The folks at GunTalk have created a new mobile App that can help you save money when purchasing guns, ammo, and accessories. The free GunDealio™ App finds current special offers, discounts, and promotions. With 2,500+ listed retailers, GunDealio notifies App users of manufacturer deals or even store-specific specials in their area. GunDealio users also qualify for exclusive promotions.
Available for both Android and iOS smartphones, GunDealio also includes event listings, product news, Guntalk PodCasts and videos. GunDealio™ is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. More information can be found at GunDelio.com.
Savage Arms has issued a RECALL notice on B.MAG (17 WSM) rifles after discovering that the bolt on some B.MAG rifles may catch the safety button and slide it forward into the “fire” position. This condition is primarily present if downward pressure is applied to the bolt too early while pushing it forward. While Savage has received no reports of accidents related to issue, the company will offer free retrofits of all B.MAG rifle bolts. Savage 17 WSM B.MAG rifles with a serial number below J800928 are included in this recall. No other Savage firearms are affected.
The bolt retrofit includes the replacement of the existing bolt handle and bolt cap with a revised bolt handle and bolt cap. The correct, revised parts are easily identified. The old bolt cap is conical. The new, corrected bolt cap is short and stubby. See illustration:
To avoid possible unintentional discharge or injury, do not use your B.MAG rifle until your bolt has been retrofitted with a new bolt handle and cap.
Savage has a dedicated B.MAG Recall webpage (http://www.savagearms.com/recall/bmagbolt/) and hotline (844-784-3301, Mon through Fri 8 am to 10 pm EDT). Use those resources to check your serial number, file a claim, and receive a free retrofit kit with simple, step-by-step instructions.
With so much action going on at Camp Perry, Ohio this August (including the Fullbore Worlds), you might not realize that another NRA rifle championship was taking place simultaneously in Pennsylvania. The NRA High Power Hunter Rifle Silhouette Championship was held 6-8 August at the Ridgway Rifle Club, in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. This event attracted the nation’s top silhouette shooters.
At this year’s Silhouette Championship, Team Lapua shooters Cathy Winstead-Severin and Mark Pharr finished first and second overall. The match went down to the wire, with Cathy edging out Mark in a shoot-off for the overall title. Earlier in the competition, Cathy set a new Woman’s National Record in a 120-shot course with a stunning 97/120, breaking the previous record of 90 by seven points. Another record was broken by the Hunter Rifle Team of Cathy Winstead-Severin, Mark Pharr, and Mallory Nichols. This talented Team Lapua threesome set a new national record of 295, besting the mark set in 2004. Team Lapua also took second place in the Standard Rifle Team Division.
16-Year-Old Girl Finishes Fourth in Hunter Class
Team Lapua’s youngest member, 16-year old Mallory Nichols, was incredibly impressive as she entered the competition as an AA shooter and blasted her way through AAA into Master class in finishing fourth overall in Hunter Rifle. (She was in the running for third place overall, until a shoot-off with Eric Boos of Washington, who finished third). Nichols also set new national records for Long Run for Women and Intermediate-Junior hitting 18 pigs in a row. The previous Intermediate-Junior record was 14 set by Luke Johnson in 2011.
Winning Silhouette Loads
2015 Overall Silhouette Champion Cathy Winstead-Severin was shooting a 6-6.5×47 Lapua with 90-grain and 105-grain OTM Scenar bullets, pushed by Vihtavuori N135 powder. Mark Pharr and young Mallory Nichols were both shooting the regular 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge with 108-grain and 139-grain OTM Scenar bullets and Vihtavouri N140 powder.
Lapua, the Finnish maker of premium cartridge brass, bullets, and ammunition, has created a new Lapua Club for Lapua’s customers and product users. By signing up for the Lapua Club, you can get access to “members-only” data. In addition, by registering multiple products, you can get rewards such as Lapua hats and holsters. For each product registered you’ll also get a chance to win instant prizes or a Grand Prize Whitetail Hunt.
How to Sign Up for the Lapua Club
Join the Lapua Club by scanning the QR code on your 2015 Lapua ammunition box, Lapua cartridge case box, or Lapua bullet package. Use your mobile phone to read the QR code on your Lapua package(s), or go to http://www.club.lapua.com/en/campaign/lapua-club/ and directly type in the code. (NOTE: Packages that do not have a QR code may have a card in the box with the QR code.) By registering your package(s) you become entitled to exclusive Lapua Club member benefits.
NOTE: Lapua recommends that customers register each cartridge package separately. The more products you register, the more Lapua gear you can get:
By registering 5 products or more you can qualify for a Lapua Cap.
By registering 10 products or more you can qualify for a Lapua Holster.
Lapua notes: “If you have purchased multiple cartridge packages, you should register all of them separately. Each package code … gives you a chance to win instant prizes and take part in our main [contest]. Whether or not your package codes won an instant prize, each of them will also compete for the grand prize: a ticket to the Lapua White Tail Hunt 2015 event.”
Register your Lapua Products by entering the QR code on Lapua product packages.
Congratulations to Canada’s combined F-TR and F-Open squad for winning the 8-man National Team Match at the 2015 Canadian National F-Class Championships. Held recently at the Connaught Ranges in Ottawa, Ontario, this year’s F-Class Championship events were heavily attended by American and British shooters as Connaught will be the site of the 2017 World F-Class Championships.
At this year’s F-Class Championships at Connaught, there was a special eight-shooter International team event. Canada, Great Britain, and the United States each fielded 8-man National teams, with four F-TR shooters and four F-Open shooters. The course of fire consisted of three matches at 700, 800 and 900 meters, respectively.
The day started out with unusually low winds, but as the match progressed, mirage became heavy with tricky winds. When the dust settled, Canada was declared the winner with a score of 1743 with 159 V-Bulls, eleven points ahead of runner-up Great Britain and 13 points in front of third place Team USA. Canada deserves praise for its win, considering the strength of the American and British squads.
Canada’s Winning Team Personnel:
F-TR shooters: Bob Galloway, Dave Harry, Mark Iwanochko, and Paul Kahnert.
F-Open shooters: Jim Farrell, Barry Price, Alex Tkalitch, and Cal Waldner
Captain: Eric Bisson
Head Coaches: Kevin and Will Chou
Line coaches: Jonathan Laître and Richard Dreger
Here are impressive scores from the F-TR Shooters on the Canadian Team:
Line coach Jonathan Laître says that his fellow Canadian shooters are very proud of this team victory, which bodes well for the 2017 World F-Class Championships: “Team shooting in Canada looks promising for years to come with the dedication of all Team members. As our development Team also looks outstanding, we can’t wait for next season to come.”
The Canadian F-Class Championships took place last week at the Connaught Range outside Ottawa, Ontario. American shooters performed well, taking top honors in both the F-Open and F-TR divisions. In the F-Open class, Bullets.com President Shiraz Balolia won his second straight Canadian National Championship (he also won in 2014). This year he was shooting a .300 WSM. The long, heavy .30-Cal bullets offer a ballistic advantage… IF you can handle the additional recoil. Shiraz told us: “This [match] was particularly challenging and satisfying as there were some incredible shooters from around the world including two World Champions, three U.S. National Champions, Canadian National Champions, British Champions, and European Champions shooting alongside me. It was an honor to shoot alongside the best shooters in the world.”
A large number of American shooters ventured to Ontario for the Canadian F-Class Championships.
James Crofts shot consistently to win the F-TR division, and Paul Phillips finished second. Of Jim, the “man to beat” in F-TR, fellow competitor Tom Hittle said: “Congratulations to James Crofts for the overall win in TR. It was well deserved. Thank you for all the guidance and tips over the last couple of years.” After the match, James told us: “I want to thank a few companies that helped me get where I am. BRUX Barrels — I have now won three Nationals with Brux barrels. Jim Borden from Borden Actions — your action was smooth and precise. And Ray Bowman (PR&T) who, hands down, builds the best rifles available. I have used two different PR&T rifles to win U.S. F-TR Nationals. Proof is with the gold medals.”
In Team competition, a “dark horse” squad from North Carolina pulled off a real upset, taking Gold for the 4-man team event. The “Team NC” boys (James Hittle, Tom Hittle, Ed Shelley, and Greg Denekamp), benefited from good wind-calling by the Hittles plus some very accurate rifles. Tom Hittle remarked: “Ray Bowman of PR&T rifles were used by each team member. Thank you Ray for incredible-shooting hammers.”
More guns, less crime — that’s the conclusion of a recently-issued report from the Crime Prevention Resource Center (CPRC). The CPRC Concealed Carry Report attributes some of the drop in crime rates to the fact that more Americans than ever before are carrying handguns for protection. In the past eight years, the number of concealed handgun permits has soared, growing from 4.6 million in 2007 to over 12.8 million this year. Overall, 5.2% of the U.S. adult population, i.e roughly one in twenty American adults, now has a concealed carry permit.
Here are some interesting findings in the 2015 CPRC Report:
5.2% of the total adult U.S. population has a concealed carry permit.
The number of concealed handgun permits is growing at an ever-increasing rate. Over the past year, 1.7 million additional new permits have been issued – a 15.4% increase in just one single year. This is the largest ever single-year increase in the number of concealed handgun permits.
Five states now have more than 10% of their adult population with concealed handgun permits.
In ten states, a permit is no longer required to carry in all or virtually all of the state. This is a major reason why legal carrying handguns is growing so much faster than the number of permits.
Since 2007, permits for women has increased by 270% and for men by 156%.
Some evidence suggests that permit holding by minorities is increasing more than twice as fast as for whites.
Between 2007 and 2014, murder rates have fallen from 5.6 to 4.2 (preliminary estimates) per 100,000. This represents a 25% drop in the murder rate at the same time that the percentage of the adult population with permits soared by 156%. Overall violent crime also fell by 25 percent over that period of time.
States with the largest increase in permits have seen the largest relative drops in murder rates.
Carry Permit Holders are Law-Abiding
Interestingly, concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding. In fact, police officers commit crimes at a higher rate (103 per 100,000, national average) than do concealed carry permit holders in Florida (12.8 per 100,000) and Texas (22.8 per 100,000).
Congratulations to the Great Britain Palma Rifle Team (GBPRT), winner of the 2015 ICFRA World Long Range Palma Team Championship match. The British team shot superbly, winning by 70+ points over runner-up Team USA. Great Britain’s 7106-827V score* set a new Palma Team Championship record, smashing the old record by 79 points. The British marksmen displayed stunning accuracy — Team GB had fully 102 more Vs than did the second-place American squad (A “V” is the equivalent of an “X” in American scoring). The Brits shoot great as a team. Consider this — Great Britain had eleven shooters with 50 or more V-bulls. Team USA had just three.
Team GB ran away with the match with a great team performance at 1000 yards on Day Two. As the GBPRT blog noted: “An awesome demonstration of GB shooting and coaching was made – superb use of the wind and the firers to not just hold our lead, but to win the range by a stonking 33 points.”
Great Britain 2015 Palma Team Highlights
Match record beaten by 79 points – 7106.827 (176 V-bulls more than last time*).
Individual record beaten by 3 points – 449.59 (Toby Raincock).
Highest 900-Yard Aggregate score – 2384.276.
Most consecutive Palma Team matches won – Four in a Row.
Great Britain’s Toby Raincock Shoots a Match for the Ages
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 break. 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 GBPRT website summed up the big victory as follows: “It was a glorious day for GB and more statistical analysis would tell you more of the depth of our victory[.] We won big and we were justly proud of years of hard work. The celebrations immediately after the match were wonderful and full of the beauty of our sport. All the teams gathered and shook hands. The runners up USA and South Africa were valiant fighters and all teams showed their appreciation for not only a great match but also a great win.
Team USA Takes Second
The American team shot very well in finishing second, breaking the previous Palma Team match Aggregate record in the process. Team USA enjoyed a significant 25-point margin over third-place South Africa. John Whidden had a great match, finishing as the seventh-highest shooter overall.
Team USA member Kelly Bachand praised his team-mates and coaches: “I am extremely proud to have contributed to the USA’s silver medal in the 2015 Palma Trophy match. I feel very blessed to have been counted a member of this elite group of shooters and coaches.” Team USA’s shooting members included: Kelly Bachand, SFC Shane Barnhart, Tyrel Cooper, Mark DelCotto, SSG Amanda Elsenboss, Trudie Fay, Michelle Gallagher, SFC Brandon Green, Norman Houle, Bryan Litz, Kevin Nevius, Kent Reeve, Justin Skaret, SGT Eric Smith, Nancy Tompkins, John Whidden, (SFC Russ Theurer and Wayne Budbill alternates). Dennis Flaharty was Team Captain, SFC Emil Praslick III was head coach, Robert Mead was adjutant, and line coaches were: Norm Anderson, Ray Gross, Steve Hardin, Gary Rasmussen.
Jim Mauer added a farewell note for coach Praslick: “Special shout out to SFC Praslick. [Emil] will be retiring later this fall. It has been a challenging pleasure competing against him for the last six years. I wish you the best of luck in retirement Emil! You have left a lasting impression and legacy on the Army and the entire competitive marksmanship community.”
*The previous record score was 7027-651V set in Brisbane, Australia in 2011 by Team Great Britain. NOTE: the NRA Bulletin lists Great Britain’s Final Score as 7106-825V, rather than 7106-827V as noted on the GBPRT website. We don’t understand the discrepancy, but we will list the higher total until we receive clarification.
More guns… more guns than ever. That’s what U.S. gun-makers have been cranking out. According to the latest BATFE Fireams Commerce Report, American gun manufacturers produced over ten million guns in 2013, the last full reporting period. That’s an all-time record.
The 2013 total of 10.885 million guns produced in 2013 represents a 27% increase over the 8.579 million guns made in 2012. What’s even more surprising, the 2013 total is nearly double the quantity product just three years before in 2010 — 5.459 million firearms. Any way you look at it, that’s a huge increase in firearms production in a very short time.
As a category, pistols (primarily semi-auto, and not counting revolvers) have seen the largest increase in production, rising from 662,973 in 1986 to 4,441,726 in 2013. Notably the number of wheelguns produced has actually declined from 761,414 in 1986 to 725,282 in 2013.
In recent years there has been a significant growth in the number of shotguns sold, due to increased consumer interest in scatterguns for sport and defense. The number of shotguns sold topped did break the million mark in 2013, rising from 949,010 in 2012 to 1.203 million in 2013, and increase of 27%.
There has also been a significant growth in NFA items sold over the last dozen years, lead by a huge increase in the number of suppressors. In fact, as we reported last week, from 2014 to 2015, the number of NFA-registered suppressors rose from 571,150 to 792,282. That’s a 39% increase in just one year! There are now nearly 800,000 suppressors now registered in the USA.
The BATFE Report, officially the Firearms Commerce in the United States Annual Statisical Update 2015, also included data on firearms imports and export. Notably, more than 3.6 million firearms were imported into the USA in 2014. Of those 2.1 million, or 58%, were handguns (pistols and revolvers).
Here’s an early report from the 2015 World Palma Team Championships being held at Camp Perry. After Day 1 of the Team Championships (conducted on August 13th), Great Britain is in the lead with a score of 3551-403. That gives the Brits a 30-point margin over their closest rival. Team USA holds second place with a score of 3521-359, followed by South Africa in third with a score of 3512-339.
Today, August 14th, is the final day of Palma Team Competition. We’ll see if Team USA can come from behind, or whether Team Great Britain can build on its Day One lead. Stay tuned for more updates, including the final results after today’s team matches.
Here is Junior Team USA member Dusty Taylor showing off her USA pride. Today is the final day of the Palma Team World Championships. Dusty says: “Go USA!!!!”
Dusty Taylor photo by Anette Wachter of the U.S. Palma Team. Top photos by Berger Bullets.
At this year’s Silhouette Championship, Team Lapua shooters Cathy Winstead-Severin and Mark Pharr finished first and second overall. The match went down to the wire, with Cathy edging out Mark in a shoot-off for the overall title. Earlier in the competition, Cathy set a new Woman’s National Record in a 120-shot course with a stunning 97/120, breaking the previous record of 90 by seven points. Another record was broken by the Hunter Rifle Team of Cathy Winstead-Severin, Mark Pharr, and Mallory Nichols. This talented Team Lapua threesome set a new national record of 295, besting the mark set in 2004. Team Lapua also took second place in the Standard Rifle Team Division.
