Image courtesy North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, NCwildlife.org.
Today, September 28, is National Hunting and Fishing Day. On this day we recommend you take new shooters afield and introduce them to shooting or hunting. National, state and local organizations will run thousands of hunting- and fishing-related events around the country. Events will include Fishing Derbys, Hunting Expos, Wing-shooting tournaments, and much more. Over four million Americans will participate. Get involved today, and help support the shooting sports.
Find Events in Your State
For info on NHF Day, visit www.nhfday.org. To find NHF Day events in your state, click links below:
FREE Printable Deer Hunting Target
To help you prepare for a fall hunt, here is a free, printable Deer Practice target. Hone your skills on a trio of bucks with a red bullseye centered on the animals. You can print the targets in black and white, but they look best in color. Right-click the image below to download a FREE printable PDF file.
Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) is a volunteer organization that provides hunting and shooting experiences for American military veterans and injured active military personnel. HAVA has sponsored events in Texas, Georgia, South Dakota, Montana, North Carolina, California, Washington, Florida, and other states. HAVA was conceived and organized in 2007 by shooting sports industry executives to help the healing and re-integration of disabled veterans and injured active military back into normal American life through participation in outdoor events.
One of the most recent HAVA events was the 7th Annual HAVA/Rockcastle Family Day at the Park City, KY shooting complex on Saturday, September 14, 2019. Over 300 disabled veterans, family members, and volunteers assembled to share a day of shooting, winning prizes, eating good food, and enjoying fellowship with other military veterans who have bravely protected the American dream.
Every year, HAVA conducts a series of hunting and shooting events for groups of disabled veterans and injured active military. Many of these events include instruction by world-class shooting experts, such as Jerry Miculek. The next major HAVA event will be the 12th Annual National Family Day, to be held in San Antonio, Texas on October 19, 2019. EVENT INFO HERE. Admission is FREE, and all disabled veteran participants will receive a backpack full of gifts.
HAVA organizes hunting adventures throughout the United States
HAVA states: “These veterans have given their full measure of commitment to the preservation of their country’s values, and deserve America’s contribution to their healing process to whatever degree necessary to accomplish physical, mental and cultural rehabilitation.”
HAVA, through its Sustaining Sponsors, contributors, and volunteers, provides services to veterans in recognition of their sacrifice and service to a grateful nation. If you would like to support HAVA’s programs, you can make a tax-deductible donation through www.HonoredVeterans.org.
About HAVA — Honored American Veterans Afield
HAVA is a 501(c)3 organization formed by companies in the shooting and outdoor industry with the purpose of raising awareness and assisting disabled veterans with their healing process through guided hunts, shooting events, and other outdoor sports activities. Sustaining sponsor companies are: Smith & Wesson, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), SIG SAUER, Academi, Arnold Defense, Crimson Trace, E3 Training, FMG Publications, GLOCK, Hornady, Leapers/UTG, Leupold & Stevens, Mossberg, National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW), Operation Hat Trick, Ruger, Savage, Surefire, Taurus, Vista Outdoor/Federal, XS Sights, and Yamaha Outdoors among numerous contributing companies. To learn more about HAVA, go to: www.HonoredVeterans.org.
Airport photo by Politikaner under Creative Commons License.
With hundreds of readers traveling home this week from the 2019 F-Class Nationals in Raton, NM, and many others planning hunting trips out of state, we thought we’d repeat an article providing important information about air travel with firearms. If you will be flying with firearms this fall, you should read this article. You need to familiarize yourself with current Federal Regulations on gun transport before you get anywhere near an airport. Thankfully, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a web page that states the important requirements for airline passengers traveling with firearms* and/or ammunition.
You’ll want to visit the TSA Firearms and Ammunition webpage, and read it carefully. In addition, before your trip, check the regulations of the airline(s) with which you will fly. Some airlines have special requirements, such as weight restrictions.
Here are the TSA’s key guidelines for travel with firearms:
More Airline Travel Tips from Tom McHale
Tom McHale has written an excellent article for the Beretta Blog, Ten Things You Need to Know about Flying with Guns. We suggest you visit the Beretta Blog to read this informative story. Here are two of Tom McHale’s Travel Tips:
Weigh your gun case and ammunition
Most airlines will allow up to 11 pounds of ammunition. And, like any luggage, you will be charged more for any baggage weighing more than 50 pounds. This sounds like a lot, but when traveling to the Crimson Trace Midnight 3 Gun competition last year, my case with shotgun, rifle, pistol and ammunition tipped the scale past the 50 pound mark.
Pack ammo in the same locking case
This is another area that’s misunderstood and full of internet myth. Your ammo just needs to be stored in some type of safe container and not loose. Technically, you can keep ammunition in magazines, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It meets the letter of the law storage requirement, but too many airline and TSA agents will give you grief. Use a plastic ammo box or original cardboard packaging and you’ll be fine carrying that in the same lockable case as your gun.
*SEE United States Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 44. A “firearm” is defined as: any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, or is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; and any destructive device. As defined by 49 CFR 1540.5 a loaded firearm has a live round of ammunition, or any component thereof, in the chamber or cylinder or in a magazine inserted in the firearm.
Here is a simple but effective product that can benefit varminters and game-hunters. The slip-on, padded RRR (“triple R”) gun rest cushions your rifle on any surface and helps eliminate noise when shifting the gun from one shooting position to another. The RRR slip-on rest is made of neoprene (wet suit material) with a built-in, thick Armaflex foam cushion on the bottom. This $19.95 sleeve protects the finish of your rifle, while providing a cushioned layer between your rifle and the supporting surface.
Key Benefits of the RRR Slip-On Padded Fore-Arm Rest
1. The RRR sleeve cushions your rifle. This helps to keep the shot from going high even when the rifle is placed on a hard surface.
2. The RRR sleeve quiets the gun. The padded, neoprene covering acts like a sound deadener even when you set the gun on a metal frame or hard surface..
3. The RRR protects the finish on the stock of your rifle from scratches when resting on hard surfaces.
Mid-range team day. Team jerseys and tons of additional gear adorned the firing line. Most of the top teams had headsets so they could communicate in private.
The 2019 F-Class National Championships took place September 16-22 at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. The Mid-Range Championships ran Sept. 16-18, while the Long-Range Championship finished the week, running Sept. 19-22. This year’s F-Class Championships were well-attended and memorable — as there were some of the most challenging winds many competitors had ever witnessed. Winds were strong, gusty, and shifty — with rapid and unpredictable direction and speed changes. Some seasoned, “world-class” F-TR and F-Open competitors dropped 20 points or more on a single relay — conditions were that bad at times.
Nonetheless, through skill, patience, and perseverance there were some outstanding performances at both the 2019 Mid-Range and Long-Range Nationals. Brian Bowling won the F-Open Long Range Championship with a 1573-78X score, ahead of second-place Keith Glasscock (1570-72X). Shiraz Balolia was F-Open High Senior, while Cindi Baudhuin was the top female shooter. In the other division, Jade Delcambre (Master Classification), won the F-TR Championship with a 1549-53X. Ian Klemm was a close second in F-TR with a 1548-44X. Skip Barkley was F-TR High Senior, while Jennifer Bondur was High Lady competitor.
F-Open “Top Shots”. Brian Bowling, F-Open LR National Champion, is the chap with the beard.
In LR Team Competition, Team Lapua-Borden-Brux won F-Open, scoring 1585-86X to beat runner-up Team Roadrunners by 9 points and a bunch of Xs. In the F-TR Team Match, Team USA Freedom (1555-58X) took first, ahead of second-place Team USA Independence (1546-55X).
Here are some quotes from competitors, posted in our Shooters Forum:
“Today was, in a word, brutal.” — Turbulent Turtle
“I was on relay 1 and I don’t think I have ever shot in these types of conditions! I came off the second string and had dropped 14 points and people were saying “good shooting”!! Playing ping pong with the 7 ring was common. There was no chasing the spotter as every shot was a new condition.” — Shiraz Balolia
“Some relays were very easy wind-wise, and some were monsters! Relay 1 today got hosed like I’ve never seen! 35 mph winds, gusty and switching had most the top shooters doing their best to just stay in paper!” — Falconpilot
Report from Mid-Range F-Class Nationals
The Mid-Range Nationals were closely fought also. Congratulations to Timothy Vaught, 2019 Mid-Range F-Open Champion, and to Luke Ramsey, 2019 Mid-Range F-TR Champion. Both victors took their titles by a single point, although Luke had a huge ‘X’-count edge, with 101 Xs compared to 77 Xs for runner-up Tracy Hogg. Here are Top Five Mid-Range individual Results.
Mid-Range F-OPEN Top 5
TIMOTHY VAUGHT 1794-119X NAT’L CHAMPION
TOD HENDRICKS 1793-111X SILVER
DAVID GOSNELL 1789-103X BRONZE
PATRICK SCULLY 1789-99X 2ND BRONZE
JOHN MYERS 1787-107X 3RD BRONZE
Mid-Range F-TR Top 5
LUKE RAMSEY 1784-101X NAT’L CHAMPION
TRACY HOGG 1783-77X SILVER
RANDY LITTLETON 1781-100X BRONZE
ALLEN TAMPKE 1779-88X 2ND BRONZE
JEREMY NEWELL 1779-79X 3RD BRONZE
In the Mid-Range Team Competition, Team Roadrunners, coached by Scott Harris, won the F-Open Team Division (1592-87X), edging Team Berger-Bartlein-SEB-Kelbly (1591-94X) by one point. The winning F-TR Mid-Range Team was Team Independence (1585-88X), coached by past Nat’l Champ James Crofts. Team Texas (1581-85X) finished second in the Mid-Range F-TR event.
The F-Class Nationals Experience — Report from Raton
By John Masek (aka F-Class John, AccurateShooter Weekly Deals Editor)
“The winds were by far the most challenging I have ever encountered, but I learned so much from that. I definitely came home a better shooter after the 2019 Nationals.”
Four of us from Tri-County Gun Club in Sherwood, Oregon loaded up and headed down to shoot two weeks of Spirit of America (SOA) plus the F-Class Mid-Range and Long Range Nationals. The first week of SOA was pretty straight-forward although the nearly 7,000-foot altitude had an immediate effect on our bodies, forcing us to hydrate like never before. We were going through upwards of 10 bottles a day of water and sports drinks to quench our thirst.
Here is a view of the 1000-yard range seen from the Founders Cabins up on the opposing hill. Raton is truly one of the most spectacular places you could ever shoot a match like this.
SOA is a Fullbore match so you shoot two to a mound and only have 45 seconds to take a shot. That requires you to make quick decisions based on ever changing conditions. I was fortunate enough to shoot for two days with Scott Harris who was an amazing partner. Scott even shared some of his amazing wind-calling wisdom with me. I was fortunate enough to win a couple medals during SOA and missed out on a second gold because of a stupid mistake — cross-firing on a target. That was heartbreaking to say the least. The final day of SOA brought whipping, switchy winds that played havoc with the last Long Range match and foreshadowed what what to come the following week.
Mid-Range started on Sunday and while it wasn’t a cakewalk, most shooters managed to work their way through the conditions. Raton has a funny way of keeping most everyone humbled one way or another. But nothing could prepare us for what was coming.
Here is a panorama image of the firing line for the start of the Mid-Range Nationals.
Long Range Nationals started on Thursday and everything seemed pretty normal. The ace shooters worked their way to the top as you would expect and we all went to bed expecting a normal day to follow, we had no idea what was in store for us. Friday started like any other day and the first relay went off without a hitch but as it ended we noticed the weather was starting to turn. As I headed to the pits the winds picked up and flags began going every which way. By the time targets went up for live fire we knew something bad was about to happen. Sighter shots came down and while not unusual to see low scoring shots for sighters, there were a lot of them. This was a 2 + 20 string so as soon as the two sighters were done we knew record shots were coming. When they did points started dropping like prices on Black Friday.
We saw people ping-ponging 7s, a few misses and everything in between. After two relays the dust settled and it was our turn to line up and shoot. During the switch over at the buses everyone was shaking their heads in disbelief of what happened to them and somehow seemed almost relieved to be heading to the pits. The conditions only got worse and by the end of the third relay people were rejoicing if they dropped anything less than 20 points.
Some of the biggest names in the game had dropped in excess of 20 points and there were reports of some people dropping as many as 40-50 points. Just imagine how bad the conditions had to be for the top 93 High Masters in the country to be dropping that many points. By the end of the day people we in stunned disbelief and many were considering getting shirts made that said “I survived Raton 2019″.
Every evening we would complete our nightly ritual of pushing bullets back. We initially loaded all our ammo set to the lands and then pushed the bullets back based on our testing each night.
Watching Brian Bowling Shoot To Victory in F-Open
As an F-Open shooter I was fortunate enough to be shooting a few lanes down from Brian Bowling and he was on fire all three days and was a pleasure to watch. Even in the worst of conditions he managed to skillfully hunt and peck his way to some amazing scores which led to him winning the National Championship. Keith Glasscock and David Christian gave a good chase over the three days but came up just a little short, earning Silver and Bronze places respectively.
Success for the Boys from Oregon
Below are me and my buddies from Oregon (L to R: Devin Wiggett, David Christian, Bill Brown, John Masek). As a group we won a total of 34 medals and trophies during the Spirit of America and the Nationals. Overall, the eight days of Nationals included some the most amazing shooting I’ve experienced, in some of the most scenic terrain in the country. I think I speak for many when I say that no matter how good or bad the shooting was, there was always a chance to learn and you couldn’t help but walk away a better shooter in the end.
Headed Home — Securely Packed
Q: How do you transport an F-Open Rifle, spotting scope, tripods, stand and lots of gear?
A: Get yourself some very big, sturdy cases, with lots of padding.
Here is my load-out for Raton. For the match I brought one stock and TWO complete barreled actions, with Kahles scopes fitted on each. I also had a separate large square case for my SEB NEO front rest, 21st Century Arbor Press, and 450 rounds of pre-loaded ammo.
Democratic Presidential candidate Beto (Robert) O’Rourke famously declared “Hell Yes” he is coming to take your guns, starting with AR-15s. In response to that threat, Palmetto State Armory is producing the limited edition PSA “No Beto” AR-15 Stripped Lower Receiver. This precision-made forged aluminum lower can be pre-ordered for just $49.99. On this AR-15 lower, the Fire Selector reads “Hell Yes” (Safe), “Hell No” (Fire), “Snake Bite” (Full-Auto).
All net proceeds from the sale of this receiver will be donated to the nonprofit South Carolina Second Amendment Defense Fund. NOTE: This is a Pre-Order item. Due to unprecedented demand related to the recent political events, please expect lowers to start shipping within 8-9 weeks of order placement.
Palmetto State Armory’s limited-edition “No Beto” AR-15 lower will only be available once and is a limited edition offering. The “No Beto” AR-15 lower is one of the industry’s finest forged, MIL-SPEC lowers. These quality, MILSPEC-designed forged lowers are made with 7075-T6 Aluminum. The Palmetto State Armory “No Beto” AR-15 Lower will accommodate all AR-15 platform builds and is marked “NOBETO-15 MULTI”. The finish is MIL-A-8625, Type III, Class 2 black.
National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHF Day) takes place on Saturday, September 28, 2019. The annual celebration, on the 4th Saturday of September, serves as a reminder that conservation succeeds because of leadership and funding from hunters, shooters and anglers. National, regional, state and local organizations will run thousands of “open house” hunting- and fishing-related events around the country. Events will include Fishing Derbys, Hunting Expos, Wing-shooting tournaments, and much more. Over four million Americans will participate.
Find Events in Your State
For info on NHF Day, visit www.nhfday.org. To find NHF Day events in your state, click links below:
Hunters Aid Conservation Efforts
The contributions of hunters, in the form of excise taxes paid on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, benefit every state. These taxes have generated approximately $5.6 billion for wildlife conservation since 1939.
Origins of National Hunting & Fishing Day
National Hunting and Fishing Day dates back to the 1960s. In 1972, by Senate Joint Resolution 117, Congress requested the President to declare the fourth Saturday of September 1972 as National Hunting and Fishing Day. On May 2 of the same year, President Richard Nixon signed proclamation 4128 designating the Fourth Saturday in September National Hunting and Fishing Day.
AIM Field Sports FS-42 Rifle Carry Bag (Shoulder Pack)
Gear Review by Jason Baney
I recently had the opportunity to test out the AIM Field Sports FS-42 rifle carry bag from the UK. This brand, while not well known in the USA, is popular throughout Europe as AIM makes incredibly robust and well thought-out gear. In addition to AIM’s house brand, AIM also sells OEM gear for other well-known companies, so this outfit is well-versed in the market and know what works and what doesn’t. These are incredibly well-made bags at a very fair price (£157.50, about $196.00 USD). I expect we will see more AIM rifle bags come to the U.S. market in the coming years.
About the Rifle — Accuracy International AX in 22 Creedmoor
The rifle in the photos is Jason’s new “Groundhog Laser”, chambered in 22 Creedmoor. Jason reports: “The Accuracy Int’l AX platform lets me swap barrels quickly and the Tangent Theta scope allows quick zero resets when switching barrels. The suppressor is a Silencerco Omega and the scope mount is an ERATAC adjustable. With the 24″ 1:8″-twist Bartlein 5R barrel and a healthy charge of H4350 it runs a 75gr Amax just a touch under 3500 FPS for a 1000-yard come-up of about 5.3 mils!”
Jason added: “Even my 6-year-old son loves to shoot the rifle (with the LOP set at minimum). The boy took the first 7 groundhogs with it over a 2-hour span. I took 4 that day as well — an epic groundhog adventure. My son also recently shot this rifle at 1000 yards. On his very first 1K outing, he went 10 for 11 shots on a 2/3 IPSC target!”
For me, the FS-42 was intended to carry my Accuracy International AX (another fabulous tool from the UK) to and from the range, matches, and groundhog fields. While AIM Field Sports makes several types of Carry Cases and Drag Bags, this FS-42 is the model for right-side folding stock rifles up to a length of about 41.5.” AIM’s FXS-42 would be the choice for similar length rifles but with a butt-stock that folds to the left.
Good Shoulder Strap System Provides Comfortable Carry
The backpack straps received quite a bit of use and are well designed and rugged — you hardly know they exist until you deploy them for use. I actually enjoyed carrying my heavy rifle even when loaded with a tripod (strapped on the external loops), ammo, bipod, mags, suppressor, camera gear and a couple bean bags. It had no problem handling my heavy rifle and gear. Even with a 24″ barrel with suppressor mounted, and large Tangent Theta 5-25 scope the bag had plenty of room to secure and protect it.
The FS-42 gives plenty of room for support gear and has many well placed straps and reinforcements to keep your rifle in place and protected in transit. The more time I spend with it the more features I notice. It is obvious that these bags were designed by shooters. While no soft case/drag bag can quite offer the same protection of a hard case, it is much less cumbersome and holds about the same amount of gear. It is so well thought-out there is even a spot for a cleaning rod along the spine of the case!
Overall, the AIM FS-series bags are well-made, well laid-out and a great value in a world where some similar bags can be nearly twice the cost. These AIM bags are a great alternative to dragging heavy hard cases around.
Final Thought: “The FS-42 Bag is excellent — I dig it. It has worked well for all tasks. The only thing I would change is a bit more padding where the bag lies on your low-back/pelvis area.”
The conquering Heroine! Trudie Fay poses with Fullbore Runner-up Oliver Milanovic (on ground).
Congratulations to Trudie Fay, the Fullbore (Target Rifle) Champion at the 2019 Spirit of America Match. Trudie won yet another major title competing at the challenging NRA Whittington Range in Raton, New Mexico. With her great hard-holding skills and superior wind-reading abilities, Trudie shot brilliantly to finish at the top of a very strong field of competitors. SEE Spirit of America Fullbore Top 20 Results.
Trudie had a very impressive performance at Raton this past week. In her Fullbore (sling and irons) Division, she finished at 1781-105X, four points ahead of runner-up Oliver Milanovic (1777-102X). Trudie also had the highest score on two of the Four Days, and was the only shooter to record a 449 single-day score, which she managed on both Day 1 and Day 3. And as you’d expect, Trudie had the high X-Count for the match. This was another brilliant display of marksmanship by Trudie, who is also one of the best wind coaches in the country.
Trudie’s .308 Win Palma-type rifle was built by gunsmith and stock-maker Doan Trevor in Arizona. Doan commented: “I have had the privilege of building Trudie’s rifles for the last few years. Congratulations, my friend… You did it again!”
Blast from the Past — Trudie on All-Ladies Team at Camp Perry
Trudie is one of America’s greatest female shooters. A few years ago, she teamed up with four other legendary lady shooters for an all-female team at Camp Perry. Left to Right are: Michelle Gallagher, Trudie Fay, Nancy Tompkins (coach), Anette Wachter, and Sherri Jo Gallagher. Nancy was the first female National High Power Champion. And Sherri Jo was the second.
In case you didn’t think your mag-fed, semi-automatic rifle was being targeted for confiscation, think again. It’s not just bump stocks the anti-gun forces want. Given their druthers, the gun-control forces would seize and destroy all ARs, also known as “modern sporting rifles”. These would be banned in the USA, just as they have been banned in Australia and the United Kingdom…
The emphatic call for semi-auto rifle confiscation was made by former U.S. Congressman Beto (né Robert Francis) O’Rourke. At the latest Democratic Presidential candidates debate, Beto roared: “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47, we’re not going to allow it to be used … anymore!”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation commented: “The Democratic Presidential debate in Houston [addressed] firearms. Former U.S. Congressman Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke doubled down on his pledge to confiscate modern sporting rifles, of which nearly all candidates agreed to in previous debates. ‘Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15, your AK-47, we’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore!’ O’Rourke said the [El Paso TX shooter] was ‘inspired to kill by our “President’, in his opening statement, and again blamed President Trump … in his closing statement[.] U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined the chorus shifting the blame of a murderer to President Trump saying, ‘[Trump] didn’t pull the trigger but he certainly has been tweeting out the ammunition’.”
The positions of Democratic Party candidates on gun control have become more extreme in recent months. Beto now wants to confiscate all ARs. But just last year, in 2018, Beto stated that AR owners should be allowed to keep them — as reported by Breitbart.com:
During an April 2018 interview on The Chad Hasty Show, Beto O’Rourke claimed people who own AR-15s ought to be able to keep them. Fox News quoted an exchange between O’Rourke and Hasty that began with the host saying, “I own an AR-15. A lot of our listeners out there own AR-15s. Why should they not have one?”
“To be clear, they should have them,” O’Rourke responded. “If you purchased that AR15, if you own it, keep it.”
After Confiscating ARs, What’s Next on the List?
O’Rourke has completely reversed his position, and now advocates mandatory confiscation of mag-fed semi-auto rifles. So, if ARs and semi-auto rifles are now on the chopping block (or should we say “confiscation list”), what’s next? Should semi-auto shotguns be banned? What about semi-auto pistols? This really is a slippery slope, and at some point the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment will be lost.
AR-Platform Rifles are Widely Used in Marksmanship Competitions
AR-platform rifles are used in High Power and Service Rifle competitions around the country, such as the historic President’s 100 Match at Camp Perry (photo above). Semi-auto ARs are also used for 3-Gun matches, varmint hunting, and self-defense. Beto O’Rourke wants them banned and confiscated.
Congratulations to Trudie Fay, the Fullbore (Target Rifle) Champion at the 2019 
