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September 10th, 2008
Kelbly’s will conduct a Benchrest School at its range in North Lawrence, Ohio, September 20-21st. Past BR school sessions have earned high marks from participants. Jim Kelbly and Greg Walley will be teaching this year. Greg reports: “We still have room for a few more students at the Autumn 2008 benchrest school. (Class size is limited to twelve students.) This class is recommended for the beginner interested in benchrest competition, or the varmint-target shooter looking to optimize his rifles and loading techniques for maximum accuracy. History shows that the weather is usually good at this time of year (rare in these parts!), so we should all have a good time. No need to bring a rifle if you don’t have one, since we will be supplying benchrest rifles, ammunition, rests, wind flags, etc. The cost of the weekend class will be $250. Lunch will be provided each day.”
 Two-Day Program
The sessions will run eight hours each day, and will be geared for the beginning benchrest shooter who wants to compete in NBRSA or IBS registered group-shooting matches. Saturday’s class will be in a classroom-style setting with Q&A sessions and a slide/video presentation covering many topics:
• Use and maintenance of benchrest target rifles
• Preparation and loading of benchrest grade ammunition using custom loading tools and techniques
• The application of ballistics and load development for optimum accuracy
The Sunday session will cover hands-on shooting, benchrest technique, range condition reading, and range etiquette. Rifles, rests, wind flags, ammunition and rifle cleaning equipment will be provided for the students. Participants can bring their own rifles if desired.
For more info or to register, visit Kelby’s Benchrest School webpage, email greg [at] kelbly.com, or call (330) 683-4674.
September 6th, 2008
The Spirit of America (SOA) National Fullbore Rifle Prone Championship kicks off Sunday, Sept. 7th at Raton, NM, at the Whittington Center Range. The event will run for a full week, concluding with the 3rd U.S. F-Class International Team Challenge Match on Sept. 14th. Members of the Open F-Class teams for the USA and other nations will participate, using this event as a tune-up for the 2009 World Championships in Bisley, England. Open Class Team USA members will all be shooting rifles chambered as 6.5-284s. Overall weight is 22 lbs. for the Open Class rifles, including scope. Shown below is U.S. Team member David Bailey’s rifle, which features a Robertson Composites F-Class stock, with a BAT Action.
The match is sponsored and hosted by the Bald Eagles Rifle Club. A complete 9-page guide to the event is available online. This includes general info, basic match rules, fee schedule, a registration form and match calendar.
CLICK HERE to download SOA Info Form (.pdf file).
Day by day, the scheduled matches include:
Sept. 7 (Sunday): Cunico Tire Service Team Match
Sept. 8 (Monday): Folsom Shooting Club Team Match
Sept. 9 (Tuesday): OK Weber Individual Match — 300, 500, 600 and 900 yards
Sept. 10 (Wednesday): Precision Shooting Individual Match — 300, 500, 600 and 1000 yards
Sept. 11 (Thursday): Sierra Bullets Team Match + McGee Rifle Stocks Match
Sept. 12 (Friday): Sinclair International Individual Match — 300, 500, 600 and 900 yards
Sept. 13 (Saturday): Sierra Bullets Individual Match — 300, 500, 600 and 1000 yards
Sept. 14 (Sunday): F-Class International Team Challenge Match For F-Open Teams
August 24th, 2008
Mike Ratigan, author of the definitive print guide to benchrest shooting, Extreme Rifle Accuracy, knows the importance of a smooth-tracking stock. A gun that recoils more consistently is easier to shoot accurately. Reducing friction on the fore-end and toe of your riflestock can help the gun track better in the bags. The easiest way to reduce friction is to apply stock tape. Ratigan says the best stuff he’s tried is clear 3M-brand Teflon® tape. According to Mike it adheres well, lasts a long time, and reduces friction “as well as anything you can buy”. Mike reports “You won’t wear this stuff out–it’s basically a permanent fixture”. The tape is sold by Ron Hoehn, Hoehn Sales, Inc., (636) 745-8144. Ron’s 5-mil thick Teflon tape kit ($7.00) is enough for two rifles, with 5″x5″ sections for the front and 2.5″x6″ panels for the rear.
You can purchase a Teflon stock tape kit from Sinclair Int’l for $12.50. This has four 5″x5″ segments, enough for two rifles. But if you have a large collection of rifles, you’ll save big bucks by buying directly from a bulk tape supplier. C.S. Hyde Company, CSHyde.com, (800) 461-4161, sells 6″-wide, flexible Teflon-coated and UHMW tapes that work great, with either rubber, silicone, or acrylic adhesives. The price works out to about $1 per rifle.
MiKe Ratigan recommends the “Skived” (blade sliced) PTFE Teflon .005″ tape with silicone adhesive, item 15-5S. This is very low-friction and highly conformable, so it bends easily around your stock contours. You’ll need to call for custom 5″ or 6″ widths, and expect to pay about $50 for a 5-yard-long (180″) roll.
A less expensive option is the UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) Polyethylene Tape with High Stick Acrylic Adhesive, item 19-5A. C.S. Hyde explains: “UHMW Polyethylene provides a nonstick, low-friction surface similar to PTFE tape but with much higher abrasion and puncture resistance. It is ideal for anywhere high-pressure sliding contact occurs.” The price is just $33.96, for a 6″-wide by 5 yard-long roll, enough for 36 rifles! Compare that to spending $12.50 for four 5″x5″ pieces. On Benchrest.com, AbinTX reported that C.S. Hyde “sent [him] samples of various thickness to try out before ordering. They will price a roll for you depending on how wide and how long you want.”
August 21st, 2008
 Beijing isn’t the only location where shooters from many nations are competing this month. The United States Int’l Muzzle-Loading Team turned lead bullets and shot into gold, silver and bronze medals at the 23rd World Muzzle Loading Championships, held August 11-16 in Adelaide, Australia. 205 competitors, representing 17 nations, vied for honors with a variety of muzzle-loading arms, ranging from matchlock muskets to sophisticated percussion target rifles and pistols. Both original antiques and modern replica guns are used, competing in different divisions.
Top honors were taken by Dr. Michael Arnette, whose score of 93 in the original division of the “Lamarmora” 50-meter offhand percussion rifle-musket event not only won the gold, but set a new world record in the process. Arnette took the same gun to the 100-meter line for the “Minie” prone match, shooting well enough to help a team of Arnette, Allan Godshalk, Gary Crawford, Frank Kapper, and Tony Ulisse take 3rd place in the “Grand Prix de Versailles”, an aggregate for military longarms that is often considered the overall world team championship. An equally strong performance was turned in by Harry Sparks, who took both gold and bronze in individual shotgun events.
CLICK HERE for Photo Gallery from Adelaide
The World Muzzle Loading Championships are held biennially, with Pacific and European Zone Championships in the off years. The 24th World Championships will be held in Portugal in August 2010. CLICK HERE for more info on precision long-range muzzle-loader shooting.
August 20th, 2008
Recently we covered the first SoCal Rimfire Tactical Precision Match. Your editor had a chance to attend the second match on August 9. I can testify that match Director Bill Irwin presided over a fun, well-orchestrated competition with an interesting variety of stages. Competitors engaged paper targets and steel at various distances, plus clay birds and other reactive targets. For one stage, Irwin set building nails set in vertical sticks. The object was literally to drive the nails into the wood with your 22LR bullets. Easier said than done, I assure you. Here’s a “highlight video” from the August 9, match.
Stills courtesy RKSimple and Shooter65
SAKO FinnFire ‘Range’ — Accurate, Ergonomic, and RELIABLE
To my surprise, at the match I witnessed quite a few malfunctions, both in bolt-action rifles and self-loading 22s. One 10/22 was particularly troublesome, and the normally reliable Savage MKII BTVS models gave some problems when cycled rapidly. One rifle that ran flawlessly throughout the match was the handsome SAKO FinnFire ‘Range’ belonging to Mark E. from Huntington Beach.
This gun has a stock that is virtually identical to the stocks on Tikka’s centerfire Master Sporter rifles. With that stock, the FinnFire boasts ergonomics and dimensions similar to a centerfire tactical rifle, making it ideal for cross-training. Mark talks about his FinnFire in the video below.
August 17th, 2008
The IBS 100/200 yard Group Benchrest Nationals were held from August 11-16th at the Kelbly’s range in North Lawrence, Ohio. When the dust settled, Harley Baker, IBS 2007 Group Shooter of the Year, was the big winner, taking the Two-Gun, Three-Gun, and Four-Gun overall. Mark Buettgen, Gene Bukys, and Jack Neary also shot extremely well — these three shooters all finished in the top four in the multi-gun standings. Harley Baker triumphed over a field of roughly 150 shooters including benchrest Superstars Tony Boyer, Wayne Campbell, Joe Krupa, and Bart Sauter. Bill Goad won the Light Varmint Grand Agg, while Tony Boyer won the Heavy Varmint Grand. Ryan Kelbly was the top junior shooter.
Here are the top ten finishers in the multi-gun combined Aggregates:
| 2-Gun Overall |
3-Gun Overall |
4-Gun Overall |
1. HARLEY BAKER 0.2093
2. MARK BUETTGEN 0.2121
3. GENE BUKYS 0.2240
4. JACK NEARY 0.2253
5. BILL GOAD 0.2265
6. BOB SCARBROUGH 0.2286
7. TONY BOYER 0.2345
8. L. HOTTENSTEIN 0.2401
9. JEFF SUMMERS 0.2407
10. SMILEY HENSLEY 0.2418 |
1. HARLEY BAKER 0.2062
2. JACK NEARY 0.2230
3. MARK BUETTGEN 0.2258
4. GENE BUKYS 0.2280
5. SCOTT WATSON 0.2383
6. BOB SCARBROUGH 0.2392
7. L. HOTTENSTEIN 0.2409
8. BILL GOAD 0.2411
9. JOE KRUPA 0.2454
10. GEORGE WALDREP 0.2457 |
1. HARLEY BAKER 0.2245
2. JACK NEARY 0.2351
3. GENE BUKYS 0.2379
4. MARK BUETTGEN 0.2381
5. L. HOTTENSTEIN 0.2511
6. HARRY ROWALD 0.2532
7. JOE KRUPA 0.2551
8. BOB SCARBROUGH 0.2585
9. LARRY COSTA 0.2615
10. JEFF SUMMERS 0.2636 |
While the multi-gun Agg results were, not surprisingly, in the low twos, there was some spectacular shooting done at the match in specific events. At 100 yards, the top five shooters in BOTH the Light Varmint AND Heavy Varmint Class all posted “Teen Aggs”. This shows you the kind of accuracy these rifles (in the hands of ace shooters) can deliver:
| Light Varmint 100-yard Aggregate |
Heavy Varmint 100-yard Aggregate |
1. BILL GOAD 0.1614
2. GENE BUKYS 0.1686
3. PAT CANNING 0.1880
4. DAVE DOHRMAN 0.1894
5. BOB SCARBROUGH, JR. 0.1920 |
1. TONY BOYER 0.1552
2. LOWELL HOTTENSTEIN 0.1736
3. JOE KRUPA 0.1798 (tied)
3. SCOTT WATSON 0.1798 (tied)
5. GEORGE KELBLY, SR. 0.1872 |
Complete IBS 100/200 Nationals Match Results are posted on the IBS website. You can also download Target by Target Details as a .pdf file.
August 16th, 2008
Breaking News: Pfc. Vincent Hancock, a USAMU shooter from Georgia, captured the Gold medal in men’s skeet-shooting, topping Norway’s Tore Brovold in a shoot-off to win the gold. Definitely check out the VIDEO below–you have to see how fast this kid is!!
CLICK HERE to Watch Vince Hancock’s Skeet Shooting. Click “Best Shots” for Quick Highlights.
Though just 19 years old, Hancock is a World Champion and current world record holder. Previously this summer he captured the Gold Medal in the Men’s Skeet event at the 2008 ISSF World Cup for Shotgun in Suhl, Germany, June 12. A prodigy of sorts, Hancock won his first ISSF World Championship at the ripe young age of 16, competing in Lonato, Italy.
Hancock’s fast reflexes and superb eyesight have put him at the top of the game in International Skeet shooting, a discipline that demands quick reactions. Hancock explains: “Compared to American, International’s targets travel 20 miles per hour faster at 60 miles per hour. After you yell, ‘Pull’, the targets can be released anywhere from immediately to three seconds later, keeping you on your toes. You have to hold your gun down, with the butt below a line on your vest and then mount after you call for the target. And three of the stations send out two targets; in American skeet you can have your gun mounted, and you don’t have any doubles.”
CLICK HERE for Shotgunning Tips from Vince Hancock
August 16th, 2008
Today, Cooper Firearms hosts its annual One-Shot Competition. Originally conceived as a fun promotional contest to help Cooper find its niche with the shooting public, the One-Shot Competition has grown into a nationally-recognized event. Rifles must have Cooper actions and stocks made by Cooper or a recognized Cooper Arms vendor. The premise is straightforward. Shooters get one (1) shot at a dot the size of a pencil eraser at 150 yards. No sighters. No spotting scopes. The closest shooter wins the target to take home to put on his wall and a chance to compete for a new rifle.
One Shot at a Dot on an Oil Painting
What makes this competition unique is that the targets are placed on a collection of oil paintings! Eight shooters are assigned to each painting. Their eight names, and corresponding numbers (1-8), are written around the edge of the canvas. The target is a 1/4″ dot on a paper paster target that measures about 2 inches in diameter. One at a time, competitors take a shot at their paster. Shooters are judged by the bullet strike relative to this 2″ paster, not the symbolic target added to the painting as a reference point. The bullet hitting closest to the target’s center will win the painting. The top two shooters on each painting get a chance to compete for the grand prize, a wood-stocked Cooper TRP-3 rimfire benchrest rifle.
The one-shot competition carries a hefty $150.00 entry fee, but there is a 100% payout of the entry fee to the winners of each group shoot. The one-shot competition officially begins today, August 16, at 9:30 am. After lunch (catered by Cooper), the painting shoots commence. The final competition for the TRP-3 will begin around 3:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., Cooper’s all-you-can-eat and drink party (which is rightfully as famous as the competition itself) caps off the event.
Note: It’s too late to sign up for the 2008 event, but next year, if you own a Cooper, you might head up to Montana and join the Cooper folks for a one-of-a-kind competition.
August 13th, 2008
John Whidden won the 2008 NRA Long-Range Championship with an impressive 1239-65X score. This was the second straight Long-Range win for phenomenally skilled but modest Georgia-based shooter, who also took the title in 2007. On the way to the overall win, Whidden also captured the Canadian Cup (848-49X) and the Leech Cup (200-15X).
The NRA Long-Range Championship went down to the wire. Whidden secured the victory on X-count, with an edge of eight Xs over runner-up Robert Gustin of California who finished with 1239-57X. (Gustin was also high Senior.) Army Shooter Sgt. Brandon Green finished third at 1238-64X, just one point behind. Nancy Tompkins, popular author of the Prone and Long-Range Rifle Shooting book, was the top female shooter, posting 1231-59X.
After winning the 2007 NRA Long-Range Championship, John Whidden provided the following commentary to AccurateShooter.com (John regularly posts in our Shooters’ Forum). We’re not sure if he changed his equipment this year–we’ll provide updates on that as soon as possible.
Winning Camp Perry and the Mental Game
Winning the National Championship is a long-time goal realized. For me, being the National Champion was the single biggest shooting goal I had. I’m not sure exactly what will be my next shooting goal yet. If I had to summarize the mental game at this level of competition in one word, I would probably choose the word “Confidence”. You have to have the highest level of confidence in your skills, your rifle, and your ammo. There can’t be even a shadow of a doubt that all of your equipment is the best there is. No detail can be left undone.
Confidence is a far-reaching idea. It includes little things like making sure you have all of your equipment with you through the use of a checklist. Anything you can do to give yourself a higher level of confidence is worth doing.
Long-Range Hardware
In NRA Long Range, we shoot “Any Sight Rifles” and Palma rifles. The Palma rifles have to be .308s and they have to use Iron sights. The Any Rifles are used at different times with iron sights or scopes. They are also fairly unrestricted, as long as they are safe, .35 cal or under, and have no muzzle brake.
For the Any Rifle matches [in 2007], I shot rifles chambered in .243 Win. My iron sight gun is a Winchester M70 action, Broughton 1-8 twist 5C barrel, Anschutz trigger, Robertson Original stock, and Warner rear sight. My scope gun is a Stolle Panda action with an Anschutz trigger, Broughton 1-8 twist 5C barrel, Roberston Composites Original stock, and a Nightforce 8-32x BR scope. All of my rifles are proud products of the Whidden Gunworks custom shop. I shoot the same load in each: Berger moly coated 105 grain VLDs, Vihtavuori N160, Lapua brass, and PMC (Russian) primers.
August 12th, 2008
Competiting in his third Olympics, Spc. Walton Glenn Eller III of the USAMU has finally won Gold. Eller, a Texas native, set two Olympic records in the Men’s Double Trap competition today to win the Gold Medal — the first American shooting gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games.
CLICK HERE to Watch Mens’ Double Trap Finals VIDEO. Eller clinches the Gold Medal at the 37’50”-minute mark in the video.
CLICK HERE for PHOTO GALLERY of Mens’ Double Trap with Award Ceremony
Eller, who finished 12th at the Sydney Games and 17th in Athens, entered the final round today four targets ahead of Italy’s Francesco D’Aniello with a qualification score of 145 — a new Olympic record. The previous Olympic record of 144 was set by Ahmed Almaktoum of the United Arab Emirates at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
photo courtesy USAMU
Slow Start in Finals then Another Olympic Record
After missing his first pair in the final, Eller ended up shooting 45 targets and finished with a total score of 190 targets, setting another Olympic record and taking home the Gold. “I was so happy after I won, but I didn’t know whether to cry, smile or jump up and down,” said Eller. “After my performances in the last two Olympics, I really wanted to come here and bring home a medal for the U.S. This is definitely one of the greatest moments of my life so far.”
D’ Aniello took the Silver with 187 targets, while the Bronze Medal was won by Hu Binyuan of China with 184 targets. Jeff Holguin of Yorba Linda, Calif., finished fourth. D’Aniello and Hu both hit 46 targets each, the best scores in the finals. Two previous Olympic Champions, Russell Mark of Australia and Richard Faulds of Britain, were also in the Finals.
For complete shooting results, visit the official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games website.
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