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August 23rd, 2007
Sinclair Int’l has a new 150-page competition log book with many smart features. You’ll like the way the book is designed and organized. There are 30 plot sheets for each position; that’s enough for 30 complete 80-round matches. Target sheets (grid-lined in 1 MOA squares) are printed as large as possible for plotting hits. The target sheets are also color-coded for each stage — 200-yard slow fire standing, 200 yard sitting rapid, 300-yard prone rapid, and 600-yard prone slow fire. The book even includes MOA windage charts for commonly used cartridge/bullets with elevation come-ups out to 600 yards.
The log book includes windage and elevation data along with separate pages to record sight settings for various yardages and ranges, separate pages for recording scores, pages to keep track of total rounds fired, note pages, and blank windage charts to fill in custom data. Plot sheets include boxes to record pertinent range data, “no-wind zeros”, actual wind, corrected wind, and values. The new Sinclair High Power Record Book, item 15-2600, costs $11.75.
August 22nd, 2007
 Back in the spring we first reported that Wideners.com was stocking the excellent Guatemalan IMG brass. We’ve confirmed that supplies of BRAND NEW IMG .223 brass are still available for the very low price of $49/500 or $95/1000, item 556GUPB. IMG brass is quality stuff. This editor has personally put thousands of rounds of IMG ammo through ARs without no failures.
IMG brass is made on American (Olin) machinery that was transported to Guatemala to provide ammunition for the military. This is a great choice for varminters who need large quantities of uniform, low-cost brass. The case mouths are even chamfered. Average case capacity of IMG brass is 30.1 grains, the same as Hornady and Winchester commercial. The IMG brass is brand new 5.56 NATO-spec brass (not seconds). However, please note the flash holes are slightly smaller than domestic brass. You should have no issues with ignition (since the flash hole is still larger than 220 Russian or 6BR brass), but you may have to adjust your load slightly.
August 22nd, 2007
 The final results of the NRA Rifle and Pistol National Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio are now available online at the NRA Website. As reported earlier in our Daily Bulletin, John Whidden of Nashville, GA, won his first NRA High Power Long Range National Championship with a score of 1241-68X out of a possible 1250-125X, edging defending LR champion Kent Reeve by 5 points and 3 Xs. The competition, held August 11 – 14, marked the conclusion of the Camp Perry’s Centennial (100th anniversary) National Match program.
Whidden overcame a one-point deficit heading into the final day of competition, winning the Palma Individual Trophy Match with a score of 446-25X to claim the overall title. Reeve finished second overall with a score of 1236-65X, and SFC Lance Hopper of the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) finished third with a score of 1233-64X.
Shooting in the second of four relays from the 1,000-yard line in the Palma Match, Whidden was unsure if his score would hold up for the win, especially with SPC Tyrel Cooper of the USAMU, the tournament leader at the time, and Reeve yet to shoot.
“I really didn’t know if my score would hold up because I know those guys can score well at any time,” Whidden said. “I had a real good 1000-yard string, but I just didn’t know if that was good enough to win.” Swirling wind conditions made shooting a high score in the Palma Match extremely difficult, resulting in Cooper firing a 435-21X and Reeve a 442-23X. “We had a fishtailing wind from behind and it was easy to get caught up in big changes,” said Whidden. “I just tried to shoot safe shots. There were lots of opportunities for danger.”
“I knew it’s a long race and at a lot of points the lead would change hands,” added Whidden, who lurked near the top of the leader board throughout until grabbing the lead at the end. “But I knew it’d be decided at today’s 1,000-yard line.”
Joe Sopko of Macungie, Pa., shot a score of 1190-29X to win the High Service Rifle title. Nancy Tompkins of Prescott, Ariz., posted a score of 1226-65X to win the Women’s National Championship. The High Junior was Nick Mowrer of Ramsay, Mont., who posted a score of 1193-34X. The High Senior was Jon Rhynard of Haughton, La. Haughton fired a score of 1232-51X. Samuel Garee of Canton, Ohio, was named High Grand Senior with a score of 1211-48X.
In addition, the open-sight Leech Cup and the any-sight Wimbledon Cup, two of the oldest trophies awarded at the National Matches, were won by Cooper and fellow USAMU shooter SGT Brandon Green, respectively, during Long Range competition. The USAMU also swept the team matches fired at the event, winning both the Roumanian and Herrick Trophies. Approximately 350 competitors competed in the Long Range matches, shooting at distances ranging from 800 to 1,000 yards.
For more info about the NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships at Camp Perry and other competitive shooting events or programs, contact the NRA Competitive Shooting Division. An article covering the history of the Camp Perry matches, written by Philip Schreier, Senior Curator, National Firearms Museum, is on the NRA’s National Rifleman website. Click the graphic below to read the article.
August 21st, 2007
 Every year, many of the world’s top speed-shooters flock to the Int’l Shootists Institute in Piru, California to compete for top honors in the Steel Challenge, one of the world’s most competitive action shooting events. Don’t be fooled by the bucolic setting on private ranchland — when the Steel Challenge rolls into town, Piru becomes the center of the action shooting world. With events for Centerfire Pistol, Rimfire Rifle and Pistol, Shotgun, and Cowboy Lever Gun, the Steel Challenge boasts 150+ sponsors and over $370,000 worth of prizes and gun give-aways.
For the past three years, SigArms and the Outdoor Channel have offered a $30,000 prize for the first pistol shooter to break 80 seconds in the new, 8-stage pistol course of fire. The stages bear colorful (and somewhat intimidating) names: Showdown, Smoke & Hope, Outer Limits, Speed Option, The Pendulum, 5 To Go , Roundabout, and Accelerator.
At this year’s Challenge (held August 16-19th) three shooters broke the 80-second mark: Max Michel Jr., B.J. Norris and K.C. Eusebio. 2005 Steel Challenge winner Michel of the USAMU was the first to accomplish the feat. Max was immediately followed by his Army Marksmanship Unit teammate, K.C. Eusebio, winner of the 2003 Steel Challenge. Eighteen-year-old B.J. Norris from Texas finished third. As the fastest man of the three and the first to break the record, Max Michel earned the $30,000 check, and the title of the Fastest Shooter in the World.
A rising star in the shooting world, Max Michel Jr. is a 4-time winner of the USPSA Open Nationals, including the 2007 USPSA Championship. At 15, he was the youngest Grand Master (GM) in the history of USPSA shooting. Below is a YouTube clip of Max setting a record at the USPSA Nationals:
The 2007 Steel Challenge will be featured later this season on the Outdoor Channel TV show Shooting Gallery with Michael Bane. As a preview, here is a Steel Challenge VIDEO CLIP with action footage from previous years’ matches. The Shooting Gallery airs Wednesdays at 4:30 and 8:30 PM EST, plus Thursday at 12:30 AM EST.
August 21st, 2007
Doskocil cases — you see them everywhere in the gun world. With their durable plastic shells, dimpled foam linings, and distinctive low-profile sliding latches, Doskocil cases are inexpensive, durable and easy to store. This editor must have a dozen Doskocils, large and small.
Well, now Doskocil cases will be made by Plano, another large manufacturer of plastic-shelled gear cases. Plano Molding Co. announced the purchse of Doskocil Mfg.’s Doskosport Outdoor Division, effective immediately. The Doskosport product line includes Gun Guard, Bow Guard, Cargo Golf and related outdoor products. Currently, Plano makes Pro-Max gun cases and Bow-Max bow cases, plus a range of shooting sports and accessory storage cases.
We hope that Plano maintains the Doskocil design features that we like, particularly the sliding latches and recessed handles on the “GunGuard” value-line cases. These features make Doskocil cases much easier to slide in a cardboard shipping box, plus they are more convenient to store in a safe than cases with handles and latches that stick out. We’ll have to wait and see…. All Gun Guard, Bow Guard & Cargo Golf items will be manufactured by Plano by the end of 2007.
August 20th, 2007
Zak Smith and other 6.5×47 shooters are starting to turn heads in tactical competition. The compact new round is proving itself capable of finishing at the top of the podium. Zak Smith has been working with our 6.5×47 Lapua project rifle. This features an Accuracy Int’l action and chassis, and a Satern 25.3″ barrel. The gun has performed well with 139, 130, and 123 grain bullets. In recent matches, Zak has been shooting 123gr Lapua Scenar bullets at 2930 fps with RL15 powder and CCI BR4s. Accuracy is well under half-moa, and Zack said “the gun has performed flawlessly with this load.”
Zak Smith took top honors at the CMG Camp Guernsey Invitational Multi-Gun Match shooting his 6.5×47 Lapua (with 123gr Scenars) in the rifle segment of the 3-gun match. This was a rifle, carbine, and pistol event with rifle targets out to 700 and carbine targets out to about 330 yards. Thirty-eight shooters competed through seven stages over two days. With his 6.5×47, Zak completely dominated the rifle field on one of the hardest sniper stages, beating the next closest shooter by 35%. Zak reports: “On the other hard sniper stage, Henning Walgren and I were within 2% (he was ahead), but the rest were at least 10% down. My overall margin was 56 match points ahead of 2nd place over the 7 stages.”
LINK TO: Full Story on the Multi-Gun Match
Zak reports: “I shot the 6.5×47 at the regular monthly Sporting Rifle Match on August 5th in Raton, NM, on August 5th. After the main match, two 6.5×47 Lapua shooters, John Sternberg (photo below) and myself, were tied for second. John edged me in the shootoff, so I ended up 3rd overall. FYI, John was using the 130 Cauterucio bullets, driving them about 2970 fps with Reloader 15.” This shows that one can definitely achieve 260 Rem class ballistics with the smaller 6.5×47 cartridge. The winner of the match was running a 260 Rem, and just edged Zack and the other 6.5×47 shooter by three points on the end of the main match.
August 20th, 2007
Shooting USA, the popular television series, has created a series of instructional features in conjunction with the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). These online ‘Pro Tips’ USAMU Shooting Lessons will now be available on MyOutdoorTV.com through a partnership with Shooting USA.
Shooting USA Television has joined more than 80 outdoor sports television producers in offering programming segments to MyOutdoorTV.com. More than twelve-hundred television videos are now available to DSL and Cable Internet users via MyOutdoorTV.com.
“We’ve used the internet for years to stay in touch with our audience,” commented Jim Scoutten, executive producer of Shooting USA. “Now we’re able to make our show content available world-wide, thanks to our partnership with MyOutdoorTV. The fans are telling us they’re thrilled,” Scoutten said.
Streaming Gun Videos on MyOutdoorTV.com
In addition to making the USAMU Pro Tips available, MyOutdoorTV.com also streams Shooting USA segments on manufacturers such as Blackhawk and ZM Weapons, as well as the Int’l Sniper Competition recently held at Fort Benning. MyOutdoorTV.com streams over 80 shows on shooting sports, hunting, fishing, and boating. The website also hosts radio shows, outdoor videos, and the new State Explorer sections.
August 19th, 2007
If you’re a bargain hunter, check out the Sample List maintained by SWFA.com. Here you’ll find scores of optics items and accessories at below wholesale prices. Many of these products are new (never been sold) items, that were used in trade shows or as demos.
Some of the more exciting current Sample List Offerings are:
Swarovski 8×30 Laser Guide just $749.95 (marked down from $987.00 suggested retail). This is AccurateShooter.com’s top-rated laser rangefinder.
Zeiss 6.5-20×50 Conquest, priced from $699.95 to $729.95. This is our top-rated 1″-tube 6 to 20x zoom scope. The Conquest is bright, sharp, with very repeatable clicks.
Leica 77mm Straight Televid APO (Body only), Silver finish, Aluminum body, fast focus and coarse focus, straight view, Special high definition model, used, close to new condition. MSRP on this item is over $2100. The Sample list has them on sale for $1,299.95. Note Leica announced it was discountining the 77mm Televid line, so if you want one, buy it soon.
August 19th, 2007
Cabela’s Incorporated, (NYSE: CAB), recently announced that it will acquire S.I.R. Warehouse Sports Store, a Winnipeg, Canada-based retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and outdoor merchandise. Founded in 1924 by Sydney Isaac Robinson, S.I.R. has grown into one of Canada’s leading outdoor outfitters through its mail-order operation and 44,000-square-foot retail store in Winnipeg. A family-owned and operated business, S.I.R is headed by Earl Robinson, son of the company’s founder, who serves as president.
According to Dennis Highby, Cabela’s President and CEP. “This acquisition will allow us to accelerate growth of our retail, catalog and Internet business in Canada, and though we already have a loyal customer base in Canada, we expect significant growth in Canadian business as a result of this transaction.”
Cabela’s, founded in 1961, has a similar family-oriented history and tradition. Dick Cabela and his brother, Jim, built the company from a small mail-order operation to a world-wide multi-channel retail operation, selling merchandise through mail-order, a Web site and a growing chain of destination retail stores. Cabela’s went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004. Cabela’s currently has thousands of catalog and Internet customers in Canada, but this would be its first Canadian retail operation. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
August 18th, 2007
 Here’s something that can save you lots of time and aggravation on a varminting trip. This little $60 gizmo is great for varmint hunters and any one who needs to make a quick shot in shifty wind conditions. Kenton Industries’ Tuned Windage Compensator (TWC) has built-in windage marks for 10 mph cross-winds at 100-1000 yards. How do they do that? Well the knobs are calibrated either for specific calibers/loads, or they can make custom knobs using your observed field data. The knobs can compensate for various wind speeds (2-20 mph) and angles (15°- 90°), by applying some simple conversion ratios. For example, this is how you’d set the knob for a 5 mph wind or a quartering wind: 5 mph crosswind at 400 yards = dial in 200 yards; 10 mph, 45° crosswind at 400 yards = dial in 300 yards.
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