Ft. Benning Hosts Smallbore U.S. Olympic Team Trials in May

From May 12th through 22nd, over 170 top rifle and pistol shooters will compete for spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at the Smallbore Shooting Trials. The event will be held at Ft. Benning’s International Shooting Complex in Columbus, GA, home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). The U.S. Olympic Team Trials are conducted jointly by the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Shooting.

In smallbore rifle, there is one U.S. Olympic team spot available for Men’s Prone and Men’s 3-Position (Matt Emmons has already secured a spot in both Prone and 3P) and there are two spots available in Women’s 3-Position. Among the athletes competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in Men’s Rifle will be two-time Olympian Jason Parker, a member of the USAMU and 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist. (Parker already qualified for a Team spot in Men’s Air Rifle.) Parker’s USAMU teammate and three-time Olympian Mike Anti will try to secure a spot on his fourth U.S. Olympic Team.

Michael McPhail will be vying for a spot on his first U.S. Olympic Team in both 3-Position and Prone Rifle. McPhail recently captured the bronze medal in Prone at the “Good Luck Beijing” 2008 ISSF World Cup. Two-time Olympian Tom Tamas is looking to earn a spot on his third U.S. Olympic Team in Men’s Prone.

For more information on the U.S.A. Smallbore Olympic Trials, visit USAShooting.org.

Tierney Wins NBRSA 600-yard Nationals with Eliseo Tubegun

From April 25-27, three dozen of the nation’s top 600-yard shooters vied for honors at the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals in Sacramento. The tightly-contested match came down to the last relay on the last day. Jerry Tierney earned top honors for the match, under a scoring system that totals a shooters’ rankings for Light Gun Score, Light Gun Group, Heavy Gun Score, and Heavy Gun Group. Tierney, shooting an Eliseo Tube Gun chambered in 6 Dasher, captured the 2008 Championship with a total of 10 rank points. Peter White of Modesto, CA, shot a great match with his 6 BRX to finish second with 17 points. Craig St. Claire was not far behind, finishing third with 21 points.

Amid a field of exotic benchrest rifles, Tierney’s Tubegun (basically a modified High Power rifle) looked out of place. Jerry shot the same Eliseo R5 Tubegun in both light and heavy classes. The tubegun kit for this rifle was actually donated to 6mmBR.com by Gary Eliseo for a fund-raiser and Tierney was the high bidder on our auction.

Just before the match Jerry did some bullet comparison testing, settling on the Berger 108s. “I’m glad I tried the 108s”, Jerry told us, “they shot awesome, with very little vertical.” Tierney used a load of 33.0 grains of Hodgdon Varget, CCI BR4 primers, with the Berger 108s jumped about 0.015″ from the lands. Fitted with a Delrin front sled and a bag-riding arm in the rear, the Eliseo R5 handled extremely well. Jerry says “with a couple modifications, this Cross the Course gun worked great as a bench rifle. It tracked as well as any bench gun I’ve ever used.” Jerry’s light Palma contour Krieger barrel had about 500 rounds through it before the Nationals. Jerry says “there’s never been a brush in this barrel. At the Nationals, I cleaned at the end of each day, but I simply ran a couple wet patches through the bore. That’s it. I just wanted to get the loose carbon out.”

Challenging Winds–Big Angle and Velocity Changes
On all three days the wind started light but variable, then got stronger and more switchy as the day progressed. On Sunday, during the third and last relay the wind was clocking 45-60 degrees, and varying in velocity from 1-10 mph. You needed to watch the big flags to the left of the firing line to see the major switches according to Overall Winner Tierney. Jerry told us: “I used some local knowledge in that last relay. Conditions were tough, but I know when the wind is clocking like that you have to pay attention. I was seeing a full 2 MOA shift on the target.”

CLICK HERE to WATCH TIERNEY VIDEO

In the above video you can see Jerry shooting on Sunday’s third relay. Note how Jerry was looking over to the left at the flags after every shot and how he keeps his ammo covered, out of the sun. In the middle of the video Jerry has a fail to extract and has to clear an empty. Jerry explained: “I was trying to have the cases land on the towel just below the rifle by moving the bolt very slowly. Sometimes the fired case did not eject and stayed on top of the follower. With normal bolt operation the case would eject fine, but land off the bench.” Remarkably, Jerry stayed cool in the process. His performance in the third relay on Sunday, in very challenging winds, put him in the lead for the match. Jerry says “that third relay won me the match.”

Match Results
Overall Standings
1. Jerry Tierney 10 pts (6 Dasher Light & Heavy)
2. Peter White 17 pts (6 BRX Light & Heavy)
3. Craig St. Claire 21 pts (n/a)
4. Ron Tilley 23 pts (260AI Light & Heavy)
5. Robert Hoppe 31 pts (6 Dasher Light & Heavy)

Light Gun
Group Agg: Bob Dorton 3.155″, Don Nielson 3.349″
Score Agg: Craig St. Claire 271-3X, Jerry Tierney 263-2x
1-Target Small Group: Don Nielson 1.482″, Ray Meketa 1.682″, Jerry Tierney 1.799″
1-Target High Score: Robert Hoppe 49-3x, Ray Meketa 49-3x

Heavy Gun
Group Agg: Peter White 4.506″, Robert Hoppe 4.789″
Score Agg: Jerry Tierney 546-3X, Peter White 543-3X
1-Target Small Group: Rick Duncan 2.505″, Henry Pickney 2.641″
1-Target High Score: Robert Hoppe 98-2X, Rick Duncan 96-1X

We will be working on an in-depth report on the match this week. Watch the home page for a feature story soon. There was some fantastic hardware on the line, such as Warren Stallings’ barrel-block Heavy Gun shown below.

As usual, Ed Eckhoff ran a great match, and the scoring was fast and flawless. Craig St. Claire and his girlfriend catered a couple lunches for the shooters and Don Nielson supplied a huge Perpetual trophy for this match.

ATK Acquires Weaver Optics

Following on the heels of Leupold’s recent acquisition of the Redfield Optics brand, ATK has announced its acquisition of Weaver® Optics from Meade Instruments effective April 24, 2008. So, in the same month, two legendary American scope brands have changed hands. In the case of Weaver, we think this is a good thing, as customer service has declined under Meade’s control. ATK, which produces CCI, Federal, and Alliant products, has the resources to improve the Weaver line and maintain a higher standard of customer service. ATK is a giant aerospace and munitions manufacturer with more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and over $4.1 billion in revenue.

The Weaver acquisition, coupled with the 2007 launch of Nitrex Optics™, establishes ATK as a major player in the sport optics field. Mark DeYoung, President of ATK Armament Systems and ATK Commercial Products, stated that “The opportunity to add Weaver Optics into our growing portfolio of quality brands supports our strategy for growth. Our company has a solid history with the Weaver brand and we are pleased to add Weaver optics back into our winning lineup.”

John Lewis Shoots 0.386" Group at 600 Yards with Home-built Gun

Terry Brady reports that on Saturday at the Oak Ridge (TN) IBS registered Benchrest match, John Lewis shot a spectacular 0.386″ 5-shot group in Heavy Gun Class. When certified, this substantially lowers the existing record (currently held by Brady.) A 0.386″ group at 600 yards is the equivalent of 0.0614 MOA. John shot the group with a wood and metal-stocked gun he built himself. It is chambered in .308 Win. John was shooting a Lapua 155gr bullet. Amazingly this record was set with a “second-hand” 14-twist barrel John acquired many years ago for just $50.00.

Mark Schronce reports that the group was shot in blustery and rainy conditions. That makes the record group all the more remarkable. Congratulations to John. That just proves that the old-fashioned .308 Win round is capable of some amazing accuracy.

The other big winner at the Oak Ridge match was Sam Hall. He shot a sub-2″ Aggregate in Light Gun and captured both the Light Gun and Heavy Gun overall wins. It was a dominant performance by Sam, and there was other great shooting. According to Terry Brady, there were three sub-inch groups shot at the match, lead by Lewis’ 0.386″ in Heavy Gun.

ShootingUSA 30-06 Rifle Contest

Want to win a new Smith & Wesson I-Bolt rifle chambered in 30-06? Then enter ShootingUSA’s Gun-A-Month Contest. There is no fee, and no purchase is required. You simply have to fill out a contest entry form, and answer one multiple-choice fact question. The answer to the question is revealed in the weekly ShootingUSA broadcasts on the Outdoor Channel.

You are limited to one entry per person/per question. But, that does give you four chances to win each month’s drawing. And with each entry you’ll get a confirmation email that includes a certificate good for free merchandise if you later purchase a Smith & Wesson firearm.

Official Contest Rules and Privacy Notice.

AR and Service Rifle Smiths — Sinclair's Recommendations

AccurateShooter.com has a list of Recommended Gunsmiths. Most of the smiths listed on our Gunsmith Page specialize in bolt-action rifles, for Benchrest, varminting, and long-range. While some do work on AR15s and “space-guns”, this is not their primary focus.

If you need a first-rate gunsmith for a service rifle, Sinclair International has compiled its own list of smiths including highly respected names. For service rifles (including AR types), Sinclair recommends the following:

Phil Arrington (Service Rifle)
Arrington Accuracy Works
1408 West Ross Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
Phone: (623) 582-5066

Compass Lake Engineering (Service Rifle)
719 White Dr
Alford, FL 32420
Phone: (850) 579-1208

Fulton Armory (Service Rifle & Parts)
8725 Bollman Pl., #1
Savage, MD 20763
Phone: (301) 490-9485

Derrick Martin (Service Rifle)
Accuracy Speaks, Inc.
3960 N Usery Pass Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85207
Phone: (480) 373-9499

Scott Medesha (Service Rifle)
Medesha Firearms Ltd.
10326 E. Adobe Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85207
Phone: (480) 986-5876

Albert Turner (Service Rifle)
Turner Enterprises
2200 Seminole Ct.
Plano, TX 75074
Phone: (214) 424-8409

Bill Wylde (Service Rifle)
Wylde & Co.
PO Box 261
Greenup, IL 62428
Phone: (217) 923-3266

To Sinclair’s list we would definitely add John Holliger of White Oak Precision. John built the upper for the Smith & Wesson M&P AR with which Carl Bernosky won the Camp Perry High Power Championship in 2007. This marked the first time an AR-style semi-auto has won that event. John also builds many outstanding components for AR-style rifles, including windage-adjustable front sight bases, and the White Oak Precision Adjustable Buttstock (shown below).

John Holliger
White Oak Precision
101 South Perry
Carlock, IL 61725
Phone: (309) 376-2288

Dakota Arms Acquires New Equity Investors

Dakota Arms, LLC, an American manufacturer of custom sporting arms and components, has acquired equity financing which will provide additional capital for day-to-day operations. An investor group led by Patrick Gilligan, avid sportsman and former Chairman of the Board of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, will receive shares of Dakota Arms, LLC and two seats on the Dakota Board of Directors as a result of its investment. Gilligan, who will play an active role in the strategic direction of the company, will become the new Chairman of the Board.

New Cash Keeps Dakota in Business
Cash from the new investments will be used to expand production levels and speed up the delivery of current customer orders. “This new cash commitment validates the strength of the Dakota Arms brand in the market,” said Patrick Franklin, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Dakota.

The Dakota Business Model–Can It Work?
Dakota Arms has tried to establish itself as a high-end maker of hunting, sporting, and tactical rifles. The Dakota brands include Nesika, Miller Arms and Dan Walter Cases. Dakota has had trouble finding a place for itself in the market. It sells rifles that are substantially more expensive than Savages or Remingtons, but it has not been able to convince gun buyers that a Dakota Arms rifle is worth two to three times the cost of other brands.

Dakota hoped to follow the model of the high-end shotgun makers like Perazzi, but it is unclear whether that strategy will really work. Rifle shooters who want the highest levels of accuracy (and craftsmanship) have traditionally turned to small custom builders. Dakota has not, so far, really been able to establish its products as a viable alternative to the hand-built custom rifle. In a nutshell, shooters are telling us “For the money Dakota wants, I can have a custom built. And for less money, I can get a Cooper which offers guaranteed accuracy, and better customer service.”

Leupold Purchases Redfield Optics Brand

Leupold & Stevens, Inc. has acquired the Redfield brand of optics from Meade Instruments. Founded in 1909, Redfield was a leading U.S. producer of riflescopes, spotting scopes, and binoculars for many decades until it closed in 1998. In recent years, the Redfield brand changed hands several times, before being acquired by Meade Instruments, which sold the Redfield brand to Leupold.

Presumably, Leupold plans to develop and market a lower-cost line of riflescopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes to wear the Redfield name. We wouldn’t be surprised if some of these Redfield-branded optics are produced overseas, most likely in Asia — but we have not been able to confirm or deny that possibility.

Tom Fruechtel, President and CEO of Leupold & Stevens, declined to discuss the plans for Redfield under Leupold ownership, but did state: “For half a century, Leupold respected Redfield as a leading innovator and competitor in the sports optics industry. The opportunity… to rescue this American brand from dormancy could not be missed.”

Leupold & Stevens, Inc., a fifth-generation, American family-owned company, employs more than 650 people in its Beaverton, Oregon facility. Leupold’s product line includes rifle, handgun and spotting scopes; binoculars; rangefinders; and optical tools and accessories.