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May 17th, 2013
Report based on story by Kyle Jillson in NRABlog.
There will be a new rifle discipline at Camp Perry this year — the NRA National Mid-Range Championships, slated for August 5-9. Created due to the rising popularity of F-Class shooting, the new 3000-point Mid-Range Championships will be shot from distances of 300, 500, and 600 yards and will add yet another fun sport to the annual Remington/NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships. The new Mid-Range Championship isn’t just for F-Class Open and T/R rifles though. Sling shooters are allowed to compete with Service Rifles and Match Rifles and will be classified accordingly.
F-Class Basics
F-Class is target shooting with scoped sights and artificial support (bipods for F-TR and rests or bipods for F-Open). F-Class shooting is done entirely from the prone position. Originally started among older High Power shooters who were straining to see traditional iron sights and needed a little more support, the sport now includes young shooters as well as experienced shooters looking for a new challenge.
There are two F-Class divisions: Open Class (F-Open) and Target Rifle (F-TR). In F-Open, rifles can weigh up to 22 pounds, fire any caliber under .35 and may be shot off just about any type of rest. F-TR rigs are limited to 18.15 lbs (8.25 kg), must be shot off a bipod, and must be chambered for either the .223 Rem and .308 Win (or 7.62×51) cartridges. For F-TR, the bipods are counted in the weight of the rifle. Other F-class rules are found in the official NRA High Power Rulebook.
The Mid-Range Championships will be held alongside the High Power Rifle Championships August 5-9 at Camp Perry, Ohio. And if your thirst for F-Class has not been sated by then, the US F-Class National Championships are coming to the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico from August 18-20. After that the Whittington Center will hold the F-Class World Championships from August 23-27.
May 12th, 2013
Here’s a way you can support competitive shooting, while getting a tax deduction. Donations to the NRA Competitive Shooting & National Championships Endowment can be tax-deductible. Started in 2007 by then NRA President John Siegler, the Endowment provides direct funding for shooting programs, including the NRA National matches at Camp Perry. This is a permanent Endowment, with investment income channeled to shooting programs.
According to the NRABlog: “Donations go right into the fund and stay there. They are never touched. 85% of the earnings (or interest) generated by the fund are dispersed to the Competitive Shooting Division for their yearly budget. The other 15% goes back into the principal. By never touching the principal, and reinvesting a portion of the earnings, the endowment will always grow. Simple as that.”
You can contribute in one of two ways — as a gift or as a tax-deductible donation. No matter what path you choose, the money still goes towards the overall cost of running the competitions. To make a contribution to the fund, download the Competitive Shooting & National Championships Endowment flyer, fill out the form and send it to:
NRA Treasurer’s Officer
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
“Once [the Endowment] is big enough, it could pay for all of competitive shooting. That’s something every competitor would benefit from.” — Dennis Willing, NRA Competitive Shooting Director.
May 9th, 2013
 If you plan to compete at the 2013 NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships, you can now register online. To sign up, visit www.NMEntry.com. Returning shooters should enter their Camp Perry Competition ID (from a previous year). New shooters should enter NRA member ID, if available. Choose one (or more) of the five championship events: Pistol Championship, Smallbore Rifle Championship, High Power Rifle Championship, Mid-Range Rifle Championship, Long Range Championship.
VIEW 2013 NRA National Matches Program
Competing at Perry is special: “For over 100 years, shooters in the United States have made the pilgrimage to Camp Perry for the NRA National Matches, and the honor to shoot shoulder-to-shoulder with the best.” (NRABlog)
Watch Slide Show from 2012 NRA Long Range Championship
April 22nd, 2013
 In the digital archives of Shooting Sports USA, we’ve found some great features that deserve a second look. A couple years back, Shooting Sports USA published Sights, Wind and Mirage, an outstanding article that explains how to judge wind speed/direction and adjust your sights accordingly. Authored by highly respected shooter Ernest (Ernie) Vande Zande, this article is a definite “must-read” for all competitive rifle shooters — even those who shoot with a scope rather than irons. Vande Zande’s discussion of mirage alone makes the article well worth reading. Highly recommended.
CLICK HERE to Read “Sights, Wind and Mirage”
by Ernie Vande Zande
Invaluable Insights from a World-Class Shooter
The article covers a wide variety of topics including Wind Reading, Mirage, Effects of Sight Canting, Quadrant Shooting, and Sight Adjustment Sequencing. Vande Zande offers many jewels of insight from his decades of experience shooting and coaching in top level tournaments. U.S. Shooting Team Leader at the 1996 Olympics, Vande Zande has set more than 200 records in National and International competition. He was the Smallbore Rifle Prone Champion at Camp Perry in 1980. An International Distinguished shooter, Ernie has been on nine Dewar teams and he was a member of the USAR Shooting Team from 1982. No matter what your discipline, if you are a competitive rifle shooter, you should CLICK HERE to read Sights, Wind, and Mirage.
March 27th, 2013
The NRA National Pistol and Rifle Championships are coming to Camp Perry, Ohio in just a few months. And now you can read all about this year’s Camp Perry activities online. The official Program for the 2013 NRA National Pistol and Rifle Championships is now available as a FREE 158-page eZine.
CLICK HERE to Read Program for 106th Annual National Matches at Camp Perry.
The Official 2013 Camp Perry Program covers match schedules, rules, range locations, scoring procedures, and much more. You’ll fine a comprehensive calendar (pp. 24-25) plus separate sections for each of the major championships: Pistol, Smallbore 3-Position, Smallbore Prone, High Power Rifle, and Long Range High Power Rifle.
Camp Perry Registration
If you plan to go to Camp Perry this year, you can register in a few weeks. Online entry starts in early April, 2013. To sign up, visit www.NMEntry.com and submit your information. Then you can be part of one of histories greatest marksmanship competitions. The NRA explains: “For over 100 years, shooters in the United States have made the pilgrimage to Camp Perry for the NRA National Matches, and the honor to shoot shoulder-to-shoulder with the best.”
 2012 Nat’l High Power Champ Carl Bernosky. Photo courtesy NRABlog.com
February 19th, 2013
 Like crosswords? Like guns? Well, thanks to Shooting Sports USA (SSUSA), you can try a crossword puzzle that tests your knowledge of gun stuff and competitive shooting. In the February 2013 digital edition of Shooting Sports USA magazine, you’ll find a crossword puzzle created just for shooters. There are some easy items, such as the location of the annual NRA National Pistol Championships. Other entries are more difficult, and may require some research. To print the crossword puzzle before you start working, click this Page 12 link, and then select the print icon. Spoiler alert — all the answers appear on PAGE 14 of the same February issue of SSUSA.
CLICK HERE for Crossword Puzzle Answers.
February 13th, 2013
Registration has just opened for the 2013 CMP Junior Summer Camps. This year there will be camps in Anniston (AL), Camp Perry (OH), Phoenix (AZ), and Colorado Springs (CO). These summer camps fill up quickly, so if you know a young shooter who wants to attend, be sure he or she submits an application soon. Most of the camps cost $230.00 for the week. For additional info, contact Sommer Wood, CMP Junior Rifle Camp Director, by emailing swood [at] odcmp.com.
CMP 2013 Summer Air Rifle Training Camps and Clinics
Each summer the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) sponsors a popular series of Junior Air Rifle Camps and Clinics to teach intermediate and advanced rifle marksmanship skills to junior shooters and their adult leaders. There are eight (8) camp sessions (plus two outreach clinics) scheduled for 2013. The first session starts June 10th, and the last session begins August 5th. Detailed information about the camps and how to apply to attend them are listed on the CMP website. All camp sessions are week-long, 3-position air rifle camps, with the exception of Outreach Clinics and the Advanced Standing Camp.
October 14th, 2012
Report based on Story by Lars Delsaide in NRAblog.
To steal a line from Hap Rocketto, the Americans scored a rare twofer this summer at during NRA’s National Rifle & Pistol Championships in Camp Perry. With scores of 7834 and 3994-279x, teams of top American Smallbore rifle shooters won this year’s Randle and Dewar Cup matches.
“I received an email from England saying that the United States had won both the Randle and the Dewar matches,” said NRA National Rifle Manager Howard “H.Q.” Moody. “And they didn’t just win them, they won them big!” added Moody. “That’s just phenomenal because [USA shooters] haven’t won them in almost ten years. It’s a real exciting thing to see because the Great Britain Rifle team will be coming to Camp Perry next summer to shoot the Pershing.”
USA Randle Team Photo with coaches and competitors (listed alphabetically): Michelle Bohren, Katie Bridges, Claudia Duksa, Amy Fister, Reya Kempley, Sarah Kramer, Amanda Luoma, Virginia McLemore, Amanda McMullin, and Nancy Tompkins.
The Dewar Trophy International Match is a team event with 20-person national teams (both men and women) from English-speaking countries. Each competitor shoots forty shots at 20, 50 and 100 yards. The Randle Trophy International Match is open to teams of ten women from English-speaking nations. The Randle course of fire is the same as the Dewar Match.
Origin of International Postal Matches
The origins of the Randle and Dewar Cup Postal Matches can be traced back to historic GB vs. USA team matches that began at the turn of the 20th Century. The NRA’s Howard Moody explained that everything started more than 100 years ago with the Pershing and Lord Roberts matches. American and British Teams traveled back and forth “across the pond” to compete at these big events. But that was very expensive even back then. So, it was decided to divide the matches and alternate them every four years. The British would come to America for the Pershing Match, and four years later, the Americans would travel to England for the Roberts. Thus the Pershing and Roberts matches alternate every four years. So how does this connect to the Randle and Dewar Trophy matches? Moody explained: “To keep the competition going in the off years, we use the Randle and Dewar Cup.”
October 13th, 2012
Carl Bernosky is one of the greatest marksmen in history. The reigning 2012 National High Power Champion, Carl has won ten (10) National High Power Championships in his storied shooting career. In this article, Carl provides step-by-step strategies to help High Power shooters improve their standing scores. When Carl talks about standing techniques, shooters should listen. Among his peers, Carl is regard as one of the best, if not the best standing shooter in the game today. Carl rarely puts pen to paper, but he was kind enough to share his techniques with AccurateShooter.com’s readers.
If you are position shooter, or aspire to be one some day, read this article word for word, and then read it again. We guarantee you’ll learn some techniques (and strategies) that can improve your shooting and boost your scores. This stuff is gold folks, read and learn…
 How to Shoot Standing
by Carl Bernosky
Shooting consistently good standing stages is a matter of getting rounds down range, with thoughtfully-executed goals. But first, your hold will determine the success you will have.
1. Your hold has to be 10 Ring to shoot 10s. This means that there should be a reasonable amount of time (enough to get a shot off) that your sights are within your best hold. No attention should be paid to the sights when they are not in the middle — that’s wasted energy. My best hold is within 5 seconds after I first look though my sights. I’m ready to shoot the shot at that time. If the gun doesn’t stop, I don’t shoot. I start over.
2. The shot has to be executed with the gun sitting still within your hold. If the gun is moving, it’s most likely moving out, and you’ve missed the best part of your hold.
3. Recognizing that the gun is sitting still and within your hold will initiate you firing the shot. Lots of dry fire or live fire training will help you acquire awareness of the gun sitting still. It’s not subconscious to me, but it’s close.
4. Don’t disturb the gun when you shoot the shot. That being said, I don’t believe in using ball or dummy rounds with the object of being surprised when the shot goes off. I consciously shoot every shot. Sometimes there is a mistake and I over-hold. But the more I train the less of these I get. If I get a dud round my gun will dip.* I don’t believe you can learn to ignore recoil. You must be consistent in your reaction to it.
 5. Know your hold and shoot within it. The best part of my hold is about 4 inches. When I get things rolling, I recognize a still gun within my hold and execute the shot. I train to do this every shot. Close 10s are acceptable. Mid-ring 10s are not. If my hold was 8 inches I would train the same way. Shoot the shot when it is still within the hold, and accept the occasional 9. But don’t accept the shots out of the hold.
6. Practice makes perfect. The number of rounds you put down range matter. I shudder to think the amount of rounds I’ve fired standing in my life, and it still takes a month of shooting standing before Perry to be in my comfort zone. That month before Perry I shoot about 2000 rounds standing, 22 shots at a time. It peaks me at just about the right time.
This summarizes what I believe it takes to shoot good standing stages. I hope it provides some insight, understanding, and a roadmap to your own success shooting standing.
– Good Shooting, Carl
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Bernosky-Crafted Competition and Hunting Stocks on Sale
In addition to being a world-class High Power shooter, Carl Bernosky is a skilled stock-maker. Carl told us that his business, Carl Bernosky Shooting Sports, now has an over-supply of left-hand wood stocks in a variety of patterns and colors. Carl has about 14 completed left-hand stocks in inventory right now. Carl said he would make these available to our readers at special discounted prices. These are stocks that Carl produced personally. Any southpaw out there who needs a high-quality laminated wood stock for prone, hunting, F-Class, or bench shooting should visit CarlBernosky.com, email carl [at] carlbernosky.com, or call (570) 590-4206. Ask about the AccurateShooter.com SouthPaw Special.
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* This is very noticeable to me when shooting pistol. I can shoot bullet holes at 25 yards, but if I’ve miscounted the rounds I’ve fired out of my magazine, my pistol will dip noticeably. So do the pistols of the best pistol shooters I’ve watched and shot with. One might call this a “jerk”, I call it “controlled aggressive execution”, executed consistently.
September 25th, 2012
Report based on Lars Dalseide story in NRAblog
 If you watched the position and prone shooters at the 2012 London Olympic Games, you couldn’t help but notice the exotic rifles competitors were shooting. There were wood stocks, metal stocks, off the shelf rifles and customized specials. Why are there are so many different design features and stock types? To answer this question, the NRAblog’s editors called on Jessie McClain of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division.
“The customized rifles, like the Anschütz you showed me, can make a real difference in a shooter’s performance,” explained McClain. “I went from a decent shooter to making the varsity shooting team my freshman year because of the rifle.” As Jessie explained, one new feature out there is the adjustable stock, which she called the Porsche of the shooting world. Fully adjustable from the butt plate to the check piece to the hand stop and risers and bolt knobs, this component is fully customizable to the athlete … which can be a huge advantage. “Every person is different … a customizable rifle fits anyone. A rifle team can purchase four of these and field a shooting team for years.”
Not for Novices
The one warning she did have is that these are not for the novice shooter. Get a couple of years of shooting under your belt and then think about moving on to a customized rifle. That way, you can learn the basics before investing in the high dollar equipment. “You wouldn’t give your 16 year old a Ferrari for his first car, would you?”
The Modern Anschütz Position Rifle
Smallbore match rifle makers are using modern materials in response to the need for greater adjustability (and enhanced accuracy). One of the popular new designs is the Anschütz model 1913 position rifle with a “1918 ALU Precise” brushed aluminum stock. This looks like it has been crafted in an aircraft plant.
Story by Lars Dalseide, courtesy the NRA Blog.
September 8th, 2012
Story based on report by Kyle Jillson in NRAblog.
Carl Bernosky wasn’t the only shooter to win an award at the 2012 High Power Rifle Championships. The ten-time champ* was joined at the Award Ceremonies by plenty of other talented competitors who received awards for High Woman, High Junior, High Senior and many other classifications.
National Championship
First Place: Carl R. Bernosky, Ashland, PA, 2391-141x
Second Place: SGT Sherri J. Gallagher, Englewood, CO, 2390-131x
Third Place: Staff Sergeant Brandon K. Green, Fort Benning, GA, 2388-135x
Winners of Other Trophies and Awards
Here is a gallery showing many of the award winners at the 2012 National High Power Championships. These photos were taken backstage at the awards ceremony. Below the gallery, winners in both Service and Match Division are listed, along with their awards and relevant scores.
*Carl Bernosky won the Match Rifle Trophy in 1981, putting him at eleven all-time, but D. I. Boyd outshot him with the service rifle by one point, bringing about one of the rare occasions the Service Rifle Champion is also the overall winner.
September 5th, 2012
While on the fields of Camp Perry during the Smallbore 3-Position Rifle Championships, NRABlog editor Lars Dalseide had the opportunity to interview Reya Kempley, a very talented young lady. A past Woman’s Champion, Reya finished fourth overall in this year’s 3-Position Championships. Reya is also a trained pilot, and she has written a book on flight safety procedures.
Report Based on Story by Lars Dalseide for NRAblog.
Shooting along side her brother Tarl, Reya has enjoyed a high level of success at the National Smallbore Rifle Championships. Not only did she manage to capture the Woman’s and Civilian’s Smallbore Prone titles, she also finished 2nd overall in the Prone Championships. It was the 3-Position that proved to be more of a challenge. “For standing and prone I was a little bit nervous because this is Camp Perry, but it was under control and I felt good. For kneeling I’m hoping to still be in the hunt.”
“For me I’ve been struggling with the kneeling for a while,” explained Kempley “It’s something with my pulse, the sights move around a bit more. In standing I’m usually stiller and have a few more pauses to break the shot. That’s not how it’s suppose to be so. If I’m calm in kneeling I can shoot decent but when the nerves and the pulse gets going. That’s my challenge in 3-position right now.”
Part of the challenge could be that her time shooting 3-Position Rifle is reserved for Metrics, Perry and practice. Despite her numerous Prone victories, the it can be difficult to translate that to the 3-P field. “I wasn’t nervous during the standing portion of Metrics but it was still good practice,” said Kempley. “I try to make myself nervous, recreate the conditions, but it doesn’t always work.”
Kempley Has Written Book on Aviation Safety
Getting away from the office, recharging the batteries, is a necessity for everyone. The same could be said for getting away from the range. In addition to working with her brother on BeeSafe, an online store for smallbore barrels, gun safes and more, Reya found solace in the writing and publication of her new book Flight Emergency: Take the Left Seat in Eight Role-Playing Emergency Scenarios.
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 “I’m definitely into aviation, learned to fly and had an idea for an interactive adventure book about flight training with a focus on emergencies,” explained Kempley. “Thought I’d just go for it. I didn’t want to be an 80-year-old woman and regret never trying.” Her book was published last fall. Sales were encouraging enough to proceed with an eBook version. “People are more willing to give it a try electronically than with paperback,” said Kempley. “That’s just how the market is.” With 4.4 stars out of 5 on GoodReads.com and 4 out of 5 on Amazon.com, there could be a second book on the horizon. More on flying? Learning the barrel roll? Shooting Smallbore in the Camp Perry sun?
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