ALLAN CORS — A REVERED SHOOTING SPORTS LEADER — 1936-2026
August 25, 2026
A founding member of the CMP Board of Directors, Allan D. Cors, passed away on the 9th of August. Allan Cors was a champion competitive marksman whose leadership was instrumental in creating the federal legislation that established the Civilian Marksmanship Program and in guiding the growth of the CMP in the years that followed.
Allan D. Cors, 1936-2026, was a founding member of the CMP Board of Directors. He played a key role in crafting the legislation that created the new CMP in 1996.
Allan Cors grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned a law degree through the University of Cincinnati law school. His professional career included work as a minority counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and 34 years at Corning Glass Works where he was Director and then Senior Vice President in charge of Governmental Affairs. His experience working, first on Capitol Hill, and then as a successful corporate lobbyist, uniquely positioned him to influence legislation related to the shooting sports.
Cor’s competitive marksmanship career began in a Cub Scout rifle activity that led to smallbore rifle shooting through high school. His interest in service rifle shooting began as a young corporate lobbyist who had begun to collect M1 Garand rifles. One of those M1s and support from the Virginia State Association Service Rifle Team got him started in service rifle competition in 1965. He earned the prestigious Distinguished Rifleman Badge two years later. From that time and into the 1990s he was a mainstay member of Virginia State Teams that often won the Oglethorpe Trophy in National Trophy Rifle Team Matches and the Leatherneck Trophy in the National Trophy Infantry Team Matches. Cors’ competitive career spanned six decades, during which he earned multiple placings in President’s One Hundred Rifle Matches and several Elihu Root medals, honoring him as a member of National Civilian Rifle Teams. Successful participation in Infantry Trophy (Rattle Battle) Team Matches was among his proudest achievements.
With his growing resumé as a successful corporate lobbyist and distinguished competition record, Allan Cors was chosen for leadership both in the CMP’s predecessor, the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP), and the NRA. He served multiple terms on the National Board (NBPRP) as well as on the NRA Board of Directors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Army funding for the NBPRP and National Matches had become a contentious topic, and the Army eventually recommended the program be eliminated. Cors, working with other interested parties, supported legislation to create a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) corporation to privatize the functions of the NBPRP, and the National Matches. When that legislation was being crafted in Congress, Cors’ skills as a corporate lobbyist and his knowledge of Washington’s processes played a pivotal role.
When Title XVI of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 was passed by Congress, and signed by President Clinton, it created the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, Inc. (CPRPFS)—the formal legal name of the CMP—to take over administration of the program from the U.S. Army. Cors’s work had helped to create what became one of the most successful privatizations of a U.S. government program ever.
Allan Cors began his service on the CMP Board as a founding Director. His reasoned, ethical guidance and vision for the CMP future helped to make the CMP what it has become today. His CMP Board service concluded in 2020 when he resigned due to failing health. Cors rendered similar valued service to the NRA where he served as that organization’s 63rd President from 2015 to 2017.
During his lifetime, Cors accumulated a world-class military rifle collection; his stature as a gun collector made him a leader in that community. Cors, who had a passion for military history, also amassed an impressive collection of military vehicles. He came to view these military vehicles as a means of telling the story of those who served to future generations. He was the founding Chairman of the National Museum of Americans in Wartime and made it his mission to honor those who served, preserve their stories, and ensure that future generations understand their service and sacrifice.
Allan Cors enthusiastically devoted his life and extraordinary abilities to the organizations and activities he loved. His lifelong efforts benefitted the lives of so many in so many ways. The CMP extends its sincere condolences to his family and friends. We are grateful for all that Allan Cors gave to our nation’s shooting sports community, wise counsel, beneficial leadership, appreciation for military service and real personal friendship.
