Smallbore competitors — mark your calendars for July 13 through July 17. That’s when the 2012 NRA National Metric Smallbore Championships will be held at the Wa-Ke’-De Range in Bristol, Indiana. Practice Relays will be held on the 13th and the afternoon of the 15th. With Position shooting scheduled for July 13-15 and Prone for July 15-17, this event is a great way to tune up your marksmanship skills prior to the Smallbore Championships at Camp Perry which commence July 18, 2012. Due to range capacity, the championships are limited to 200 shooters for both Position and Prone.
The NRA Blog reports that: “Despite being so close to the National Matches, the championship ends just before Camp Perry’s smallbore practice begins on July 18. Bristol is also a short drive from Camp Perry and many shooters compete at both places, using the Metric Championship as some last minute practice before the big show.” The Jameson Inn in Elkhart, Indiana is the host hotel. Mention the National Metric Championships to receive a special rate.
The 2012 NRA National Rifle & Pistol Championships at Camp Perry begin today with the traditional First Shot Ceremony. Following a military band concert, the First Shot Ceremony began at 10:00 AM. Hundreds of shooters, volunteers, employees and spectators were gathered at Camp Perry’s Memorial Monument. This year’s First Shot Speaker, Lieutenant General William E. Ingram Jr., Director Army National Guard, has the honor of firing the First Shot to officially open the 2012 National Matches. Highlights included a color guard, a military band and a National Guard combat maneuver. Dignitaries from the National Rifle Association, CMP, National Guard, all branches of the armed forces and local government representatives were recognized during the ceremony.
Complete day-by-day coverage of the NRA National Championships will be provided by the NRA Blog, which will have a team of reporters on site at Camp Perry throughout the next few weeks. Starting July 10, the NRA Blog will deliver competition updates, with match standings, photos, and video clips.
Pistol Shooters Lead the Way Pistoleros take the stage for the first phase of the National Championships. After today’s Pistol Small Arms Firing School and SFAS M9 Pistol EIC Match, the NRA National Pistol Championships commence tomorrow, July 10, and run through July 14 (with National Trophy Matches on the 15th). The Pistol Championships should be hotly contested this year. Legendary handgunner (and Top Shot Season 2 Runner-Up) Brian ‘Gunny’ Zins (USMC retired) returns to Perry with the goal of securing his his eleventh pistol title. Standing in his way will be 2011 Pistol Champion Philip Hemphill along with of James Henderson, John Zurek and others.
2012 CMP National Trophy Matches
9 July: First Shot Ceremony
9 July: Pistol Small Arms Firing School
9 July-4 August: NM Air Gun Events
10 July: Warm-up Pistol Match
15 July: National Trophy Pistol Matches
22 July: National Rimfire Sporter Match
27-29 July: Rifle Small Arms Firing School
2012 NRA Rifle and Pistol Championships
10-14 July: NRA National Pistol Championship
18-26 July: NRA Nat’l Smallbore Rifle Championships
5-15 August: NRA Nat’l High Power Rifle Championships
Report from Jason Baney, Asst. Editor
The Original Pennsylvania 1000 Yard Benchrest Club will host its annual 1000-Yard World Open July 14 and 15, 2012. It will be held at the club’s range about 15 miles north of Williamsport, PA and will draw shooters from all over the country. It is likely the largest gathering of 1000-yard benchrest shooters anywhere. This year, the combined prize value exceeds $40,000! Frank Grappone, Williamsport Club President, says: “Come shoot against the best!! Our prize table is legendary and we pay down many places in the final standings. Applications and info can be found at our website at www.pa1000yard.com. Hope to see you all there.” At this time, match fees are: $100.00 Per Class, $175.00 for both classes. (Saturday Night dinner is included in the Entry Fees.)
This event is meant to bring together shooters from each 1000-Yard (IBS and NBRSA) organization, and the current rules reflect this. The World Open includes two classes, Light Gun and Heavy Gun. At Williamsport, 10-shot groups are fired by BOTH classes, not just Heavy Guns. Light Guns (LG) must be 17.00 lbs or under and the Heavy Gun (HG) class has no major restrictions (see rules on the Williamsport website for further detail). One 10-shot group will be fired each day in each class. Scoring will be accomplished by an aggregate list of the groups and scores fired.
This Williamsport 1K match video shows 10 shots in 26 seconds — done with a 90-lb Heavy Gun.
The Schedule of Events will be:
Saturday Morning – Light Gun Match One
Saturday Afternoon – Heavy Gun Match One
Sunday Morning – Heavy Gun Match Two
Sunday Afternoon – Light Gun Match Two
Prizes will be given out to the Two-Gun Overall Champion, LG Champion, and HG Champion among others including the top dozen or more in the top of each LG and HG group and score categories. The $40,000+ prize table at this year’s World Open is quite large, probably the biggest ever for a 1K benchrest match. Prizes will be chosen by the shooter in the order of their ranking, not handed out. In addition to the regular prizes, The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Club will give $1000.00 CASH to the competitor who shoots the smallest group for the weekend AND breaks the current Light Class or Heavy Class Ten Shot Benchrest World Record during this event. (One winner only per class).
This match should be one of the largest yet, and hopefully shooters are not discouraged by the high gas prices. Camping and campers can be parked for free, but will have to provide their own power. Concessions will be available as will an evening meal. The more shooters we can gather, the better the competition. We hope to see you there.
WEB Link: www.pa1000yard.com | Range Location: N41° 26.7511′, W076° 52.4212′
The CMP National Trophy Matches will kick off July 9th with the First Shot Ceremony. The official program and registration information for the CMP National Trophy and CMP Games Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, are posted on the CMP website’s National Match Page. The National Matches are conducted by a partnership between the CMP, NRA and Ohio National Guard. The National Matches are open to the public and visitors can stop by the National Matches Welcome Center, Building 3, at Camp Perry throughout the matches for information.
The colorful First Shot Ceremony will be held on Monday, 9 July, at 10:00 AM with a Military Band Concert starting at 9:30 AM. This year’s First Shot Speaker, LTG William E. Ingram Jr., Director Army National Guard, has the honor of firing the First Shot to officially open the 2012 National Matches. Public viewing from bleacher seating is open to the public and encouraged. Highlights will include a color guard, a military band and a National Guard combat maneuver.
2012 CMP National Trophy Matches
9 July: First Shot Ceremony
9 July: Pistol Small Arms Firing School
9 July-4 August: NM Air Gun Events
10 July: Warm-up Pistol Match
15 July: National Trophy Pistol Matches
22 July: National Rimfire Sporter Match
27-29 July: Rifle Small Arms Firing School
2012 NRA Rifle and Pistol Championships
10-14 July: NRA National Pistol Championship
18-26 July: NRA Nat’l Smallbore Rifle Championships
5-15 August: NRA Nat’l High Power Rifle Championships
New Rodriguez Range Berm and Target Pits
This year’s National Match competitors will enjoy the newly rebuilt Rodriguez Range berm and target pits. The State of Ohio hired local contractors to rebuild the Ohio National Guard’s 100-year-old range this past winter. The CMP purchased and installed a new speaker system in the pits.
The all-new Northern Arizona Shooting Range (NASR) opens on Saturday, July 7, 2012. The public is invited to the grand opening of the 160-acre NASR facility, located east of Flagstaff, AZ. Following opening remarks by state officials and politicians, there will be a traditional Hopi blessing by representatives from the Hopi Tribe, and then the ceremonial ribbon cutting for the range.
Following the ceremony, the public will have the opportunity to shoot .22 rifles on the 100-yard range and try out archery on the 50-yard range. Loaner .22 rifles, ammunition and archery gear will be available for this activity. Shotgun shooters can sign up for the National Sporting Clay Association registered sporting clays events or fun shoots. Registration for these events opens at 9 a.m. for the Saturday shoots, which begins at 11 a.m. On Sunday, shooting events begin at 10 a.m., and registration opens at 8 a.m. A food vendor will also be on site Saturday.
The opening of the Northern Arizona Shooting Range is the culmination of a long-term effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) and shooting sports enthusiasts to establish a public shooting range in the Flagstaff vicinity. In July 2010, the 160-acre Foster Ranch in Coconino County was acquired as the site of the much-needed local public shooting range. Northern Arizona residents had been without a rifle and pistol shooting range since 1968. In 1994, closures of the local shotgun and archery ranges resulted in one of Arizona’s largest communities not having a designated place for recreational/competitive shooting. Under an agreement with the AZGFD, the Northern Arizona Shooting Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, will operate the range.
How to Get To the Range
The Northern Arizona Shooting Range is located approximately seven miles southwest of Winona. Take I-40 east from Flagstaff about 10 miles to the Winona Exit (Exit 211). Head south on the Winona Ranch Road for about two miles to Forest Road 128. Take a right (west) on Forest Road 128 and follow it for about four miles. The range is on the left (east) side of the road at Forest Road 128A. Follow the signs.
SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU came from behind to win the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) match at the South River Gun Club in Covington, GA. Trailing Keith Garcia with one stage remaining, Horner laid down a blistering final stage to finish first. This was Horner’s second win in three events on the 2012 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour. Just a little more than two and a half months ago, during the first 2012 3GN Pro Series event in St. Augustine, Florida, it was Garcia who had a great final stage run. On that day, Horner came up just a few tenths of a second short, giving Garcia his third 3GN win.
Behind the Scenes with Dan Horner (Excellent Video, Click to Watch)
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
In third place for the second time this season was Taran Butler, who shot a very solid match. Butler, who also finished third in St. Augustine, has won $4,000 on the 3GN Pro Series this season. In all, $26,000 in cash prizes were paid to the field, with $10,000 across first, second and third provided by Stag Arms.
3-Gun Nation Matches are Fast and Furious
The 3GN Pro Series puts 64 of the game’s top shooters into a one-day, all-Tactical Optics format. All competitors shoot five extremely fast, open stages, where multiple stage strategies are possible, challenging even veteran shooters. The top 10 then make the cut, proceeding to stage 6, where in front of a crowd of onlookers, including the entire field of competitors; scores are posted on the large 3GN Scoreboard for all to see.
The next event on the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour with be the second annual Rockcastle Pro-Am. This runs August 26-28, 2012, at the Rockcastle Shooting Center in Park City, Kentucky. A 3GN Pro Series Shoot-Off will culminate what promises to be the largest 3-gun match of the season, with more than 500 shooters registered in the Pro and Amateur matches combined.
Coaxial (joy-stick) rests allow both vertical and horizontal movement with a single control. If you want to make a diagonal shift in point of aim, you can do this with one, smooth, continuous movement. Until now, this advantage has been limited to front rests. Well there’s some new technology in the benchrest world. Forum member ‘Straightpipes’ has created a coaxial rear joystick rest. He built this simple, compact rear rest in his home workshop for use with his 40-lb Heavy Gun. In combination with a vertically adjustable front rest, this new rear joystick rest allows aiming to be controlled from the rear, with your left hand in a comfortable position.
Straightpipes Rear Coaxial Rest — Design and Features
The rear rest is crafted from aluminum with a stainless steel forward-pointing joystick. Total weight, including the long, stabilizing base foot, is about 10 pounds. Though the rear rest doesn’t seem to have a large movement range, the system offers plenty of “on-target” travel. At 100 yards, the rest offers 10 MOA left, 10 MOA right, 5 MOA up, and 5 MOA down adjustment. That’s plenty of range for most targets, once you center the Point of Aim vertically using the captain’s wheel on the front rest, which Straightpipes also crafted himself. Click Square Photos Below to see Large Images.
Inside the rear cradle sits a Protektor rear sandbag, with Cordura fabric filled with ordinary sand. This fits the 3″-wide bottom of Straightpipes’ 40-lb heavy gun. There are some sophisticated components you can’t see in the photos. The rear rest can pivot (right or left slightly) to stay aligned with the front rest (as adjusted to level the cant of the rifle). Straightpipes says: “With the pivot, whatever I do to the front, the rear follows.” The basket (cradle) also employs a 20-lb bias spring system to handle the weight of the Heavy Gun. This prevents the co-axial system from binding, so it is fluid and easy to operate. Even with 20 pounds of gun weight on the rear, the joystick can be easily manipulated with a light touch of thumb and fore-finger.
Video Shows Rear Coaxial Rest in Action
Watch the video below to see how the joystick controls the rear rest. Total joystick movement is about a 2.5″ sweep. This gives 20 MOA total windage adjustment at 100 yards, and about 10 MOA vertical.
About the Straightpipes Front Rest
The coaxial rear rest is designed to work with the massive front rest as a system, though they are NOT connected, so as to comply with IBS Heavy Gun rules. The 30-lb front rest supports exactly half the weight of the rifle and is used to set gross elevation. Windage and fine elevation is controlled in the rear. Straightpipes also designed and built his beefy front rest himself. As with his rear coaxial unit, the front rest pieces were all shaped by hand on a belt sander after being milled out. Straitpipes even “finish-sculpted some pieces with hand files the old craftsmen way.” The main center support column was milled with extremely fine threads. This allows the captain’s wheel to turn with little effort and no locking mechanism is required. Straightpipes does not need to fuss with locking knobs when he sets gross elevation. To help keep the unit from binding, there are stainless guide shafts on the left and right. These shafts slide in oil-impregnated bronze bushings.
40-lb Barrel Block Heavy Gun with Savage Action
Straightpipes built this beautiful set of rests to work with his 40-lb Heavy Gun. Chambered in 7mm WSM, the gun features a Savage Target Action, and a Brux 32″, 1.300″ straight-diameter barrel fitted with a custom barrel nut. The barrel is clamped forward of the action in a 9″-long barrel block. This allows the Savage action to free-float. The block, also built by Straightpipes, looks fairly standard, but it has some clever design features. Between the barrel and the block there is sleeve that is slightly compressed when the block’s bolts are tensioned. This sleeve, made of a proprietary material, eliminates metal to metal contact between barrel and block. Straightpipes believes this enhances accuracy and provides some damping. Other shooters with barrel-block guns have used epoxy between block and barrel, but that makes disassembly difficult. The sleeve system on Straightpipes’ gun allows the barreled action to be easily removed from the stock. In addition, the compressed sleeve system is very stable — Straightpipes doesn’t have to fiddle with the bolt torques on his block.
‘Black Beauty’ Stock Made from Resin-Soaked Laminated Wood, with Rust-Oleum Finish
Straightpipes built the beefy stock himself. It is made from “red oak” wood soaked in resin and then laminated together with JB Weld. The rear section features a polished aluminum buttplate and twin metal “runners” on the underside, where the stock rides the Protektor Cordura bag. Straightpipes says the stock is very stable: “it absolutely does not flex or warp with changes in temp or humidity”. We asked Straightpipes about the stock finish. To our surprise, “Pipes” revealed he used inexpensive Rust-Oleum fine texture outdoor furniture paint. “Pipes” told us: “I’ve been using this stuff for years. It’s abrasion proof and tough as nails — the bags won’t wear it off. It’s solvent-proof, won’t get soft or bubble up. It cleans up with a damp cloth, just rub it down and it looks like new.”
As designed and crafted by Straightpipes, this Heavy Gun rest system is impressive. The rear rest is brilliantly simple, and beautifully finished. But the important question is: “how does it shoot?”. Straightpipes reports that the whole system exceeds his expectations: “The rear rest actuation is smooth and positive. It works smoothly in conjunction with the front rest. Everything is working together — there’s nothing that’s fighting another element of the system. The gun tracks straight. When it returns to battery, the thing is pretty much waiting for you shot after shot.” The rear rest’s small footprint allows the “driver” to sit comfortably behind the rig. Straightpipes reports: “Shooters can ‘address the rifle’ just like a Light Gun — you’re not straining to wrap your arm around something overly massive. Anybody can shoot this, it’s a very easy gun to shoot.”
Is it accurate? In a word, “Yes”. Straightpipes doesn’t want to make claims before the rig has been tested in competition, but he says it has “shot groups at 600 and 1000 yards that would be very competitive.” We promised not to publish group sizes yet, but we can tell you that at 600 yards in good conditions it drilled some “scary small” 5-shot groups, well, well under 1/4 MOA.
Forum member George (aka gcarbrera) let us know that complete Shooting Sports schedules for the 2012 London Olympic Games can now be viewed online. Olympic shooting events start on July 28, 2012 with Women’s 10m Air Rifle and Men’s 10m Air Pistol. The final rifle event, Men’s 50m 3-Position Finals, will be held August 6, 2012.
The 2012 National Rifle and Pistol Championships begin July 9 at Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio. A tradition at Camp Perry since 1907, the championships are divided into five separate phases: Pistol, Smallbore 3-Position, Smallbore Prone, High Power and Long Range.
The National Matches begin in early July with the First Shot Ceremony and conclude in August with the Long Range High Power Championship. This year, Nosler returns as title sponsor for the High Power Rifle Championships. NRA President David A. Keene said “The NRA, CMP and the Ohio National Guard work together and will continue to do so to make the National Championships the most prestigious matches in the world.
The 2012 National Championships calendar is as follows:
July 9: First Shot Ceremony
July 10-14: NRA National Pistol Championships
July 18-21: NRA National Smallbore Rifle Position Championships
July 22-26: NRA National Smallbore Rifle Prone Championships
August 5: NRA/Springfield M1A Match
August 6-10: NRA National High Power Rifle Championships
August 11-15: NRA Long Range Championship
You can follow the 2012 Championships with profiles, photos and scoring updates at www.nrablog.com. For more on the National Rifle and Pistol Championships at Camp Perry visit www.nrahq.org/compete or call 1-877-672-6282. On the Online Registration page, you can enter the various competitions. To enter the NRA/M1A Springfield match, please use the NRA High Power Rifle Championship option.
The 15th annual MGM Ironman Match drew 280 competitors — the largest field ever. Present were elite professional teams, privateers, juniors, ladies, top military and LEO teams, and shooters from as far away as Denmark. This challenging 3-Gun event, held June 3-9, 2012 at the Parma Rod & Gun Club in Idaho, featured 11 diverse stages of pistol, rifle and shotgun challenges.
The aptly-named Ironman match is one of the toughest 3-Gun matches on the planet. Over the course of three grueling days, competitors must complete 11 stages (segments), shooting in excess of 900+ rounds per shooter per segment. EVERY stage requires the use of ALL three guns. The Ironman is long, intense, and you shoot till you drop! Mike Gibson, the founder of MGM Targets, and the “inventor” of the Ironman, has said: “This match isn’t for weenies or crybabies”. Mike adds, “Over the past 15 years, I estimate over 4.5 Billion rounds have been fired in this event.” That’s a lot of lead going downrange!
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
The MGM Ironman is an intense test of both shooter and equipment. Participants shoot a variety of classes and various scenarios including shooting from the back of a moving vehicle, from a 20-foot tower, while driving a golf cart, and while carrying a dummy. Of course there are plenty of MGM-made reactive targets (photo right). There’s even a 285-foot-long Zipline pistol stage. You don’t see that in the typical 3-Gun match!
With creative and challenging stage designs, high round counts, and a great RO crew the Ironman is truly a unique match. Every stage has a 10-minute time limit with an average shooting time of about 7 minutes per stage. This year, some of the times were hampered by a day of steady rain and wind, making it all the more challenging. Overall, great efforts and camaraderie made for a great event.
2012 MGM Ironman Match Winners by Class:
SCOPED TACTICAL CLASS – Daniel Horner; OPEN CLASS – Michael Voigt; LIMITED CLASS – Warren Becker; HEAVY SCOPED CLASS – Barry Dueck ; TROOPER CLASS – Ben Fortin; JUNIOR TS CLASS – Brian Nelson; SENIOR TS CLASS – Ralph Arredondo; LADY OTLH CLASS – Bethany Harris; MILITARY/LAW TS CLASS – Ben Fortin.
Here is a video from the 2010 MGM Ironman. It shows many of the multi-gun stages, including the Zipline stage, filmed from multiple camera angles.
The 2012 NRA National Rifle & Pistol Championships at Camp Perry begin today with the traditional First Shot Ceremony. Following a military band concert, the First Shot Ceremony began at 10:00 AM. Hundreds of shooters, volunteers, employees and spectators were gathered at Camp Perry’s Memorial Monument. This year’s First Shot Speaker, Lieutenant General William E. Ingram Jr., Director Army National Guard, has the honor of firing the First Shot to officially open the 2012 National Matches. Highlights included a color guard, a military band and a National Guard combat maneuver. Dignitaries from the National Rifle Association, CMP, National Guard, all branches of the armed forces and local government representatives were recognized during the ceremony.
Pistoleros take the stage for the first phase of the National Championships. After today’s Pistol Small Arms Firing School and SFAS M9 Pistol EIC Match, the NRA National Pistol Championships commence tomorrow, July 10, and run through July 14 (with National Trophy Matches on the 15th). The Pistol Championships should be hotly contested this year. Legendary handgunner (and Top Shot Season 2 Runner-Up) Brian ‘Gunny’ Zins (USMC retired) returns to Perry with the goal of securing his his eleventh pistol title. Standing in his way will be 2011 Pistol Champion Philip Hemphill along with of James Henderson, John Zurek and others.
The CMP National Trophy Matches will kick off July 9th with the First Shot Ceremony. The official program and registration information for the CMP National Trophy and CMP Games Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, are posted on the CMP website’s 
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
Forum member George (aka gcarbrera) let us know that complete Shooting Sports schedules for the 2012 
The 2012 National Rifle and Pistol Championships begin July 9 at Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio. A tradition at Camp Perry since 1907, the championships are divided into five separate phases: Pistol, Smallbore 3-Position, Smallbore Prone, High Power and Long Range.
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
