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August 3rd, 2011
Here’s an opportunity for your wordsmiths out there. Write a 200-word essay and you can win a ton of range gear in Champion’s Third Annual Range Contest. This contest gives shooters a chance to win a fully-outfitted personal shooting range system worth more than $1,700 — all with a 200-word online essay submission. Two additional prize packages are also up for grabs.
Contest Details
Shooters can enter the Champion Range Contest at www.ChampionBackyard.com. For a chance to win, submit a 200-word essay explaining why you deserve the grand prize shooting range system. CLICK HERE for Official Contest Rules.
Three lucky shooters will each be awarded a personal shooting range system. The grand prize is a fully-loaded shooting range system worth more than $1,700. Two additional prize packages also include valuable Champion gear. All of the shooting range systems will include trap throwers, VisiColor targets, eye and ear protection, shooting accessories and more.
August 1st, 2011
If you’d invested in Ruger stock three years ago, you’d be sitting pretty right now. Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) has done exceptionally well since the 2008 Presidential election, despite the faltering economy. Ruger’s stock price is currently trading above $27.00 per share, up from a low of $5.18 per share in November 2008. That’s an increase of more than 500%. And during that period, Ruger also paid a modest dividend. Hard to beat a huge stock value increase with dividends to boot.
Is Ruger still a good investment, or has all the money already been made? We caution any potential investor that “what goes up must come down”. Still, Ruger has solid fundamentals and the company has made some smart decisions, moving into the concealed, carry gun market with huge success.
Motley Fool Takes Close Look At Sturm, Ruger & Co.
On July 30th, The Motley Fool, a popular investing website, spotlighted Sturm, Ruger & Co., analyzing the company’s performance over the last few years. Motley Fool noted that Ruger has zero debt, has shown 5-year dividend growth of 26.3%, and has delivered a 15% return on equity — all good things. On the other hand, Motley Fool was disappointed with Ruger’s slim 3.7% revenue growth over the past 12 months. But there are positive signs. Last week, Ruger issued a quarterly earning report showing a 32% jump in net income. Overall, The Motley Fool concluded: “Sturm, Ruger hasn’t grown as much as investors would like to see. But with a reasonable valuation, a decent and growing dividend, and good prospects for the future, Sturm, Ruger could get a lot closer to the 10 ring at some point.”
July 30th, 2011
 Congratulations to USAMU member SSG Michael McPhail, winner of the 2011 Smallbore Rifle Prone Championship. SSG McPhail won three matches and took the 1st Daily 1200 Aggregate as he shot consistently throughout the week to finish with 4796-401X. Coming in second place overall was Mark Delcotto with a 4796-380X and CPT Christopher Abalo, SSG McPhail’s teammate on the AMU, finished third with a 4795-388X.
With so many talented shooters participating in the championship, SSG McPhail’s commanding X-score ended up as the deciding factor as his point total of 4796 was matched by two other shooters, Mark Delcotto (Civilian Champion), and Paul Nordquist (Any Sight Champion). McPhail shared credit for his victory: “I’d like to thank the commander of the AMU, all the solders and support staff at AMU — coaches, other shooters, my teammates — and also the NRA and the volunteers. Without the volunteers this match would never even happen.”
Held July 24-29, the Smallbore Rifle Prone Championships are a part of the NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships held at Camp Perry, Ohio each year. Comprised of a Metallic Sight and Any Sight championship, competitors take 480 shots over the course of 12 matches from distances of 50 meters and 100 yards to determine who will take home the Critchfield Trophy.
Special Category Winners
Paul Nordquist shot a 4796-371X to match McPhail’s point total and secure the title of Any Sight Only Champion. Renowned shooter Nancy Tompkins won the High Woman award with a 4794-375X. Reya Kempley shot second (among women) with a 4794-352x and Sarah Beard of Texas Christian University took third with a 4790-351x. Kempley also won the Metallic Sight Championship with her aggregate of 2400-182x.
Civilian Champion: Mark Delcotto – 4796-380X
Any Sight Only Champion: Paul Nordquist – 4796-371X
Woman Champion: Nancy Tompkins – 4794-375X
Senior Champion: Peter Church – 4791-352X
Intermediate Senior Champion: Larry Parker Sr. – 4788-349X
Collegiate and Junior Champion: Sarah Beard – 4790-351xX
Intermediate Junior Champion: Katie Bridges – 4784-340X
Sub-Junior Champion: Sammy Richardson – 4751-270X
Service Champion: SSG Michael McPhail, USA – 4796-401X
High Visitor: Keigh Ridgeway – 4785-340X
July 30th, 2011
 With interest growing nationwide in target shooting and owning firearms for home and personal defense, the need for top-notch shooting ranges has never been greater. Recognizing this, in 2011 the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, has awarded $435,000 in grants to 22 ranges nationwide.
The NSSF Range Grant Program assists qualifying shooting ranges in their efforts to introduce newcomers, re-activate lapsed shooters, encourage active shooters to try another shooting discipline, and promote shooting sports activities among all age groups. For the 2011 funding period, NSSF received 64 proposals requesting $2.8 million in grants — an all-time high. Since it was started in 2008, the NSSF Range Grant Program has granted $1.17 million to 46 ranges nationwide.
“We saw a lot of growth in the applications for range grants this year,” said Melissa Schilling, NSSF manager of recruitment and retention. “We believe range operators nationwide are beginning to understand what a great opportunity this is[.]” The NSSF seeks to create “models of success”, so that effective grant-assisted pilot programs can be adopted by other facilities. CLICK HERE for case studies of programs that have received funding in prior years.
Shooting Facilities that Received 2011 Grants:
Center Target Sports, Inc., Post Falls, ID
Central Oregon Sporting Clays & Hunting Preserve, Redmond, OR
Clark County Shooting Park, Las Vegas, NV
Colorado Rifle Club, Littleton, CO
Desoto Rifle & Pistol Club, Germantown, TN
Greene County Fish & Game Assoc., Xenia, OH
Handgunners, Inc., Burlington, NC
Herminie #2 Game Association, West Newton, PA
Jentoe Corp.-A&S Indoor Pistol Range, Youngwood, PA
Lead Valley Range, Inc., Deer Trail, CO
Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks Foundation, Jackson, MS
Norco Running Gun IPSC Club, Norco, CA
Pocono Pistol Club, Stroudsburg, PA
ProShots Indoor Range & Training, Rural Hall, NC
Red Bluff Lodge, Allendale, SC
Red River Regional Marksmanship Center, West Fargo, ND
Riverside Range, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Association, Morro Bay, CA
Targething Pro Shop, Garrettsville, OH
The Shooter’s Depot, Chattanooga, TN
Tri-State Shooters Club, Inc., Rosholt, SD
Walla Walla Gun Club, Walla Walla, WA
July 29th, 2011
There are many quality rivals in the high-end tactical optics market, but it appears that Schmidt & Bender remains “top dog”, at least for the U.S. Special Forces community. Schmidt & Bender, was awarded a $34,209,500 firm-fixed-price contract for precision sniper rifle dayscope, mounting rings, spare parts, repairs and upgrades. The scope will be a special version of S&B’s 5-25x56mm PMII. It’s not clear how many scope units are to be delivered under the contract, which had five bidders. The Naval Surface Warfare Center is the contracting activity (N00164-11-D-JQ31), and the contract is expected to be completed by June 2016. The scopes will be built in Biebertal, Germany.
 This is a special military version of the Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56 PMII. It will be provided in two versions, one with click values in centimeters and a Horus reticle, and a second with 1/4 MOA click values and a H2CMR reticle. S&B Sniper Rifle Dayscopes to Be Used by Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
The S&B precision sniper rifle dayscopes will be used by Special Forces for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The precision sniper rifle dayscope consist of several configurations that are required for use on existing and future sniper rifles. The configurations are tailored to the sniper’s training regimen, the weapon system effective range, and the weapon system caliber. The precision sniper rifle dayscope will be used around the world in extreme and adverse conditions including underwater, surf-zone, desert, arctic, jungle and urban environments. One reason S&B PMIIs were selected is this model has passed rigorous immersion testing. The 5-25×56 PM II was certified to show zero leakage after spending 10 hours in sea water at a depth of 25 meters (82 feet).
July 27th, 2011
The Randle Trophy match is smallbore international postal match with women competitors only. The Randle Trophy match was shot July 26th at Camp Perry immediately after the Dewar Trophy match. The course of fire for the match is a Dewar Course, where each shooter fires 20 shots at both 50 and 100 yards in the prone position. Below is a slide show with photos of the match.
Started in 1952 for International Women’s Team Competition in memory of former NRA President Thurman Randle, participating teams must be from an English-speaking country and field a team of 10 firing members, two alternate shooters, a captain, and a coach. Earning a position on the U.S. team is not easy, members must be one of the 12 top-scoring shooters in the Metallic Sight Aggregate competition at Perry to be invited. Below are the talented members of the 2011 Randle Trophy Team.
Story by K. Jillson, courtesy the NRA Blog.
July 26th, 2011
 At the 20th Annual Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence awards (held last week in Kentucky), Larry Potterfield of Midway USA received the prestigious Shooting Industry Award for 2011. Potterfield was honored for his efforts to promote the shooting sports. In 2010, Potterfield donated more than $4,000,000 to youth shooting sports organizations and firearms training programs. We congratulate Mr. Potterfield. It’s great to see a successful businessman give back to the sport so generously.
After receiving the Shooting Industry Award, Potterfield stated: “This award is a great validation, from our peers, that Brenda and I are on the right track in supporting the youth shooting movement in the United States. Tomorrow’s leaders are in 4H, Boy Scouts, and the youth programs of the Key Conservation Groups; and they’re attending high schools and colleges. Our passion is to help fund programs that allow more kids to pull the trigger more times. The Scholastic Shooting Trust Fund, which provides funds for high school and college shooting teams, is our favorite charity.”
Hornady is Manufacturer of the Year
Hornady was named Manufacturer of the Year for service, support, and commitment to customers at all levels. Hornady’s new Superformance Varmint Ammo also earned “Ammunition of the Year” honors.
Ruger was a double winner as a gun-maker. Ruger’s new LC9 pistol was named “Handgun of the Year”, while the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle (M77-GS) received the coveted “Rifle of the Year” award.
Leupold also won two awards. The Leupold VX-R 3-9x40mm riflescope was named Optic of the Year and Leupold’s RX-1000i TBR Laser Rangefinder was named Hunting Product of the Year.
Awards were determined by the votes of the 500-member Academy of Excellence, which includes manufacturers, distributors, executives, storefront dealers and outdoor writers. “Each award recipient and nominee deserves accolades for their commitment to excellence in design and service,” said Randy Molde, Academy director.
July 25th, 2011
 Former President Theodore Roosevelt was the “founding father” of the NRA National Matches*. Teddy Roosevelt believed the world was a dangerous place. To assure peace, Roosevelt believed that America needed to be prepared to fight. At the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 NRA National Championships, Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, Under Secretary of the U.S. Army, echoed the views of Roosevelt, who believed “The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war, if possible, and to be fit for war, if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.”
“Though the world has changed considerably in the last century, it is just as unsettled as it was when President Roosevelt established this competition in 1903,” Dr. Westphal said. Roosevelt, who served as an Army colonel during the Spanish-American War, witnessed firsthand how unprepared U.S. soldiers were victimized in battle. Despite winning the conflict, the U.S. suffered disproportionate casualties due to the lack of firearms training.
In his speech at Camp Perry, Dr. Westphal observed that President Roosevelt was a strong advocate of marksmanship training:
“Reflecting with regret on the casualties the U.S. took in the Spanish-American War, President Roosevelt said: ‘The great body of our citizens shoot less as time goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys and indeed among all classes as well as in the military services, by every means of our power. Thus and not otherwise may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world. The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war, if possible, and to be fit for war, if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.’ “
 Westphal Invokes History
at Camp Perry Ceremonies
Westphal cautioned that we should not forget the lessons of the past: “So I bring these old historic notes of long-forgotten battles, not because they are curiosities, but because they remind us of why Americans began gathering here over a century ago. It was because they knew the terrible consequences of not being ready for war. In establishing the National Matches at Camp Perry, they promoted the importance of marksmanship in the nation’s defense.”
“Today the Civilian Marksmanship Program trains some 400 marksmanship instructors a year. In addition, 200,000 to 300,000 young people and adults receive training in marksmanship and firearms safety through clubs and junior ROTC,” Westphal said. “The thousands of competitors who will take part in these matches follow on the heels of millions who have benefited directly … from the marksmanship training and safety programs promoted here.”
*In February 1903, an amendment to the War Department Appropriations Bill established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP). This government advisory board became the predecessor to today’s Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, Inc. that now governs the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). The 1903 legislation also established the National Matches, commissioned the National Trophy and provided funding to support the Matches. This historic legislation grew out of a desire to improve military marksmanship and national defense preparedness. President Theodore Roosevelt, Secretary of War Elihu Root and NRA President General Bird Spencer were among the most important supporters of this act.
Story based on report by Steve Cooper in CMP First Shot Online Magazine.
July 24th, 2011
The NRA’s Smallbore 3-Position Awards Ceremony took place last night in the Hough Theater. Top honors went to SGT Joe Hein of the USAMU with an overall score of 2379-154x. Second was Missouri teenager Garrett Spurgeon with Arizona’s Tarl Kempley placing third. Brad Driscoll won the 2011 Camp Perry Junior Championship. Lisette Grunwell-Lacey was the Womens’ 3P smallbore champion and Ronald Durcholz of New York took the Senior title. This was a tough week of competitive for the 3P shooters — competitors battled through numerous weather dealays caused by thunderstorms.
Pistol Championships
 Captain Philip Hemphill of the Mississippi Highway Patrol won his first National Championship at the NRA National Pistol Championships held July 12-16 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Although Hemphill’s consistently high scores produced an aggregate total of 2632-113X. Hemphill is a ten-time winner of the National Police Shooting Championships, but this is his first big win at Perry. “This is the Super Bowl of pistol competition and winning feels great,” said Hemphill. “This is harder than the National Police Shooting Championship because of the distances you’re shooting, but winning here at Camp Perry is like winning at the Mecca of shooting.”
Earning an aggregate score of 2629-112X, two-time National Champion SFC James Henderson of the USAMU took the silver medal and the title of Regular Service Champion. Third place and the title of Civilian Champion went to John Zurek with a 2626-115X. For the fourth year in a row, Judy Tant clinched the titles of Woman and High Civilian Woman Champion by firing an aggregate score of 2549-68X. Bryan Layfield of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was named the Junior Champion and Collegiate Champion after firing a 2565-95X.
The National Rifle Association and the Civilian Marksmanship Program conduct the National Matches at Camp Perry each summer, considered to be the “World Series” of the shooting sports. Participants range from novices to Olympic-level shooters, and include civilians, military personnel, and law enforcement officers. The NRA National Rifle and Pistol Championships are open to everyone; NRA membership is not required. Ongoing daily reports on the NRA National Championships are found on the NRA Blog.
July 23rd, 2011
 The International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) has updated its Official Rules of Competition. The complete IBS rules, with all recent updates, are presented in the latest Rulebook #12a. This is updated through July 2011. Rulebook #12A includes 2010 rule changes and 2011 temporary rules. New rules are highlighted with red text. You can now download the updated Rulebook #12a, as a .PDF file, from the IBS website.
 Download IBS Rulebook #12A, Official Rules of Competition
Story tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
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