The NRA Black Powder Target Rifle Championship will be held August 14-20, 2017 at the Whittington Center in Raton, NM. Top Black Powder Cartridge Rifle (BPCR) shooters from around the country have come to Raton to test their skills during a week-long event with targets set from 200 to 1000 yards. Today through Thursday, mid-range matches continue at 200 to 600 yards. 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, August 19-20. 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 beginning at 13:00 – 17:00 on August 13, and 07:15 – 09:00 August 14 for the Championships. NOTE: The NRA Black Powder Committee and NRAWC has changed the minimum requirements of bullet weight and velocity. There may be a 2% variance in bullet weight or velocity. Numbers in BOLD indicate the 2% variance. 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.
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.
Our friend Doan Trevor is creating a new raffle rifle. This will be raffled off this fall to support the USA Palma Team. Doan is donating his labor and building the stock from a walnut blank. Pierce Engineering will supply the action and Brux Barrels will provide the barrel.
Doan tells us: “I have volunteered to build another raffle rifle for the U.S. Palma National Rifle Team. Work has begun. I am hoping to have this completed for the Spirit of America Match in Raton, NM this fall. The action has been donated by Pierce Engineering and the long Palma barrel has been donated by Brux Barrels. The one item we are lacking at this point is a Remington-style competition trigger.”
Doan says he will craft the stock from hand-selected American Walnut: “This is [my own] Doan Trevor prone design, modified to be used for F-TR. This can be shot either prone or F-TR (with bipod). This will be similar to the stock that I custom-designed for Derek Rodgers, which won several National Championships and other awards.” The photos below show Doan crafting the wood and starting the bedding on the 2017 U.S. Palma Team Raffle Rifle:
Another Doan Trevor Raffle Rifle — for the Veterans’ Team
What will the rifle look like when it’s complete? We can’t show you that yet, but here’s another custom Palma rifle Doan crafted for the 2011 U.S. Veterans’ Team. Doan says: “This is the finished rifle for the U.S. Veterans Palma Team raffle for 2011. It carries a unique serial number signifying the 2011 World Championships in Australia.”
John Whidden of Whidden Gunworks has won his fifth Long Range National Championship, his second title in a row (he also won the LR Title in 2016). This year, competing at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, Whidden pulled together a gritty, come-from-behind victory. John won the title by shooting a perfect 450-28X (not dropping a point) in the final Palma match on the last day of the Long Range Championship. While Whidden, who finished at 1246-91X, edged runner-up Phillip Crowe (1245-68X) by just one point, John enjoyed a huge X-Count margin. Finishing third was past High Power and Long Range National Champion Nancy Tompkins (1244-65X). Here are the Top Ten finishers:
Whidden’s Perfect Palma Match
Whidden secured the 2017 LR Title by shooting “clean” (not dropping a point) in the tough Palma competition. In the NRA Palma match, rifles must be .223 Rem or .308 Winchester, with metallic sights (no scopes). The match is conducted at three yardages, 15 shots at each distance of 800/900/1000 yards, with unlimited sighters at 800 and two sighters at 900 and 1000.
John liked the Camp Atterbury facility and he credited his equipment for his 2017 victory: “With the change to the new Camp Atterbury venue, many shooters were a little unsure how things were going to shake out. But it all turned out really well. All of my equipment shot fantastic all week long — that certainly made shooting a big score easier.”
Whidden’s Championship-Winning Rifle
Since John captured his fifth Long Range crown with a superb performance in the Palma match, we thought we’d give readers a look at John’s very special Palma rifle. This unique .308 Win prone rifle features a Barnard “P” action in a converted aluminum Anschutz “Precise” smallbore (rimfire) stock. The combo of Barnard action and Anschutz ergonomics is hard to beat, says John, who told us: “this is easily the best Palma rifle I’ve ever had.” John told us this gun handles like no other: “After recoil, with this Anschutz stock, the sights fall right back on target — better than any other prone rifle I’ve shot”.
As a bonus, the Barnard “drop-in” required no modification of the Anschutz Precise stock. This means John can actually swap in his rimfire barreled action and shoot smallbore with the same stock.
Sling Rifle Evolved: The Ultra-Accurate Hybrid Palma Rifle
by John Whidden
The mental component of Long Range competitive shooting is always challenging but having tremendous confidence in the accuracy of your equipment is a huge benefit. There’s nothing to start your Palma match off well like knowing that you are shooting the most accurate Palma rifle you’ve ever owned.
Whidden Palma Rifle
Action: Barnard “P” (three lugs, 60° bolt lift)
Barrel: Bartlein 32″, Light Palma contour, cryo-treated by 300 Below.
Stock: Anschutz Precise aluminum smallbore stock, set up for centerfire barreled action.
Trigger: Barnard Two-Stage adjustable
Whidden’s Wonder-Gun: German Stock, New Zealand Action, American Barrel
John built this Palma rifle in early 2016. With it, John won back-to-back long-range Championships in 2016 (Camp Perry) and 2017 (Camp Atterbury). The major components are: Barnard ‘P’ action, Anschutz Precise smallbore stock, and Bartlein barrel. The caliber is .308 Win, as dictated by the Palma rules. Palma matches are fired from 800, 900, and 1000 yards utilizing iron sights only. No optical sights are allowed.
The Anchutz Precise stock is so well-designed that once I finished adjusting the details, I realized that my hold was about 1/3 smaller than with the stocks I shot previously. While in recoil the gun will track vertically and fall back down right on my own target just as it should. In the past, with my other Palma rifles, it was frankly sometimes a struggle to get them to settle back on target after a shot.
Whidden Gunworks has installed a variety of different actions in the Anschutz Precise stocks. Though the stocks are designed for the .22 LR caliber 2013 action rifles, we’ve successfully installed Barnard, Kelbly, Bat, Nesika, and Remington clone actions into them. The Barnard Model P makes a particularly simple installation because there is no modification necessary to the stock at all. A competitor can then shoot both his centerfire rifle as well as his smallbore gun in the exact same stock. The location of the trigger and bolt handle on the Barnard are positioned just right to make this work. Other actions do require at least some amount of modification to the stock, and we have found the Barnard works the best.
Barnard manufactures several models of actions as part of their lineup. All of the actions in the lineup use three lug bolts which give a shorter 60-degree bolt lift when opening and closing. All of the critical surfaces are machined after heat treating. This means that they are exceptionally true and square, more so than other actions. The Model P action is most familiar to Palma and F-Class shooters and are commonly seen on the firing line. The fact that Model P actions include an excellent two-stage trigger makes also the pricing very attractive.
Based on my previous excellent experiences, I selected Bartlein barrels for this rifle. When shooting internationally in the Palma matches we are restricted to 155 grain .308 bullets, but I made the unusual choice of a 1-10″ twist for these bullets. I’ve shot this fast twist for some years with the 155s with good success and it’s pleasing to know that Bryan Litz is finding benefits in some cartridges to shooting faster twist rates than we previously thought we needed. The load is Vihtavuori N140 Powder with Berger 155gr Hybrid bullets. The chamber is the 2011 Palma and the barrel is a Light Palma contour finished at 32” length. The barrel was cryo-treated by 300 Below. The point of impact isn’t changed at all by barrel heating and the accuracy is incredible regardless of the temperature of the barrel. This can’t be said of all the barrels I’ve owned.
Get Your Own Whidden Wonder-Gun for $4500.00
Like what you see — but wonder how much it will cost? Whidden Gunworks can build you a rig like this, fitting a centerfire barreled action in the Anschutz Precise stock. John tells us: “The price of a rifle like this one but without sights or mounts would be just under $4500.00. We attempt to keep all of the parts except the stock in inventory, so lead time should be under eight (8) weeks.”
Stock Offers Great Adjustability One thing that is quickly noticed about the Anschutz Precise stock is its adjustability. The engineers did a very good job of allowing many of these adjustments to be made while in the shooting position, most notably the cheekpiece adjustments. When a shooter picks up a Precise stock for the first time they also notice how narrow the fore-end is. This really contributes to reducing the pain in the forward hand in prone when shooting with a sling. This stock is, by far, the most comfortable sling stock I’ve ever handled.
This rifle was very accurate right away and very comfortable to shoot. I’ve built some really good shooting Palma rifles but this is easily the best Palma rifle I’ve ever had. The Barnard action with its superb quality and excellent two-stage trigger has been the best choice I could have made. When you can go to the firing line knowing that you have the very best, the foundation for success has been set.
The first-ever NRA Extreme Long Range (ELR) Match took place this past week at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Also labeled the “One-Mile Match”, this inaugural event ran as a side-match between the NRA’s Mid Range and Long Range Championships at Atterbury. The event drew many of the nation’s top marksmen, including multi-time National High Power and LR Champion David Tubb, recent F-TR National Champion Bryan Litz, and 2016 KO2M winner Mitchell Fitzpatrick.
It was a tightly-fought match. Showing exceptional skills (along with great rifles and ultra-accurate ammo), both Corbin Shell and Team Applied Ballistics’ Mitchell Fitzpatrick were perfect for 15 shots — making every shot at 1400, then 1575, and finally 1788 yards (1.016 miles). With the score tied, a 1000-yard target center (bullseye) was set on a target backer at 1988 yards (1.13 miles). Mitchell hit the target, but sadly Corbin had his first miss of the match. With that 1988-yard hit, Mitchell went down in the history books as the first-ever NRA ELR Champion. Winning at Extreme Long Range is nothing new for Mitchell, who was the winner of last year’s King of 2 Miles match in Raton, NM.
Mitchel posted: “We pulled off the win by shooting clean, never missing a shot! It was a great event and I look forward to competing in the coming years. They are trying to extend the facility to make it a 2400-yard match. With the NRA having such a rich competitive shooting history… I am beyond honored to have won the inaugural NRA ELR match. As ELR grows … it will be awesome to look back and know we were in at the ground level. Also, it should be noted that my extractor broke on the second shot at 1788 yards, and I ended up having to fire the last thre shots while extracting my cases with a cleaning rod from the muzzle end…”
Overall Standings NRA ELR One-Mile Match
1. Mitchell Fitzpatrick
2. Corbin Shell
3. Randy Pike
4. Paul Phillips
5. Dan Pohlabel
6. M. White
7. Rusty Phillips
8. Kent Reeve
9. Bryan Litz
10. David Tubb
Corbin’s Big Rig Built for Extreme Long Range
Runner-Up Corbin Shell was shooting his impressive .338 Lapua Magnum Improved barrel-block rifle, originally built for the KO2M event. It performed superbly in Indiana. This rifle was showcased here on AccurateShooter last month. READ Corbin Shell .338 LM Story.
ELR TECH — Confirming Hits at a Mile (and Beyond)
Confirming hits at extreme yardages is a challenge. With a conventional spotting scope you can see a target swinging but it is very difficult to see actual impact at extreme ranges. For this match, wireless remote TV cameras were placed near each of the targets down range. These fed video signals to monitors and tablet computers, allowing scorers to confirm hits on steel. In addition to the Targetvision target cam systems, GSL Technology had a drone to get aerial footage and augment streaming video coverage on Facebook. Sheri Judd, NRA ELR Match Manager, also captured some great still images of the event, including the images you see in this article.
Like Father, Like Son — Rusty and Paul Phillips
The NRA ELR match was a family affair for the Phillips clan. Paul Phillips shot with his father Rusty. The elder Phillips, at the ripe young age of 80, had multiple hits at one mile, earning his official “One Mile Club Certificate”. You can see Rusty shooting in the video below. Paul says: “I had a great day shooting with my dad at the inaugural NRA ELR match. My dad went four for five at 1 mile (1788 yards) on a 36″ plate and earned his One Mile Club membership. This was his first competitive match ever shot at 80 years old and he finished 7th overall! Bryan Litz and myself help keep him centered up.” Paul and his father Rusty used GSL .375 Lethal Mag Copperhead Suppressor and the .338 Lapua Copperhead.
Rusty Phillips, at 80 years, shot 4 for 5 at 1788 yards (1.016 miles) to earn his One Mile Club Certificate. Congratulations Rusty!
SFC Brandon Green (left above) set four new National Records at Camp Perry this year.
The CMP’s 2017 National Trophy Rifle Match cycle concluded 7/21/2017. There are more special matches (Springfield/Vintage Bolt Rifle today and Sniper Match on Monday), but the major CMP rifle awards ceremony was conducted on Friday the 21st. This was a very successful summer for the CMP — almost 2,500 participants traveled to Camp Perry for CMP matches and clinics. We congratulate the winners, including six rifle shooters who fired 10 new National Records throughout the week. SFC Brandon Green set four new records and was the Overall Individual Service Rifle Champion, dropping only seven (7) points throughout the week (1593-87X). Junior Liam McKenna (below) was the National Trophy Junior Service Rifle Champion (1279-49X). To view hundreds of other images from the 2017 CMP National Trophy Matches at Camp Perry, visit the CMP Zenfolio Photo Archive.
Scenes from Camp Perry 2017
Photos from CMP archive. Bottom photo courtesy SFC Brandon Green
In an impressive performance, the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Service Rifle Team won the National Trophy Infantry Team (NTIT) Match on July 20th at Camp Perry, Ohio. In this match, also known as the “Rattle Battle”, six-member teams shoot at 200, 300, 500 and 600 yards with time limits — 384 rounds total. To win this match, the six shooters must work like a finely-tuned machine. This is a popular match with spectators as there is plenty of action in a short time span.
This year, the USAMU-Barnhart Team won the title with a score of 1439. The record for this match is 1466, set by the USAMU-Remily Team in 1996. 2017 Team Barnhart members included: SFC Shane Barnhart (coach), SFC Evan Hess (captain), SFC Brandon Green, SFC William Pace, SSG Cody Shields, SGT Joseph Peterson, SPC Lane Ichord, and PVT Forrest Greenwood. The second place USMC team scored a 1406. (U.S. Army photos by Michelle Lunato/released).
The National Trophy Infantry Team Match (NTIT) was first fired in 1922 and is part of the the CMP’s annual National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry. The NTIT is sometimes called the “Rattle Battle” because it emphasizes extremely fast, accurate fire.
Our friend Grant U., who runs the Precision Shooting Journal on Facebook, says the NTIT is a special match, a real “crowd-pleaser: “The National Trophy Infantry Team Match (Rattle Battle)… was always one of my favorite team events. It takes a hell of a lot more planning, practice, and precision than one might expect. You get one shot at it and the entire team had better be running on all cylinders because there are no alibis. Each team of six shooters is allocated 384 rounds and when the teams fire at 600 and 500 yards, it sounds like a war.”
PHOTOS courtesy U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. See more on USAMU Facebook Page.
Today is living history day at Camp Perry. The CMP hosts the popular M1 Garand Match as well as the Springfield M1A Match. This writer’s father carried a Garand in WWII. That was reason enough for me to want one. But I also loved the look, feel, and heft of this classic American battle rifle. And the unique “Ping” of the ejected en-bloc clip is music to the ears of Garand fans. Some folks own an M1 Garand for the history, while others enjoy competing with this old war-horse. Around the country there are regular competition series for Garand shooters, and the CMP’s John C. Garand Match is one of the most popular events at Camp Perry every year.
M1 Garand Manual
Recommended M1 Garand Manual
Among the many M1 Garand manuals available, we recommend the CMP’s U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1: ‘Read This First’ Manual. This booklet covers take-down, reassembly, cleaning, lubrication, and operation. The manual, included with CMP rifles, is available for $3.25 from the CMP eStore. The author of Garand Tips & Tricks says: “It’s one of the best firearms manuals I’ve seen. I highly recommend it.”
M1 Garand Slow-Motion Shooting Video
What really happens when an M1 Garand fires the final round and the En-Bloc clip ejects with the distinctive “Ping”? Well thanks to ForgottenWeapons.com, you can see for yourself in super-slow-motion. The entire cycling process of a Garand has been captured using a high-speed camera running at 2000 frames per second (about sixty times normal rate). Watch the clip eject at the 00:27 time-mark. It makes an acrobatic exit, spinning 90° counter-clockwise and then tumbling end over end.
2000 frame per second video shows M1 Garand ejecting spent cartridges and En-bloc clip.
M1 Garand History
Jean Cantius Garand, also known as John C. Garand, was a Canadian designer of firearms who created the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle that was widely used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War. The U.S. government employed Garand as an engineer with the Springfield Armory from 1919 until he retired in 1953. At Springfield Armory Garand was tasked with designing a basic gas-actuated self-loading infantry rifle and carbine that would eject the spent cartridge and reload a new round. It took fifteen years to perfect the M1 prototype model to meet all the U.S. Army specifications. The resulting Semiautomatic, Caliber .30, M1 Rifle was patented by Garand in 1932, approved by the U.S. Army on January 9, 1936, and went into mass production in 1940. It replaced the bolt-action M1903 Springfield and became the standard infantry rifle known as the Garand Rifle. During the World War II, over four million M1 rifles were manufactured.
This upcoming Monday, July 24th, the CMP hosts the Vintage Sniper Rifle Match at Camp Perry. One of the most popular vintage rifle matches held each summer at Perry, this is a two-man team competition using scoped rifles of WWI and WWII Vintage. Many competitors use some version of the M1903 Springfield, but you’ll also see scoped M1 Garands, K31s, Mausers, and even a Lee-Enfield or two.
Two-person teams will fire 10 rounds in 20-second intervals from scoped vintage military rifles set on sand bags. One team marksman shoots from the prone position at 300 and 600 yards, while the other serves as a spotter to relay shot position. Marksman and spotter switch positions on the firing lines, allowing each teammate to play both roles. Scores are then combined for an Aggregate team total.
Two M1 Garands, fitted with scopes and lace-on cheekpads.
Who can identify this rifle, with its unusual scope mount?
Our friends at Criterion Barrels have written an interesting article about last year’s Vintage Sniper Rifle Match. It you want an “insider’s perspective” on the 2014 Match, plus Vintage Sniper gunsmithing tips, read this article. Here are some highlights:
About the Match and the Rifles
The Vintage Sniper Match was the brainchild of Hornady’s Dave Emary. The competition was inspired by his father, a World War II scout sniper, who carried a rifle similar to the 1903A4 rifle builds that can be found today on the Camp Perry firing line. Bob Schanen worked alongside Dave and the CMP staff in establishing the various competition rules prior to the first official Vintage Sniper Match in 2011. The match developers made a point to offer some level of flexibility in rifle configuration, allowing specific types of non-issue optics and rifle rebuilds. This helped make the match more inclusive.
Hornady’s Dave Emary and “Gunny” R. Lee Ermey (right):
Bob Shanen has two vintage sniper competition rifles. Both builds are based off of the USMC Model 1941 sniper rifle, a design similar to the M1903A1 National Match rifle. Bob’s rifles both carry 8x Lyman Junior Target Spotter scopes with a thin crosshair reticle. Bob attributes a large part of his rifle’s accuracy to the Criterion M1903 match-grade barrels installed on each rifle by Rick Humphreys, a Milwaukee area gunsmith. These tack-driving barrels are capable of half-MOA accuracy.
Camp Perry — The Venue
The hallowed grounds of Camp Perry have hosted some of the nation’s finest shooters each summer for more than a century. Some of the world’s greatest marksmen have accomplished remarkable feats on the ranges of this lakeside military outpost. Located on the coast of Lake Erie, Camp Perry is positioned just outside of the scenic town of Port Clinton, Ohio. It is our firm belief that every shooter should make the pilgrimage to the Camp Perry at least once in their lifetime. If not participating in an event, visitors should at least make an attempt to meet the competitors, witness the wide selection of firearms used by participants, and pay a visit to the various vendors on base.
There have been some great performances this week at the CMP and National Matches, both in Ohio and Indiana. At Camp Perry, SFC Brandon Green has won the National Trophy Individual (NTI) Match with a new record score of 499-30X. Brandon shot a stellar score of 200-13X at 600 yards to cap off his record run. Runner-up SSG David Bahten also only dropped one point to finish with a score of 499-21X. But it was SFC Green’s performance that amazed onlookers. This was a superb demonstration of marksmanship by Brandon with a scoped AR-platform rifle. Here are some comments by fellow shooters:
Awesome Performance! — Kevin Thomas
That’s hard holding right there! — Gerald D.
Great shooting Brandon! Way to set the bar high! — Lucas E.
SSG Bahten has a 499-21X. Rough day to shoot a 499 and get out Xed — Dan Z.
Jeff Bartlett Wins Mid-Range Championship at Camp Atterbury
Meanwhile, over at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, Jeff Bartlett won the 2400 point NRA Mid-Range Aggregate Championship with a score of 2397-147X, also taking the High Senior title. In a remarkable show of consistency, Bartlett only dropped 3 points over the course of 240 shots fired. Eric Uptagrafft was just one point behind at 2396-172X, with the high X-Count among all 79 competitors. Larry Sollars was third, with 2396-170X, just two Xs behind Uptagrafft with the same point total. This was a tightly-fought match! CLICK HERE for full Mid-Range Results.
Norman Houle Wins High Power National Championship at Camp Atterbury Norman Houle, one of America’s greatest living marksmen, earned another National High Power Championship Title last week at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Topping a field of 168 shooters, Norm shot an impressive 1989-93X to become the 2017 National High Power Champion. Finishing second overall was SGT Ben Cleland, who recorded 1987-116 shooting in the Service Match Rifle class. Finishing third was Stephen Culpepper with 1986-98X. High X-Count (119) was recorded by 2015 High Power National Champion SFC Brandon Green (1978-119X), who finished sixth overall.
The NRA National High Power Long Range Championship will be held July 21-25 at Camp Atterbury, IN.
The NRA National Smallbore Championships (Conventional and Metric) took place July 8-17 at the Wa-Ke’-De Range in Bristol, Indiana. The NRA’s Shooting Sports USA website has extensive coverage of the event written by correspondent Hap Rocketto.
In team competition, the USAMU shooters dominated: “The [conventional] paper team match was an AMU runaway — they carded a 4766-338X to have a 30-point pad on the second place Coast to Coast Team’s 4736-267X effort. The Illinois State Association finished third with a 4679-210X.”
USAMU shooters on the firing line at the Wa-Ke’-De outdoor range in Bristol, IN. Photo courtesy USAMU.
There were some great individual performances. In early prone competition, three shooters didn’t drop a point: “The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s (AMU) Patrick Sunderman… opened the tournament with a 400-38X. Mike McPhail, perhaps one of the best prone shooters in world, followed up with a score of 400-37X and … civilian Daniel Martz closed out the top three with his 400-36X.” Later, in kneeling position, McPhail shot his second perfect score of the day, 400-30X, to win the kneeling match.
Iron Man Competition
There was a special “Iron Man” title for the best performance over the entire 8-day cycle. Rocketto writes: “The final prone match, 40 shots on the metric target with any sights, was the deciding factor in the Iron Man competition when McPhail beat George Norton by four points. Over eight days, McPhail shot a 9504-711X, Norton 9501-655X, and last year’s Iron Man Sunderman scored 9478-640X.” Overall the Army swept the top three places.
The Iron Man podium: SFC Mike McPhail (Center), SSG George Norton, & SPC Patrick Sunderman.
The last shot of the any sight metric position championship marked the end of the 2017 NRA National Smallbore Championships. The target frames have been stacked away until next year — when smallbore rifle shooters will again converge upon the Wa-Ke’-De Range in Bristol, Indiana.
Men and women now compete on equal terms at the National Smallbore Championship, gunning for the same honors in “gender-neutral” classifications. Photo courtesy Shooting Sports USA.
The Key to 3P — Beginner’s Guide to Smallbore Position Shooting
Would you like to try smallbore position shooting? Here are some tips from one of the best 3P shooters on the planet, Olympian Matt Emmons. Matt Emmons competed in the Three-Position Event at the Rio Olympics his fourth Olympic appearance. Matt has competed on the U.S. National Team since 1997, medaling in three Olympic games: Gold in 2004 in Men’s 50m Prone; Silver in 2008 in Men’s 50m Prone; and Bronze in 2012 in Men’s 50m 3X40. Although his specialty is Men’s 3-Position rifle, Emmons’ World Championship and Olympic Gold are in Men’s 50m Prone. He usually shoots an Anschütz or Bleiker .22LR rifle, with Eley Tenex ammo.
Here are shooting tips from Matt, courtesy Anschütz. Click image below to launch a large, full-screen PDF file.
One thing that is quickly noticed about the Anschutz Precise stock is its adjustability. The engineers did a very good job of allowing many of these adjustments to be made while in the shooting position, most notably the cheekpiece adjustments. When a shooter picks up a Precise stock for the first time they also notice how narrow the fore-end is. This really contributes to reducing the pain in the forward hand in prone when shooting with a sling. This stock is, by far, the most comfortable sling stock I’ve ever handled.
There have been some great performances this week at the CMP and National Matches, both in Ohio and Indiana. At Camp Perry, SFC Brandon Green has won the National Trophy Individual (NTI) Match with a new record score of 499-30X. Brandon shot a stellar score of 200-13X at 600 yards to cap off his record run. Runner-up SSG David Bahten also only dropped one point to finish with a score of 499-21X. But it was SFC Green’s performance that amazed onlookers. This was a superb demonstration of marksmanship by Brandon with a scoped AR-platform rifle. Here are some comments by fellow shooters:
Norman Houle, one of America’s greatest living marksmen, earned another National High Power Championship Title last week at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Topping a field of 168 shooters, Norm shot an impressive 1989-93X to become the 2017 National High Power Champion. Finishing second overall was SGT Ben Cleland, who recorded 1987-116 shooting in the Service Match Rifle class. Finishing third was Stephen Culpepper with 1986-98X. High X-Count (119) was recorded by 2015 High Power National Champion SFC Brandon Green (1978-119X), who finished sixth overall.
Matt Emmons competed in the Three-Position Event at the Rio Olympics his fourth Olympic appearance. Matt has competed on the U.S. National Team since 1997, medaling in three Olympic games: Gold in 2004 in Men’s 50m Prone; Silver in 2008 in Men’s 50m Prone; and Bronze in 2012 in Men’s 50m 3X40. Although his specialty is Men’s 3-Position rifle, Emmons’ World Championship and Olympic Gold are in Men’s 50m Prone. He usually shoots an Anschütz or Bleiker .22LR rifle, with Eley Tenex ammo.
