U.S. Army Ranger and Special Forces veteran Eric Hollen utilized shooting as a tool for recovery after an injury that broke his back. Hollen is now the top-ranked Air Pistol and number two Free Pistol athlete in the world and has set a goal for himself: the Gold Medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Eric Hollen, a former U.S. Army Ranger, has been named the 2011 USA Shooting Paralympic Athlete of the Year. In addition, Hollen has secured a quota for the 2012 Olympics based on his performance 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cup in Sydney, Australia. The quota that Hollen won down-under earns him a nomination to the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team (pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee). Barring something unforseen, this means that Hollen should compete for the United States at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
Hollen Wins Silver and Bronze in Sydney
“Eric is an Army Special Forces veteran who has taken advantage of the unique opportunities available as an Olympic Training Center (OTC) Resident Athlete,” said Coach Bob Foth. At the IPC World Cup Sydney Hollen won a bronze medal in P4 Mixed 50m Free Pistol. Then, in the P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol even, Hollen fired 98.1 points to secure the silver medal. The historic part, however, came from the 2012 Paralympic quota that Hollen won along with the medal. This is the first-ever Paralympic quota won by an American shooter under the IPC’s new quota distribution system. An elated Hollen said, “I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing program and to the people who have helped me reach the next step to my ultimate goal — Coach Bob Foth, Coach Ray Arredondo, Sean McCann, Dave Johnson, Sergey Luzov and many more.”
Hollen Achieves New Goals After Loosing Use of His Legs
Eric Hollen served in the U.S. Army for nine years, first with the 2/75 Rangers in Fort Lewis, WA, and then with the 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, CO. After leaving the Army, while farming in Tennessee in 2001, a tractor overturned on him, breaking his back. Despite that devastating injury, Hollen has gained a new lease on life. He enrolled in East Tennessee State University, earning his bachelor’s degree in April of 2010. He was awarded USA Shooting’s Paralympic Athlete of the Year honor after a terrific 2010 season. Hollen strives to help newly injured veterans reach their goals despite their disabilities. He advises junior shooters to: “Do the hard things — the hold drills and dry-fire drills that are not much fun — and you will find success.”
Check out this cool video filmed by Charles Le at the 2011 USPSA Handgun Nationals in Las Vegas. Charles focused on the top female competitors, gals with world-class speed and accuracy. The video features Julie Golob, Jessie Harrison, Maggie Reese, Diana Le, Athena Lee, Kippi Leatham, Bonnie Ryder, and Cindi Thomas. These ladies redefine, in a positive way, what it means to “Shoot Like a Girl”.
Watch High-Def Version of Video with Fast Connections
By default, this YouTube video runs in 360p. However, if you have a fast connection you can select a higher resolution including 720p and 1080p HD (High Definition). You can also click the arrows icon on the lower right corner of the video to expand for full screen. Watching this vid in 1080p on a full screen is pretty impressive — trust us. (During HD viewing, if the display is choppy, let the whole video download before playback.) Charles Le’s video shows the production quality that can now be achieved with affordable equipment. Charles used a Canon EOS 60d camera (body only about $700), and edited the video on a MacBook Pro using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.
Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC (“Colt”) announced that it will open a new firearms production facility in Kissimmee, Florida. Colt’s announcement did not discuss plant closures elsewhere, but we expect that some of Colt’s production (and jobs) will be moved from New England to Florida. Colt’s press release states: “The new 16,000-square foot facility will allow Colt’s Manufacturing Company to expand into new markets and business lines in parallel with the company’s existing 100,000-square-foot facility in Connecticut. Specific information on facility renovations and employee requirements will be determined over the course of the next several months.”
Colt Introduces New California-Compliant ARs
In related news, Colt has introduced a series of California-compliant AR15s. This is good for “black rifle” fans in the Golden State. Colt’s CA-legal ARs include: a 16″ barrel M4 Clone (LE6920CA) with adjustable stock; an Accurized rifle with 24″, 1:8″ twist heavy barrel (CR6724CA), and a “Patrol Rifle” that features Magpul furniture (6920CMP-B). All of Colt’s new California-compliant rifles are test-fired at the factory, and they all have mil-spec barrel, chamber, and bolt carrier group. In addition, Colt’s ARs receive special metal testing. Steve Comus, who reviewed Colt’s new ARs for Western Outdoor News, explains: “There is a magnetic particle inspection test done on all Colt rifles. After a rifle passes the MP (Magnetic Particle) test, MP is stamped on the bolt and barrel, as is C for Colt and MP on barrel. To pass, every single barrel and bolt goes through an over pressure test of 70,000 psi to make sure it can handle high pressure. Colt then takes rifle barrel and bolt and does a magnetic particle test on them. Barrels on mil spec barrels are chrome-lined. Accurized barrels are not chrome-lined.”
At the 2010 SHOT Show, we had the unique opportunity to corner three “superstars” of High Power shooting, and solicit their wind-reading secrets. In the three videos below (in alphabetical order), Carl Bernosky (9-Time Nat’l High Power Champion), David Tubb (11-time Nat’l High Power Champion and 7-time Nat’l Long -Range Champion), and John Whidden (2-Time Nat’l High Power Long-Range Champion) shared some of the wind-doping strategies that have carried them to victory in the nation’s most competitive shooting matches. This is GOLD folks… no matter what your discipline — be it short-range Benchrest or Long-Range High Power — watch these videos for valuable insights that can help you shoot more accurately, and post higher scores, in all wind conditions.
We were very fortunate to have these three extraordinarily gifted champions reveal their “winning ways”. These guys REALLY know their stuff. I thought to myself: “Wow, this is how a baseball fan might feel if he could assemble Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Ted Williams in the same room, and have them each reveal their hitting secrets.” Editor’s Note: These interviews were conducted before Bernosky and Tubb won their most recent National Championships so the introductions may list a lower number of titles won.
Here’s a great December Deal from Webyshops.com. Right now, until supplies run out, Webyshops is offering Bushnell’s Elite 3200 5-15×40 AO Riflescope (item 325154T), for just $349.00 — that’s one hundred bucks cheaper than Webyshops’ regular low price. This is a very popular scope and Webyshops’ #2 top seller. It has excellent glass.
The Bushnell Elite 3200 5-15×40 AO Riflescope is a quality hunting and target scope. It’s also great for rimfire guns because the front adjustable objective can focus all the way down to 10 yards. The Elite 3200 5-15×40 features Target Turrets with 1/4-MOA clicks, Mildot reticle, 1″-diameter maintube, and it ships with a sunshade. Stated elevation range is 50 MOA (so you may need an angled base for 1000-yard shooting). The scope is NOT a Front Focal Plane, so the ranging capabilities of the Mildot Reticle are limited to one magnification.
Here’s a review from a recent purchaser: “Great scope for the money. This is my 6th Bushnell Elite Scope, and the glass is as clear as more expensive scopes. The impressive thing about this scope is that the parallax can be adjusted down to 10 yards…between that and the target turrets, it was an easy decision to buy it for my CZ 452 American.” — Sam H., Pennsylvania
Here’s a fun gift item from Vat19.com — a bottle opener made from de-milled .50 BMG cartridges. These .50 Caliber Bottle Openers are made by hand in the USA by a group that donates at least 15% of its profits to helping wounded soldiers via the Travis Manion Foundation.
The price is $14.99. Considering the simple design, we bet many of our readers could make their own bottle opener using an old cartridge, a Dremel tool, and a file. If that’s too much work, you can order the .50 Cal bottle opener from Vat19.com. This item has been so popular that it is currently sold out, but Vat19.com is expecting to receive more inventory on December 19th — right before Christmas.
Celebrating its 15th year, the IDPA Indoor National Championships will take place at the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, MA, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 23-25, 2012. The Indoor Nationals, as it is known, is one of the three major championships on the annual International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) shooting calendar. This event draws hundreds of top competitive shooters from across the nation. CLICK HERE to view image galleries from the 2011 IDPA Indoor Nationals in Massachusetts.
Registration Opens Next Sunday, December 18th
The 2012 championships will feature 12 stages and a minimum round count of 153. Online registration for the IDPA Indoor National Championships opens at 6:00pm ET on Sunday, December 18, 2011. Additional information on the 15th Annual Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championships is available online. Below is a video by Team S&W Captain Julie Golob on the 2011 IDPA Indoor Nationals. Bad weather delayed Julie’s arrival, but the video shows many other top competitors, such as fellow Team S&W squad member Jerry Miculek, in action. Team S&W dominated last years event, winning five National titles.
Did you miss out on the great deals during the Black Friday/Cyber-Monday weekend? Well MidwayUSA has announced a Second Chance Sale that runs through 11:59 PM CST on Monday, December 12th. Remember the listest prices end at Midnight tonight! Here are some of the best deals available now:
MidwayUSA Competition Range Bag: $34.99 marked down from $69.99
(AccurateShooter.com Reviewed Product.)
Lake City NEW 5.56×45 Brass (500 cases): $59.99 marked down from $114.99.
(This is new, unfired brass. You can also buy 1000 cases for $109.99 on sale.)
Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler Master Kit: $53.99 marked down from $73.99.
(Includes Vibratory Tumbler, Bucket, Media Separator, Media, and polish.)
Frankford Arsenal Stainless 6″ Electronic Caliper: $10.99 marked down from $22.99.
(Comes in fitted plastic box with battery.)
Paul Markel, a firearms instructor who hosts the Student of the Gun cable series, has released a new instructional guide in e-Reader formats (HTML, Kindle, ePUB, PDF). Plain text and RTF versions are also available for most word processing programs.
Markel’s new Student of the Gun eBook contains advice for both new gun owners and experienced shooters. The text draws on Markel’s experience as U.S. Marine, Police Officer, Bodyguard, and Firearms Instructor. Over the past two decades, Markel has trained thousands of shooters. He is also a seasoned writer who has penned numerous articles and reviews for Shooting Sports and Law Enforcement periodicals.
Just $9.99 with Free Partial Samples
The eBook costs $9.99, but here’s the good part — you can download 5% of the book as a free HTML sample to read with your web browser. This new eBook is available for immediate download to your laptop, Kindle, Nook, iPad and other book readers. Download from Smashwords.com.
Student of the Gun TV Changes Channels
In related news, Paul Markel’s Student of the Gun TV Show is switching networks. Leaving the Pursuit Channel, the popular show moves to The Sportsman Channel, where it will air weekly, starting December 26th, 2011.
Paul Markel, the show’s host stated: “We are tremendously grateful for the support we received from our original channel. But the move to the Sportsman Channel gives us the opportunity for greater growth and the ability to reach more American shooters.” Check with your local cable provider for broadcast times. Watch a YouTube preview below.
Camera Land is slashing prices on a wide selection of Steiner binoculars. These are excellent optics, Made in Germany. The combination of low sale prices, and after-sale rebates on many items, makes these very attractive offerings. The posted prices (including rebates) run through December 31st, 2011. Please feel free to call Doug or Neil @ 212-753-5128 at Cameraland with any questions. Quantities are limited, so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate.
Eric Hollen, a former U.S. Army Ranger, has been named the 2011 USA Shooting Paralympic Athlete of the Year. In addition, Hollen has secured a quota for the 2012 Olympics based on his performance 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cup in Sydney, Australia. The quota that Hollen won down-under earns him a nomination to the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team (pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee). Barring something unforseen, this means that Hollen should compete for the United States at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
Paul Markel, a firearms instructor who hosts the 
Student of the Gun TV Changes Channels
