Nikon has raised the bar in Spotting Scope technology. It has introduced the first-ever spotters with built-in Vibration Reduction. This may be a significant breakthrough. Image stabilization has revolutionized hand-held photography, and it could definitely improve the practical functioning of spotting scopes. If you have ever used a big, heavy spotting scope, you know that it is easy to induce vibration and shaking — merely with a heavy hand on the focus knob. And when the wind blows, a big scope acts like a sail, so it can wobble and vibrate in gusts. Just a small amount of shake or vibration can make it difficult to see your target, slowing down your target acquisition time considerably.
Nikon’s new 85mm EDG Fieldscopes are the first spotting scopes on the planet with lens-adjusting image stabilization. The EDGs employ a lens-shift type VR (Vibration Reduction) system that counters vibration and shaking. According to Nikon, the EDG VR system greatly reduces external vibrations caused by wind and the operational vibrations occurring during focusing, panning and tilting. Nikon claims its VR system reduces vibration to 1/8th the level of a conventional spotting scope.
HOW IT WORKS — This system uses two independent Angular Velocity sensors to detect pitching (vertical movement) and yawing (horizontal movement). Both sensors then detect diagonal movements. Upon the detection of movement, the sensors provide instructions to the two Voice Coil Motors (VCM) that command and control the Vibration Reduction-optical system to eliminate the shake or blurring. These sensors can detect movement every 1/1000 second. The system can effectively reduce vibrations by roughly 88% (compared to a conventional spotting scope), providing the equivalent of a shutter speed approximately two stops faster.
So how much does this new VR technology cost? Hold on to your hat — MSRP for the 85mm EDG VRs (either body style) is a shocking $5,499.95! At least that includes eyepiece and protective case. We can only hope that, as this technology matures, it will be implemented at much lower cost. Consider that $200.00 point-and-shoot cameras now offer image stabilization. Given time, we can expect the vibration reduction systems to go down in price, and to become commonplace in premium spotting scopes.
Available in a straight or angled body, the all-new EDG VR Fieldscopes come standard with a 20-60x Zoom Eyepiece, ED (Low-Dispersion) glass, and multi-coated lenses. The 85mm EDGs feature a five-meter close focus distance and waterproof, fogproof construction. Weighing in at just over 84 ounces (w/o batteries), the straight-body EDG is 14.9″ long, while the angled version is 15.7″ long. Nikon’s VR system takes four AA batteries which provide roughly 17 hours of battery life with alkaline batteries and up to 32 hours with lithium. While the VR function can be manually activated, an auto power-off function helps conserve battery life. Seven optional EDG eyepieces are available. Three tripod mount screw holes permit flexible mounting.
Bartlein Barrels is giving the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team over $15,000 worth of barrels. Shiraz Balolia, Team Captain states: “We are lucky in the United States to have a company that produces such precisely crafted barrels. Bartlein’s sponsorship affords our team every advantage to bring home the gold in the 2013 World Championships. These barrels are superior!” Many of the top F-Class shooters in the world have a Bartlein in their barrel inventory. In the recent European Championships, nine out of the top 10 shooters used Bartlein barrels. Numerous world and U.S. national records have been set with Bartlein barrels, and the U.S. Team highly recommends them.
The U.S. team Captain, Shiraz Balolia, knows first hand how Bartlein barrels perform. Check out the Captain’s 300-yard National Record set in 2008 using his custom 6XC rifle outfitted with a Bartlein barrel. In a registered match, he shot an absolute perfect score on an F-Class target: 200 with 20 Xs. He then kept shooting, as allowed by NRA rules, and shot six more Xs before a 10 leaked out! (Target photo below.) More recently, Robert Bock, the previous U.S. F-Class Open Team Captain, set a new 1000-yard record, 150 with 12 Xs, at the 2011 F-Class Nationals in Lodi, WI.
The U.S. F-Class team thanks Bartlein Barrels for their generous sponsorship and invites all shooting enthusiasts to visit the team’s website, USfclass.com and watch as the team continues to prepare for the World Championships.
Remington Arms Company, has opened a new online retail store: Remington Country, USA. The new webstore features an expanded line of exclusive Remington products, art work, gifts, outdoor gear, and shooting accessories. The Remington Country webstore officially opens Monday, November 28, 2011 — just in time for the holiday season. At ShopRemingtonCountry.com you’ll find Remington’s “Deal of the Day”, plus select products, and even links to videos.
To learn more about Remington rifles and other products, visit www.remington.com.
Story by Chad Adams for3GunNation.com Blog
Eight Multi-Gun Competitors will be competing for the $50,000 top prize at the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) Championship in Las Vegas on January 18, 2012 (during SHOT Show Week). Eight competitors punched their tickets to Las Vegas for the 3-Gun Nation Finale by winning elimination matches held at Peacemaker National Training Center (Glengary, WV) earlier this month. The winner of the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale will receive a huge payday — $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports.
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
The road to the 3GN Championship began last September, as competitors have compiled series points at major 3-gun matches across the country. The top 64 competitors were invited to compete in the 3GN Championship Match (at Peacemaker NTC), a one-day Tactical Optics event that featured four stages of fire—each with all three guns.
In what most are calling the deepest 3-gun field ever assembled, the top 16 advanced into the Shoot-Off elimination round. Now the Las Vegas eight will compete for the highest cash payout in the history of the sport, with $50,000 going to the 3-Gun Nation Champion, courtesy of Leupold and NBC Sports. To learn more about 3-Gun competition, watch the video below in which Jerry Miculek, Mike Voigt, and Maggie Reese discuss the 3-Gun Nation shoot-off and the struggles of head-to-head competition.
Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA, Inc. recently donated $900,000 to the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) to support youth shooting programs. This latest donation augments the $1,600,000 the Potterfields donated in November 2010, making a total of $2.5 Million given to the SSSF in the past two years. Last year, the Potterfields also donated $1 million to the National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF) to support youth shooting programs.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is an educational-athletic organization that exists to introduce school-age youths to the clay target sports and to facilitate their continued involvement by providing opportunities to safely and enjoyably participate and compete in a high-quality, team-based sport led by trained adult coaches.
Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA, remarked, “Teaching our youth about shooting and shooting safety will ensure a better future for America. Brenda and I are proud to partner with SSSF and their efforts to change the future by engaging youths through scholastic shooting programs.”
Need a fun and entertaining break from boring parade broadcasts, and post-feast kitchen duties? Then tune your TVs to the Discovery Channel tonight. At 8:00 PM Eastern, the Discovery Channel (and Discovery’s Science Channel) devote a full hour to America’s wildest display of agricultural artillery — Punkin Chunkin. Discovery’s hour-long special (repeated at 9:00 pm tonight) covers the 2011 World Punkin Chunkin Championship. This fun-filled event, held in Delaware each November, draws up to 70,000 spectators, raising money for charity. For the first time, the Punkin Chunkin special is hosted by Tory Bellici, Kari Byron and Grant Imhara from Mythbusters. View Chunkin Cannons Gallery.
At the annual Punkin Chunkin event, teams challenge each other to see how far they can fling a pumpkin, using some amazing contraptions — giant crossbows, Trebuchets, spinning turntables, and gigantic air cannons with 100-foot-long barrels. For the chunkin machine-builders, this is serious business. Many teams work all year on their entries. Tune in tonight to view the spectacle. Believe it or not, the largest air cannons have shot pumpkins over 5,000 feet — nearly one mile.
Stephen Hunter, creator of the Bob Lee Swagger sniper books, has produced a new action thriller, called Soft Target. This time it’s not Bob “The Nailer” Swagger who’s the center of attention. Instead the hero of Soft Target is Ray Cruz, an ex-Marine sniper introduced in Hunter’s last best-seller, Dead Zero.
The book’s storyline involves an attack by Somali terrorists at a giant shopping mall in Minnesota (based on the Mall of America). On the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”), 12 Somali gunmen open fire in the Mall, causing panic among the crowds of shoppers. Quickly the gunmen herd more than a thousand hostages into a cluster in the center of the Mall.
Ray Cruz, the USMC sniper gone “rogue” in Dead Zero, is trapped in the mall with his fiancée and her family. Cruz, a retired USMC Gunnery Sergeant (and Bob Lee Swagger’s son), develops a plan to challenge the terrorists and free the hostages. But first he needs to find a weapon….
Outside the Mall, FBI Sniper Dave McElroy has a gun. But, as positioned on the Mall roof, he is effectively cut off from his targets. Can Cruz somehow connect with the police and FBI teams? Taking place over a four-hour span, the story follows both hostages and gunmen, detailing the brutal actions of the terrorists, the crazed media coverage, and the struggle for control between the FBI and regional SWAT teams.
QUICK REVIEW: We got hold of an advance copy of Soft Target. Overall, we like it. This is a well-written page-turner, combining action with deft social commentary. The terrorist attack within our borders is plausible. As a fictional hero, Ray Cruz lacks the hard-edged appeal of Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger character (who was modeled after Carlos Hathcock). But Cruz is much more believable than the typical “action heros” who populate the military-thriller genre. Soft Target does have its shortcomings. The Harvard-educated, African-American Commandant of the Minnesota State Police (Col. Douglas Obobo) is an all-too-predictable Obama caricature. The Somali bad guys are stereotypical, ignorant Islamics. But, the diabolical young American mastermind of the attack is a fresh, clever creation. And, as you’d expect from Stephen Hunter, the gun/shooting elements of the story are delivered with technical proficiency and authenticity. Suspenseful to the end, the book is an entertaining read, with some clever takes on modern American culture/politics. Hunter’s fans won’t be disappointed. All things considered, we’d say this is one of Hunter’s better novels in recent years.
Soft Target is set for mass release on December 6, 2012. You can pre-order hardbacks and Kindle eBook editions from Amazon.com.
Stephen Hunter is the author of 17 novels. Prior to his retirement from The Baltimore Sun, he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for his work as the Sun’s chief film critic. Hunter’s previous Bob Lee Swagger and Ray Cruz books have been popular best-sellers.
Hodgdon® Powder Co. will release its 9th Annual Manual early next year. The 2012 Hodgdon Annual Manual features 100+ pages of rifle and pistol data with over 5,000 load recipes. The load data covers 30 Hodgdon, 19 IMR® and 10 Winchester® brand powders. New content this year includes: 300 AAC Blackout load data, and lead-free bullet recipes for 21 rifle cartridges. In addition, the new 2012 Manual spotlights Hodgdon’s new CFE™223 propellant. Tests of this new powder show that it can deter copper fouling in many cartridge types (“CFE” stand for “Copper Fouling Eraser”). The 2012 manual provides plenty of reloading recipes for the new CFE™223 — 147 loads for 27 cartridges.
Along with comprehensive load data, the 2012 manual offers seven authoritative articles by top gun and outdoor industry writers. One interesting article covers economical hand-loading with lead free “green” bullets. Both competitive shooters and hunters will find other articles of interest.
You’ll find the 2012 Hodgdon manual at newsstands and gun stores in early 2012, priced at $8.99. You can also order direct by visiting Hodgdon.com or calling (912) 362-9455. (Direct sales price is $11.99.)
Story tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Looking for a great deal on a firearm, hunting gear, or reloading supplies? Well dozens of vendors nationwide are putting shooting sports products on sale next week, as part of the Black Friday/Cyber-Monday sellathon. But how do you find all the good deals without spending hours surfing the web? Here’s a tip: Slickguns.com has scanned multiple websites, assembling a four-page collection of bargain offers that commence on Black Friday (November 25th). To check out scores of upcoming bargains, visit the Slickguns.com Black Friday Sale Page.
Many of the sale prices are good through the end of the month. At Cabela’s, you’ll find deals on everything from rimfire ammo to Bushmaster AR15s. Gander Mountain has some great deals on firearms, including a special on scope-equipped Remington 700 ADL rifles. November 24-27, the Rem 700 ADLs are just $399.99, including a 3-9×40 scope.
Story tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
This Sunday, November 20th, is “Ladies’ Day” on Gun Talk Radio. Tom Gresham’s popular syndicated radio show will feature interviews with handgun ace (and author) Julie Golob, and talented photographer Lindsay McCrum, creator of the hot-selling photo book, Chicks with Guns. Both Julie and Lindsay will talk with Tom about their new book releases.
No stranger to competition, Team Smith & Wesson’s Julie Golob has taken on a challenge of a different type in her latest role as a published author. Her book, SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition serves as both an introduction to firearms and shooting for novices (with an emphasis on safety) and a primer to help experienced shooters improve their skills. Julie’s new book comes out in 2012, but can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com and other large book-sellers. Find out more at www.juliegolob.com.
Photographer Lindsay McCrum’s new book, Chicks with Guns, presents dozens of photographs with women and their guns, and a caption about how guns play a part in their lives. “I was so surprised by the variety and breadth and diversity of these women,” McCrum said. “There are so many stereotypes about guns, mostly derived from popular culture, but the reality is so much more complex and varied than you can imagine.” More info is available at www.chickswithgunsbook.com.
In its 17th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio airs live on Sundays from 2PM-5PM Eastern, and runs on more than 130 stations, plus on XM (Ch. 165) Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts at http://www.guntalk.libsyn.com and Apple iTunes.
Bartlein Barrels is giving the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team over $15,000 worth of barrels. Shiraz Balolia, Team Captain states: “We are lucky in the United States to have a company that produces such precisely crafted barrels. Bartlein’s sponsorship affords our team every advantage to bring home the gold in the 2013 World Championships. These barrels are superior!” Many of the top F-Class shooters in the world have a Bartlein in their barrel inventory. In the recent European Championships, nine out of the top 10 shooters used Bartlein barrels. Numerous world and U.S. national records have been set with Bartlein barrels, and the U.S. Team highly recommends them. 
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
The book’s storyline involves an attack by Somali terrorists at a giant shopping mall in Minnesota (based on the Mall of America). On the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”), 12 Somali gunmen open fire in the Mall, causing panic among the crowds of shoppers. Quickly the gunmen herd more than a thousand hostages into a cluster in the center of the Mall. 
Hodgdon® Powder Co. will release its 9th Annual Manual early next year. The 2012 Hodgdon Annual Manual features 100+ pages of rifle and pistol data with over 5,000 load recipes. The load data covers 30 Hodgdon, 19 IMR® and 10 Winchester® brand powders. New content this year includes: 300 AAC Blackout load data, and lead-free bullet recipes for 21 rifle cartridges. In addition, the new 2012 Manual spotlights Hodgdon’s new CFE™223 propellant. Tests of this new powder show that it can deter copper fouling in many cartridge types (“CFE” stand for “Copper Fouling Eraser”). The 2012 manual provides plenty of reloading recipes for the new CFE™223 — 147 loads for 27 cartridges.
This Sunday, November 20th, is “Ladies’ Day” on 
No stranger to competition, Team Smith & Wesson’s Julie Golob has taken on a challenge of a different type in her latest role as a published author. Her book, SHOOT: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition serves as both an introduction to firearms and shooting for novices (with an emphasis on safety) and a primer to help experienced shooters improve their skills. Julie’s new book comes out in 2012, but can be 
