We like air rifles both for fun shooting and for competition. However, so many options are now available that is easy to get overwhelmed with the choices. Thankfully, there is a good book that helps air rifle shooters make informed decisions about air guns and accessories. Steve Markwith’s comprehensive resource, Air Rifles: A Buyer’s and Shooter’s Guide offers a wealth of useful information. This 154-page book is now available for $12.95 (paperback) or $9.95 (Kindle)..
“This is a very informative book explaining the ins and outs of air rifles, their capabilities and limitations. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering purchasing an air rifle for marksmanship practice or small game hunting.” – L. Stanek, Verified Amazon Reviewer
Read Free Sample Chapters Online
If you go to Amazon.com and click on the cover of this book, you can view a FREE preview with extensive samples from many chapters. The book covers all the most important types of air rifle systems, both pre-charged pneumatics and other self-charging guns. Markwith reviews the wide variety of pellets available, offering suggestions for particular applications. You’ll also find a useful discussion of Airgun Power, Range, and Accuracy. This will help you pick the right air rifle.
Markwith explains the many attractions of airguns. They are not considered firearms (in most jurisdictions) so they can be purchased at local shops or mail-order outlets without FFL fees or background checks. You’ll find a huge online selection of airguns at PyramydAir.com that can ship direct to you — no FFL required. Air rifles are also quiet and very inexpensive to shoot. While .177 and .22 caliber air rifles are most common, there are also larger-caliber airguns offered for hunting or special applications.
Pyramyd Air has dozens of helpful videos about air rifles and air pistols.
The Three Amigos in New Mexico (L to R): Kelly McMillan, Paul Phillips, Derek Rodgers.
Three years ago nearly to the day, Kelly McMillan, Derek Rogers, and Paul Phillips enjoyed the fellowship and satisfaction of a successful New Mexico Antelope hunt. But sadly, Kelly passed away on June 1, 2021 from rapid, unexpected medical issues. Yesterday, October 7th, 2021, Paul Phillips posted: “Three years ago today. This hunt with Kelly McMillan and Derek Rodgers was a great memory. I miss Kelly.” Yes Paul, scores of us who counted Kelly as a friend and colleague miss him, and think of him often.
This isn’t your typical hunting story, because these weren’t your typical hunters. Derek Rodgers is the reigning F-TR World Champion, and past King of 2 Miles. Paul Phillips is the 2019 King of 2 Miles and a member of the Silver Medal-winning F-TR Team McMillan at the 2018 Nationals. The third hunter, Kelly McMillan, needs no introduction. The past owner of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, Kelly was a leading figure in the gun industry for decades. He also supported many top rifle shooting teams. This story helps us remember Kelly and all he did for the shooting sports.
In October 2018, these three friends got together for a very successful hunt in New Mexico, Derek’s home turf. All three bagged an impressive Antelope, with Paul Phillips dropping the biggest buck of all. Derek made the longest shot, hitting his buck at an impressive 510 yards, verified by laser rangefinder.
Paul Phillips posted: “Our New Mexico Antelope hunt with Kelly McMillan and Derek Rodgers was a success. To hunt with these two icons was definitely on my bucket list. I shot my buck at 389 yards in an 18-mph wind through a barbed wire fence.” It was a big trophy buck, measuring 84 3/8 inches.
Derek nailed his Antelope at 510 yards with a .308 Win fitted with a suppressor. As dusk approached, despite blustery wind and rain, Kelly dropped the third Antelope with a great 230-yard shot from a broken tree crotch. Paul noted: “All three bucks had their own challenges and funny story. All three hunts required team work with stalking, communication.” The three hunting buddies all had top-quality rifles built with McMillan stocks of course.
For long-range hunting you need to have your drops absolutely “spot-on”. Paul posted: “When you do a 30-45 minute stalk… you need to have all your ballistics perfect or they get away. We were glad that we had a practice day before the hunt to confirm our zeros and verify our ballistics.”
Kelly noted: “Paul Phillips scored this nice 80″+ buck in New Mexico. It was Paul’s first antelope.” The .338 LM rifle featured a Stiller TAC338 action, Bartlein 20″ barrel, McMillan A5 Stock, and Nightforce ATACR scope. In the Facebook video, Paul talks about making the shot, directly into the wind.
Both of Kelly’s Amigos — his hunting partners — were profoundly saddened by his passing. They miss him, as do all of us who knew Kelly.
Derek Rodgers wrote of his friend and hunting partner: “It is difficult to tell you how deeply saddened I feel about the loss of Kelly. What started as a shooting relationship quickly became a close friendship so many years ago. It was a privilege to know Kelly on a personal level and I will never forget his generous, caring nature and the never-ending kindness he had for others. He will forever be missed.”
Paul Phillips posted: “I have no words to express how saddened I am … we lost an icon in the shooting industry. Kelly McMillan was not only a great friend but the most generous and giving man I knew in the industry. There is not enough space to write about everything he did for competitive shooters, military snipers, hunters, and shooting enthusiasts. You were one-of-a-kind Kelly and I will forever remember your friendship and how big an advocate you were for shooting sports. R.I.P. my friend.”
Real Avid has introduced a new, specialized gun vise with notable features and unmatched versatility. Read Avid states that its new Master Gun Vise is the “first real bench vise made exclusively for guns and gun tools.” This vise articulates and swivels easily so you can place your gun/barreled action in different orientations without ever removing it from the vise. The supplied, reversible Gun-Fit jaw sleeves will adapt to a variety of stock/forearm styles — from ARs to fancy wood shotguns. The special Torq-Lok pin provides additional locking power to secure the angle/orientation of the vise jaws when working on heavy rifles or barreled actions.
Master Gun Vise: Build, Repair, Clean, and Customize Your Guns
The base of the vise features an articulating ball and socket joint with the adjustable Speed-Cam Lever that applies pressure to the joint allowing the vise and gun to be positioned in any orientation the user desires. An additional Torq-Lok pin is ready for heavy torque applications. This removable pin intersects the ball and socket joint locking it into the base. The locking pin can be inserted every 90 degrees with the vise in either the vertical or horizontal position. That ball joint lets you set the jaws at various angles, to make work easier. For example you can tilt your gun to a muzzle-down position for easier cleaning. SEE Video above.
Early testers of this new DIY Gun Vise were impressed: “We did a soft launch on this product a couple weeks ago and were amazed at the vast number of military [users], gun manufacturers, and law enforcement agencies that were jumping to get this new vise. These are people who work on and build guns for a living and the benefits were apparent to them immediately. That really confirmed for us we had created something revolutionary”. — Chris Witte, Real Avid Mktg. Director.
Respected gunwriter Tom McHale reviewed the Master Gun Vise for American Handgunner magazine: “I use this setup more than anything as an extra pair of hands … the Real Avid Master Gun Vise is, bar none, the handiest tool on my bench. It’s great for cleaning, repairing, tinkering, installing, inspecting, assembling and disassembling. Heck, you can even use it to mount optics with the precision leveling knob.”
Accu-Level Knob Allows Rapid, Precise Angular Adjustments — Great for Scope Mounting
The Master Gun Vise include an innovative Accu-Level leveling knob. This allows the vise to be tilted 3 degrees to either side (6° total) for making micro-adjustments when leveling guns for optics mounting. This precise leveling can be accomplished without having to reposition the firearm in the clamps.
The vise also comes with reversible Gun-Fit sleeves that can be easily installed or uninstalled with pins that lock them in place. One side features a high-density foam pad providing a compression fit to firmly grip cosmetic surfaces. While the other side is a rigid nylon with grooves to secure gun parts, picatinny and Arca Swiss rails, barrels, silencers and more.
Special Accessories for AR-Platform Rifles
Real Avid has some special accessories for working on AR-15s and AR-10s. Sold separately, the adjustable Smart-Fit AR15 Lower Vise Block and the Lug-Lok Upper Vise Block (available in two versions, AR15 and AR10) integrate seamlessly with the vise jaws and firmly lock into place. The Lug-Lok eliminates jaw slippage when applying heavy torque to AR barrel nuts and muzzle devices.
Today Shooting USA TV features the 2021 Bianchi Cup, hosted May 24-28, 2021 at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Hallsville, Missouri (near Columbia). The 2020 Bianchi Cup was cancelled due to COVID. In 2021 the four stages of fire are back, but without international competitors, who were locked out due to pandemic travel restrictions. But there was still plenty of superb marksmanship.
This episode of Shooting USA airs Wednesday, August 18, 2021, 9:00 PM Eastern and Pacific, 8:00 PM Central on the Outdoor Channel. Shooting USA is also available On Demand via Vimeo.com.
Officially, the annual competition is known as the National Championship of NRA Action Pistol. But its is generally called the Bianchi Cup — from the trophy named for one of the founders, John Bianchi. In the past 30 years the match has become the richest handgun tournament in the world, with cash and prizes for the best scores on four stages of fire.
The Bianchi Cup has been called the most prestigious pistol tournament in the world. After the cancellation of the 2020 Bianchi Cup due to COVID-19 restrictions, bringing the match back for 2021 involved challenges given health and safety protocols. In 2021 the NRA turned the organization and management of the match over to a new group from the Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club. And the international competitors, who have previously made up much of field of competitors, are not able to shoot with the continuing travel restrictions for COVID-19.
Due to the high accuracy required in each stage of the Bianchi Cup, the tournament is considered one of the most difficult handgun championships on the planet. To finish on top, you have to be near-perfect. Ace shooter Carl Bernosky (shown above) explains: “To win a Bianchi Cup you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to shoot good ALL the time… you can’t make any mistakes.”
Bianchi Cup — the Richest Handgun Match on the Planet
Over the past 30+ years the Bianchi Cup has become the richest handgun event in the world, with cash and prizes for the best scores on four stages of fire for both revolver and semi-auto pistol divisions.
Bianchi Cup — Classic Course of Fire
The Bianchi Cup is a combination of Speed and Accuracy. Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages. Stages may combine stationary and moving targets. As conceived by former police officer and holster-maker John Bianchi, the Bianchi Cup originated in 1979 as a Law Enforcement Training match. The Course of Fire consists of four separate matches:
The Bianchi Cup is scored on the Aggregate of the four (4) fired events: Practical, Barricade, and Moving Target, and Falling Plates. Each of the four events requires 48 shots to complete. 480 points possible on each event. Three of the four are scored on the NRA tombstone P1 target. You must hit in the 10-ring or inner X-Ring on EVERY shot to shoot a “clean” 1920.
Four Divisions in 2021 Bianchi Cup
There are now FOUR divisions at the Bianchi Cup, three traditional, and one new this year. First, the Open Division includes the guns specifically built for this competition with every enhancement possible to improve accuracy. Second, the Metallic Division includes purpose-built guns but without red dot optics, compensators and barrel shrouds. Third is the Production Division for minimally-enhanced factory guns, typically with polymer frames.
New for the 2021 Cup is the fourth category, the Production Optics Division. This includes minimally-enhanced production guns with a slide-mounted red dot optic. It was interesting to see the action with this new Production Optics class. Shown above are Glock and S&W production pistols fitted with Leupold’s new, low profile Delta-Point Red Dot Optic.
October is Halloween month, so we thought we’d share the seasonal spirit with our readers. In this video, our friend Kirsten Joy Weiss shows off her impressive trick-shot skills. To help celebrate the gouls/goblins holiday, Kirsten “carved” a pumpkin using her semi-auto Volquartsen .22 LR rifle. Kirsten had to send a lot of rimfire rounds into her orange friend. It turns out the little .22-caliber bullets worked better on exit than entry — Mr. Pumpkin’s posterior side was more impressive than his front. But overall, the effort turned out very well indeed, as you can see. Nice job, Kirsten.
On inspection, Kirsten found that the most impressive Jack ‘O Lantern face appeared on the reverse side of her pumpkin. The “exit wounds” were better than the entry holes.
Janna Reeves is one of the nation’s top female 3-gun competitors. She is fast AND accurate, and she knows how to plan her stages to achieve the best results.
In a series of videos produced for Brownells, Janna talks about the 3-Gun game, reviewing the latest trends in 3-Gun firearms and gear. Janna also provides stage-planning tips, offering winning strategies to employ in competition. Though these videos, Janna hopes to help novice shooters. In particular, Jenna hopes to encourage new lady shooters to get involved in 3-gun competition, a fun and challenge sport.
In this action-oriented video, Janna walks through a 3-Gun course, explaining how to plan shots, movements, and reloads. Janna shares tips, tricks, and strategies that can improve your hit percentage and shave seconds off stage times. Janna offers specific advice on target transitions, loading on the move, and stage planning.
In this hardware-centric video, Janna explains how she set up her guns for competition and why she selects specific components and accessories. If you are just getting started in 3-Gun competition, this will help you choose firearms, holsters, ammo caddies, optics and accessories. Janna’s advice helps you get the most “bang for your buck” when assembling your
Forster has a new product for precision hand-loaders. The new Forster Accu-Ring has precise markings so you can set your sizing dies with extreme precision in your press. The annodized ring has laser-etched precision markings in .001″ increments. This allows you to more easily set the amount of sizing and shoulder “bump” you get when you move a die up or down in your press.
In addition, if you have a conventional seating die without a micrometer adjustment, this new Forster Accu-Ring can help you achieve more precise bullet seating. SEE Ultimate Reloader Review.
The new Forster Accu-Ring was tested by UltimateReloader.com. The testers tried the new ring with both a sizing die and and seating die. The test confirmed the ring provides greater precision, compared to conventional die lock rings.
See the new Accu-Ring in this Ultimate Reloader product test video released on 10/1/2021:
The product description from Midsouth Shooters explains:
Accu-Ring Cross Bolt Die Lock Ring (Anodized and Laser-Marked)
The Forster Accu-Ring makes setting up your Sizing Die easier by giving you reference marks in thousandth of an inch increments (.001″). To use these reference marks, simply use a fine ink marker to put a point of reference line on your die. Turn the die clockwise to increase the amount of shoulder bump or counterclockwise to decrease the shoulder bump (i.e. increase case’s headspace length).
There are many other factors that could influence the final amount of shoulder bump during sizing. Ductility of the brass or springback, type of case lube used, pulling an expander ball through the neck and the amount of slack in the linkage of your reloading press are a few things that cause variation in shoulder bump of sized cases. The reference marks on your lock ring will help you to zero in on what you want the headspace length of your cases to be.
Remember to lock up the Accu-Ring completely after you make an adjustment before you size a case again. Otherwise you will obtain inconsistent results if the ring is not tightened.
Another use is for non-micrometer seating dies. Instead of guessing with your seating stem, you can make fine adjustments to your seating depths using the Accu-Ring.
This Sunday, 10/3/2021, we recommend tuning into Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk® Radio, the original nationally-syndicated radio talk show about guns and the shooting sports. This week’s radio show focuses on Smith & Wesson’s decision to relocate to Tennessee. Tom interviews S&W President/CEO Mark Smith. In addition, Sunday’s show will include a lengthy, informative segment on airguns.
Tom Interviews Smith & Wesson President/CEO Mark Smith
This Sunday, Tom is joined by Smith & Wesson’s President and CEO, Mark Smith, to discuss the just-announced headquarters and operations move from Massachusetts to a brand-new facility in Maryville, Tennessee. Due to current anti-gun legislation being considered in Massachusetts, Smith said “… for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left with no other alternative.” S&W’s new headquarters will be located in Partnership Park North in Maryville, TN, in the greater Knoxville area. Production of semi-auto pistols and rifles will be moved to Tennessee, but revolver production will remain in Springfield, MA (for now). S&W plans to break ground in Tennessee by the end of the year, and plans to complete the operational move by mid-2023. An artist’s conception of S&W’s new plant is shown below.
News Report from Tennessee explains reasons for S&W’s relocation to Tennessee
Airguns for Target Shooting and Hunting — Pyramyd Air
Also this week, Tom Gresham talks with Tyler Partner of Pyramyd Air about the growing popularity of airguns. In the video below, Tyler covers some key basics about airgun shooting, stressing the affordability of shooting pellets pushed by air. You can buy 500 pellets for under $20.00. Compare that to the cost of commercial ammo these days ($0.50 to $1.00/round for 9mm pistol ammo), and you can see why airguns are becoming very popular.
Listen on Radio or Stream via your Internet Connection
This broadcast airs Sunday, September 3, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM Eastern time on 270+ radio stations nationwide. Listen on a radio station near you or via LIVE Streaming.
NOTE: Past podcasts can be heard online via the GUNTALK PODCAST Site and Apple iTunes. The Gun Talk podcast archive has many informative shows. Check out this August 1, 2021 episode which offers smart Long Range Shooting Tips.
As part of NRA Women TV, hunting guide Kristy Titus hosts a series of videos that explain important strategies and shooting skills for hunters. Titus, co-host of the Team Elk TV show, is a certified instructor who has hunted around the globe. She grew up in the outdoors, running pack mules in Oregon with her father. In these videos, Kristy discusses demonstrates field positions that can be employed during a hunt. She also explains preparation for a hunt, including fitness training.
Click each link below to watch other Kristy Titus Hunting Videos.
“When it comes to bolt-action rifle fit, there is no ‘one size fits all’,” says Titus. “When picking out your rifle [consider options] after the purchase to ensure you are as comfortable as possible.”
This weekend, October 1-3, 2021, the 2021 GAP Grind Pro/Am takes place at the K&M Precision Shooting Complex in Tennessee. The 3-day event, the largest and most popular PRS Pro-Am Tactical match, includes professional and “amateur” classes with both individual and team competition. Match organizers expect nearly 400 competitors, who, collectively, will send 80,000+ rounds downrange. And there will be LOTS of prizes — the prize table boasts “hundreds of thousands of dollars in gear” provided by scores of sponsors. And 20+ companies are setting up booths on-site to showcase and sell their products.
Dozens of sponsors make for one of the richest prize tables in all the shooting sports.
The GAP Grind is held at the impressive K&M Shooting Complex in Tennessee:
Lots of Action, with 20+ Stages
The GAP Grind is a challenging, “high tempo” match with minimal down-time between stages. Over the course of 20+ stages, competitors will fire 200+ shots at a variety of steel, paper, moving, and reactive targets out to 1,200 yards. Targets vary in size/difficulty based on the shooter’s position, distance, and time allotted. Most stages include “stressors” — i.e. time limits or required movement(s).
The 2021 GAP Grind will have nearly 400 competitors — half experienced shooters and the other half newcomers to the sport. The key to growing the shooting sports is attracting new shooters. The best way to bring in “new blood” seems to be the Pro-Am type format. At the GAP Grind, experienced shooters share their knowledge and guide the new shooters through the competition.
Great K&M Complex video — overhead and action shots — Click II pause button to halt:
GAP Grind Hardware
You’ll find the latest and greatest PRS hardware at the GAP Grind. Notable in recent seasons was the fact that many top competitors moved down from the 6.5/6mm Creedmoor to the smaller, more efficient 6mm Dasher, 6BRA, 6GT and other 6mm cartridges. The 6mm Dasher offers excellent accuracy with less recoil than the 6.5 Creedmoor. New magazine designs allow very reliable feeding with the shorter cartridges.
Janna Reeves is one of the nation’s top female 3-gun competitors. She is fast AND accurate, and she knows how to plan her stages to achieve the best results.
