Late this year or early in 2009, Browning will release a new A-Bolt Target rifle. The new A-Bolt Target rifle represents a whole new direction for Browning — no doubt spurred by the success of Savage’s F-TR and F-Class Target rifles. The A-Bolt Target will be offered in both matte blued and stainless versions, in three calibers: .223 Rem, .308 Win, and 300 WSM.
Featuring a laminated wood stock (with adjustable comb), heavy-contour 28″ button-rifled barrel, and single set-trigger, the new Browning should be effective in F-TR (target rifle) class. (Sorry, Browning hasn’t released the set-trigger’s end pull-weight.) With detachable box magazines, and a quick 60° bolt lift, these rifles may also proove popular with tactical shooters (though tac guys may want to shorten the barrels). The .223 version also would make a nice varminter. The .223 has a 1:9″ twist while the .30-caliber guns come with a 1:10″ twist rate.
The Browning A-Bolt Target rifles have some nice features normally found on custom rifles. The action comes glass-bedded in the stock. According to press releases, the buttoned barrels will all be hand-chambered for improved accuracy. The stocks features a satin finish with nice checkering on the grip. The varmint-style forearm looks rigid enough to work well with a bipod, but we think the forearm should be longer for better weight distribution (longer “wheelbase”). The stock is not 3″ wide, so you’d probably want to mount a 3″-wide sled if you shoot this gun from the bench or in F-Open class. What’s all this cost? MSRP for the stainless .223 and .308 rifles is $1489, while the matted blued guns in the same calibers are $1269. 300 WSM versions cost $30.00 on top of those prices for stainless and blued respectively.
Conditions were hot and windy at the 2008 NBRSA 100/200 Nationals, held this week at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ. When the dust settled Tony Boyer came out on top, again proving his mastery of the sport in very challenging conditions. (During many matches, winds gusted from 15-25 mph.) Boyer, widely regarded as THE best short-range benchrest shooter in history, won the Four-Gun Overall, the Three-Gun Overall, and the Sporter/LV Two-Gun Overall Championships. Consider Boyer’s class by class Grand Agg rankings:
UnLtd.
LV
HV
Sporter
#1, .2710
#1, .2407
#3, .2321
#4, .2298
Tony won all the marbles by showing great consistency with a TOP 10 or better finish in nearly every class and every distance. But it wasn’t easy — Boyer had some very tough competition. Tony’s protegé, Wayne Campbell, finished second in both the Four-Gun and Three-Gun Overall Championship. Mike Ratigan and Harley Baker also shot superbly throughout the match. Mike finished third in the Four-Gun, and second in the Sporter/LV Two-Gun. Larry Costa, Joe Krupa, and Bob Scarbrough were some of the other top performers.
Overall, this was a very successful match with 130+ shooters, including most of the big names in the sport. There were Hall of Famers up and down the line. Match Director (and railgun world-record holder) Gary Ocock ran a smooth match.
For complete NBRSA Nationals results, with the scores of all 130+ competitors, visit the NBRSA Nationals Thread on Benchrest.com. Woody from Colorado has posted .pdf and text files with all the Grand Agg details, multi-gun results, plus most of the individual events (e.g. LV 100, HV100, Sporter 200 etc.). Below are highlights, with the top 15 shooters in the 4-Gun, and 3-Gun Grand Agg.
The NBRSA 100-yard and 200-yard Nationals have been underway since Monday, October 6 at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The match, which concludes on Oct. 11th, has drawn 120+ top shooters from around the country including Tony Boyer, Lester Bruno, Wayne Campbell, Don Nielson, Mike Ratigan, Bart Sauter, and Col. Billy Stevens.
Four classes will be contested at the NBRSA Nationals: Light Varmint (LV), Heavy Varmint (HV), Sporter, and Unlimited (Rail guns). The Unlimited (rail-gun) 100-yard and 200-yard Matches are complete and results are available. Results for the 100 and 200 Unlimited 10-shot group, 8-group aggregates are:
100-Yard Unlimited Agg
1. Tony Boyer 0.2198
2. Eric Stanton 0.2262
3. Mike Conry 0.2329
4. Wayne Campbell 0.2386
5. Lawrence Weisdorn 0.2440
6. Lester Bruno 0.2490
7. Don Nielson 0.2571
8. Billy Stevens 0.2626
9. Gary Sinclair 0.2735
10. Chris Harris 0.2750
200-Yard Unlimited Agg
1. Charles Huckeba 0.2598
2. Mike Ratigan 0.3057
3. Tony Boyer 0.3217
4. Don Creach 0.3371
5. Wayne Campbell 0.3401
6. Lawrence Weisdorn 0.3416
7. Mike Contry 0.3634
8. Bart Sauter 0.3715
9. Lester Bruno 0.3716
10. Tom Price 0.4004
Jeff Walker has taken some nice photos of the match. Here are photo links:
Stay tuned for more reports as we receive results for the HV, LV, and sporter classes. For more information, email match director Gary Ocock at onehole149 [at] aol.com. For NBRSA membership information and application forms, visit NBRSA.org.
Forum member Charles Ballard, featured in our Gun of the Week section, just won the F-Class Nationals in Lodi, Wisconsin (Open Class). Charles shot a 1337-65X using his .284 Win with Berger 180gr bullets. With 135 shots for record, Charles dropped just 13 points to score 1337 out of 1350 possible points. Great shooting Charles! Congrats on your win. (Charles was “hot” in Lodi — he also won the preliminary “warm-up” match earlier in the week.)
In Open Class, Mike Downey was second at 1333-55X, and Larry Bartholome was third 1332-62X. Larry, who recently won the Spirit of America F-Class match at Raton, shot superbly and posted 27X on Day 1, the high daily X-count for the match. The best one-day Open Class performance was turned in by past Champion Robert Bock, a 449-22X, also on Day 1. (The Day 1 match was shot at 600 yards; Day 2 and Day 3 were at 1000 yards.)
F-TR Class winner was Danny Biggs with an impressive 1305-42X. Not far behind were Dale Rathwell (1300-42X) in second place, and Darrell Buell (1299-26X) in third. Multi-time past F-TR National Champ Brad Sauve finished fourth.
F-Open Grand Agg TOP TEN
Class Shooter Day 1 agg Day 2 agg Day 3 agg Grand Agg.
Open Charles Ballard 443.21 448.24 446.20 1337.65
Open Mike Downey 444.18 445.16 444.21 1333.55
Open Larry Bartholome 446.27 442.19 444.16 1332.62
Open Nikolas Taylor 447.17 445.16 437.17 1329.50
Open Jim Murphy 448.23 439.11 440.14 1327.48
Open John Brewer 443.21 440.14 441.17 1324.52
Open Shawn Ahrens 443.26 437.15 443.16 1323.57
Open Emil Praslick III 443.19 435.14 445.20 1323.53
Open Robert Bock 449.22 437.11 437.16 1323.49
Open Jeff Traylor 448.22 433.14 438.11 1319.47
F-TR Grand Agg TOP TEN
Class Shooter Day 1 agg Day 2 agg Day 3 agg Grand Agg.
F-T/R Danny Biggs 444.19 424.05 437.18 1305.42
F-T/R Dale Rathwell 440.20 427.08 433.10 1300.38
F-T/R Darrell Buell 432.08 434.10 433.08 1299.26
F-T/R Brad Sauve 436.10 426.07 431.07 1293.24
F-T/R Jeff Rorer 439.22 419.06 428.06 1286.34
F-T/R Peter Church 437.10 426.09 422.07 1285.26
F-T/R Warren Dean 435.14 425.06 424.07 1284.27
F-T/R William Lair 434.11 425.11 423.10 1282.32
F-T/R Dale Carpenter 436.20 414.06 430.09 1280.35
F-T/R Paul Phillips 434.12 425.05 420.05 1279.22
Up in the woods of Wisconsin, the “Guns of October” are cutting loose. Many of America’s (and Europe’s) top F-Class shooters are competing in the Fifth Annual F-Class Championship in Lodi, WI. The 5-day event at the Winnequah Gun Club continues through October 4th. The event kicked off with a practice match (won by Forum member Charles Ballard), followed by team competition. (The individual championship will be contested last.)
Hard-Fought Team Matches and Record-Breaking Performances
Team match results are available, with complete results posted on Long-Range.com. In the US Nationals Open Class Team Match, Team Spindle Shooters prevailed with a 1590-81X score, followed by Team Berger (1569-62X), and Team 4 Aces (1565-60X). Spindle Shooters’ Coach Praslik praised his shooters: “These guys shot very straight and fast. I believe we broke two national records today. The 600-yard team score of 797-42x is a new record. The 1000-yard team score of 793-39x is a new record. The aggregate of the two scores, 1590-81x, is a National Championship record. Well done, Spindle Shooters. It was a privilege to coach you.”
Open Class Teams
F-TR (Target Rifle) Teams
Spindle Shooters 1590-81X
Captain: Jeff Cochran / Coach: Emil Praslik III
Shawn Ahrens
Jeff Cochran
Jeff Traylor
Brett Solomon
Team Berger 1569-62X
Captain: Larry Bartholome / Coach: Jim Murphy
Bob Bock
John Brewer
Jim Murphy
Larry Bartholome
Team 4 Aces 1565-60X
Captain: David Bailey / Coach: Emil Praslik (older)
David Gosnell
David Bailey
Rick Jensen
Emil Praslik
Team Sinclair 1544-47X
Captain: Dan Phillips / Coach: Raymond Gross/Paul Phillips
Brad Sauve
Paul Phillips
John Droelle
Raymond Gross
Team USA F-T/R 1535-50X
Captain: Darrell Buell / Coach: Mike Miller/Dale Carpenter
Mike Miller
Warren Dean
Dale Carpenter
Jeff Rorer
Team Savage 1509-26X
Captain: Stan Pate / Coach: Darrell Buell
Monte Milanuk
John Weil
Darrell Buell
Stan Pate
USA Wins Challenge Match
In addition to the regular Team Competition, International honors were at stake in a USA vs. Europe challenge match. Facing the combined forces of multiple European nations, the American shooters prevailed in both F-Open and F-TR Classes. Team USA-Open posted a 3117-121X score to best the Europeans, who totaled 3073-73. That was a great performance by Team USA-Open members Eric Bair, Shiraz Balolia, Robert Bock Jr., Mike Downey, Dagbs McIntosh, Dean Morris, Bryan Otey, and Larry Taite. In the F-TR division, the American team of Dale Carpenter, Warren Dean, Mike Miller, and Jeff Rorer outscored their European counterparts 1535-5X to 1447-16X to notch another victory for the Red, White, and Blue.
New Records Set Last Weekend
Preceding the Nationals, during last weekend, Wisconsin long-range team matches were held. Larry Bartholome reports: “The weather was near perfect with light, but tricky winds and sun shine some of the time. Six F-Class and Five Sling teams competed. I only have F-Class scores. USFCT1 (Team Berger/Norma) won Saturday’s Palma match with a new US record of 1781-94x. Two points back was USFCT2 (Spindle Shooters). The new record is 54 points and 45Xs ahead of the old one. Four of the five F-Class teams broke the old record.”
Tom Manners of Manners Composite Stocks has a new F-Class stock that’s long, low, and very stiff. The first three examples get their “trial by fire” this week at the F-Class Nationals in Lodi, Wisconsin. The stock is derivative of some other familiar designs, particularly in the grip area, but the underside of the stock is radically new, and the stock promises to be very rigid in all planes, without the fore-arm lift or flex found in some other F-Class stocks.
Tom says: “The shell is 100% carbon fiber with a molded-in action and barrel area. This design features a very long, stiff fore-end. From the back of the action to the tip of the fore-end the stock measures 27″ long which is around 7 1/2″ longer than our T4 stock.” The idea is to provide a “longer wheelbase” to better balance the long, 30-32″ barrels favored by many F-Class competitors.
The front half of the fore-end is very thin (from top to bottom) to achieve a low profile on the bags. The McMillan F-Class stock uses such a design, and a thin fore-end can definitely lower the center of gravity. However, some other thin-forearm designs have suffered from a springboard effect. This should not be the case with the new Manners stock. Much thought has gone into controlling fore-end flex. Manners’ design achieves greater vertical rigidity (less deflection under load) through an innovative “fish belly” design. The rounded undersection, like a canoe hull, strengthens the fore-end considerably. Carbon fiber construction also adds stiffness.
Another nice feature of the fore-end are the molded-in “rails”. On the underside of the forearm, an area is relieved for a few inches in the center. This allows the stock to contact the front bag on the two outer edges or rails. The relieved center area can ride above the “hump” typically found in the middle of the front sand-bag. Other stock designs have proven the merits of this “twin rail” feature. It works. Eliminating contact with the “hump” reduces rock and wobble, and the twin rails allow smooth tracking.
Overall, we like the stock design very much except for one thing. The stock has a pronounced corner or knuckle at the top rear of the pistol grip. This creates a sharp transition from the tang to the area relieved for your thumb. A similar (though less extreme) knuckle is found on the McMillan A-series designs. Our testers have shot stocks with grips like this and the reaction was mixed. IF you have big hands and can wrap your thumb all the way around the grip, this design can work well with a hard hold. The vertical section right below the knuckle can help distribute some of the recoil into the web of the hand. However, for people with smaller hands, your thumb is forced into an awkward position. Additionally, many shooters use a lighter hold, or prefer to place the thumb parallel to the bore axis, resting on the stock, just behind the tang. This allows you to apply some down-pressure, WITHOUT side force (a shooting style that some rifles prefer). You can do this easily with a Tooley MBR-style stock, or a Franklin low-rider. With a hard knuckle like you find on the Manners stock, resting your thumb behind the tang doesn’t work well at all. Looking at the photos, we also think the pistol grip is quite fat, further causing problems with shooters with small to medium hands. That said, we know many shooters, particularly “tactical” competitors, who like this kind of grip. Tom Manners wants to “get feedback” on the new stock at the Nationals. It will be interesting to learn if some shooters ask for a different style grip.
The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) hosts its 2008 Multi-Gun Nationals Oct. 3-5 at the Clark Range, in Princeton, Louisiana. This USPSA event requires shooters to engage multiple targets, on the clock, with pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The USPSA Nationals will draw ace action shooters from around the country. Shown below is Chris Tilley, competing at the 2007 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals. The video shows how smoothly Chris transitions from gun to gun and how well he engages targets while on the move. If you’ve ever tried that, you know how difficult it is to aim (and hit) while running sideways. That’s why Chris, the 2006 USPSA National Open-Class Champion, is one of America’s “top guns”.
Though there are multiple classes for rifles, pistols, and shotguns (based on equipment), most competitors will be using semi-automatic firearms. The rifles will typically be AR15-style carbines with red dot sights. Most shooters use .223-caliber carbines but there is also a “Heavy Metal” division for .308 or larger caliber rifles. Open-class pistols will be 1911-based race guns with red dot or holographic sights, compensators, and high-capacity magazines carrying 20 rounds or more.
Speed, accuracy, and firepower all count in this game. Stages require anywhere from 6 to 30+ shots. The scoring system measures points scored per second, then weights the score to compensate for the number of shots fired. If they miss a target, or shoot inaccurately, points are deducted, lowering that all-important points-per-second score. Scoring is based on hits and time, plus the “Power Factor” is calculated into the equations. It can get pretty complicated, so USPSA Multi-Gun matches are scored with computer software called EZWinScore. To learn more about Multi-Gun competition, visit USPSA.org or you can download the Multi-Gun Rulebook.
The 2008 Spirit of America (SOA) Match was a huge success. With International Team Competition on the menu this year, the SOA drew scores of top Palma shooters from around the world. Over 160 competitors came to the Whittington Range in Raton, New Mexico to compete for honors in both Full-bore Target Rifle and F-Class matches. Spc. Tyrel Cooper of the USAMU won the Target Rifle Overall Aggregate. Ty Cooper has “been on a roll lately, and has been shooting great”, according to Veteran Team member Jerry Tierney. On the F-Class side, Larry Bartholome shot consistently to top a very competitive field. Congrats to both Ty and Larry!
Team competition was a major highlight of the SOA. In the America Match* for national teams, The U.S.A. Team finished first, beating Australia (second place) and England (third place). Individual USA Team member scores are posted below. We’re pleased to see forum member Bryan Litz shooting well, and we salute Sherri Hurd. Not only was Sherri the top female shooter in the America Match, but her 597-36X score was the third best in the entire field, after England’s David Luckman (599-35X) and Team USA teammate Tyrel Cooper (597-40x).
The U.S.A. Veterans’ Team performed extremely well, actually posting the second highest team total overall. That’s right — the American veterans out-scored the National teams of Australia and the UK. “Not bad for a bunch of old guys, wouldn’t you say”, Tierney observed. For complete Match Results, visit the Bald Eagles Club website, BaldEaglesRC.org.
For the English perspective on the match, visit the Team England Website. It offers match results, tech info about the sport, and a Photo Gallery with dozens of images.
*The America Match is a major international Palma competition first hosted in 2002. Matches are held every two years. Each team is composed of eight shooters, two sub-coaches, a main coach, an adjutant, a captain and two reserves. It is a multi-distance event. Course of fire is: 2 sighters and 15 shots for record at 300, 600, 900 and 1000 yards (or 300, 600 yards and 800 and 900 meters as appropriate to the venue).
Benchrest accuracy from a Barnard? You Betcha! In a recent 600-yard benchrest match in Ojai, California, the powder-blue 6.5×47 Barnard shown below delivered an impressive 1.5″ five-shot group to set small group for the match. The gun has shot well under 1/4-MOA at shorter ranges during testing. Owned by SoCal shooter Bill H., the gun was smithed by Mac Tilton of MT Guns in Santa Barbara, CA. Mac says, “even with that long barrel, the gun balances well on the bags in the Mastin stock.” Owner Bill is delighted with the gun’s performance, telling us “this rig really demonstrates how accurate the 6.5×47 cartridge can be.” Bill was shooting Lapua 6.5×47 brass with Lapua 123gr Scenar bullets, Reloder 15 powder, and CCI BR4 primers.
Key Components from Down-Under
The rifle features a Barnard model “P” three-lug action, Barnard target trigger, Mastin F-Class laminated stock (with painted finish), and a 32″ heavy-contour True-Flite barrel. Both action and barrel are products of New Zealand, while the Mastin stock was crafted in Australia. For a better look at this handsome rifle, CLICK THIS LINK for a supersized photo.
The 2008 Western CMP Games will take place at the Ben Avery Shooting Center north of Phoenix, Arizona on 11-19 October. The Western CMP Games Matches will take place on 11-14 October. The Creedmoor Cup Matches take place on 15-19 October. Together, these back-to-back competitions comprise one of the major West Coast events of the year for Highpower and position shooters, and there’s still time to REGISTER.
These combined matches offer activities for virtually every highpower rifle shooter–from clinics for beginning shooters to less formal Garand, Springfield and Military Rifle Matches to CMP Excellence-in-Competition Matches to NRA Registered Service and Match Rifle Highpower events. The official program is posted at www.ODCMP.com/Competitions/WesternGames.htm. You can sign-up on-line for any of the Western CMP Games or Creedmoor Cup matches at this REGISTRATION PAGE. Just fill in your contact info and select the matches you want to shoot. All data is sent via the web so you don’t even need a postage stamp.
Conditions were hot and windy at the 2008 NBRSA 100/200 Nationals, held this week at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ. When the dust settled Tony Boyer came out on top, again proving his mastery of the sport in very challenging conditions. (During many matches, winds gusted from 15-25 mph.) Boyer, widely regarded as THE best short-range benchrest shooter in history, won the Four-Gun Overall, the Three-Gun Overall, and the Sporter/LV Two-Gun Overall Championships. Consider Boyer’s class by class Grand Agg rankings:
The NBRSA 100-yard and 200-yard Nationals have been underway since Monday, October 6 at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The match, which concludes on Oct. 11th, has drawn 120+ top shooters from around the country including Tony Boyer, Lester Bruno, Wayne Campbell, Don Nielson, Mike Ratigan, Bart Sauter, and Col. Billy Stevens.
Overall, we like the stock design very much except for one thing. The stock has a pronounced corner or knuckle at the top rear of the pistol grip. This creates a sharp transition from the tang to the area relieved for your thumb. A similar (though less extreme) knuckle is found on the McMillan A-series designs. Our testers have shot stocks with grips like this and the reaction was mixed. IF you have big hands and can wrap your thumb all the way around the grip, this design can work well with a hard hold. The vertical section right below the knuckle can help distribute some of the recoil into the web of the hand. However, for people with smaller hands, your thumb is forced into an awkward position. Additionally, many shooters use a lighter hold, or prefer to place the thumb parallel to the bore axis, resting on the stock, just behind the tang. This allows you to apply some down-pressure, WITHOUT side force (a shooting style that some rifles prefer). You can do this easily with a Tooley MBR-style stock, or a Franklin low-rider. With a hard knuckle like you find on the Manners stock, resting your thumb behind the tang doesn’t work well at all. Looking at the photos, we also think the pistol grip is quite fat, further causing problems with shooters with small to medium hands. That said, we know many shooters, particularly “tactical” competitors, who like this kind of grip. Tom Manners wants to “get feedback” on the new stock at the Nationals. It will be interesting to learn if some shooters ask for a different style grip.
Though there are multiple classes for rifles, pistols, and shotguns (based on equipment), most competitors will be using semi-automatic firearms. The rifles will typically be AR15-style carbines with red dot sights. Most shooters use .223-caliber carbines but there is also a “Heavy Metal” division for .308 or larger caliber rifles. Open-class pistols will be 1911-based race guns with red dot or holographic sights, compensators, and high-capacity magazines carrying 20 rounds or more.
Benchrest accuracy from a Barnard? You Betcha! In a recent 600-yard benchrest match in Ojai, California, the powder-blue 6.5×47 Barnard shown below delivered an impressive 1.5″ five-shot group to set small group for the match. The gun has shot well under 1/4-MOA at shorter ranges during testing. Owned by SoCal shooter Bill H., the gun was smithed by Mac Tilton of 
The 2008 Western CMP Games will take place at the Ben Avery Shooting Center north of Phoenix, Arizona on 11-19 October. The Western CMP Games Matches will take place on 11-14 October. The Creedmoor Cup Matches take place on 15-19 October. Together, these back-to-back competitions comprise one of the major West Coast events of the year for Highpower and position shooters, and there’s still time to 
