Happy St. Patrick’s Day to our readers around the world. As an Irish-American whose great-grandfather was born in County Donegal, I’m proud to wear green today. But lest readers think that Ireland is only a land of shamrocks, lucky leprechauns, and Riverdancers, be aware that Ireland has an active community of precision shooters. In 2011, the National Rifle Association of Ireland unveiled the beautiful new 1200-yard range in Tullamore, at the Midlands National Shooting Centre. Also in 2011 Tullamore was was the site of the first modern-era Creedmoor Cup Challenge Match between Irish and American Teams. The Yanks won that year, but that was just the beginning of a great rivalry.
Midlands National Shooting Centre of Ireland In the year 2000, the National Rifle Association of Ireland (NRAI) was formed. One of its primary goals was to promote fullbore target shooting in Ireland. The NRAI needed a home and that home was found on the bog of Derrymore in Blueball just outside Tullamore in County Offaly. In 2000, a 400-yard range was built on the site. Three years later the 600-yard “Windmill” range, the first of its kind in modern Ireland, was also built to allow for mid-range target shooting. The site was christened the Midlands National Shooting Centre of Ireland (MNSCI) and with it the story of Irish F-Class began. No sooner had the 600-yard range been built at the MNSCI, when the NRAI formed a national F-Class league bringing together like-minded shooters from all over Ireland.
3-Gun Nation and Samson Manufacturing announced the first-ever professional lady tournament series in practical shooting. The 3GN Lady Pro Series Tour will feature a dozen of the game’s top females, all competing for cash payouts and a slot in the 3GN Lady Championship Shoot-Off where the winner will be crowned champion and take home $25,000 from Samson Manufacturing.
3-Gun Nation Lady events will take place concurrently with the 3GN Pro Series Tour. The ladies will shoot the same courses of fire, and in front of cameras for 3GN Television. 3GN President Pete Brown stated: “This tour will not only show the top ladies are good, but that some of them can even challenge the top guys in the sport.”
You can watch the 3GN Lady Pro Tour and the 3GN Pro Series Tour by attending the following events: April 13, Glengarry, WV; May 18, Tulsa, OK; June 22, Tulsa, OK; Sept. 7, St. George, Utah; Jan. 15, 2014, Las Vegas. To learn more about event locations, or broadcast dates for 3-Gun Nation Television, visit 3GunNation.com.
Berger Bullets has launched a great new web resource, the Berger Bullets Events Calendar. This online calendar highlights important shooting matches and other shooting-related events (such as trade shows). We commend Berger for developing this Calendar, which will make it easier for shooters to locate match information and plan ahead. Berger states: “The main goal of this project is to help people get involved in the shooting community and build lasting relationships between shooters. A strong community is the best way to ensure that the shooting sports continue for future generations to enjoy.”
How to Use the Calendar
The Events Calendar employs different colors for different event types — Berger Yellow for Target Matches, Tan for Tactical Competitions, Light Orange for Varmint Competitions, Blaze Orange for Hunting Competitions, Blue for Tradeshows, and Forest Green for Fundraisers.
CLICK Image to Access LIVE Calendar
Click Event on Calendar to See Detailed Information
If you click on an event in the calendar grid, a window pops up showing details for that event — match date, match location, match description, and contact(s) for match registration. Here is an example for the Berger Southwest Nationals.
Map Links and Links to Match Websites
On the window that pops up when you click on a calendar item, you’ll notice one or two colored buttons (the colors correspond to event type). The View Map button links to a map of the match venue, so you can find the shooting range and plan your travel. If there is web page for the event, you’ll see a second colored button linking to that website. Simply click the Event Link for more information.
Berger invites readers to submit events for the Berger Events Calendar. Visit the Calendar Submission Page to provide information on an upcoming event. Note: Berger may not list all submitted items, particularly where there are conflicts with previously listed major events.
Story tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Here’s great news for IBS members. The IBS has announced its affiliation with AccurateShooter.com, the premier website dealing with all types of rifle accuracy. The IBS and this website will work together to provide prominent media coverage of IBS events. IBS President Jeff Stover explains: “The IBS leadership was faced with an unexpected dilemma in late 2012 with the loss of our print media outlet. We think the partnership with Accurateshooter.com will present the IBS (and the sport of benchrest) front and center before a large, global audience of shooters interested in small groups and high scores from 100 to 1000 yards.”
Building its internet presence will benefit the IBS and its members says Stover: “Benchrest shooting has earned a highly respected position among the shooting disciplines. Most, if not all, innovations in rifle accuracy technology have been derived from benchrest. Nevertheless, it has been a ‘niche’ shooting sport. We in the IBS feel that AccurateShooter.com will help us achieve two major goals. The first is to give our members (and the matches they shoot) increased exposure. AccurateShooter.com has a worldwide audience with over 130,000 visitors every week. Secondly, we hope this website will present benchrest shooting as approachable and a mature discipline that is ready to welcome new shooters.”
IBS President Jeff Stover Talks About IBS Match Coverage on AccurateShooter.com
[haiku url=”http://accurateshooter.net/Video/jeffstovertalks.mp3″ title=”Jeff Stover Talks about IBS”]Click “Play” to Hear Audio
Beyond the major match coverage at AccurateShooter.com, the IBS website (Internationalbenchrest.com) will remain the IBS’s primary online resource for schedules and match results for every registered IBS match, be it short range or longrange.
Looking Ahead — What the IBS Plans
In the future, the IBS envisions further synergies with AccurateShooter.com. Together we are exploring ways to enhance the way benchrest matches are scored and reported. AccurateShooter.com provides a new media platform that will allow both the match results and the human side of the competitions to be brought to life. There will be a dedicated area on this website for important IBS match reports (and special IBS features). We foresee a system being developed that will standardize the match scoring software that would be used at the range and then quickly be made available on the web. Match reports will evolve from a simple set of scores and equipment reports to rich content with lots of photos, audio reports, and even video clips.
Watch IBS Slide Show
AccurateShooter Teams up with IBS for Event Coverage
At AccurateShooter.com, we’re delighted to team up with the IBS. We plan to provide enhanced IBS match coverage in the months ahead. With luck, we’ll kick off our IBS coverage with three upcoming matches: the 1000-yard Match at Whitehorse WV (April 20), the Pennsylvania State Score Championships in York, PA (April 27), and the Boop/Altemus Memorial Shoot at Weikert, PA (May 11-12, group match). And of course, we’ll be covering the major IBS National events later in 2013.
We want to provide the “full story” of matches with photos, equipment features, and interviews with top shooters. Where possible, we hope to include audio interviews with the “Top Guns” and some videos of the matches. Our IBS Match Reports will feature the latest benchrest hardware, including some of the most accurate rifles ever made….
Our IBS Reports will show the ranges where benchrest dreams are chased, and world records are set.
And our Match Reports will feature the great people (of all ages) who make IBS Benchrest shooting such a great sport and rewarding pastime.
Mark your calendars for May 3-5, 2013. Those are the dates for the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, to be held this year in Houston, Texas.
As ever, there will be plenty to see and do at the NRA National Meetings/Exhibits. There will be seminars, celebrity appearances, and priceless collections of firearms. Virtually all the major gunmakers in the country should have their latest products on display. In fact, there will be over 550 exhibitors whose displays will cover 400,000 square feet of exhibit hall space. In addition to fireams, you can see knives, wildlife art, shooting accessories, hunting gear, ATVs, and much more. You’ll even find an airgun range on site where you can shoot air rifles provided by Pyramyd Air.
Photo from Previous NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits.
No doubt you’ve heard of CraigsList.com, the hugely popular FREE classifieds website on which Americans sell everything from household appliances to Harley-Davidsons. CraigsList ads are now more widely used in many communities than are newspaper “white pages” classifieds. Unfortunately, however, you aren’t allowed to sell firearms on CraigsList.
ARMSLIST.com offers FREE Gun Classifieds
Now there’s a similar free online classified service, ARMSLIST.com, that lets you list pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammo, and shooting accessories for sale. There are also categories for archery, fishing, and hunting gear, and even a category for vehicles. Just like CraigsList, listings are free*, including Want to Buy (WTB) listings. You can search ads by state or product type — and once within the rifle category, you can filter by manufacturer or action type (e.g. bolt action, semi-auto, lever action). ARMSLIST.com has only been around since 2009, so it doesn’t have as many listings as Gunbroker.com, but we expect ARMSLIST.com to grow in popularity once more gun-sellers realize how much they can save with ARMSLIST’s free listings. If you put a gun up for auction on Gunbroker.com or AuctionArms.com, but you’ll pay $40 or more in auction fees on a $2000.00 rifle. Also, many potential buyers simply don’t like the auction process, given the unpredictable outcomes and the delays involved in “closing the deal”.
As ARMSLIST.com grows in popularity, this service will really benefit both buyers and sellers of firearms. You can’t argue with free classifieds* — they allow you to sell low-price items easily with zero out-of-pocket costs. And as a buyer, in many respects we prefer the ARMSLIST.com listing system to an online auction with its inherent uncertainty.
* ARMSLIST.com does offer Vendor Accounts for “Power Sellers”. The fee is $20.00 per month. FFL-holders and commercial sellers can benefit from having a Vendor Account.
Story based on report by By Kyle Jillson forNRABlog.com West Virginia University (WVU) won its 15th NCAA Rifle Title this past weekend. The WVU Montaineers, the winningest team in NCAA Rifle competition history, finished with a final score of 4679 out of 4800 (combined air rifle and smallbore scores). The Mountaineers overcame a one-shot smallbore deficit and outshot the field in air rifle, scoring 2363. The WVU Mountaineers’ 4679 final point total is the second-highest in NCAA Rifle Championship history, bettered only by Kentucky’s 4,700 in 2011. Kentucky, always near the top, finish second this year with a 4670 score, while defending champ TCU took third with an aggregate score of 4,664.
WVU’s Petra Zublasing Wins both Smallbore and Air Rifle Titles
On a rifle team with many skilled shooters, WV’s Petra Zublasing proved to be the “best of the best”. At the 2013 Championships, Zublasing dominated the competition, winning both the Smallbore and Air Rifle individual events. Hailing from Appiano, Italy, Zublasing won the Mountaineers’ first Individual Smallbore Rifle Championship since 1997. After winning the smallbore event in a close match, in the air rifle competition she shot a 598 (99-100-100-100-100-99) — two points shy of a perfect score. That remarkable performance gave Petra the win, completing Zublasing’s sweep of the 2013 individual championships. Zublasing is the first shooter to win both NCAA titles at one championship since Alaska-Fairbanks’ Matthew Emmons took the victories in 2001. “Winning an individual title in both guns is just great, but I’m most happy that the team won,” says Zublasing.
Over the summer Zublasing shot for Italy in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was an eye opening experience she explained: “After the Olympics, I realized I actually like shooting. I don’t do this because I have to or because I’m good at it. I actually enjoy it and try to help everyone else realize they should just have fun.”
Watch Interview with Petra Zublasing
National Championship Celebration at WVU Coliseum on Monday, March 11th
West Virginia University fans are invited to attend a celebration for the national-champion rifle team Monday, March 11, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm in the Jerry West Lounge at the WVU Coliseum. Mountaineers Shooting Team members and team coach Jon Hammond will be available to greet fans and pose for photos. Fans can also take pictures with the team’s 15th NCAA Rifle Championships trophy.
West Virginia Squad Features Shooters from Many Nations
WVU Coach Jon Hammond, a Scot who still competes with Great Britain’s national team, has built the nation’s top shooting program by recruiting top young shooters from around the world. (Hammon himself shot for WVU during the 2002-2003 season.) The Mountaineer’s squad features talented shooters from both sides of the Atlantic. 2013 National Air Rifle and Smallbore champion Petra Zublasing is from Appiano, Italy. Sophomore Meelis Kiisk is from Paide, Estonia. Sophomore Maren Prediger is from Petersaurach, Germany. Freshman Garrett Spurgeon is from Canton, Missouri, Sophomore Taylor Ciotala is from Pasadena, Maryland, and Sophomore Thomas Kyanko, is from Wellsburg, West Virginia.
In leading her team to victory in 2013, Zublasing followed in the footsteps of another great foreign-born shooter, WVU All-American and Italian native Nicco Campriani. This talented young man, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 3-P 50-meter event, literally re-wrote the record-books during his two collegiate seasons (2009-10 and 2010-11) with West Virginia.
“Nicco changed the level of shooting in U.S. [Collegiate rifle competition],” Hammond said. “He came over here and started shooting world-record scores — 590 and 600 in air rifle, which really hadn’t been done before. That raised the bar for us.”
It’s time for the NRA National Matches, which means that hundreds of Service Rifle shooters will be converging on Camp Perry, Ohio. It also means that AR shooters may need some expert help to tune up their rifles, and maybe fit a new barrel or trigger to improve accuracy. AccurateShooter.com has a list of Recommended Gunsmiths. Most of the smiths listed on our Gunsmith Page specialize in bolt-action rifles, for Benchrest, varminting, and long-range. While some do work on AR15s and “space-guns”, this is not their primary focus.
If you need a first-rate gunsmith for a service rifle, Sinclair International has compiled its own list of smiths including highly respected names. For service rifles (including AR types), Sinclair recommends the following:
Phil Arrington (Service Rifle) Arrington Accuracy Works
1408 West Ross Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
Phone: (623) 582-5066
Compass Lake Eng. (Service Rifle)
719 White Dr
Alford, FL 32420
Phone: (850) 579-1208
Derrick Martin (Service Rifle) Accuracy Speaks, Inc.
3960 N. Usery Pass Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85207
Phone: (480) 373-9499
E-mail: ask-derrick@accuracyspeaks.com
Medesha Firearms (Service Rifle)
10321 E Adobe Rd
Mesa, AZ 85207
Phone: (480) 986-5876
E-mail: medeshafirearms@aol.com
Website: www.medeshafirearms.com
Albert Turner Enterprises (Service Rifle)
38327 W. Mountain View Road
Tonopah, AZ 85354
(623) 696-5843
ajturner@juno.com
Bill Wylde (Service Rifle)
Wylde & Co.
PO Box 261
Greenup, IL 62428
Phone: (217) 923-3266
To Sinclair’s list we would definitely add John Holliger of White Oak Precision. John built the upper for the Smith & Wesson M&P AR with which Carl Bernosky won the Camp Perry High Power Championship in 2007. This marked the first time an AR-style semi-auto has won that event. John also builds many outstanding components for AR-style rifles, including windage-adjustable front sight bases, and the White Oak Precision Adjustable Buttstock (right).
John Holliger White Oak Precision
101 South Perry
Carlock, IL 61725
Phone: (309) 376-2288
If you are looking for ultra-accurate, high-quality 6mm uppers for ARs and Spaceguns chambered for the 6mmAR and 6mmAR Turbo (based on the 6.5 Grendel case), contact Robert Whitley at AR-X Enterprises, (215) 348-8789. Robert’s uppers are built from the highest grade components and he uses premium barrels. Robert’s uppers shoot extremely well.
On Thursday, February 28, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (supported by the NRA-ILA), held a rally to stand up for the Second Amendment and protest New York’s recent passage of the so-called S.A.F.E. Act. The rally drew more than 10,000 law-abiding gun owners. According to the New York State Police, it was one of the largest rallies ever held at the State Capital in Albany, New York.
NRA President David Keene was the featured speaker and told attendees that NRA is committed to helping repeal the S.A.F.E. Act, saying NRA would do “whatever is necessary”–including going to court–to defend the Second Amendment. For the latest updates on efforts to repeal New York’s S.A.F.E. Act, visit www.NRA-ILA.org
Applied Ballistics also supports youth education. During “March is Reading” month, $1.00 from each book sold will be donated to the 100 Libraries in 100 Days campaign. This crowd-funding campaign was established to provide book donations to libraries across the country.
Applied Ballistics invites readers to enjoy a discount on these two respected shooting books, while at the same time supporting libraries which encourage young people to read good books.
In the year 2000, the National Rifle Association of Ireland (NRAI) was formed. One of its primary goals was to promote fullbore target shooting in Ireland. The NRAI needed a home and that home was found on the bog of Derrymore in Blueball just outside Tullamore in County Offaly. In 2000, a 400-yard range was built on the site. Three years later the 600-yard “Windmill” range, the first of its kind in modern Ireland, was also built to allow for mid-range target shooting. The site was christened the Midlands National Shooting Centre of Ireland (MNSCI) and with it the story of Irish F-Class began. No sooner had the 600-yard range been built at the MNSCI, when the NRAI formed a national F-Class league bringing together like-minded shooters from all over Ireland.
3-Gun Nation and Samson Manufacturing announced the first-ever professional lady tournament series in practical shooting. The 3GN Lady Pro Series Tour will feature a dozen of the game’s top females, all competing for cash payouts and a slot in the 3GN Lady Championship Shoot-Off where the winner will be crowned champion and take home $25,000 from Samson Manufacturing.
Here’s great news for IBS members. The IBS has announced its affiliation with 
Mark your calendars for May 3-5, 2013. Those are the dates for the 
To Sinclair’s list we would definitely add John Holliger of 
