Many Northern States have been hit by some early snowstorms dropping lots of the white stuff. Think a little snow should end your shooting season? Heck no — just grab your snow shovel and go shooting. Here’s how Forum Member Nick (aka “ChevyTruck 83″) coped with winter’s fury back in 2012. Never underestimate the resourcefulness of a dedicated AccurateShooter Forum member….
We admire the fortitude of Forum Member Nick who braved wintry December weather to enjoy a day at the range in his native Pennsylvania. A little snow on the ground couldn’t stop this intrepid shooter, who brought snow shovel and arctic gear to his range session. Folks, here’s a true “hardcore” fan of shooting! Despite the “relentless snow”, Nick reports that “at least it wasn’t windy”. Nick shot a variety of long guns, including his .22LR rimfires, a .223 Rem, and a .308. Not daunted by the cold, Rick said it was fun to “play like a kid once in a while.” That’s the spirit!
Nick reports: “There was no wind to speak of — just relentless snow. I’ll tell you what — it’s awesome to get out and play like a kid once in a while.”
Nick’s foray into the winter wonderland really puts things in perspective for “fair-weather” shooters. After viewing Nick’s Forum thread about his snowy range session, fellow Forum member DennisH observed: “I will never complain about our super hot sugar cane fields in south Louisiana ever again! We can hold matches 12 months a year. I have NEVER had, owned, or used a snow shovel.”
Click Calendar above to download large-size 2016 National Match Calendar PDF.
It’s never too early to start planning for the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. Here is the official calendar for next year’s National Matches to be held in the summer of 2016. Registration for the CMP National Trophy Rifle & Pistol Matches and CMP Games Events will open on April 1, 2016. Competitors should note that most events and matches have returned to the previous dates before the adjustment for the Palma (Fullbore) World Championships in 2014 and 2015. However, the Smallbore National Championships will be held at the Wa-Ke-De facility in Bristol, Indiana, rather than at Camp Perry.
The 2016 SHOT Show, slated for January 19-22, 2016, is less than two months away. If you’re curious, the “SHOT” acronym stands for “Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show”. SHOT Show is the largest trade show in the world for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting accessories industries. Held every January, this “start-of-year” event is where new guns, optics, reloading tools, and all manner of shooting gear are unveiled. To preview some of the new products that will be on display, visit the SHOT Show New Product Center. You’ll find photos and short descriptions.
SHOT Show is a huge event. For 2015, there will be more than 1,600 exhibitors, whose displays collectively cover 630,000 square feet of exhibition space. SHOT Show attracts more than 62,000 industry professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries.
If you plan to attend SHOT Show this year, you should get your reservation completed soon. Vegas hotels are filling up and tickets to SHOT Show Events are going fast. Register to attend the show, book your hotel rooms. and more at www.Shotshow.org.
We congratulate Rebecca Richards of Australia for her incredible shooting in the recent RBA Benchrest Grand Prix at the Sydney International Shooting Centre. Consider this, out of the five (5) benchrest classes competing (two air rifle, and three rimfire) Rebecca won four classes outright while placing third in the fifth class. Wow — that represents complete and total domination. Remarkably, Rebecca dropped only 10 points in four days of shooting.
Rebecca’s amazing 4-day performance was near perfection. Overall, she scored 2740 out of a total of 2750 possible points. She shot four of 11 targets with perfect 250/250 scores, and six more with 249/250. Over the course of the event she hit 152 “dots” (center bulls) out of a total possible 275. That’s pretty amazing if you understand how small those center bulls really are. Take a look at the target photo below — the center dot is tiny.
All in all, this was a performance for the ages — one of the best combined airgun/rimfire benchrest performances in Southern Hemisphere history. Kudos to Rebecca for her brilliant performance.
Here’s the modern Sydney International Shooting Centre…
There’s a big online auction set for November 18 and 19, 2015. The well-known Kesselring’s Gun Shop in the Seattle area has closed its doors. Now a large selection of firearms and shooting accessories will be sold to the highest bidders. You’ll find high-quality rifles, shotguns, and handguns up for auction with no minimums and no reserves. There are also 900 lots of optics and 1500 lots of ammunition. On Day One there are 200+ Leupold scopes listed, including the top-of-the-line tactical models. This is a chance to get top-quality guns, scopes, and ammo for very attractive prices. Bidding starts tomorrow. There are two separate Live +_Online Auctions, Day One (Wednesday, November 18th) and Day Two (Thursday, November 19th). Bidding opens at 9:00 am on each day.
The best long-range sling shooters in the world came to Camp Perry this summer for the 2015 World Fullbore Championships and Palma Team Championships. The ICFRA World Long Range Palma Team Championship was held in the USA for the first time in 23 years, and the event won’t return for another 28 years. This Team Championship is a prestigious match at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards with national squads competing for the prized Palma Tropky (see below). You can watch highlights from the Palma Team Match tomorrow night (November 18th) on Shooting USA on the Outdoor Channel.
Watch VIDEO Preview of Palma Team Match Episode on Shooting USA:
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Palma Team World Championships
The Team Palma match is the oldest, continuously-running rifle match in the world. This event was first held in 1876 in Creedmoor, New York as a challenge match to mark America’s Centennial. British Commonwealth nations were invited and the American team won the first title. The Palma World Championships currently take place every four years. This summer the event was held in the USA, with the top eight teams in the world competing at Camp Perry in Ohio. The next Palma Team World Championships will be held in New Zealand in 2019.
“It’s fantastic. It is the greatest honor you could ever get to represent your country. We wouldn’t give it up for anything,” says Australia Palma Team Member, Ben Emms. The match itself takes place over two days, with each team shooting at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. Competitors shoot a modern target rifle with iron (aperture) sights. All rifles are chambered for the .308 Win (7.62×51) with 155-grain bullets. Wind calls are made by each team’s Wind Coach. “His job is very complex. He’s up there, he’s watching the mirage, the wind flags, and paying attention to the other targets down range,” says American Team Member Amanda Elsenboss. “Basically I lay up there and he tells me when to shoot and I squeeze the trigger.”
The top individual shooter in the Team match was Great Britain’s Toby Raincock, who dropped only one point over two days to finish with 449-55V, a new record individual score that will be very hard to surpass. The next best individual score was the 447-49V by fellow Brit Jon Underwood. The top American shooter was John Whidden, who finished with a 445-45V.
The Palma Team Trophy
Originally named the Centennial Trophy, in honor of the Centennial celebration of the independence of the United States of America, the Palma Trophy was commissioned from Tiffany’s at a cost of $1,500. The trophy was a full-sized replica of a Roman Legion standard, executed in bronze with silver and gold inlay. On the banner of the standard was the legend, “In the name of the United States of America to the Riflemen of the world”. Above the banner was an eagle, bearing in its talons a wreath of palm leaves and a plaque on which was the single word, “PALMA”, the Latin word for palm tree, which was used by the Romans to signify victory, or the ultimate in excellence.
Because the word Palma was so easily seen, the trophy soon became known as the “Palma Trophy”, and by 1878 was referred to officially by that name. The sriginal seven and one-half foot trophy is now lost, having not been seen since at least 1954. Serving in its place is a copy which was commissioned by Dr. Herbert M. Aitken of Eau Claire, WI. The copy was made from the original Tiffany blue-prints at a cost of $32,500. Dr. Aitken has given this copy of the Palma Trophy to the NRA for use in the Palma Match. The trophy is retained by the winning team until the next Palma Match.
In 2008, the Palma Trophy was returned to the NRA, and it was decided that the trophy, once refurbished, will travel to the host nation for the match every four years, then returned to the NRA for safekeeping.
The first competition for the Palma Team was a challenge match for which the British Commonwealth nations were invited. The match was fired in 1876 at the old Creedmoor Range on Long Island as part of the Centennial celebration of the United States. Teams representing Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and the United States took part. The match is currently fired on a four-year interval.
A Life Membership in the NRA normally costs $1000.00. But now, for a limited time, you can purchase a Life Membership for $500.00. That’s 50% OFF the regular price, and a $500.00 savings. In addition, consider that the NRA plans to raise the Life Membership fee to $1500.00 next year. If you have ever considered becoming a Life Member of the NRA, here’s your opportunity to do so, while saving hundreds in the process. CLICK HERE for $500.00 NRA Life Membership OFFER.
NOTE: This LIMITED TIME Offer is the best deal going right now. On January 1, 2016 the price of an NRA Life Membership increases to $1000.00. As an NRA Life member you will receive your choice of an NRA print magazine, plus $2500 in firearms insurance and $5000 in life insurance. On this same NRA Offer Page you can save $15 on a 3-year membership or $25 on a 5-year membership.
Looking for an executive-type job in the firearms industry? Right now on the NSSF Jobs Site there are a number of high-level positions listed, including CFO for Hornady and Sales Director for Surefire. These are high-paying positions for very qualified applicants. If you are interested in one of these positions, it’s easy to upload your Resumé, and the NSSF Job Alert feature can send you new listings via email as soon as they post. Visit jobs.nssf.org for other current employment opportunities.
In addition to the Senior Product Manager position listed on the NSSF website, Vista Outdoor (formerly the sporting unit of ATK), has over 60 job listings on its corporate Careers webpage. Vista Outdoor is headquartered in Utah and employs approximately 5,800 workers. Current Vista Outdoor opportunities include: Brand Marketing Manager, Senior Firearm Design Engineer, Mechanical Product Engineer, Senior Tax Analyst, Budget Analyst, Senior Quality Manager, Operations Manager, Manufacturing Engineer, Digital Communications Specialist, and many more.
Midsouth Shooters Supply, a long-time supporter of AccurateShooter.com, has launched a Newsletter for shooters, the SHOT Report. The SHOT Report will provide product reviews, reloading tips, sales notices, industry news, and more. To view the premiere issue of the SHOT Report, CLICK HERE.
The first-ever SHOT Report newsletter features an article about the million-dollar American Sniper Shootout. Tracking Point, makers of “Intelligent” rifle systems, is sponsoring a challenge match pitting World Shooting Champion Bruce Piatt against Taya Kyle, Chris Kyle’s widow. Taya will be using Tracking Point’s precision-guided firearms, while Bruce will compete using basic military squad-level and sniper firearms. If Bruce wins, he takes home a $1,000,000 prize. The landmark event is set for Saturday, December 5, 2015 in Mason, Texas. Proceeds will benefit the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation.
The American Sniper Shootout is the first of its kind to pit a novice shooter armed with TrackingPoint rifle systems against a World Champion-level shooter in a head-to-head competition featuring a variety of shooting scenarios at multiple distances.
Don’t drive through the City of Los Angeles (or fly into LAX) if you have a magazine that holds more than ten (10) rounds. The Los Angeles City Council enacted a new law that makes mere possession of a full-capacity magazine illegal EVEN if it was obtained legally. Possession of a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds will now be a misdemeanor throughout the City of Los Angeles. This applies to any person within city limits, including those traveling via Highways or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). View this Map to see Los Angeles City boundaries, which encompass all major North/South freeways and train routes.
The CTD Shooter’s Log warns travelers: “The law doesn’t just apply to Los Angeles city residents. Non-resident gun owners must avoid traveling through any part of the City of Los Angeles while possessing any banned magazine. Notably, the City intersects every major Southern California freeway. In some cases, the City of Los Angeles completely surrounds other smaller cities, like Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. So anyone traveling out of Santa Monica or Beverly Hills, and anyone traveling through the city of Los Angeles with a banned magazine can be prosecuted.”
Summary: Under the ordinance, possession of any “large-capacity” magazine within Los Angeles after November 19, 2015 will be a misdemeanor offense. Los Angeles residents must get rid of their banned magazines by November 18, 2015. You can surrender magazines to the LAPD, sell them to a licensed firearm dealer, transport them out of the City limits, or you can “permanently alter” the magazine so it no longer hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Trap for Unsuspecting Travelers
We fear this new law will be a trap for the unsuspecting, including match competitors traveling through the L.A. metropolis on the way to other venues. We suggest that you do not even think about bring large-capacity magazines into the general Los Angeles area (even if you presume you can skirt the city limits). If you can’t avoid transiting Los Angeles, bring only magazines that hold no more than ten rounds — and test them to make sure you can’t shove in an 11th. You can be sure that the friendly LAPD will “assume the worst” when stopping citizens for violation of the magazine law.
SHOT Show Warning: If you are headed to SHOT Show in Las Vegas and have high-cap mags for display or for use on Media Day, it’s best to steer clear of Los Angeles. Be mindful of this when planning your Air Travel.
Elsewhere in California — Older High-Cap Magazines Are Grand-Fathered
Under current California state law it is illegal to buy, sell, manufacture, or import magazines that hold more than ten rounds. However, statewide (except in San Francisco, Sunnyvale ,and Los Angeles) it is still completely legal to possess such magazines if they were acquired legally BEFORE the high-cap magazine ban went into effect. In other words, possession of “pre-ban” high-cap magazines is “grandfathered” in California — you just can’t buy or sell them anymore within California.
We admire the fortitude of Forum Member Nick who braved wintry December weather to enjoy a day at the range in his native Pennsylvania. A little snow on the ground couldn’t stop this intrepid shooter, who brought snow shovel and arctic gear to his range session. Folks, here’s a true “hardcore” fan of shooting! Despite the “relentless snow”, Nick reports that “at least it wasn’t windy”. Nick shot a variety of long guns, including his .22LR rimfires, a .223 Rem, and a .308. Not daunted by the cold, Rick said it was fun to “play like a kid once in a while.” That’s the spirit!
“It’s fantastic. It is the greatest honor you could ever get to represent your country. We wouldn’t give it up for anything,” says Australia Palma Team Member, Ben Emms. The match itself takes place over two days, with each team shooting at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. Competitors shoot a modern target rifle with iron (aperture) sights. All rifles are chambered for the .308 Win (7.62×51) with 155-grain bullets. Wind calls are made by each team’s Wind Coach. “His job is very complex. He’s up there, he’s watching the mirage, the wind flags, and paying attention to the other targets down range,” says American Team Member Amanda Elsenboss. “Basically I lay up there and he tells me when to shoot and I squeeze the trigger.”
The Palma Team Trophy
