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May 7th, 2014
Forum member Eric has built an innovative specialty pistol for long-range benchrest. The gun is chambered in 6.5-284 and built for IBS 1000-yard shooting. Eric originally built the gun with a 3″-wide fore-end, then decided to go with a 6″-wide offset design since the IBS no longer restricts Light Gun Forearms to three inches. Eric explained: “After building the 3″-wide stock I looked at the IBS 1000-yard benchrest rules and found out that there was not a width limit and rails were allowed for a Light Gun stock. I set out to design a 6″ version. I was thinking it should be offset also to help control torque and track straighter. I had a new 6.5mm, 1:8.5″ twist, 1.250″ HV-contour Krieger barrel. I chambered the barrel for 6.5-284 and bedded the stock.”
Eric feeds his pistol Sierra 142gr MatchKings with a load of 51.0 grains of H4831sc. Estimated muzzle velocity with this load is 2900 fps — respectable speed from the short barrel. The gun tracks remarkably well, with very little torque effect, as you can see in the video below.
After initial testing, Eric added a muzzle brake to the barrel. This tamed the recoil considerably. To learn more about Eric’s long-range 6.5-284 pistol, visit our Shooters Forum and READ this POST. To see more videos of the pistol in action (with muzzle brake), visit Eric’s PhotoBucket Album.
May 6th, 2014
 USAMU Service Rifle shooter/instructor SSG Brandon Green set a new national record this past week, shooting a 500-33X in the individual Aggregate, National Match Course (NMC) with metallic sights. Green was near-perfect in the 200-yard Rapids, shooting an amazing 100-9X. Green was shooting a Tubb 2000 bolt-action rifle chambered in 6XC. He set the new record using Norma factory ammo. Yep, this was factory 6XC ammo, right out of the box.
National Record Score Card of SSG Brandon Green
SSG Green is the current NRA High Power National Champion and Interservice Rifle Champion. He and the rest of the USAMU rifle team have trained hard for the 2014 season. Yet Brandon joked about his record-setting performance, noting that the record was shot with his “back-up” gun. On his Facebook page, Brandon posted: “500-33X NMC. Not positive, possibly a record [Editor: Yes it was.] Not too bad for a #2 gun.” Not too bad indeed, Brandon. Congratulations on this achievement. This bodes well for Green’s goal to win a second straight National High Power Championship at Camp Perry this summer.
Note: After setting a National Record with 500-33X during the individual match with his Tubb 2000, SSG Green followed with a 498 the following day using a Service Rifle during the team match. Remarkable.
File photo of Green with Service Rifle (posed publicity photo).
May 5th, 2014
The 2014 Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches are underway at Camp Butner, NC. This popular event, held May 2-11, offers a wide variety of shooting competitions, including: Rimfire Sporter Match, M16 Match, M1 Garand Match, Springfield Match, M1-Carbine Match, Vintage Military Match, Modern Military Match, Vintage Sniper Match, Pistol Matches and more. The Eastern CMP Games kicked off Friday, May 2nd. Set for the next two days are the Garand/Springfield/Vintage & Modern Military Match (two days), Carbine Match (Monday), and Vintage Sniper Team Match (Tuesday). The Creedmoor Cup Matches segment commences on May 7th with a Highpower Clinic and 4-man Team Match.
CLICK HERE for Complete CMP Eastern Game Results
CLICK HERE for Complete Creedmoor Cup Matches Results
View Eastern Games Booklet With Event Info, Match Schedule, and Rules
May 4th, 2014
We recently wrote about a spectacular 2.6872″ ten-shot group shot at 1000 yards in Montana. Well Australian Peter Varley recently turned in another amazing group at 1000 yards — this time 2.010″ for FIVE shots. And he did it with a borrowed gun! That’s not the smallest 1K group ever shot on the planet*, but it’s still an Australian and (we believe) a Southern Hemisphere record. Varley shot the 2.010″ group with a borrowed 17-lb Light Gun at a Canberra Rifle Club match in March of this year. Congrats to Peter for his outstanding shooting. And “hats off” to fellow Queenslander John McQuire, who loaned Peter the rifle.
Shown below is Peter Varley with his target, plus a close-up. You’ll note that two of the five (5) shots go through a paster. You’ll find pasters all over these targets because the Canberra Club “recycles” these large 1K targets many times.
Peter reports: This was shot at a 1000-yard match on the Canberra Rifle Range on Sunday, March 9, 2014. I traveled 1300 kilometers (807 miles) from Nambour (Sunshine Coast) Queensland to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.
I had left my rifle case keys at the motel and resigned myself to target butts duty or a lazy day. A friend, John McQuire from Mackay (Central Queensland Coast) said: “Get my 6.5 x 47 out, clean up, and you’re in the first detail (relay)”. So it was a borrowed gun for the shoot. The match commenced around 9:00 am. Conditions were very good — winds were very light with no mirage to speak of. Everything fell into place.”
Gun Specifications: Lawton 7500 action with Jewell trigger, PacNor barrel chambered for 6.5×47 Lapua, home-made custom stock, March 10-60x scope
6.5x47L Load: Lapua 123gr Scenars, with CCI 450 primers and Varget (ADI 2208) powder.
*The current NBRSA Light Gun 1000 Yard 5-shot group record is 1.473″ by Bill Schrader in 2002. Tom Sarver is credited with an even smaller 5-shot IBS Light Gun record.
May 2nd, 2014
 With all the talk about Dashers, 6.5×47 Lapuas, or the big 7mms, it’s worth remembering that the “plain Jane” 6mmBR Norma really is a superb mid-range cartridge. That was demonstrated recently at the 2014 Roanoke Egg Shoot, a clay-bustin’ multi-distance match with targets at 330, 425, and 500 yards. At Roanoke, the 6mmBR (aka 6BR) was the most popular chambering. In fact, 25 out of 43 rifles (58%) were 6BRs. And this little cartridge did most of the winning. In Factory Class, seven of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including first and second place. In Open Class, eight of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including second and third place. And the Open Class winner, a 6BRX piloted by Forum member Mark Schronce, was a 6BR Improved, formed from 6mmBR parent brass.
Mark tells us the conditions were great this year: “We had eleven clean scores [of 15] in Open class. One of the 15s was shot by 8-year-old Cash Brown. Watch out for this young man, he is a shooter!”. With so many cleans there were many shoot-offs to determine the Top Three in each class. Mark explains: “We shoot one round each, no sighter at 500 yards, on 3.5″ clays, until one guy wins.”
*Mark also shot a 15 with his second rifle, chambered in 6mmBR Norma. Mark’s Open Class-winning 6BRX rifle featured a Bat B action and Mike Davis-chambered 26″ Krieger 1:8.5″-twist barrel. Mark loaded Berger 105gr VLDs, pushed by Varget and Fed 205M primers.
Young Guns Shine at Roanoke
Forum member Greg M., (aka Coleridge), also attended the Roanoke Match: “I made it into the Open Class Shoot-Off with two separate guns (6BR and 6-6.5x47L) … only to get whipped by both of the two youngest shooters there (one with my own gun!).” Greg noted that: “the Open Class Second Place finisher was also a youngster, Blake, my 15-year-old son. It won’t be long before Blake and [8-year-old] Cash are whipping us way too often. I’m just glad neither one of them was shooting in factory class!”
Course of Fire
The main match at Roanoke encompasses three yardages. All guns engage 15 clay targets: five 2.5″ clays at 330 yards, five 3.5″ clays at 425 yards, and five 4.5″ clays at 500 yards. Shooters are allowed TWENTY rounds, (no separate sighters). All rounds must be shot in one setting, with a 10-minute time limit. Shooters can shoot targets in any order.
Class Rules
In the primary clays-shooting competition, there are two (2) classes, Open and Factory. In the Open class there is a 30-lb weight limit and no rail guns are permitted. Beyond that, pretty much “anything goes”. The Factory Class is more tightly controlled — this is a true factory class, no customs allowed, not even Coopers. The only upgrades allowed are bedding and trigger job/replacement.
 Egg Shoot Is Challenging
In addition to the main clays-shooting match, there is an actual Egg Shoot, conducted separately. For the Egg Shoot, there are no classes — competitors pick their best rifle. After a five-minute warm-up, competitors get two shots to hit one egg at 500 yards. It costs two bucks for each entry — and you can shoot until your money or ammo runs out. All competitors who hit an egg then go into a Shoot-Off for glory and cash awards. Jonathan Dunn, shooting a 6BRX, won the Egg Shoot scoring 3 of 4 hits on eggs in the Shoot-Off stage.
April 29th, 2014
The Sloughhouse Benchrest Shooters hosted the 2014 National Benchrest Shooters Association (NBRSA) 600-Yard and 1000-Yard National Championships April 23-27, 2014. The match was shot in generally good conditions at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. Richard Duncan won the 1000-yard championship, finishing 8 points ahead of past Champ Richard Schatz. In the 600-yard Championship, Steven Raeder edged runner-up Wayne Courand. Bill Johnston set three, NBRSA 1000-Yard Heavy Gun Group Records* during the course of the match. Jim O’Connell reports that the sponsors were very generous again this year. Jim notes: “I think the big raffle winner this year was Bill Hubina who won a Nightforce scope and a Bat action. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your support of the Sloughhouse Benchrest Shooters. Hope to see you again next year for the 2015 Nationals.”
File photo from past event.
The three linked MS Word documents include results of the 600-Yard Nationals, the 1000-Yard Nationals, and the F-Bench Match. Click and download these files to view complete Group, Score, and Aggregate results, with rankings of all the individual competitors.
NBRSA 1000-Yd Nationals Results | NBRSA 600-Yd Nationals Results | NBRSA F-Bench Results
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1000-Yard Overall Two-Gun Results
1. RICHARD DUNCAN – 13 (Nat’l Champion)
2. RICHARD SCHATZ – 21
3. BILLY COPELIN – 25
4. BRUCE BANGEMAN – 25
5. ROBERT HOPPE – 28
6. SHAWN GREENE – 30
7. BILL JOHNSTON – 34
8. GREG WILSON – 37
9. CANADA CUMMINS – 41
10. PETER WHITE – 44 |
600-Yard Overall Two-Gun Results
1. STEVEN RAEDER – 12 (Nat’l Champion)
2. WAYNE COURAND – 15
3. TOM ESSER – 28
4. DAVID LLOYD – 31
5. JOSEPH MCKEE – 41
6. GREG WILSON – 46
7. KENNETH SCHROEDER – 48
8. JERRY TIERNEY – 49
9. TERRY BALDING – 51
10. SHAWN GREENE – 56 |
*Bill Johnston set the following Heavy Gun records at the Nationals: Single Target Heavy Gun Group, 4.219″; Three-Target Heavy Gun Group Agg, 5.056; Six-Target Heavy Gun Group Agg, 5.899.
April 27th, 2014
 The NRA’s Program Materials Center now offers high-visibility vests for both Range Safety Officers (RSO) and Chief Range Safety Officers (CRSO). These $25.00 fluorescent yellow vests come in three sizes, all with reflective strips and “NRA RSO” screen-printed on the back of the vest.
We strongly recommend that clubs consider providing Hi-Vis safety vests to Range Safety Officers. We’ve noticed that when range-masters wear official safety gear (and carry a bull-horn), everyone on the firing line seems to stay more alert.  If the RSO needs to go downrange, the enhanced visibility of the vest helps ensure that shooters, particularly novices, handle their firearms safely.
In addition to the bright yellow vests, the NRA sells fluorescent yellow caps ($9.75), yellow or orange knit caps ($17.00), and bright orange shirts ($14.95- $24.95) for RSOs and CROs. These items are all offered through the Program Materials Center.
April 24th, 2014
Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) Action Shooting team won two titles at the 2014 U.S. Practical Shooting Association Multi-gun National Championships, April 18-20. SSG Daniel Horner won the 2014 overall title, while finishing first in the Tactical Ops Division for an unprecedented sixth time. USAMU teammate SGT Matthew Sweeney won the Heavy Metal Tactical Division.
 It has been an impressive April for Horner. Daniel started off the month winning the U.S. Special Operations Command Int’l Sniper Competition with teammate SGT Tyler Payne. After that, he won his second straight 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour win before securing this latest national championship. The win marks Horner’s sixth national title in the Tactical Ops Division, the first shooter to ever accomplish that feat.
Even after six national titles and a ranking as one of the best sniper teams currently in the world, Horner said he’ll never get to a point where he thinks he knows it all.
“I learn something every day,” Horner concluded. “I can learn something from every single person shooting and use it to help someone else or help me.”
Unlike other competitions that focus on short-range shooting and shooting on the move, the Practical Shooting Association Multi-gun National Championships test shooters using odd-positions, barricades, stage planning, and long-range rifle targets in addition to moving quickly through stages.
“This year the shooting was difficult, but the speed at which you had to make the shots was so high that you couldn’t make any mistakes,” Horner said. “You would run out of shotgun ammo at some point if you missed one shot and (that’s a ten point penalty.)”
Horner and Sweeney Train Deploying Soldiers
Highlighting the difference between AMU shooters and their civilian counterparts, after the USPSA awards ceremony, Horner and Sweeney jumped on a plane to train soldiers preparing for deployment. The USAMU applies lessons learned from marksmanship competitions to training Soldiers for combat and raising the Army’s Marksmanship proficiency.
April 23rd, 2014
 Congrats to Taran Butler, who won the Open Division title at the USPSA Multi-Gun National Championships held last week at the Desert Sportsman’s Range outside Las Vegas. Butler also won this event in 2012, becoming the first person in history to win all three USPSA Multi-Gun divisions: Open, Tactical, and Limited. This year, Taran packed some serious firepower, with extra-long magazines for both carbine and shotgun. Shown below is the rig Taran used to win the 2012 Open Class Nationals. Taran reports: “This is a custom AR that TTI built with parts from Vltor, LaRue, PRI, Surefire, Noveske, Trijicon, and JP. Its called the Taran Tactical Innovations 17″ Signature Series Rifle. The optics I use are the Trijicon TR24R 1-4 power and the RMR. This is by far the fastest optic setup on the planet.”
In this video, Taran talks about multi-gun competition and how he maintains his drive to win even after having a bad stage. Top competitors like Taran are able to stay focused and come from behind to win.
Taran Butler Talks about the Multi-Gun Game
When he’s not competing at matches, or testing products for Taran Tactical Innovations, Butler works as a firearms expert in Southern California. He often works with celebrities, training Hollywood stars for action movie roles. Here he is with leading man Johnny Depp and songstress/actress Rihanna.
April 21st, 2014
Based on Report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
I first read about Lauren Phillips in 2012. Back then she part of a spitfire quartet known as the West Seattle/Vashon Thunderbirds. Fresh off her team’s NRA National Junior Sectional victory, she decided to start taking a more serious approach her shooting career.
Since then, she hit the road for matches in Fort Benning, Georgia, Anniston, Alabama, Camp Perry, Ohio, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. What did that travel catalog get her? How about a scholarship to the University of Nebraska and a spot in the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships. Once she earned that Junior Olympics spot, well, let’s just say she’s been difficult to stop. So much so that she walked away with the overall Women’s Three-Position Rifle title yesterday.
To get a full breakdown of Phillip’s performance at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships, take a look at the press release from USA Shooting:
Phillips Dominates Women’s Three-Position Rifle at NJOSC
No one could catch Lauren Phillips. Before she even stepped on the line for the Women’s Three-Position Rifle Final at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC), Phillips (Seabeck, Wash.) already had the title in the bag.
Phillips, a freshman at the University of Nebraska, built a dominating eight-point lead over the closest competitor in the 66-shooter field. Champions at this year’s NJOSC are determined through a modified selection format similar to that of USA Shooting’s National Championships: Points are awarded points earned in each day of competition with Nebraska freshman Lauren Phillips takes a moment at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships additional points awarded for performance in the Final – Eight for first, seven for second and so on. Phillips finished fifth in the Final, but it didn’t really matter.
“The Qualification was just like I was planning for – build an early lead so it takes the pressure of the Final,” Phillips said. “That’s just what I did. Went in Day One with a personal best and Day Two two points lower, but stayed consistent…I went in gunning for a record Final but it didn’t happen today. There were some excellent performances by my fellow collegiates.”
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