The TCU rifle team used a dominating effort in air rifle to erase a five-point deficit to claim its second national championship in the last three seasons. TCU’s top-scoring Air Rifle shooter, Sarah Scherer, finished third in the air rifle individual finals, which was won by another lady shooter, West Virginia Mountaineer Petra Zublasing. Congrats to Petra!
In addition to the Team National Championship, the Frogs took home the air rifle title after firing a 2,353, topping West Virginia’s team score of 2,350. Kentucky finished the smallbore competition on day one in first place, but the KY Wildcats couldn’t hold off the TCU squad. TCU’s “Horned Frogs” fired a 2,353 in air rifle to record an impressive 4,676-4,661 overall victory over the defending champion Wildcats. Alaska-Fairbanks took third place overall in the team competition behind TCU and Kentucky.
Final NCAA Rifle Championship Team Rankings:
1. Texas Christian University (TCU)
2. Univ. of Kentucky
3. Univ. of Alaska – Fairbanks
4. U.S. Military Academy (West Point)
5. Univ. of Texas El Paso (UTEP)
6. West Virginia Univ.
7. Jacksonville State Univ.
8. Univ. of Nevada – Reno
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Ace gunsmith Joe Chambers (aka Joe C), who is best known for his custom pistols, recently joined our Shooters’ Forum. Guns built by Joe have been used to win 49 class championships at the NRA Camp Perry National Championships, as well as many regional, state and local matches. He has built guns for collectors, concealed carry and action pistol competitors as well. Joe’s custom pistols have been featured in American Handgunner Magazine. Chambers’ guns are noted for their outstanding reliability and accuracy. He has built 1911s chambered in .38 Super that will put ten (10) shoots in under 1.00″ at fifty (50) yards. (We’ve seen some factory rifles that can’t do that!)
You can view impressive Chambers-built customs on Joe’s website ChambersCustom.com. Here are some samples:
Chambers Gains Precision Rifle Knowledge Through Forum
While the AccurateShooter Forum’s main focus is on precision rifles, it’s good to know that someone with Joe’s skills and abilities can help forum members who have questions about 1911 pistols and custom pistol-smithing. In return, we invite our experienced rifle shooters to share their long-gun knowledge with Joe. A budding interest in long-range and F-Class rifle shooting drew Chambers to our Forum. He came to the right place. Many of the nation’s top F-Class shooters (both F-TR and F-Open) frequent our board. No doubt Joe will advance his knowledge of rifle shooting through participation in our Forum. Welcome aboard Joe — we are pleased to include you in our community of precision shooters!
Story tip by Tanner F. (aka Flybuster). We welcome reader submissions.
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Here, from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), are eight (8) Free Targets that can be downloaded as PDF files and printed. All targets are available as PDFs and print on standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper. In the future, other targets may be posted on the NSSF Target Page. Want more FREE targets? Visit AccurateShooter.com’s Target Archive to access dozens of FREE, printable target designs, including load-testing targets, varmint targets, NRA bullseye targets, and fun targets.
Click a target to view and print. Right-click and ‘Save As’ to save PDF to your computer.
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Story by By Kyle Jillson forThe NRA Blog
The Kentucky Wildcats won the 2012 NCAA team smallbore championship yesterday, shooting a 2328 to win the Smallbore Title and secure a 3-point lead over 2nd place Army in the overall (combined smallbore and Air Rifle) 2012 NCAA Rifle Championships. Last year the Wildcats came into the second day’s Air Rifle competition with a 7-point lead and held on by three to claim the school’s first National Championship. Today at the French Field House Kentucky hopes to maintain the lead in the Air Rifle championship and take home a National Championship for the second consecutive year.
Heading into Saturday’s Air Rifle competition, here are current Team Scores and rankings::
1. University of Kentucky: 2328
2. U.S. Military Academy (West Point): 2325
3. Texas Christian University: 2323
4. Alaska-Fairbanks: 2312
5. University of Nevada Reno: 2306
6. Jacksonville State University: 2304
7. UTEP: 2303
8. West Virginia University: 2297
TCU’s Sarah Scherer Wins Individual Smallbore Championship
Friday afternoon the top eight shooters from the smallbore relays stepped up to the firing line for the 2012 individual smallbore finals. When the final scores were totaled, TCU’s Sarah Scherer was the victor, edging West Point’s Michael Matthews by just one point. Scherer, who recently qualified for the US Olympic Team, took the individual smallbore title with a 99.6 in the finals and a total aggregate of 688.6. This was her second win in smallbore; the first coming in TCU’s national championship run in 2010.
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Intro Training Programs in CA and FL
More than 300 first-time shooters came out to six ranges in California and Florida this past weekend to attend NSSF’s First Shots events. The 20 filled-to-capacity seminars in these two areas served as yet another demonstration of the growing interest in gun ownership across America. “[We give] a sincere thank you to the ranges, their staff, volunteers and participants for making these events a huge success,” said Tisma Juett, NSSF’s First Shots manager. “First Shots also thanks Remington for providing all of the .22 ammo and Birchwood-Casey for the Shoot N See targets.”
Florida ranges offering First Shots Programs included: Hollywood Rifle & Pistol Club (Dania Beach), Arizona Shooting Range (Fort Lauderdale), and National Armory (Pompona Beach). California ranges that held events were Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (Sloughhouse), El Dorado Shooting Range (El Dorado), and United Revolver Club (Sacramento). Learn more about First Shots at NSSF.org/firstshots.
Story tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
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Here’s a tip that can help you score higher at matches and get more predictable results when weighing loads with an electronic scale. Kelly Bachand, a top prone shooter and electrical engineering major at the Univ. of Washington, tells us that all digital scales can drift. Therefore Kelly recommends re-calibrating electronic scales often. In addition — and this is key — Kelly recommends that you shoot the ammo in the exact order in which it was loaded. Arrange your loaded ammo in a box in the order of loading and shoot it first-loaded to last-loaded. (Or, if you prefer, shoot it last-loaded to first-loaded.) The important thing is to maintain the order and not mix everything up. That way, if your scale drifts, the effect of drift on charge weight will be incremental from one loaded round to the next, so point of impact change should be negligible. Conversely, if you shoot your last-loaded round right after your first-loaded round, the effect of scale drift is at its maximum, so powder charge varience is maximized. And that can produce a different point of impact (POI) on the target.
Tips on Loading with Electronic Scales by Kelly Bachand
If you use a digital scale to measure powder charges, recalibrate the scale often. I like to do this about every 25 rounds or so. Additionally, most electronic scales rely on eddy currents for their precision. Eddy currents are easily disrupted by static electricity so keep a cloth or ground strap nearby to remove any static currents should the scale start acting up; I usually just use a fabric softener sheet that has gone through the dryer once.
Shoot Ammo in Order of Loading
I shoot my rounds in the same order or reverse order as I load them. If the charge weight varies due to scale drift during use, the difference will be gradual if I shoot in the same order as production (or reverse order). I should be able to adjust for the slight varience in charge weight without having any wildly high or low shots (see the charts below for a graphical demonstration). I usually load my ammunition just 100 rounds at a time. Give yourself plenty of time and remember that you will make your best ammunition when you are fully awake and alert.
This graph demonstrates the effect a .01% (that’s 1/100th of 1 percent) difference in scale measurement would have over the course of 100 rounds assuming the desired load is somewhere between 46 and 47 grains. The final round made would have almost 1% less (or more) powder than the first, that’s almost an 0.5 grain difference from the first. If shot back to back, these rounds will invariably have different points of impact on the target.
This graph demonstrates the same .01% difference in scale measurement but this time with a recalibration every 25 rounds. By recalibrating the scale every 25 rounds the furthest a weighed charge ever gets from the original is less than 0.25%. Again if the charge being weighed is between 46 and 47 grains then the 26th round made would vary from the 1st by .12 grains. Even that small difference would likely show on target.
Either way it is important to note that if the bullets are shot in the same (or reverse) order as they are made, the biggest difference from bullet to bullet in this example is less than .01 grains.
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The March 2012 edition of Target Shooter Magazine is now available for online viewing. This issue is full of informative articles, with excellent photography. If you prefer the convenience of print magazines, you’ll like Target Shooter’s “eZine” format. Target Shooter displays like a print magazine — so you can enjoy large, wide-format photos, and you can flip pages just like a regular magazine. There is also a handy index (just like a print mag) so you can quickly access all the articles of interest.
This month, you’ll find many stories worth reading. Starting off, Laurie Holland hot-rods a Rem 700 SPS tactical rifle. After fitting the rifle with a new 26″ 1:7.9″-twist barrel and Manners Composite stock, Laurie shows that impressive accuracy can be achieved from the upgraded Remington SPS (chambered in .223 Rem). Laurie also continues his on-going series about reloading for the .308 Win. This month he tests Lapua small-flashhole brass with a variety of powders. Other highlights include a comparison test of air-splitters and tuners for airgun benchrest, and a guide to competition optics. Readers can download previous monthly editions plus a Shot Show supplement from the Target Shooter Magazine homepage, found at TargetShooter.co.uk.
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The days of the “ORM-D: Small Arms Cartridges” labels for ammo shipments are numbered. The Dept. of Transportation (DOT) is phasing out the current ORM-D ammo labels, replacing them with a larger striped diamond label that does not mention “Small Arms Cartridges”. This change is designed to harmonize U.S. shipping rules with United Nations standards. You can start using the new “Limited Quantity” diamond labels for ammo shipments immediately, but they are not mandatory — yet. You can continue to use the old ORM-D “Cartridges, Small Arms” labels until December 31, 2013. As of January 1, 2014 you MUST use the Striped Diamonds.
OFFICIAL UPS RULES — Elimination of ORM-D Classification In an attempt to harmonize and align with international standards, the DOT has amended the 49CFR regulations regarding the ORM-D classification. Effective January 19, 2011, with the publication of the HM-215K final rule, the hazard class of ORM-D is being eliminated. Those materials may still be shipped classified as a limited quantity (“Ltd Qty”). In conjunction with ORM-D hazard class elimination in HM-215K, limited quantity ground shipments will no longer require shipping papers when prepared under the new rule. This includes those materials previously classed as Ltd Qty that required shipping papers via ground transport.
Ground Ltd Qty Marking
Air Ltd Qty Marking
NOTE: These illustrations are not true to scale. The actual default Ltd Qty Diamond label to be used for ammo shipments is much larger, about 5″ per side. A smaller 2″ per side version of the Ltd Qty striped diamond can be used on smaller packages.
There is a transition period for shippers to comply with the new classification, marking and labeling requirements. Until December 31, 2013 a limited quantity package containing a consumer commodity as defined in 171.8 may be reclassed as ORM-D, or until December 31, 2012 for ORM-D-Air material. UPS began accepting materials with the new markings effective April 1, 2011. Note: To be in compliance with TDG, Standard (ground) Ltd Qty shipments to Canada prepared under HM-215K require the verbiage ‘Limited quantity’ or ‘Ltd qty’ to also be marked on the carton.
Download OLD and NEW Label Formats
On the Parallax Curio and Relic Forum, a thread includes PDF samples of both the new Diamond Ltd Qty Labels and the current ORM-D Labels. The thread explains: “The good news is the new label doesn’t have any indicator that the package contains ammunition. The bad news is the new label is gigantic compared to the old ORM-D label. You are required to use one of the larger labels on one side of any package containing ammunition. If the package is too small for one of the larger labels then you are permitted to use one of the smaller labels instead. Because of the size requirement in the regulations, you only get two of each label on standard piece of printer paper.”
If you want to still use the ORM-D Small Arm Cartridges Labels until the new Diamond Labels are mandatory, here are links to PDF sheets of ORM-D labels. These PDFs have many rows of labels per page so you can save printer paper. The black version and blue version will use up more printer ink, so you might want to use the white version to be more economical.
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With the price of premium brass topping $90/100 for many popular cartridges, it makes sense to consider annealing your brass to extend its useful life. Forum member Darrell Jones offers a full range of brass prep, brass forming, and brass restoration (annealing, ultra-sonic cleaning) at very affordable prices. Starting at just $15 per 100 cases, Darrell’s company, DJ’s Brass, will anneal your used brass using state-of-the-art Bench-Source annealing machines. He can also ultrasonically clean cases for $15 per 100 ($20 per 100 for magnum cases larger than 0.473″ rim).
Custom Neck-Turning Services
Another great service DJ’s Brass provides is precision neck-turning. He can neck-turn any size case to your specified neck-wall thickness. The price is $0.30 per case (normal size) or $0.40 (magnum size) with a $20.00 minimum order. And if you’ve got a bucket of brass to neck-turn, that’s fine with Darrell — he recently neck-turned 1500 pieces of brass for one customer!
DJ’s Brass can process everything from .17 Fireball all the way up to the big magnum cases. And the job gets done quickly. Darrell has a 10-day turn-around guarantee. For most jobs, Darrell tells us, he gets the processed brass to the Post Office within three business days. DJ’s Brass charges only actual shipping fees, using USPS flat-rate boxes.
• Ultrasonic Cleaning + Annealing ($25.00/100 normal or $30/100 magnum)
• Ultrasonic Cleaning and Polishing ($15.00/100 normal or $20/100 magnum)
• Anneal Case Necks (after checking for splits) ($15.00/100 normal or $20/100 magnum)
• COAL Trim and Chamfer Case Mouths ($0.20 per case, $20.00 minimum order)
• Uniform and Square Primer Pockets ($0.15 per case, $20.00 minimum order)
• Expand Case Necks and Anneal brass (Call for Price)
• Create False Shoulder for Fire-Forming (Call for Price)
Muzzle Brake Tax Break Special: FREE cleaning of up to two (2) Stainless Muzzle Brakes with a minimum $50.00 order. Special good through April 17, 2012 (Tax Return Deadline for 2012).
DJ’s Brass Offers Specialized Custom Services
Darrell tells us: “At DJ’s Brass, we can handle all your brass refurbishing needs. From ultrasonic cleaning to custom annealing for specific wildcat cartridges. We can expand your necks from .22 caliber to .30 caliber and anneal shoulders for consistent bump-back. We can turn your case-necks and trim the brass to your specs. For some cartridge types, I can pre-form cases to assist in fire-forming a wildcat cartridge. We also remove the carbon build-up in muzzle brakes. Don’t lose your accuracy by having carbon build up and close off the clearance required for the most accurate bullet release through a muzzle brake.” Note: Extra charges apply for neck-turning and neck expansion operations, or specialized cartridge-forming operations. Please call 205-461-4680 for special services pricing.
Muzzle Brake – Tax Break Special for AccurateShooter.com Readers
Now through April 17, 2012 (Tax Due Date), Darrell is offering a Muzzle Brake – Tax Break Special for our readers. For all case prep/restoration orders of $50.00 or more, Darrell will ultrasonically clean one or two stainless muzzle brakes for no extra charge (offer does not apply to blued or coated muzzle brakes). For more info, visit DJsBrass.com or call Darrell Jones at 205-461-4680. IMPORTANT: Contact Darrell for shipping instructions BEFORE sending any brass for processing. ALL BRASS MUST BE DE-PRIMED before you send it.
Darrell has cleaned and annealed cases for shooters from across the country. Here are recent testimonials (this Editor reviewed all the original emails so I can confirm these are real):
“Your services were good with a quick turn-around time. Quality of the case annealing looked great[.]” — Tom, in Alaska
“The [300 Win Ackley] batch you did for me came back looking great.” — Chuck, in Arizona
“Since I started using Lapua brass, I’ve gotten gotten enough reloads out of them to notice that the necks were no longer sealing as well as I’d like. A friend suggested annealing them. I remembered seeing DJ’s ad on AccurateShooter.com and thought I’d give him a try. Not only did my [.308 brass] come back sorted exactly as I had sent them out, all had been so thoroughly cleaned that I realized I had been leaving lube on them after forming. DJ had taken the time to enclose a note cautioning me to brush the inside case necks and do a full-length resize for the first loading. And all 200 cases were back in my hands in DAYS, not weeks! Great service, great price, great follow up.” — Jim, in Alabama
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The nation’s top collegiate men and women shooters have converged on Ohio State University to compete in the 2012 NCAA Rifle Championships. The Championships run March 9-10 (Friday and Saturday) at the Converse Hall and French Field House in Columbus, Ohio. The undefeated Horned Frogs from Texas Christian University (TCU) look to upset the reigning champion Wildcats from the University of Kentucky (UK). You can follow the NCAA Rifle Championships on the NCAA.com website (rifle page). Event coverage will include live streaming video of some relays. The 8-minute video below includes profiles of top male and female shooters.
The following eight teams qualified (based on regular season aggregate scores) to compete in both air rifle and smallbore events: University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF), West Point Army, Jacksonville State, University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, University of Nevada, University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), and TCU. On Friday, March 9, the three-position smallbore shooters (both team and individual competition) will shoot 60 shots. The next day, air rifle competitors will take the line for 60 shots as well. According to NCAA rules: “the overall team champion will be determined by combining smallbore and air rifle team scores into one aggregate score for each institution.” The NCAA Rifle program has been in existence since 1980 and currently has 29 schools participating.
Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 9. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 10. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team total scores into one aggregate score for each institution.
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The National Shooting Sports Foundation has launched GunVote, a voter education website at NSSF.org/gunvote. The new GunVote website provides links to voter registration information for all 50 states, a guide to political races in voter districts, the latest polls, and a selection of news articles covering the campaigns. GunVote also spotlights Candidates’ positions on Gun Rights and the Second Amendment.
“It’s great to see that so many individuals have become firearm owners, but these freedoms require constant support from elected officials at the state and federal levels,” said NSSF President/CEO Steve Sanetti. “Votes on legislation and appointments to the courts have profound effects on our firearms freedoms.” Sanetti noted that two landmark Supreme Court decisions reaffirming the individual right to own firearms — D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago — were both decided by 5-to-4 votes.
COMMENTARY — Why You Should Participate in Upcoming Elections
The votes of target shooters, hunters and gun owners can make a huge impact in the 2012 election. Participating in the upcoming election begins by making sure to register, then becoming educated about the candidates running for office and discussing choices with family and friends so that they understand the importance of voting. The final step is going to the polls and (when necessary) helping others to get to the polls, too.
More Gun-Owners Need to Register and Vote
In the 2010 Congressional election, only 46.2 percent of women and 45 percent of men 18 and over reported voting, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Gun owners tend to be more active at the polls than this average, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Sanetti adds: “More gun owners need to vote. It’s critical that they do, and that they consider closely what candidates are saying… about our firearms freedoms.”
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We’ve upgraded the AccurateShooter.com Forum, giving it a bigger, faster server. The new dedicated Forum server has a faster processor, more storage space, and more memory — all of which improves the user experience.
The switch-over was accomplished yesterday at 1630 hours (Pacific Time). All existing threads and posts have been preserved. Post counts and buy/sell feedback have also been retained. By all indications, everything is going well so far. Forum users report that pages load faster and searches take less time: “Things move along very fast now!” (Frank G. aka 40X Guy).
Join a Community of Nearly 17,000 Serious Shooters
If you haven’t visited our Shooters’ Forum yet, log on to Forum.AccurateShooter.com and check out one of the best Message Boards for precision shooters on the web. We now have nearly 17,000 Forum members including many National and International Champions. For example, this morning 2011 NRA National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky was logged in. And UK and World F-Class Champion Gary Costello (aka “GLC”) regularly visits our Forum. If you want advice from guys who really know their stuff — it doesn’t get better than that.
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The TCU rifle team used a dominating effort in air rifle to erase a five-point deficit to claim its second national championship in the last three seasons. TCU’s top-scoring Air Rifle shooter, Sarah Scherer, finished third in the air rifle individual finals, which was won by another lady shooter, West Virginia Mountaineer Petra Zublasing. Congrats to Petra!
Ace gunsmith Joe Chambers (aka Joe C), who is best known for his custom pistols, recently joined our 
Intro Training Programs in CA and FL
Here’s a tip that can help you score higher at matches and get more predictable results when weighing loads with an electronic scale. Kelly Bachand, a top prone shooter and electrical engineering major at the Univ. of Washington, tells us that all digital scales can drift. Therefore Kelly recommends re-calibrating electronic scales often. In addition — and this is key — Kelly recommends that you shoot the ammo in the exact order in which it was loaded. Arrange your loaded ammo in a box in the order of loading and shoot it first-loaded to last-loaded. (Or, if you prefer, shoot it last-loaded to first-loaded.) The important thing is to maintain the order and not mix everything up. That way, if your scale drifts, the effect of drift on charge weight will be incremental from one loaded round to the next, so point of impact change should be negligible. Conversely, if you shoot your last-loaded round right after your first-loaded round, the effect of scale drift is at its maximum, so powder charge varience is maximized. And that can produce a different point of impact (POI) on the target.
In an attempt to harmonize and align with international standards, the DOT has amended the 49CFR regulations regarding the ORM-D classification. Effective January 19, 2011, with the publication of the HM-215K final rule, the hazard class of ORM-D is being eliminated. Those materials may still be shipped classified as a limited quantity (“Ltd Qty”). In conjunction with ORM-D hazard class elimination in HM-215K, limited quantity ground shipments will no longer require shipping papers when prepared under the new rule. This includes those materials previously classed as Ltd Qty that required shipping papers via ground transport.
With the price of premium brass topping $90/100 for many popular cartridges, it makes sense to consider annealing your brass to extend its useful life. Forum member 
The nation’s top collegiate men and women shooters have converged on Ohio State University to compete in the 2012 
We’ve upgraded the 
