Here’s an interesting job opportunity that would allow gun-savvy writers to work from home, anywhere in the country. Brownells, Inc. is seeking freelance writers for Public Relations press releases. According to Randy Lehman, Brownells’ Marketing Director, the ideal candidate “would have knowledge of the shooting industry, some knowledge of Brownells and experience in public relations.” We think many of our readers would qualify. To be considered please email a cover letter & resume to Randy.Lehmann [at] brownells.com. If you have questions, call (641) 623-5401.
A bill in Congress would allow state agencies to use their shares of Federal Excise/Sales Tax Revenues (derived from gun, ammo, and archery sales) to acquire land for new shooting ranges. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act (H.R.3781) would give state agencies more flexibility in spending Pittman-Robertson dollars for the development of new sites for shooting ranges. H.R.3781 was introduced in October 2009 by Rep. Betsey Markey of Colorado. The bill, supported by NSSF, would give states the ability to use federal excise/sales tax revenues to purchase land for new ranges for the first time and increase federal dollars for range construction and improvement.
We think this is a great idea. Please tell your members of Congress to support H.R.3781. In many parts of the country privately-owned ranges are closing (due to a variety of factors including urban sprawl and restrictive land-use laws). Pittman-Robertson revenues are also at an all-time high, as is the general public interest in target shooting. It makes good sense to allow a share of Federal gun-related tax revenues be set aside for range acquisition. H.R. 3781 would amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to:
authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for expanding, or constructing, a public target range;
authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs;
limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%;
require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years.
About the Pittman-Robertson Act
The Pittman-Robertson Act imposes an 11% excise tax on sporting firearms and ammunition, a 10% tax on handguns, and 11% sales tax on archery equipment. Fully half of the monies collected via the handgun and archery equipment taxes goes to state hunter education and safety programs.
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
The Creedmoor Cup segment of the event was dominated by military shooters, most of whom are with the USAMU. SPC Sherri Gallagher won the Creedmoor Cup Overall and the Match Rifle Aggregate. Sgt. Tyrell Cooper won the Creedmoor Cup for Service Rifle and the Service Rifle Aggregate. In Service Rifle Team competition, the USAMU Praslick team finished first with 1957-80X, while the Virginia Shooting Sports Assn. Team took the Match Rifle title with a 1929-58X collective score.
There were many outstanding performances at the Eastern CMP Games, highlighted by David Thompson’s double win in the Carbine Match AND the As-Issued Military Rifle 3-Gun Aggregate. This was David’s second-straight 3-Gun Aggregate win. His 2010 score, 858-19X, was two points higher than his winning Agg. for 2009.
Of the three Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle matches, the Garand Match was the most popular with 213 shooters. The match winner was Randy Ent, with an excellent 291-8X total. Sean Leighton posted a 290-5X to win the Springfield Match. Robert Pestridge, shooting a 6.5×55 Swede, won the Vintage Military Rifle Match. In the As-Issued M1 Garand Special EIC Match, Phillip Randall shot a 379-7X to top a field of 121 competitors. Among the 10 “introductory” 4-point leg EIC winners were TV personality GySgt R. Lee Ermey (USMC retired), and Hornady Ballistician Dave Emary, lead developer of Hornady’s .30-06 match ammo currently issued to CMP Garand and Springfield competitors in Regional and National Matches.
The Rimfire Sporter Match was also popular, attracting 58 shooters. Using a CZ 452 rifle, Ron Villanueva won the scoped-rifle class, posting a 595-41X T-Class score. This is the highest score ever recorded in a CMP-sanctioned Rimfire Sporter event. Congrats to Ron on his superb marksmanship. In the O-Class for open-sighted rifles, Richard Sauer had the other winning score in the Rimfire Sporter Match with a 562-14X total. Other top shooters are listed by event in the table below. You’ll find a detailed report on the CMP Eastern Games in the latest First Shot CMP Online Magazine. Complete scores for the 2010 Eastern CMP Games rifle events are posted on the CMP Website.
AccurateShooter.com is looking to hire a highly-skilled Joomla CMS website consultant or developer group for a two-month project. The person(s) must be highly proficient in working with large, content-rich sites that utilize multiple plug-ins and multiple templates. We need a person or group capable of sophisticated coding AND excellent graphic design. The project will require considerable custom layout work and CSS styling.
If any of our readers can recommend developers who are up to the task, please send their name(s) and contact info to: mailbox@6mmbr.com.
Tune in to Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio this Sunday, May 23rd. Tom has an all-star line-up for Sunday’s broadcast, leading off with Texas Governor Rick Perry. Gov. Perry talks about guns, freedom, and using his own carry pistol to fend off a coyote attack.
Military Cartridge Brass Controversy
U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth of Indiana also joins Gresham to discuss an amendment added to the National Defense Authorization Bill that would prohibit the U.S. military from destroying brass cartridge cases. Some base commanders have allowed this “once-fired” brass to be sold as scrap metal, which results in less revenue for the Department of Defense. It also eliminates millions of reloadable cartridge cases which should be sold through legal channels — something that can help with the brass shortages law recreational and competitive shooters have experienced recently.
“As a gun owner myself and a former sheriff,” said Rep. Ellsworth, “I know that these cases are mostly used for marksmanship training and competition and law enforcement agencies. Authorizing the military to re-sell these casing is a win-win for hunters and marksman and the Defense Department.”
SCAR Rifle Deployment for SOCOM
Gabe Bailey, FNH USA Marketing Director for Combat Rifle and Technical Support, will also visit Gun Talk Radio this Sunday. He will discuss the SCAR weapon system, which recently received final “Milestone C” approval for deployment to U.S. SOCOM troops.
In its 15th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio runs on 94 stations, plus SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts through Apple iTunes or at Gun Talk Archives.
Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 4-6 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is the 11th consecutive season that San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assn. hosts the IRC, the highlight of the ICORE revolver shooting season. Nearly 200 ace revolver shooters, from the USA as well as 6 foreign countries, are expected to compete. According to Ron Joslin, IRC match director: “This is the highlight of our competition season. It’s where everybody in ICORE comes together to determine who is the best. This is our Superbowl, and it’s been that way for the last 18 years.”
The man to beat in Open Class will be legendary pistolero Jerry Miculek of Team Smith & Wesson. Jerry has won every IRC in which he has competed. When it comes to wheelguns, Miculek is the fastest man on the planet. Also competing will be past Ladies Open Division winner Julie Golob, and last year’s Limited Division Champion John Bagakis.
Along with the adult classifications, the IRC features divisions for Junior shooters. The junior events are always crowd-pleasers. Some of these youngsters are definitely future champions in the making. The video below shows the 2009 IRC Junior Shoot-Off for the overall Junior Title.
Man vs. Machine-Gun — Miculek Duels Uzi on Shooting USA TV
In related news, on tonight’s ‘Impossible Shots’ segment of the Shooting USA TV broadcast, Jerry Miculek will attempt to keep pace with a full-auto Uzi machine-gun. Shooting his tuned 1911 pistol, Miculek will engage a set of targets and try to match the RPM (rounds per minute) rate of the Uzi. This should be an interesting challenge to watch. Who will win? Well, I would never bet against Miculek when it comes to speed shooting….
Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots airs Wednesday at these times:
Eastern Time: 2:30 PM, 10:30 PM | 2:30 AM (Thursday)
Central Time: 1:30 PM, 9:30 PM | 1:30 AM (Thursday)
Mountain Time: 12:30 PM, 8:30 PM | 12:30 AM (Thursday)
Pacific Time: 11:30 AM, 7:30 PM, 11:30 PM
There has been a trend to ever-lighter handgun frame construction, in an effort to make pistols lighter and more convenient to carry. Ruger just introduced the LCR 357, a .357 Magnum carry revolver with a frame made, in part, from plastic. Well, perhaps weight reduction efforts have gone too far, at least when it comes to magnum chamberings in handguns.
A Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum model 329 PD revolver recently broke in half while shooting Winchester factory ammo. The whole front end of the gun sheared off forward of the cylinder. Cause of the failure is unknown, but it does not appear that the barrel was obstructed, as there was no visible damage to the barrel assembly forward of the frame. We really don’t know why this revolver broke in half, though some observers speculated there may have been hairline fractures in the frame. That’s just a guess. It’s also possible that the factory ammo was over-charged. The pictures below were posted by the gun owner on Photobucket and first linked on AR15.com.
Scandium Alloy Frames
The model 329 PD has a “Scandium AirLite” frame, which is in fact an alloy of aluminum and scandium. When combined with aluminum, scandium (which costs ten times as much as gold by weight), forms an alloy that is lighter than titanium and as much as three times stronger than ordinary aluminum. Apparently however, there can be problems with scandium construction… as the photos reveal. Last year, Smith & Wesson recalled 270 limited-edition Performance Center m329 revolvers because barrel assembly may have caused frame damage. The model 329 PD shown in this article was NOT one of the recalled Performance Center guns.
Make My Magnum from Steel… The Smith & Wesson model 329 PD weighs only 25.1 ounces total, unloaded. Why one would want to shoot “full-house”, high-pressure loads through such a light gun puzzles this Editor. For a carry gun, lower-pressure .44 Special loads seem more appropriate. Smith & Wesson makes a variety of heavier, all-steel handguns chambered in .44 Magnum. If I was to shoot a steady diet of full-power .44 Magnum loads through a revolver, give me a gun with a solid steel frame, such as the classic S&W model 29. After seeing these shocking kaboom photos, when shooting true Magnum loads through a Scandium-framed revolver I would nervously ask myself the question famously posed by Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry: “Do I feel lucky?”.
Musician Ted Nugent wowed the crowd at the 139th Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Charlotte, NC. Nugent offered some great advice on how to bring more folks into the shooting sports and how to change the attitudes of Americans who disapprove of guns and recreational shooting.
Nugent Says “Fix” the Anti-Gunners
“Fix them”, Nugent said. “You have a friend that doesn’t like guns? Spend an afternoon with them at the range. Your wife doesn’t like hunting? Take her to the woods until she lands her first deer. To paraphrase Uncle Ted, there’s no one out there who can’t be saved, we just have to fix them.” We like Nugent’s simple, pro-active strategies….
“[Nugent] was spectacular,” said an NRA member from New York. “Maybe more raw than some were expecting, but hey – that’s Ted. Might not like all the words, but the message is always on target.”
Bringing people to their feet time and again, The Nuge wrapped up the event with a handful of tunes and a plea for those who protect and serve. Be they firemen, policeman, or soliders, you should treat them. Treat them to an NRA membership. Treat them to a meal. Treat them to anything and everything because these are the people who protect our lives and freedoms so we should do everything within our power to protect them.
GUNPAL has become “GPal”. GUNPAL, organized as an electronic payment system for firearms transactions, is now operating as GPal, Inc. at www.GPal.net.
“As our userbase grows, so must our appeal. The GPal name signifies that we are a payment service for every lawful purpose, and our VeriSign EV SSL Certificate, the strongest in the world, showcases our commitment to security.” says GPal.net CEO Ben Cannon. The change was made to provide a broader potential market for GPal, which currently boasts 20,000+ users. GPal will remain the preferred payment service for AuctionArms.com.
Cannon added: “Only the name is evolving to better serve our user base and provide a growth path for expansion. All buttons, links and banners will continue to work but will be redirected to GPal.net. Thank you for your support thus far in providing a transaction-neutral payment service.” Learn more about GPal developments on GPal’s FaceBook webpage.
At the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC, Austrian pistol-maker Glock Gesellschaft mbH donated over $115,000 in cash and materials to the NRA and its programs. $50K went to the NRA directly, while Glock made separate donations of $50,000 to the NRA Whittington Center and $15,000 to the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp.
Located in Raton, NM, the Whittington Center is an important venue for competitive shooting. Every year it hosts major championships including the Spirit of America match. We tip our hat to Glock, particularly for its generous donation to the Whittington Center. Glock’s contributions will help the Whittington Center maintain and upgrade its range facilities, along with expanding its training and youth programs.
Here’s an interesting job opportunity that would allow gun-savvy writers to work from home, anywhere in the country. Brownells, Inc. is seeking freelance writers for Public Relations press releases. According to Randy Lehman, Brownells’ Marketing Director, the ideal candidate “would have knowledge of the shooting industry, some knowledge of Brownells and experience in public relations.” We think many of our readers would qualify. To be considered please email a cover letter & resume to Randy.Lehmann [at] brownells.com. If you have questions, call (641) 623-5401.
A bill in Congress would allow state agencies to use their shares of Federal Excise/Sales Tax Revenues (derived from gun, ammo, and archery sales) to acquire land for new shooting ranges. The 
The 2010 Eastern CMP Games were held at Camp Butner, NC on 8-11 May. Now in its 4th year, the Eastern CMP Games is more popular than ever — entries were up 32% from 2009. Participation in the Eastern Games rifle events has grown from 265 event entries in 2007 to 764 entries this year. In fact, if the 83 entries in the two service pistol events and 72 entries in this year’s new Vintage Sniper Test Match are also counted, the 2010 event entry count was a whopping 919. As a result, the capacity of the three Camp Butner ranges was stretched to the limit. For the 30-shot As-Issued Military Rifle Match on Saturday, an absolute maximum of 200 shooters were squadded in four relays on a 50-point range. The 32-point Rimfire Sporter range was also filled to capacity for its two scheduled relays on Sunday afternoon.
AccurateShooter.com is looking to hire a highly-skilled Joomla CMS website consultant or developer group for a two-month project. The person(s) must be highly proficient in working with large, content-rich sites that utilize multiple plug-ins and multiple templates. We need a person or group capable of sophisticated coding AND excellent graphic design. The project will require considerable custom layout work and CSS styling.
Tune in to Tom Gresham’s 
In its 15th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio runs on 94 stations, plus SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts through Apple iTunes or at 
Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 4-6 at the 
The Smith & Wesson 
Musician Ted Nugent wowed the crowd at the 139th Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Charlotte, NC. Nugent offered some great advice on how to bring more folks into the shooting sports and how to change the attitudes of Americans who disapprove of guns and recreational shooting.
GUNPAL has become “GPal”. GUNPAL, organized as an electronic payment system for firearms transactions, is now operating as GPal, Inc. at 
