Colt-Sponsored shooter Mark Redl seeks USPSA Master Classification in 2012, after successful 2011 season

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC is proud to recognize Colt-sponsored shooter, Mark Redl, as he enters the 2012 competitive shooting season. Following a successful 2011 season using the Colt® Combat Elite® pistol, Redl is looking to continue competing at a high level in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and is seeking Master Classification in the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA).

Redl, a Master Class shooter in the Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) category of the IDPA, will attempt to obtain Master Classification in the single-stack division of the USPSA this year. “Mark finished very well in both Associations last season and we are confident he will continue that success this year,” said Joyce Rubino, “He has Colt’s full support as he vies to achieve Master Classification in the USPSA.”

To kick off the 2012 season, Redl will compete at the U.S. Steel Nationals, March 30 through April 1 in Titusville, Florida. Later in April, Redl will have his first opportunity to gain Master Classification in the USPSA in Long Island, New York at the International Practical Shooting Confederation’s Special Classifier Match. To earn the Master Classification, Redl must score within a percentage of the country’s top shooters in five classifier matches.

Redl has been sponsored by Colt since 2010 and competes using a Colt Combat Elite. “I wanted to shoot a handgun that anyone can buy at the gun store,” said Redl, “The service life of this pistol is expected to be 30,000 rounds. I have already shot 55,000 and it is still going strong.” The Combat Elite from Colt’s XSE Series™ of pistols has a forged receiver, forged steel slide with front and back serrations as well as a forged stainless steel National Match® barrel. Features such as the three-hole aluminum trigger, enhanced hammer and Novak® low mount carry sights make the Colt Combat Elite the precise pistol for Redl’s classification aspirations.

In 2011 Redl’s success in the IDPA’s Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) division included winning both the Massachusetts and Connecticut state titles and finishing fourth at the IDPA World Steel Challenge in Piru, California. Last September, at the inaugural IDPA World Championships in Frostproof, Florida, Mark won Fourth CDP Master. In the USPSA Area 7 Championship he captured the Single Stack division title as the fastest and most accurate single stack action shooter.

Among his classification as an IDPA Master Class shooter in the CDP category, Redl is also classified as a Master in the Enhanced Service and Stock Service Pistol categories and an Expert Class shooter with the Stock Service Revolver. Between 2004 and 2010 Redl won more than 40 IDPA and 50 USPSA titles by finishing in the top ten percent on the National level. Redl has ten years of competitive shooting experience, is an NRA instructor and the star of Panteao Productions’ IDPA instructional DVD, “Make Ready With Mark Redl: Intro to IDPA.” He lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, is married and has two children.

About Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC

Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC is one of the world’s leading designers, developers and manufacturers of firearms. Colt pistols, revolvers and rifles have been marketed, distributed and sold to law abiding, responsible citizens in the United States and throughout the world for 175 years. Colt operates its manufacturing facility in West Hartford, Conn. For more information on Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC, please visit www.coltsmfg.com.