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August 18th, 2014
On September 13-20, 2014, the NRA Black Powder Target Rifle Championship will held at the Whittington Center in Raton, NM. Top Black Powder Cartridge Rifle (BPCR) shooters from around the country will visit Raton to test their skills during a week-long event with targets set from 200 to 1000 yards. The event kicks off with Mid-Range matches 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, September 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:
| Caliber |
Minimum Bullet Weight (Grains) |
Minimum Bullet Velocity (FPS) |
| .38 Cal |
408 (375) |
1300 (1375) |
| .40 Cal |
408 |
1280 |
| .44 Cal |
450 |
1240 |
| .45 Cal |
510 |
1200 |
| .50 Cal |
600 |
1200 |
August 16th, 2014
Here’s breaking news from Ottawa, Canada. Team USA has won the America Match, an F-Class International Team competition . Shown below are the victorious U.S. Team members and coaches. The U.S. team was led by Rick Jenson and coached by the first family of long range shooting, Mid Tompkins, Nancy Tompkins, and Michelle Gallagher.
The 2014 F-Class America Match
Team Size: Captain, Adjutant, Main Coach, 2 Target Coaches, 8 firers, not more than 4 of whom may be Class F-Open, and 2 Reserves (total team strength 15), from a single country or group of countries approved by the DCRA.
Course of Fire: 2 sighting shots (convertible) and 15 on score at 500, 600, 800 and 900 meters.
Targets: DCRA F-Class targets will be used (these are normal DCRA targets, with an additional central V-bull, half the diameter of the normal V).
In other Team events at the Canadian F-Class Championships, the U.S. 4-man F-Open team proved unbeatable. They had a clean sweep of all three four-person team matches during the past week of competition at the Connaught range near Ottawa, Ontario. Congratulations.
Next Sunday, August 24, 2014, the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) will host a similar America Match for Target Rifles (slings and irons).
August 16th, 2014
The 2014 Canadian F-Class Championship in Ottawa, Ontario proved to be a supreme challenge for shooters. Rain combined with strong and changeable winds to make this one of the toughest Canadian long-range events in years. But two shooters mastered the conditions and earned well-deserved wins. In the F-Open division, Grizzly Industrial President Shiraz Balolia posted an impressive 664-71V score to top the field. Reigning F-Open World Champion Kenny Adams from Florida finished second, two points behind Balolia, with 662-72V. Shiraz was proud to wear the red-ribboned Champion’s medallion. This was a real battle, Shiraz observed, because: “Conditions and the competition were so tough.” As for the infamous Connaught breezes, Shiraz observed: “It’s been a while since I had 5 1/2 minutes of left wind on my .300 WSM and was holding left 3+, then holding right 3 1/2 just two shots later!”
William Chou (F-TR) and Shiraz Balolia (F-Open) overcame tough conditions at Connaught.
Photo courtesy U.S. F-TR Rifle Team
In F-TR division William Chou out-shot a large field of competitors (including his brother Kevin, who finished 7th). Will dominated the bipod F-TR division with an untouchable 655-54V score. This was nine points ahead of the next highest F-TR shooter, fellow Canadian Jonathan Laitre. Congrats to Will for a run-away victory in very challenging conditions. The top American F-TR shooter was Bill Litz, who finished with 642-39V.
| F-Open Top Ten
1. Shiraz Balolia, Washington, USA 664-71V
2. Kenny Adams, Florida, USA 662-72V
3. Marius DeChamplain, Quebec, Canada 662-58V
4. Don Nagel, Ohio, USA 660-65V
5. Marc Thibault, BC, Canada 657-53V
6. George Robertson, Ohio, USA 654-56V
7. Gordon Ogg, Ontario, Canada 653-69V
8. Ralph Colgan, Quebec, Canada 652-61V
9. Eric Bisson, Alberta, Canada 648-60V
10. Bruce Condie, Ontario, Canada 646-55V |
F-TR Top Ten
1. Williams Chou, Ontario, Canada 655-54V
2. Jonathan Laitre, Quebec, Canada, 646-55V
3. Kenny Proulx, Quebec, Canada 645-51V
4. William Litz, Michigan, USA 642-39V
5. Alan Barnhart, Michigan, USA 639-47V
6. John Pierce, Michigan, USA 639-33V
7. Kevin Chou, Ontario, Canada 638-46V
8. Jim Crofts, Virginia, USA 637-44V
9. Marcel Timmons, Ontario, Canada 636-32V
10. Paul Vanduyse, Ontario, Canada 632-41V |
Today the Canadian F-Class Championships conclude with the Americas Match, a Team Match with North American bragging rights at stake. Best wishes to all the team competitors!
August 15th, 2014
 This week the Canadian F-Class Championships (and Americas Match) are being held at the Connaught Range outside Ottawa, Ontario. Conditions have been nasty, with rain and blustery winds. This has been a humbling experience for our American shooters, many of whom are experiencing Connaught for the first time.
After the first day, James Crofts, 2012 USA National F-TR Champion, told us: “I was very humbled today at the Connaught ranges. I’m down 19 for the day. Shot a 900 meter match with 9.5 minutes of wind and held another 1.5. Tomorrow is another day.”
American Phil Kelley provides an in-depth report for the first two days:
“Day 2 Canadian Nationals — Humility remains the biggest lesson being learned in Canada. Rain, wind, rain, wind and more rain sums up the day. But there is something about it that is a lot of fun. The Americans overall did much better today versus those of the home country. Jim and I shot fairly well all day although I dropped about four more than I should during a weird portion of the last match. Jim dropped 15 today, I dropped 21. Scores are high given the conditions. This sport has stepped up another notch. [There is an] amazing level of competition at this match.”
“Very different conditions for every relay. So far at 900m you automatically dial in about 6 min to get on paper. Then be ready to add from there. It WILL rain to pour at some point during each relay and don’t even think about them not shooting. Starting to figure things out but too late for this tournament. Great experience for future tournaments though. Final two individual matches tomorrow and a couple of team events. The big Americas Match is Saturday. Can’t wait. Ammo and rifle are outstanding. Just have to educate the shooter a little more.”
“Day One Canadian Nationals — Well, new ranges have a way of humbling you. A day full of different conditions. Rain, sun, clouds and wind, wind, major wind! Shot very well in two matches, but the 900m (1000-yard) match was something else. I knew I was experiencing something new with these heavy ‘Bisley’ flags when I started sighters with 4 min left on and shot a 2 right, then 6.5 minutes left to only get a 3 right then 7.5 min left on and hold 2.5 min more left to get a 5 on 1st shot for record. Wow! It took me several shots to get over that thought and unfortunately several 3s followed to drop 12 for the string. Still not bad, dropped 17 for the day. Leader Alan Barnhart dropped 8 (outstanding). Al [and] several Canadians had good days as one would expect. Awesome range. Cool new conditions. I’ve heard of these international ranges shooting no matter the weather, with big numbers dialed in for wind. Awesome to experience it. Always an honor to shoot with the great Mid Tompkins calling the shots.”
It looks like the waiting was worth it, Shiraz Balolia (right) and Will Chou (left) were winners…
August 12th, 2014
Report by Jeff Stover, IBS President
Photos by Vera Carter
 Smooth. Efficient. Well-run. Lots of small groups. Those words pretty much spell out the 45th annual IBS Group Nationals at Fairchance, PA. Match Director Bill Reahard and his crew put on a great show that consists of six days of competition from Monday through Saturday. Bill and his team spent days getting their southwestern Pennsylvania range ready for the nearly 80 shooters who attended. Fairchance is no stranger to big matches as the club has hosted previous Nationals and World Team qualifiers.
IBS 2014 Group Nat’l Championship RESULTS (web-page)
IBS 2014 Group Nat’l Championship RESULTS (XLS spreadsheet)
Six Days of Competition in Four Classes
Some say that the IBS Group Nationals is a marathon. Six days of competition at both 100 and 200 yards with four classes of rifles: Light Varmint (10.5 lb.); Sporter (10.5 lb. – 6mm min caliber); Heavy Varmint (13.5 lb.) and Heavy Bench (known as ‘Unlimited’ in NBRSA-land). The first three classes are simply known as the “bag guns”. Most competitors use a 10.5-lb. rifle in 6PPC and compete in all three classes. The Heavy Bench (HB) class requires 10-shot groups as opposed to 5-shot groups for the bag guns. There is no prohibition to shooting your 10.5 lb. rifle in HB, but bag guns are simply outclassed by the rail guns, especially for 10-shot groups.
All 100-yard targets were shot the first three days followed by three days at 200 yards. It is done in this sequence to require only one change of wind flags.
Natalie from the Target Crew during the Powder-Puff match.
The week delivered pretty typical mid-Atlantic August weather: hazy sun with 80% humidity in the morning dropping to 50% as the temperature warmed. Fairchance is sometimes known to offer strong crosswinds that challenge the best of shooters. This week, however, the breezes were light to moderate and switchy. A shooter on his game with a well-tuned rifle could assemble a string of good groups. There were many ‘Teen Aggs’ (sub-.200 five target averages) shot this week.
Musical Chairs at the Group Nationals
IBS Nationals competition requires ‘full rotation’. That means that every time a shooter goes to the line for the next match target, he or she must move a requisite number of benches to the right. At the end of the day a shooter will shoot across the full width of the line. Some ranges offer unique properties that render some parts of the range harder or easier to shoot small groups. Bench rotation is important to even out those factors.
View looking down-range. This is a beautiful place to shoot.
Monday morning saw the Heavy Bench (HB) shooters hauling the big rail guns to the line. Bill Symons led the way at 100 yards with the only ‘Teen Agg’ in HB, a fine .1972. The 200-yard stage for HB would not be held until Saturday morning.
On Tuesday the bag guns came out for Light Varmint (LV) and Sporter (SP). Conditions allowed for quite a few very good groups. When the top five are under .1900 you know two things — Nationals competitors brought their “A Game” and the conditions were manageable. Sporter was not too much different as the first four were in the ‘teens. Ohio’s Jeff Gaidos led the way in LV with a .1714. In SP, Wayne Campbell from Virginia won with a .1902.
Sporter 100 “Top Guns” (L to R): Charles Miller, Steve Lee, Al Auman, Wayne Campbell, Larry Costa.
Wednesday was reserved for Heavy Varmint (HV) at 100 yards. Steve Lee worked his magic with a .1742. Reportedly, he was using some new Bart’s bullets on new Bart’s jackets. Steve shot well all week. Those new bullets certainly contributed to his success.
Wednesday afternoon saw the moving of flags for the 200-yard stage of the competition. The SP and LV 200 yard targets were Thursday’s course of fire. In LV, Hal Drake shot a .2045 Aggregate which edged Larry Costa’s .2076. At 200 yards the Aggregates are measure on MOA. Therefore, Hal’s .2045 Aggregate translates to an average 200 yard target measurement of .409”. The afternoon was reserved for SP targets. Wayne Campbell shot a .2250 to win the afternoon’s contest.
On Friday, a single Aggregate of five record targets were shot for Heavy Varmint (HV) at 200 yards. Harley Baker had his mojo working with a tiny .1674 Aggregate — not far off from the IBS record. On Friday afternoon many of the awards for the bag guns were given out. Saturday was reserved for HB 200. Since some of the bag gun shooters do not shoot a rail gun a number of competitors left Friday afternoon. The rail guns came out to contest 200 yards on the last day of the Nationals. The winner was Jack Neary who shot a .2324 Aggregate to edge Steve Lee’s .2361.
IBS 2014 Group Shooting National Championships — Top Fives
About the IBS Awards at the Group Nationals
The IBS recognizes winners as follows: Range Aggregates for each of the four classes of rifles; Grand (100 and 200) Aggregates in each of the four classes; 2-Gun (all HV and LV targets in 100 & 200); 3-gun (HV, LV, SP in 100 & 200) and 4-gun (HV, LV, SP and HB in 100 & 200). For the multi-gun competition, Florida’s Larry Costa won both the 2-Gun and 3-Gun titles. In the 4-gun, however, it was Michigander Bill Symons who took the 4-Gun title with an excellent .2332.
August 12th, 2014
 Shooting Sports USA, the NRA’s monthly journal for target shooting enthusiasts, is celebrating more than 100 years of reporting on competition shooting. The magazine features shooting news, technical articles, product reviews, and an annual calendar of 15,000 matches. Articles examine a breadth of topics, from tournament results to shooting techniques, and cater to shooters of all ages and experience levels.
American Rifleman and American Hunter are the high profile NRA magazines. But avid competitors turn to Shooting Sports USA for news on competitive shooting. Now in it’s 100th year of publication, Shooting Sports USA is a great resource, and it’s FREE. That’s right, the digital version of Shooting Sports USA is free to read online. Check it out:
CLICK HERE to Read FREE August issue.
CLICK HERE for FREE digital subscription to Shooting Sports USA.
Origins of Shooting Sports USA
 The progenitor of Shooting Sports USA was originally an insert in Arms and the Man (which later became the American Rifleman). The rising popularity of competitive shooting led to the creation of a new magazine in 1947 named NRA Tournament News. In 1976 the magazine was renamed American Marksman and began publishing more articles oriented toward the competitive shooter. The magazine again changed its name in 1988 to Shooting Sports USA, and it remains today one of the leading competition shooting journals in the USA.
“Anyone who has an interest in competitive shooting, from beginners to professionals, can find something to like in the pages of Shooting Sports USA,” said Managing Editor Chip Lohman. “From covering the sport’s history to tips on improving accuracy, our magazine is dedicated to helping shooters across the United States enjoy their sport.”
August 11th, 2014
 A.P. Lane’s Gold Medal-Winning Colt Revolver
This Colt Officer’s Model revolver, factory-fitted with a skeletonized hammer, belonged to legendary Olympic shooter A. P. Lane, who was known as the “Pistol Wizard”. Lane used this Colt Revolver to win FIVE Olympic Gold Medals — three in 1912 and two in 1920.
A.P. Lane was one of the greatest pistol shooters of his generation. He shot scores that were typically 25-50 points higher than those of his competitors. And he exhibited true Corinthian spirit. At the 1912 Olympics, Lane shared his match ammunition with another competitor who used that ammo to capture the Silver Medal (Lane won the Gold).
This revolver, factory-fitted with a skeletonized hammer, was used by American A.P. Lane in winning five Olympic Gold Medals in the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games. It’s a .38 caliber, Officer’s Model centerfire revolver from the early 20th century. Olympian A.P. Lane’s Gun can be found in Gallery 13, Firearm Traditions for Today, at the NRA National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. The Museum exhibit includes a panoply of Lane pieces – his revolver, his five Gold Medals, and the five Olympic certificates that went along with them.
Click Photo to See Full-Size Image
Watch Video History of the A.P. Lane Revolver
August 11th, 2014
If you want to win a major multi-gun match these days, you have to go through Horner. SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU demonstrated his 3-Gun process once again this past week in Raton, New Mexiso. Horner was the big winner at the Rocky Mountain 3-Gun World Championship, a grueling, 5-day, 15-stage event. Besting a field of America’s leading 3-gunners, Horner won with his signature combination of speed, agility, accuracy, determination, and toughness. You can’t rattle this guy.
Run ‘N Gun at 6000 feet
The Rocky Mountain 3-Gun (RM3Gun) is an action shooting match in the natural terrain of the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, NM. The riverbeds, mountains, trees and rocks provide props for the stages. There are 5 divisions: Open, Tactical Scope, Tactical Iron, He-Man Scope, and He-Man Iron.
RM3Gun is a very physical match, and Whittington’s 6000′ altitude makes things even tougher. The pace, thin air, and terrain challenge competitors’ fitness levels. The match has a healthy amount of long range rifle shooting. The match organizers state: “We try to strike a balance between rifle, shotgun and pistol, but you will definitely have lots of rifle because it’s one of the only places you can shoot as far in such a beautiful environment. Usually, we have some moving/aerial targets for the shotgun as moving targets are what the gun is designed for.”
August 10th, 2014
 Ben Emms of Australia won the U.S. Fullbore Championship with an 891-114V score. One point back, Nancy Tompkins finished second, earning the Silver Medal with 890-105V. Michigander Charles Hayes won the F-TR division with 807-34V.
For the “slings and irons” Target Rifle competitors, the individual championship came down to a ten-person Shoot-Off. Americans fared well. Along with Tompkins’ second-place finish, Kelly Bachand placed fifth, Trudie Fay was eighth, Steven Powell finished ninth, and SSG Shane Barnhardt was tenth. Overall, that was a great showing by Americans. This bodes well for the 2015 Fullbore World Championship at Camp Perry.
Today the Fullbore Championships conclude with Palma Team matches. The top shooters are on the firing line, doing their best for their teams and respective countries.
Annette Wachter, aka “30 Cal Gal” offers this report from yesterday: “Here is my Award for most awesome team shirt. Saturday was a crazy morning. I got into position to shoot and there was zero wind. But by the time I took a shot it went to 11 minutes! I Got blown off the target twice. Had to laugh. Nothing I could do. I held great elevation though.”
CLICK HERE for Individual National Fullbore Championship Results, with Shoot-Off.
The Fullbore Championship — Down to the Wire
Competitor’s Report from Kelly Bachand, Kelly’s Gun Sales
Well it all turned out pretty darn well. I was in 7th place in the grand aggregate at the beginning of the day. After the first match of the day I dropped to 10th, and after shooting one of the best strings I’ve ever shot in my life I moved up to 3rd! I then shot in the Top 10 Shoot-Off to determine the final standing and I ended up 5th overall. I’m really quite pleased with this result and I feel very blessed.
Click No Bang — You Have to Load the Rifle!
Going into the final string at 1000 yards I felt myself starting to get a little worked up. I stopped and prayed and really worked at calming myself down. I got in position and got ready to shoot, loaded my first round, made my wind call and took the shot. “Click”. It didn’t go off and worse still I jerked the heck out of the trigger. It’s odd that it didn’t go off, but it happens once in a while, I usually just cock the rifle again and the round goes off on the second try. I line up the sights again, “Click”. Yikes! I jerked the trigger again and there must be something wrong with my rifle! I pull the bolt back and check the end cap, it’s not loose, so I go to eject the round to inspect it and I discover that I never loaded the rifle to begin with! That really calmed me down, quite a lot. I was almost laughing at myself on the line.
Reading the Wind
After the embarassing “click no bang” sequence, I picked an indicator — there was a flag almost pointing at me, and I used it to judge the angle changes. I watched other flags and the mirage for velocity changes and I tried my best to break good shots, and it worked. It was as if God helped me break the right shots at the right time. On a number of occasions I took a shot I called on one side or the other and the wind had either picked up or let off in such a way that if I hadn’t shot it exactly where I did then I would have lost points (calling a shot is just guessing where the shot will be based on how it felt and what it looked like when the gun went off). It was awesome. I ended up with a 75-8V, one of only five 75s that were shot on that string. This means that in 10-15 mph crosswinds, from 1000 yards away, with iron sights, and supported by a sling, I kept 15 consecutive shots inside an area less than two feet across with more than half of them in an area less than one foot across.
The Top 10 Shoot-Off
Since this match is a dress rehearsal for the World Long Range Championships next year there is then a shoot off among the top 10 scoring competitors. Fifteen more shots at 1000 yards and the score from that additional string is added to each shooter’s running total. The overall winner is the one with the most points.
During the Shoot-Off, the wind had picked up a little more, but not much. The biggest challenge I had was that the wind had such a speed that even from prone and with a sling the rifle was no longer steady. Instead the rifle sights were bouncing around as if I was shooting standing. So it was no longer good enough to simply have a good handle on the wind, we now also needed to squeeze the shot off at precisely the right moment. Needless to say some shooters excelled and some did not. Nancy Tompkins impressed everyone present by shooting a 75-7V in these conditions. I had a 70-4V which moved me from 3rd place to 5th place overall.
So I just got 5th place in the U.S. Fullbore Nationals and I’m honestly quite blown away by that result. There were some of the best shooters in the world present. Some of the other countries brought the same shooters who will compete next year in the World Long Range Championships — they were here. This also served as a try-out session for the U.S. Palma Team so many of the best shooters from the USA were present and competing. And then there is me. I’ve shot just two matches this year: a local 1000 yard match back home, and these Nationals. I practiced about half a dozen times and usually at less than 200 yards before coming to Nationals. Yet, despite the many reasons I shouldn’t have done well here, God saw fit to bless me and helped me to shoot very well.
Read Full Report by Kelly Bachand (more details).
August 8th, 2014
Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
You could say shooting is in her blood. Raised in a home where national titles were about as regular as Johnny Carson on late night, it was only a matter of time until Michelle Gallagher won a National NRA Rifle title of her own. Or, as is the case this year, a fourth National NRA Long Range Rifle Championship.
“I started shooting when I was about 7,” Gallagher explained. “Mom was taking me and Sherri (her sister) to the range ever since we were little kids. “
As with most shooters, it all started with smallbore. Working on stance, trigger control, and reading the wind, the light rifle fulfilled every shooting desire until an international match in New Zealand for the Palma World Championships. “I saw those Palma team jackets and that was it. I wanted one of those jackets. So we went home and Mid (her stepfather Middleton Tompkins) built me a Palma gun.”
Michelle Gallagher with Tompkins Trophy for the NRA Long Range High Power Rifle Championship.
Though the desire for a jacket was strong, the switch from smallbore to high power didn’t come without complications. In fact, Gallagher admits to shooting with her eyes closed for the first six months.
“It was such a big kick.”
Soon the kick wasn’t so big. Using the skills she acquired in smallbore, Gallagher rose through the ranks until winning her first NRA Long Range High Power Rifle title three years later. With two more championships under her belt, she ultimately achieved her initial High Power goal in 2007 with a spot on the United States International Palma team.
Jacket and all.
Preparing for the NRA Rifle Championships
Gallagher doesn’t shoot much of the sling rifle these days. In fact, the last time she wrapped said sling around her left arm and sent a few shots 1000 yards down range was the 2013 NRA Long Range High Power Championships. Which begs the question — how did she manage to win without any practice?
“I’ve been shooting F-Class.”
Now how does shooting on a bipod make you a better sling rifle shooter?
“You have to take the targets into consideration,” she began. “On F-Class targets the 10 ring is [the size of the High Power] X-Ring. So the wind calls have to be spot on, there’s not as big a cushion as you get with sling rifles. And I think that helps a lot.”
Another part of Gallagher’s preparation that helps a lot is her relationship with her parents. World class shooters on their own, their status has changed from mentors to peers. An odd situation at first, the family eventually found a way to make it work.
“They still help me a lot, but they ask for my advice as well. They taught me a great deal and I’ve tweaked that with my own experience. Now we’re building off of each other rather than just me asking for advice.”
Michelle (right) gets advice from mother Nancy Tompkins (left) while SSG Brandon Green looks on.
Rediscovering her NRA Long Range stride 13 years after her last win means Michelle is likely to stick around the sling rifle arena for a little while longer. The thrill of the NRA Championships still puts a twinkle in her eye: “There’s just something about shooting here at Camp Perry … It’s just special.”
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