This July, Trinidad State Jr. College (TSJC) in Colorado will offer a unique 5-day instructional course on F-Class equipment and shooting skills. Slated for July 5-9, 2010, the F-Class Seminar will be taught by F-Class guru Larry Bartholome, Captain of Team Berger/Norma and current member (and past Captain) of the U.S. F-Class Open Team. Spots are still open for the course, but you should register right away.
Trinidad’s course will cover every aspect of F-Class shooting: selecting the best equipment and caliber, load development and ammo testing, reloading for long range, how to shoot a match, doping the wind at long-range, team shooting, mental conditioning, and match-winning strategies. While most of the course will consist of class work on the Trinidad campus, there will be range sessions July 8 and 9 at the NRA Whittington Center Range (Raton, NM), located just 20 miles south of Trinidad, CO. During these sessions there will be demonstrations and students will practice their long-range shooting skills at distances out to 1000 yards.
Larry told us: “This is not a gunsmith class, but rather a class that will cover all aspects of F-Class shooting. I think this will be a good opportunity for a person who wants to learn F-Class from the ground up, to do so in a short period of time. I feel a person could come into the class knowing next to nothing about F-Class and long-range shooting and leave [the seminar] knowledgeable enough to be very competitive at even a world level.”
The Rocky Mountain Palma Championships and Long-Range Regional will be held at the NRA Whittington Center July 10-15, 2010 and students may want to compete in all or part of those matches after the class concludes. Whittington charges $15/day range fee for any non-members who use the range.
Openings Still Available for July F-Class Course
There are still some places available for the F-Class seminar. If you’re interested, sign up soon by contacting Trinidad State Jr. College at 1-800-621-8752, ext. 5541, or log on to NRA.Trinidadstate.edu. No tools are required for the seminar. However, while a couple of F-Class rifles will be available for limited range use, students may want to bring their own rifles and ammo. All students should contact Larry Bartholome to confirm the students’ rifles are appropriate for use at 1,000 yards as F-Class rifles. Email Larry at: Lbart [at] elp.rr.com.
Trinidad State Jr. College summer courses cost $325.00 for continuing education and $393.90 for out-of-state Credit. On-Campus Housing is offered for a reasonable $100.00 per week. CLICK HERE for the TSJC/NRA Summer Course Registration Form (PDF).
Polish up your PPCs boys, the Super Shoot starts this coming Wednesday. The Firearm Industry Super Shoot (FISS), the largest short-range benchrest match in North America, runs for four days, May 26-29, 2009 at the Kelbly range in North Lawrence, Ohio. This is a LV/HV match only. Here’s the shooting schedule: May 26 10.5-lb 100 yards; May 27 13.5-lb 100 yards; May 28 13.5-lb 200 yards; May 29 10.5-lb 200 yards.
Some Slots Still Available
The Super Shoot attracts 320 or more shooters every year. For more information, go to Super Shoot Info Page, or click the links below. The competition is limited to 420 shooters. But it’s not too late to register. The Kelblys tell us “there are still places available if you get your registration in soon.” Note: Registration fees are currently $120.00 per gun (this is the price after May 10). No exceptions.
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
The Creedmoor Cup segment of the event was dominated by military shooters, most of whom are with the USAMU. SPC Sherri Gallagher won the Creedmoor Cup Overall and the Match Rifle Aggregate. Sgt. Tyrell Cooper won the Creedmoor Cup for Service Rifle and the Service Rifle Aggregate. In Service Rifle Team competition, the USAMU Praslick team finished first with 1957-80X, while the Virginia Shooting Sports Assn. Team took the Match Rifle title with a 1929-58X collective score.
There were many outstanding performances at the Eastern CMP Games, highlighted by David Thompson’s double win in the Carbine Match AND the As-Issued Military Rifle 3-Gun Aggregate. This was David’s second-straight 3-Gun Aggregate win. His 2010 score, 858-19X, was two points higher than his winning Agg. for 2009.
Of the three Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle matches, the Garand Match was the most popular with 213 shooters. The match winner was Randy Ent, with an excellent 291-8X total. Sean Leighton posted a 290-5X to win the Springfield Match. Robert Pestridge, shooting a 6.5×55 Swede, won the Vintage Military Rifle Match. In the As-Issued M1 Garand Special EIC Match, Phillip Randall shot a 379-7X to top a field of 121 competitors. Among the 10 “introductory” 4-point leg EIC winners were TV personality GySgt R. Lee Ermey (USMC retired), and Hornady Ballistician Dave Emary, lead developer of Hornady’s .30-06 match ammo currently issued to CMP Garand and Springfield competitors in Regional and National Matches.
The Rimfire Sporter Match was also popular, attracting 58 shooters. Using a CZ 452 rifle, Ron Villanueva won the scoped-rifle class, posting a 595-41X T-Class score. This is the highest score ever recorded in a CMP-sanctioned Rimfire Sporter event. Congrats to Ron on his superb marksmanship. In the O-Class for open-sighted rifles, Richard Sauer had the other winning score in the Rimfire Sporter Match with a 562-14X total. Other top shooters are listed by event in the table below. You’ll find a detailed report on the CMP Eastern Games in the latest First Shot CMP Online Magazine. Complete scores for the 2010 Eastern CMP Games rifle events are posted on the CMP Website.
Lapua developed the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge for International 300m competition. Lapua wanted a cartridge that could match the “pure accuracy” of the 6mmBR, but with even better ballistics and good barrel life. The 6.5x47L is now really coming into its own. In the hands of NBRSA long-range Hall of Famer Don Nielson, the 6.5x47L has won two NBRSA 600-yard Nationals convincingly. The cartridge is winning Varmint Silhouette matches, and Tactical competitors are finding the cartridge delivers great accuracy with much less recoil than a .308 — plus it feeds well from magazines. With advanced powders such as Alliant’s Reloder 17, the 6.5x47L can deliver surprising velocities, even with the heavy 139-142 grain bullets, though we still think the 130-grainers may be optimal for the cartridge. Don Nielson used Berger 130gr bullets “right out of the box” to win the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, setting records in the process. In addition to its paper-punching abilities, the 6.5×47 Lapua is a capable hunting cartridge, delivering velocities that approach a .260 Remington with 120-130 grain projectiles. Considering all this — is the 6.5×47 Lapua the next, great do-it-all cartridge — a chambering that can win a benchrest match one weekend and harvest a whitetail the next?
6.5×47 Lapua Is a Hot Topic on Our Forum
In our AccurateShooter Forum, there has been a thread discussing whether the 6.5x47L or 6mmBR is better for the 600-yard game. Forum member Lloyd (aka “1Shot”) wrote:
How many years have the 6BR and its variants been in existence as opposed to the 6.5x47L? I pose this question to you because we all know that with time and experience, comes knowledge. In a short period of time, (relatively speaking) the 6.5x47L has made great strides. I’ll make a bet that the 6.5x47L will outshoot the 6BR within the same time frame of its existence. It will just take time and shooters like Sam Hall to bring this cartridge to its full potential.”
Responding to Lloyd’s post, British gun writer Laurie Holland analyzed the present and possible future of the 6.5x47L cartridge. Laurie makes some very interesting points, considering the role the 6.5x47L may play in F-class competition, and in 300 to 600-yard benchrest. Laurie’s post is worth a read….
Laurie Holland Talks About the 6.5×47 Lapua
“Lloyd, you may well be right on this. There is that intangible something issue though that sees one cartridge become ‘great’ in a shooting field, while others that should theoretically compete somehow never quite get there. The example that comes to mind is the PPC in short range BR of course[.] The PPC outshoots similar rivals, and we don’t know why. At the moment, the 6BR and BRX/Dasher variants look like they may be getting to the same point in 300 to 600-yard BR type competition. That’s not to say they won’t be pushed out of the top spot by something better, or even matched by a rival, but it looks like it won’t happen quickly or soon.
One thing people often forget is that BR can see 5 shots rattled off in under 30 seconds while the wind conditions hold. F-Class or any other form of deliberate, marked-target shooting is different because of the enforced gap between shots. This is particularly so on our side of the Atlantic (or north of the 49th Parallel). Unlike your F-Class, Fullbore, Palma, CLRP etc. shooting, we British Commonwealth types are squadded two to a target (sometimes up to four in local shoots) and there is therefore a minimum three or so minutes between taking each shot by an individual shooter. Fairly typically, I shot in a club 600-yard F-Class comp last Sunday and found myself with two others on ‘my’ target. Throw in one of them missing with both sighters and the resulting delays while the RO had to be asked for the target to be pulled and checked and people looking for his subsequent fall of shot and it took around 70-75 minutes to get through 2 sighters and 20 score shots. So each shot is virtually a new start so far as the wind-call goes.
The 6.5X47L likely gives a significant benefit even at 600 yards over the 6mmBR thanks to the external ballistics improvements in such a scenario. What has to be seen is how it stands up in national level competition against the big sevens since that’s the competition in F-Open. Until this year, all national GB F-Class Association rounds were shot over a mixture of 800, 900, 1000-yard matches with the emphasis on the 1000. The 6.5X47L can’t hack it against 180gr 7mm Berger VLDs at 3,200 fps in these conditions (nor could the US F-Class Team’s 6.5-284 Norma in last summer’s F-Class World Championship at Bisley). Club / regional level may turn out different with a bigger mix of ranges (distances) in a season’s programme. And (here’s the killer) — the 7mmWSM brigade can’t afford to shoot say 15 such matches in a season given the barrel life issue. 15 matches is 300-330 shots, or 50% of barrel life. So they enter one or two matches only for practice, checking sight-settings etc. Unless you do your own gunsmithing, barrel replacement by a top gunsmith with a Bartlein or Krieger tube is an expensive job here — a bit over £700 all in which is $1,000 + in translation[.]
So, accurate and ballistically-efficient smaller cartridges that give long barrel life have a bright future in European and British Commonwealth shooting, and I think the 6.5X47L is going to be a key player in this role. Also, as in the USA, many people want a multi-purpose longarm, and this cartridge is an excellent long-range fox/crow round and ideal for most of our deer species too.
To go back to the very original question in this thread, if I were having a multi-discipline target shooting single-shot rifle built for club / regional competition shooting, I’d stick to 6BR or variants if it were primarily for 600-yard or shorter range competitions, but I’d go for 6.5X47L if there were 800 to 1,000-yard matches in the mix. If it were for F-Class at national level, I’d have neither, but stick to .308W in the F/TR division which I shoot now. — Laurie, York, England”
Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 4-6 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is the 11th consecutive season that San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assn. hosts the IRC, the highlight of the ICORE revolver shooting season. Nearly 200 ace revolver shooters, from the USA as well as 6 foreign countries, are expected to compete. According to Ron Joslin, IRC match director: “This is the highlight of our competition season. It’s where everybody in ICORE comes together to determine who is the best. This is our Superbowl, and it’s been that way for the last 18 years.”
The man to beat in Open Class will be legendary pistolero Jerry Miculek of Team Smith & Wesson. Jerry has won every IRC in which he has competed. When it comes to wheelguns, Miculek is the fastest man on the planet. Also competing will be past Ladies Open Division winner Julie Golob, and last year’s Limited Division Champion John Bagakis.
Along with the adult classifications, the IRC features divisions for Junior shooters. The junior events are always crowd-pleasers. Some of these youngsters are definitely future champions in the making. The video below shows the 2009 IRC Junior Shoot-Off for the overall Junior Title.
Man vs. Machine-Gun — Miculek Duels Uzi on Shooting USA TV
In related news, on tonight’s ‘Impossible Shots’ segment of the Shooting USA TV broadcast, Jerry Miculek will attempt to keep pace with a full-auto Uzi machine-gun. Shooting his tuned 1911 pistol, Miculek will engage a set of targets and try to match the RPM (rounds per minute) rate of the Uzi. This should be an interesting challenge to watch. Who will win? Well, I would never bet against Miculek when it comes to speed shooting….
Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots airs Wednesday at these times:
Eastern Time: 2:30 PM, 10:30 PM | 2:30 AM (Thursday)
Central Time: 1:30 PM, 9:30 PM | 1:30 AM (Thursday)
Mountain Time: 12:30 PM, 8:30 PM | 12:30 AM (Thursday)
Pacific Time: 11:30 AM, 7:30 PM, 11:30 PM
CMP efforts to develop the new National Match Air Rifle (NMAR) shooting discipline continue to advance. The CMP has created a new 30-shot NMAR Sporter-Garand Course especially for new and recreation-oriented shooters (as well as cross-over military rifle shooters). A special NMAR webpage is now posted on the CMP website to provide a handy, complete source of updated information. A revised edition of the CMP Guide to National Match Air Rifle with the latest rule changes was recently released and can be downloaded from the CMP website. The National Matches Air Gun Events Program featuring a month of daily NMAR opportunities during the National Matches has also just been released.
General Information for NMAR Competitors
Download the CMP Guide to National Match Air Rifle (PDF) for additional details. This 20-page booklet contains NMAR Rules, Courses of Fire, Firing Procedures and Range Commands, Safety Definitions and Regulations, and Range Officer Commands along with information on how to get started in NMAR and how clubs can run NMAR Matches.
A new Sporter-Garand Course has been added. This course of fire closely duplicates the popular 30-shot John C. Garand Course that is fired outdoors (with as-issued military rifles). The Sporter-Garand Course is fired with Sporter Class rifles only. All three stages of this course are fired on the AR-SR (200-yard reduced) target. This new course is designed expressly for new and inexperienced shooters and for Military Rifle shooters who want a rifle event that duplicates what they will shoot outdoors.
NMAR Rules and Guide Updated
A few rule changes were recently adopted after experiences from earlier NMAR matches were evaluated. The latest NMAR rules that are listed in the CMP Guide to National Match Air Rifle (PDF), on the CMP website. Front sight inserts in Sporter Class rifles can now be either posts or rings (apertures). It turned out that so many shooters, especially juniors, were coming to NMAR matches with aperture experience only so the change was adopted.
The 2010 LaRue Tactical Multi-Gun Match has wrapped up and two new champions have been crowned. The match was held at the Cawthon Cartridge Club in Cawthon, Texas. Taran Butler won the Tactical Division and Benny Hill won the Tactical Heavy Division. Butler is a 5-Time USPSA Multi-Gun National Tactical Champion and 10-Time California State 3-Gun Champion. Those who’ve seen Taran Butler in action understand why he’s one of the top multi-gun shooters in the county. He can compete head-to-head with the best handgunners, and he’s blazing fast with his carbine, even on the move.
The Cawthon Cartridge Club (Millican, TX) hosts the 2010 LaRue Tactical Multi-Gun Match this weekend, May 8-9. More than 220 shooters will compete in eight (8) stages of fire using pistol, rifle, and shotgun. This is action shooting, with lots of movement. Shooters negotiate obstacles, run to firing positions, and engage targets from multiple positions, often firing through ports or around barricades. Targets are placed at distances from a few yards (pistol) to 500 yards (rifle).
With stage names such as “House of Pain,” “Jungle Run,” and “Tunnel Rat,” this match will challenge the competitors’ shooting skills and physical abilities. With temperatures predicted to reach the 90s, competitors must battle the heat and the sometimes high winds as they run through stages and take long shots with their rifles. Pre-match favorites include Taran Butler, Kelly Neal, and Bennie Cooley, but there are many lesser-known shooters who could end up on the podium.
The video below shows Stage 8 from the 2009 LaRue 3-Gun Match, held at the Tiger Valley Tactical Institute range near Waco, TX.
One of the most popular events at the Camp Perry National Matches is the Rimfire Sporter Competition. This fun, affordable, family-oriented event allows competitors of all ages to shoot inexpensive factory rimfire rifles. And the ammo is even free — thanks to Lapua. There are classes for both youths and adults, and open sighted rifles (O-Class) as well as scoped rifles (T-Class). New this year is a third class for Tactical Rimfire rifles. CLICK HERE for National Rimfire Sporter Match Official Program.
Each year Camp Perry’s Rimfire Sporter Match attracts hundreds of competitors, from grade schoolers to grand-dads. It’s not unusual to see three generations of family members participating. Registration for the 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Championship is now open. To register, simply fill out the CMP Online Registration Form. Entry in CMP Rimfire Sporter matches is open to all persons, male or female, any age, regardless of previous competition experience. For Juniors (born after 1990), entries are FREE, while adult entries cost $25.00 for one rifle class or $35.00 for two classes.
Hundreds of Rimfire Sporter Competitors Expected at Camp Perry
The Ninth Annual National Rimfire Sporter Match is expected to expand again in 2010 after eight consecutive years of increased participation. In 2009, 333 individual competitors made 421 event entries. This year the range will feature a full 125 covered firing points that can accommodate 500 event entries in four relays. If there are more than 500 entries, a fifth relay will be added.
New Tactical Rimfire Class
Now that several companies are manufacturing tactical .22LR rimfire rifles (both bolt-action and semi-auto), the CMP will include a new “Tactical Rimfire” class in the 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Championship program. Also new in 2010, if sufficient range capacity is available, competitors may be allowed to make a third event entry at the match. This would allow a shooter to compete in the new Tactical Class, as well as in both O-Class and T-Class (“T” for telescopic sights).
New Youth-Adult Partner Match
The 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Match will feature a new Youth-Adult Partner Match which combines an adult or older junior with a younger junior in a two-person team event. This will be a fun match to encourage multi-generation family participation and to get more adult shooters to mentor new and younger shooters. The CMP is considering special rules for this match that will give bonus points to teams that have both male and female members as well as to teams that have greater age differences between the two team members .
Lapua Provides Ammo to Competitors; Savage Awards Rifles
Lapua, a world-renowned ammunition manufacturer with plants in Finland and Germany, is once again the official ammunition supplier for the match and will provide 100 rounds of rimfire ammo for each competitor. Savage Arms is also sponsoring the Rimfire Sporter Match. Savage will present a Mark I or Mark II FVT rifle to the top O-Class and T-Class Juniors.
If you want to see some of the very best smallbore and air gun shooters in the world, including many multi-time Olympians, head down to Fort Benning, GA later this month. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, in conjunction with USA Shooting, will host the ISSF 2010 World Cup USA May 22-31.
This major event is the third of four World Cups being held this year by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). So far, more than 400 of the world’s top-level shooters from 49 countries have committed to the event. There will be many Olympians (including medal winners) in the competition. CLICK HERE for Entry List by Nation.
Shooters will compete for medals and world records in the Olympic disciplines of Air Pistol, Air Rifle, Smallbore Pistol, and Smallbore Rifle. The ranges are located on the military installation at Fort Benning, Georgia, approximately 150 km (90) miles south of the Atlanta Int’l Airport. Fort Benning has some of the most advanced target systems in the United States. Sius Ascor electronic targets will be used for all elimination, qualification, and finals competitions. Seventy-two (72) targets are available for both 50 meters and 10 meters, while there are 40 targets for 25-meter events.
Bookmark ISSF World-Cup Website
USAShooting has created a full-featured website dedicated to the 2010 World Cup. There you can find travel and lodging info, match schedules, registration info, and much more. Once the competition starts, the USAShooting World Cup website will provide photos and videos, and updated match results. Visit the official match website at www.usashooting.sports.officelive.com.
This July, Trinidad State Jr. College (TSJC) in Colorado will offer a unique 5-day instructional course on F-Class equipment and shooting skills. Slated for July 5-9, 2010, the F-Class Seminar will be taught by F-Class guru Larry Bartholome, Captain of Team Berger/Norma and current member (and past Captain) of the U.S. F-Class Open Team. Spots are still open for the course, but you should register right away.
Openings Still Available for July F-Class Course
Polish up your PPCs boys, the Super Shoot starts this coming Wednesday. The Firearm Industry Super Shoot (FISS), the largest short-range benchrest match in North America, runs for four days, May 26-29, 2009 at the Kelbly range in North Lawrence, Ohio. This is a LV/HV match only. Here’s the shooting schedule: May 26 10.5-lb 100 yards; May 27 13.5-lb 100 yards; May 28 13.5-lb 200 yards; May 29 10.5-lb 200 yards.
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
Lapua developed the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge for International 300m competition. Lapua wanted a cartridge that could match the “pure accuracy” of the 6mmBR, but with even better ballistics and good barrel life. The 6.5x47L is now really coming into its own. In the hands of NBRSA long-range Hall of Famer Don Nielson, the 6.5x47L has won two NBRSA 600-yard Nationals convincingly. The cartridge is winning Varmint Silhouette matches, and Tactical competitors are finding the cartridge delivers great accuracy with much less recoil than a .308 — plus it feeds well from magazines. With advanced powders such as Alliant’s Reloder 17, the 6.5x47L can deliver surprising velocities, even with the heavy 139-142 grain bullets, though we still think the 130-grainers may be optimal for the cartridge. Don Nielson used Berger 130gr bullets “right out of the box” to win the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, setting records in the process. In addition to its paper-punching abilities, the 6.5×47 Lapua is a capable hunting cartridge, delivering velocities that approach a .260 Remington with 120-130 grain projectiles. Considering all this — is the 6.5×47 Lapua the next, great do-it-all cartridge — a chambering that can win a benchrest match one weekend and harvest a whitetail the next?
Laurie Holland Talks About the 6.5×47 Lapua
Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 4-6 at the 
CMP efforts to develop the new National Match Air Rifle (NMAR) shooting discipline continue to advance. The CMP has created a new 30-shot NMAR Sporter-Garand Course especially for new and recreation-oriented shooters (as well as cross-over military rifle shooters). A special 
General Information for NMAR Competitors
The 
The Cawthon Cartridge Club (Millican, TX) hosts the 
New Tactical Rimfire Class
If you want to see some of the very best smallbore and air gun shooters in the world, including many multi-time Olympians, head down to Fort Benning, GA later this month. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, in conjunction with 
