Fit, capable, self-assured young women hunting in the Texas backcountry. What’s not to like? This is what’s offered by Extreme Huntress, a TV series that pits six lady competitors in a season-long shooting and hunting competition. It’s like a ladies-only version of Top Shot, but with a focus on hunting skills. Twenty-Six six-minute episodes are now available online at GetZone.com. Each episode features a game hunt, skills event, or competitor profile.
Twenty-Six short episode are available online right now on GetZone.com:
The 9th season of Extreme Huntress (2018) premiered on GetZone.com on September 15, 2017. A ton of 2018 content is online now — 26 six-minute episodes. This interactive, online competition series showcases female shooters and huntresses who compete head-to-head in hunting and skills challenges. According to its producers: “Extreme Huntress™ is about preserving our outdoor heritage and creating positive role models for women in the shooting and hunting sports.”
Held at YO Ranch Headquarters in Texas, the Extreme Huntress Competition takes nine months for the contestants to complete. Viewers can vote for their favorite competitor at www.ExtremeHuntress.com. The winner of the 2017 Extreme Huntress Competition is announced at the Dallas Safari Club.
There a number of good rebate programs going on right now, but many of them conclude at the end of October. To take advantage of these deals you’ll need to start your shopping. Here’s are some current Rebate Programs for ammunition, loading equipment, and shooting accessories.
Bet you’ve never seen anything like this before — a “double-decker” indoor shooting range. Lotus Gunworks of Jensen Beach, Florida, operates a super-sized twin-lvel indoor shooting range featuring a two-story-high steel funnel bullet trap. Nicknamed the Lotus 8/11 for the number of steel panels used to create it (eight panels on the bottom slope and 11 panels on the top slope), this version of Action Target’s Total Containment Trap is the first of its kind. “No one has ever seen a range like this before” noted Lotus Gunworks’ Robbie Abell.
Abell came up with the two-story concept when it became clear that the new Lotus building in Jensen Beach was not wide enough for two side-by-side ranges AND a gun store. Necessity was the mother of invention… Lotus wanted at least two ranges, so the only option was to make a double-decker range where both levels shot into the same bullet trap.
Indoor ranges require ventilation to remove potentially hazardous dust and lead particles. The sheer size of the double-decker range presented a unique challenge, but Carey’s Small Arms Range Ventilation installed a system that can completely replace all the range air every 80 seconds.
Other Multi-Level Shooting Ranges
While the Lotus Range may have the first two-story bullet trap, it’s not really the first-ever double-decker indoor shooting range. Other multi-level ranges exist, they just don’t have the giant bullet trap. In fact, some of the multi-level ranges in Europe are bigger and even more sophisticated.
Brünig Indoor facility — Multi-Level Range Underground
Switzerland boats a popular shooting facility built completely underground. The large, deluxe Brünig Indoor facility includes a 300m underground range with multi-level shooting stations.
This video shows centerfire rifle practice on the upper level of one of Brünig Indoor’s shooting tunnels:
Dutch Double-Decker Range
Here’s a Dutch Double-Decker Range. Check out Schietsportvereniging (SSV) Katwijk, a great twin-level range in Holland featuring electronic targets with displays at each shooting station (on both levels):
The 14th annual CMP Western Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will head back to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona next month. The CMP Western Games run October 13-17, 2017, followed by the Creedmoor Cup Matches from October 18-22, 2017. Popular CMP Western Games events will include the Garand, Springfield, Vintage Military, Modern Military, Rimfire Sporter, Carbine and Vintage Sniper matches. The Creedmoor Cup features a 4-Man Team Match, EIC Match and 80-Shot High Power rifle event. The 10-day combined series of vintage and service rifle matches are open to competitors of all ages and experience levels.
High Power Shooting Clinic and SAFS
A CMP Advanced High Power Shooting Clinic will also be held with instructino from some of the nation’s leading High Power Shooter. In addition, a rifle Small Arms Firing School will give participants insight into the fundamentals of marksmanship and competition shooting. Participants are teamed up with experienced CMP Rifle Master Instructors for classroom and hands-on training, with rifles and ammunition provided. Students in the school will also fire in a true M16 EIC Match, observed by instructors on the line.
Try Out CMP’s Traveling Electronic Targets
Competitors at this year’s CMP matches at Ben Avery will also have the opportunity to fire on the CMP’s highpower electronic target system.
The traveling targets, which include precision scoring hardware and software, plus a high-tech wireless monitor system, were used earlier this year with great success at the Oklahoma Games in April and Eastern Games in May. In June, at the outset of the National Matches, the targets made history by recording 36,000 shots during an entire week of successful National Match Course events on the ranges of Camp Perry in Ohio.
An outfit in Washigton State, Box to Bench Precision, has developed an oversize (23.5″ x 30″) precisely-scaled target designed for load development and scope testing. This target is very innovative. On the target you’ll find various clusters of aim points for various tasks. Upper left are orange aiming spots for testing various powder charges. In the upper right quadrant are more red aim points to be used when testing bullet seating depth. Running down the center of the target is a vertical line with horizontal marks showing precise MOA and Mil heights at 100 yards — use this feature to verify your click values.
And there’s more. In the lower right quadrant (far right) are three black targets to be used for chrono work. With these you can record cold velocity, hot barrel velocity and a “Final Velocity”. Over in the lower left quadrant, in the left-most column, are three dot targets for zeroing and recording group size with load data. Finally, four more black/white targets can be used for a scope box test (aka “shooting the square”). With a box test, you move from target to target, clicking in sequence to each corner of the square in sequence, evenutally returning to your original aim point. If your scope tracks correctly, the last box test shot should end up right on top of the first shot.
Record the Entire Load Development Process on One Target
For those used to shooting at conventional bulleyes or benchrest targets, this target may seem confusing, but it can really help organize and simplify the process of load development. We like the idea of having a single, durable target that performs double-duty — serving for load development as well as scope checking. And we like the fact that the target is pretty strong — the maker says: “The target is Tear-Resistant and Water-Proof”. We’d expect a maker based in the Pacific NW to design a target that can handle wet weather.
How to Order
So how much does all this target technology cost? A single, 23.5″ x 30″ target costs $6.99. A pack of three targets costs $19.47, while a five-target pack runs $29.95 (which works out to $5.99 per target). Targets ship in a durable cardboard tube. If you like what you see and want to order these targets, visit the Box To Box Precision Online Store.
NOAA photo of flooding after Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The Colt Python Revolver once belonged to Elvis Presley (Rock Island Auction).
Firearms owners who have seen their guns and stored ammunition submerged by flood waters in storm-wracked areas are probably wondering if their firearms and ammunition can be salvaged and safely used. To answer these questions, the NSSF and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI®) created two documents outlining the proper response to submersion of guns and ammo. If you’ve got wet guns and/or ammo, download these two PDF files and read them carefully.
The SAAMI document “Guidance on Firearms That Have Been Submerged or Exposed to Extensive Amounts of Water” points out two major concerns about firearms that have been exposed to water: parts susceptible to moisture and rust damage such as metal parts, wood stocks and grips, and optics; and, secondly, infiltration of the action, barrel and safety systems by grit, silt and other foreign debris.
#1 Always unload firearms before beginning any treatment process.
It’s important to limit moisture and corrosion damage to the component parts of the firearm. This can be accomplished by disassembling the component parts and using up to two coats of a moisture-displacing lubricant such as Hoppes #9 MDL or WD-40 to clean and stabilize the parts while, importantly, following the product’s directions so as not to damage, for instance, plastic or synthetic parts. Another tip is to allow wood stocks and grips to air-dry and not be force dried by exposure to heat.
The document emphasizes that once the firearm has been thoroughly dried, consideration must be given to having the firearm inspected and serviced by the manufacturer, an authorized service center, or a qualified gunsmith before putting the firearm back in service.
Dealing with Ammunition That Was Submerged
Bottom Line, if your ammo has been submerged — DON’T USE IT. SAAMI explains why…
To help firearms owners determine what to do with ammunition that has been affected by water and moisture, SAAMI offers another helpful document, “Guidance on Ammunition That Has Been Submerged in Water.” This document covers differences in moisture resistance between centerfire, rimfire and shotshell ammunition, and potential hazards associated with “drying out” cartridges, including possible deterioration and damage to cartridges due to drying methods.
Another serious hazard that could result from using compromised ammunition is the potential for a bore obstruction due to partial ignition of either the priming compound or the propellant powder charge, or both. Firing a subsequent round through an obstructed barrel can result in bodily injury, death and property damage.
SAAMI provides the following cautionary conclusion: “It would be impossible to ascertain for certain the extent of the deteriorating affect, if any, the water may have had on each individual cartridge. Therefore, the safe answer is that no attempt be made to salvage or use submerged ammunition. The ammunition should be disposed of in a safe and responsible manner. Contact your local law enforcement agency for disposal instructions in your area.”
Today’s the day — you’ll want to tune in to Kelly McMillan’s Taking Stock Radio Show today, Friday, September 8, 2017. The broadcast will feature highly-respected gunsmith and Hall of Fame Benchrest Shooter Thomas ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez. The Radio Show, which streams on the internet, runs 9/31/2017 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Sports Channel.
Speedy and Kelly will discuss a variety of topics, including gunsmithing, stock design/manufacture, the past/present/future of Benchrest and F-Class competition, and how Benchrest reloading/tuning methods have influenced other disciplines. Speedy will also discuss how the standards for precision shooting have evolved in recent years. The quest for accuracy is never-ending. CLICK HERE to LISTEN.
Here’s an F-Open rifle Speedy built for a competitor at the recent F-Class World Championships in Canada.
Along with Speedy, this week Kelly McMillan interviews Phillip Naman, host of the Firing Line Radio Show, a California-based radio show covering a wide range of firearms topics, including hunting, gun rights, gun gear, shooting events, legislation, and gun safety.
You can also access last week’s episode, which features USA F-TR Team Captain Ray Gross, and Derek Rodgers, the newly-crowned F-TR World Champion.
About McMillan Fiberglass Stocks
Kelly McMillan is the president of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks (MFS). This company began in 1973 when Gale McMillan starting crafting benchrest stocks at home in his carport/garage. In 1975 MFS hired its first employee, Kelly McMillan. By 1979 Kelly was made a partner, and by 1984 Kelly was in charge of running the stock shop. Since that time MFS has continued to grow with innovation and design. Today McMillan Fiberglass Stocks has a 15,000 sq/ft facility and 65 employees.
Team Applied Ballistics will soon release a new DVD on the science, skills, and strategy required for successful Extreme Long Range (ELR) shooting. The new DVD features a reality-style documentary following Team Applied Ballistics in the 2017 King Of 2 Mile (KO2M) competition. Team AB has now won this prestigious event two years in a row. Team shooter Mitchell Fitzpatrick won the KO2M title in 2016, followed by team-mate Derek Rodgers in 2017.
Bryan Litz tells us: “Applied Ballistics is proud to announce the release of our latest DVD: ELR Shooting With Applied Ballistics. With lessons learned from our successful 2016 KO2M campaign, you can see how the AB ELR team developed our equipment and approach through practice and careful analysis. Learn the essential elements of ELR competition from the top team in the sport.”
This documentary, filmed over the course of a year, shows Team Applied Ballistics preparing for, and competing in, the 2017 KO2M match. This presentation includes interviews from all Team AB members, along with tips on ELR shooting.Pre-Order the ELR DVD and Save $5.00 (Pre-Order Price $19.95)
2017 K02M Match-Winning Performance on Video
The video below shows Team Applied Ballistics shooter Derek Rodgers winning the 2017 King of 2 Miles event. This excellent video combines firing line and target-cam views. You can see the strings-of-fire at 2667 and 3028 yards. Then Watch Derek, after four misses, hit the last target with his fifth (and final) round! That plate was set at a mind-numbing 3368 yards (1.91 miles). Derek had Paul Phillips as a spotter and Emil Praslick as a wind coach — a very powerful team and it showed.
If you want to learn more about ELR shooting and how team Applied Ballistics achieves great results in ELR competition, we recommend an excellent article just released byShooting Sports USA. SSUSA’s Editor John Parker interviewed Team Applied Ballistics members Bryan Litz and Paul Phillips. Both men said that successful Extreme Long Range shooting requires solid team-work.
Bryan Litz (center) conferring with Team AB members Emil Praslick (L) and Doc Beech (R).
Paul Phillips explained: “ELR is very difficult. It requires a great shooter with 1/2-MOA accuracy, a really good wind coach and spotter to see impacts, trace and the ability to quickly negotiate and engage the targets. It’s one fluid team working together.”
Bryan Litz, Applied Ballistics founder, concurred: “Of all the various precision rifle disciplines, ELR shooting is particularly suited to a team approach. All aspects of ELR shooting are both highly challenging as well as critical to success. One individual is typically not able to stay on top of all the variables effectively enough to hit targets at extreme ranges all by themselves.”
Litz says superior wind-reading skills are vital in the ELR game: “One of the important challenges of hitting targets at long range is reading the wind. All the shooters on our team can read wind, but when we’re shooting a match, we put our strongest wind-reader in this position for all shooters. Emil Praslick is arguably the best in the world at putting a number on the wind. He’s got a well-rehearsed process that works in all scenarios. When Emil isn’t available, someone else on our team will apply his process and focus specifically on the wind.”
Report and Photos courtesy NRABlog.com
The first-ever NRA Carry Guard Expo was held August 25-27, 2017 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. More than 14,000 visitors attend the Expo, billed as the ultimate assembly of education, training, and products dedicated to concealed carry, personal protection, and home defense. While this is not a handgun-focused website, we know that many of our readers have carry permits, and probably the vast majority own a pistol or two.
At the Expo, over 160 Exhibitors displayed their latest product lines for concealed carry, personal protection and home defense. The exhibit floor spread across nearly 100,000 square feet of the Wisconsin Center.
The Carry Guard Expo hosted 124 seminars with more than 6,400 guests participating in a variety of teaching/learning sessions. Seminar topics included: home defense, active threat protection, concealed carry tactics and much more.
Concealed Carry Permit Seminar
One Expo highlight was a seminar which covered the Utah Concealed Carry Weapon Course. Utah’s Concealed Carry Permit is now recognized in 60% of the USA, with 33 other states granting reciprocity. Seminar participants who completed the course left the Expo with enhanced abilities to protect themselves while traveling. The 4-hour seminar was hosted by Dave Matthews.
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.
The IBS Groups Nationals has a 4-man team competition based on the HV Grand Aggregate results. The 2017 winning team was a “Murderer’s Row” consisting of Wayne Campbell, Billy Stevens, Bart Sauter, and Larry Costa. Each boasts Hall of Fame and/or multiple World Team accomplishments. Hamming it up in the background is HOF shooter Jack Neary.
2017 IBS Group Benchrest National Championships
Holton Gun & Bow Club, Holton, Michigan
August 14-19, 2017
Report by Jeff Stover, IBS President
This year the 2017 IBS Group Benchrest Championship was held at the Holton Gun & Bow Club, in Holton, Michigan. This is a pretty facility boasting an impressive firing line with forty (40) concrete benches. Monday morning in western Michigan saw the Heavy Bench (HB) shooters hauling their big railguns to the line. Hall of Fame and multiple World Team shooter Wayne Campbell shot a nice .1858 aggregate for five 10-shot groups. The only other “Teen Agg” was Iowa’s Dave Coots with a .1978. Wayne’s win foretold what was to come the rest of the week.
Wayne Campbell and Jeff Summers Put on a Show
On Tuesday, the bag guns came out for Light Varmint (LV) and Sporter (SP). Mr. Campbell maintained his mojo, shooting yet another “Teen Agg”. Wayne’s .1788 edged fellow HOF member Larry Costa’s .1854. The Light Varmint 100 was also contested on Tuesday. Peter Smith shot a very fine .1658 to beat out Canadian Bill Mitchell at .1960.
Wednesday was reserved for Heavy Varmint (HV) at 100 yards. Holton is Bob Scarbrough’s home range, but he can shoot “lights out” anywhere. Nevertheless, his .1518 had to be satisfying. Wayne Campbell, still on fire, laid down a .1694. In third place, Tennessean Jeff Summers posted a .1800. Mr. Summers is always near the top of any benchrest leader board. He is coming off another Super Shoot win. Most of the time Jeff does not win the small group of the day, but he wins many Aggregates. He is one of the most mistake-free shooters in the game.
File photo courtesy Holton Gun & Bow Club
Benchrest for Group Basics — Four Classes at Nationals
IBS group competition is contested at 100 and 200 yards. At the National Championships, it takes thirty targets of five shots each and ten targets of 10-shot groups to win a “4 Gun Nationals”. That includes four (4) gun classes: Light Varmint, Heavy Varmint, Sporter, and Unlimited. For all practical purposes, the first three are known as “bag guns” while the heavy bench rifles are “railguns”.
In fact, most competitors shooting a bag gun opt for a single rifle, which has been benchrest standard for decades: a 10.5-lb rifle chambered in 6PPC. This can compete in three classes: Sporter, Light Varmint, and Heavy Varmint. The fourth class shot at the Nationals is Unlimited (aka Heavy Benchrest or “HB”). This class features the big, heavy railguns — the most sophisticated Benchrest rigs of all which shoot 10-shot groups at 100 and 200 yards.
For the IBS Nationals, group-shooting competition features 100-yard targets for the first three days followed by three days at 200 yards. Six days total. It is done this way to require only one change of wind flags. Nationals competition requires “full rotation”. That means that every time a shooter goes to the line for the next match target, he or she must move a requisite number of benches to the right. At the end of the day a shooter will shoot across the full width of the line. Some ranges offer unique properties that render some parts of the range harder or easier to shoot small groups. Bench rotation is important to even out those factors.
Thursday was set for 200 yards. Starting off was Heavy Bench (HB), the big railguns. Upper Midwest shooter, Mark Buettgen shot steadily for a .2406 Agg, aided by a small .378. His largest group was a .527. Consistency wins bench matches. Lee Hachigian drove in from the Detroit area with his railgun to be next to the winner with a .2608.
On Friday, two Aggs were shot, Light Varmint and Sporter. Larry Costa nearly nicked a Teen Agg to win LV 200 with a .2027. Lurking high in the standings once again was Jeff Summers and his .2352. Wayne Campbell was not asleep. He was merely third at .2480. The Sporter competition was won by the best benchrest shooter of all time, Tony Boyer. Tony shot a .2287 to edge Billy Stevens. Mr. Boyer added another Hall of Fame point. His 170 points are 120 more than the next shooter (Lester Bruno, no slouch!) in the ranking.
Benchrest legend Tony Boyer added another Hall of Fame point to his amazing total. (File photo from 2016 IBS Group Nationals in Weikert, PA)
The HV guns came out to contest 200 yards on the last day of the Nationals. Jeff Summers worked a .1868 to the winner’s circle. The always tough Larry Costa was close at .1929.
At the IBS Group Nationals, shooters compete for Grand Aggregate (100+200) honors in four classes: LV, HV, Sporter, and HB. In addition, there are multi-gun titles: 2-Gun (all HV and LV targets in 100 & 200); 3-gun (all HV, LV, SP in 100 & 200), and 4-gun (all HV, LV, SP and Heavy Benchrest in 100 & 200).
The Grand Aggregate (100+200) winners were:
Heavy Varmint: Bob Scarbrough, Jr. (.1824)
Light Varmint: Jeff Summers (.2313)
Sporter: Wayne Campbell (.2119)
Heavy Bench: Lee Hachigian (.2374)
In the prestigious multi-gun competition, Jeff Summers won the 2-Gun. Wayne Campbell added more HOF points by winning BOTH the 3-Gun AND the 4-Gun. With his impressive 3-Gun and 4-Gun victories, the talented Mr. Campbell claimed the title of Top Overall shooter after six days of trigger-pulling.
2017 IBS Nationals Powderpuff Exhibition Shoot
For decades, IBS hosts an exhibition shoot on the afternoon of a day when only one Aggregate is contested instead of two. It is called the Powderpuff and is intended to allow family members and others who do not shoot competitively to give benchrest shooting a try. Each shooter is assisted by a coach who instructs the shooter. World-class shooters such as Billy Stevens and Bob Scarbrough give their time and talents to assist the novice competitors. There is no time limit to rattle the inexperienced shooters.
File Photo from previous Powderpuff Event at 2015 IBS Group Nationals
The competition is financially supported by the IBS President’s Fund. This year, at Holton in Michigan, we had four youth and 11 adult competitors. Chris Jeffers won the adult category with a nice .204″ group, while Jake Henderson put his five shots into a .244″ to win the youth division. Congratulations to all the Powderpuff competitors — we hope this inspires them to get more involved in Benchrest shooting.
Today’s the day — you’ll want to tune in to Kelly McMillan’s 
