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January 15th, 2009
 SHOT Show in Orlando, Florida commences Thursday, Jan. 15th at 08:30 am. AccurateShooter.com will be covering the show, including the preliminary Media Day-at-the-Range on Wednesday the 14th. Our correspondent at SHOT 2009 will be Jason Baney, aided by his wife (who’ll help with cameras and computer stuff).
Jason heads to the show armed with a long list of things to do, from product evaluations to interviews with folks like Jochen Anschütz, David Tubb (Superior Shooting Systems), and Dave Kiff (Pacific Tool & Gauge). We plan to have a look at some new custom actions to be released in 2009, plus the latest optics from Bushnell, Leica, Leupold, March, Premier, Schmidt & Bender, Sightron, Swarovski, and Zeiss.
Help Us Share Your Ideas with Industry Big Shots
Jason will be talking directly to important shooting industry decision-makers and product designers. We would like to share ideas and product feedback from our readership. What do YOU have to say to the guys who build the products you buy?
 What would you like us to tell shooting industry professionals representing Hornady, Lapua, Leupold, RCBS, Savage, Sierra Bullets, and other companies? Do you have specific product questions you’d like us to get answered at SHOT Show? You can post your suggestions as a comment to this thread. Or, you can email Jason directly at JB1000BR [at] Yahoo.com.
• Do you have a particular product you want to see covered?
• Do you have suggestions about new products? (For example, what new cartridge would you like to see Lapua produce?)
• Are there questions you’d like to ask manufacturers such as Sierra Bullets, Hornady Mfg., and Hodgdon Powder?
• Do you have feedback on current products and product options? (For example, we know our readers love the new Sightron 30mm scopes, but they want more reticle choices.)
Post your ideas by clicking the “Comments” link at right. >>>>>>>
January 14th, 2009
The National Assn. of Shooting Ranges (NASR), a division of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), has made available a complete guide to constructing a sturdy, six-gun, outdoor rifle rack. On its website, the NASR offers a step-by-step Rifle Rack Building Guide, printable .pdf project instructions, plus a Web Video that covers the whole building process.
The article explains: “This rack stands 36 inches tall and extends 18 inches from the wall. Most rifles and shotguns fit comfortably well within these dimensions. The slots for the butts are two inches wide and five inches from front to back. Both the larger shotguns and smaller rifles we tested for fit rested in the rack securely. An outdoor gun rack can be constructed of readily available materials for $60 or less. The legs are 2x6s cut to length. A gun-butt carriage is assembled of 1×4 and 1×6 pine boards and short pieces of 2×4 lumber. The rack’s top cradles the muzzles between 2×2 blocks of cedar. Felt helps protect the guns’ finishes.”
Gun Rack Project Resources
Materials You’ll Need | Step-by-Step Directions | Printer-Friendly .PDF Layout
January 14th, 2009
The NRA has officially embraced the popular multi-gun or ‘three-gun’ competition discipline. The first NRA-sanctioned, multi-gun match will be the Larue Tactical 3-Gun Match held in Waco, Texas, March 28-29, 2009. This event was recently expanded to 160 entrants (after “selling out” the first 120 places), so it is still possible to register.
A ceremony marking the NRA’s official sanctioning of Multi-Gun Competition will take place at this year’s SHOT Show in Orlando, FL. “Three-gun competitors are a welcome addition to an already outstanding group of competitive shooters,” said Kayne Robinson, Executive VP of NRA’s General Operations.
Three other 2009 multi-Gun matches have been sanctioned by the NRA:
 Sabre Defense Blue Ridge Mountain 3-Gun Match, April 24-26, 2009
Johnson 3-Gun Match, June 27-28, 2009
Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Match, NRA Wittington Center, Raton, NM August 6-8, 2009.
Over the next few months, the NRA will work with multi-gun event organizers to develop uniform rules and approved courses of fire. Mike Krei, NRA Competitive Shooting Division Director, explains: “The Special Committee on Multi-Gun Competitions will assist the NRA in developing rules for the competition, developing the stages of fire necessary to run an NRA-sanctioned competition, and training NRA staff to better serve three-gun competitors.”
For more information on the LaRue Tactical Three-Gun Match, or future three-gun competitions, contact Janet Raab in the NRA Competitive Shooting Division by email, jraab@nrahq.org or by phone at (703) 267-1479. To learn more about the NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division or sponsorship of three-gun matches visit www.nrahq.org/compete.
January 12th, 2009
Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk®, a nationally-syndicated radio show, will now be available on the Sirius satellite radio system in the U.S. and Canada. Sirius merged with XM satellite radio last year, and Gun Talk, which has been airing on XM, now has been added to Sirius. Gun Talk now will be carried on the “Sirius Too” channel, which is found at channel 108 on the Sirius system, and channel 139 on XM receivers. A complete list of stations carrying Gun Talk, as well as links to streaming audio and download sites, can be found at www.GunTalk.com.
Guns and Shooting Interest Millions of Listeners
The combined subscriber base of Sirius-XM is 19.1 million listeners. “The merger of Sirius and XM forced a lot of programming changes,” said Tom Gresham, host of the show, “and many fine talk shows have been dropped. We’re delighted that we not only remain on XM — where we have a huge group of loyal listeners — but the addition of the Sirius system to Gun Talk’s distribution is huge.”
How Gun Talk Radio Started — An Idea Born at SHOT Show
Back in January, 1995, Tom was attending the SHOT Show, the huge annual trade show for the firearms industry, when a casual conversation lead to the idea of a radio talk show about guns. Only six weeks later he was on the air, being beamed to three satellites and 20 radio stations.
 One famous radio industry consultant told Tom the show would be lucky to be on the air for a year. He didn’t know Tom…or how many gun owners there are in the U.S. (there’s a gun in almost half the homes in the country). Now, 14 years later, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk® is carried in 50 markets across the U.S., on Sirius and XM satellite radio services, and is heard by thousands every week via web streams. Gresham has been included in Talkers Magazine’s list of 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts In America!
January 10th, 2009
 The 2009 Membership Meeting of the International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) will be held January 23-24 at the Harrisburg Holiday Inn & Conference Center in New Cumberland, Pennsylvannia. Zip (for finding directions) is 17070. On Friday, the 23rd, there is a social get-together starting at 7:00 pm. Serious business commences Saturday morning, the 24th, at 9:00 am sharp. For hotel reservations, call (717) 774-2721, and ask for the special “International Benchrest Shooters” (IBS) rate.
Active IBS members in the region should attend if possible. Many important topics are set for discussion on the 2009 Meeting Agenda. IBS President Jim Borden also reminds members that annual dues are now $50.00 for regular members and $15.00 for associate memberships.
CLICK HERE to download the Full Agenda for the IBS Meeting. (Adobe .pdf file)
January 9th, 2009
Attention High Power and Air Rifle Shooters — The CMP is introducing a new event called “National Match Air Rifle”. This new discipline features two courses of fire similar to the High Power rifle standing and John C. Garand courses of fire. These stages will be shot with air rifles on reduced High Power 200- and 600-yard targets on 10-meter ranges. There will be three rifle classes: sporter, match/precision and AR-type air rifle.
Initial Test Match at Camp Perry This Weekend
Here’s your chance to get involved in the launch of a new shooting sport. The CMP will hold a test match at the Camp Perry Marksmanship Center on 10 January. This inaugural match will be held at the CMP’s new Camp Perry Marksmanship Center that offers 80 firing points equipped with state-of-the-art electronic targets and an electronic display system.
The CMP invites both experienced High Power shooters and recreational air gun shooters to participate in the test match. Shooter feedback from test matches will help the CMP finalize the rules and course of fire. At the match, the “prototype”, 10-bull paper AR-SR and AR-MR Nat’l Match targets will be displayed. You’ll also have a chance to view new industry prototype AR-style air rifles. There will also be a Novice Prone Match that can be fired by younger juniors who are just getting started in target shooting (see Match Program .pdf for details).
CLICK HERE for Match Registration Form.
CLICK HERE for Test Match Program .pdf and Event Schedule.
January 6th, 2009
Next week, NSSF’s 2009 SHOT Show will open in Orlando, Florida. Spanning more than 700,000 square feet of exhibition space, the show will bring together exhibitors, buyers and media from around the globe. AccurateShooter.com will be covering the show, providing exclusive photos, interviews, and “first look” reviews of the latest products. Asst. Editor Jason Baney will be working the show for us. We’ve been advised to expect important news from Lapua, Alliant, Hodgdon, Stiller Precision, and some of the major optics makers.
The show officially kicks off Thursday, Jan. 15 at 8:30 am, but Jason will arrive in Orlando a day early to attend the “Media Day” demonstration event at the Orlando Sheriff’s range. Jason will get to field-test new firearms from major manufacturers.
SHOT Show Online Navigator Available
If you’re headed to the show in Orlando, you’ll want to get a floorplan layout. There are so many exhibitors, it’s wise to map out your “plan of attack” in advance. The SHOT Show website features an interactive Online Navigator that allows you to search companies by name, booth, and directory category, so you easily find any exhibitor. Choose a company and you can zoom/pan the Navigator to locate the booth. That makes it much easier to plan your agenda efficiently, and spend less time back-tracking. Using the Navigator, you can easily map all the companies and exhibits you want to see, and create a show agenda that targets your key points of interest.
Regular Updates on Shotshow.org
The official SHOT Show website, www.shotshow.org, will be updated regulary throughout the show. If you’re into mobile computing, you can sign up for Twitter updates for your cell phone or PDA. To get text updates, simply text the words “Follow NSSFComm” to 40404.
January 6th, 2009
 Hodgdon® Powder Company has just announced the acquisition of Goex Powder, Inc., the sole source of American-made black powder. Goex Powder manufactures black powder used for sporting applications, historical re-enactments, and black-powder firearms. Black powder also remains a vital component for fireworks, industrial and military applications.
Goex makes a variety of products for shooters including multiple grades of black powder, Pinnacle black powder substitute, and ‘Black Dawge’ pre-loaded black powder cartridges for hunting, long-range competition, and cowboy action shooting.
Located in Minden, Louisiana, GOEX Powder, Inc. is the only U.S. manufacturer of black powder. The company has over a 200-year history of black powder manufacturing in the United States. “Goex is a proud American business with a rich history” announced Tom Shepherd, President and CEO. “In 1802, E.I. Du Pont de Nemours broke ground on his original black powder plant along the Brandywine River in Delaware.” For more info, visit GoexPowder.com, or write to Goex Powder, 6231 Robinson, Shawnee Mission, KS 66202.
January 3rd, 2009
The Daily Bulletin displays the most recent articles on the first page. To see older articles you can simply use the “Older Posts >>” link at the bottom of this page. That’s handy for scanning back a few days. However, we now have nearly 1300 posts, generated over the past two years. All those older posts are archived! If you’re looking for a particular story posted some months ago, it’s best to use our search tools, which are on the right side of the page.
Folks email us regularly saying: “Hey, there was an interesting item in the Daily Bulletin, but I can’t find it now.” Take heart. Every Bulletin story is saved in our archive. You can always navigate to all previous posts using our multiple navigation tools.
The fastest and easiest method to find older posts is simply to search by keyword, or click one of the topic headings. If you want to see a video, for example, just click on “Videos”. If you’re looking for all stories about scopes, click “Optics”. To find a particular item, such as the story on Barnard actions, just type “Barnard” in the search field and click “Search”. Our search works very fast! Try it, you’ll like it.
You can also access archived posts by clicking on a Month (such as March 2008), in the archive list. This will bring up the most recent dozen posts from that month. To see older posts within that month, use the “Older Posts >>” Link again.
January 2nd, 2009
 There are many “for charity” shotgun tournaments held each year, but the “Shoot for the Future” shotgun event in Nashville, TN, is special — in this program, the folks who are being helped get to do the shooting. Wheel-chair-bound shooters participate side-by-side with able-bodied shooters. Proceeds from the event are used to help persons with disabilities, and help fund spinal-cord injury research. The event is organized each year by volunteers and by physicians from the Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center.
On January 7, 2009, Shooting USA television will feature the “Shoot for the Future” charity tournament conducted at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville. Shooting USA’s “Sighting In” segment includes interviews with disabled shooters and doctors from the Vanderbilt Medical Center, such as neuro-surgeon Peter Conrad. Conrad noted: “Our [disabled patients] are not only engaged in … being part of the community, but they’re participating as active competitors in the tournament, and that’s inspiring to anybody.” Conrad also predicts that developments in medical science may, in a decade, allow some of the wheelchair shooters to walk again. The YouTube video below previews the 1/7/2009 broadcast. (Editor: Do watch the video — it has an uplifting message.)
The next “Shoot for the Future” wheelchair shotgun tournament will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex, 1100 County Hospital Road, Nashville, TN. For more information, visit the Shoot for the Future website.
If you’re interested in developing a program for disabled shooters at your club or shooting facility, contact the NRA’s Disabled Shooting Services Program, under the direction of Vanessa Warner. Call Vanessa at (703) 267-1495 or email: disabled-shooting [at] nra-hq.org.
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