The 2012 Summer Olympics in London begin July 27 with shooting events starting the 28th and wrapping up August 5, 2012. NBC has already launched a full-featured website dedicated to the London Olympics at NBCOlympics.com.
We visited NBCOlympics.com this morning and were pleased to see that NBC has already launched a content-rich “homepage” dedicated to Olympic shooting. This includes Latest Shooting News, Tech Info, Event Schedules, Shooter Profiles, and Feature Stories with Video. There’s an excellent Video Interview with Sarah Scherer (10m Air Rifle), and you’ll even find a ‘Glamour’ Photo Shoot with Smallbore 3-P Shooter Amanda Furrer. In the NSSF video below, Amanda chats about the challenge of making the U.S. Olympic Team:
Fifteen (15) shooting events are featured at the 2012 London Olympic Games
Rifle
Pistol
Shotgun
Men's 10m Air Rifle
Men's 50m Rifle Prone
Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions
Women's 10m Air Rifle
Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions
Men's 10m Air Pistol
Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Men's 50m Pistol
Women's 10m Air Pistol
Women's 25m Pistol
Men's Trap
Men's Double Trap
Men's Skeet
Women's Trap
Women's Skeet
Olympic Television Broadcasts and Online Webcasts
NBC TV will broadcast many shooting events as part of its 2012 Olympics coverage. Supplementing that broadcast coverage will be Live Extra WebCasting. The Live Extra option provides real-time or delayed coverage of EVERY Olympic event. That’s right, you can watch every single Olympic event on the web. The Live Extra service does require viewers to register online for the service. In addition, you will need to verify that you subscribe to a cable, satellite, or telecom video tier that includes CNBC and MSNBC on the NBCOlympics.com website. CLICK HERE to learn more about Live Extra services.
History of Shooting in Modern Olympics
One of the original events featured at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, the shooting sports have been present in all but the 1904 and 1928 games. The United States leads the field in shooting sports medals, having racked up 103 all-time, including 50 Gold. China is second with 42 total shooting medals and 19 Gold. The Chinese had the top showing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, taking home eight shooting medals, five of which were Gold. (In Beijing Team USA garnered six shooting medals, including two Gold.)
SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU came from behind to win the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) match at the South River Gun Club in Covington, GA. Trailing Keith Garcia with one stage remaining, Horner laid down a blistering final stage to finish first. This was Horner’s second win in three events on the 2012 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour. Just a little more than two and a half months ago, during the first 2012 3GN Pro Series event in St. Augustine, Florida, it was Garcia who had a great final stage run. On that day, Horner came up just a few tenths of a second short, giving Garcia his third 3GN win.
Behind the Scenes with Dan Horner (Excellent Video, Click to Watch)
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
In third place for the second time this season was Taran Butler, who shot a very solid match. Butler, who also finished third in St. Augustine, has won $4,000 on the 3GN Pro Series this season. In all, $26,000 in cash prizes were paid to the field, with $10,000 across first, second and third provided by Stag Arms.
3-Gun Nation Matches are Fast and Furious
The 3GN Pro Series puts 64 of the game’s top shooters into a one-day, all-Tactical Optics format. All competitors shoot five extremely fast, open stages, where multiple stage strategies are possible, challenging even veteran shooters. The top 10 then make the cut, proceeding to stage 6, where in front of a crowd of onlookers, including the entire field of competitors; scores are posted on the large 3GN Scoreboard for all to see.
The next event on the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour with be the second annual Rockcastle Pro-Am. This runs August 26-28, 2012, at the Rockcastle Shooting Center in Park City, Kentucky. A 3GN Pro Series Shoot-Off will culminate what promises to be the largest 3-gun match of the season, with more than 500 shooters registered in the Pro and Amateur matches combined.
Coaxial (joy-stick) rests allow both vertical and horizontal movement with a single control. If you want to make a diagonal shift in point of aim, you can do this with one, smooth, continuous movement. Until now, this advantage has been limited to front rests. Well there’s some new technology in the benchrest world. Forum member ‘Straightpipes’ has created a coaxial rear joystick rest. He built this simple, compact rear rest in his home workshop for use with his 40-lb Heavy Gun. In combination with a vertically adjustable front rest, this new rear joystick rest allows aiming to be controlled from the rear, with your left hand in a comfortable position.
Straightpipes Rear Coaxial Rest — Design and Features
The rear rest is crafted from aluminum with a stainless steel forward-pointing joystick. Total weight, including the long, stabilizing base foot, is about 10 pounds. Though the rear rest doesn’t seem to have a large movement range, the system offers plenty of “on-target” travel. At 100 yards, the rest offers 10 MOA left, 10 MOA right, 5 MOA up, and 5 MOA down adjustment. That’s plenty of range for most targets, once you center the Point of Aim vertically using the captain’s wheel on the front rest, which Straightpipes also crafted himself. Click Square Photos Below to see Large Images.
Inside the rear cradle sits a Protektor rear sandbag, with Cordura fabric filled with ordinary sand. This fits the 3″-wide bottom of Straightpipes’ 40-lb heavy gun. There are some sophisticated components you can’t see in the photos. The rear rest can pivot (right or left slightly) to stay aligned with the front rest (as adjusted to level the cant of the rifle). Straightpipes says: “With the pivot, whatever I do to the front, the rear follows.” The basket (cradle) also employs a 20-lb bias spring system to handle the weight of the Heavy Gun. This prevents the co-axial system from binding, so it is fluid and easy to operate. Even with 20 pounds of gun weight on the rear, the joystick can be easily manipulated with a light touch of thumb and fore-finger.
Video Shows Rear Coaxial Rest in Action
Watch the video below to see how the joystick controls the rear rest. Total joystick movement is about a 2.5″ sweep. This gives 20 MOA total windage adjustment at 100 yards, and about 10 MOA vertical.
About the Straightpipes Front Rest
The coaxial rear rest is designed to work with the massive front rest as a system, though they are NOT connected, so as to comply with IBS Heavy Gun rules. The 30-lb front rest supports exactly half the weight of the rifle and is used to set gross elevation. Windage and fine elevation is controlled in the rear. Straightpipes also designed and built his beefy front rest himself. As with his rear coaxial unit, the front rest pieces were all shaped by hand on a belt sander after being milled out. Straitpipes even “finish-sculpted some pieces with hand files the old craftsmen way.” The main center support column was milled with extremely fine threads. This allows the captain’s wheel to turn with little effort and no locking mechanism is required. Straightpipes does not need to fuss with locking knobs when he sets gross elevation. To help keep the unit from binding, there are stainless guide shafts on the left and right. These shafts slide in oil-impregnated bronze bushings.
40-lb Barrel Block Heavy Gun with Savage Action
Straightpipes built this beautiful set of rests to work with his 40-lb Heavy Gun. Chambered in 7mm WSM, the gun features a Savage Target Action, and a Brux 32″, 1.300″ straight-diameter barrel fitted with a custom barrel nut. The barrel is clamped forward of the action in a 9″-long barrel block. This allows the Savage action to free-float. The block, also built by Straightpipes, looks fairly standard, but it has some clever design features. Between the barrel and the block there is sleeve that is slightly compressed when the block’s bolts are tensioned. This sleeve, made of a proprietary material, eliminates metal to metal contact between barrel and block. Straightpipes believes this enhances accuracy and provides some damping. Other shooters with barrel-block guns have used epoxy between block and barrel, but that makes disassembly difficult. The sleeve system on Straightpipes’ gun allows the barreled action to be easily removed from the stock. In addition, the compressed sleeve system is very stable — Straightpipes doesn’t have to fiddle with the bolt torques on his block.
‘Black Beauty’ Stock Made from Resin-Soaked Laminated Wood, with Rust-Oleum Finish
Straightpipes built the beefy stock himself. It is made from “red oak” wood soaked in resin and then laminated together with JB Weld. The rear section features a polished aluminum buttplate and twin metal “runners” on the underside, where the stock rides the Protektor Cordura bag. Straightpipes says the stock is very stable: “it absolutely does not flex or warp with changes in temp or humidity”. We asked Straightpipes about the stock finish. To our surprise, “Pipes” revealed he used inexpensive Rust-Oleum fine texture outdoor furniture paint. “Pipes” told us: “I’ve been using this stuff for years. It’s abrasion proof and tough as nails — the bags won’t wear it off. It’s solvent-proof, won’t get soft or bubble up. It cleans up with a damp cloth, just rub it down and it looks like new.”
As designed and crafted by Straightpipes, this Heavy Gun rest system is impressive. The rear rest is brilliantly simple, and beautifully finished. But the important question is: “how does it shoot?”. Straightpipes reports that the whole system exceeds his expectations: “The rear rest actuation is smooth and positive. It works smoothly in conjunction with the front rest. Everything is working together — there’s nothing that’s fighting another element of the system. The gun tracks straight. When it returns to battery, the thing is pretty much waiting for you shot after shot.” The rear rest’s small footprint allows the “driver” to sit comfortably behind the rig. Straightpipes reports: “Shooters can ‘address the rifle’ just like a Light Gun — you’re not straining to wrap your arm around something overly massive. Anybody can shoot this, it’s a very easy gun to shoot.”
Is it accurate? In a word, “Yes”. Straightpipes doesn’t want to make claims before the rig has been tested in competition, but he says it has “shot groups at 600 and 1000 yards that would be very competitive.” We promised not to publish group sizes yet, but we can tell you that at 600 yards in good conditions it drilled some “scary small” 5-shot groups, well, well under 1/4 MOA.
Most of you have seen the “I Like Guns” music video by Australian singer/songwriter Steve Lee. This politically-incorrect ballad was released a couple years back, but in this election year, we thought it deserved an encore performance. In the song, Lee describes his affection for guns large and small, from revolvers to shotguns to safari rifles to .22 LR plinkers.
Lee wrote the song, in part, to draw attention to the gun restrictions in his home country of Australia. As a result of those tough gun laws, ownership of semi-automatic rifles and many types of handguns is tightly regulated down under. Consequently, some of the sequences in Lee’s pro-gun music videos have been filmed in other countries.
Steve Lee grew up in outback NSW and guns have always been a part of his life. “I never knew that people didn’t have guns when I was a kid, it just seemed like a normal, practical thing to have and shooting seemed like a normal, fun thing to do”. Now 42, Steve hasn’t slowed up and still loves guns just as much. He’s a member of his local pistol club, and enjoys nothing more than spending a weekend camping and shooting with his family and friends. His love of guns has led him all over the world from Africa to America, all places that allowed him to experience freedom with different types of guns.
On his Ilikeguns.com.au website, Steve explains: “I really wanted … to help us reflect on the good aspects of gun ownership and remind us that guns are a part of our Australian heritage. Both my dad and my grandfather owned guns and never had any trouble.”
If you enjoyed the “I Like Guns” video, you’ll get a kick out of Steve’s recent release, “I’ve Shot Every Gun”. Steve wrote the lyrics, but the tune is based on the song “I’ve Been Everywhere’ written by Aussie Geoff Mack in 1959 and popularized by North American performers Hank Snow and Johnny Cash.
The new Ruger Inside & Out TV program debuts tonight (June 25) at 9:00 pm EST on the Sportsman Channel. The show gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the product development process at Ruger, Hornady, Zeiss and other major manufacturers in the gun/hunting industry. Ken Jorgensen, Ruger’s Media Relations Director, explained the show’s concept: “Ruger Inside & Out tells the story of how products come to be. We talk with designers, engineers, manufacturing staff, and many others that are part of the process that brings products from concept to customer. Viewers will hear these stories and see what goes on in the factory, not only at Ruger, but also with show partners such as Hornady and Zeiss. We’ll also head out on hunts, to training classes, and to other venues where we can put these excellent products to use.”
Here Are Summaries of the First Three Episodes:
Episode 1:
The premiere episode features the .375 Ruger cartridge. The show covers the .375 Ruger’s development and field capabilities, and producers travel to Alaska to see how it fares against grizzly, moose, and bighorn sheep. Plus, Steve Hornady talks about the origins of the Ruger family of cartridges, and get advice from Zeiss about picking the right dangerous game scope.
Episode 2:
This week’s episode covers Ruger’s SR22™ semi-auto .22 LR pistol: how it’s made, and how it shoots. This episode also features “Straight Talk” on how to pick the right size, weight, and caliber handgun for personal and home defense, plus a look at the developmental history of Hornady’s brand-new .17 Hornet cartridge.
Episode 3:
Behind-the-scenes information on how the new Ruger American Rifle™ was designed and manufactured, and how it fares in the field. You’ll get more “Straight Talk” for the armed citizen from veteran law enforcement officers Dave Spaulding & Jason Teague, and take a look at Zeiss’ new Rapid-Z® reticle for Hornady® Superformance® ammo.
As conceived, the show will provide “how to” information to viewers: “Whether it is choosing the right optics for an upcoming hunt or the best ammunition for your personal protection firearms, show hosts and guests will discuss the products that will work best for you and why.” Ruger Inside & Out premieres June 25th at 9:00 PM EST during the Sportsman Channel’s Monday Night “Lock & Load” primetime block.
Our Comment: This show contains some interesting technical info, and the hunting footage shot on location is impressive. However, the “product placement” is heavy-handed and at times the show becomes little more than an “infomercial” for Ruger and Hornady.
In a masterful piece of Madison Avenue magic, BMW portrays its M5 “super-sedan” as the four-wheeled equivalent of a speeding bullet. In this clever, CGI-enhanced marketing video, an M5 is “shot” from a giant barrel. It then speeds across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards a giant bullseye — just like a bullet heading toward a target. Along its path, the M5 shatters a giant apple, and then slices through three giant water balloons. Far-fetched? Yes. But the illusion is superbly-crafted, making for two very compelling minutes of movie-making.
Watch BMW Video
Measuring the BMW M5 in Bullet Terms
How does the M5 measure up compared to real bullets shot from real rifles? With a 66.9″ body width, the BMW M5 is a 1700mm projectile. When we convert the M5’s rather porky 4350-pound curb weight* to grains, we find the M5 weighs an astonishing 30,450,000 grains. (Yes that’s 30.45 MILLION). The M5’s electronically-governed top speed is 155 mph. That equates to 277.33 fps — pretty slow by ballistics standards. A typical hunting projectile flies ten times as fast. And even a 9mm handgun bullet travels four times as fast.
M5 ‘Knock-Down’ Power More Than Adequate for Big Game
When it comes to knock-down power, a speeding M5 beats even a 50 BMG bullet hands down. At 500 yards, a 750gr A-Max fired from a 50 BMG has about 8625 foot/lbs of retained energy (this assumes 2700 fps MV).
By contrast, with a terminal velocity of 277.33 fps, the 4350-lb BMW delivers 5.199 Million foot/lbs of retained energy. We think that’s more that enough “hitting power” to cope with any size North American game. But there are certainly some “Zombie” Hunters who might still wish for more power.
How about trajectory? Well we can’t answer that one for you. Last time we checked, Bryan Litz had not calculated the G1 or G7 BC for a BMW M5, so we can’t figure the car’s come-ups using JBM Ballistics. Still, we’re sure that, if BMW gave Bryan an M5 to play with, he’d be happy to spend a few months gathering “data”. But we do suspect it might be a bit challenging to get a 4350-lb sport sedan to fly through the sky-screens of Bryan’s chronographs.
*BMW M5 curb weight based on Car & Driver Report and 7000 grains per pound conversion.
A while back, we featured the East Texas Benchrest Shoot-out in Huntsville, TX. That match was co-sponsored by S&S Precision Rifles of Argyle, Texas. In the video below, the folks at S&S put together some tack-drivers for their customers. There are some nice glimpses of bedding work, and barrel finishing. Watch carefully — at the 40-second mark you’ll see a sub-1/4″, 10-shot group that S&S co-owner “Stick” Starks shot at 200 yards with his 6.5×47 Lapua rifle. That’s serious accuracy. Half-way through the video, Stick offers advice for shooters looking for a super-accurate fun gun for club shoots: “If you want to shoot [at] 100 and 200 yards, I’d get me a 6BR or a 30 BR. It would be the most fun gun you ever had… and the barrel will probably last three or four thousand rounds.” If you want a gun to shoot at primarily 500-600 yards, Stick recommends the 6.5×47 Lapua chambering. He told us: “Run it with the Berger 130s and Hodgdon H4350 powder. That H4350 works great with the 130 Bergers.”
American Airgunner is the first and only television show to feature airgun shooting sports. This Wednesday, June 27, American Airgunner kicks off its 2012 season on The Pursuit Channel. This season American Airgunner covers the many airgun disciplines, takes viewers on hunts with large bore airguns and pellet rifles, and spotlights the latest in airgun hardware and technology. For 2012, American Airgunner offers an Airgunner Challenge in which eight contestants compete for $5000 and bragging rights.
American Airgunner airs on the Pursuit Channel on Wednesdays at 4:30 PM Eastern, Fridays at 1:30 AM Eastern, Primetime on Fridays at 8:30 PM Eastern. Check local listings for other Time Zones.
First Episode Highlights: .50-Caliber Boar Hunt and Airgunner Challenge
Interest in large bore airguns is on the rise. In the first episode of American Airgunner, Paul Capello, show host, teams up with long-time hog hunter, Clay Hurst, and a .50 caliber airgun supplied by Pyramyd Air to hunt wild boar. Then, viewers will meet the eight contestants for the first Airgunner Challenge and watch as they will shoot it out with a Walther Dominator PCP Air Rifle and a Magnum Research Desert Eagle Air Pistol. All the airguns seen on the show can be purchased from PyramydAir.com, the world’s largest airgun retailer.
The 15th annual MGM Ironman Match drew 280 competitors — the largest field ever. Present were elite professional teams, privateers, juniors, ladies, top military and LEO teams, and shooters from as far away as Denmark. This challenging 3-Gun event, held June 3-9, 2012 at the Parma Rod & Gun Club in Idaho, featured 11 diverse stages of pistol, rifle and shotgun challenges.
The aptly-named Ironman match is one of the toughest 3-Gun matches on the planet. Over the course of three grueling days, competitors must complete 11 stages (segments), shooting in excess of 900+ rounds per shooter per segment. EVERY stage requires the use of ALL three guns. The Ironman is long, intense, and you shoot till you drop! Mike Gibson, the founder of MGM Targets, and the “inventor” of the Ironman, has said: “This match isn’t for weenies or crybabies”. Mike adds, “Over the past 15 years, I estimate over 4.5 Billion rounds have been fired in this event.” That’s a lot of lead going downrange!
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
The MGM Ironman is an intense test of both shooter and equipment. Participants shoot a variety of classes and various scenarios including shooting from the back of a moving vehicle, from a 20-foot tower, while driving a golf cart, and while carrying a dummy. Of course there are plenty of MGM-made reactive targets (photo right). There’s even a 285-foot-long Zipline pistol stage. You don’t see that in the typical 3-Gun match!
With creative and challenging stage designs, high round counts, and a great RO crew the Ironman is truly a unique match. Every stage has a 10-minute time limit with an average shooting time of about 7 minutes per stage. This year, some of the times were hampered by a day of steady rain and wind, making it all the more challenging. Overall, great efforts and camaraderie made for a great event.
2012 MGM Ironman Match Winners by Class:
SCOPED TACTICAL CLASS – Daniel Horner; OPEN CLASS – Michael Voigt; LIMITED CLASS – Warren Becker; HEAVY SCOPED CLASS – Barry Dueck ; TROOPER CLASS – Ben Fortin; JUNIOR TS CLASS – Brian Nelson; SENIOR TS CLASS – Ralph Arredondo; LADY OTLH CLASS – Bethany Harris; MILITARY/LAW TS CLASS – Ben Fortin.
Here is a video from the 2010 MGM Ironman. It shows many of the multi-gun stages, including the Zipline stage, filmed from multiple camera angles.
FMG Publications, which publishes GUNS, American Handgunner, and Shooting Industry Magazines, has introduced a series of FREE online videos covering a variety of gun related topics. The series is hosted by Roy Huntington, editor/publisher of American Handgunner magazine. Currently, FMG offers nine Insider Tips Videos about handgun action types, gun cleaning procedures, and the process of purchasing used firearms (pistols, rifles, and shotguns). Over time, more ‘Insider Tips’ titles will be added. Embedded below is the “How to Buy a Used Rifle” video.
According to Roy Huntington, reader questions provided the impetus for creating this video library: “I get some great reader mail, and many of the questions have to do with basic gun handling skills. We created the series of ‘Insider Tips’ videos to build a library of easy-to-understand, quick videos to clear the air and dispel some of the myths circulating around”. Adds Huntington: “From buying used guns, to understanding sight picture, trigger control, grip and even stopping power, our videos are a fast and fun way to get up to speed on a host of topics that are a ‘must-learn’ for any shooter.”
Above are links to three “How to Buy” videos FMG Publications’ video tips series. You’ll find other helpful videos, including guides to gun maintenance, on the American Handgunner Insider Tips Page.
The 2012 Summer Olympics in London begin July 27 with shooting events starting the 28th and wrapping up August 5, 2012. NBC has already launched a full-featured website dedicated to the London Olympics at NBCOlympics.com.
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
Most of you have seen the “I Like Guns” music video by Australian singer/songwriter Steve Lee. This politically-incorrect ballad was released a couple years back, but in this election year, we thought it deserved an encore performance. In the song, Lee describes his affection for guns large and small, from revolvers to shotguns to safari rifles to .22 LR plinkers.
M5 ‘Knock-Down’ Power More Than Adequate for Big Game
A while back, we featured the 
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
