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November 28th, 2008
 The Winchester/NRA Qualification Program has courses of fire designed to take shooters from beginning skill levels (Pro-Marksman, Marksman) through intermediate levels (Marksman 1st Class, Sharpshooter, Expert) up to a nationally recognized skill level — Distinguished Expert — the pinnacle of the program.
By the time a shooter completes the Distinguished Expert rating, he or she has attained a proficiency level paralleling that of a competitively classified Sharpshooter.
Complete information on the Winchester/NRA Qualification Program, with program outline, scoring standard, and sources for program materials and targets is available on the NRA Website Qualification page. If you have questions not answered by the web resources, call the NRA Qualification Coordinator at (703) 267-1505.
November 25th, 2008
 Maybe, like fine wine, good shooters get better with age. This weekend, at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center, 80-year-old Ken Schroeder shot a brilliant 50 (4X) at 600 yards. Pending approval, this will be a new, NBRSA 600-yard, single-target Light Gun score record. The group was a very small 1.680″, well-centered.
Ken was shooting the standard (unimproved) 6mmbr cartridge, with Lapua brass, Hodgdon Varget powder and Sierra 107gr MatchKing bullets. Ken’s tack-driving rifle was built by California smith Stu Harvey. The gun features a BAT action, Bartlein cut-rifled barrel, and a McMillan stock.
Forum member Ron Tilley was also competing in Sacramento on 11/23/2008 when Ken shot the pending record. Ron reports: “Ken is the kindest gentleman you will meet AND one of the toughest competitors. He is 80 years young and still kickin butt! Ken is always at the top when the dust clears and he can be hard to catch. All of us at Sac Valley are honored to shoot with Ken and support his accomplishments. I personally hope to be able to do what he does at his age.” For the match, Ken earned many honors. The record group was also Light Gun single target small group for the day. Ken won the two-gun, 6-target score Agg. with a 420 (10X), and Ken placed second in Heavy Gun score Agg. with a 282 (5X).
Congrats to Ken! He proves that we better watch out for those sharp-shootin’ octogenarians!
November 15th, 2008
Daryl Kopriva, a Kansas-based gunsmith and long-range competitor, proved he sure knows how to build (and shoot) precision, long-range rifles. At the October club match at the Colorado Rifle Club (CRC) in Byers, CO, Daryl shot a potential new NBRSA 6-target, 1000-yard record. This is a two-gun, 6-target aggregate record, combining 3 targets in Light Gun (LG) with 3 targets in Heavy Gun (HG). Daryl’s LG 3-target Agg was 5.782″, while his HG 3-target Agg was 5.779″. If approved, the combined Agg will be a new 6-Target NBRSA record. Nice shootin’ Daryl. Congrats!
Darryl used two rifles he smithed himself. (A talented gunsmith, Daryl operates DARA Rifles in Grainfield, Kansas). The Light Gun is a 6.5-06 Improved with a 35° shoulder. Components include an 8.5″ BAT action, Shehane ST-1000 “Tracker” fiberglass stock, Bartlein barrel, and Nightforce scope. At this CRC match, Daryl was shooting 6.5mm Berger 140 BTHP “thick-jacket” bullets for the first time. Obviously the Berger “thicks” worked well!
 Daryl’s Heavy gun features a Shehane Maxi-Tracker stock, BAT 8.5″ action, and a heavy-contour Bartlein barrel clamped in a barrel block. The gun is chambered for a wildcat Daryl calls the “30 DARA”. This is a 300 Win Mag modified with a 30° shoulder. Daryl uses his 30 DARA cartridge to drive Berger 210gr VLDs close to 3000 fps.
The photo below shows Darryl shooting his Shehane-stocked Heavy Gun at the 2007 IBS Nationals in Quantico, VA. Note the ultra-wide forearm and barrel block fitted ahead of the BAT action. The scope is a Nightforce NXS. For more information about Daryl’s rifles and gunsmithing services, visit DARArifles.com, email info[at]dararifles.com, or call (785) 938-2367.
November 14th, 2008
The Yanks won most of the hardware at the recent recent NRA World Action Pistol Championship held at the Hamilton Pistol Club in New Zealand. Doug Koenig took first place in Open Class with an impressive 1920-181X. Carl Bernosky (2008 Camp Perry High Power Rifle Champion) was a close second with 1920-175X, Carl’s highest-ever score in this event. Carl Bernosky and Bruce Piatt secured the team championship. Competing for the USA amongst six other teams, Carl and Bruce will proudly keep the title for two years. Carl’s teammate Bruce Piatt won the Iron Man Match. He is now a two-time “Iron Man” World champion, and four-time Iron Man National Champion. Vance Schmid of the USA won the Metallic Sights class, edging out Piatt (2nd Place), and the legendary Jerry Miculek (3rd place).
Carl Bernosky is one of the few humans on the planet capable of winning national and international Championships in both pistol AND rifle disciplines. One can certainly make the argument that Carl is one of the greatest all-around marksmen who ever lived. This year, at Camp Perry, OH, Carl won the Overall National High Power Championship for the second year in a row. That marked 9 National Championships in 14 tries for Bernosky. Although Carl obviously enjoys both pistol and rifle disciplines, he says that rifle shooting is more challenging: “Camp Perry is a lot more difficult to compete in than…[the NRA] Bianchi Cup. You’re out here [at Perry] shooting an 8-hour work day. You’ll be shooting 60 shots in an hour. With the Bianchi Cup, you’ll shoot 10 shots in 60 seconds, and then you’ll be done for the day.”
November 7th, 2008
The question is often asked “what’s the best cartridge for 1000-yard Benchrest”. This immediately stirs a debate between fans of the “Big Thirties”, 6.5mm and 7mm advocates, and a few staunch 6mm defenders. In truth, a wide variety of cartridges, from the 6mmBR all the way up to .338 Lapua magnum, can do well at 1000 yards.
 However, there is clear statistical evidence that magnum-class 30s are still the top dogs in the 1000-yard game. Steve Shelp, who shoots with the Hawks Ridge Gun Club in North Carolina, has amassed statistics from years 2000 through 2006, recording all the calibers and chamberings used in the matches of the North Carolina 1000-yard Shooters Association. The data is further sorted by Light Gun (LG) and Heavy Gun (HG) classes. Steve has even been able to filter the data to include Relay Winners and Shootoff Participants. Steve has also created tables that show the Top 30 Groups and Scores in both LG and HG classes.
Below is a table showing the Top 15 Chamberings among shootoff participants, for combined LG and HG Classes from 2000-2006. We have totaled the Big 30s in this group of 15, and the large 30 Calibers (red dots) represent 66% of the total. There are 2064 entries in this set of Top 15, and 1355 are 30 Calibers.
The next chart includes ALL LG and HG Relay Winners from years 2000-2006. Steve has sorted the data by bore diameter. The two dominant calibers among Relay Winners are: 30 Caliber (.308) at 60%, and 6.5mm (.264) at 27%. Presumably most of the 6.5mms are 6.5-284s, but there are some larger 6.5mm wildcats as well. NOTE: When you look at Light Gun Relay Winners only, the percentage of 6.5mms rises while the percentage of 30 Cals falls. Overall however, the big bore 30-Caliber rifles are still “King of the Hill” in 1000-yard competition.
Steve Shelp’s data is contained in three Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Click the links below to download the collected 2000-2006 data.
Top 30 IBS Scores and Groups
1000yd Chambering Statistics (LG, HG, and combined)
1000yd Participants by Bore Size (Includes Relay Winners)
October 30th, 2008
 The 2008-2010 7th Edition of the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules, with changes approved by the National 3P Air Rifle Council, are now available in printed version or as a downloadable file. The complete new rules (in .pdf format) can be downloaded via the CMP website. Printed copies of the new rulebook may be ordered from the CMP at a cost of $2.00 each.
CLICK HERE to download new Air Rifle Rules
The 2008-2010 rules are effective immediately and will remain in effect until September 2010. There are not many major changes this time, although a Council decision to cap prices on approved sporter air rifles is potentially significant. The Council has already adopted a policy mandating that no sporter class air rifle may be used in sanctioned competition unless the Council approves that specific model. The current approved sporter list includes the AirForce Air Guns Edge, Daisy M853/753/953/853CM (pneumatic), Daisy M888/887 (CO2), Crosman M2000 (CO2), Daisy XSV40 Valiant (compressed air) and the Air Arms T200 (compressed air) with NON-adjustable cheek-piece and butt-plate. The Council decided that if the price of any approved rifles rises above $525.00, that air rifle will lose its approval (but if you purchased such a gun before the price rose too high, it would still be legal.)
October 25th, 2008
 Results for the 2008 Creedmoor Cup & CMP Games have been posted on the CMP Competition website. The match, hosted at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ, was hugely successfully drawing hundreds of shooters. You can find the winners of all categories on this Results Page. Then click on the “Ranked” link beside the winner’s name to get a list of all finishers in order of score.
Ronald Zerr, shooting a Match Rifle, won the Creedmoor Cup Aggregate overall with a 791-31X score. Forum member Jerry Tierney was runner-up in the Match Rifle Class with a 774-19X. In the Service Rifle Division, Trent Hering shot an impressive 789-25x, toping a field of 138 Service Rifle Shooters. Forum member Shawn McKenna finished second with a 782-23X score.
21 Teams Compete For Service Rifle Team Title
Among the big attractions of the CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup are the tightly-fought team events. In Service Rifle, 21 Teams competed for honors. This year, the USMC Arrieta team took first place, with a 1915-53X Aggregate. Team members are: MSgt Alex Arrieta (Coach), SW02 Peter Burns (Captain), SSgt Daniel Duitsman, CWO4 James Fraley, and SSgt Jason Haislip. The Oregon State Shooting Assn. Team finished second (1902-46X), with the Bushmaster/Remington Team in third (1892-42X).
Vintage Rifle Matches Are Very Popular
In other Western CMP Games events, Wesley Shumaker won the Garand Match, Arland Anderson won the Springfield Rifle Match, CW02 Peter Burns won the Vintage Rifle Match, and Creedmoor Sports Gen. Manager Dennis DeMille won the Garand Re-Entry Match. For the Overall Three-Gun Aggregate (Garand, Springfield, and Vintage Rifle), the top five shooters were: Michael Miller (823-11X), Arland Anderson 821-9X), James Denovchek (814-11X), Wesley Shumaker, and Ronald Foos. These older military-rifle matches were hugely popular, with large numbers of competitors. There were 135 shooters in the Garand Match and 51 in the Springfield Match. These kind of events, using vintage rifles that can be obtained at moderate cost from the CMP itself, reward fundamental marksmanship skills. They are much more a test of shooter abilities than a technology race.
October 23rd, 2008
 We told you our friend Vanessa Warner would accomplish good things as the NRA’s new Manager of Disabled Shooting Services. Here’s proof — the NRA has just announced that the first-ever, nationwide indoor Air Rifle Championship series for disabled shooters will be held in 2009. The new event will be conducted at clubs and facilities nationwide, employing a Sectional Championship format. This will give competitors with physical disabilities a chance to compete in national individual and team events by comparing their scores with those fired in clubs all over the country. Scores are comparable because of the similar conditions existing in indoor ranges.
 Sectional Championships are already held by the NRA, and now disabled shooters will be part of the action. Each year the NRA conducts National Open Rifle Sectional Championships in NRA 3-position Smallbore Rifle, 4-position Smallbore Rifle, International 3-P Smallbore Rifle and International Air Rifle. The Championships are the largest event of the indoor season and will now include International Indoor Air Rifle for disabled shooters.
“This championship was created with the goal of full integration into the NRA Open Indoor Air Rifle Championships in the future,” stated Vanessa Warner, NRA’s Manager of Disabled Shooting Services. “The plan is to eventually… allow both disabled and able-bodies to compete shoulder to shoulder for the title of National Champion.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau survey in 2003, there are currently 50 million people living with disabilities in America today. The integration of the Disabled Indoor Air Rifle Championships with the Open Indoor Air Rifle Championships will expand opportunities for disabled individuals to participate in the shooting sports. To learn more, visit the NRA’s Disabled Shooting Services Webpage or contact Vanessa Warner at 703-267-1495 or disabled-shooting [at] nra-hq.org.
 New Zealand Shooters’ Success Stories
If you want to read about the experiences of a disabled shooter, check out Parashooting.co.nz, the website of Robert Berger, one of New Zealand’s leading Paralympic target shooters. Injured many years ago in a motorcycling accident, Robert took up target shooting in 2007. Under the tutelage of fellow Kiwi and Paralympic Champion shooter Michael Johnson, Robert soon discovered that he has a great aptitude for the sport. In his first year of competition, Robert captured the “Top Shooter” trophy for best combined score in the 36th New Zealand Paralympics National Championship. Robert has also represented his country in the Oceania Games in Sydney, Australia.
Robert writes: “I was introduced to target shooting for the disabled by Michael Johnson, current world champion. I became a paraplegic in 1975 after a [motorcycle accident]. During my rehab, I looked at several sports but because I was not into basketball, rugby etc. I moved on to other things.
Early in 2007, I had a go at target shooting with an air rifle. I was coached by Michael for a while using a borrowed gun from Parafed Auckland. After a short time, I decided to get more serious about the sport and bought my own rifle. Once I had my new Feinwerkbau 700 rifle I became more competitive and practiced harder.
 In order to represent New Zealand at Oceania I had to shoot two Paralympics New Zealand Minimum Qualifying Standards (PNZ MQS) in each of the disciplines, Standing and Prone. The MQS for Standing is 570 and Prone 575 out of a possible 600 in 60 shots. With lots of practice and six attempts I got there. As a wheelchair user, ‘standing’ is not quite the right description, but what it means is that you sit holding the rifle without any support from your elbows resting on the table. ‘Prone’ is a similar position but with your elbows on the table.”
Robert’s coach and mentor, Michael Johnson of Auckland, New Zealand, is one of the top disabled shooters in the world. Michael won gold medals at the Athens 2004 Paralympics and at the 2006 World Championships. Michael contributes to another excellent website, Shooting4Disabled.com. Mike offers advice for disabled shooters on positions and equipment, and he explains the Classifications and rules. Mike’s web site also has a great photo gallery of indoor rifle ranges around the world.
Shooting has been part of the Paralympic Games since Toronto in 1976, with competitors now coming from 59 counties. Athletes compete in Rifle and Pistol events from distances of 10, 25 and 50m, in men’s, women’s and mixed competitions. Paralympic shooting utilizes a functional classification system, which enables athletes from different disability classes to compete together either individually or in teams.
October 19th, 2008
 Tony Boyer dominated the recent NBRSA Nationals, winning the 4-Gun, 3-Gun, and 2-Gun (LV/Sporter) Overalls, and finishing first in other events. While Boyer’s win was proof of his superior wind-reading and trigger-pulling skills, his equipment didn’t hurt. Boyer was shooting Bartlein gain twist, cut-rifled barrels. These barrels featured a twist rate that increased from 1:15″ to 1:14.25″. Notably, Wayne Campbell and Mike Ratigan, the second-place and third-place finishers in the 4-Gun, were also using Bartlein cut-rifled barrels (twist rate unknown). This was an impressive showing for Bartlein. It also shows that cut-rifled barrels are becoming the “go-to” choice in short-range benchrest, with both Bartlein and Krieger barrels displaying match-winning performance.
 Frank Green of Bartlein Barrels told us: “Wayne Campbell did all the barrel fittings for Tony Boyer before Phoenix (NBRSA Nationals) and Kelbly’s (IBS 100/200 Nationals). I know Dwight Scott does work for Tony but not all of it. At Phoenix, Tony Boyer shot all gain-twist-type barrels (in every class). His barrels went from a 15 to a 14.25 twist. At Kelbly’s (the IBS 100/200 Nationals) right before Labor Day, Tony only had gain-twist barrels for his Heavy Varmint, and he proceeded to cream the HV class. At Kelbly’s, Boyer won HV 100 yards, HV 200 and HV Grand Aggregate with a .169 combined Agg.
At Phoenix, Boyer won the Unlimited 100, Unlimited Grand, LV grand, LV/sporter 2 gun, LV/sporter/HV 3 gun, and the Unlimited, LV, Sporter, HV 4 gun. This added up to 11 Hall of Fame points for Tony. In 4-Gun, Wayne Campbell came in second, and Ratigan came in third. In the 3-gun results it was Boyer and Campbell, first and second (both using Bartleins). In 2-Gun it was Boyer, Ratigan, Rodney Brown, and Campbell in that order. All of these we know for sure shot our barrels.”
October 18th, 2008
Taran Butler, Bruce Piatt and Jerry Miculek claimed national titles at the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Multi-Gun Championships held October 3-5 at the Shootout Range in Princeton, Louisiana. The match drew nearly 120 competitors from 28 states. In Multi-Gun matches, shooters tackle multiple, timed stages, using pistol, rifle and shotgun to engage a variety of paper, steel and moving targets. Matches often require competitors to use all three types of firearms on a single stage. Showcasing remarkable shooter skills (and fast reflexes), Multi-Gun (i.e. “3-Gun”) matches are exciting to watch. Below is a video of USAMU team members at the 2007 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals:
 Nat’l Championship Results
In the Tactical Division, Taran Butler of Simi Valley, California dominated the match, winning five of the 12 stages and leading in overall points on eight. In the end his overall score of 1279.9417 outpaced second place shooter and fellow Golden State resident Keith Garcia of San Ramon by almost 77 points. Butler previously won the Tactical Division in 2006.
Team Smith & Wesson member Jerry Miculek, shooting on his home range, defended his 2007 win by again taking the Open Division title, this time by more than 24 points with a final score of 1278.0090. Miculek won five of the 12 stages and led the field over nine of them. Great Shooting Jerry! Chris Tilley finished second in the Open Division with a score of 1253.6155 edging out the 2006 champion Michael Voigt of Chino, California by just over two points. The Limited Division title went to Bruce Piatt of Montvale, New Jersey, who won by more than 41 points with a final score of 1302.0291. Piatt held the lead on eight stages winning three of them.
About USPSA: The United States Practical Shooting Association is a non-profit membership association and the governing body for the sport of Practical Shooting in America. USPSA has over 17,000 members and more than 350 affiliated clubs. Visit www.uspsa.org.
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