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August 7th, 2014
The 2014 NSSF Rimfire Challenge World Championship (RCWC), will be held October 3-5, 2014, at the Old Fort Gun Club in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Competitors will be challenged with a variety of rimfire stages for both pistol and rifle. “Old Fort Gun Club’s experience running organized competition makes them a perfect fit for hosting the biggest Rimfire Challenge event of 2014,” said Zach Snow, Shooting Promotions Manager with NSSF. This past April, Old Fort ran a hugely successful Rimfire Challenge Regional Match with 125 shooters.
The NSSF Rimfire Challenge program was developed to introduce newcomers to competition target shooting by providing individuals and families with a safe, fun, and exciting first-time experience using .22-caliber handguns and rifles and steel targets. Formerly known as the Ruger Rimfire Challenge, the NSSF assumed administrative responsibilities for the fast-growing program in 2014.
Online competitor registration is available now for the Rimfire Challenge World Championships. Shooter participation is limited to 200, so competitors are urged to sign up now.
Rimfire Challenge World Championship Online Registration Form | RCWC Event Schedule
“We are definitely looking forward to hosting the Worlds,” said Bill Striplin, President of Old Fort Gun Club. “We think the layout of our shooting bays and their close proximity to one another will be a great thing for these new shooters. Our range setup helps a big match like this flow smoothly from stage to stage, and that really helps make a long day on the range as stress-free as possible.”
August 6th, 2014
Michelle Gallagher is now the 2014 NRA Long Range High Power Rifle Champion. Michelle shot a perfect Palma score to win the multi-match championship. When the dust settled, Michelle edged out her mom, Nancy Tompkins, by a single X. Readers asked about Michelle’s choice of bullets. In the Long Range Championships, Michelle used the Berger .30-caliber 155.5gr Match Fullbore Target bullet (for Palma), as well as the 6.5mm 140gr Match Hybrid Target bullet.
Here are some photos from the Long Range championships, courtesy GONRAMedia.
CLICK HERE to see more GONRAMedia photos from Camp Perry.
John Whidden, a three-time NRA Long Range Champion, had a pair of long-range rifles built on modified Anschutz aluminum small-bore stocks. John’s scoped rig (first photo) features a Kelbly Panda Action. The iron sight version (second photo below) has a Winchester action. John has done these conversions for other shooters.
Long Range is not a man’s world by any means. The top two LR places at Perry were claimed by ladies.
Tubeguns built with Gary Eliseo chassis systems were popular on the firing line.
Yes, that is a John Deere Mirage Band shielding this shooter’s barrel.
This service rifle shooter found a way to shield his sights and remember his loved ones.
This competitor transformed a Sinclair loading block into an elevated ammo caddy. Clever piece of kit!
“Wagons HO!”. Shooters await the long ride to the pits for target duties.
August 6th, 2014
Report by Kelly Bachand, for Kelly’s Gun Sales Blog.
Tuesday, August 5th, was the first day of the actual competition. The weather forecast was for rain with an 80% chance of thunderstorms. We somehow snuck through on that 20% and had great shooting weather all day. We shot 300 yards, 600 yards, and 800 yards on Tuesday with 15 shots at each. For the 300-yard line and part of the 600-yard line the wind came out of the west, as usual. Part way through the 600-yard line it started to switch and for the rest of the day it only came out of the north east or directly out of the east.
Int’l Fullbore Targets — More Challenging Than NRA Targets
The ICFRA (International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations) targets are sometimes smaller than the NRA targets we are used to shooting in the USA. The 300-yard target has an especially small bullseye; it must be just 2.5″ across or something. Interestingly, these targets are also 5-V targets as opposed to our 10-X targets. This means the maximum points that can be scored with each shot is 5 points (instead of 10) and the tie-break ring is called the V-Ring (instead of the X-Ring). As a rehearsal for the 2015 World Long Range Championships, I think the match is off to a great start. There have been some logistical issues that have come up (and they only would have by running this match), so I’m very hopeful that the match directors will have all of their ducks in a row next year.
In a match like this, with the relatively calm wind conditions we had today, the top few shooters will likely go the whole day without dropping a single point and they’ll do it with a pretty high V-count. That means scores of 75 with 10+ Vs at every yard line are likely what it takes to find yourself towards the top (75-15V is the maximum score possible). I had a 75-9V at 300 and I was quite pleased with the group I shot, it must have been just a few inches tall. As one of the previous US Palma Team members, all of my shots in this match are being plotted and evaluated as part of the US Palma Team try-outs. It’s a very good incentive to break great shots.
Trigger Certification Rules
One of the fun things about shooting with ICFRA rules is that after someone shoots a possible (gets all the possible points, like 75 out of 75) they have to immediately get their trigger pull-weight tested. [That’s interesting] because you get to watch your friends come off the line and you immediately know how they did and can quickly give them a thumbs-up and rush over to congratulate them.
There is some really great shooting going on. I saw a lot of high scores shot at 800 yards. One under-25 lady from across the pond (Chloe Evans) spent most of today showing all the rest of us how it is done. It looks like she finished the day with a 225-36V. For the day, I had a 224-30V out of a possible 225-45V. I highly recommend following the scores online:
CLICK HERE for Current Fullbore Match Results from NRA website.
August 4th, 2014
F-Class competition will be featured on this week’s episode of Shooting USA television. This week, Shooting USA takes an inside look at the rapidly-growing sport of F-Class shooting, with coverage of both F-TR and F-Open competition at 600 yards and beyond. This show will air three times on Wednesday, August 6, on the Outdoor Channel (see air times by region below). This episode will also feature the historic 1907 Winchester, a choice of gangsters in the 1920s.
 The Shooting USA Hour on Wednesdays:
AIR TIMES BY TIME ZONE
Eastern Time 3:30 PM, 9:00 PM, 12:00 Midnight
Central Time 2:30 PM, 8:00 PM, 11:00 AM
Mountain Time 1:30 PM, 7:00 PM, 10:00 PM
Pacific Time 12:30 PM, 6:00 PM, 9:00 PM
F-Class Basics
The ‘F’ in F-Class stands for Farquharson. Canadian George Farquharson is credited with founding the sport in the 1990s. Farquharson wanted to create a discipline for fellow older shooters whose fading eyesight made it difficult to compete in traditional iron-sight high power matches. In 2007, the United States NRA officially recognized the prone shooting disciple. Since then the sport has grown rapidly. Over 350 shooters attended the 2013 F-Class Nationals in Raton, NM.
F-Class is similar to High Power rifle shooting, with competitors taking turns in the pits, pulling and scoring targets. Unlike conventional High Power shooting with iron sights, F-Class shooters use scopes (with up to 80x max power, though the most popular scope is still probably the 12-42x56mm Nightforce Benchrest).
All F-Class competition is shot prone. Competitors are classified into two divisions, F-TR (Target Rifle) and F-Open. F-TR rifles must be shot from bipod, and must be chambered for either the .223 Rem or .308 Win cartridges. Max F-TR gun weight is approximately 18.18 pounds, including bipod. In the F-Open division, rifles can weigh up to 10 kg (22 pounds) and front rests can be used (but you may shoot from a bipod if you wish). F-Open competitors may shoot any cartridge which is .35 caliber or under.
August 3rd, 2014
Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for NRA Blog
 An epic mother-daughter duel came down to a single X, with Michelle Gallagher besting her mom, Nancy Tompkins, by the slimmest of margins. To accomplish that feat, and win the Long Range National Championship, Michelle had to shoot a superb final match at 1000 yards, not dropping a point. Congratulations to Michelle, for her impressive win.
Finishing with 1096-66X, Gallagher took the LR title with Tompkins (1096-65X) in second and SSG Brandon Green (1096-59X) in third. Thomas Colyer was forth with 1096-56X. Remarkably, the top four shooters all finished with the same point total, only separated by X count!
Michelle (Left) is ‘all smiles’ with sister Sherri Jo Gallagher (Right), a former National Champion.
900-Yard Phase Cancelled By Lightning Storm
Michelle Gallagher shot a perfect 300-19X in Saturday’s Palma Match to win the 2014 National Long Range Rifle Championship. Beginning the day two points down, Gallagher racked up fifteen 10s at 800 yards along with another fifteen 10s at 1,000. Though Palma traditionally includes a 900-yard phase as well, that portion of Saturday’s match was cancelled due to the morning’s lightning storm.
“Talk about an exciting finish,” said High Power Rifle Match Director Sherri Judd. “She hung in there after dropping a few points in the early rounds and finished strong.”
“After finishing at 1,000, I knew it was going to be close by I had no idea it would be that close,” Gallagher said.
Other notable performances were turned in by Waylon Burbach, James (Jim) O’Connell, and SFC Joel Micholick. Burbach, as a Junior, shot a superb 1091-55X to beat all but six of the 282 competitors. Jim O’Connell, as a Grand Senior, proved he still has what it takes, finishing sixteenth overall with 1086-52X. “Man, that old guy can shoot!” was often heard on the firing line. Micholick proved the capability of the AR platform, recording a 1074-34X with his iron-sighted M110 to be the top Service Rifle shooter.
NRA 2014 National High Power Rifle Long Range Championships
| Competitor |
Score |
Competitor |
Score |
| 1. Michelle Gallagher |
1096-66X |
6. Philip Crowe |
1093-60X |
| 2. Nancy Tompkins |
1096-65X |
7. Waylon Burbach |
1091-55X |
| 3. SSG Brandon Green |
1096-59X |
8. Norman Crawford |
1091-50X |
| 4. SSG Thomas Colyer |
1096-56X |
9. SGT Eric Smith |
1090-58X |
| 5. SSG Shane Barnhart |
1095-60X |
10. John Whidden |
1089-64X |
CLICK HERE for Complete Long Range Championships Results
August 2nd, 2014
by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
There are five days in the NRA’s National Long Range High Power Rifle Championship. Five days of firing round after round at 6’ by 6’ targets up to 1,000 yards away. Five days of Camp Perry’s wind bouncing off Lake Erie while the sun fights to break through the occasional cloud.
This report was filed on Friday, August 1, 2014. CLICK HERE for the latest results.
Two sets of relays have already taken their respective Shooter Shuttles out to the pits, home of those 6’ by 6’ targets. There competitors take their turn at lifting and lowering the behemoth squares with every shot. Once fired upon, the target is lowered, scored, and raised back into place.
[As of Friday morning], only one round of relays is in the score books. Already, this is shaping up as a tightly-fought match. Only one point (and X-count) separates the top five shooters. Philip Crowe is currently in first with 798-47X. Just one X back, at 798-46X, is past champion Nancy Tompkins. A point behind Nancy are USAMU Shooter SSG Brandon Green, the legendary David Tubb, and Waylon Burbach. Nancy’s daughter Michelle Gallagher is in sixth. The other “Gallagher Girl”, SSG Sherri Jo Gallagher (below) is also competing this year.
CLICK HERE for Latest 2014 Long Range National Championship Results.
Photos courtesy NRABlog.com.
July 31st, 2014
Glock, Inc. has contributed $50,000 to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) in support of the new CMP Marksmanship Park, in Talladega County, Alabama. Glock has pledged $150,000 total to be delivered in three, annual donations. The initial payment of $50,000 was presented by Glock’s Bob Radecki to Orest Michaels, CMP chief operating officer, who stated: “We are pleased that GLOCK has stepped up with [its] support of our park, which will be the most progressive public shooting venue of its kind in the United States.”
Glock’s dollars should help the CMP Talledaga Marksmanship Park construction plan stay on schedule. The Talladega facility is projected to open in May, 2015. The first CMP Southern Games event is planned for June 2015. Potentially, a second Southern Games event will be held in December 2015. The CMP’s new shooting complex is situated in the rolling hills of Talladega County, approximately two miles from the Talladega Super Speedway.
Electronic Targets for High Power Shooters
The new CMP Marksmanship Park will feature a 54-lane High Power rifle range with electronic targets at 200, 300, and 600 yards, plus an all-electronic scoring 100-yard sight-in rifle range with 50 firing points. With its electronic targets, the Talladega Parks will be one of the most advanced shooting complexes in the Western Hemisphere.
The High Power ranges will be equipped with state-of-the-art, all-weather electronic targets.
For handgunners, the new Talladega Park will feature a 50-yard pistol range, three 50-yard action pistol bays, twelve 25-yard action pistol bays and a 50-foot pistol range. A portion of the pistol complex will employ electronic targets. For shotgunners, CMP Talladega will offer a 15-station sporting clays course and a trap field with a five-stand overlay.
An aerial view shows the trees that will serve as natural dividers between each range.
July 30th, 2014
Story Based on Report by Kyle Jillson for NRABlog.com
Joseph Hendricks won the 2014 NRA High Power Rifle Championship with a 1789-76X Score. Hendricks topped a large field of 288 total competitors. In second place, two points behind, was past champion Norm Houle with 1787-85X. Defending 2013 High Power Champion SSG Brandon Green was a close third, with 1786-89X. Green had the high X-Count for the match. The top “Any Sights” competitor was Kenneth Lankford, whose 1780-76X was the eighth-highest total overall.
Great Shooting Takes Hendricks from Fifth to First on Final Day
Dawn on the final day of the 2014 NRA High Power Rifle Championship saw Joe Hendricks sitting in fifth place. But by sundown the Team Remington shooter had become the national champion. What happened in between was a shining example of consistency and perseverance.
Hendricks started the final day (Tuesday) four points down of the leader, tied for third but with a low X-Count. “I assumed everybody would go clean … so I needed to go clean just to maintain my spot,” Hendricks said. And clean he went. All 60 of Joe’s shots on Tuesday fell within the 10-ring. In fact, he hit straight 10s for the last 100 shots of the 180-shot championship. That is an impressive feat.
Three Generations of Hendricks on the Firing Line
Hendricks has the unique privilege to shoot with his son, Joe Hendricks, Jr., and his father, Gary Hendricks. The rest of his family was there to cheer him on as well.
Altered Course of Fire on Final Day
Tuesday’s matches followed an unusual break after severe winds on Monday caused a complete cancellation of the matches. Normally, on the final day of the High Power Championship, competitors shoot matches at 200, 300, and 600 yards. This year, due to the Monday cancellation, competitors did not fire a 200-yard match, but instead fired the 300-yard match and TWO 600-yard matches.
View Photos from 2014 High Power Championships
When everyone found themselves back on the firing line Tuesday morning, the wind had died down. “The winds weren’t too tricky. I shot two nice groups at 300. Not the X-count I wanted, but I got all the points,” Hendricks explained. “When I got back to 600 I just tried to do the same thing. The wind dropped off enough a couple times that if I shot I’d lose points, so I waited until it came back.”
Hendricks finished with 1789-76X, two points ahead of Norman Houle (1787-85X), a three-time High Power National Champion. In third place, with 1786-89X, was SSG Brandon Green, last year’s High Power Rifle Champion.
July 29th, 2014
2014 and 2012 U.S. National F-TR Champion James Crofts is one of America’s top F-Class shooters. A member of the 2013 World Championship-winning F-TR Team USA squad, James knows a thing or two about long-range shooting, that’s for sure. But you may be surprised to learn how James sharpens his shooting skills at relatively short distances. You see, James often practices with a .22 LR rimfire rifle at distances from 50 to 200 yards. James tells us: “Shooting my F-Class rimfire trainer saves me money and improves my shot process and wind-reading abilities.”
Remington rimfire 40X barreled action in PR&T LowBoy stock with PT&G bolt.
Rimfire Training Teaches Wind-Reading Skills by James Crofts
Training with the rimfire is extremely useful and can be done from 25 yards out to 200 yards. I am lucky and can shoot 50 yards right off my back deck. That is far enough that any miscue on rifle handling will show up on the target. I use a two dry-fire to one actual shot routine for my practices. This gives me much more positive reinforcement without any negative reinforcement.
Wind reading is extremely important with a .22 LR rifle. I use a set of smallbore flags to aid my wind calls. The smallbore flags are a must and force you to look at the flags and mirage on each and every shot. If you think the flags at Camp Butner move a lot, try smallbore flags around tall pine trees.
Rimfire Training Is Cost-Effective
Rimfire ammunition is much less costly than centerfire ammo. Though .22 LR prices have risen in recent years (and rimfire ammo is harder to find), even now I can get a 500-round brick of .22 LR ammo for less than $75.00. That works out to fifteen cents a round. That’s a fraction of the cost of handloading .308 Win match ammo. Heck, you can pay 40 cents a piece for match-grade .308-cal centerfire bullets. Then you have to figure in brass, primers, and powder.
My CMP 40X Rimfire F-TR LowBoy Clone
My quest into the .22 LLR rimfire field started with an email from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) announcing Rem 40X stripped barreled actions for sale. I thought, “Hmmm… Could one of those little 40X barreled actions be turned into a F-Class training rifle?” My gunsmith Ray Bowman of Precision Rifle & Tool was brought in at this point.
After conferring with Ray, it was decided that he could indeed turn this into a F-Class training rifle. Ray contacted Dave Kiff of PT&G and ordered a new bolt for the Remington 40X rimfire action. Next was the stock decision. I decided to go with a PR&T Low Boy F-Class stock — this is an exact clone of the stock for my .308 Win F-TR competition rifle. Then a Jewell trigger was acquired to complete the components. Ray built this just like he would any custom rifle, other than using the stock barrel. The project turned out awesome. The rifle was a hammer from the beginning even with the stock barrel.
About James Crofts
This spring, James Crofts was chosen as the new Vice Captain for the USA F-TR National Team. James comes from a military background, having served 20 years in the U.S. Navy aboard fast attack submarines. James has also been a shooting member of the 8-man F-TR Team USA, and he is always one of the top shooters in any F-TR competition. James told us: “Now the work begins, but with Ray Gross as Captain I think we can handle it. It will be a tough act to follow. Darrell Buell and Mike Miller set the bar extremely high with back-to-back world championship gold medals.”
James Crofts — Photo by Kent Reeve.
July 28th, 2014
We are already half-way through the NRA High Power National Championship and SSG Shane Barnhart of the USAMU remains atop the leaderboard, with a score of 1193-64X out of a possible 1200 points. Barnhart shot a 595-28X during Sunday’s Navy Cup, Coast Guard Trophy, and Army Cup matches. Barnhart currently holds a three-point lead over second place SSG Brandon Green (1190-58X), the defending High Power National Champion. Like Barnhart, Green shoots for the USAMU. Kenneth Lankford leads the “any sight” (scopes allowed) division with 1191-54X.
High Power Hardware: The Guns of Perry
We thought our readers would like to see some of the ultra-accurate rifles campaigned by High Power competitors at Camp Perry. Both bolt-action and self-loading rifles are popular. Among bolt guns, Tubb 2000s and Eliseo tubeguns are popular. Semi-auto AR platform “Space Guns” offer some advantages (particularly during rapid-fire and for standing position), and are favored by many of the top marksmen. Many Camp Perry High Power competitors are also shooting less exotic AR service rifles.
Here is your current leader, SSG Shane Barnhart, with an AR Space Gun. Note the side charging handle and tall iron sight set-up.
Tubb 2000 with a shortened handguard, and custom hand support bracket forward of mag well.
The modern AR Space Gun, scoped version. Note the side charging handle, and absence of forward assist. A block fitted under the handguard helps with the standing position. The scope is mounted on a “piggy-back” rail that extends forward of upper receiver’s built-in rail.
Tubb 2000 rifle, left-hand version. Note how the butt-plate is adjusted for cant, angle, and drop.
Look carefully — it appears that a separate fore-arm section is duct-taped to the red free-floated handguard. Perhaps this AR owner experienced some wiggle, and that’s why he seems puzzled?
A countdown timer is attached directly to this shooter’s Tubb 2000 rifle.
This Service Rifle competitor shows how to get some “R & R” between relays.
All Photos courtesy NRA General Operations.
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