Shooters Club.
Thompson said anyone interested in pistol-shooting competitions can contact the Rapid City Rifle Club or himself at 343-2858. He said competitions and practices are at a National Guard facility and competitors must pay $4 per session and join the rifle club for insurance purposes. He said the rifle club is trying to secure funds for a shooting range and class room space for future use in teaching marksmanship and safe firearms handling to juniors and adults.
