Members of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Team along with Scott Carnahan from Safariland and Bill Abbate from Atlanta Arms & Ammo Welcome Trevor Baucom to the Smith & Wesson shooting team

At the 2011 National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meetings held on April 30th in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania. Trevor Baucom, a 31 year old, former United States Army Chief Warrant Officer #3 (CW3) and Blackhawk pilot, was announced as the first disabled Veteran to shoot on the Smith & Wesson Shooting Team. He will be the company’s first disabled Veteran to shoot on their team. He will be competing in the upcoming NRA Bianchi Cup held in Columbus, Missouri on May 25-28, 2011.

Trevor, served in the United States Army for 13 years, before his Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan in his fourth deployment.  The accident has caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down. He was on a night-time assault mission when the accident occurred. When he arrived in the United States he began his medical Rehabilitation in Franklin, Tennessee, where he met up with “Shooting USA” host Jim Scoutten. They became good friends and a spark started about his shooting career. They spoke to some wonderful people in the industry and gained a partnership to help Trevor meet his goals.  The industry partners are Smith and Wesson, Safariland, and Atlanta Arms & Ammo.

Trevor’s goal is to shoot in the 2011 NRA National Action Pistol Championship, where he will be shooting against able-bodied competitors. He will be training under Billy Abbate with Atlanta Arms & Ammo. During his competition, he will be shooting the Smith & Wesson M&P9 Pro Series pistol, which he has been training with extensively for the last month. The NRA Bianchi Cup will be his first Competition.  Baucom is an Avid Hunter, and a recreational shooter. He is more excited about his experience than worrying about his shooting scores in the event.

His medical discharge from the Army is pending at this time. We look forward to watching his progress as he shoots on this team and to see how his life changes from something so horrific to something so exciting to shoot with some of the best shooters.

“It’s hard to put into words just how phenomenal this whole experience has been,” said Baucom.

“The support from the industry has been overwhelming and at times I find myself still trying to grasp it all. “

That being said, he has an intense competitive drive and is training diligently to improve his x-count with each practice sessions. “For, me this is about breaking down barriers,” said Baucom. “I have never been one to sit still for very long and this opportunity presents a unique challenge for me to push my abilities. I hope that my participation will lead to other wounded warriors taking an interest in competitive shooting and that more matches like the Bianchi Cup will take a look at how they can open up spots for other disabled shooters.”

Julie Goloski-Golob presents Trevor Baucom with his official Smith & Wesson team jersey

I was so excited to have seen this event take place and I look forward to writing more about Trevor’s adventures on the Smith & Wesson team.