Tri-City Gun Club

Eugene “Gene” Adkisson

Gene Adkisson became a member of Tri-City Gun Club in the 1970s. He had served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1960s where he had discovered his proficiency with firearms. In the late 1970s, early 1980s, Gene became a certified Training Counselor for the NRA and was certified in pistol, rifle, shotgun, home firearm safety, and personal protection. Over the years, he also became certified in muzzleloading pistol, muzzleloading rifle, and muzzleloading shotgun. He was an NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, an Oklahoma Self-Defense Firearms Instructor and a volunteer Range Safety Officer at many events at Tri-City through the years. He taught Hunter Safety Education classes, often worked at SportsFest and at Women on Target events. Gene was involved for many years with the Boy Scouts of America and was given a service award prior to his death. He taught classes at many different gun ranges and events through Oklahoma and made an enormous amount of friends over the years. After his retirement from U.S. Express, Gene became the Chief Range Safety Officer for Tri-City Gun Club from 2010 until shortly before his death in 2014. Gene also taught at the NRA Whittington Center several years for the women’s NRA camp. Gene loved to introduce people to the world of firearms in his classes and in his daily life. He used to say that he never met a person he couldn’t teach to shoot. If he got someone out to the range, they most likely had the time of their life and left an avid supporter of firearms. Gene’s love of firearms and TCGC was a family affair. Gene’s adopted father owned Mashburn Arms in OKC and both his children and grandchildren learned to shoot at TCGC and were active in competitions for many years. The air gun range at TCGC is named after Gene as well as a scholarship that is given every year to a youth who has exhibited interest in firearms and wishes to continue their education after high school.