Smith & Wesson Shooters Claim Top Honors at IDPA Carolina Cup Match

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (June 13, 2007) – Smith & Wesson Corp., announced today that several of the company’s sponsored shooters took home division titles at the Carolina Cup held June 9-10, 2007 at The Range in Oxford, N.C. Included among those competing for Team Smith & Wesson was Ernest Langdon, the company’s Director of Military Sales, who won the Custom Defense Pistol Champion title using an M&P45 pistol while placing fourth overall in the entire match.
 
A two-day IDPA sanctioned shooting match, the Carolina Cup featured over 200 competitors and 18 different stages of fire.  The Carolina Cup has historically been noted as one of the toughest IDPA events, combining both long-range distances and a variety of targets designed to test competitors of all skill levels.  In this prestigious event, Langdon shot Smith & Wesson’s newest Military & Police (M&P) polymer pistol, the M&P45. Also competing in this year’s match was Gordon Carrell, who won his first Division Title as a member of Team Smith & Wesson. Using an M&P9 pistol, Gordon won the overall Stock Service Pistol Champion title. In addition, Smith & Wesson Team member Jeff Degracia won 2nd Master Stock Service Pistol shooting an M&P9.  Other divisional shooters using Smith & Wesson firearms included:  Jerry Biggs, Scott Warren David McDonald and Tom Yost.
 
“The Carolina Cup is one of the most challenging matches I compete in on the IDPA circuit,” said Langdon. “Not only is each stage of fire designed to test competitors both mentally and physically, but you are also competing against many of the top professional shooters of today. Throughout the match, your confidence and skills are pushed to the limit.”
 
Langdon continued, “This year the M&P45 was used for the first time and it performed flawlessly throughout the event.  The pistol’s enhanced ergonomics, low felt recoil and user-friendly features make it well-suited for competition. It will only be a matter of time before we see more people competing and winning with this pistol.”

Smith & Wesson first introduced the M&P45 in February 2007 and last month began shipping the .45 ACP polymer pistol. Engineered to meet the needs of global law enforcement and military professionals, the M&P Pistol Series offers a full array of performance, safety and durability features.

The Carolina Cup Team Smith & Wesson Winners:
Division Champion, Custom Defense Pistol: Ernest Langdon, Smith & Wesson M&P45
Division Champion, Stock Service Pistol: Gordon Carrell, Smith & Wesson M&P9
2nd Master Stock Service Pistol: Jeff Degracia, Smith & Wesson M&P9

Winners Using S&W Firearms:
Division Champion, Stock Service Revolver, Jerry Briggs, Smith & Wesson Model 686
1st Place Enhanced Service Pistol: Scott Warren, Smith & Wesson P.C. 1911
2nd Place Enhanced Service Pistol: David McDonald, Smith & Wesson 1006
2nd Master Custom Defense Pistol: Tom Yost, Smith & Wesson P.C. 1911

About Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation, a global leader in safety, security, protection and sport, is parent company to Smith & Wesson Corp., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of quality firearms and firearm safety/security products and parent company to Thompson/Center Arms, Inc., a premier designer and manufacturer of premium hunting rifles, black powder rifles, interchangeable firearms systems and accessories under the Thompson/Center brand.  Smith & Wesson licenses shooter protection, knives, apparel, and other accessory lines.  Smith & Wesson is based in Springfield, Massachusetts with manufacturing facilities in Springfield, Houlton, Maine, and Rochester, New Hampshire.  The Smith & Wesson Academy is America’s longest running firearms training facility for law enforcement, military and security professionals.  For more information on Smith & Wesson, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to www.smith-wesson.com. For more information on Thompson/Center Arms, log on to www.tcarms.com.