featuring Doug Koenig
Editor’s Note: Mossy Oak Pro Staffer 45-year-old Doug Koenig of Hamburg, Pennsylvania, has a tremendous platform to give tips on hunting and shooting anywhere he goes and on his TV show, “Doug Koenig’s Championship Season” because he’s one of the most-well-recognized competitive handgun shooters in the world. “Most of my competition is handgun shooting, but I also shoot 3-gun tournaments (shotgun, handgun and rifle) and the Sportsman’s Team Challenge 3-gun tournaments,” Koenig explains. “My sponsors are Mossy Oak, Smith & Wesson, Leupold, Hornady, Safariland, Gamo, TenPoint Crossbow Technologies, Starline Brass, Otis Technology and Bass Pro Shop. I’ve been competitive shooting for 26 years.” Koenig has won the NRA’s Bianchi Cup 15 times, which is one of the most-prestigious handgun championships in the world, the NRA World Action Pistol Championship six times, the World Speed Shooting Championship three times, the Sportsman's Team Challenge Championships 16 times and the Masters International 20 times. “When I’m hunting and shooting, I’ll wear some type of Mossy Oak clothing in both sports,” Koenig says. “On my competition shooting uniform, I also have some Mossy Oak camo incorporated into my competition shooting uniform.”
I shoot a Thompson/Center Encore blackpowder rifle. I shoot a Bowtech vertical bow, and I shoot a TenPoint crossbow. The good thing about the way the hunting seasons are set-up is that competition shooting doesn't interfere much with hunting. My competition shooting starts in January and February, because I go to the SHOT Show, the ATA Show, and different shows for my sponsors. The competition shoots start in February, and they go through August and September, and occasionally into October. But for all practical purposes, most competitions are over in September, and I have most of the fall and winter to hunt. So, I really believe I have the dream job.
I’m also asked, “Why did you decide to do a TV show with all the other activities you have going?” I feel I have the best of both worlds. I love competitive shooting and I love hunting. Just like the bowhunters who started out shooting target archery, when deer season is over, there is no reason these hunters can’t continue to shoot competitions as archers, bowhunters, gun hunters and blackpowder hunters. They learn to shoot better and more accurately. This makes them better hunters. I think competitive shooting and hunting complement each other. If you participate in both these two branches of the shooting sports, you can improve and get better, as a hunter and a competition shooter. So, I decided. If I could show viewers how these two sports would help them improve in both sports. Then, hunters and shooters could find the fun, and the excitement of participating in shooting sports all year long. My whole purpose in having a TV show is to be able to show and encourage more hunters and more shooters to do both sports.
To learn more about Doug Koenig, go to http://shootersmagazine.com/doug-koenig.
Day 3: Doug Koenig Hopes to Help More People Marry Competitive Shooting and Hunting
Tomorrow: Doug Koenig Lives the Good Life Hunting and Shooting
