Whether you’re on the East Coast or West Coast, you can have fun this weekend at an outstanding varmint match, shooting reactive targets for fun, glory (and maybe a little cash). Easterners — head down to Virginia for the Roanoake Egg Shoot. Westerners — navigate to the Pala Range near Oceanside in Southern California.
Roanoake Egg Shoot, Saturday April 30th In Virginia, the Roanoake Egg Shoot will be held Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the Roanoake Rifle and Revolver Club in Hardy, Virginia. This is a real test of shooter and equipment. You want challenge? Try hitting an egg at 500 yards. That requires a skilled triggerman (or woman) and a very accurate rifle. In addition to the 500-yard egg event, Roanoke also offers long-range plate shooting. There will be three classes this year: 1) Factory Guns; 2) Hunter/Tactical; and 3) Custom Benchrest. The custom gun class will shoot 2″-diameter steel plates at 425 yards while the Factory and Hunter class guns will shoot 3″ plates at 425 yards. All shooting is from a 20-bench covered firing line. The entry fee is just $20.00 per gun/class entry. Pay $60.00 and you can shoot all three classes. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top shooters. For more info, contact Mark Schronce (540) 980-1582 rmschr@comcast.net or Epps Foster, (540) 890-4973. The club is located at 1305 Gun Club Drive, Hardy, VA 24101. GET DIRECTIONS.
Pala, California Multi-Stage Varmint Silhouette Shoot About 24 miles east of Oceanside, California (near the Camp Pendleton Marine base) is the Pala Reservation. On that Native American land you’ll find an impressive Casino Resort, plus an excellent shooting range. The first Sunday of every month, shooters come to Pala to enjoy a challenging Varmint Silhouette Match. At five different yardages, ten steel “critter” targets are set as follows: 200 Meters – Field Mice (“pikas”); 300 meters – Crows; 385 meters – Ground Squirrels; 500 meters – Jack Rabbits; 600 yards – Prairie Dogs.
There’s a North County Shootist Association Varmint Silhouette match this Sunday, May 1st. You’ll need a very accurate rifle, and 80-100 rounds of ammo. You can shoot either rested prone (F-Class style), from bipod, or from a wooden bench with front pedestal and rear bag. Any rifle 6.5 caliber or under is allowed, with no weight restrictions. Muzzle brakes are permitted. There’s a one-hour sight-in period starting at 8 am, and the match starts at 9 am sharp. The folks at Pala run a tight ship, cycling multiple relays efficiently, so everybody gets to shoot 50 targets (10 each at five different yardages), and the show is usually completed by 1:00 pm. (Then if you want… head over to the Pala Casino for gambling fun, or a spa treatment.) CLICK HERE for Match Info.
If you’re a fan of the History Channel’s Top Shot series, but you missed the season finale, don’t despair. You can watch the full episode online and see who wins $100,000 and the title of “Top Shot”. We won’t reveal any spoilers here, but we can say that some dramatic surprises will unfold as you watch.
These professionally-produced, High-Def videos teach safe handling and use of firearms. Each 90-second video covers one or more Basic Firearm Safety Rules. “Firearm Safety, Gun Safety or Hunter Safety; it doesn’t matter which term you use, this is a very important topic for everyone who spends time around guns – whether as a collector, a shooter or a hunter,” says Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA. Potterfield will announce the new Videos on Saturday, May 30, at 1:30 pm at the NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburg, PA.
MidwayUSA VIDEO Downloads: Right click and “save as” to download to your computer.
If you missed this week’s “Shakedown” episode of Top Shot, you can now watch the full episode on the History Channel website. We think this is one of the best Top Shot shows so far, because there is plenty of shooting, with modern guns, over interesting courses of fire — the kind you’d see at a multi-gun match. And the elimination round was a true skills test. This week’s “expert” is none other than Iain Harrison, the Top Shot Champion from Season One. Iain selected four firearms for this week, and they are good ones: Sig p228 (9mm), Browning High Power (9mm), AR15 (5.56×45), and FN-FAL (7.62×51).
Competitors shoot all four weapons in sequence, off-hand, over a timed course. To add challenge, each shooting station offers an unstable platform — with wood planks that swing, wobble, or bounce. At left you can see the AR15 station — a wood platform suspended by ropes. You’ll be surprised with the performance of some of the favored shooters (including Gunny Zins), and you’ll see why it may be a good thing that the U.S. Military switched from the 7.62 NATO cartridge to the 5.56 round. Most of the shooters had big problems with the heavier-recoiling 7.62×51 “battle rifle” at 100 yards.
If you want to learn how to shoot accurately at very long-range, one of the very best places to learn is the Williamsport 1000-Yard Benchrest School. The next School session runs May 20, 21, & 22, 2011. Classes are held at the Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Benchrest Club Range, one of the best 1K ranges in the country. Classes are taught by top 1K shooters, including our Asst. Editor, Jason Baney.
While these Benchrest schools typically sell out, there were still eight (8) student slots available as of April first. If you want to grab one of the remaining slots for the 3-day school, don’t hesitate. To see what the 1K Benchrest school is like, watch the slide show/video below, produced by Sebastian Reist, an alumnus of the 2009 Williamsport 1000-yard BR school. Sebastian, a talented professional photographer, captured the highlights of his Williamsport 1K training weekend:
For more information or to sign up for the 2011 1000-Yard Benchrest Class this May, contact School Director Frank Grappone, or visit the Williamsport website, PA1000yard.com.
The 2011 ISSF Combined World Cup shooting competitions were held in Sydney, Australia on March 21-31. In Sydney, the world’s top shooters vied for coveted Olympic “Quotas” that would secure eligibility to compete at the 2012 London Olympic Games. 34 Olympic Quotas were awarded during the course of the 15 ISSF pistol, rifle and shotgun events in Sydney. Lead by its shotgunners, Team USA performed superbly in Australia, finishing with 8 total medals, including 3 Golds, more than any other country. China finished second in the medal count.
American Medal Winners:
Gold: Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, PA), Women’s 50m Rifle Three Position
Gold: Kim Rhode (El Monte, CA), Women’s Skeet
Gold: Jon Michael McGrath (Tulsa, OK), Men’s Skeet
Silver: Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, NJ), Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position
Silver: Amy Sowash (Richmond, KY), Women’s 50m Rifle Three Position
Silver: SFC Eric Uptagrafft (Phenix City, AL), Men’s 50m Rifle Prone
Silver: Staff Sergeant Joshua Richmond (Hillsgrove, PA), Men’s Double Trap
Silver: Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, LA), Women’s Skeet
Young Americans Win Gold
The United States fielded one of the youngest teams in Australia. But the young shooters more than held their own. Team USA rifle shooter Jamie Beyerle dominated the Women’s 50m three-position event, to win Gold with a total of 685.3 points. Beyerle’s fellow American Amy Sowash finished second. Beyerle shot great in windy conditions that bothered many of her rivals. You can watch Jamie shoot in the first video linked below.
Another gold-medal performance was turned in by 18-year-old skeet shooter John McGrath, the current ISSF Junior World Champion. McGrath qualified for the Men’s Skeet Final by hitting 124 of 125 targets, and then “cleaned” all his 25 Final targets. In an exciting finish, McGrath took the Skeet Gold Medal by beating 2007 World Champion Georgios Achilleos of Cyprus in a shoot-off.
Highlights of the 2011 ISSF Shooting World are now available on the ISSF’s YouTube Channel. Linked below are videos of the Women’s 50m 3-Position Highlights and Men’s Prone 50m Air Rifle event. You can also visit www.ISSF-Shooting.org for the complete tournament results, interviews with shooters, and the latest international shooting news.
Horus ATrag Ballistics software is now embedded in Kestrel 4500 NV Pocket Weather Trackers, eliminating the need for a PDA. Since the ballistics software is built into the Kestrel unit, environmental data automatically flows from the Kestrel side to the ATrag solver for accurate and instant ballistics solutions. You don’t have to punch in wind speed, temp, or air pressure — that’s all done automatically. The 4500 NV Weather Tracker is IP67 waterproof and MIL-STD-810F rugged. MSRP for the Kestrel with Horus Ballistics is $619.00 (non-Bluetooth).
Features of Horus ATrag
By integrating ATrag capabilities, you can now go to the field with just one device for weather AND Ballistics, eliminating the need to carry a separate PDA or smartphone. Along with a ballistics solver, ATrag includes an extensive gun list, customizable targets, and truing capability. Truing takes your factual data and models an accurate outcome of bullet drop, rather than a predictive one.
The new unit allows users to load and customize multiple guns and rounds from the extensive proprietary Horus database. You can create up to six targets, each customized for location, distance, direction, declination and winds. The Kestrel meter will meter wind velocity and direction, and, using its built-in digital compass, it will give the bearing to the targets. Once these parameters are set, the Kestrel meter takes over — tracking the current met data and automatically updating the firing solution. The Horus ATrag software even compensates for coriolis and spin drift at extreme long range.
When you switch out of Ballistics mode, you still have all the capabilities of a 4500 NV unit which can measure: speed and direction, temperature, humidity, heat stress, barometric pressure, altitude, density altitude, crosswind and more.
Tonight, on the Outdoor Channel, you can watch four of America’s best female action and multi-gun shooters. In tonight’s episode of the Shooting Gallery on the Outdoor Channel, ace USPSA shooters Julie Golob, Tasha Hanish, Lisa Munson, and Randi Rogers show off their skills with pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Golob, captain of Team Smith & Wesson, is a National Champion Pistol Shooter who is now taking up the multi-gun challenge. Hanish, one of the top shooters for Team FNH, is a two-time USPSA Multi-Gun National Champion (Women’s Tactical Division). Lisa Munson has captured 11 National Pistol titles over the years, and now competes with Team Smith & Wesson, along with Golob. Randi Rogers (aka ‘Holy Terror’) is a multi-time Cowboy Action Ladies World Champion who has been shooting modern pistols with Team Glock for the past few years. Randi has won numerous tournaments for Glock. If you ever get a chance to watch Randi shoot a lever gun (from her cowboy action days) — you will be amazed. In speed events, using her lever gun, she could beat most male competitors who are using modern semi-auto rifles. She is that fast and accurate.
Preview Tonight’s Shooting Gallery Episode
Here is a preview from Tonight’s Shooting Gallery, hosted by Michael Bane.
Outdoor Channel Airtimes are: 03-16-11 at 3:30pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm | 03-17-11 at 3:00am.
Tasha Hanish at Multi-Gun Nationals — You Go, Girl!
In the following video, taken at the 2010 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals, you can see Tasha Hanish blaze through a 3-gun stage. Tasha starts with her 9mm pistol, then grabs her shotgun to blast steel plates, and finally engages a bank of 200-yard targets with her FNH SCAR rifle. Tasha won the Ladies’ 2010 Multi-Gun Championship in the Tactical Class.
This weekend, Georgia’s Columbus State University will host the 2011 NCAA Rifle Championships. On Friday, March 11, the Smallbore competition will take place at Ft. Benning, GA and the match will conclude on Saturday, March 12, with the Air Rifle competition at Columbus State University.
Watch Live Match Video
On the NCAA.com website, you can watch live video of the 2011 Rifle Championships, together with select video feature stories. Live video of the NCAA Championships will begin at 8:00AM (EST) on Friday and Saturday at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/rifle/d1. CLICK HERE for current live webcast schedule.
View Targets in Real Time
Technology is amazing. Because the NCAA competitors are shooting at electronically-scored targets, the scored target images can be exported to the web in real time. So, you can see the scored targets of the competitors, as soon as they have been shot. Each competitor’s shots are plotted and scored (see example, right). The CMP has created a webpage that hosts Match Results and Live Target Images for each Relay.
In our Shooters’ Forum one member asked for an explanation of the free recoil shooting method. This style, or some variant thereof, is used by many successful short-range (100/200 yard) benchrest shooters. However, we must point out that there is a difference between “pure free recoil” and what you may actually see on the firing line of a registered benchest match. Different shooters may employ a slightly different style — perhaps shouldering the gun a bit, or maybe laying a thumb lightly behind the tang. Technically speaking, that’s no longer free recoil. Remember, there is no “best” technique for every caliber and every gun. And to shoot with a “pure” free recoil method, i.e. touching only the trigger, and not contacting the stock in any way, requires a well-balanced rifle and a highly optimized set-up of front rest and rear bag.
Tony Boyer Video
In the video below you’ll see Hall of Fame shooter Tony Boyer shooting his gun at the Shamrock tournament in 2009. Tony only touches the trigger, but he does index his right hand on the side of the stock. Note: there are some audio problems with this video when you view it at 360p resolution and the playback speed seems slowed down slightly. If the audio cut-outs bother you, try viewing at 720p (HD), or just turn down the volume and focus on Tony’s technique. The slight “slow-motion” effect actually makes it easier to see what Tony is doing. The video does seem to run best at 720p, if you have a high-speed connection.
Introduction to Benchrest Video In this second video, Birgir Runar Saemundsson of Iceland demonstrates free recoil technique near the start of the video. If you watch carefully you’ll see that only Birgir’s index finger touches the trigger. The rifle’s butt is not contacting Birgir’s shoulder when he pulls the trigger. This 11-minute video is part of an introduction to benchrest shooting that Saemundsson offers through his BRS Custom Rifles website. Birgir is a skilled shooter who set a 10-shot 200-yard IBS world record at the Kelbly Range in 1988. At right is Birgir’s 10-shot record target.
In Virginia, the Roanoake Egg Shoot will be held Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the Roanoake Rifle and Revolver Club in Hardy, Virginia. This is a real test of shooter and equipment. You want challenge? Try hitting an egg at 500 yards. That requires a skilled triggerman (or woman) and a very accurate rifle. In addition to the 500-yard egg event, Roanoke also offers long-range plate shooting. There will be three classes this year: 1) Factory Guns; 2) Hunter/Tactical; and 3) Custom Benchrest. The custom gun class will shoot 2″-diameter steel plates at 425 yards while the Factory and Hunter class guns will shoot 3″ plates at 425 yards. All shooting is from a 20-bench covered firing line. The entry fee is just $20.00 per gun/class entry. Pay $60.00 and you can shoot all three classes. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top shooters. For more info, contact Mark Schronce (540) 980-1582 rmschr@comcast.net or Epps Foster, (540) 890-4973. The club is located at 1305 Gun Club Drive, Hardy, VA 24101. GET DIRECTIONS.
About 24 miles east of Oceanside, California (near the Camp Pendleton Marine base) is the Pala Reservation. On that Native American land you’ll find an impressive Casino Resort, plus an excellent shooting range. The first Sunday of every month, shooters come to Pala to enjoy a challenging Varmint Silhouette Match. At five different yardages, ten steel “critter” targets are set as follows: 200 Meters – Field Mice (“pikas”); 300 meters – Crows; 385 meters – Ground Squirrels; 500 meters – Jack Rabbits; 600 yards – Prairie Dogs.
If you missed this week’s 
Competitors shoot all four weapons in sequence, off-hand, over a timed course. To add challenge, each shooting station offers an unstable platform — with wood planks that swing, wobble, or bounce. At left you can see the AR15 station — a wood platform suspended by ropes. You’ll be surprised with the performance of some of the favored shooters (including Gunny Zins), and you’ll see why it may be a good thing that the U.S. Military switched from the 7.62 NATO cartridge to the 5.56 round. Most of the shooters had big problems with the heavier-recoiling 7.62×51 “battle rifle” at 100 yards.
The 2011 ISSF Combined World Cup shooting competitions were held in Sydney, Australia on March 21-31. In Sydney, the world’s top shooters vied for coveted Olympic “Quotas” that would secure eligibility to compete at the 2012 London Olympic Games. 34 Olympic Quotas were awarded during the course of the 15 ISSF pistol, rifle and shotgun events in Sydney. Lead by its shotgunners, Team USA performed superbly in Australia, finishing with 8 total medals, including 3 Golds, more than any other country. China finished second in the medal count.
Young Americans Win Gold
Horus ATrag Ballistics software is now embedded in Kestrel 4500 NV Pocket Weather Trackers, eliminating the need for a PDA. Since the ballistics software is built into the Kestrel unit, environmental data automatically flows from the Kestrel side to the ATrag solver for accurate and instant ballistics solutions. You don’t have to punch in wind speed, temp, or air pressure — that’s all done automatically. The 4500 NV Weather Tracker is IP67 waterproof and MIL-STD-810F rugged. MSRP for the Kestrel with Horus Ballistics is $619.00 (non-Bluetooth).
Tonight, on the 
View Targets in Real Time
In this second video, 
