GARDINER –– Sequim native Stephanie Reed will be crowned as the first Miss Fort Discovery on Saturday as part of Fort Discovery Inc.’s efforts to market its new Expedition semi-automatic 5.56mm rifle.
“We’re really excited about this new rifle,” said Joe D’Amico, owner of Fort Discovery Inc. and Security Services Northwest.
“Our goal was to find someone to promote our product line — the Fort Discovery ‘Expedition Rifle’ — and love for the shooting sports,” D’Amico said.
Fort Discovery Inc. is a licensed manufacturer with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Expedition rifle is the company’s first offering and sells for just under $2,000, D’Amico said.
Reed will be crowned during the annual Unity of Effort picnic D’Amico’s company Security Services Northwest is hosting Saturday.
The picnic is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Fort Discovery, a 3,500-acre site at 3501 Old Gardiner Road along the west edge of Discovery Bay.
The gun is named after Capt. George Vancouver’s 1792 HMS Discovery expedition of the Pacific Northwest.
During his journey, Vancouver found what is now known as Discovery Bay.
“It is a great home-personal and home-defense rifle,” D’Amico said.
As part of the rifle’s launch, D’Amico organized the Miss Fort Discovery pageant, which was held Aug. 3 and included tests of physical agility, shooting, a written exam, interviews and a survival test.
Reed, a 26-year-old registered nurse at the Jamestown Family Health Clinic, topped the 10-woman field.
“It was pretty intense,” she said. “But it feels good to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
Reed will autograph photos of herself with the Expedition rifle after she is crowned at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We are excited to have Stephanie’s enthusiasm and attention to detail and love of the sport,” D’Amico said.
A competitive pistol shooter who trains at the Sunnydale Shooting Grounds owned by the family of 1984 Olympic shooting gold medalist Matt Dryke, Reed said the Miss Fort Discovery contest was just the second time she had fired a rifle.
“The first was the night before,” she said. “Matt gave me a quick first lesson.”
Reed graduated from Sequim High School in 2007 and earned her nursing degree from Peninsula College.
D’Amico spent the past two years developing the rifle, which he said is lighter than other AR-15 platform weapons and includes two magazines.
“In 2013, we started the development phase and created a solid model,” D’Amico said.
“Our team consisted of civilian, military special forces and prior law enforcement expertise.”
D’Amico has one employee assembling the rifles out of “furniture” rifle components made by Magpul in Boulder, Colo., and Daniel Defense in Black Creek, Ga.
D’Amico’s company has the makings for 200 rifles and has sold 50 this year.
Printed on the side of the gun is the coordinates to D’Amico’s Fort Discovery that, when plugged into a global positioning system, will lead the owner to “The Rally Point,” a steel marker placed in the ground there.
The rifles arrive in hand-crafted wooden boxes that are branded to look like cargo on Vancouver’s historic tall ships.
D’Amico plans future offshoots of the Expedition rifle, which he plans to also name after members or landmarks of Capt. Vancouver’s Discovery expedition.
One of the rifles will be awarded to a full-time member of the military or law enforcement officer through a raffle at D’Amico’s 17th annual Unity of Effort picnic Saturday.
“If they can pass a background check,” he joked.
For more on the rifle and Miss Fort Discovery, visit www.fortdiscoveryusa.com.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
