The two-day 2011 Creedmoor Nationals for Black Powder rifles concludes today in Raton, NM. Many of the nation’s top black powder shooters are vying for the historic “Castle” trophy at the Whittington Center Range. Today’s course of fire is identical to Sunday’s — ten shots at each of three distances: 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. Weather was reasonably stable on Sunday, 17 July, but thunderstorms are predicted for this afternoon.
The Creedmoor Championship and the Castle Trophy
The Creedmoor Nationals’ match history dates back to the 19th century with the purchase of the Creed Farm in Long Island, New York. A long range black powder match between the United States and Ireland at the brand new Creedmoor range drew a significant amount of attention to the shooting sports and drew eventually drew its name from the NRA’s range. The 2011 championship currently being conducted at the Whittington Center is based on the original course of fire in keeping with the tradition of the match.
Castle Trophy
The Castle Trophy was first awarded to the 25th Lanarkshire Volunteers by Lord Elcho for their win over England and Ireland in a shooting match in 1871. The trophy was used as a prize at Creedmoor matches over the next couple of years. A noted inscription on the trophy reads: “Overall winners National Rifle Association of America 2nd Round” April 25, 1873. To honor the victors in the famous Creedmoor 1874 challenge match the USA and Ireland, this trophy was given to Colonel John Bodine of the United States of America Team.
Shown below, looking rather dapper in their waistcoats and top hats, are members of the American rifle team that defeated the Irish squad in 1874:
Story and photos by KJillson courtesy of the NRA Blog.
Cabelas.com is currently running an Ammo Sale, with prices on some items are reduced up to 30%. In addition, now through July 19th, mechandise orders of $150.00 or more can be shipped for just $5.00. (Note, this does NOT apply to firearms sales,there may be additional charges for heavy items, and gift card purchases don’t qualify.) Some of the better deals are listed below:
Federal 7.62×51 (.308 Win) Gold Medal Match
Loaded with 175gr Sierra Match Kings
Item: IK-218116, $21.99 on Sale (20 rounds)
Federal 5.56 NATO Ammunition with Ammo Can
Loaded (on stripper clips) with 62gr green-tip bullets
Item: IK-218085, $150.99 on Sale (420 rounds)
Federal American Eagle .40 S&W with Ammo Can
Loaded with 165gr FMJ bullets
Item: IK-218023, $129.99 on Sale
If you’re looking for a low-cost “entry-level” rimfire target rifle, consider a Kimber 82G from the CMP. These have been available for quite some time, but last year the CMP sorted its Kimber 82G inventory into two categories: “Rusties” and “Cleans”. Both categories are new rifles. The rusty rifles have a minor amount of surface rust which can usually be cleaned off with just some light oil and a rag. On some of the guns there is some rust in the bolt and on the sights, which may require some work with a metal brush or steel wool. The other cosmetic flaw is that many of the rifles have a thin, scored line along the buttstock, cause by the tip of the boxcutter. That can be sanded out.
Why, you might asked, would one choose one of the “Rusties”? Well, there are more in stock, and you can save 33%. The “Rusty” model Kimbers currently sell for just $400.00, $200 less than the “clean versions”. For a family on a tight budget, looking for a junior training rifle, the more affordable “Rusty” may be the better choice. Forum member Roarke says these “Rusty” Kimbers are well worth the money. Roarke writes: “I know because I bought one of these for $400, as opposed to $600 for the non-rusty, and it looks absolutely brand new.”
Forum member Michael L. (aka Chief 1018) concurs that his “Rusty” Kimber has been a great purchase: “I purchased a ‘Rusty’ from the CMP last year. No rust, but a lot of preservative. As you’ve probably read in the CMP forums, the bolt internals may be a little rusty/fouled. I immersed mine in WD-40 in a Zip-loc for a couple of days while I cleaned up the rifle. The oil turned brownish, but when I tore it down it was bright and clean. I think some of the ‘rust’ may be dried up preservative. It had the ‘signature’ box-cutter slice but that sanded out when I stripped, sanded, and tung-oiled the entire stock. The stock has very nice walnut with some dark figuring. The gun shoots great! The adjustable trigger is excellent.”
Roy Bertallato Reviews Kimber 82G
If you want to learn more about the Kimber 82Gs, Forum member Roy Bertallato has written an excellent article about his Kimber 82G from the CMP. Like many others, Roy couldn’t resist the $400.00 price, so he ordered one of the “Rusties”. Yes there was some light rust on small parts, but otherwise Roy was more than happy with his purchase:
“Sure enough, for $200 less, you can get a Kimber 82G RUSTY. I check out the qualifications and I had everything I needed in the way of qualifications so I decided to buy one. For $400, how bad could it be? Like anyone, I was VERY concerned that I’d get something that looked like it came out of the hold of a battle ship.” Roy’s fears proved unfounded: “There was just a very little bit of surface rust on the bottom [of the bolt]. Everything else you see that might appear to be rust is some type of red-yellow preservative. The action has zero rust, just some more nasty preservative. The bore is pristine! The rifle was stored with a paper straw in the bore saturated with some kind of oil.”
“The Kimber 82G is quite a rifle. It is a very heavy barrel, single shot, bolt action. It is supplied from the CMP with a fantastic set of target sights (worth a couple hundred dollars themselves), a heavy target stock with an adjustable butt plate for younger shooters, full instructions etc. Brand new, never fired rifles. I bought a beautiful Kimber sporter stock off Ebay and the action fits right into it.”
Our buddy Eric Kennard of Harbour Arms is offering a “Christmas in July” special on his high-quality metal SnapCaps. These are precision machined aluminum SnapCaps with internal springs. Now, through the end of July, you can purchase two sets of SnapCaps (two units per set), along with two Empty Chamber Indicators (ECIs) — all for just $23.95. Eric offers SnapCaps in a wide variety of calibers including .308 Winchester, 6 PPC, 6mmBR, 6BRX, 6mm Dasher, 6XC, .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×47, .260 Rem, 6.5-284 and dozens more.
With Eric’s SnapCaps, you can dry-fire to your hearts content without harming your gun’s firing pin or fire control system. Veteran high-power shooters know the importance of dry-fire practice — one former National Champion told us he would dry-fire at least six hours for every hour he spent on the firing line. Even benchrest shooters can benefit. By using Eric’s SnapCaps, you can improve your gun-handling and trigger-pulling techniques. This Editor found his rimfire benchrest scores improved after dry-fire practice. I learned to pull the trigger straight back and I learned the hold that produced the minimal disturbance on the bags.
A “Special Edition” of NRANews.com highlights the perpetual NRA trophies awarded at the NRA National Championships. In this webcast, reporter John Popp and Mike Krei, Director of NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, tour the Camp Perry Trophy Room. The Trophy Room holds roughly 130 statues, cups, plaques, and other awards that have commemorated the accomplishments of pistol and rifle shooters for more than a century. The oldest trophy dates back to the historic 1874 Creedmoor challenge match between Irish and American rifle teams.
Traveling Trophy Road Show
The seven-week span of the Camp Perry National Matches is only time all these NRA trophies are gathered together in one place. Krei explained: “[The trophies] are all in traveling cases… we bring them out annually (from NRA headquarters) and set them up [at Camp Perry] so everyone can see them.” Notable shooters such as Carl Bernoski, Sherri Gallagher, David Tubb, John Whidden, and Lones Wigger have their names etched on historic trophies like the Norman Adair Trophy, the Frank Parsons Memorial Trophy and the Wimbledon Cup.
To watch the Camp Perry Trophy Room webcast, log on to NRANews.com, select “SHOW ARCHIVES” then click on the “Jul 14″ tab near the top left corner. Scroll down (using the slider bar) to find the “Curator’s Corner” link, showing a 00:15:47 play time. Click on that and the video should load on the right within a few seconds. Be sure to click on the Curator’s Corner video first — if you click on a different video you’ll have to sit through the whole thing before the Curator’s Corner Video will play. Also, when you click the Curator’s Corner Video, the actual trophy feature doesn’t start until 01:47:00 point in the clip.
There will be future NRANews.com segments from the Trophy Room. These will be webcast on NRANews.com in the near future. Audio-only versions of the Trophy Room webcasts will also air on Sirius/XM Patriot Satellite Radio.
Bryan Litz, Ballistician for Berger Bullets and author of Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting, has tested the latest version of the Shooter Ballistics Calculator for Android™ OS Smartphones and portable devices. This is a very sophisticated, full featured App that incorporates the latest bullet databases with Litz G7 BCs as well as a wealth of other information. It provides extremely reliable ballistics solutions at all ranges, and in all atmospheric conditions.
Bryan tells us: “The Shooter App has been improving steadily since it was first released and there are many new capabilities now. One of the cool new features is a wireless Bluetooth link to Kestrel Weather Trackers. This can automatically provide the exact atmospherics at your location.”
Bryan used the Shooter App on a trip to Wyoming: “I shot a Sako TRG42 in .338 Lapua Mag to 2400 yards with Berger’s new 300gr hybrids. The dope from the Shooter App was spot on up to 103 MOA of drop using the G7 BC of .419 for that bullet! At 2400 yards, even at 6,000 ft+ elevation, the bullet is subsonic but remained stable and tracked perfectly with the predicted trajectory from Shooter. I don’t know if the same bullet would be stable at sea level when fired at that range or not but it worked well at 6,500 feet.”
Litz Says Shooter App Offers Very Sophisticated Ballistics Solutions
Bryan thinks the Shooter App is extremely accurate: “I consulted on the solver development for Shooter so I can personally vouch for the accuracy of this program. You can set up profiles for rifles and ammo types including calibration factors for scope adjustments, temperature affects on powder burn rate / muzzle velocity, and of course G1 and G7 referenced BCs (you can define a ‘stepped’ BC for both as well). You can set preferences for units, atmospherics, station pressure or altitude, and more. It can calculate spin drift and Coriolis effect, or those features can be disabled. If your smartphone has GPS, the program can automatically populate the latitude for Coriolis calculations.”
Shooter App is just $9.99 — A Bargain Given Its Capabilities
The full-featured Shooter App sells for $9.99 in the Android Apps Marketplace. Visit the Shooter App Website to preview the program’s functions and see how the entry screens work. The App is easy to install and run. There is a also a ‘Lite’ version of SHOOTER that you can download for free.
Big Spring Enterprises, the Arkansas-based maker of Bore-Store gun sacks, has completely updated the www.borestores.com website. You’ll now find a modern, easy-to-use online shopping cart system with decent-sized product photos. To mark the new website’s “grand opening”, the Bore-Store folks are offering a 10% discount on all online orders. Everything in the webstore is now 10% off. With the discount, handgun cases start at $4.95 and the smaller rifle cases are just $14.40. And there are also knife pouches and multi-pocket magazine stores starting at $450.00.
On the updated website, it’s easier than ever to select the right size and shape for your particular firearms — from pocket pistols, to long-barreled Palma rifles. If you don’t know which size Bore-Store to order, the handy “Case Finder” tool will steer you to the appropriate product after your enter your firearm’s height (with scope) and length. For most scoped rifles, you’ll want either the 10″ x 46″ scoped rifle bag or the 10 x 52″ scoped shotgun bag (this works great for long-barreled target rifles).
Bore-Stores Protect Your Guns in Many Ways We recommend Bore-Stores and we use them. Our take on Bore-Store Gun sleeves is simple: They work great, so buy them and use them — for ALL your valuable firearms. These thick, synthetic-fleece sacks cushion your guns, preventing nicks and scratches. The breathable fabric wicks away moisture, and the fibers are coated with corrosion inhibitors. This Editor personally uses Bore-Stores for in-safe storage with all my guns, and I have never had one of my guns rust inside a Bore-Store, even when I lived a stone’s throw from the ocean.
Bore-Stores are offered in a wide range of sizes, so you can find something to fit everything from a Snub-nosed revolver to a 32″-barrelled 50 BMG. Rifle-size Bore Stores can be purchased for $17.00 – $21.00 from Brownells or MidwayUSA. Of course, you can also order direct from Big Spring Enterprises at www.BoreStores.com. Big Spring will also craft custom large or unusual sizes on request.
Story idea from Edlongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Now through the end of July, MidwayUSA is running a promotion that can save you up to 10% on your online purchases. Note: sale, clearance, out-of-stock and Nightforce products do not count towards the total. Gift certificates do not count towards the total. These discounts apply to in-stock, regularly-priced items only. Remember the deadline is July 31, 11:59 pm, Central Time.
Coupon Code: 5071171
Type of Discount: $10 off $50 or more
Expiration date: 2011-07-31 23:59:59
Coupon Code: 1561171
Type of discount: 10% off $100 or more
Expiration date: 2011-07-31 23:59:59
Coupon Code: 2561171
Type of discount: 10% off $200 or more
Expiration date: 2011-07-31 23:59:59
Coupon Code: 3561171
Type of discount: 10% off $300 or more
Expiration date: 2011-07-31 23:59:59
To receive your Savings:
1. Add regular price, in-stock products to your cart totaling:
$100 or more – Use Promotion Code 1561171
$200 or more – Use Promotion Code 2561171
$300 or more – Use Promotion Code 3561171
2. Enter the promotion code into the box titled, “Promotion Code” on the shopping cart page.
3. See the discount applied on the Confirmation page near the end of the checkout.
The Shooting Wire reports that there are just two days left to take advantage of the early registration discount for the 2011 Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships. Competitors must submit Match Applications this Friday, July 15, 2001, to take advantage of the discounted match fee. If you get your application postmarked by Friday then you’ll also be entered in a drawing for a new Ruger Mark III pistol. If you aren’t familiar with the Steel Challenge, held each year in Piru, California, it is one of the top pistol competitions in the world. Check out this video highlighting our friend K.C. Eusebio, who has set fastest times on many of the Steel Challenge Stages.
On Monday, 11 July, the 2011 NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships officially commenced at Camp Perry, Ohio. DCM Emeritus Gary Anderson led a procession of special guests into the ceremony.
Poor weather cancelled the traditional delivery of the colors by a parachute team, so the flag was presented to Anderson by a squad from the Ohio National Guard. VIP Guest Joseph Westphal, Under Secretary of the Army, addressed the gathering, and then Westphal fired the ceremonial First Shot, followed by wounded warrior SFC Sene Polu, who fired the second shot.
Now that the championships have begun, each morning the National Matches start with a bang — a big bang. With the raising of the colors, a cannon is fired in salute. On 12 July, Mike Krei, NRA’s Director of Competitive Shooting was chosen to fire the cannon, marking the first day that shots are going down range at the NRA National Pistol Championships.
Pistol Championships Underway
We are now into the second day of competition in the National Pistol Championships. It’s day two of the NRA National Pistol Championships, and that means competitors are firing the NRA Preliminary Pistol Championship today in three separate relays. In this morning’s first relay, shooters took to the range to complete the Center Fire, .22 Caliber, and .45 Caliber stages of fire. The aggregate of these stages comprises each competitor’s total score.
Who are the front-runners? SFC Jim Henderson of the Army Marksmanship Unit won this Championship last year with a score of 890-42X, but the record of 894-50X was set by Brian Zins in 1996. At this stage in the match it’s too early to tell who the winners might be, but with 10-time National Champion Brian Zins sitting out this year, there may be some surprises. James Lenardson, SSG Jean-Noel Howell, David Lange, and SSG Patrick Franks are just a few of the competitors who are riding high after yesterday’s Revolver Matches, but Philip Hemphill, SFC Henderson, John Zurek, and many others could still finish on top of the podium.
Story by Kerrin Brinkman and photos courtesy the NRA BLOG.
The Creedmoor Nationals’ match history dates back to the 19th century with the purchase of the Creed Farm in Long Island, New York. A long range black powder match between the United States and Ireland at the brand new Creedmoor range drew a significant amount of attention to the shooting sports and drew eventually drew its name from the NRA’s range. The 2011 championship currently being conducted at the Whittington Center is based on the original course of fire in keeping with the tradition of the match.
Our buddy Eric Kennard of 
A “Special Edition” of NRANews.com highlights the perpetual NRA trophies awarded at the NRA National Championships. In this webcast, reporter John Popp and Mike Krei, Director of NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, tour the Camp Perry Trophy Room. The Trophy Room holds roughly 130 statues, cups, plaques, and other awards that have commemorated the accomplishments of pistol and rifle shooters for more than a century. The oldest trophy dates back to the historic 1874 Creedmoor challenge match between Irish and American rifle teams.
Bryan tells us: “The 
Big Spring Enterprises, the Arkansas-based maker of 
We recommend Bore-Stores and we use them. Our take on Bore-Store Gun sleeves is simple: They work great, so buy them and use them — for ALL your valuable firearms. These thick, synthetic-fleece sacks cushion your guns, preventing nicks and scratches. The breathable fabric wicks away moisture, and the fibers are coated with corrosion inhibitors. This Editor personally uses Bore-Stores for in-safe storage with all my guns, and I have never had one of my guns rust inside a Bore-Store, even when I lived a stone’s throw from the ocean.
The 
On Monday, 11 July, the 2011 NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships officially commenced at Camp Perry, Ohio. DCM Emeritus Gary Anderson led a procession of special guests into the ceremony.
