Team Colt, and its newest addition, Maggie Reese, are part of Colt’s long-running tradition of arming America’s military, law enforcement and competition communities. Colt firearms have been integral to much of American history and supportive of our self-sufficient, pioneering heritage. The iconic rampant Colt logo was on firearms carried by soldiers, lawmen and gunfighters during westward expansion, during the taming of settlements and even throughout the Civil War. Since then, Colt has armed the U.S. military during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and for every conflict since. Even today, the excellent firearms that are part of Samuel Colt’s legacy continue to keep our citizens and soldiers safe at home and abroad.
But Samuel Colt was not only a superb gunsmith and engineer, but also ahead of his time in terms of business and marketing. In an era where social networking was riding a horse to meet with friends at a church social, he was one of the first to use a multi-faceted marketing program that focused on the effective use of public relations, eye-catching artwork containing specific product placement, celebrity endorsements and testimonials to achieve extensive promotion and publicity all over the globe. He achieved tremendous international brand recognition well before mass communication was even a dream. Samuel Colt also sponsored famous competitive shooters to demonstrate that his products were the best by going head-to-head with competitors, and winning!
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TEAM COLT
Colt’s support of competitive shooting is still very much in effect today with the excellent performance and success of Team Colt, especially with the recent addition of Maggie Reese. Maggie is a professional shooter who came to the public’s attention while competing on the TV show Top Shot during its second season on the History Channel. She started competitive shooting just over five years ago but has already won the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Multi-Gun Ladies Open Champion titles, the 2009 and 2010 Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun Ladies Open Champion titles and the 2011 Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Ladies Open Champion title.
“I started shooting with my dad over 15 years ago as a weekend hobby and something we could do together. I first started competing one on one versus steel just for fun as part of the hobby, but over time I got the bug and wanted to do the next big thing, which was a national-level competition,” Maggie said. “So I picked one that I thought would be really fun and challenging, so I went to it and then to another one, and then another one, and then another one.”
When asked about which of the action shooting sports she enjoys, Maggie said, “I am probably most familiar with and most known for 3-Gun competitions because of all the elements that come with transitions with the different firearms. I find that it is particularly challenging with its variety, and that it requires you to bring in and use complex and diverse skills.”
As for her favorite competition and firearm, Maggie said, “If I had to pick just one particular gun that I love and one particular action shooting sport that I love, it would be the 1911 pistol and the Single Stack in USPSA. I shot the 1911 for 10 years before I ever shot anything else. It provides the most natural and most comfortable firearm shooting for me, and really brings back great memories shooting with my dad, so being with Colt is a perfect fit for me. It really feels like home. It is great because with all the shooting sports and different kinds of action competitions that I love, the diversity of the Colt product line applies in every single one.”
When asked about being a woman in a mostly male sport, Maggie added, “I think the firearms industry as a whole is now more understanding of the importance of the female market and their purchasing power, so they are making more and more products that suit the needs of women shooters. As a result, we are seeing a lot of great female shooters making a name for themselves. It is such an exciting time and opportunity to be able to go out and help introduce people, including a lot of women, to firearms and the shooting sports. To be able to do this now with Colt, with its richness in history, is incredible and I’m proud to do it!”
I’m sure that if Samuel Colt could see Maggie Reese shoot today, he would be proud that his brand still represents the best in American shooters through great Americans like her, Team Colt and the many proud Americans who continue to carry the rampant Colt for military service, personal protection or competition.
For more information on Maggie Reese, visit colt.com
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