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May 22nd, 2018

2018 Bianchi Cup Kicks Off Today in Missouri

2018 Bianchi Cup NRA Action pistol Championship columbia Missouri
The amazing Doug Koenig, shown above, has won 18 Bianchi Cup titles, more than any other human.

2018 Bianchi Cup NRA Action pistol Championship columbia MissouriMany of the world’s top pistoleros are in Missouri this week competing in the 2018 NRA Bianchi Cup, the USA’s most prestigious action pistol match. This year’s Bianchi Cup event, which follows the NRA National Action Pistol Championship, runs May 22-25, 2018 in Hallsville, Missouri at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club. Today there will be registration and a Special Multi-Gun Match. The official First Shot Ceremony is on Wednesday, May 23rd, at 7:45 am. Then Cup competition begins promptly at 8:00 am on Wednesday.

Due to the high accuracy required in each stage of the Bianchi Cup, the tournament is widely considered one of the most difficult handgun championships on the planet. To finish on top, you have to be near-perfect.

2018 Bianchi Cup NRA Action pistol Championship columbia Missouri

As in 2017, this year’s match will feature a second “Championship” Round. There will be no multi-gun aggregate match. After completion of the match’s 192-shot, 1920-point aggregate, the top 36 competitors will fire an additional 192-shot Championship Round. Scores from the Championship Round will combined into an overall Aggregate to determine each category’s champions. CLICK HERE for 2018 Bianchi Cup Program Guide.

Watch Colt Speed Event at 2013 Bianchi Cup Championships:

Bianchi Cup

Ace Shooter Jessie Harrison (from Bianchi Photo Archive)
Bianchi Cup 2015 Missouri

About the Bianchi Cup
The Bianchi Cup is the NRA National Action Pistol Championship, a major tournament held every May in Columbia, Missouri. The premier action pistol championship, the Bianchi Cup boasts the largest purse of any tournament on the action pistol calendar. The Bianchi Cup is the only major shooting tournament that has retained its original Course of Fire since its inception. The Course of Fire consists of four separate matches:

  • The Practical Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.
  • The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.
  • The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8 inch round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
  • The Moving Target Event: From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.

At the Bianchi Cup, there are six categories for individual competitors: Civilian, Police, Service, Junior, Woman, Senior, Grand Senior, New Competitor, International, and Revolver.

Bianchi Cup Revolver

Competitors need plenty of ammo at the Bianchi Cup. Look at that collection of magazines.
Bianchi Cup NRA Pistol championship 2018 ammo

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May 22nd, 2018

Koenig Explains How to Shoot Pistols Faster and Better

Doug Koenig Pistol shooting training video
Photo courtesy DougKoenig.com and Leupold.

Since the Bianchi Cup, the most prestigious pistols-only match in the country, starts today, we thought we’d post some videos that can help readers improve the speed and accuracy of their pistol shooting. You may never win a Bianchi title, but these tips can help in a club IDPA match, or the pistol stages of your next 3-Gun match. The star of these videos is Doug Koenig, 18-time Bianchi Cup champion. Koenig, who has won numerous National and World pistol titles, is considered by many to be the best action pistol shooter on the planet. His speed, consistency, and accuracy are without peer.

Acquire First Target

In this video, 18-Time Bianchi Cup Winner Doug Koenig explains how to acquire your first target quickly, and make sure your first shot is a hit. Doug notes that a perfect first shot will positively affect the many shots that follow in a competition:

Make Fast Follow-Up Shots

In this next NSSF Video Koenig demonstrates how to make Fast Follow-Up Shots and how to transition from target to target quickly. Grip, stance, consistency are all important Doug explains.

Keep Both Eyes Open

When shooting a pistol two-handed, “on the clock”, it’s almost always better to shoot with both eyes open. And during a “move and shoot” action pistol match, you surely want to have both eyes open. Keeping both eyes open improves depth perception and helps with target transitions.

“To me it’s very simple — I wouldn’t drive my car with one eye closed. I wouldn’t walk around the house with one eye closed. To me, it’s all about your vision, your depth perception.” — Doug Koenig

With both eyes open you’ll have better depth perception and peripheral vision, Koenig says. Moreover, you will also be able to transition from target to target more quickly. In a timed, multi-target stage, you’ll want to move your head/eyes to the next target right after you break a shot. You’ll find that you will then reflexively move the handgun on to the new target when you swing your vision on to it. Don’t linger on the target you just shot — move to the next.

Trigger Press and Trigger Control

In this fourth video, Koenig talks about key techniques that apply to all pistol marksmanship — not just speed shooting “on the clock”. With any handgun, Doug explains, you should focus on consistent trigger control. You want to avoid yanking the trigger or anticipating recoil.

Doug Koenig’s List of Championships:
10-time World Champion
18-time Bianchi Cup winner
2016 NRA World Shooting Champion
More than 70 National Championships
6-time World Action Pistol Championship Winner
3-time World Speed Shooting Champion/Steel Challenge

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May 22nd, 2018

Father Develops .223 Rem F-TR Load for His Daughter

F-TR load development .223 Rem Remington Sierra TMK

Jeremy Rowland decided to put together an F-TR rifle for his eldest daughter, who enjoys competitive shooting. For his daughter, Rowland chose the .223 Rem option because it has less recoil and components are less costly than the .308 Win. Here is Rowland’s account of how he developed a .223 Rem load. For more details (with data charts), read Jeremy’s FULL STORY on Sierra Bullets Blog.

Journey to Find a .223 Rem F-Class Load

by Jeremy Rowland, Reloading Podcast
My oldest daughter has been to several matches with me, and has even competed in several, using her .243. I decided this coming season (2016), she would compete with a .223 Rem in FT/R. Looking for a good starter rifle, I settled on the Savage Axis Heavy Barrel since it has a 1:9″ twist. This would be a great little rifle for her to learn on. The rifle was shot unmodified, as it came from the factory. A Sinclair F-Class Bipod w/micro elevation adjustment was fitted to the front.

Next came finding the components I wanted to use for her match loads. After spending hours and hours running numbers on JBM stability calculator as well as in my iPhone Ballistic AE app, the 69 gr Sierra Tipped MatchKing® (TMK®) looked really good. So that’s what I decided to go with. I jumped in head first and ordered a bulk pack of the Sierra 69 gr TMKs. I had settled on Hodgdon CFE 223 since it shows good velocity. I decided to go with once-fired Lake City brass with CCI BR4 primers.

Next came the testing. I decided to run a ladder test (one shot per charge from min to max looking for the accuracy node). The ladder test ranged from 23.5 grains to 25.6 grains, in 0.3 grain increments.

F-TR load development .223 Rem Remington Sierra TMK

Ladder Test Conditions: Temp: 59.4° | Humidity: 63% | Elevation: 486 | Wind: 5-12 mph

F-TR load development .223 Rem Remington Sierra TMK

Bullet: 69 gr Sierra Tipped MatchKing®
Case: Lake City (mixed years, sorted by case capacity)
Primer: CCI BR4
Powder: Hodgdon CFE 223 (one round each from 23.5 to 25.6 grains)
Cartridge OAL: 2.378″
Base to Ogive: 1.933″ (.020″ off lands)

After his ladder test, Rowland settled on a load of 25.2 grains of Hodgdon CFE 223. He then fine-tuned his load with different seating depths: “I loaded up 5 rounds each at .020″ off lands, .015″ off lands, .010″ off lands, and .005″ off the lands. Here are the results from the best group for OAL/Ogive fine tuning. As you can see, I think I’ve found a winner in these 69 gr Sierra Tipped MatchKings.”

F-TR load development .223 Rem Remington Sierra TMK

Seating Depth Test Conditions: Temp: 36.3° | Humidity: 73.8% | Elevation: 486 | Wind: 5-7 mph

This article originally appeared in the Sierra Bullets Blog.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Reloading 6 Comments »