The NRA Black Powder Target Rifle Championship will be held October 1-7, 2018 at the Whittington Center in Raton, NM. During the week-long event, top Black Powder Cartridge Rifle (BPCR) shooters from around the country will test their skills at Raton with targets at 200 to 1000 yards. The event starts with mid-range matches at 200 to 600 yards, followed by 800- and 1000-yard long-range competition. On the firing line you’ll see many handsome, custom-built BPCRs (Sharps, Ballards, Browning High Walls, Rolling Blocks) with exquisite wood, hand-checkering, and color-case-hardened receivers.
The 800-1000 yard Creedmoor matches will be held Friday and Saturday, October 5-6. Interestingly, for safety reasons, there are minimum bullet weight and muzzle velocity requirements for the Creedmoor matches. These BPCR shooters launch some seriously heavy projectiles downrange.
REGISTRATION: Registration will take place at the Eagle’s Nest Building at the Whittington Center. NOTE: There are minimum requirements for bullet weight and velocity. Only ammunition which produces these results, or better, and only rifles that have long-range sights, will be permitted for use in the Creedmoor Championships. See the BPTR Nationals Ballistic Velocity Chart below for minimum requirements. There may be a 2% variance on bullet weight or velocity:
ACCOMMODATIONS: There are many motels in the town of Raton, about 10 miles from the Range. In additions, there are accommodations on the grounds of the Whittington Center: 90 beds in Competitors Housing and 100 beds in Log Cabins. These facilities fill up quickly — call the Whittington Center right away at (575) 445-3615 to reserve.
Get a video view of 1000-yard Benchrest competition tomorrow on Shooting USA television. This week’s Wednesday episode of Shooting USA features the 2017 IBS 1000-Yard National Championship held at the Whitehorse Shooting Center in Peeltree, West Virginia. This Shooting USA episode takes you to the Whitehorse 1K Range in September 2017. You can see the action on the firing line and the Shooting USA team also interviews many competitors. Watch this episode on the Outdoor Channel at these times: 9:00 PM Eastern and Pacific; 8:00 PM Central.
If you want to learn about the 1000-yard Benchrest game, definitely tune in to Shooting USA on September 26, 2018 (tomorrow) to watch last year’s IBS action. There were nearly 120 shooters competing (118 in Light Gun, 107 in Heavy Gun).
To learn more about on this event, read our detailed 2017 IBS 1K Nationals Match Report. At the 2017 Nationals, conditions were challenging to say the least, with rain storms, spiraling winds, and fog. In fact, rain and fog on Saturday (with cancelled relays) caused the Nationals to be extended by one day through Monday. What’s more, of the 107 shooters listed in the Two-Gun Overall results who actually shot both guns, there were dozens of DQs. (Yes, the wind was very tricky at this year’s Nationals.)
Top Guns at the 2017 IBS 1000-Yard Nationals were Edward Kenzakoski (Two-Gun Overall Champion), Mike Gaizauskas (Light Gun Overall, plus LG Score Agg), and Mike Brennan (Heavy Gun Overall, plus HG Score Agg). Group Agg winners were Richard Schatz for LG, and Charlie Lentz for Heavy. Two ladies also deserve mention. Sally Bauer shot the smallest group of the match, a 1.923″ 5-shot group in LG — that’s 0.184 MOA! Ruth Edwards drilled a 2.104″, also mighty impressive. Here’s Sally below with her very patriotic Heavy Gun…
Tim Yackley, a 19-year-old college student, beat shooting sports superstars to win the 2018 NRA World Shooting Championship conducted this past weekend in West Virginia. Capturing 74% of all available points on the event’s 12 stages, Yackley beat multiple past champions to become the youngest-ever title holder. With his victory, Yackley earned a $25,000 pay-out, most of which will help defray his college expenses. Last year’s 2017 World Shooting champion Greg Jordan finished second overall, while 2015 World Shooting Champion Bruce Piatt finished third. Living legend Jerry Miculek was fourth while his daughter Lena Miculek was the top lady shooter.
Young Yackley is Expert with Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun
Yackley was strong with all the firearms types, showing no weaknesses. The WSC combines rifle, pistol, and shotgun stages, with all firearms provided by the gun-makers. There is everything from cowboy action lever guns and revolvers to modern ARs and tactical bolt-guns. After his big win, Yackley commented: “I was just focused on shooting my stages and doing my best. I want to thank the sponsors who have been part of my progress as a shooter, and thank all the people who have given advice, encouragement and have believed in me.”
Shooting Sports USA reports: “Yackley’s best showing was for Stage 12… the new cross-country biathlon stage. Incurring no penalties, he had no misses for a final score of 57.02 — the highest score of all shooters for the stage.” Yackley’s impressive scattergun skills helped him score high in many other stages. In 2015, Yackley earned a shotgun bronze medal at the 2015 IPSC Int’l Championship, and in June of this year (2018), he finished seventh at the 2018 IPSC World Shotgun Championship in France.
200-22X — That’s a stunning score, at any distance, but to do that at 1000 yards, at the most important match of the year, in a notoriously tricky venue, is a remarkable achievement. This 200-22X, a pending new F-Class Open Division National Record, was shot by Norm Harrold of Team McMillan at the 2018 F-Class Nationals, running this week at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. Norm’s brilliant 200-22X beat the existing F-Open record by five Xs.
Gun and Load: Norm’s F-Open rig features a McMillan stock and Bartlein barrel chambered for the .284 Shehane. Norm loaded Berger 184gr 7mm bullets in Lapua brass. Erik Cortina joked — “the minute this video goes live, the 184s will be hard to find”. Norm says “Stock up guys — they shoot good!”
Keep Shooting — Don’t Stop!
How can you have more than twenty Xs in a 20-shot string? Here’s how it works — when you shoot all Xs for the entire string of fire, you are allowed to keep shooting. After his 20th shot, Norm recalled, “I said ‘I’m done, give me my target’, but … my shooting partner said ‘No! Keep shooting!'” So Norm did, drilling two more Xs to set the new National Record.
A 200-17X was shot (twice) by David Gosnell in 2015 to set the previous F-0pen 1000-yard record, which was later tied in 2017, first by Keith Glasscock, and then by Pat Scully. But right now Norm Harrold’s 200-22X is the best ever. To beat the previous record by five Xs, and to do that at Raton, during the Nationals, is a great achievement. And to top it off, this new record was shot in the rain!
200-16X New F-TR 1000-Yard National Record
Ray Gross and Mike Plunkett Both Shoot 200-16X to Share New Record
In the F-TR class, two men, Ray Gross (Team McMillan) and Mike Plunkett, both set a new pending 1000-yard record with a 200-16X score. That’s a perfect 10 points for all twenty (20) shots, with 16 of them in the smaller X-Ring. This F-TR division is limited to two cartridge types, .223 Remington (5.56×45) and .308 Win (7.62×51), and F-TR rifles must be shot with a bipod (no front rest). F-TR Weight limit, including bipod, is 8.25 kgs (approximately 18.18 pounds).
Ray, along with the vast majority of other F-TR competitors, was shooting a .308 Win. His load included Berger 220X bullets, in Lapua brass, with Vihtavuori N140 powder and CCI 450 bullet. Ray’s rifle features a 28″ Bartlein Heavy Palma barrel, mated to a Kelbly Panda action in McMillan stock. Up front was a Phoenix bipod with lowering bracket. The scope was a Nightforce NXS 8-32x56mm.
Ray Gross Scorecard — 200-16X is mighty impressive, given Raton’s notorious conditions.
The previous F-TR 1000-yard record was 200-14X shot by Derek Rodgers of Team McMillan. That record by Derek was also recorded at Raton, back in September, 2016.
Looking for places to shoot — out to 1000 yards and beyond? Well the folks at Desert Tech have created a very powerful web-based, Range Locator System. Simply type in town name or Zip Code, and the Desert Tech Range Locator plots the nearest ranges on a Google Map interface. Use plus/minus controls to zoom in and out. This handy, online mapping tool includes thousands of shooting ranges, with max target distances for each. As Shooting Sports USA explains, you can find “the exact mileage and directions to the range, then call the contact for information about hours and protocol. Pretty simple.”
How to Use Range Locator
All ranges are marked with “ice cream cone”-shaped markers. Ranges which allow shooting at 500 yards or greater have orange icons. Other ranges limited to shorter distances are marked in blue. When you click on a range icon, the name, address, phone number, and website are displayed. Simply click on the web link to get more info.
NOTE: The system works remarkably well. This Range Locator is our first stop when we are looking for a rifle range in another part of the country. The connection with Google Maps makes this database way more user-friendly than other options. In seconds, you can find rifle ranges anywhere in the nation, including those that specialize in Long Range, and Extreme Long Range shooting. If you are traveling to a shooting match, this will also help you get to your destination. Many undeveloped shooting ranges may not show on your GPS or on AAA maps.
Are there shortcomings? Yes — there are some notable omissions. We searched the Phoenix, Arizona area, and for some reason the Ben Avery Shooting Facility did not show up. Considering that Ben Avery may be the most important outdoor range West of the Rockies, that’s troublesome. That just shows the range locator needs some updates. Overall it is still very impressive. See Ben Avery Map Omission.
Report by Boyd Allen, IBS Vice President Photos by Hillary Martinez
Many of the nation’s best Score Benchrest shooters came to Maryland last month for the IBS 200/300-Yard Score Nationals. This is a one-shot-per-bullseye discipline dominated by accurate 30-caliber cartridges such as the 30 BR. Over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of August, 42 shooters participated in the 2018 IBS 200/300-Yard Score Nationals, held at the Thurmont Conservaton & Sportsman’s Club, in Thurmont, Maryland. Forty-one competitors shot Varmint for Score (VFS). Between the two 6X disciplines there were six competitors, equally divided between Hunter (H) and Varmint Hunter (VH). Dewey Hancock was “Top Gun” for the match, winning the VFS 200/300 Grand Agg with 500-23X, a possible new record.
There are six bullseyes on an IBS Score target. Competitors take one shot per bull for five scored shots. The sixth (bottom right) bullseye is reserved for sighter shots.
Rising River After Rain
This match had some unique challenges — caused by a river that overflowed after a rain. Thankfully, the match proceeded without major problems once needed equipment was moved. It rained nearly half an inch the Friday night before the match, as it had for several days. Given the flooding, there was a slight delay Saturday morning. The scoring trailer had to be moved because it been parked (before the rain) in a low area adjacent to where Big Hunter Creek empties into the Monocacy River. (In the satellite view, the firing line cover is in the middle, about one-third up from the bottom.)
Hot and Humid in Maryland — The match director described the weather as very hot and humid. On Saturday, the temperature varied from 66 to 81 degrees, the humidity from 62 to 100 %, and the wind speed from 0 to 9 mph. On Sunday, things warmed up a bit, the humidity was reported as a little lower, as was the wind speed.
The Green Fields of Thurmont — With recent rains at Thurmont, lush green grass stretched from firing line to targets. This elicits envy from a shooter who has spent all of his time on ranges that do not have a single blade of green anywhere, except for a few weeks during a short rainy season. To my eyes, this range is beautiful.
Thurmont shooters are blessed with a truly outstanding facility that serves all types of shooting. There are fifteen covered benches of mixed construction under a sturdy cover, with plenty of parking both for vehicles and RVs. Learn more about the Thurmont Club at TCandSC.org.
TOP TEN Match Results, and Equipment List
Can anyone identify that big gold-tone coaxial rest on the right?
The VFS Grand Aggregate Top Five were: Dewey Hancock (1st Place), John Bosley (2nd), Ronnie Milford (3rd), Brian Fitch (4th), and Jim Cline (5th). VFS winner Dewey Hancock shot a possible new 200/300 yard record with a 500-23X.
Top shooters left to right: Dewey Hancock, Nick Breeden, Brian Fitch, Glen Olenick, Robert Brooks, Steve Cameron, Dean Breeden (arms raised), KL Miller, Jim Cline, Ronnie Milford, John Bosley.
Wayne France — with the “I just won a Nightforce” smile!
Steve Eller smiling — BIB Bullets from Randy Robinette are always a good choice.
Dean Breeden, Match Director and Competitor
Match directors do not get the appreciation they deserve. The match calendar would be blank without them. Score Nationals Match director Dean Breeden ran a great show here. In addition to rescuing a trailer from flood waters, and running the 200/300 Score Nationals, Dean also himself competed at the Nationals, shooting two rifles. He did well, with Top Ten finishes at both distances, in both VFS and Hunter classes (3rd in Hunter at 300 yards).
While Dean may be under-appreciated as a match director, Dean is widely recognized as one of the best IBS score shooters out there. Dean holds six (6) current IBS Score Shooting records.
In his Match Report, Dean acknowledged and thanked the generous match sponsors:
BIB Bullets
Brunos Shooter Supply
Brux Barrels
Dave Short Customs
Eddie Harren
Krieger Barrels
Nightforce
PMA Tool
Redding Reloading
ShadeTree Engineering
Wilson Dies
Dennis DeMille shows a young competitor at the CMP Western Games how to adjust his leather sling.
Setting-Up a Leather Service Rifle Sling for Competition
So you made the mistake of disassembling your leather service rifle sling, or are intimidated about how to use one? In this Creedmoor Sports InfoZone video, Creedmoor G.M. Dennis DeMille explains how to set up and use a sling. The covers the basics — Dennis starts with a totally disassembled leather service rifle sling and shows you how to set it up properly.
Tip: “Many shooters shy away from using a leather sling because they have never been taught how to use one. That’s unfortunate. In my opinion a leather sling offers more support than a web sling, which is important when competiting with the heavier than normal rifles.”
Configuring the Sling for the Standing (Offhand) Position
In this second in a series of Creedmoor InfoZone videos on the setup and use of the leather service rifle sling, Dennis DeMille details how to configure and best utilize the leather service rifle sling while shooting from the standing position.
Tip: “Putting the Frogs in different hole will change the amount of added elevation a sling provides.”
Looking at Sling Types — Comparing the Features
In this video Dennis showcases a large variety of shooting slings. He explains the strong points of each type so you can choose the sling best suited to your discipline and shooting style.
The Benefits of Dry-Fire Training
Once you know how to set up your sling properly, you’ll want to practice. Dennis DeMille stresses the importance of dry-fire practice with sling and shooting coat. Dry-Fire training is essential to the sling disciplines. Dennis DeMille, a national Service Rifle Champion, told us that, for every minute he spent in actual competition, he would spend hours practicing without ammunition. While in the USMC, Dennis would practice in the barracks, working on his hold and dry-firing:
“The most important thing is to spend time off the range practicing. Most of what I learned as a High Power shooter I learned without ammunition — just spending time dry firing and doing holding exercises. Holding exercises will really identify the weak parts of your position. The primary purpose of dry firing is to get you used to shooting an empty rifle. If you can shoot a loaded rifle the same way you shoot an empty rifle then eventually you will become a High Master.”
The 2018 Western CMP Cup and CMP Games Event will be held October 16-22 at the Ben Avery Range in Phoenix, Arizona. For 2018 the CMP takes over what were the Creedmoor Cup Matches, and all matches will now follow CMP High Power Rifle Competition Rules. Notably, this year the Cup and Games matches on the High Power range will be fired on the CMP’s electronic targets. That means less time in the pits, and faster cyeling of relay. Also new this year, the CMP will be adding more smallbore events at Ben Avery. Click HERE for full schedule of events.
The CMP Cup Matches include two CMP 1000 Aggregate Matches followed by a 4-Man Team Match and an EIC Service Rifle Match. Following the CMP Cup Matches will be the CMP Games Matches, which will include Small Arms Firing School (SAFS), Garand/Springfield/Vintage/Modern Military Matches, Carbine Match, Rimfire Sporter match and Vintage Sniper Team Match.
All Competitors firing on the High Power range will be firing on Kongsberg Electronic Targets (KTS). The KTS system registers each shot and relays the location and score value to a monitor beside each shooter on the firing line. CLICK HERE for Electronic Target Scoring Rules.
M1 Carbine Match is always very popular.
There will be shade for the Rimfire Sporter Match, at least during the prone stage.
Eye, Ear, and Cranial (Sun) Protection
Vintage Sniper Rifle Match competitors try to keep cool
A Small Arms Firing School (SAFS) will be held on Friday, October 19, 2018.
In 2014, two competitors sported vintage U.S. Marine Corps uniforms. Semper Fi!
Readers often ask us: “Is there an inexpensive way I can get started in position shooting?” The answer is “yes” — across the country CMP-affiliated clubs host Rimfire Sporter matches. You can use a wide variety of .22 LR rimfire rifles — manual actions (such as a Winchester model 52) or semi-automatics (such as a Ruger 10/22). There are prone, sitting/kneeling, and standing stages. CMP rules provide separate classifications for scoped rifles, open-sighted rifles, and aperature-sighted rifles. The matches are fun, the ammo is inexpensive, and everyone has a good time while improving their marksmanship.
The rapid-fire sitting or kneeling stage of a CMP-sanctioned .22 Sporter Match consists of two, 5-shot strings. A manually-operated or semi-automatic rifle may be used for this match.
The video shows the sitting/kneeling rapid-fire stage of a Rimfire Sporter match.
Our friend Dennis Santiago helps run CMP Rimfire Sporter Matches in Southern California. Dennis observes: “You want something challenging? Well that X-Ring 50 yards away is the diameter of a 50 cent piece, and there are people out there that can womp that thing with iron sights.”
Dennis notes: “There are six (6) stages of fire on a tough little target. Notice the rifles that can be used run the gamut from pump and bolt actions to variations on the semi-auto theme. All still require a good eye and a steady hold to earn one’s bragging rights for the day. A match takes about an hour and a half per relay. The slowest part of the match is initial sighting in. It’ll take longer than the allocated 5 minutes for the typical first timer coming to a club match.”
At Dennis’s Burbank Rifle & Revolver Club (BRRC), procedures are modified a little bit: “What we typically do at BRRC is run two relays. Experienced competitors shoot per the full rulebook. New shooters are afforded a bit more relaxed environment to make the experience more fun and inviting. We do the same thing in our M-1 Garand Clinic/Match series.”
Rimfire Sporter Match Basics
The CMP Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match is an inexpensive, fun-oriented competition using .22 caliber sporter rifles (plinking and small game rifles) commonly owned by most gun enthusiasts. To compete, all you need is a basic rifle, safety gear, and ammunition. No fancy, high-dollar rifles are required.
The event is shot with standard sporter-type, rimfire rifles weighing no more than 7 ½ lbs, with sights and sling. Rifles may be manually-operated or semi-automatic. Shooters with manually-operated actions are given extra time in the rapid-fire stage to compensate for the difference. (See Video).
There are three classes of competition — the standard “O Class” for open-sighted rifles, “T-Class” for telescope-sighted and rear aperture-sighted rifles and “Tactical Rimfire” class, which is a .22 caliber A4 or AR15 style rifle. Firing for all classes is done at 50 and 25 yards on a target with a 1.78″ ten-ring and an 18″ outer one-ring. Even new shooters can get hits on this target, but it’s still tough enough that no one yet has fired a perfect 600×600 score.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has a CMP Guide to Rimfire Sporter Shooting. This FREE, 50-page digital publication covers equipment, positions, course of fire, rules, scoring and much more. You’ll find helpful “how-to” sections on aiming, sight picture, hold control, and trigger control. Reading these instructional sections can benefit any prone or three-position competitive shooter.
IBS 100/200 Yard Score Nationals Will Be Rescheduled due to Impending Hurricane
Due to the impending landfall of Hurricane Florence, the IBS 100/200 yard Score Nationals event has been rescheduled from this coming weekend (September 15-16) to the weekend of October 27-28, 2018, at the same location — the Ashe County Wildlife Club (ACWLC), in Laurel Springs, North Carolina.
The same Ashe County club hosted the 200/300 Score Nationals in 2015, and it was a huge success. Given the popularity of this fine North Carolina shooting facility, we expect the turn-out in October (as rescheduled) will be high. CLICK HERE for Forum thread.
The ACWLC range is located in the mountainous northwest point of the state with Virginia to the north and Tennessee to the west. The Club also hosted the 100 and 200 Yard National Championship in 2014, utilizing its 30 benches protected by an overhang.
Ashe County Wildlife Club maintains a website, www.acwlc.org and a public Facebook page. The Club hosts rifle, pistol, and shotgun sports (skeet, trap, sporting clays) events at its range facility located about 15 miles east of West Jefferson at 3220 Big Peek Creek Road, Laurel Springs, NC (turn north off NC Highway 88). Visit www.acwlc.org to learn more about the club or obtain Membership applications.
How to Use Range Locator
The VFS Grand Aggregate Top Five were: Dewey Hancock (1st Place), John Bosley (2nd), Ronnie Milford (3rd), Brian Fitch (4th), and Jim Cline (5th). VFS winner Dewey Hancock shot a possible new 200/300 yard record with a 500-23X.
The Benefits of Dry-Fire Training
