Something didn’t feel quite right to Doug Koenig at the beginning of the week.

As the nine-time Bianchi Cup champion pinned his identification number, 2, on the back of his shooting shirt, Koenig wasn’t comfortable with what he was seeing.

That’s because the No. 2 was an indicator of his second place finish in the 2006 Bianchi Cup. After winning the Cup the previous six years in a row, Koenig had to refocus and he set his sights on reclaiming No. 1.

Koenig did just that as he won his 10th Cup title at the 29th NRA Bianchi Cup National Action Pistol Championships this week. Koenig accepted the trophy yesterday morning at the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club.

"It hasn’t sunk in yet, but when it does, I’m sure it will feel good," Koenig said.

When he pins his No. 1 on next year, Koenig, who won his first Bianchi Cup in 1990 as the first shooter to achieve a perfect score, will feel perfectly at ease.

"I missed it," Koenig said. "It will be nice to pop it back on. See if I can’t maintain it a little bit."

Koenig, 38, took back the title from Bruce Piatt - who beat Koenig last year for his fourth Bianchi Cup title - with a score of 1920-185X. Piatt fired a 1920-183X. While neither missed a target all week, Koenig hit two more tiebreaking X bull’s eyes than Piatt. Last year, Piatt edged Koenig by three X’s.

"All it takes in this whole match is one bad string, one bad draw, one slight lapse of concentration, and you can not only lose X’s, you can lose points," Koenig said. "I just went in and just tried to pound it to the best I could and see what happened."

Going into their final event on Friday, the moving target event, Koenig held a two-X lead on Piatt. Both shot perfect scores, tying with 43 X’s, and Koenig had his title.

It came as no surprise to the other shooters that the title came down to Koenig and Piatt. The two were the only shooters to fire perfect scores of 480 in all four events. Carl Bernosky finished third with a 1918-175X, and Michael Voigt was fourth with a 1918-169X.

"It’s amazing to see them, knowing how they must feel with the nerves alone, just drill the X ring time after time and have it come down to two X’s. That’s insane," Julie Goloski said. "They’re both amazing."

Koenig followed up his Cup title by defending his 2006 win in the International Speed Event yesterday. The top 16 finishers went head-to-head in a timed shoot-out where they take aim from 10 yards away at five metal targets. The competitors are allowed six shots and advance based on the fastest time. Some shooters shot sub-2-second rounds.

The speed event is a drastic change from the accuracy-centered Cup events.

"It’s 180 degrees, completely different," Koenig said. "Every technique you use for shooting the main match is completely different on the speed event."

While Koenig’s triumph was almost routine, Goloski was making her way to the winner’s circle for the first time in the one major national shooting title that had been eluding her. With a score of 1903-139X, Goloski took home the women’s title over Vera Koo, who had won the previous six years and shot 1888-135X, finishing 20th overall.

"I was a little surprised because Vera definitely puts a lot of time into this, it’s her main event, and I shoot a lot of different shooting sports, so I don’t get to dedicate as much time to it," Goloski said. "It’s a good win. It’s a good feeling."

Goloski also won the women’s speed event over Koo.

Ian Coates took the seniors title with an 1897-153X, while Karsten Altenhoff was the top newcomer with a 1902-123X. In the metallic-sight category, Robert Leatham took home his fourth straight title and sixth overall. Matthew Harriman won the juniors title with a 1900-148X, and he also went on to win the juniors speed event.

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