Columbia, Missouri - Professional shooter Jessie Abbate has signed with Team Smith & Wesson. Ending months of speculation, Abbate joins a multi-disciplined team of experienced professional shooters. Abbate is considered by many to be the rising star in the shooting sports and is expected to take women's shooting to a new level.

During the 2009 shooting season, Abbate won numerous championships in a host of pistol disciplines. In March 2009, Abbate started the season with a victory at the Steel Challenge Nationals held at the Titusville Rifle and Pistol Club in Titusville, Florida. That championship was followed by a Ladies'Open and Limited championship , in June 2009, at the USSA Pro Am Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The next match for Abbate was the Steel Challenge World match in Piru, California in August 2009. Shooting with a Glock-17 and a Glock-17L, Abbate won the Ladies' Limited Championship; the Ladies' .22 Open Championship; the Ladies' Open Championship; and was crowned the Ladies' Steel Master World Champion. In addition to her numerous titles at the Steel Challenge, Abbate set five new world records. Abbate's new world record time, on several stages, was a full second faster than the previous best time. In late August, Abbate won the USPSA Area 8 Ladies' Limited Championship in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The last major championship of the season, for Abbate, was the USPSA Nationals held in Las Vegas, in September, at the Desert Sportsman's Club. Shooting in temperatures over the one hundred degree mark, Abbate won both the Ladies' Limited and Production National Championships over an eight day shooting period. Abbate started the 2010 shooting season with a Ladies' win in the Open and Rimfire at the Steel Nationals in Titusville, Florida in March.

Jessie Abbate has become a dominant force in the competitive shooting world. Her career shooting resume includes World Speed Shooting Championships (Steel Challenge) in 2007, 2008, and 2009; USPSA Limited and Open National Championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009; a Pro-Am Championship in both Limited and Open in 2009; Steel Challenge National titles in Limited, .22 Open, and Open in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010; Western 3 Gun World Cup titles in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008; and numerous USPSA Area championships and titles in Single Action Shooting.

JESSIE ABBATE'S EQUIPMENT LIST:

Abbate's Gun Sponsor is SMITH & WESSON - an American legend and premier firearms manufacturer

Abbate's Bullets are from HORNADY - maker of the finest bullets available

Abbate's ammunition is from ATLANTA ARMS AND AMMO - maker of dependable, high quality ammunition that you can count on