Robert Jennings Leatham (born January 27, 1961 in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

) is a professional shooter who is a 24-time USPSA National champion and 7-time International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) World Champion.

Biography

On Leatham's twelfth birthday, he received his first gun. His family surprised him with a new Smith & Wesson Model 34

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

on one of their trips to shoot in the desert. He continued desert shooting throughout his teenage years and became involved in other sports such as basketball.

Competition shooting

Leatham's first competition took place in the late 1970s at a night shoot at the Mesa Police Department range. He shot a

Smith & Wesson Model 27 The Smith & Wesson Model 27 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson. It was first produced in 1935, and many versions of it are still in productio ...

revolver with a 6-inch barrel loaded with 200-grain round-nose bullets that Leatham loaded himself, including a custom holster made by local leather worker, Jess Bird, who had built holsters for Leatham's father for years. Leatham finished third revolver behind Mike Henry and Charlie Mills and cites this competition for causing his addiction to competitive shooting. He invented the Modern Isosceles shooting stance in the 1980s. A few years later he began shooting the 9x25 dillon handgun round and brought that cartridge into the mainstream. Leatham first shot the Steel Challenge and The Bianchi Cup in 1982. In 1985, he won the Triple Crown of practical pistol shooting: the IPSC US Nationals, the Bianchi Cup and the Steel Challenge. He is the only competitor to ever win all three matches in the same year. In 1989, he was offered a major contract with

Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the Springfield Armory M1A, M1A and imports handguns ...

that enabled him to become a full-time, professional shooter. Since that time, Leatham has been practicing, competing, and conducting live-fire demonstrations for sponsors around the world.

Personal life

Leatham married fellow Team Springfield member Kippi Boykin, a three-time USPSA National Champion. They have one daughter together, Patience Leatham, and Leatham has 2 sons, Robert and Thomas, from a previous marriage.

Titles

*24-Time USPSA National Champion: 1983–1986, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 (Limited), 2002 (Limited-10), 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (Single-Stack and Production), 2007 (Single-Stack and Limited), 2008 (Single-Stack), 2009 (Single-Stack), 2010 (Single-Stack) *6-Time IPSC World Champion as a member of 7-time winning "Team USA": **1983 - Virginia, USA **1986 - Florida, USA **1988 - Caracas, Venezuela, **2002 - Pietersburg, South Africa **2005 - Guayaquil, Ecuador **2014 - Florida, USA (Classic Division) *16-Time Single Stack Classic Champion: 1995–2010 *7-Time Steel Challenge Champion: 1985, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 (Limited), 2002 (Open), 2009 (Production) *6-Time IDPA Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) National Champion: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 *7-Time NRA Bianchi Cup Champion: 1985, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 *3-Time

American Handgunner ''American Handgunner'' is a magazine dedicated to handguns, handgun hunting, competition shooting, reloading, tactical knives and other shooting-related activities in the United States. It is a sister publication to ''Guns'' and '' American Cop ...

World Shootoff Champion: 1996, 2003, 2004 *Triple Crown Winner: 1985 (Bianchi Cup, Steel Challenge, and the IPSC/USPSA Nationals) - Leatham is the only person to ever achieve this *Captain, Team Springfield: Since its inception in 1985

References

External links