Among female action shooters, Jessie Abbate, 2009 USPSA Ladies Back-to-Back National Champion, may be the most marketable talent in America right now. Jessie has been featured on several TV shows, including Shooting USA, Cowboys, Shooting Gallery, and American Hunter. After Abbate left Team Glock in a contract dispute, the shooting world has been wondering which sponsor would secure Jessie’s services for its team. Well, now we have an answer — Jessie Abbate will shoot for Team Smith & Wesson. Jim Shepherd’s Shooting Wire reports that “Abbate has signed with Team Smith & Wesson”, as confirmed by Abbate’s agent Russell Stott.
This now gives Team S&W a powerful threesome of female shooters as Abbate joins Womens’ Team Captain Julie Goloski Golob and Kay Clark Miculek. While 9-time USPSA Champion Golob is primarily a pistol shooter, both Kay Miculek and Jessie Abbate are top-flight multi-gun shooters as well. Abbate developed her rifle and shotgun skills in Cowboy Action shooting, and Kay is a 13-Time USPSA Multi-Gun Open Champion. Having Kay AND Jessie under contract is a big coup for Smith & Wesson, as multi-gun matches afford Smith & Wesson a chance to showcase its handguns AND its rifle products.
The Rise of Multi-Gun Competition
Multi-Gun and 3-Gun matches become more popular every season. One top 3-gun shooter who originally came up through the pistol ranks told us: “Multi-Gun is the future — it’s what TV viewers want and what sponsors want”. The major multi-gun matches are drawing 30% more competitors each year. And now 3-Gun Nation has brought multi-gun shooting to prime-time television with a compelling nationwide series with a huge cash payout in the end. That’s smart, NASCAR-style marketing. We predict that, within a few years, multi-gun events will eclipse the handgun-only events in popularity, prize money, and sponsorship interest. With Abbate added to the S&W team, along with long-time multi-gun ace Kay Miculek, S&W is positioned to dominate womens’ multi-gun competition for years to come.
Photos courtesy JessieAbbate.com
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Electronic powder dispensers are more popular than ever, and the RCBS ChargeMaster is still the top seller (though the new Hornady dispenser is worth checking out). We know you guys are always looking for the best deal on your reloading equipment. Well, right now, Natchez Shooters Supply has the RCBS Chargemaster Combo Scale/Dispenser on sale for just $279.95 (Natchez item #RC98923). That’s $40-$50 bucks lower than the price at most other vendors.
CCI Small Rifle Primers Available at Natchez
Some folks are still looking for CCI primers. Well Natchez has plenty of CCI small rifle primers in stock. Here’s what’s currently available, with prices. NOTE: If you need the BR4s, Powder Valley has them at $37.00/1000, which beats Natchez’s price by a wide margin. Federal Primers are still very hard to find. Powder Valley and Natchez are both out of stock.
CCI 400, Small Rifle Primers, 1000 primers, $32.50
CCI 450, Small Rifle Magnum Primers, 1000 primers, $36.16
CCI BR4, Small Rifle BR Primers, 1000 primers, $50.43
This July, Trinidad State Jr. College (TSJC) in Colorado will offer a unique 5-day instructional course on F-Class equipment and shooting skills. Slated for July 5-9, 2010, the F-Class Seminar will be taught by F-Class guru Larry Bartholome, Captain of Team Berger/Norma and current member (and past Captain) of the U.S. F-Class Open Team. Spots are still open for the course, but you should register right away.
Trinidad’s course will cover every aspect of F-Class shooting: selecting the best equipment and caliber, load development and ammo testing, reloading for long range, how to shoot a match, doping the wind at long-range, team shooting, mental conditioning, and match-winning strategies. While most of the course will consist of class work on the Trinidad campus, there will be range sessions July 8 and 9 at the NRA Whittington Center Range (Raton, NM), located just 20 miles south of Trinidad, CO. During these sessions there will be demonstrations and students will practice their long-range shooting skills at distances out to 1000 yards.
Larry told us: “This is not a gunsmith class, but rather a class that will cover all aspects of F-Class shooting. I think this will be a good opportunity for a person who wants to learn F-Class from the ground up, to do so in a short period of time. I feel a person could come into the class knowing next to nothing about F-Class and long-range shooting and leave [the seminar] knowledgeable enough to be very competitive at even a world level.”
The Rocky Mountain Palma Championships and Long-Range Regional will be held at the NRA Whittington Center July 10-15, 2010 and students may want to compete in all or part of those matches after the class concludes. Whittington charges $15/day range fee for any non-members who use the range.
Openings Still Available for July F-Class Course
There are still some places available for the F-Class seminar. If you’re interested, sign up soon by contacting Trinidad State Jr. College at 1-800-621-8752, ext. 5541, or log on to NRA.Trinidadstate.edu. No tools are required for the seminar. However, while a couple of F-Class rifles will be available for limited range use, students may want to bring their own rifles and ammo. All students should contact Larry Bartholome to confirm the students’ rifles are appropriate for use at 1,000 yards as F-Class rifles. Email Larry at: Lbart [at] elp.rr.com.
Trinidad State Jr. College summer courses cost $325.00 for continuing education and $393.90 for out-of-state Credit. On-Campus Housing is offered for a reasonable $100.00 per week. CLICK HERE for the TSJC/NRA Summer Course Registration Form (PDF).
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Here’s an interesting job opportunity that would allow gun-savvy writers to work from home, anywhere in the country. Brownells, Inc. is seeking freelance writers for Public Relations press releases. According to Randy Lehman, Brownells’ Marketing Director, the ideal candidate “would have knowledge of the shooting industry, some knowledge of Brownells and experience in public relations.” We think many of our readers would qualify. To be considered please email a cover letter & resume to Randy.Lehmann [at] brownells.com. If you have questions, call (641) 623-5401.
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A bill in Congress would allow state agencies to use their shares of Federal Excise/Sales Tax Revenues (derived from gun, ammo, and archery sales) to acquire land for new shooting ranges. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act (H.R.3781) would give state agencies more flexibility in spending Pittman-Robertson dollars for the development of new sites for shooting ranges. H.R.3781 was introduced in October 2009 by Rep. Betsey Markey of Colorado. The bill, supported by NSSF, would give states the ability to use federal excise/sales tax revenues to purchase land for new ranges for the first time and increase federal dollars for range construction and improvement.
We think this is a great idea. Please tell your members of Congress to support H.R.3781. In many parts of the country privately-owned ranges are closing (due to a variety of factors including urban sprawl and restrictive land-use laws). Pittman-Robertson revenues are also at an all-time high, as is the general public interest in target shooting. It makes good sense to allow a share of Federal gun-related tax revenues be set aside for range acquisition. H.R. 3781 would amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to:
authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for expanding, or constructing, a public target range;
authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs;
limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%;
require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years.
About the Pittman-Robertson Act
The Pittman-Robertson Act imposes an 11% excise tax on sporting firearms and ammunition, a 10% tax on handguns, and 11% sales tax on archery equipment. Fully half of the monies collected via the handgun and archery equipment taxes goes to state hunter education and safety programs.
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MidwayUSA has released a new 3-10x40mm MIL/MIL Tactical Grand Slam scope, made exclusively for MidwayUSA by Weaver. The scope features 1/10 mil radian (MIL) clicks, with a claimed 56 MOA (16.5 MIL) of BOTH windage and elevation adjustment. On sale through May 31, 2010 for just $299.00, the scope is regularly priced at $399.00. Even at the $400.00 mark, the scope is one of the most affordable optics combining a mildot reticle with mil-based clicks — a smarter system than what you find on so-called “tactical” scopes combining mildot reticles with 1/4-MOA clicks.
With the MIL/MIL arrangement you can directly translate what you see in the scope to click values. For example, with a MIL/MIL scope, a shot 1.5 mils low would require an elevation turret adjustment of 1.5 mils (15 clicks). This eliminates MOA conversions and allows the shooter to make adjustments quickly without having to do any math.
This tactical scope features Weaver’s Micro-trac® adjustment system, resettable 1/10 mil radian (MIL) windage and elevation turrets and a Mil-dot reticle. The scope has a one-piece tube and is claimed to be waterproof, fogproof and shockproof. The new Grand Slam 3-10X boasts a fast-focus eyepiece adjustment, and Weaver claims the multi-coated, Japanese-made lenses afford 94% light transmission. That’s a pretty tall claim regarding light transmission; if it’s true, then this scope should have very good low-light performance. We suspect the true average light transmission (across all visible wavelengths) is quite a bit lower. 94% transmission would put the new scope on a par with premium optics costing $1200.00 or more — which is unlikely. As noted above, the new 3-10x40mm scope is on sale for $299.00 for the rest of May, 2010. The scope is covered by Weaver’s Lifetime Warranty.
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[Update 5/24/2010: Amazon raised its price to $32.97; Shipping is still free.]
The new, 2320-page, 31st Edition of the Blue Book of Gun Values is now on sale for just $29.21 with FREE Shipping. (List price is $49.99!) Released in April 2010, this is the latest version of this definitive resource. This new edition has been expanded to over 2,300 pages, all gun values have been thoroughly updated for both modern and antique firearms, including military-style guns. It also includes new 2010-model guns, both US-made and imported. Other features include an 80-page color Photo Percentage Grading System to aid in accurately determining condition of firearms and serialization and proofmark sections to help in identifying firearms.
Polish up your PPCs boys, the Super Shoot starts this coming Wednesday. The Firearm Industry Super Shoot (FISS), the largest short-range benchrest match in North America, runs for four days, May 26-29, 2009 at the Kelbly range in North Lawrence, Ohio. This is a LV/HV match only. Here’s the shooting schedule: May 26 10.5-lb 100 yards; May 27 13.5-lb 100 yards; May 28 13.5-lb 200 yards; May 29 10.5-lb 200 yards.
Some Slots Still Available
The Super Shoot attracts 320 or more shooters every year. For more information, go to Super Shoot Info Page, or click the links below. The competition is limited to 420 shooters. But it’s not too late to register. The Kelblys tell us “there are still places available if you get your registration in soon.” Note: Registration fees are currently $120.00 per gun (this is the price after May 10). No exceptions.
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
The Creedmoor Cup segment of the event was dominated by military shooters, most of whom are with the USAMU. SPC Sherri Gallagher won the Creedmoor Cup Overall and the Match Rifle Aggregate. Sgt. Tyrell Cooper won the Creedmoor Cup for Service Rifle and the Service Rifle Aggregate. In Service Rifle Team competition, the USAMU Praslick team finished first with 1957-80X, while the Virginia Shooting Sports Assn. Team took the Match Rifle title with a 1929-58X collective score.
There were many outstanding performances at the Eastern CMP Games, highlighted by David Thompson’s double win in the Carbine Match AND the As-Issued Military Rifle 3-Gun Aggregate. This was David’s second-straight 3-Gun Aggregate win. His 2010 score, 858-19X, was two points higher than his winning Agg. for 2009.
Of the three Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle matches, the Garand Match was the most popular with 213 shooters. The match winner was Randy Ent, with an excellent 291-8X total. Sean Leighton posted a 290-5X to win the Springfield Match. Robert Pestridge, shooting a 6.5×55 Swede, won the Vintage Military Rifle Match. In the As-Issued M1 Garand Special EIC Match, Phillip Randall shot a 379-7X to top a field of 121 competitors. Among the 10 “introductory” 4-point leg EIC winners were TV personality GySgt R. Lee Ermey (USMC retired), and Hornady Ballistician Dave Emary, lead developer of Hornady’s .30-06 match ammo currently issued to CMP Garand and Springfield competitors in Regional and National Matches.
The Rimfire Sporter Match was also popular, attracting 58 shooters. Using a CZ 452 rifle, Ron Villanueva won the scoped-rifle class, posting a 595-41X T-Class score. This is the highest score ever recorded in a CMP-sanctioned Rimfire Sporter event. Congrats to Ron on his superb marksmanship. In the O-Class for open-sighted rifles, Richard Sauer had the other winning score in the Rimfire Sporter Match with a 562-14X total. Other top shooters are listed by event in the table below. You’ll find a detailed report on the CMP Eastern Games in the latest First Shot CMP Online Magazine. Complete scores for the 2010 Eastern CMP Games rifle events are posted on the CMP Website.
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AccurateShooter.com is looking to hire a highly-skilled Joomla CMS website consultant or developer group for a two-month project. The person(s) must be highly proficient in working with large, content-rich sites that utilize multiple plug-ins and multiple templates. We need a person or group capable of sophisticated coding AND excellent graphic design. The project will require considerable custom layout work and CSS styling.
If any of our readers can recommend developers who are up to the task, please send their name(s) and contact info to: mailbox@6mmbr.com.
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For hunters and Tactical operators with big thirsts, here is the ultimate “Après-shoot” accessory. The new Tactical 6-pack beer holster from Dillyeo will hold enough suds for a SWAT entry team, or one really serious boozer. Made from rugged nylon in Woodland Camo pattern, this utility beverage belt allows operators to keep both hands free for mission-critical gear, such as TV remote controls or bean dip.
And for Tactical tee-totalers, the 6-pack holster can also handle non-alcoholic beverages (any 12-ounce can will fit). Priced at just $7.99, the 6-pack holster is a bargain compared to most tactical gear on the market today. And, in all seriousness, it’s actually a clever product that could be great on hikes, picnics, or on a river-rafting trip (but stick to soft drinks at the shooting range). The belt fits waist sizes from 30-54. If the $7.99 Dillyeo belt is sold out, Amazon.com retails a similar 6-Pack Beer Belt for $9.98. Shown below, this Beer Belt holds both cans and bottles. Bottoms up!
CAUTION: While this product is real, it is featured here for satirical purposes. Alcohol and firearms are a dangerous combination. NEVER consume alcoholic beverages before you go shooting, or while you are handling firearms. Don’t even consider drinking until: 1) your guns and ammo are unloaded and safely stowed away; and 2) you have left the firing area, and you have stopped shooting for the day. Wise shooters NEVER bring booze to a shooting range, period.
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Tune in to Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio this Sunday, May 23rd. Tom has an all-star line-up for Sunday’s broadcast, leading off with Texas Governor Rick Perry. Gov. Perry talks about guns, freedom, and using his own carry pistol to fend off a coyote attack.
Military Cartridge Brass Controversy
U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth of Indiana also joins Gresham to discuss an amendment added to the National Defense Authorization Bill that would prohibit the U.S. military from destroying brass cartridge cases. Some base commanders have allowed this “once-fired” brass to be sold as scrap metal, which results in less revenue for the Department of Defense. It also eliminates millions of reloadable cartridge cases which should be sold through legal channels — something that can help with the brass shortages law recreational and competitive shooters have experienced recently.
“As a gun owner myself and a former sheriff,” said Rep. Ellsworth, “I know that these cases are mostly used for marksmanship training and competition and law enforcement agencies. Authorizing the military to re-sell these casing is a win-win for hunters and marksman and the Defense Department.”
SCAR Rifle Deployment for SOCOM
Gabe Bailey, FNH USA Marketing Director for Combat Rifle and Technical Support, will also visit Gun Talk Radio this Sunday. He will discuss the SCAR weapon system, which recently received final “Milestone C” approval for deployment to U.S. SOCOM troops.
In its 15th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio runs on 94 stations, plus SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts through Apple iTunes or at Gun Talk Archives.
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Electronic powder dispensers are more popular than ever, and the RCBS ChargeMaster is still the top seller (though the new Hornady dispenser is worth checking out). We know you guys are always looking for the best deal on your reloading equipment. Well, right now, Natchez Shooters Supply has the 
This July, 
Openings Still Available for July F-Class Course
Here’s an interesting job opportunity that would allow gun-savvy writers to work from home, anywhere in the country. 
A bill in Congress would allow state agencies to use their shares of Federal Excise/Sales Tax Revenues (derived from gun, ammo, and archery sales) to acquire land for new shooting ranges. The 
Polish up your PPCs boys, the Super Shoot starts this coming Wednesday. The Firearm Industry Super Shoot (FISS), the largest short-range benchrest match in North America, runs for four days, May 26-29, 2009 at the Kelbly range in North Lawrence, Ohio. This is a LV/HV match only. Here’s the shooting schedule: May 26 10.5-lb 100 yards; May 27 13.5-lb 100 yards; May 28 13.5-lb 200 yards; May 29 10.5-lb 200 yards.
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
AccurateShooter.com is looking to hire a highly-skilled Joomla CMS website consultant or developer group for a two-month project. The person(s) must be highly proficient in working with large, content-rich sites that utilize multiple plug-ins and multiple templates. We need a person or group capable of sophisticated coding AND excellent graphic design. The project will require considerable custom layout work and CSS styling.
For hunters and Tactical operators with big thirsts, here is the ultimate “Après-shoot” accessory. The new Tactical 
Tune in to Tom Gresham’s 
In its 15th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio runs on 94 stations, plus SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts through Apple iTunes or at 
