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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.
July 25th, 2014
The NRA maintains a webpage with the latest results for all the National rifle and pistol matches at Camp Perry. Click any of the links below to launch a page with match-by-match results. Once you navigate to the appropriate results page, click the particular match title (or 3-digit match number) to open a table with ranked lists of competitors with their scores. For example, the National High Power Rifle Championship is Match number 400.
CLICK for MATCH RESULTS
Over $25,000 Worth of Prizes at 2014 NRA Springfield M1A Match
The Springfield M1A Match was held Wednesday July 24, 2014. Sponsored by Springfield Armory, this popular event features big-money payouts and valuable hardware prizes. More than $25,000 in cash and prizes were awarded, with categories for shooters of all skill levels. There was a big turn-out for the event. Competitors were treated to bright, sunny skies yesterday. Here are photos from the match, courtesy NRA General Operations.
July 24th, 2014
Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
Kevin Nevius is the 2014 NRA smallbore prone National Champion. It’s not the first time Nevius has won the NRA Smallbore Prone Rifle crown. A phenomenal prone shooter, Nevius has now secured multiple National Titles. That may be surprising notion given Kevin’s relatively late start in the sport of competitive shooting.
“My brother got me into long range varmint hunting and I started building my own guns very early,” Nevius told Dan Holmes in an earlier Pronematch.com interview. “I had a hunting friend who shot indoor smallbore who started me in three position and I was hooked.”
With a practically perfect score of 4799-390X, Nevius beat out second and third place shooters by two points … on the final day of the Conventional Championships. The 2014 NRA National Smallbore Rifle Championships wrap up this weekend with Metric Prone. Will we have another new 2014 smallbore champion or will there finally be a repeat? Stay Tuned.
Kevin Nevius, 2014 Smallbore Prone National Champion
“He showed his steel,” said Assistant Match Director Victoria Croft. “On the last day, the final relay, when it really counted, he didn’t miss a shot.”
Kevin Nevius file photo from Southeastern Michigan Northern Ohio High Masters Shooting Club.
July 23rd, 2014
The President’s Rifle Match is a notable rifle competition that is steeped in history. This match was first held in 1878. The top shooter at the 2014 President’s Rifle Match Final was SGT Augustus Dunfey of Phenix City, Alabama. A member of the USAMU squad, Dunfey posted an Aggregate score of 393-14X. Reigning National High Power Champion Brandon Green, also of the USAMU, finished second with 388-15X. High Junior was Nash Neubauer firing a 383-8X. Interestingly. Neubauer’s 383-8X score was good for 6th place overall, beating 94 other shooters, including many military team members. Great shooting Nash! High Senior was Richard Zolnowsky with 376-14X.
CLICK HERE for Results of President’s Match and Other National Trophy Matches.
Origins of the President’s Match
The National Rifle Association’s President’s Match was instituted in 1878, as the American Military Rifle Championship Match. In 1884, the name was changed to the President’s Match for the Military Rifle Championship of the United States. It was fired at Creedmoor, New York until 1891. In 1895, it was reintroduced at Sea Girt, New Jersey. Today, the match is held at Camp Perry, Ohio.
 The President’s Match was patterned after an event for British Volunteers called the Queen’s Match. That British competition was started in 1860 by Queen Victoria and the NRA of Great Britain to increase the ability of Britain’s marksmen following the Crimean War.
The tradition of making a letter from the President of the United States the first prize began in 1904 when President Theodore Roosevelt personally wrote a letter of congratulations to the winner, Private Howard Gensch of the New Jersey National Guard.
After a hiatus in the 1930s and 1940s, The President’s Match was reinstated in 1957 at the National Matches as “The President’s Hundred.” The 100 top-scoring competitors in the President’s Match were singled out for special recognition.
CLICK HERE for history of the President’s Match.
July 21st, 2014
This Wednesday, July 23rd, on the Outdoor Channel, Shooting USA features End of Trail, the Cowboy Action World Championship. Hosted annually at the SASS Founders Ranch in New Mexico, End of Trail attracts nearly 1,000 shooters, hailing from 50 states and many foreign countries. SASS, the Single Action Shooting Society, is one of the most popular shooting organizations on the planet, having issued over 90,000 member badges. For SASS members, End of Trail represents the Superbowl and World Series combined. This special Shooting USA broadcast of the 2013 End of Trail airs at 3:30 PM, 9:00 PM, 12:00 Midnight (Thursday) Eastern Time. This year’s End of Trail took place June 19-29, 2014.
If you like multi-gun competition, you’ll enjoy watching Cowboy Action Matches. The top male and female shooters are experts with three kinds of firearms: Lever Rifle, Single-Action Revolver, and Shotgun (which can be a double-barrel side-by-side, or a pump, or even an 1887 lever-action). The guns must be originals or reproductions made prior to 1898 to be used in competition. A typical stage will require 5 shots from each of two six guns, ten rounds from the rifle, chambered in a pistol caliber, and 6 to 8 shotgun rounds.
24 Rounds from Four Guns in under 13 Seconds
To give you an idea of the action you can see on Shooting USA, here is a video of past world Champion Spencer Hogland, aka “Lead Dispencer”. In this video, Spencer fires 24 rounds, with four guns, in just 12.81 seconds (look at the timer in lower right corner). Spencer shows blazing speed with his lever gun and note how quickly he loads his shotgun. Fast loading is key to a successful stage run. Unlike modern multi-gun comps, normally Cowboy Action Shooters must start with empty shotguns.
July 20th, 2014
Neither rain, nor geese, nor gloom of morn stays these competitors from the [sometimes swift] completion of their appointed rounds.
This year’s Camp Perry competitors at the John C. Garand Match had to battle rain, gloomy skies, plus an interruption by a bold flock of Canadian Geese. Nonetheless good fun was had by all. The challenge was to keep the guns and gear (and spectators) dry. All across the firing line one saw tarps and panchos, and even a few umbrellas. The match began on a very dark gloomy morning. Conditions improved during the day, but the rain clouds hovered all day long. CLICK HERE for hundreds more CMP photos from the event.
Wounded warrior Sgt. Robert K. Evans competes at Garand Match.
A flock of geese decided to fly across the firing line… VIEW LARGE PHOTO
It takes many helping hands in the pits to run a big match like this.
Here’s another way to store your gear on the firing line.
Spectators relied on panchos and umbrellas to stay dry.
“Been there, done that — got the T-Shirt.”
That’s all folks… until next year.
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