The whole shootin' match

Friendly competitions between the state House and Senate are nothing new.

Just about every year, the two chambers compete in chugging milk and changing tires on a race-car. Every now and then, they play some hoops, too.

This year, you can add target shooting to the list.

Teams for the House and Senate faced off under tents at the far end of Halifax Mall Tuesday for an air-rifle target competition. The event was held in honor of Sportsmans' Lobby Day at the legislature. 

Sen. Buck Newton, R-Wilson, reported the results to his colleagues at the end of Tuesday's session.

"I'm very, very pleased to announce that Sen. Daniels, Sen. Tarte and Sen. Soucek can all be called 'dead-eye,'" Newton said. "They shot perfect scores of 120. I fell by the wayside and shot a 117."

"But in any event, we smoked the House, 477 to 469. So, we kept up the standards of our body," Newton said to applause.

House Speaker Thom Tillis' office didn't immediately respond to a request for a list of the House's competitors.