Story by Kerrin Brinkman for The NRA Blog.
The 2011 United States Long Range Rifle Team is in Brisbane, Australia and starts competing today in the World Long Range Rifle Championships for the prestigious Palma Trophy. Taking place at the Belmont Shooting Complex near Brisbane from October 8-22, 2011, the competition is 135 years old and only takes place every three to four years, with the last competition held in 2007. The United States has won 13 of the 28 Palma Matches, and Team USA is hoping to clinch another win this year.
The course of fire is comprised of three slow fire stages fired from the prone position. The first stage is 15 shots at 800 yards, the second stage is 15 shots at 900 yards, and the third stage is 15 shots at 1,000 yards. Targets are six feet square with a 20-inch black bullseye (10-ring), and an aiming circle of 44 inches that includes a 9-ring and an 8-ring. A perfect score for each stage is 150 points. Rifles are single-shot bolt actions equipped with iron sights, and ammunition is 7.62×51/.308 Winchester caliber using a bullet weighing 155 grains. CLICK HERE for Current Match Results (Updated Daily)
United States 2011 Long Range Rifle National Team Members and Advisors
Shooting Members: Bob Mead, Bryan Litz, David Littlefield, Gary Rasmussen, John Whidden, Justin Skaret, Kelly Bachand, Lane Buxton, Nancy Tompkins, Noma Mayo, Norm Anderson, Robert Gustin, Sherri Gallagher, Steve Cunico, Steve Hardin, Trevor Hengehold, Trevor Massey, Trudie Fay, Ty Cooper, and Wayne Forshee.
Team Captain: Dennis Flaharty
Vice Team Captain/Adjutant: Dan Simpson
Vice Team Captain: Dr. Tom Whitaker
Armorer: Robert Gamboa
Head Team Coach: Emil Praslick III
NRA Advisor: Middleton Tompkins
Belmont Shooting Complex — World-Class!
The Belmont Range near Brisbane, Queensland is a beautiful facility. Firing mounds are maintained like golf greens and there are over 25 flags. With great facilities (and no pit duty!), it’s truly the lap of luxury for Fullbore shooting. Belmont is the largest shooting complex in the southern hemisphere and most target shooting sports are conducted there. Coordinates: 27°30 ’40″S 153°7’50″E. It is the home of the Queensland Rifle Association (QRA). (Editor’s Note: Click the tab below the photo to see larger image — it’s even more impressive.)
The new, 33rd Edition of the Gun Trader’s Guide has just been released. This fully-illustrated resource features current market values for thousands of rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Along with the Blue Blue of Gun Values, the Gun Trader’s Guide is one of the two definitive resources on gun prices. If you buy or sell firearms, the Gun Traders’ Guide is a must-have item that will pay for itself. Over two million copies of the Gun Trader’s Guide have been sold to date. Order soon to be one of the first to own the new 33rd Edition. The price is $18.40 plus free shipping with a total order over $25.00.
You can order the Gun Trader’s Guide (33rd Ed.), the Blue Book of Gun Values and other popular firearms and shooting books through the AccurateShooter Bookstore. To save you time, we’ve collected the best books on shooting, reloading, hunting, and gunsmithing all in one location. Ordering, secure billing, and shipping are all handled efficiently by Amazon.com.
In addition to the individual matches at the 2011 F-Class Nationals in Lodi, Wisconsin, there was a fiercely-fought team competition. Normally the team with the best combined (Aggregate) results of 600-yard and 1000-yard stages wins the Team Championship. However, this year, the 1000-yard team segment got called off due to a bad rain-storm that blew in about half way through the stage. So, as a result, the teams that won the 600-yard trophy also won the Aggregate trophy. Team Sinclair won F-TR class, while Team Long Shots won F-Open. CLICK HERE for all Team Results.
In F-TR Class, there were ten (10) teams competing. Team Sinclair finished first, scoring 771-22X. The USA Development Team (766-18X) finished second, edging third place BNX Team (766-16X) on X-count. Here’s a glamour shot of the Sinclair Team, complete with their trick Sinclair wide-base bipods.
This marks an impressive string of victories for Team Sinclair. Here’s an interesting factoid about the Team Sinclair shooters. One or more members of the current Sinclair squad have been on the winning F-TR team at every U.S. F-Class National Championships since they were first held in 2004, except for 2010 when Sinclair did not field a team. Brad Sauve has been on the winning F-TR team every year except 2010: Great Lakes Express (2004, 2005 winning team); Team Green (2006 winner); Team Sinclair (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 winner). Ray Gross and Paul Phillips were also on most of those winning squads. Team Sinclair set the F-Class Team National Records at both 600 and 1000 yards.
In F-Open Class, the winning team was a new group appropriately called the ”Long Shots”, scoring 790-36X. Jeff Cochran of Team Sierra Spindle Shooters tells us: “The Long Shots did a great job under adverse conditions and pressure from all the major, more experienced teams.” Michelle Gallagher coached the Long Shots squad to victory. Finishing second in F-Open, with a 788-32X score, was Team Grizzly, coached by Emil Praslick. In third, tallying 786-41X, was the NAS Team (Bob Mead, coach). Thirteen (13) F-Open Teams competed this year at the Nationals in Lodi.
More 2011 F-Class Championships Photos in Forum
Forum member Denys Beauchemin (aka “Bayou Shooter”) has posted more than a dozen photos from the recent Championships in our AccurateShooter Forum. To view the pictures, go to This Forum Thread, starting with the third page of the thread. CLICK HERE for PHOTOS.
Here’s an interesting invention from Ballistics Research, a Georgia-based security company that specializes in projectile barrier and containment systems. Ballistics Research has come up with a Interlocking Protection System (3-D IPS) that uses interlocking composite blocks — similar to giant Lego blocks — that will stop rounds up to .50 BMG. Two layers of blocks will even contain a 23mm cannon round. The Anti-Armor Ballistics Composite (AABC) blocks are lighter than concrete or other building materials, and they withstand repeated fire much better than old-fashioned sandbag stacks. Ballistics Research claims that its AABC composite is “the only material in existence that actually gains strength with incoming rounds.”
Most conventional protection units available to the military and corporate worlds (like sandbags or concrete) are non-portable, or they degrade rapidly under sustained fire. Ballistics Research’s AABC™ material actually becomes stronger with multiple hits. In fact, each of the 3-D IPS blocks is capable of absorbing thousands of rounds of machine gun fire without failure.
Video Shows Effectiveness of 3-D IPS System
The Video below shows a 3-D IPS Block wall being tested first with a full-auto 5.56×45 M16, next an M60 machine gun firing 7.62×51 rounds, and finally a “Ma Deuce” shooting .50 Cal API M2HB Armor Piercing Rounds. This is all done at very close range. The AABC material soaks up ALL the projectiles. Very impressive indeed….
While 3-D IPS block installations are designed primarily for military compounds, or commercial sites (such as power plants) where high security is required. However, they can be used in any location where secure protection from high-velocity projectiles is required. For example, 3-D IPS blocks could be used for a down-range storage building on a shooting range. For more information, visit BallisticsResearch.com, call (678) 679-1973 or email: wayne@ballisticsresearch.com.
The Weapons System Technology Analysis Center (WSTIAC), part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), recently conducted a comparison test between standard primers and lead-free primers. The test procedure, along with the surprising test results, are discussed in the WSTIAC Journal (Vol. 11, No. 2).
Key Findings of the WSTIAC Primer Study Were:
1. Lead-Free primers suffered from significant delays in ignition.
2. Lead-Free large rifle primers had a “a much larger variation in peak blast pressure” than did lead-based large rifle primers.
3. Field tests showed 7.62×51 rounds loaded with lead-free primers to be less accurate than rounds loaded with lead-based primers.
4. So-called “match-grade” primers were NOT always more consistent in pressure than standard primers.
Russian Lead-Free Primers Tested
WSTIAC scientists did some pretty sophisticated testing, measuring the blast waves of lead free primers vs. standard primers. The lead-free primers, denoted as DDNP for their “Diazodinitrophenol” active ingredients, were matched up against commercially-available primers containing lead. Eight models of widely-used, lead-based primers were tested along with two DDNP-based Russian-made primers, a large rifle primer (model KVB-7E) and a small pistol primer (model KVB-9E). Brief field tests were also conducted with large rifle primers in loaded ammunition. Testers measured primer ignition times, bullet muzzle velocities, and accuracy on 200m targets.
Lead-Free Primers Were Less Reliable, with Less Uniform Pressure
While you’ll need to read the study to understand the full results, in a nutshell, the DDNP (lead-free) primers proved somewhat less reliable than standard primers. The study observed: “The most obvious difference between the lead-based and DDNP-based primers was a perceptible delay between firing pin strike and ignition in 15 of 19 shots with the DDNP-based primers (and one misfire); in contrast, there were no misfires or perceptible delays in ignition with the lead-based primer.” The scientists theorized that: “The delay in ignition in 6 of the 10 shots with the DDNP-based primer suggests that this primer is at the low end of strength needed to reliably ignite 46 grains of an extruded powder.” The study also noted that: “DDNP-based KVB-7E has a much larger variation in peak blast pressure than other primers.”
Lead-Free Primers Were Less Accurate in 7.62×51 Ammo
One very interesting finding related to accuracy. In field tests, 7.62×51 ammo loaded with lead-free primers was tested against ammo with lead-based primers (other components were identical). At 200m, the average 10-shot group size of 7.62×51 ammo with lead-free primers was 2.5 MOA vs. 1.8 MOA for ammo with lead-based primers. That 0.7 MOA difference may well be meaningful (though we’d like to see the test repeated with multiple 10-shot groups, fired from a more accurate rifle). For precision shooters, this is a provocative finding because it suggests that a change in primer type, by itself, may have a dramatic impact on accuracy. The scientists surmised that: “ignition delay is the most likely cause of the larger average group size.”
“Match” Primers Are NOT Always More Consistent
One surprising collateral finding in the study challenges the widely-held notion that “Match Primers” are better, at least when judged by pressure uniformity. “Table 1 shows average peak pressures along with standard deviations from the mean for the primers in this study…. There are significant differences in the standard deviations observed for different primer types, and it is notable that so-called ‘Match’ primers are not always more consistent than non-match primers.” Readers should look at the bottom right of Table 1 below. Note that, as a percentage (%) of total pressure, the non-match CCI 450s have a significantly lower SD than the “Match” Fed 205m primers. On the other hand, the Federal 210M and 215M “Match” primers ARE more uniform in pressure than the non-match CCI Large Rifle primers.
ABSTRACT: Comparing Blast Pressure Variations of Lead-Based and DDNP (Lead-Free) Primers
This article describes the blast pressure waves produced by detonation of both lead styphnate and diazodinitrophenol (DDNP) based firearms primers measured with a high-speed pressure transducer located at the muzzle of a rifle (without powder or bullet). These primer blast waves emerging from the muzzle have a pressure-time profile resembling free-field blast pressure waves. The lead-based primers in this study had peak blast pressure variations (standard deviations from the mean) of 5.0-11.3%.
In contrast, lead-free DDNP-based primers had standard deviations of the peak blast pressure of 8.2-25.0%. Combined with smaller blast waves, these large variations in peak blast pressure led to delayed ignition and failure to fire in brief field tests.
The Western CMP Games/ Creedmoor Cup start very soon. From October 15-23, 2011, the Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Assn. will host the 8th Western CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup at the Ben Avery Range in Phoenix, AZ. The Western CMP Games Matches run from October 15 to 18. The Creedmoor Cup Matches take place on 19-23 October. All interested shooters, from novices to High Masters, are invited to participate. All entrants should pre-register. However, walk-ons will be allowed as range capacity permits.
The Western CMP Games program includes clinics, individual rifle matches, Team Matches, Rimfire competition, and CMP rifle sales. The 8th Western CMP Games kick off with a New Shooter Clinic on 15 October followed by a 200-yard Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle Match that afternoon. On Sunday, 16 October, there will be an As-Issued M1 Garand EIC Match in the morning where shooters who do not have any EIC points can earn introductory “4-point legs.” That afternoon, there will be a Rimfire Sporter Match. The Rimfire Sporter Match is a low-key event that caters to all ages and skill levels.
On Monday, 17 October, there will be a second Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle Match that morning followed by an M1 Carbine Match that afternoon. The Western CMP Games Matches conclude on Tuesday, 18 October, with a third Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle Match, and Vintage Sniper Test Match. For more info on the CMP Games, contact the CMP at croguski@odcmp.com or call (888) 267-0796, ext. 1114.
Creedmoor Cup Clinic and Matches
The Creedmoor Cup matches will take place on 19-23 October, starting with a High Power Rifle Clinic offering lectures, demonstrations and dry line firing. Creedmoor Cup matches include a Zeroing Match, an EIC Match, a 2400 Aggregate Match and a Team Match. New This Year: The Creedmoor Cup will not longer be a one-day, 80-shot (800 point) match. It will not be a 240-shot (2400 point) Aggregate fired over three days. The 50-shot team match will now be fired on Sunday prior to the start of the EIC Match.For more information on the Creedmoor Cup Matches, contact Dennis DeMille at demille [at] creedmoorsports.com or call (800) 273-3366.
The IBS 600-Yard Nationals was held this past weekend at the Midwest Benchrest Range in Yukon, Missouri. There was a good turn-out for the match, with 70 Light Gun (LG) entries and 68 Heavy Gun (HG) entries from all over the USA. Despite tough conditions (high winds on Friday, wicked mirage on Saturday), the top shooters turned in some impressive performances, including a 16-target average group size of 2.327 inches by overall Two-Gun Winner Sam Hall of North Carolina. No one was surprised to see Sam, a multi-time 600-yard Champ, come out on top. When he’s on his game, Sam’s hard to beat.
But the big story of the match was the superb shooting of Ryan Hunt from Missouri, a relative newcomer to the 600-yard benchrest game. Ryan finished second overall in the Two-Gun after finishing second in Light Gun (LG) group, third in LG score, and third in Heavy Gun (HG) group. Ryan’s average group size, for the entire match (both LG and HG) was 2.629 inches. That’s amazing marksmanship for a rookie… using a borrowed rifle!
Hunt Makes the Most of “Loaner” Rifle
What makes Hunt’s runner-up finish even more impressive is that, in both LG and HG, he used a borrowed gun, a 6mm Dasher in a new, 5″-wide Precision Rifle & Tools stock. Now get this — the very first time Ryan shot that gun was the day before the Nationals! Ryan told us the 5″-wide stock really tracked well, allowing him to shoot fast and accurately. Will we see more extra-wide stocks in Light Gun in the future? Ryan Hunt thinks so: “I think 5″ is the way to go. That’s all I’ll be shooting next year. The extra width really makes a difference in the way the gun tracks. You don’t have to worry about rolling or hopping. Just pull the trigger, slide her back and you’re on target. The biggest benefit from these 5″ stocks is that a Light Gun’s going to track like a Heavy Gun. When the mirage picks up, instead of following the dot, you can just trust the gun, the way it’s tracking. It really paid off last weekend.” It’s worth noting that Ryan did not use the old standby powders, Reloder 15 or Varget. In his Dasher, Ryan loads IMR 8208 XBR powder with Spencer bullets.
Sam Hall with his Heavy Gun
Match Winner Sam Hall, like most of the top performers at the 2011 Nationals, shot a 6mm Dasher in both classes. But unlike Ryan Hunt, Sam used a “true heavy” in HG class. Sam’s mammoth Heavy Gun, dubbed “Black Max”, is featured in a Gun of the Week Article in our archives. You can see Sam practicing with this rig above. Sam hauls out his “heavy artillery” once a year for the Nationals: “This rig won’t see daylight again until the next Nationals.” In Light Gun, Sam used the same 17-pounder he’s used to win previous championships. It features a BAT action, Krieger Barrel and Shehane ST-1000 fiberglass Tracker stock. Sam shoots Berger bullets with Alliant Reloder 15 powder.
Tough Conditions Both Friday and Saturday
Sam told us: “All eight LG targets were shot Friday. And the Heavy class shot all eight on Saturday. Friday had winds of 13 to 18 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Saturday was less windy, but was switchy. Mirage was some of the worst I’ve ever encountered. These conditions caused vertical groups.”
We asked Sam if he had any special strategies for the match: “My only strategy was to make sure I got my sighters right. Last year I misjudged some sighters on a gong. I thought I was centered but I was actually way high and right. I ended up shooting a small group, but the score was really bad. This year I made sure I knew where the sighters were actually hitting.” You can learn more about Sam and his rifles in a Gun of the Week Article from our archives.
Dashers and Cut-Rifled Barrels A quick glance at the above equipment list for the Top 10 Two-Gun finishers, reveals the winning formula: 6mm Dasher in a cut-rifled barrel. Eight of the Top 10 competitors shot 6 Dashers in both classes, while another shot a 6 Dasher in HG and a 6 BRX in LG. That’s “Dasher Dominance” for sure. Among the barrels, cut-rifled tubes from Bartlein, Brux, and Krieger were favored by most of the top shooters. It’s hard to argue with success.
Shiraz Balolia has recently been appointed as Captain of the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team. Balolia served as Vice Captain of the previous team and was one of eight American shooters at the last World Championship held in England in 2009. He was also one of four shooters in the International Team matches in England where Team USA won the Gold Medal. The step up from Vice Captain to Captain brings new responsibilities, but Balolia told us he accepts his new role “with honor and a fierce passion to lead the team to gold in the 2013 World Championship”.
USA Will Host 2013 F-Class World Championship
With the 2013 F-Class Championship being hosted by the United States for the first time ever, Balolia and the U.S. team are determined to win the Gold Medal on home soil. Team tryouts commenced in 2010 and will continue until the complete Development Team is selected in early 2012, from which the main 2013 team will be chosen. Balolia added: “I am excited to have been given the opportunity to lead this team into the next World Championship. The shooters we have are absolutely incredible, and everyone has a single goal in mind… and that is to Win!”
2013 F-Class World Championship | Raton, New Mexico (USA) | August 23-27, 2013
The next F-Class World Championship will be held in Raton, New Mexico, from August 23 to 27, 2013. This will be the fourth F-Class World Championship and first time it is being held in the United States. Previous F-Class World Championship venues were:
2002 – Ottawa, Canada. Won by the USA.
2005 – Bloemfontein, South Africa. Won by South Africa.
2009 – Bisley, England. Won by Great Britain.
As you can see, historically, home teams have won in the past two events. This bodes well for Team USA’s chances in 2013.
U.S. F-Class Championships Will Precede Worlds at Raton
Preceding the World Championship, the 2013 US F-Class National Championship will be held from August 18 to 22, 2013. All F-classers are welcome to register. With the U.S. and World Championships scheduled back-to-back, August 2013 should offer the most memorable 10 days of F-Class competition ever conducted in North America.
To learn more about the US F-Class Open Team, visit www.usfclass.com.
An 1836 Colt Paterson Revolver (with accessories in box), sold last month for $977,500 at a Texas auction. This is believed to be a new world record for the sale of a single American firearm. The very rare, ivory-gripped Texas (Holster Model No. 5) Paterson Revolver was part of the Alfred (“Al”) Cali Collection of Colt firearms. The revolver, with a 9-inch barrel and attached loading lever, is the finest known surviving example of Samuel Colt’s first revolver, produced by the legendary gunsmith in Paterson, New Jersey in 1836.
Colt Purchased by Silicon Valley Zillionaire
The 1836 pistol, one of the earliest generation of Colt revolvers, was purchased by an unidentified West Coast collector, a Silicon Valley mogul. The gun was sold September 18 as part of Greg Martin Auctions/Heritage Auctions’ Signature Arms & Armor Auction in Dallas. “There are certain collectibles that transcend genre, period and form and exist simply as great works of art,” said Greg Martin, “and clearly this supremely beautiful firearm is such a thing. The nearly seven-figure final price realized proves just how great a piece this is, and well worthy of being the world record-holder. This is as desirable… as any piece I’ve seen in more than 40 years of buying and selling the very best firearms in existence”.
Two More Boxed Colt Revolvers Sell for Over $800K Each
A pair of Colt revolvers tied for the September auction’s second most valuable lot, both realizing jaw-dropping $805,000 prices. The first was an exceptional historic, cased, engraved and presentation-inscribed Colt Model 1861 New Model Navy Revolver. The second was an historic, cased Gustave Young-engraved and ivory-gripped Colt Third Model Dragoon Revolver, inscribed ‘Colonel P.M. Milliken”. Both these guns were from the Al Cali collection, like the record-setting 1836 Paterson.
SOCOM, the U.S. Special Operations Command, is going silent in a big way — purchasing $23.3 million worth of suppressors (and adapters) from Surefire, LLC of Fountain Valley, California. The huge contract, for an indefinite quantity of sound suppressors, suppressor adapters, blank firing adapters and training adapters, was awarded by officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center — the primary solicitation center for U.S. Special Operations Command — as part of the Family of Muzzle Brake Suppressors (FMBS) contract.
This is good news for SureFire, which has expanded its product line from durable, high-output lamps to a wide variety of tactical hardware. It was a major coup for SureFire to secure a large part of the FMBS contract. According to Surefire: “The FMBS solicitation was the most comprehensive modern suppressor evaluation conducted by the U.S. military to date. [Suppressor systems were] subjected to prolonged testing on a variety of firearms platforms. SureFire suppressors were chosen based on test criteria such as: Reliability, Sound Reduction, Accuracy, Point of Impact Shift, Endurance/Durability, and Operational Suitability. While these requirements reflect the suppression needs for firearms including the MK13 sniper rifle, the United States Marine Corps is already employing SureFire’s FA762SS suppressor system on every M40A5 sniper rifle.”
Watch Video to View SureFire Fast-Attach Suppressors in Action
Belmont Shooting Complex — World-Class!
Here’s an interesting invention from 
Russian Lead-Free Primers Tested
The Western CMP Games/ Creedmoor Cup start very soon. From October 15-23, 2011, the Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Assn. will host the 
The Western CMP Games program includes clinics, individual rifle matches, Team Matches, Rimfire competition, and CMP rifle sales. The 8th Western CMP Games kick off with a New Shooter Clinic on 15 October followed by a 200-yard Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle Match that afternoon. On Sunday, 16 October, there will be an As-Issued M1 Garand EIC Match in the morning where shooters who do not have any EIC points can earn introductory “4-point legs.” That afternoon, there will be a Rimfire Sporter Match. The 
The IBS 600-Yard Nationals was held this past weekend at the 
A quick glance at the above equipment list for the Top 10 Two-Gun finishers, reveals the winning formula: 6mm Dasher in a cut-rifled barrel. Eight of the Top 10 competitors shot 6 Dashers in both classes, while another shot a 6 Dasher in HG and a 6 BRX in LG. That’s “Dasher Dominance” for sure. Among the barrels, cut-rifled tubes from Bartlein, Brux, and Krieger were favored by most of the top shooters. It’s hard to argue with success.
Shiraz Balolia has recently been appointed as Captain of the 
SOCOM, the U.S. Special Operations Command, is going silent in a big way — purchasing $23.3 million worth of suppressors (and adapters) from 
