Zaun Tops Prone 6400 Aggregate in First National Smallbore Appearance
August 19, 2025
By Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – In her first appearance at the National Smallbore Matches, Katie Zaun, 22, of Buffalo, ND, claimed the overall win in the Prone 6400 Aggregate – finding victory only by x-count.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even expecting to win,” Zaun admitted. “I had only shot a match like this one other time before.”
“When I came here, I thought it was 60 shots a day – like 60 shots, and I’m done. I didn’t know it was 6,400 points,” she said with a laugh. “But I just had fun with it. I came in here wanting to learn instead of wanting to win … winning is just a bonus.”
Zaun is going into her senior year at Texas Christian University (TCU) as a member of the rifle team and had hoped to use the Camp Perry National Matches Smallbore series as an opportunity to improve her skills on the range, especially the elements she doesn’t often see in her collegiate career, like reading the wind.
“You can only be better at the wind by shooting in it, and shooting it for four days straight is the perfect opportunity to get better at it,” she said, speaking to the National Prone events.
“That’s the only way you can be successful,” she went on. “Getting uncomfortable in unfamiliar conditions.”
CMP’s outdoor line of eTargets.
After starting out by competing in the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) National Three-Position Smallbore and Air Rifle portions of the month-long National Matches schedule of events at the beginning of July, she decided to stay for the Prone portion a week later – eager for more practice.
“I’ve realized it’s an opportunity to get matches under my belt, and that’s something I know I need to work on – getting the match experience,” she said. “Every single World Cup, every single World Championships is outside, and there’s always wind … so having another opportunity to shoot outside, in the wind – it’s the number one priority for me.”
Zaun started her marksmanship career in BB Gun when she was seven years old and eventually transitioned into air rifle and smallbore. Her involvement in the sport has led her to the indoor air range of the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center on the grounds of Camp Perry for the last decade. There, she obtained a spot on the Junior National Team in 2017 after competing in the National Three-Position Air Rifle Championship on just her third trip to Ohio.
That same year, she fired a new Age Group 3 National Record for 3×20 plus Final during her Nationals win, with a score of 697.9 – passing the previous record by 0.6 points.
Since then, she’s gone on to help lead TCU to a National Championship win and has earned herself a spot on the USA Shooting National Team. She was also an alternate for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“I would 100 percent encourage juniors to come to these matches,” she said of the National Smallbore events at Camp Perry. “Not only for the experience, but there are so many older people here that have unbelievable experience. And they’re so knowledgeable and so willing to share their knowledge.”
She was able to visit with Dan, Ron and Capt. Deena Wigger, children of the legendary American marksman Lones Wigger. Dan is an accomplished prone competitor, Deena is an Olympian in air rifle and Ron spent 14 seasons as head coach of the West Point rifle team. Zaun also picked up tips from Mark DelCotto, a notorious National Champion in the smallbore rifle realm.
Junior Prone Championship.
“Every time I shoot out here is beneficial to me,” Zaun said. “I can already tell I’ve gained so much more confidence in myself.”
“With how breezy it is, it’s not always fun, but it’s worth it,” she added. “I have so much experience after being here.”
Leading the F-Class in the 6400 Aggregate was Samuel Pagliari, 71, of Oil City, PA, with a score of 6,360-460X. Corbin Jockers, 20, of Elizabethtown, PA, led the Juniors with a score of 6,377-468X over the week.
Zaun also led the 3200 Any Sight Open Championship, with Pagliari and Jockers overtaking the F-Class and Junior categories, respectively.
Pagliari and Jockers also led in the 3200 Iron Sight Championship, with Zaun taking second to DelCotto, 65, of Lexington, KY, by just two points. DelCotto also managed to best Zaun in the Prone Elimination event before ultimately falling to her in the 6400 Match.
In team competition, Rochester Rifle Club from New York led overall by a two-point margin, with a score of 1595-105X. Firing members were Joseph Hahn, Abigal Donovan, Antonio Gross and Edward Hahn.
Find a complete list of results at https://ct.thecmp.org/2025NMAGSBResults. Photos are available for free viewing and download on CMP’s Zenfolio page at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f578292959.
Great article!