I was pleasantly surprised when Hap Rocketto contacted the site, not only because he is Jewish, but also because he gave a long list of additional competitive Jewish shooters I will be telling you about this year. Even better, he had a profile already composed, saving me time (I have so little of it lately!). First, Hap himself is a great rifle shooter:
Hap Rocketto was rated a Distinguished Rifleman in 1981. He is one of few who have been a member of both Service Rifle and Smallbore Rifle All National Guard Rifle Teams, where he served as both a coach and shooter. An NRA Smallbore Distinguished Position Rifleman he has earned Presidents Hundred honors three times, has been a member of numerous open and National Guard national championship teams, the 2002 Three Position Intermediate Senior National Champion, member of the 2007 US Championship Indoor Four Position Championship team as well as a multiple National Record holder. He is a member of the 1600 Club and has served as adjutant of the US Roberts Team as well as captain and coach of the US Drew Cup Team. Rocketto was a member of the 1973 and 1985 US silver medal winning US Maccabiah Rifle Team and a member of the Connecticut Shooters Hall of Fame.Aside from his shooting accolades, Hap is well known shooting historian, and his articles appear in numerous publications as well as online sources. I particularly enjoy how his writing style brings his subjects to life, and he knows exactly which details to mention such that by then end of one of his pieces you feel as if you have personally met the person he covers.
I have previously cited to his work when I wrote about Morris Fisher.
But here are some sources for his other works, which I am sure you will enjoy:
http://pronematch.com/tag/hap-rocketto/
Hap's Corner on the Rifleman's Blog
Hap has been a good friend for many years; while his bio is accurate, there is no substitute for meeting him and his brother Steve. Hap is not only a fountain of knowledge regarding our sport, he is a genuinely funny person who always keeps me in stitches. Apart from his light-hearted Hap's Corner pieces, we are always thrilled to feature Hap's more serious historical pieces on the Rifleman's Journal. All can be found here: http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/p/articles-index.html
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