ORA Blog
An in-depth look at firearms and the Oklahoma firearm community!
Experiences with a Winchester 52
James White is a WWII Marine Veteran, NRA Instructor, Former ORA President, and Distinguished Marksman. He served the ORA for many years and began the Sharpshooter. This is from his collection of writing telling about the beginning of his years as a NRA instructor...
A Brief History of Firearms – Self Contained Cartridge and the American West
Jim Supica is well known for his expertise of firearms as the editor of the Standard Catalogue of Firearms and having served as the Director of Museums for the NRA until he retired in 2020. Jim has graciously provided the ORA access to his archives. The following is...
Competition Corner – Military Bolt Action
For each issue, ORA Director of Competitions, Curtis Bohlman, shares about the various competitions available to participate in along with updates on ORA sponsored events. In an effort to get some of you ammunition laden gun owners off of the couch (you know who you...
Meet Trap Rising Star, Michael Gates
Even on a cold day, ORA President Mark Vaughan, and the outreach team met up with Michael Gates from Marlow to shoot a little trap. Mark met Michael at a meeting with affiliate club, SCRAP in Duncan. When we heard Michael’s story and accomplishments, we were excited...
The Legacy of a Motivated Parent
The Boozer family celebrating Elisa signing with 4-time National Champion University of Kentucky Over the past couple years, we have been following the Oklahoma Sharpshooters, a precision-rifle team coached by ORA Treasurer, Charles Meloy. This past year the...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, Jim Wallace
Jim Wallace Jim Wallace, the Executive Director of the Gun Owner's Action League of Massachusetts (GOAL) since 2005, is an avid sportsman and gun owner.Raised in Groveland, MA, Jim served our country in the United States Army from 1983 to 1986. Before becoming...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, John Sigler
Nominated by both NRA Members’ Petition and by NRA’s Nominating Committee, John Sigler is another ORA Life Member who has once again agreed to run for and serve on the NRA Board of Directors. Although John’s home is in Delaware, he tells us he fell in love with...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, Charlie Hiltunen
NRA Benefactor Life Member. NRA Nominating Committee Nominee. Christian, father, community leader. President, Indiana State Rifle & Pistol Association. Attorney/Lobbyist, 40+ years. Advocacy from State House to the White House; International, Fortune 500...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, Todd Ellis
Q1: What is your home gun club and how long have you been a member? I belong to a few clubs in my area, but the first one I joined when I came to Philadelphia in 2017 is the Upper Perkiomen Sportsman’s Association. A new friend suggested my wife and I visit the unique...
The ORA Members Running for NRA BOD
In addition to our ORA President, Mark Vaughan, serving as the 2nd VP of the NRA, the ORA has quite a few other NRA board members within our membership. We wanted to give our membership a chance to get to know them beyond their NRA board nomination bio--- usually a...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, Cathy Wright
Cathy Wright is another one of our ORA members who serves nationally on the NRA Board of Directors. Her home is in North Beach, MD, but as you see, our NRA leadership oftentimes supports multiple state associations with membership, advocacy, and collaboration. Cathy...
Get to know ORA Member & NRA Director, Al Hammond
Al Hammond is another one of our ORA members who serves nationally on the NRA Board of Directors. His home is in Alachua, Florida, but as you see, our NRA leadership oftentimes supports multiple state associations with membership and collaboration. Al is running again...
One More Tool for Building the Next Generation of American Patriots
John Sigler is one of the first past presidents of the National Rifle Association (2007-2009) to join the ORA as a Life Member. Please welcome John as he shares his thoughts and experience at the national, state, and local level in our firearm communities. It had been...
Where the Conversation Falls Short
An Op Ed by ORA Director of Outreach, Amber Parrow It’s now on record, Vice President Kamala Harris stated in the Presidential debate that, “Let me be clear: the government should not be telling women what to do with their body.” What did you think when you...
Women for Gun Rights
By Tricia Wisehart, Oklahoma State Director Women for Gun Rights My name is Tricia Wisehart, the Oklahoma State Director for Women for Gun Rights. I am a Range Safety Officer, active in women’s shooting leagues, and I am passionate about volunteering in my community,...
Golden Age Games: Congratulations Nadine!
Nadine is the assistant coach for the Oklahoma Sharpshooters, a team that recently made podium and brought home wins for Oklahoma in the CMP games. It’s no surpise the coaching the team receives with their coaches also actively competing. Nadine has been a regular...
The Gun Community’s Sisterhood
by ORA Outreach Director, Amber Parrow If you look at any type of community, you will always find women. It doesn’t matter if it is the PTA, church, or any other group, women are present in the foreground and background. With groups that are traditionally more...
3 Generations of NRA’s Women on Target
My name is Traci Rasmussen and I’m from Houston, Texas. You might wonder why I would drive 470 miles, one way, just to spend a single day in the one square mile town of Arcadia, Oklahoma. The population there is only about 175 people and it’s tucked along the path of...
America’s Women are the Key to Saving American Freedom
John Sigler is one of the first past presidents of the National Rifle Association (2007-2009) to join the ORA as a Life Member. Pease welcome John as he shares his thoughts and experience at the national, state, and local level in our firearm communities. There...
ORA’s Inaugural Youth Day
By ORA Youth Co-Director, Tanja Dufrene His movements were swift, yet steady. I was awed at his ability to navigate seemingly unnoticed while replenishing supplies and cleaning up shells left after the young shooters fired their shots. This willing volunteer rapidly...
Semper Fi: A Marine’s Story
By Former ORA President, James White - James White is a WWII Marine Veteran, NRA Instructor, Former ORA President, and Distinguished Marksman. He served the ORA for many years and began the Sharpshooter. This is from the Sharpshooter Archives, July 2003. On the...
Dear Folks
By Director of Outreach, Amber Parrow - Amber shares a discovery she made when researching her family’s history and how it made the importance of the work and sacrifice of our military real. You wouldn’t think out of a portfolio of old papers would be a treasure, but...
Honoring our Vetrans
Name: James SealsBranch: AirforceRank: SergentTime of Service: Vietnam, 1968-1969 I'm a life member of ORA, a USAF Veteran. I served 1966-1970. I served in Vietnam 1968-69 as part of a crew responsible for ground-directing B-52 bombing missions. As a result of my...
The Pursuit of Happiness in our Firearm Communities
The following is an Op-Ed from Director of Outreach, Amber Parrow When thinking about the Second Amendment, we often lump it into the category of a Constitutionally guaranteed human right and do not think about it any further. But why is it a basic human right...
How are you Paddling the Second Amendment Canoe?
Todd Ellis is an ORA member, President of the Keystone Rifle & Pistol Association in Pennsylvania, and NRA Board member. Todd can be reached at president@keystone2a.org Several years ago I was on a Scouting trip in North Carolina to a unique place called...
Accuracy, Barrel Life & Boat-Tailed Bullets
James White is a WWII Marine Veteran, NRA Instructor, Former ORA President, and Distinguished Marksman. He served the ORA for many years and began the Sharpshooter. This is from the Sharpshooter Archives, December 2002. Ammunition used in NRA High Power Rifle...
A Day on the Campus of Murray State College
After the historic groundbreaking of the new gunsmithing facilities at Murray State, the ORA leadership wanted to learn more and discover ways to connect and support this vital work. What they did not realize is the extent of the passion of Murray State and how they...
Bear Safes: Meet an Oklahoma Manufacturer
ORA President Mark Vaughan met with Beau Gastineau, part owner and manager of Bear Safes in Oklahoma City. Being in operation for over 50 years, they are the only manufacturer of firearm safes in the state. One question gun owners face at some point is, where...
Proactive Gun Safety
The following is an Op-Ed from Director of Outreach, Amber Parrow The intent of the Second Amendment is protection and protection that pertains to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This we all understand and cherish. It is the protection of life that is...
The Path to a NCAA Scholarship
Brandon Boozer, father to Elisa, shared with the ORA his insight on how to navigate the NCAA Rifle Scholarship path, when to start, and the time and budget commitment necessary for a youth interested in the shooting sports to earn a college scholarship. ...
The Story of Our Young Lady Hero
At the recent ORA State Convention, Elisa Boozer was granted an honorary life membership to the Oklahoma Rifle Association for her outstanding achievements as a competitive shooter and in representing Oklahoma. This is adapted from the presentation of ORA Treasurer...
How Does ORA Membership Work?
The following is a helpful guide from ORA Vice President and Interim Secretary, David Gaskill. For questions and comments, you can reach out to him at vicepresident at oklahomarifle.org As part of our restarting of the ORA this past year, we sought to understand our...
The President’s Hundred
James White is a WWII Marine Veteran, NRA Instructor, Former ORA President, and Distinguished Marksman. He served the ORA for many years and began the Sharpshooter. This is from his personal archives as writer for the Sharpshooter and various other publications. In...
The ORA is Making History
On April 3, 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt proclamed it NRA / ORA day. This is the first time a state has shown this type of support for the Second Amendment and Second Amendment civil rights advocacy groups such as the NRA and ORA. We did not know one meeting with...
Rarer than a Superbowl Ring
By Amber Parrow, Director of Outreach. James White is a WWII veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, Four time Winner of the President's Hundred, NRA Instructor and former ORA President. On April 3, 2023, he received a commendation from Governor Stitt for his outstanding...
When Women Get Involved
This is adapted from a speech presented by Mark Vaughan at the 2022 Women’s Fun Shoot at the Oklahoma City Gun Club, which is part of the Women on Target program from the NRA. It tells the story of current OKCGC president, Suzi Rouse’s involvement that led to this...