The 40th Annual Firearms Industry Super Shoot, held at the Kelbly’s Range in North Lawrence, Ohio, concluded yesterday, May 26. Now in its 40th year, the Super Shoot is the biggest short-range benchrest competition on the planet, drawing upwards of 400 competitors each year. The Super Shoot attracts top 100-yard/200-yard Benchrest shooters from throughout the world.
According to reports from Ohio, Jeff Summers is the Overall Two-Gun Super Shoot Champion. We’re told that Larry Costa finished second, Jeff Gaidos took third, fourth was Wayne Campbell, and Gene Bukys secured fifth position overall. Posting on Benchrest Central, Scotty Crawford wrote: “This is Jeff’s second Super Shoot win. I would like to know how many top tens he has had at the Super Shoot. The cream always rises to the top…. Congratulation to Jeff and Larry Costa and to all the winners.”
Here are some preliminary results for the LV and HV matches. Note: These rankings are subject to final verification, and they are not official. We are still waiting for ranked results from Saturday’s 200-yard Light Varmint (10.5-lb class) competition, and the actual combined scores for the Two-Gun.
Heavy Varmint (13.5-lb) 100 Yards
1st Bill Goad 0.1766
2nd Jeff Summers 0.1918
3rd Bart Sauter 0.1934
4th Hal Drake 0.1972
5th Ken Pritt 0.2056
Heavy Varmint (13.5-lb) 200 Yards
1st Jeff Gaidos 0.2428
2nd Jeff Summers 0.2656
3rd Larry Costa 0.2729
4th Wayne Campbell 0.2769
5th Barney Small 0.278
Heavy Varmint (13.5-lb) Grand Agg
1st Jeff Summers 0.2287
2nd Larry Costa 0.2413
3rd Jeff Gaidos 0.246
4th Wayne Campbell 0.2617
5th Ken Pritt 0.2626
Light Varmint (10.5-lb) 100 Yards
1st Jim Carmichel 0.1922
2nd Cris Harris 0.1946
3rd Tony Boyer 0.1984
4th Jack Neary 0.2044
5th Kip Jones 0.2074
If you purchased Berger’s “6mm BR Column” bullets recently, check your lot number on the box. Berger Bullets has recalled lot number 4192 of 6mm BR Column bullets (Berger item #24407). If you have this lot number please contact Berger at (714) 447-5425, and Berger will ship you high-quality replacement bullets. We are not sure why these bullets are being recalled, but rest assured that Berger will provide high-quality replacements promptly. Note: It is known that part of lot number 4192 was originally shipped to Powder Valley.
About the 6mm BR Column Bullet Design
Berger’s “6mm BR Column” bullets were created for short-range (100-300 yards) benchrest applications. This name does not mean the bullet is designed just for the 6mm BR cartridge. Rather it is designed for all 6mm short-range benchrest (BR) rifles, most of which are 6 PPCs (for group shooting at least). The “Column” in the name comes from the fact that Berger optimized the height of the lead core column inside the bullet. Testing revealed that bullets which had very uniform core column heights shot more accurately and were also easier to tune. Berger says the new 6mm BR ‘Column’ projectiles started shipping in mid-March, 2012.
The 2012 CMP Eastern Games and Creedmoor Cup took place May 5-13, 2012 at Camp Butner, NC. CMP events ran May 5 through May 8, followed by the Creedmoor Cup matches May 9-12. In the Creedmoor Cup segment, SGT Sherri Gallagher won the overall individual Championship (and Match Rifle Division), shooting 2386-138X out of a possible 2400. Just one point behind was fellow USAMU shooter SSG Brandon Green, with 2385-123X. Sherri also won the Creedmoor EIC match. Sherri proved, once again, that she’s hard to beat when she’s “on her game”. Top Service Rifle shooter was Army Reservist CPT Samuel Freeman (2375-106X), followed by SSG Tyrell Cooper (2370-94X). USAMU Team Praslick won the 4-person Team Match Rifle Championship, while USAMU Team Peters won the 4-person Team Service Rifle Championship. CLICK HERE for complete 2012 Eastern Creedmoor Cup Match Results.
Creedmoor Sports’ General Manager Dennis DeMille was “Top Shot” at the CMP Games. Dennis won the Garand Match by six points, and Dennis also took the coveted Three-Gun Aggregate Trophy. Glendale Rutherford won the Springfield Match, while Sean Leighton won the Vintage Military Match. The M1 Carbine Match had a high turn-out, with 99 shooters. William Bowling (360-4X) took top honors by one point over William Aten (359-2X). In the popular Rimfire Sporter Match, Jacob Guay (594-41X) edged Ron Villanueva (594-39X) on X-Count to win the title.
In another tightly contested match, the team of Douglas Armstrong and Kenneth Clowdis (390-13X) won the Vintage Sniper Team Match by one point over Paul Patel and Howard Burrill (389-16X) of team ‘Hardleg 1′. However, Paul Patel topped a huge field of 122 shooters to win the Individual Vintage Sniper Rifle Match, with a two-point margin over runner-up Doug Armstrong.
You probably know that eBay, the internet’s #1 auction site, forbids sales of firearms, actions, and ammunition. eBay has, in the past, also banned listings of a wide variety of gun components and accessories. However, eBay just issued a new policy allowing sales and auctions of more gun-related products. The “green light” has been given to sales of barrels, bolts, clips and magazines (10 rounds or less), triggers, firing pins, and hammers. In addition, listings of pistol slides and revolver cylinders are now allowed.
Even with the policy changes, “the listing of firearms, replica firearms, ammunition, and other firearm-related items is still prohibited on eBay.” In addition there remain some special restrictions: “You may now show your accessories on a firearm in your photo, as long as it is not an assault weapon and there is no indication in the listing that the firearm is included in the sale. You and all of the items listed must be located in the US and you must only offer domestic shipping on these items.” eBay’s new gun component policies are set forth in the following notice issued to eBay sellers.
New eBay Policies for Hunting Category Listings
We want to inform you eBay’s Hunting category has expanded to include more items, which could mean more buyers and sales for you. Now you can list the following firearm parts and accessories on the eBay US site (eBay.com) with domestic shipping:
NOW ALLOWED
Enbloc clips
Barrels
Bolts
Choke tubes
Cylinders
Firing pins
Hammers
Magazines with a capacity to accept 10 rounds or less (high-capacity magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds are not allowed)
Slides
Trigger assemblies
Important Guidelines
We take the update to the Hunting category seriously and will monitor these items vigilantly for compliance with the eBay firearms policy and all relevant laws and regulations. If your listing does not meet the requirements of this policy, it may be removed, and you may be subject to a range of other actions, including restrictions to your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account. Keep in mind these important guidelines when listing any of these firearm parts and accessories:
You may now show your accessories on a firearm in your photo, as long as it is not an assault weapon and there is no indication in the listing that the firearm is included in the sale. You and all of the items listed must be located in the US and you must only offer domestic shipping on these items.
Listing accessories related to assault weapons is still prohibited on eBay. If your accessory is compatible with other weapons as well as assault weapons, you may list it, but may not mention any assault weapon compatibility. The listing of firearms, replica firearms, ammunition, and other firearm-related items is still prohibited on eBay. Please carefully review the site policy that outlines firearm restrictions before listing these items, and be sure your listings—titles, descriptions, and photos—are in compliance with the new update.
SGT Vincent Hancock, Cory Cogdell, and SGT Glenn Eller–some of America’s top shotgun shooters–nailed down berths on the U.S. Olympic Team last week. Hancock dominated the Olympic Trials and will join Eller as current Olympic Champions who will defend their golds in London. With SSG Josh Richmond already in the fold, USAMU Soldiers make up 75% of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Shotgun team. Hancock, Cogell, Eller, and Richmond will begin preparing soon, along with other U.S. Team members, for the Olympic Games in London this summer. SSG Richmond, profiled in the video below, is one of the favorites to win a medal in trap shooting.
The U.S. Olympics Team’s final shooting sports selections will be determined at the smallbore trials in June. CLICK HERE for more information about the USA Shooting Team.
USA Shooting Team Members Will Provide Shooting Tips on YouTube
In the weeks ahead, tune in to the NSSF’s YouTube Channel. To help you shoot like an Olympian, the NSSF plans to release a series of video tutorial with tips from USA Shooting Team members.
Coming soon from NSSF: Video shooting tips from USA Shooting Team members, including Rachael Heiden (left, shotgun) and Amanda Furrer (right, rifle).
The summer shooting season is nearly here. That means many of you need to raise cash or move older items to finance your new toys. What’s the best way to sell gun gear and accessories quickly? In today’s world, the Internet provides the easiest, most economical means to sell precision firearms, high-end optics, and specialized reloading tools. On our AccurateShooter Forum, we have a very active Marketplace with FREE Classifieds for registered Forum members. If an item is priced attractively, even a big-ticket item, there’s a good chance it may sell within 48 hours or even sooner. One Forum member told us: “Stuff sells fast on your Forum. I had a take-off barrel on the Savage Forum for a couple weeks with no takers. I put it up on the AccurateShooter Forum and it sold the same day.”
The Benchrest Classifieds operated by Benchrest Central is also a good place to sell benchrest guns (both centerfire and rimfire), actions, scopes, rests, and reloading tools. Benchrest Classifieds listings aren’t free, but the $3.00 basic fee is nominal.
Gunbroker and Auction Arms
The mainstream gun auction sites such as Gunbroker.com and Auction Arms have large audiences. These sites are good choices for selling factory rifles, shotguns, or pistols. Gunbroker.com is a bigger site than Auction Arms, with much more traffic. That means more potential buyers, but it also means you’ll be competing with many more sellers. Both sites allow you to set reserve prices, and offer “Buy It Now” (fixed price) options.
How Much Will It Cost?
Listing fees and policies for the important gun classifieds and online auctions are listed below. Check the pricing structure carefully. Gunbroker.com and Auction Arms have sliding-scale fees based on a complicated formula. But basically, the higher the auction price, the more you pay. For a rifle with a $1000.00 high bid, the fee is roughly $26.00 at close of auction. For a $2000.00 sale, the fee would be about $41.00. For a gun sold at auction for $3500.00, the fee would be $63.50. GunsAmerica has tiered fees due on sale–$10 minimum plus another $10 each time you pass a $1K mark. For example, the fee for a $1001-$2000 sale is $20, while the fee for a $2001-$3000 sale is $30.00. That makes a FREE listing on AccurateShooter.com or a $3.00/mo listing on Benchrest Classifieds look very attractive.
Classified Advert vs. Auction For a precision benchrest, F-Class, Tactical or High Power rifle, you may get the best results posting a For Sale ad on a Forum that caters to the right discipline. You want your ad to reach the right “niche” audience. On the other hand, a GunBroker.com auction will have tens of thousands of potential buyers. For our Shooters’ Forum Classifieds, we’ve found that, if you price your rig attractively (and you provide good photos), your gun should sell quickly. Plus with conventional Classifieds, you can sell immediately–you don’t have to wait for an auction to end. For scopes and reloading equipment (but not firearms, actions, barrels etc.), also consider eBay. Many gun-related items are still allowed on eBay and it does have a huge audience.
Insert Fees: $3.00/30 days $5.50/60 days $7.00/90 days No Fee on Sale.
Free for items under $25 price.
Free Insert. On Sale: $1.25 plus 2.5% of $25-$1000 plus 1.5% of $1000+
$4 signup. Free Insert. On Sale: $1.25 plus 2.5% over $25 to $1000. Over $1000 is $26 + 1.5% of price over $1000.
Guns: $10 up to $1K $20 up to $2K $30 up to $3K $10 minimum Non-Guns: 2% of price, $2 minimum
Photos
Free Unlimited Free Hosting
Up to 3 photos, 300 pixels max Free Hosting
10 per item Free Hosting
10 per item Free Hosting
One Image Free. $2 for 2-5 more images.
Text Limit
No limit
1000 words
No limit
No limit
n/a
Time Limit
No Limit
30-day terms
30-day Auction
30-day Auction
7 days or 60 days
Comment
Good deals sell fast! Very easy to use. But, old ads don’t self-delete.
Good deals sell fast. Logical categories. Small photos. Listing process somewhat difficult.
Too many commercial sellers. Bad customer service. Must have Credit Card on File.
Not many precision rifle buyers. Server can be slow.
Small photos, hard to navigate, many outdated ads. Complex upgrade options.
Customer Service
Active Moderator. E-mails answered promptly.
Webmaster answers E-Mail promptly.
Hopeless. No Phone #. Confusing FAQs. Emails not answered.
Support person responds to phone and email.
No phone #. Extensive FAQs. E-mail sometimes answered after 2-3 days.
Top Level Showcase
Yes. 15 newest ads appear at top level.
None
Yes. $5 extra fee for Showcase.
Yes. Java feed of closing auctions
Yes. New and Featured Listings (extra fee).
Traffic
8,500+ visits/day
n/a
#1 Online Auction*
55,000+ visits/day*
70,000+ visits/day*
* While these major auction sites have lots of traffic, their traffic is distributed over many thousands of auctions. It’s easy to get lost on the big sites. AccurateShooter.com and Benchrest.com offer a much higher ratio of visits per listing.
To learn more about selling guns and gun accessories online, read our full feature story on Online Gun Selling and Auctions. This story includes Sure-fire Tips for Selling online, plus advice on how to take and upload the right kind of photos. Products with photos sell much faster.
Story based on Report by Gary Anderson in the CMP’s First Shot Online Magazine
The Opening Ceremony of the XXXth Summer Olympic Games will take place in London on July 27, 2012. The next morning, the first gold medal of the Games will be awarded to the winner of the Women’s Air Rifle event. That will be the first of 15 Olympic rifle, pistol and shotgun events to be contested on London’s Royal Artillery Barracks Shooting Venue during the first ten days of the Games. 390 shooters from at least 103 countries. plan to participate in Shooting competition. That number of participants places the shooting sports third among all summer Olympic sports.
Finals Range Exterior: All of the rifle and pistol ranges at the London Olympic Venue feature this same distinctive architectural style. This large structure houses the 10m/25m/50m Rifle and Pistol Finals Range.
The Olympic Shooting Venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks
The British government’s Olympic Development Authority created the Olympic Shooting Venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks at a cost of £36 million. This temporary Shooting Venue includes a combined 50m and 10m Rifle and Pistol Range, a 25m Pistol Range, a Rifle and Pistol Finals Range and a Shotgun Range with three fields. Rifle and pistol targets are electronic. Originally, Olympic shooting events were to be held at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley in Surrey, but that plan was changed after the International Olympic Committee complained about the number of sports staged outside London. So, the decision was made to create a temporary facility at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich (East London). Sadly, that means that the temporary venue will be torn down after the 2013 London Games. Three of these ranges will be moved to Glasgow, Scotland for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. But otherwise the Olympic Shooting venue will disappear after the London Games. According to the BBC website: “The Woolwich venue has proved controversial within the sport as it is temporary and will be pulled down after the Games”, thereby denying UK shooters a post-Olympics legacy facility.
Finals Range Interior. This is where the top eight shooters in each rifle and pistol event compete in Finals. Top to bottom are: monitors for each shooter’s target, the 50m targets, eight finalists on the line, and the Range officer control station.
The Pre-Olympic Test Competition
In April, test competitions in London were staged as an ISSF World Cup with athletes from 100 countries participating, the most ever for an ISSF World Cup. The 800+ athletes that competed is more than double the number of shooters who will qualify for the Summer Olympics. The huge number of Test Comp shooters, plus unseasonably cold, wet, windy weather, made the World Cup a supreme test of LOCOG preparations for the Games.
Cold Weather: Headgear worn by these two finalists in the 50m 3×20 Rifle Women Final tells a lot about weather conditions during the test competition.
The Pre-Olympic Test Competition in London also served as a preview of the Olympic competitions this summer. Scores were surprisingly high considering how bad the weather was. The top medal-winning nations in the London World Cup were Russia and China with six each. Italy won five medals followed by the USA and Ukraine with four medals each. USA medal winners were Matt Emmons, 50m 3X40 Rifle Men; Kim Rhode, Skeet Women; Kayle Browning, Trap Women and Mike McPhail, 50m Prone Rifle Men. The USA Shooting Team hopes to contend for several medals in London.
Online registration is now open for the 2012 National Rifle and Pistol Championships at Camp Perry. The National Matches are broken down into four different phases: Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, High Power Rifle and Long Range High Power Rifle. There are also team events.
On the Online Registration page, you can enter the various competitions individually. Once you have completed one entry, you will be given the option to enter a different match. Each competition can only be entered once per shooter. To enter the NRA/M1A Springfield match, please use the NRA High Power Rifle Championship option.
Cabelas.com is running a huge Memorial Day Weekend sale. Now through May 28, 2012, prices are marked down on thousands of items. This Editor just picked up some discounted cargo pants and hiking boots. Selected Hunting gear and ammo are also on sale for the next week.
To make Cabela’s Memorial Day Sale even more attractive, Cabelas.com is also offering FREE Shipping if your order totals $99.00 or more. To qualify, use Promo CODE 52SHIP during check-out. This offer is valid through May 28th. Additional shipping charges for large or heavy items still apply.
Fine Print: Offer does not apply to firearms. Good on Standard Express shipping to U.S. Deliverable Addresses ONLY. Not valid with any other offer. Offer cannot be used on prior purchases. Offer is valid for purchases made at Cabelas.com or catalog call center.
Here’s an oddball item cited on The Firearm Blog. There’s a new service that loads a decedent’s ashes into shootable ammunition. This story will shock some readers, amuse others, and have some saying, “Well why not?” Thanks to Holy Smoke LLC, when a person passes away, and is cremated, his ashes can now be loaded up into commemorative ammo, and fired off in tribute… or used on one “final hunt”.
Choose Shotshells, Rifle Rounds, or Pistol Cartridges for Your Decedent
We kid you not… Holy Smoke LLC is offering a service by which a loved one’s ashes can be placed in shotshells, rifle cartridges, or pistol cases. Holy Smoke says: “One pound of ash is enough to produce 250 shotshells (one case).” If the decedent is not a shotgunner, you can also chose either 100 rifle cartridges or 100 pistol cartridges. We’re told that “Wildcat cartridges” are no problem (for a slight extra fee). So, if you want to make your “final flight” propelled by a Dasher or 300 Boo-Boo, that’s possible.
Could “one final trip downrange” be the perfect send-off for the avid rifleman, shotgunner or hunter? Perhaps. This option could appeal to some folks. And if you really don’t feel too good about blasting old grand-dad’s ashes into the air, Holy Smoke LLC also offer “mantle-worthy wooden carriers with engraved name plates”.
Having attend some ceremonies where ashes were distributed at sea, or cast to the winds, I think a “final salute” with shotshells could be handled with dignity. But 250 shotshells or 100 rifle cartridges is a lot to shoot on one occasion. Maybe the better idea would be to have all the ashes fired off in a cannon in one big bang. Now that would be impressive! As for you 3-gunners, Holy Smoke doesn’t list a “mix and match” option with shotgun, rifle, and pistol rounds, but that might be a future option. Heck, you could even have a memorial 3-gun match — with ammo supplied.
How did Holy Smoke LLC get started? Well the company’s founders are both game wardens who love shooting and hunting. One day the subject of burials came up:
“We were discussing the passing of one of our relatives and the topic of conversation turned to our own demise and whether we preferred burial or cremation. I told my friend that I had some cost, waste of space and ecological issues with burials and that I thought I wanted to be cremated and in some fashion, have my ashes tossed into a river or spread through the woods.
My friend smiled and said ‘You know I’ve thought about this for some time and I want to be cremated. Then I want my ashes put into some turkey load shotgun shells and have someone that knows how to turkey hunt use the shotgun shells with my ashes to shoot a turkey. That way I will rest in peace knowing that the last thing that one turkey will see is me, screaming at him at about 900 feet per second‘.”
What does it cost? The price for either 250 shotshells or 100 cartridges (rifle or pistol) is $850.00 (this does not include cremation costs). Could you load a decedent’s ashes yourself for less? Yes, of course, but there may be legal issues involved with the disposition of cremated remains. Even the $850.00 price is a fraction of what typical funeral burial services cost. If you’re interested in Holy Smoke’s unique services, visit www.myholysmoke.com or call (251) 232-4414 or (251) 213-1211.