Attention High Power and Air Rifle Shooters — The CMP is introducing a new event called “National Match Air Rifle”. This new discipline features two courses of fire similar to the High Power rifle standing and John C. Garand courses of fire. These stages will be shot with air rifles on reduced High Power 200- and 600-yard targets on 10-meter ranges. There will be three rifle classes: sporter, match/precision and AR-type air rifle.
Initial Test Match at Camp Perry This Weekend
Here’s your chance to get involved in the launch of a new shooting sport. The CMP will hold a test match at the Camp Perry Marksmanship Center on 10 January. This inaugural match will be held at the CMP’s new Camp Perry Marksmanship Center that offers 80 firing points equipped with state-of-the-art electronic targets and an electronic display system.
The CMP invites both experienced High Power shooters and recreational air gun shooters to participate in the test match. Shooter feedback from test matches will help the CMP finalize the rules and course of fire. At the match, the “prototype”, 10-bull paper AR-SR and AR-MR Nat’l Match targets will be displayed. You’ll also have a chance to view new industry prototype AR-style air rifles. There will also be a Novice Prone Match that can be fired by younger juniors who are just getting started in target shooting (see Match Program .pdf for details).
AccurateShooter.com offers dozens of FREE, printable targets for target practice, load development, and fun shooting. We also offer a few samples of the most popular NRA Bullseye targets. One or more of these printable targets should work for most training purposes. However, some readers have asked “where can we get the real targets… exactly like the ones used in NRA, IBS and NBRSA shooting matches?”
Sources for Official Shooting Competition Targets
Here are four sources for official match targets: ALCO Target Company, American Target Company, National Target Company, and Pistoleer.com. All four of these vendors carry nearly all the NRA High Power and Smallbore targets, including the new, smaller F-Class Targets. All three sources also have international 300m and 300m-reduced-to-300-yards targets. Other NRA-licensed target vendors are
Central Target Company (Kentucky), (502) 895-3390; and U.S. Target Company (Michigan), (800) 746-6836.
National Target and Pistoleer.com sell IBS targets for rimfire (50 yard) benchrest, short-range centerfire Benchrest (100, 200, 300 yards), Hunter BR Rifle (100, 200, 300 yards), plus the official 600-yard and 1000-yard IBS targets. Neither National Target nor Pistoleer.com lists a separate line of NBRSA targets, but we are told that National Target supplies NBRSA matches.
Pistoleer.com Ph: (618) 288-4588 12 Schiber Court Maryville, IL 62062
Alternate NBRSA Target Source
NBRSA 600-yard and 1000-yard targets are also available from Karl Huntstiger, wfo13 [at] aol.com, 2901 E. Cortez Street, Phoenix, AZ 85068. We are informed that Karl gets the targets from NationalTarget.com. But if an item is out of stock with National Target you can contact Karl — he’ll know where to find what you need.
There are many “for charity” shotgun tournaments held each year, but the “Shoot for the Future” shotgun event in Nashville, TN, is special — in this program, the folks who are being helped get to do the shooting. Wheel-chair-bound shooters participate side-by-side with able-bodied shooters. Proceeds from the event are used to help persons with disabilities, and help fund spinal-cord injury research. The event is organized each year by volunteers and by physicians from the Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center.
On January 7, 2009, Shooting USA television will feature the “Shoot for the Future” charity tournament conducted at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville. Shooting USA’s “Sighting In” segment includes interviews with disabled shooters and doctors from the Vanderbilt Medical Center, such as neuro-surgeon Peter Conrad. Conrad noted: “Our [disabled patients] are not only engaged in … being part of the community, but they’re participating as active competitors in the tournament, and that’s inspiring to anybody.” Conrad also predicts that developments in medical science may, in a decade, allow some of the wheelchair shooters to walk again. The YouTube video below previews the 1/7/2009 broadcast. (Editor: Do watch the video — it has an uplifting message.)
The next “Shoot for the Future” wheelchair shotgun tournament will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex, 1100 County Hospital Road, Nashville, TN. For more information, visit the Shoot for the Future website.
If you’re interested in developing a program for disabled shooters at your club or shooting facility, contact the NRA’s Disabled Shooting Services Program, under the direction of Vanessa Warner. Call Vanessa at (703) 267-1495 or email: disabled-shooting [at] nra-hq.org.
The NRA Blog recently ran a story on Silhouette shooting by NRA Silhouette Program Coordinator Jonathan Leighton. Here are selections from Leighton’s story:
NRA Silhouette Shooting
The loud crack from the bullet exiting the muzzle followed by an even louder ‘clang’ as you watch your target fly off the railing is really a true addiction for most Silhouette shooters. There is nothing better than shooting a game where you actually get to see your target react to the bullet. In my opinion, this is truly what makes this game so much fun.
Metallic Silhouette — A Mexican Import
Silhouette shooting came to this country from Mexico in the 1960s. It is speculated that sport had its origins in shooting contests between Pancho Villa’s men around 1914. After the Mexican Revolution the sport spread quickly throughout Mexico. ‘Siluetas Metalicas’ uses steel silhouettes shaped like game animals. Chickens up front followed by rows of pigs, turkeys, and furthest away, rams. Being that ‘Siluetas Metalicas’ was originally a Mexican sport, it is common to hear the targets referred to by their Spanish names Gallina (chicken), Javelina (pig), Guajalote (turkey) and Borrego (ram). Depending on the discipline one is shooting, these animals are set at different distances from the firing line, but always in the same order.
Before Steel There Was… Barbeque
In the very beginnings of the sport, live farm animals were used as targets, and afterwards, the shooters would have a barbeque with all the livestock and/or game that was shot during the match. The first Silhouette match that used steel targets instead of livestock was conducted in 1948 in Mexico City, Mexico by Don Gongalo Qguilar. [Some matches hosted by wealthy Mexicans included high-ranking politicians and military leaders]. As the sport spread and gained popularity during the 1950s, shooters from the Southwestern USA started crossing the Mexican border to compete. Silhouette shooting came into the US in 1968 at the Tucson Rifle Club in Arizona. The rules have stayed pretty much the same since the sport has been shot in the US. NRA officially recognized Silhouette as a shooting discipline in 1972, and conducted its first NRA Silhouette Nationals in November of 1972.
Now There Are Multiple Disciplines
The actual sport of Silhouette is broken into several different disciplines. High Power Rifle, Smallbore Rifle, Cowboy Lever Action Rifle, Black Powder Cartridge Rifle, Air Rifle, Air Pistol, and Hunter’s Pistol are the basic disciplines. Cowboy Lever Action is broken into three subcategories to include Smallbore Cowboy Rifle, Pistol Cartridge Cowboy Lever Action, and regular Cowboy Lever Action. Black Powder Cartridge Rifle also has a ‘Scope’ class, and Hunter’s Pistol is broken into four sub-categories.
Where to Shoot Silhouette
NRA-Sanctioned matches are found at gun clubs nation-wide. There are also many State, Regional, and National matches across the country as well. You can find match listings on the Shooting Sports USA website or contact the NRA Silhouette Department at (703) 267-1465. For more info, visit SteelChickens.com, the #1 website dedicated to Silhouette shooting sports.
For folks in Northern climes, the competitive shooting season is over, but you can still practice your wind-doping skills with the Virtual Benchrest program created by Bill Giel. This free online program simulates a short-range benchrest match, letting you shoot groups at official-size targets “on the clock”. The challenge is to adjust your aim to constantly changing wind conditions. There are no “virtual windflags” to watch, but the program provides a wind direction pointer along with a wind velocity meter. You need to take both wind angle and speed into account if you want to shoot tiny groups.The program lets you “dial in” windage and elevation for your crosshairs (and/or hold off), and you can switch from sighter to target during record fire. You have 7 minutes to put at least 5 shots for record on target. The program automatically calculates your group size with each shot. The program will also calculate a running average of your group sizes, which comprise your Aggregate. Shoot five, 5-shot groups to duplicate a real benchrest Aggregate.
It may sound easy, but once you give it a try, you’ll find it can be quite challenging (even if you don’t have to worry about tuning loads for temp or humidity changes). Virtual Benchrest is no substitute for real trigger-time at the range, but this program can help keep your skills sharp during the winter months. And you don’t have to pay for powder or bullets. The program is free, hosted by the Russian benchrest website, Benchrest.Ru. Although this site is in the Russian language, the instructions for the program are in English. Just click on the program’s “HELP” tab. A pop-up window will appear that explains program functions and offers tips on how to shoot the smallest groups.
Recently, in the Daily Bulletin, we ran a story on Czech Rimfire fun matches. Many readers were interested in starting similar matches at their own clubs here in the USA. The Czech shooters have creatively combined many fun shooting scenarios using a wide variety of targets. One of the rimfire fun matches held by Robert Chlapek’s Czech Shooting Club is an event called “Smallbore Sniper Rifle”. Shown below are some of the targets used.
Robert explains: “For 2009 we prepaired some new stages and targets. We plan to hold six matches for this year at our club, and this new discipline will be shot at at least two other clubs in Czech Republic, running the same stages according to our rules. Each match will have six (6) stages, each carrying equal weight in the final tally.”
STAGE ONE — Cold-bore Shot + Hostage Situation (11 minutes, 10 shots)
Each competitor has one minute to shoot his first “cold-bore” shot (without zeroing) on a bullseye target. The referee checks the target, then the shooter engages nine (9) hostage-situation targets in ten minutes, with one shot per target (re-zeroing allowed). Total time is 11 minutes.
STAGE TWO — Designated Bullseyes with Timer (4 Shots on Command)
There are eight, named bullseye targets (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc.), set at 50 meters. Each shooter is assigned a particular number. The Referee will call a shooter’s number and a target title, such as “Shooter FIVE, DELTA”, and immediately start a timer. The shooter has just 3 seconds (between timer beeps) to take a shot on the designated target. Each shooter takes a total of four (4) shots, one at a time, on command.
STAGE THREE — Shooting after Exercise (3 shots Rapid, Timed)
Here the shooter has to quickly fire three shots on three targets AFTER doing physical exercise (knee-bends or dips). This drill tests the shooter’s skills when shooting with a high pulse rate. When the referee calls “Start” the shooter must do five exercise reps, then shoot three rounds on the clock. The score is the amount of target points (times 5) divided by the time in seconds. In this formula, time counts as much as the target points, so the “sniper” must shoot accurately, but also quickly.
STAGE FOUR — Position Shooting (Two 5-minute Strings)
This involves two 5-shot strings, each completed in five minutes. The first string is shot standing, but the shooter may use a vertical steel post for stabilization — simulating a tree in the forest. In the second 5-minute stage, the shooter must fire five shots (at a smaller target) from kneeling or seated position, but he can use a chair as a rest. This stage is designed to simulate conditions when you can’t shoot prone effectively (such as when there is tall grass).
STAGE FIVE — Roll of the Dice
At random, the Referee will choose one of three target scenarios:
A. “36 Smileys” — Each shooter must find, identify and hit ten targets between 36 other very similar “smiley faces”. Time for this stage is 10 minutes.
B. “Hostages in Windows” — Shooters must shoot very quickly, trying to hit eight (8) targets in just 75 seconds. Points are deducted if you hit the hostages.
C. “Hanging Beer Mat” — This scenario tests concentration and patience. A hanging beer mat suspended from a thin line has three small targets on each side. To “engage” all six targets, you must allow the mat to “twist in the wind”. You are allowed only 6 shots total — one per target.
STAGE SIX — Circles (5 minutes, 5 shots)
The shooter must choose and hit five central target dots, one shot per circle. The smallest dots have the highest score values. A miss counts zero. This is similar to the “know your limits” dot targets used in USA rimfire tactical matches.
CLICK HERE for results of a recent Czech Smallbore Sniper match, with photos.
The NRA has set the dates and locations of the 2009 National Championships for many of its popular disciplines. Events have been set for both rifle and pistol categories, along with air gun, smallbore, and centerfire disciplines. Here are the major upcoming events in 2009:
• National Collegiate Pistol Championship – March 16-20 at Fort Benning, GA
• National Junior Air Gun Championship and Training Summit – July 1-3 at Camp Perry, Ohio
• National Action Pistol Championship (Bianchi Cup) May 20-23 at Columbia, MO
• National Muzzle Loading Championship – Week of June 15 – 21 at Friendship, IN
• National Black Powder Target Rifle Championship/Creedmoor – August 10-11 at Raton, NM
• National Black Powder Target Rifle Championship/Mid-Range – August 13-16 at Raton, NM
• National Outdoor Pistol Championship – July 16-18 at Camp Perry, OH
• National Smallbore 3-P Championship – July 23-25 at Camp Perry, OH
• National Smallbore Prone Championship – July 26-30 at Camp Perry, OH
• National High Power Rifle Championship – Aug. 11-14 at Camp Perry, OH
• National High Power Long Range Championship – Aug. 15-19 at Camp Perry, OH
– Palma Team Match (New) August 15
– NRA Palma Individual Match August 16
• National Silhouette Championships, June 29 – August 2 at Raton, NM
– Cowboy Lever Action – June 29 – July 2 at Raton, NM
– Black Powder Cartridge Rifle – July 13-16 at Raton, NM
– Black Powder Cartridge Rifle/Scope – July 17-18 at Raton, NM
– Smallbore Rifle – August 2-4 at Raton, NM
– High Power Rifle – August 6-8 at Raton, NM
In addition, here are some major non-NRA-affiliated events scheduled in 2009:
• Super Shoot Benchrest Match – May 15-23 at Kelbly’s Range, North Lawrence, OH
• World F-Class Championships, July 27-30 at Bisley, England (UK)
• Varmint Hunter Jamboree, July 27-31 at Pierre, SD
• Tri-Gun Challenge DPMS/Brownells, Aug. 21-23, at Saint Cloud, MN
• IBS 1000-Yard Benchrest Nationals, Sept. 5-7, at Pella, Iowa
• NBRSA Benchrest 100/200 Group Nationals, Sept. 20-26, at Saint Louis, Missouri
• IBS Benchrest Nationals, Aug. 10-14 at Weikert, PA
AccurateShooter.com has many readers outside of North America. One of those is Robert Chlapek, a precision rimfire shooter from the Czech Republic. Robert shoots a variety of smallbore disciplines, including many ‘Czech Specialities’ with innovative and challenging targets.
The “Best Rifle” for just $250.00
Robert uses an amazingly accurate old Suhl 150 for many events. With his Suhl, Robert has harvested many trophies and awards (see photo at left). Robert obtained the rifle for a song — just $250.00 in US dollars. Robert explains how he acquired this wonderful rifle: “For my disciplines, I needed a very accurate rifle, without too many modifications. And because of my financial situation, I needed a cheap one. One day I met with Mr. Zdenek Jerabek (father of Tomas Jerabek, Czech sport shooting and Olympic representative) and he offered to sell me his old Haenel Suhl 150. He asked about $250 (it was not very good price, because in that time, normal price of Suhl 150 here in Czech Republic was about $100-150). And the rifle stock and finish were in very bad condition. But he said to me, ‘Robert, this is maybe the best Suhl in Czech Republic’ and he shows me the amazing history of top scores by this rifle, so I made a decision and bought it. I put a new stock and new finish on it, bought a Weaver 4-16×42 V16 scope — ideal optics for my disciplines, and started to compete with this wonderful rifle. I have best results with RWS R50 ammunition, perhaps the best for this East German rifle.”
Czech Rimfire Disciplines — Beyond the Ordinary Bullseye Game
In addition to regular bullseye matches, Robert shoots a couple disciplines that are popular in his country. Robert explains: “In Czech Republic, we have national discipline (organized by Czech shooting federation) named ‘Disappearing targets to 50 meters’. This is a 22LR rimfire discipline with two categories. First is with scoped rifle, the second with iron sights. This old discipline has three stages:
1) Shooting 20 rounds at classic round targets at 50 meters.
2) Shooting at disappearing targets from 17 meters to 50 meters.
3) Shooting at disappearing targets at 33 meters and after that, shooting five (5) running targets at 50 meters.
For the ‘Disappearing Targets’ event, maximum score is 460 points. All targets are shot from the prone position. With iron sights, you can use only your rifle sling. In scoped rifle class, you can use a front rest, but the scope magnification is limited to 4X power.”
Smallbore Sniper Matches
Robert’s second discipline is “Smallbore Sniper”. Chlapek told us “This is a new discipline we organized with some friends three years ago and it is now very popular for smallbore shooters in Czech Republic. We have no restrictions on the rifle used. Our stages are very interesting, but a little difficult I think. This discipline is much better than benchrest in my opinion, but we don’t have comparable benchrest tradition as in the USA.” To learn more about Smallbore Sniper discipline, CLICK THIS LINK for match results, photos, and much more.
Shown below are some other interesting targets shot in Czech Club competitions. We love the match-stick targets … now, that’s challenging!
If you want to see Olympic-class shooters in action, head to Colorado this weekend. Approximately 220 rifle and pistol airgun shooters from across the United States as well as Canada, France, Great Britain, South Africa and Sweden will gather at the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, CO, December 5-7 to compete at the 2008 USA Shooting 3 X Air Match. This three-day event serves as a qualifier for the Bavarian Airgun Match to be held in Munich, Germany in January 2009.
Among the athletes competing will be two-time Olympian Jason Turner, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in Men’s Air Pistol. Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Resident Athletes and 2008 Olympians Jamie Beyerle and Emily Caruso will compete in the Women’s Air Rifle event. Vying for titles in pistol will be 2008 Olympians Brian Beaman and Brenda Shinn.
NRA President John Sigler has established a committee to consider NRA sanctioning of Multi-Gun (3-Gun) competitions. The new Special Committee on Multi-Gun Competition met initially on October 25, 2008 at NRA Headquarters. Task Force members include: NRA Pres. John Sigler, Chairman, Bill Allen, Vice Chairman, Gregory Coker, Andrew Horner, Denise Johnson, John Gangl, David Power, Steve Sutherland, Mr. Randy Luth, and Aaron Hampton, SFC. Committee members were chosen from Multi-Gun match organizers and firearms manufacturers with specific products for multi-gun competition.
Multi-Gun competition is a fast-moving action shooting sport employing rifle, pistol and shotgun or any combination of these firearms. Multi-Gun matches feature scripted “stages” in which competitors move from target to target with loaded firearms, engaging both paper and reactive targets. Multi-Gun matches sanctioned by the NRA would be a major change from the traditional bull’s-eye precision competition normally associated with the NRA. There are a number of large Multi-Gun tournaments bidding for NRA sanctioning. With these tournaments as a base, the NRA could introduce this exciting tactical competition to local affiliated clubs across the USA.
Multi-Gun matches feature “fast and furious” action. In the video below, Chris Tilley competes at the 2007 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals.
There are many “for charity” shotgun tournaments held each year, but the “Shoot for the Future” shotgun event in Nashville, TN, is special — in this program, the folks who are being helped get to do the shooting. Wheel-chair-bound shooters participate side-by-side with able-bodied shooters. Proceeds from the event are used to help persons with disabilities, and help fund spinal-cord injury research. The event is organized each year by volunteers and by physicians from the Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center.
The 
Metallic Silhouette — A Mexican Import
Before Steel There Was… Barbeque
STAGE ONE — Cold-bore Shot + Hostage Situation (11 minutes, 10 shots)
AccurateShooter.com has many readers outside of North America. One of those is Robert Chlapek, a precision rimfire shooter from the Czech Republic. Robert shoots a variety of smallbore disciplines, including many ‘Czech Specialities’ with innovative and challenging targets.
