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.”
When asked how he became one of the world’s greatest handgun shooters, Doug Koenig says, “I think I have a God-given gift to shoot a handgun. Everyone has something for which they have a talent. My love of hunting and shooting found a home in competition handgun shooting. I was fortunate enough to determine what I could be good at, if I put in the time and training to get better. I wanted to make myself the best I could be.
“One of the biggest advantages I have in competition shooting is that I really love to practice. In many sports, the athletes love to play the game or enjoy competing, but they don’t like to practice. Don’t get me wrong. I like the competition too, but I also love the preparation for the competition - going to the range and trying to get better with every shot and working on my weaknesses to become more proficient.
“I’m often asked how I make the transition from competing in handgun competitions worldwide into shooting bows, blackpowder rifles and conventional rifles? Well, I’ve always been a vertical bowhunter. A few years back, my home state of Pennsylvania opened up crossbow hunting during bow season, and I wanted to try that. So, I bought a TenPoint crossbow and that year took a nice 8-point buck at 40 yards with it. I found I loved to hunt different types of animals with various weapons and travel all over the country to hunt during different seasons.
“In Pennsylvania, we also have a muzzleloader season. Years ago, the only type of muzzleloader you could hunt with was a flintlock, so I hunted with a flintlock. Because many states had and still have various seasons for different types of hunting weapons, and I really, really like to hunt, I discovered I could hunt more, longer and take more game, if I learned to shoot all the various kinds of hunting equipment and hunted all the different hunting specialty seasons.”
To see videos from Doug Koenig, go to www.youtube.com/user/DougKoenigChampion.
Doug Koenig Fell in Love with Competitive Handgun Shooting
Doug Koenig – My Dream Job Is the Best of Both Worlds – Competitive Shooting and Hunting
