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Personalities

Mark Keefe

Mark A. Keefe, IV was appointed editor of American Rifleman magazine in 2000, and was promoted to editor-in-chief of American Rifleman, americanrifleman.org and American Rifleman Television in 2003. He started out as a volunteer at the National Firearms Museum in 1988 and became a curatorial assistant there in 1990. He joined the American Rifleman staff in 1991 as an assistant technical editor before being promoted to associate technical editor in 1993. In 1995, he became managing editor. An NRA Life member, Keefe is a shooter, hunter and gun collector, specializing in British Lee-Enfield rifles. He has competed in NRA High Power Rifle, Smallbore Rifle and Bullseye Pistol events, as well as trap, skeet, sporting clays and Cowboy Action Shooting.

An Eagle Scout, Keefe taught rifle shooting, shotgun shooting and archery at Goshen Scout Camps while in college, becoming an NRA Certified Instructor in Rifle, Shotgun, Muzzleloading Rifle and Muzzleloading Shotgun. Keefe earned a bachelor of arts in History from the University of Maryland in 1989, and worked for Zenda, Inc., as a history research consultant on the Airman’s Association Museum project before being hired by the National Firearms Museum.

Keefe has written hundreds of bylined and non-bylined articles on virtually every facet of the shooting sports, ranging from detailed firearms reviews to sensitive legislative issues. He also worked closely with various firms within the firearm industry in developing new products or suggested design changes that improved existing ones. An avid waterfowler, upland bird hunter, varminter and big game hunter, Keefe has hunted all over the continental United States, Europe, South America, Alaska and Canada. He also has been on safari in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

In 2002, Keefe created the format for American Rifleman Television and currently directs and supervises its editorial content, as well as serving as host for the weekly show airing on The Outdoor Channel. Under his leadership American Rifleman Television earned consecutive Golden Moose Awards for each year the show was eligible. He is regular on American Guardian Television, NRA’s tactical firearms and personal protection program. He has also been filmed hunting afield for other outdoor television programs, including Benelli’s On Assignment, American Birdhunter and Tracks Across Africa, among others.

In 2002, he was awarded the Man-At-Arms Cup for "outstanding service in the field of arms and armour" for making American Rifleman, “once again, an important reference for arms collectors.” In 2008, Keefe was honored with the prestigious Leupold "Jack Slack" Writer of The Year and he was named Smith & Wesson Editor Of The Year in 2009. For the latter, Keefe was the inaugural recipient.

Keefe is an avid collector of World War II military arms, militaria and ephemera, and artifacts from his personal collection have appeared in American Rifleman, Shooting Illustrated, Militaria and other periodicals. In addition to his work for American Rifleman, Keefe has contributed articles to American Hunter, Shooting Illustrated Man-At-Arms, America’s 1st Freedom, Aviation History magazines and Deutche Waffen Journal.

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