The 2011 Hickory Groundhog and Egg Shoot at Vale, NC was a big success. Some 177 shooters vied for over $7,000 worth of prizes. The main course of fire was challenging, with three sets of paper groundhog targets at 100, 300, and 500 yards, and NO Sighters. Shooters can also compete in an Egg Shoot for cash and other prizes. For the primary three-yardage Groundhog match, there are two rifle classes: Custom Division and Factory Division. The match, one of the most popular varmint competitions in the country, is sponsored by Bulls-Eye Sporting Goods (Larry Willis, owner). The event is held every year on the first Saturday in April.
This year’s “Top Shot” at the Hickory was Randy Chappell. Shooting a 6 BRDX (we were told), Randy scored 90 points to win the Custom Division. Randy took home a new Nightforce NXS scope plus $300.00. Runner-up Robbie Roberts steered his 6BR to second place in Custom, earning him a Sightron Scope and $150.00 in cash. Finishing third in Custom Division was past Hickory winner Chris Brady, Terry Brady’s son. Chris, who also shot a 6BR, took home a Shehane Tracker stock and $50.00.
CUSTOM Division
1st Place, 90 points Randy Chappell
2nd Place, 82 points Robby Roberts
3rd Place, 80 points Chris Brady
FACTORY Division
1st Place, 72 points Greg Davis
2nd Place, 59 points Jeff Godfrey
3rd Place, 59 points Jason Elmosre
Rock River AR Wins Factory Division
There were some surprises this year in the Factory Division. While many folks expected a Savage 6BR or 6.5-284 to win, that wasn’t in the cards. This year a semi-auto ‘Black Rifle’ outshot all the factory bolt guns. Greg Davis scored 72 points with his .223 Rem Rock River AR15 to win the Factory division by a comfortable margin. The next best Factory shooters, Jeff Godfrey and Jason Elmore, both had identical 59-point totals. Godfrey was awarded second place over Elmore on a tie-breaker.
Challenging Conditions on the Range
Conditions at the Hickory were pretty tough this year. Sam Hall, a past Hickory winner and IBS Shooter of the year explained: “It was difficult this year, with 20+ mph, gusty winds in the afternoon. This is a ‘no sighters’ match and I was having trouble with my cold bore zero. I wasn’t the only one.”
The 6 BRDX — The Best BR Improved Yet?
Shooting his new 6 BRDX, Sam finished eighth in Custom Division, with 73 points. Sam likes the 6 BRDX chambering, which is a 6BR Improved with a 40° shoulder, but with a longer neck than a BRX or Dasher. “I’m real happy with the BRDX… I think it is as accurate as a BRX or Dasher, but the brass is much easier to form. Randy Chappell told me the same thing. I think it has enough case capacity to hit the velocities we want. The BRDX was shooting ‘lights out’ earlier this year, but I think maybe my tune wasn’t right for the conditions at the Hickory.”
Hornady has discovered social networking. This week Hornady launched official Facebook and Twitter sites. Fans can go to Facebook.com/hornady and Twitter.com/teamhornady to get the latest news about Hornady products and events.
Hornady’s Facebook Site will offer:
Live chats with industry experts.
Exclusive discounts and promotions.
Timely info on new products.
Product photo galleries and videos.
On Hornady’s new social media pages, shooters can share their photos and stories about hunting, competitive shooting, and reloading. Importantly, the Facebook Page will allow shooters to interact with Hornady’s “brain trust” — the ballisticians, designers, and engineers who develop Hornady’s new products. Allowing customers to share their ideas/experiences with the folks who design and build Hornady products is a good thing. Hornady can get reliable, immediate feedback on its products. That should speed up the process of making improvements and enhancements.
In a near-perfect performance, Sarah Scherer, a sophomore at Texas Christian University (TCU), claimed the gold medal in Women’s 10m Air Rifle at the ISSF World Cup Korea. Scherer entered the final round tied with Poland’s Agnieska Nagay, a two-time Olympian. Scherer then nailed an impressive 103.5 score in the final, to finish with 501.5 total points, winning by one point. Nagay finished with 500.5 total points (398+102.5) for the silver medal and a quota place for Poland. Finishing third was Serbia’s Ivana Maksimovic with 499.4 total points (397+102.4).
Sarah, an All-American and NCAA Champion shooter at TCU, wowed the crowd. National Rifle Coach Major Dave Johnson said, “Sarah was a focused machine. I was impressed with her control and determination.” You can watch Scherer shoot in the ISSF Video below (action starts after 35-second intro).
Not only is this a huge accomplishment for Scherer, she also brings home a much-needed 2012 Olympic quota for Women’s 10m Air Rifle. In an ISSF interview, Scherer said, “It has been my first time in a final, and it was a bit intimidating to shoot shoulder to shoulder with these experienced athletes. But I have been training hard to get here, so I was quite confident. It feels great to win a quota place for my country.” This was Scherer’s first ISSF Gold. But she is no stranger to the podium. Sarah was the 2010 NCAA National smallbore rifle champion and the 2010 USA Junior Olympics air rifle champion.
Forum member Jerry Tierney reports that the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (Folsom Shooting Club) had a great turnout for its 600-yard high power prone and F-Class match this past weekend. There were 55 shooters total, with more F-Class shooters than prone shooters, and the 20 F-TR shooters was the biggest . That’s impressive attendance for this early in the season.
Noma Mayo Wins Prone, Pete White Wins F-Open, Sean Mattson Wins F-TR
Jerry Tierney reports: “I really hate to say this but, Lane got beat by the girl again. Prone winner was Norma Mayo with a 599-43X, edging runner-up Lane Buxton who shot 598-40X. That is a bunch of Xs!” Interestingly, If Noma had shot on the F-class target (using iron sights and sling) her score would have been 582.
F-Open winner was Peter White, who posted 592-33x to edge Jerry Tierney on X-Count. Jerry shot 592-20X for second place. Jerry was shooting his 7mm SAUM (with Berger 180gr Hybrids) while Peter was shooting his 6BRX with Varget, Berger 108s, and CCI BR4s. Forum member Sean Mattson shot 555-16X, finish first in a large F-TR field. With 20 shooters, F-TR was the most popular class.
NBRSA 600-Yard and 1000-Yard Nationals Coming Soon
One reason this Match was so well-attended by F-Classers is that the NBRSA 600-Yard and 1000-Yard Nationals plus a 1K F-Class Bench Match will be held later this month in Sacramento, so this weekend was an ideal “tune-up” match. The entry/information forms are now available for the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals (Sloughhouse 600: April 20-21, 2011), 1000-Yard F-Class Bench Match (April 22, 2011), and 1000-Yard Nationals (Sloughhouse 1000: April 23-25, 2011). All three major events will be held at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center, located outside Sacramento, California.
The 2011 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships, hosted by Clemson University, conclude today. We have final results from the Air Rifle competition which wrapped up earlier. Clayton Peck of Michigan State won the overall air rifle title with a 582 score. Clemson’s Dylan Smith took second with 570, barely edging Tori Kostecki from North Georgia CSU who posted a 569. In team competition, Clemson won gold, Penn State took second, while West Virginia finished third. Below is a slide show with images from the air rifle finals which took place at The Citadel Marksmanship Center.
Five Competition Classes in Take-5 Events
There five (5) different classes for competition, as listed below. A shooter may enter different classifications for pistol and rifle.
Great Location for Family Getaway
This Editor has often competed at the Morro Bay shooting range facility. This is a great venue for a weekend getaway. The range is close to the ocean, with affordable hotels and good camping facilities nearby. You can bring the whole family. There’s plenty for them to see and do.
The Online Entry Form for the 2011 National Matches has links to download Liability forms and Special Squadding Request forms for the Smallbore Rifle Phase. Please note that team entries must be made on-site at Camp Perry. Visit www.nmentry.com, for more info. If you have questions about online entry, email compadmin@nrahq.org.
John Weber, a 70-year-old from England, was given a metal mug by his grandfather in 1945. Though his grandfather had a “good eye” for antiques, John never thought the metal mug was worth much. He played with it as a child, and even used it as a target for his air rifle. The mug, assumed to be brass, has languished in a shoe box under Weber’s bed for decades.
Well, it turns out Weber’s old mug may be the world’s most expensive plinking target! The cup is actually made of solid gold, and is a rare, ancient artwork, crafted over 2300 years ago. The unusual mug, decorated with twin, opposite-facing female heads, was appraised with a value exceeding one-quarter million dollars ($250,000)!
According to news reports, Weber decided to have the old mug (thought to be brass) appraised when he moved from his house. He was shocked to learn that the mug is a Persian gold treasure, beaten out from a single sheet of gold before the time of Alexander the Great. Experts said the type of gold and the way the cup was hammered was “consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing” dating back to the third or fourth century BC. The Achaemenid Empire ruled most of the Middle East and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Could this cup be one of Alexander’s war trophies? What stories could it tell from the past 2300 years?
Ancient Gold Cup Brings £50,000 at Auction
The rare cup was sold at auction by Duke’s Auction house in southwest England in June, 2008. Though the Cup was valued much higher by experts, it only fetched £50,000, or roughly $99,000 U.S. Dollars (at 2008 exchange rates). John Webber said he was still very pleased with that result.
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) will host rifle, pistol, and High Power rifle beginning- and intermediate- level coach’s courses at Fort Benning, GA this fall. The Rifle Coach’s Course will be conducted Sept. 10-11, the Pistol Course Sept. 17-18, and the High Power Rifle Coach’s Course will be held Oct. 1-2, 2011.
Certificates Awarded to Class Graduates
Cost of each course will be $125.00. Classes start at 8 am each day and conclude at 4 pm. Upon successful completion of the course, each participant will be eligible to be awarded a NRA Level 1 Coach Certificate. Each participant must provide their own transportation, lodging and meals.
To learn more about the Coaching Classes, contact Coach Richard Hawkins at (706) 545-7022, or email richard.hawkins [at] usaac.army.mil or rnh1953 [at] aol.com. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, Michael.Molinaro@usaac.army.mil or www.USAMU.com.
The U.S. Border Patrol Agency has been ordered to “give up its guns”, starting this summer. In a surprise directive issued this morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), parent agency of the Border Patrol, announced that up to one-half of U.S. Border Patrol Agents will be required to turn in their firearms, starting August 1, 2011. The current issue sidearm of the Border Patrol is the HK P2000 LEM in .40 SW, but Agents many also carry rifles and shotguns. Duty Weapons will be replaced by non-lethal dye markers, similar to paintball guns.
Agents to Be Disarmed in Border Areas Speaking at a Washington, DC press conference, Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano stated that stripping the Border Patrol of lethal weapons reflects the “long-stated objective of this Adminstration to value human life over all other lesser considerations.” Napolitano stressed that the Border Patrol would not be required to give up all its firearms. The Patrol would still maintain pistols, rifles, and shotguns in “secure lock-ups” removed from the “immediate border area”.
The goal of the policy shift, Napolitano stated, is to eliminate the risk of accidental or unintentional injury to “wayward travelers and undocumented citizens”. Napolitano denied that confiscation of Border Patrol Agents’ firearms was a response to “trigger-happy men in green”. Napolitano stated: “I have the greatest faith in our men and women in the Border force”, adding that “we are now giving those Agents viable non-lethal technologies with which they can carry out their duties”.
Firearms Replaced by Non-Lethal Alien Immigrant Marker System (NLAIM)
The technologies cited by Director Napolitano include the new Non-Lethal Alien Immigrant Marker (NLAIM) which will be provided to Border Patrol agents on the “front line”, i.e. those who actively patrol the southern border. The NLAIM is a pneumatic device that propels small, liquid-filled marker balls at effective ranges up to 50 feet. Once released, the liquid inside the balls leaves a highly-visible, long-lasting dye mark on anything it contacts. In addition, the dye marker solution is activated by body heat so it literally “glows in the dark” when viewed through night-vision optics.
Is NLAIM Technology Really Something New? Critics of NLAIM technology claim that NLAIM devices are merely over-priced versions of recreational paintball guns, many of which sell for under $200.00. NLAIMs, which will be provided in both pistol and carbine configurations, cost nearly $2700.00 each, not including transport modules. A total of 10,000 NLAIMs will be delivered to the Border Patrol under a no-bid DHS contract valued at $26.8 million dollars. Some of that cost will be offset by revenues earned from the recycling of current Border Patrol firearms which will be decommissioned, melted down, and sold for scrap.
Chief Border Patrol Agent Randall Sikes (Del Rio Sector) defended the switch from conventional firearms to NLAIMs. Sikes stated that: “Hey, these aren’t just run-of-the-mill paintball guns — I mean these babies are state-of-the-art. Plus you can’t buy our day/night ammo balls in any paintball store. You think glow in the dark capability comes easy? The NLAIM is a sophisticated law enforcement tool, not a toy.”
Sikes also said that the NLAIM lets an Agent respond more effectively than ever before to a border incident. “Look, with a real gun, I mean you can either point it, or shoot it, and we don’t want the latter. The border-crossers we face know we won’t shoot them, so they just run away. At least now we can color-tag them and the choppers can chase ‘em down. We get the job done and no one gets hurt. Plus the NLAIMs are a hoot to shoot. It’s a win-win.”
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Currently, the U.S. Border Patrol employs over 20,200 agents, who are specifically responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international land borders. Agents are assigned primarily to the Mexico–United States border. There are 20 Border Patrol sectors, each headed by a Sector Chief Patrol Agent. Currently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has more sworn law enforcement officers than any other agency in the U.S. Federal government.
Challenging Conditions on the Range
In a near-perfect performance, 
The 2011 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships, hosted by Clemson University, conclude today. We have final results from the Air Rifle competition which wrapped up earlier. Clayton Peck of Michigan State won the overall air rifle title with a 582 score. Clemson’s Dylan Smith took second with 570, barely edging Tori Kostecki from North Georgia CSU who posted a 569. In team competition, Clemson won gold, Penn State took second, while West Virginia finished third. Below is a slide show with images from the air rifle finals which took place at The Citadel Marksmanship Center.
The 
Camp Perry shooters, get out those computer keyboards. Online entry is now officially activated for the 
The U.S. Border Patrol Agency has been ordered to “give up its guns”, starting this summer. In a surprise directive issued this morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), parent agency of the Border Patrol, announced that up to one-half of U.S. Border Patrol Agents will be required to turn in their firearms, starting August 1, 2011. The current issue sidearm of the Border Patrol is the HK P2000 LEM in .40 SW, but Agents many also carry rifles and shotguns. Duty Weapons will be replaced by non-lethal dye markers, similar to paintball guns.
Speaking at a Washington, DC press conference, Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano stated that stripping the Border Patrol of lethal weapons reflects the “long-stated objective of this Adminstration to value human life over all other lesser considerations.” Napolitano stressed that the Border Patrol would not be required to give up all its firearms. The Patrol would still maintain pistols, rifles, and shotguns in “secure lock-ups” removed from the “immediate border area”.
Critics of NLAIM technology claim that NLAIM devices are merely over-priced versions of recreational paintball guns, many of which sell for under $200.00. NLAIMs, which will be provided in both pistol and carbine configurations, cost nearly $2700.00 each, not including transport modules. A total of 10,000 NLAIMs will be delivered to the Border Patrol under a no-bid DHS contract valued at $26.8 million dollars. Some of that cost will be offset by revenues earned from the recycling of current Border Patrol firearms which will be decommissioned, melted down, and sold for scrap.
