If you missed the final episode of Top Shot on the History Channel, you can watch it, via streaming video, on Hulu.com. The field is down to four shooters in this season finale. We were sad to see AccurateShooter.com contributor Kelly Bachand eliminated in the previous episode, but he’s shooting right now at Camp Perry. Watch the show and find out who wins the $100,000 prize and title of Season One’s “Top Shot”. No spoilers guys — you’ll have to watch to see who wins. But we can tell you this much — the final man-on-man challenge is a multi-stage event that tested the last two remaining competitors’ skills to the max.
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Following SGT Sherri Gallagher’s record-setting victory in the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship, many readers have asked what caliber (chambering) Sherri was shooting. Well, Sherri was shooting a .260 Remington at all yardages, as confirmed by SFC Emil Praslick, USAMU rifle coach. Runner-up Carl Bernosky was shooting a 6mm Hagar in an AR-platform rifle.
To capture her first High Power Championship, with a record 2396-161X score, Sheri used a Tubb 2000 bolt gun chambered in .260 Rem. According to Praslick: “[the rifle has] the same barrel as last year. I believe it has close to 2000 rounds on it.” To our surprise, Sherri’s ammo was loaded in relatively inexpensive Remington brass. Praslick explained: “We use Remington brass, Federal 210Ms, and Varget powder. For the 300/600 yard lines we use the Sierra 142gr bullet. Her 300RF load is around 2650 fps, the 600SF load approximately 2750 fps. At the 200 [yard line], we use a reduced recoil load using the Sierra 107gr MK.”
Accuracy Trumps Raw Velocity
Praslick noted that Sherri’s load, while not particularly fast, is ultra-accurate: “All these loads rely much more on accuracy than they do velocity. SGT Gallagher’s rifle has been tested repeatedly at 600 yards. It will easily shoot 3″ to 4″ groups all day long. This is evident by her X-count.” Praslick added: “I am a big believer in the .260 for High Power shooting. [It offers] easy load development, ballistic advantage, and long barrel life.”
.260 Rem Resources
To learn more about the .260 Rem, read Zak Smith’s article: 6.5mm Shootout: .260 Remington vs. 6.5×47 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor. Zak compares three popular 6.5mm cartridges, weighing the pros and cons of each. Zak himself shoots the Rem .260 loaded with 139gr Lapua Scenar bullets and Alliant Reloder 17.
Another great load for this cartridge is the 123gr Lapua Scenar pushed by Hodgdon H4350. That was the best overall performing load in this Editor’s .260 Rem. I was able to run the 123s at 2950 fps with great accuracy and extremely low ES and SD. Compare the 600-yard ballistics of the Scenar 123s at 2950 fps with Sherri’s 142gr SMKs launched at 2750 fps. You may be surprised. The 123s have less drop, and the 10 mph wind drift (at 600 yards) is very close: 23.9″ for the 123s vs. 22.8″ for the 142s. (Calculations done with JBM Online Ballistics Calculator using Lapua and Litz field-measured BCs, 59°, 500′ elevation.)
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Chrysler is offering a lockable gun storage compartment on its new series of Outdoorsman pickup trucks. These trucks can be configured with twin, lighted, lockable and watertight “RamBox” compartments — one on each side of the truck bed. The dual RamBox option costs $1895, and for $205 more Chrysler adds internal, vertical cradles that hold two rifles or shotguns. These cradles can be rotated 90 degrees to hold up to six fishing rods.
We think Chrysler’s built-in gun storage is a very cool feature — for the man who has everything. It will certainly create envious looks when you roll up to the shooting range in your new truck. From a practical standpoint however, it might be better to forgo the gun cradles in favor of open storage in both side-boxes. You could then use both lockable side compartment for any purpose. When you need to haul firearms, simply put cased guns inside one or both side compartments.
For more information on Chrysler’s Outdoorsman pickups, which start at $28,350, visit the Chrysler Truck Blog. Ram Outdoorsman trucks go on sale 3rd quarter 2010 (just in time for hunting season).
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Powder Valley, a major vendor of powder, primers, brass, bullets, and loaded ammo, has received some large shipments of popular powders including Hodgdon Varget and IMR 8208 XBR. Powder Valley also has the hard-to-find Alliant Reloder 17 powder in stock, in both 1-lb and 5-lb containers.
Powder Valley Now Stocks Factory-Loaded Ammo
FYI, Powder Valley is now stocking quality factory-loaded ammo from Lapua, Hornady, Nosler, Prvi Partizan, and Wolf. If you’re looking for match-grade Lapua factory ammo or the Hornady .223 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .30-06 ammo, give Powder Valley a call at 800-227-4299.
Powder Valley Inventory Updates on Facebook
Powder Valley now posts recent product arrivals on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account you can link to the Powder Valley page to get the latest updates.
August 13
IMR 8208: Finished up the backorders on 8208 8#. We received in about 200 kegs from Hodgdon last week and have filled backorders that were placed prior to June 25.
August 12
Large shipments of primers received over the last couple days. Received 2 million Winchester, 1.2 million Federal, 1.5 million Rem and 6 million Tula. Also received large shipment of Winchester brass.
August 6
Varget 8-lb jugs have arrived. We won’t update the website until Monday. Facebookers go ahead and put your order in now and you will get first dibs.
August 2
Received in about 2 million Remington primers. Also, received a large shipment of backorders from Berger. We will be receiving about 125,000 Federal Small Pistol primers later this week and about 2-2.5 million in 3-4 weeks. We will begin listing these primers on the website August 3 so you can place an order if you would like.
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In Saturday’s Remington Band of Brothers (BOB) match and Mustin Trophy match, class winners from each relay go into a shoot-off. Each relay’s top shooter from the Any Sight, Palma Rifle, and Service Rifle categories then lines up against the other relay winners in their class. The course of fire for the shoot-off was ten shots in thirteen minutes.
Gallagher vs. Whidden in “Sudden-Death” Shoot-out
A major drama unfolded at the end of the regular shoot-off in the Remington BOB match, as “Any Sights” competitors Michelle Gallagher and John Whidden were locked in a tie. Michelle and John had both shot 100-8x. Now, to decide the winner, a “sudden death” shot-for-shot rifle duel took place to determine the class winner. The crowd tensed as both shooters went to the line.
Both Michelle and John proceeded to hit 10s (or Xs) for the first twelve (12) shots. Then it was unlucky #13 for John. Whidden’s 13th shot was a nine, against Michelle’s ten. That gave Michelle the Remington Band of Brothers match Any Sight Class victory, but onlookers congratulated both shooters.
John Whidden redeemed himself later in the day, winning his “Any Sight” Class in the Mustin Trophy shoot-off. John posted a “best-in-class” 100-8x, making him the “Any Sight” winner. We talked to John after the match and he told us: “That was an exhausting day. Rain was forecast for the afternoon and some of the relays got heavy rain which increased the difficulty. Michelle shot great in the Band of Brothers Match, but I was pleased to come back and shoot steady for a Class win in the Mustin Match. Now we’ve got a lot of shooting ahead of us and I’ll try to stay up near the top.” John is shooting a .243 Winchester with moly 105gr Berger bullets.
In related news from Camp Perry, here are the preliminary scores for the three long range matches shot Sunday morning (August 15th). The course of fire was 20 shots, slow-fire prone at 1000 yards. The high-scoring competitor from each relay of each match will compete in the shoot-off held immediately after the the completion of the Herrick Trophy Team Match.
3-Gun Nation is one of the hottest new shooting shows on cable television. This season-long series showcases many of the nation’s best shooters, vying for big prize money and a National title at year’s end. The latest 3-Gun Nation match was the JP Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Championship held August 5-7 at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. Nearly 250 competitors participated. Here are the Class winners, with point totals:
Open: Jerry Miculek – 821.9395
Limited (Scope): Daniel Horner – 864.9413
Limited (Iron Sights): Craig Underdown – 776.5357
He-Man (Scope): Kelly Neal – 867.6091
He-Man (Iron Sights): Patrick Kelley – 820.2407
Johnson Duels Miculek for $5000.00
At the end of the match, Remington’s Robby Johnson and shooting legend Jerry Miculek were the final two shooters in the 3-Gun Nation Shoot-Off. Watch the video (above) to see Johnson, a former USAMU shooter, edge out Miculek, earning Johnson the $5,000 prize from Safariland.
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SGT Sherri Gallagher captured her first NRA High Power National Championship by firing an incredible 2396-161X, a new record score! Competing at Camp Perry, Ohio, Sherri dropped just four points out of 2400 (240 shots). An amazing 67% of Sherri’s shots were Xs. Congratulations Sherri!
Carl Bernosky was second, just one point behind, with a 2395-140X. Carl and Sherri BOTH shot scores well above David Tubb’s Championship Record of 2389-138X, a record set in 2003. Congratulations to Sherri, Carl and all the outstanding shooters in this year’s competition.
Sherri is now the second-ever female winner of the NRA National High Power Championship. The first female High Power Champion was Sherri’s mother, Nancy Tompkins, who won in 1998. It’s all in the family, we guess….
This was an especially sweet victory for Sherri, who had the 2009 Championship slip from her grasp. In last year’s NRA High Power Championship, Sherri was leading the field comfortably, shooting at a record pace, only to suffer a cross-fire which dropped her out of contention for the Championship. That cruel 2009 crossfire is now forgotten as Sherri finally earns the National title she richly deserves.
Hardware UPDATE: We are informed that Sherri’s T2000 match rifle was chambered in .260 Remington, and she shot that cartridge at all distances in the High Power Championship. We’ll try to get more load data soon.
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Update from Camp Perry: Today is the final day of the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship. SGT Sherri Gallagher of the USAMU remains just one point ahead of 9-time National Champion Carl Bernosky. The hardware battle is interesting — Sherri’s Tubb 2000 Bolt Gun vs. Carl’s AR-platform rifle shooting a 6mm Hagar.
Carl’s first (and perhaps best) chance to catch Sherri came in the Crescent Cup match this morning. With the entire Crescent Cup event shot standing at 200 yards, this was Carl’s great opportunity to tie Sherri, or even pull ahead. The standing position is one of Carl’s strengths — he is considered one of the best standing position shooters in history. But Sherri matched Carl shot for shot and they both finished with the same 199-4X score. So Sherri has maintained her one-point margin. If Carl and Sherri end up tied at the end of the day, Sherri will win the High Power National Championship because she has a huge X-count edge. But right now either Carl or Sherri could end up on top of the Podium.
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Ultra-portable mini-reloading scales have become popular with shooters who reload at the range. These can be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. While not as precise as a bench-top unit, they can deliver read-outs to within 0.2 grains. These ultra-compact scales should prove very useful for any shooter that needs to load at the range. Additionally, they are affordable enough to be used as a back-up to a larger electronic or balance beam scale. Two models, one from MTM and the other from Acculab (Sartorius) have caught our attention.
NOTE: We haven’t yet been able to comparison-test these two scales with a laboratory scale to confirm the claimed levels of weighing precision and see if there are any serious calibration or “drift” issues. But we’ve heard no negative reports.
MTM Mini Reloading Scale — $30 The new DS-1200 weighs up to 1200 grains. MTM claims accuracy (resolution) to plus or minus 0.1 (one-tenth) grain. You can switch measurements among grains, grams, ounces and carats .The unit features a high-impact, plastic sensor cover that doubles as a large powder pan. The DS-1200 comes with a calibration weight, two (2) CR2032 Batteries, and a foam lined storage/travel case. Up to 1200 grain capacity with To save battery power, the large, backlit display shuts off automatically after 3 minutes. Here are sources for this bargain-priced new scale:
Acculab Pocket Pro PP-62 Mini Scale — $110
Sartorius, makers of the popular Acculab-123 scale and its Denver Instrument clone, the MXX-123, has introduced a new, portable reloading scale that is truly pocket-sized. The compact model PP-62 will work as a portable scale or a back-up for a benchscale. It measures 3.5″ long, 3″ wide, and just 7/8″ thick.
The Pocket Pro can handle a maximum weight of 1000 grains. Acculab claims resolution down to 0.1 (one-tenth) GRAM, which provides readability to 0.20 GRAINS. We like the fact that the unit runs on a single, easy-to-purchase AA battery. Battery life is up to 20 hours, if you turn off the back lighting on the LCD display. A sliding cover also protects the weighing mechanism during transport. The PP-62 offers easy one-button calibration with the supplied check weight.
Sinclair Int’l sells the new Acculab PP-62, for $119.95 (Item 10-6200). This includes battery, weighing pan, and 50 gram calibration weight. ScalesGalore.com offers the PP-62 (with battery, pan, and check weight), for $109.95.
CONSUMER ALERT: On the web you’ll find other versions of the Acculab Pocket-Pro® Scales, priced at $45-$60.00. These are the PP-201 (photo below) and PP-401. Though these scales appear identical to the PP-62 (Sinclair item 10-6200), they are NOT the SAME. The cheaper PP-201 and PP-401 are only rated to one-TENTH of a GRAM. The PP-62 is RATED to one-HUNDRETH of a GRAM — roughly 0.2 GRAIN precision.
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Sherri Gallagher, the 2009 NRA National Long-Range Champion, could add a High Power Championship to her list of victories, if she stays on pace. Only one woman has ever won the National High Power Championship — Sherri’s mother, Nancy Tompkins. All of Sherri’s fans nationwide all pulling for her to be the second-ever female High Power Champ. But the competition will be tough.
Sherri Gallagher is beginning to pull away in the X-Count, but she could still be overtaken by any of the shooters close behind her in the standings. Carl Bernosky, a multi-time National High-Power Champion, is just one point behind Sherri. Stephen Culpepper and Eric Swearingen are still in striking distance. Ten-time champion David Tubb is not far behind either. Shooting against those male “all-stars”, Gallagher has been very impressive and looks to continue her pace, but this isn’t over just yet. This year’s Championship could go down to the last shot of the last relay.
On the Service Rifle front, Eric Swearingen is in the lead for the Service Rifle Championship with a 1789-86X, but both 2009 Service Rifle Champion Grant Singley (1785-97X) and Troy Lawton’s (1785-70X) are just two points back.
For the latest news from Camp Perry, including High Power Championship standings, visit the NRA Blog. Here is the “leaderboard” after the High Power Rifle Championship’s third day, with one more to go. Tomorrow’s forecast is clear and sunny with no threat of rain.
Match 400 – NRA National High Power Rifle Championship
Name
Results
Sherri Gallagher
1797-129x
Carl Bernosky
1796-109x
Stephen Culpepper
1790-91x
Eric Swearingen
1789-86x
David Tubb
1787-86x
Late-Breaking News from Camp Perry
Steve Clark Reports: Sherri missed 1st last year from a crossfire. This year so far she’s shooting 71.6% Xs, dropping only 3 points out of 1800. Norm Houle (last year’s Champion) apparently cross-fired today, putting himself back a good number.
Carl’s shooting SOLID — again — this year with his 6mm HAGAR. He’s second, by ONE POINT, after 180 shots, but he’s down 20 Xs. Carl has won the High Power Championship 9 times so far, most recently in 2008 — the first victory with an AR15-platform rifle.
What a great show! Like last year, I think it’s going to come down to the last shot fired tomorrow afternoon to decide the winner.
In international 300m competition the top shooters use high-tech rifles shooting some of our favorite cartridges: 6mmBR, 6XC, and 6.5×47 Lapua. These chamberings all possess superb inherent accuracy, allowing great scores even when shooting with iron sights. This week, both men and women have been competing in prone and three-position 300m events. The level of competition has been high — Bettina Bucher of Switzerland tied the womens’ 599 score record in winning the women’s 300m prone event, and the 600-point mens’ record score has been tied twice in prone matches, once by France’s Josselin Henry, shooting factory 6.5×47 Lapua ammo. To see Bettina Bucher and Josselin Henry in action, visit the ISSF-Sports.org website. There you’ll find complete match results, as well as photos and videos of the action.
Right now there are three short videos covering 300m competition. CLICK HERE to access the videos. When the page displays, go to the scrolling menu (on right) and select: “300m Rifle Prone Women”, or “300m Standard Rifle Men”, or “300m Rifle Prone Men”. The video on the 300m prone womens’ competition features Switzerland’s Bettina Bucher who tied a World Record in the event. Note, in the 300m mens Standard Rifle highlights video, the American announcer incorrectly names the winner of the 300m Standard Rifle event as “Henry Josselin”. She got it backwards.
Josselin Henry Wins 300m Standard Rifle Event, But Three Shooters DQ’d
Marco Dalla Dea of the ISSF Media team reports that France’s Josselin Henry won today’s 300m Standard Rifle event, becoming the new world champion with a total score of 587 points. The French shooter, who had equaled the 300m Rifle Prone Men world record of 600 points two days ago, had never won an ISSF medal in this event before. Tomorrow, the 28-year old shooter from Paris will compete in the 300m rifle Three-Position event.
Three competitors were disqualified in the 300m mens’ Standard Rifle Finals. There are strict rules on the geometry and features of a “Standard Rifle”, in contrast to “Free Rifle” class which is pretty much “anything goes”. One shooter was DQ’d for an illegal front sight extension, another was tossed for having an “anatomical” grip, and a third shooter was sent packing because his buttplate had too much curve. In the standing position, a hook-style buttplate extension can provide a significant advantage. This hook configuration is allowed on Free Rifles only.
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Report by Sommer Wood, CMP Online Magazine
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) rolled through the 2010 National Trophy Rifle Matches with almost complete dominance. Shooters from the USAMU finished first in the National Trophy Individual Match (NTI), the Hearst Doubles, and, for the fourth year in a row, the National Trophy Team Match (NTT). The USAMU Team also reclaimed the top spot in the National Trophy Infantry Team Match (NTIT or “rattle battle”) after a shocking fourth place finish last year behind three civilian teams, including the historic win by the California Grizzlies O’Connell Juniors.
The 2010 NTT was closely contested going in the last stage, with only a couple of points separating the top five teams, but at the 600-yard-line the USAMU finally pulled ahead to finish with a 2920-100X. The winning NTT team was comprised of Team Captain SSG Walter Craig, Team Coach SFC Emil Praslick III and firing members SSG Brandon Green, SGT Sherri Gallagher, SPC Augustus Dunfey, SFC Grant Singley, SFC Lance Dement and SGT Tryel Cooper. The USAMU Praslick Team edged out the California Rifle and Pistol Association-Coalinga civilian team, which finished with a 2910-84X.
What was the driving force behind the USAMU Praslick Team’s dominance this year? USAMU shooters SFC Lance Dement, SGT Brandon Green and SPC Tyrel Cooper all said that outstanding coaching was key to victory. This was particularly evident at the 600-yard-line where the Team pulled ahead of the pack during the 2010 National Matches.
SGT Tyrel Cooper Wins National Trophy Individual Title
After finishing a close second in 2009 National Trophy Individual Match, SGT Tyrel Cooper of the USAMU emerged victorious this year with a tough-fought, X-count win over his USAMU team-mate SFC Lance Dement. SGT Cooper finished the day with an impressive 495-23X, three Xs better than SFC Dement, who shot a 495-20X to claim second.
Entering the final stage of this year’s NTI, SGT Cooper tried not to focus on score and instead talked about wind strategy for the 600-yard-line with USAMU coach SFC Emil Praslick III: “I have lead in the past and let myself start thinking too much about scores…. I switched my focus to the strategy I wanted to use for the wind and followed my plan.” The plan worked and SGT Cooper shot a 197-9X at the 600-yard-line to secure first place.
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Following SGT Sherri Gallagher’s record-setting victory in the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship, many readers have asked what caliber (chambering) Sherri was shooting. Well, Sherri was shooting a .260 Remington at all yardages, as confirmed by SFC Emil Praslick, USAMU rifle coach. Runner-up Carl Bernosky was shooting a 6mm Hagar in an AR-platform rifle.
Accuracy Trumps Raw Velocity
Powder Valley Now Stocks Factory-Loaded Ammo
In Saturday’s Remington Band of Brothers (BOB) match and Mustin Trophy match, class winners from each relay go into a shoot-off. Each relay’s top shooter from the Any Sight, Palma Rifle, and Service Rifle categories then lines up against the other relay winners in their class. The course of fire for the shoot-off was ten shots in thirteen minutes.
SGT Sherri Gallagher captured her first NRA High Power National Championship by firing an incredible 2396-161X, a new record score! Competing at Camp Perry, Ohio, Sherri dropped just four points out of 2400 (240 shots). An amazing 67% of Sherri’s shots were Xs. Congratulations Sherri!
Update from Camp Perry: Today is the final day of the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship. SGT Sherri Gallagher of the USAMU remains just one point ahead of 9-time National Champion Carl Bernosky. The hardware battle is interesting — Sherri’s Tubb 2000 Bolt Gun vs. Carl’s AR-platform rifle shooting a 6mm Hagar.
Ultra-portable mini-reloading scales have become popular with shooters who reload at the range. These can be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. While not as precise as a bench-top unit, they can deliver read-outs to within 0.2 grains. These ultra-compact scales should prove very useful for any shooter that needs to load at the range. Additionally, they are affordable enough to be used as a back-up to a larger electronic or balance beam scale. Two models, one from MTM and the other from Acculab (Sartorius) have caught our attention.
The new DS-1200 weighs up to 1200 grains. MTM claims accuracy (resolution) to plus or minus 0.1 (one-tenth) grain. You can switch measurements among grains, grams, ounces and carats .The unit features a high-impact, plastic sensor cover that doubles as a large powder pan. The DS-1200 comes with a calibration weight, two (2) CR2032 Batteries, and a foam lined storage/travel case. Up to 1200 grain capacity with To save battery power, the large, backlit display shuts off automatically after 3 minutes. Here are sources for this bargain-priced new scale:
Sherri Gallagher, the 2009 NRA National Long-Range Champion, could add a High Power Championship to her list of victories, if she stays on pace. Only one woman has ever won the National High Power Championship — Sherri’s mother, Nancy Tompkins. All of Sherri’s fans nationwide all pulling for her to be the second-ever female High Power Champ. But the competition will be tough.
In international 300m competition the top shooters use high-tech rifles shooting some of our favorite cartridges: 6mmBR, 6XC, and 6.5×47 Lapua. These chamberings all possess superb inherent accuracy, allowing great scores even when shooting with iron sights. This week, both men and women have been competing in prone and three-position 300m events. The level of competition has been high — Bettina Bucher of Switzerland tied the womens’ 599 score record in winning the women’s 300m prone event, and the 600-point mens’ record score has been tied twice in prone matches, once by France’s Josselin Henry, shooting factory 6.5×47 Lapua ammo. To see Bettina Bucher and Josselin Henry in action, visit the 
Report by Sommer Wood, 
The 2010 NTT was closely contested going in the last stage, with only a couple of points separating the top five teams, but at the 600-yard-line the USAMU finally pulled ahead to finish with a 2920-100X. The winning NTT team was comprised of Team Captain SSG Walter Craig, Team Coach SFC Emil Praslick III and firing members SSG Brandon Green, SGT Sherri Gallagher, SPC Augustus Dunfey, SFC Grant Singley, SFC Lance Dement and SGT Tryel Cooper. The USAMU Praslick Team edged out the California Rifle and Pistol Association-Coalinga civilian team, which finished with a 2910-84X.
SGT Tyrel Cooper Wins
