The mainstream media hates guns. So you won’t find pro-firearm content on NBC, CBS, CNN, or ABC. Thankfully we have independent cable networks such as the Outdoor Channel. And Wednesday nights are a visual feast for shooting sports enthusiasts.
On Wednesday nights, from 7:30 to 11:30 pm, the Outdoor Channel delivers an entire evening of great gun programming. You can watch FIVE different shows: American Rifleman, Guns & Ammo, GunnyTime, Shooting USA, and Shootout Lane. Here are some popular samples from these shows:
Shooting USA — Understanding Parallax in Scopes This Shooting USA Pro Tip defines parallax and explains how to adjust your scope.
Guns & Ammo TV — Hornady Bullets, Nikon Black Force Scopes, Suppressors 101 This episode reviews multiple products — bullets, optics, and suppressors.
American Rifleman — The Guns of The Vietnam War, Part 3 Major John L. Plaster discusses Marine snipers in Vietnam and their rifles.
Tune in to the TV tonight (7/31/19) — there’s some impressive multi-gun action on the Outdoor Channel. Shooting USA features the NRA’s World Shooting Championship (WSC), held at the Peacemaker National Training Center in West Virginia. This unique, multi-discipline Pro-Am Competition draws 300 shooters, with all firearms provided by manufacturers. Designed to find the “best at everything that goes bang”, the WSC combines scores from a dozen disciplines to select the best all-around shooting champion. What’s at stake? Glory plus over $250,000 in cash and prizes!
Shooting USA airs Wednesday, 7/31/19 at: 9:00 PM Eastern and Pacific; 8:00 PM Central
WSC Highlight Video with Competitor Interviews:
To succeed at the WSC, competitors must be skilled with all types of firearms, bolt-action rifles, semi-auto rifles, shotguns, semi-auto pistols, and even single action six-guns. For every stage, the firearms are provided by match sponsors, so no competitor gains an advantage by using his or her own guns.
The challenges range from sporting clays, to PRS-style rifle stages, to Bianchi plate racks shot with handguns, and even a simulated Olympic Biathlon competition. That requires that competitors be fit and have a diverse skill set — you need to be outstanding with every type of firearm.
This episode also feature a history segment, a gun-building segment, and a Pro Tip from Maggie Reese. Shooting USA showcases the Crockett rifles from Tennessee that armed Andrew Jackson’s Militia on his way to stop the British in New Orleans. Then, John Scoutten finishes a JP Enterprises AR accuracy build. Lastly Maggie Reese shows how to start a pistol stage from a table with an empty gun.
Maggie Reese now shoots for Team Ruger along with Doug Koenig.
Maggie notes: “We spend a lot of time in competition working a draw from a holster position, but sometimes when you go to competition you will have to do an unloaded or loaded table start. So I want to take you through some techniques on how to maximize that first shot and get an efficient time.”
Philip Hemphill Wins NRA .22 Caliber Pistol Championship
Team Lapua member, Philip Hemphill, scored a 888-49X to bring home the 2019 NRA .22 Caliber Pistol Championship. Hemphill uses Lapua Center-X .22 LR Rimfire ammunition in .22 caliber disciplines such as Smallbore, PRC Silhouette, new ELR and more.
The 2019 NRA National Pistol Championships took place July 7-12 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Since 1907, the nation’s finest marksmen and women come together annually at Camp Perry to shoot a variety of handgun formats and events, both rimfire (.22 LR) and centerfire. The annual Camp Perry Championships represent the most prestigious bullseye pistol competitions in North America.
“It’s an honor to be able to come out here and test my shooting skills in one of the longest-running pistol events in the nation. My whole team, Team Zero, shoots Lapua Center-X, because we know it will outperform all other .22 Caliber [rimfire] competition ammo,” said Hemphill.
Along with receiving the Walker Trophy Plaque for winning the Championship, Hemphill also won the NRA Precision Pistol Championship (Police Division), and came in third in the .22 Caliber Slow Fire Match with a score of 194-9X.
About Lapua – Lapua produces the highest quality small caliber cartridges and components for civilian and professional use. Lapua is a part of the Capstone Precision Group, exclusive U.S. distributor for Berger, Lapua, Vihtavuori and SK-Rimfire products. For more information, visit Lapua.com.
Here is an NRA-TV interview with Philip Hemphill from 2016. Hemphill has been a 10-Time NRA National Police Pistol Champion, and has won multiple National Pistol Championships:
See Photos from 2019 NRA Pistol Championships
Shooting Sports USA recently released a nice slide-show featuring 40 images from the 2019 NRA Pistol Championships at Camp Perry. SSUSA Editor John Parker noted: “A big thank you to Mr. John Rickards for his hard work on the firing line to grab the majority of these great images from the 2019 NRA Pistol Nationals at Camp Perry.”
OK guys — Don’t delay. This Remington Rifle Rebate expires in seven days, on July 31, 2019. If you’re shopping for a new varmint or hunting rifle, you can get $75 Cash Back on all Model 700 Varmint rifles purchased from May 1st through the end of July, 2019. Many different configurations are available. For example you can choose either a synthetic stock or a wood laminated stock.
NOTE: This Rebate Offer is valid on Rem 700 Varmint rifle purchases made from 5/1/19 through 7/31/19. All requests must be postmarked by 8/31/19. Important — Firearms Consumer Rebates are MAIL-IN ONLY. You MUST include your original cash register receipt AND the barcode from your owners manual (no exceptions). CLICK HERE for REBATE FORM (PDF).
Remington 1911 R1 Pistol Rebates
Remington is also offering $75 Cash Back on all Remington 1911 R1 handguns. The terms of this 1911 Pistol Rebate is similar to the Varmint Rifle Rebate — Purchase from 5/1/19 through 7/31/19, and submit Pistol Rebate Form by mail.
Remington offers 12 different 1911 models, including an all-stainless, long-slide 10mm hunters, carry models, and four different double-stack models. CLICK HERE to see all 12 Rem 1911 R1 models.
Twelve athletes, including six 2016 Paralympians, have been named to the 2019 Parapan American Games USA Shooting Team. These rifle and pistol shooters will compete at the first-ever Parapan American Games, to be held in Lima, Peru, August 23-September 1, 2019.
The rifle roster includes 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist McKenna Dah along with Jazmin Almlie-Ryan and John Joss. Dahl earned her medal in Mixed Air Rifle event at the 2016 Games in Rio becoming the first U.S. woman to medal in shooting at the Paralympic Games. Joss is the lone athlete to have secured a Paralympic quota to date in R6 event (50-meter Prone Rifle) by virtue of a second-place finish at the 2018 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup.
Other top USA rifle shooters are Taylor Farmer, Stetson Bardfield, and Kevin Nguyen. These three athletes have proven themselves in competition since 2016 and will look to kick-start their runs for the 2020 Paralympic Team. Taylor Farmer was 2018 Paralympic Athlete of the Year for USA Shooting.
Highlights of 2018 World Para Sport Shooting Championships in South Korea
Team USA’s pistol squad is strong with 2016 Paralympic Pistol Team members Tricia Downing, Mike Tagliapietra, and Marco De La Rosa. In Paralympic pistol action at Nationals, De La Rosa earned a bronze medal in Air Pistol while Tagliapietra earned two bronze medals in Sport and Free Pistol, respectively.
2019 Parapan American Games
USA RIFLE TEAM
McKenna Dahl
Taylor Farmer
Len Esparza
Jazmin Almlie-Ryan
Stetson Bardfield
John Joss
Kevin Nguyen
Nick Beach
2019 Parapan American Games
USA PISTOL TEAM
Aaron Causey
Tricia Downing
Mike Tagliapietra
Marco De La Rosa
At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.
This week we celebrate a special milestone — our 200th Bargain-Finder Deals of the Week! That works out to 3.8 YEARS of bargains, promos, and discounts. To mark our 200th Week of Hot Deals, we are doubling the number of deals listed, for a total of TWENTY deals — all under $200.00.
TWENTY Deals for $200 or Less…
Frankford Arsenal’s new Intellidropper powder scale/dispenser has been a huge hit. It is FAST, and you could program your loads with a smart-phone App. Get it now for $199.99 from Midsouth.
Hodgdon Varget and H4350 remain two of the most popular powders for a wide variety of cartridges. The big 8-lb jugs of Varget and H4350 have been hard to find, but Powder Valley has both in stock, at $194.50 per jug for H4350 and $194.50 for Varget.
We like CCI Blazer Brass ammo and here’s a great deal from Brownells.com. Get 1000 rounds of CCI Blazer Brass 9mm pistol ammo for just $194.99. This brass is reloadable.
This MTM ammo crate has been very popular with our readers. It ships with four (4) rugged, lockable ammo boxes, all of which fit together in a convenient, stackable carry crate. This is on sale now at Amazon for $22.99.
Lyman’s Ideal compact press works great as a second, lighter-duty press. For loading at the range, it can easily be mounted to a bench. This cast-iron press is stronger than other small presses in its class. The Lyman Ideal C-Frame press costs just $79.99 at Midsouth. With good leverage in a compact size, this is a great press for the price.
The new Nikon Prostaff 1000i Laser Rangefinder features ID (incline/decline) technology with both horizontal distance and actual distance display modes. Choose single or continuous measurement (up to 8 seconds). Rated to 1000 yards on reflective objects, the PROSTAFF 1000i is a good, affordable option for hunters.
The Lyman BoreCam is an electro-optical borescope with a digital display. Our Forum members really like the BoreCam (although some wish the digital view-screen was larger). Midsouth now has the Lyman BoreCam for $199.99.
Here’s a quality AR15 lower, with nice FDE-color Magpul stock, at a very attractive price — just $159.99 at Palmetto State Armory (PSA). The adjustable stock is nice and PSA is one of the leading “Black Rifle” operations in the country.
Good mat, great price — $24.99. This NcStar Vism shooting mat has decent padding, and reinforced areas for elbows and knees. Full dimensions are: 69″ Long x 35″ Wide. When you’re done simply roll it up into a compact 19.50″ W x 8.50″ H package.
Varminters take note — here’s a great deal on a 500-round “brick” of Hornady-brand 17 HMR rimfire ammo. This reliable, accurate ammo is ultra-effective on small varmints out to 200 yards. Save now with this Midsouth special, 500 rounds for $89.99. That’s just $0.18/round.
You won’t find a better deal on Nikons anywhere. These are Nikon-certified, factory-refurbished Nikon scopes at deep discounts. Save up to 43% off retail. NOTE: all Nikon refurbs have been refurbished to factory specs by Nikon, Inc. and are covered by a 90-day warranty.
This is a VERY good tool with precise, adjustable depth control. In his product review, Jim See said: “The Frankford Arsenal perfect Hand-Priming Tool is legit — built heavy and strong. The [primer] seating depth adjustment is simple and accurate. Easy to operate.”
If you need an inexpensive front rest for field shooting and varminting, or as a back-up rest when shooting with friends, it’s hard to beat these Caldwell for the price — just $99.99 at Amazon. For under $100 you get a stable, durable rest. For just $9.58 more add a set of rubber foot pads.
Here is an affordable 24000mAh portable charge that has a VERY important feature — an LED read-out that display charge status and flow in/out. Priced at $30.99 on Amazon, this a good choice to charge your mobile devices and LabRadar.
Palmetto State Armory is selling the sub-compact Taurus 9mm with black frame for just $199.99 with FREE Shipping. This little gun has a comfortable grip and solid owner reviews. Despite its small size, the G2c has a 12-round magazine. We like the fact it has a left-side manual safety (unlike the Glock).
Fool would-be thieves with this guitar case gun carrier. This will hold a long gun up to 45″ overall. A carbine will easily fit inside, and a larger rifle will fit with stock separated from barreled action. This discrete carry case has wheels for transport and twin locking points.
Here’s a great combo deal. Graf’s is offering the Frankford Arsenal Case Prep & Trim PLUS the EZ Tumbler for only $179.99. That’s an amazing deal considering you could pay $199.99 or more for the Prep & Trim unit by itself, and the EZ Tumbler is regularly $50 or more.
When you’re at the shooting range — don’t forget the kids! These Amazon Basics ear muffs are sized for young girls and boys, and provide 20 dB NRR. We do recommend doubling up with plugs under muffs but these are a nice option, and very affordable at just $9.99 on Amazon.
This 12″x12″ Splatterburst Target combines splatter shot marking with a grid background. The bright neon shot circles make it easy to see shots. And the handy grid lets you quickly estimate group size. Get a 10-pack for $9.99, or a 25-pack for $17.99. This target has earned 87% FIVE-Star ratings.
Walkie-Talkies are “must-have” items for long-range shooting. The 22-CH Motorola T100 Two-Way Radio is an Amazon Best Seller in Handheld Radios. Priced at just $29.00 with Free Shipping, this set is a bargain.
Do you carry a handgun for self-defense, or maybe keep a firearm in your vehicle “just in case”? Then you may want to attend the upcoming NRA Personal Protection Expo in Fort Worth, Texas. The event will be held September 6-8, 2019, at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The NRA Personal Protection Expo (formerly NRA Carry Guard Expo) is a three-day trade show for individuals interested in increasing their knowledge and skills of personal protection, concealed carry and home defense. This event showcases “the products, skills, knowledge and mindset necessary to be prepared to respond when a threat arises.”
This Video Review Various Insurance Options for CCW Holders:
Expo Seminar Topics
Expo visitors can attend more than 120 seminars and workshops. These will include self-defense techniques, home defense and preparedness, situational awareness, concealed carry techniques and lifestyle, medical and trauma training, and much more. The Expo will also conduct a Concealed Carry Fashion Show for concealment clothing and gear designed for men and women.
The World of Compact Handguns for Concealed Carry
There are literally hundreds of choices for carry handguns, starting with deringers and going all the way up to full-size rigs. Both semi-auto pistols and wheelguns (revolvers) are popular. Among wheelguns, we like the Smith & Wesson Model 638 Airweight, a 5-shot Aluminum-frame snubnose, with cockable, shielded hammer. You can shoot it rapidly double-action, but you still have the option of cocking the hammer for slow, precise fire.
Many experts consider the Heckler & Koch P7m8 one of the very best carry pistols ever. On HK’s famous fixed-barrel “squeeze-cocker”, the striker is cocked by squeezing the grip, and then de-cocked when pressure on the grip is released. This makes it extremely safe to carry.
If you are looking for a great deal on a reliable 9mm subcompact, consider the S&P M&P Shield. Right now this fine little pistol is just $249.99 at Palmetto State Armory — a $100 Savings!
To learn more about the NRA Personal Protection Expo, visit the EXPO Website. Check back regularly for updates on training opportunities, and seminars scheduled for the event.
Here’s a great deal on a nice 9mm S&W pistol, plus Prime Day super-savings on a versatile 6-handgun carry case. Right now you can get the 9mm M&P M2.0 Compact Pistol for just $339.99 with FREE shipping. This same gun sells elsewhere for $450.00 or more. This is a good handgun, ergonomic, reliable, and more accurate than most other 9mm compact pistols. We’ve used the M&P series pistols, and we like them more than the Austrian competition.
Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact
The M&P M2.0 pistol has a stainless-steel internal chassis and a low bore axis for reduced muzzle rise. Compared to the previous model, the new M&P M2.0 pistol has a lighter, crisper trigger with tactile/audible reset. The pistol includes textured grip and four interchangeable palm-swell inserts for optimal hand-fit. This pistol comes with two magazines, limited lifetime warranty, and lifetime service policy.
MTM 6-Handgun Transport Case — $37.99
To carry your new S&W 9mm M&P compact and other handguns, check out this handy MTM 6-Pistol Carry Case for $37.99. This is a good case for avid pistol shooters who go to the range with multiple handguns. NOTE: This case is NOT intended for long-term storage. After going to the range, and cleaning your pistols, we recommend you put your handguns in Bore-Store bags inside a secure gun safe.
The fireworks are over, and folks are returning to their jobs, but many Fourth of July Sales are still running through the weekend. We found some great deals at Palmetto State Armory (PSA). If you’re a black rifle fan, or a pistol shooter, you should definitely check out these deals. Many high-quality products are deeply discounted, including Vortex Optics, Geissele triggers, and Smith & Wesson pistols. You’ll also find great deals on AR components — stripped lowers, complete lowers, and complete uppers.
Here are a few deals we found on the PSA website. There are hundreds of other items on sale. The super-low prices for PSA’s 4th of July Sale are good through 11:59 PM EST on Monday, July 8, 2019. If you see a deal that appeals, grab it before the prices go back up Tuesday morning.
In this video, Bill Geissele explains how to install a Geissele SSA Trigger:
Here’s something fitting for the Fourth of July, Independence Day. Ruger has just announced a new line of Flag Series firearms. Arriving just in time to celebrate the birth-date of our nation, the Ruger Flag Series handguns and rifles boast painted flag Cerakote® and flag camo-dipped finishes. There are both Stars and Stripes offerings as well as State flag models.
The first four models in the Ruger American Flag series are built on the following platforms: AR-556 MPR, AR-556 Pistol, Ruger Precision® Rimfire, and PC Carbine™ rifles, as well as the AR-556 Pistol. Additional, distributor-exclusive models with state flag Cerakote finishes are also available. These will include SR22 pistols with North Carolina State flag or Arizona State flag Cerakote finish. In addition there will be a 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR) with a Texas State flag camo dip.
Impact Guns also has an American Flag Special Edition of the SR22 pistol with Stars and Stripes finish on the metal slide. As seen below, this limited-edition SR22 runs $399.99.
“We are very excited about the introduction of the Flag Series,” said Shawn Leska, Ruger Vice President of Sales. “This new lineup of firearms is our most patriotic yet and we hope our customers will feel a sense of pride owning a pistol or rifle from this American-made series.”
The 2019 NRA National Pistol Championships took place July 7-12 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Since 1907, the nation’s finest marksmen and women come together annually at Camp Perry to shoot a variety of handgun formats and events, both rimfire (.22 LR) and centerfire. The annual Camp Perry Championships represent the most prestigious bullseye pistol competitions in North America.
