September 28, 2024 is National Hunting & Fishing Day. The annual celebration takes place on the the fourth Saturday of September every year. National, regional, state and local organizations will run thousands of “open house” hunting- and fishing-related events around the country. Events will include Fishing Derbys, Hunting Expos, Wing-shooting tournaments, and much more.
Hunting Safety Checklist
A good hunt begins with preparation. And during the hunt, safety is a key priority. To help hunters, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has created a Safety Checklist for hunters. This Hunting Safety Checklist, produced as part of the NSSF’s “Hunt S.A.F.E.” campaign, helps hunters follow good, safe practices in the field and at home.
Hunting season is coming soon. It’s time to sight-in those deer rifles, check the optics, and make sure you’re ready to go. We know some hunters might enjoy shooting game profile targets when at the range for the sight-in process. To that end, here are six animal profile targets from Gun.Deals. Right-click any target to download the printable PDF file, designed to print to standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper. All these targets include entry boxes for Shooter Name, Score, Range (distance), and Date.
Deer Targets with Center Hit Zones Gun.Deals offers two different deer targets, both free to download. We prefer the standing buck with target ring in center mass (left below). Hit the red “10” for maximum points. You can also use this target for rimfire fun practice. NOTE: The ideal shot location for a deer or elk is in a different location, closer to the heart location in the lower, forward torso. However, these targets can be used for initial practice. CLICK HERE for specific anatomical targets for various game species.
Bear Targets with Center Bulls
Few of us have actually encountered large bears in the wild. But if you do… it can be scary. Work on your bear recognition skills with these two targets, a standing bear, and a bear horizontal profile.
Sight-In Target and Bullseye Target
Courtesy of Gun.Deals, we’ve also included a conventional bullseye and a sight-in target. You can augment that sight-in sheet with neon orange Birchwood-Casey Target Spots if you want multiple aim points. A target pack with 160 1.5″ Target Dots is just $3.33 at Amazon.
The 2024 Pyramyd Cup is one of the biggest and most prestigious airgun competitions in North America. This year’s Pyramyd Cup will be held September 11-14, 2024 at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. With a wide selection of disciplines (Gunslynger, Field Target, and Benchrest), this year’s competition is set to be one of the most exciting and competitive in the event’s history. If you want to participate, CLICK HERE to Register.
The 2024 Pyramyd Cup will feature top-tier competitions, including the precision-driven 100 yard Benchrest, the action-packed Gunslynger showdown, and the World Class Field Target competition. As always, top airgunners from around the world will gather to test their skills and vie for top prizes.
John McCaslin, President of AirForce Airguns, stated: “We are excited to sponsor this year’s Pyramyd Cup. We are grateful to Val Gamerman, the owner of Pyramyd Air for graciously hosting this event and bringing the airgun community together for [a great] event.”
Field Target Discipline Is Challenging
“Field Target is one of the most difficult shooting disciplines out there,” says recent Pyramyd Air Cup Match Director, Tyler Patner. “Combine the multiple skills required to rise to the top of your game, with the myriad of factors you take into account at each lane, and you’ve got a challenging sport.”
“Targets are small, metal silhouettes of animals that consist of a kill zone and a colored paddle,” explains Pyramyd’s Tyler Patner. “Placed at unknown distances from between 10 yards to as far as 55 yards, the targets have kill-zones ranging in size from 3/8 inch to 1 1/2 inches. When the pellet passes through the kill zone and hits the paddle, the target falls and you’re awarded a point. It’s a game of precision and practice. You range-find with your scope, dope for distance, take the wind into account, and then you have to execute. There are different restrictions based upon your selected class, but the challenges remain the same. Wind-doping, range-finding, and remaining mentally tough over the entire course of fire are the biggest hurdles competitors face.”
Huge Prize Table for Competitors
Competition prizes are being provided by many airgun, optics, and gear manufacturers including: Accu-Tac, AirForce Airguns, Air Arms, Air Venturi, Athlon, ATN, Crosman, Birchwood Casey, Diana, Firebird Targets, FX Airguns, Hatsan USA, H&N, Hawke, Hill Air Pump, Hawke Sport Optics, JTS Airguns, Leapers, Norica, Predator, Pyramyd, RAW, RX Target Systems, Saber Tactical, Sightron, Sportsmatch, Umarex, Vortex, Weihrauch and more. “You’d be hard-pressed to find an airgun competition with a better selection of prizes for its winners,” says says Pyramyd Air CEO, Joshua Ungier. “Our winner’s packages help assure shooters that if they’re limited to traveling to only one competitive shooting event, they recognize the Pyramyd Air Cup as the industry’s premier event.”
CLICK HERE for full list of 2024 Pyramyd Cup Sponsors.
This evening, Shooting USA TV will feature a major U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) competition — the USPSA Production Class Nationals. Watch the broadcast at 9:00 pm Eastern/Pacific, 8:00 PM Central on the Outdoor Channel. SEE Shooting USA info. This week’s show also features a review of the new ZEISS Conquest HD Binoculars — great for hunters.
The USPSA Production division is easily the most approachable in terms of equipment. These are virtually out of the box guns with minimal enhancements. Even so the national championship chase is highly contested and the level of competition is extremely high.
Broadcast Times: Wednesday 9:00 PM Eastern/Pacific, 8:00 PM Central on Outdoor Channel.
You can also subscribe for $1.99/month to watch broadcasts “on demand” at any time on Vimeo: vimeo.com/ondemand/shootingusa
About the USPSA — Active Sports Group Nationwide
The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is a leading competitive shooting organization dedicated to promoting safe, fair, and fun practical shooting sports. Members engage in dynamic and challenging courses of fire, where speed, accuracy, and power are equally tested. USPSA shooters of all skill levels can enjoy shooting on the clock at steel and reactive targets. Whether you’re a seasoned shooter or new to the sport, USPSA offers fun and well-run competitions.
Hit Factor Scoring Based on Time AND Accuracy
Scoring is more complicated than fixed time events or steel shooting where your time is your score. In USPSA and IPSC each stage is worth a specific number of points. After a competitor completes a stage, the total score they shoot on the targets is divided by the time it takes to finish the stage. This establishes their hit factor. The competitor with the highest hit factor wins the stage and earns the total number of points available for that specific course of fire. The remaining competitors receive a percentage of the stage points based on their hit factors.
Top photo credit: Paul Erhardt, U.S. Air Force, Public Domain, Wikimedia.org.
The Rimfire Challenge Shooting Association (RCSA) will host its annual World Championship next month. The 2024 RCSA World Championship will take place October 19-20, 2024 at the Cavern Cove Competitive Shooting facility in Woodville, Alabama. This RCSA World Championship event will feature multiple stages with metal targets, shot with both rimfire rifle and rimfire pistol. See Rimfire Challenge action from last year’s RCSA Championship below:
Watch Action from the 2023 Rimfire Challenge Championship at Cavern Cove Range in Alabama
The RCSA promotes rimfire competition nationwide, supports beginning competitors and clubs, and solicits support for rimfire events from industry businesses. The RCSA is now an official partner of the +ONE Movement, a mentorship program organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). NSSF +ONE programs encourage mentorship related to firearm safety, firearm basics, shooting sports, and hunting. The +ONE program focuses on peer-to-peer development in shooting sports and hunting.
About the Rimfire Challenge Shooting Association
Designed to introduce new shooters to shooting sports in an exciting, family-friendly format, Rimfire Challenge matches focus on competition with .22 LR rifles and pistols. Matches are open to shooters of all shooting experience levels, with events conducted at ranges nationwide. The video below shows the Rimfire Challenge Shooting Association 2022 Championship.
This article is Copyright 2023 AccurateShooter.com. No reproduction on any other site is permitted.
Rimfire tactical-style matches are now one of the fastest-growing types of rifle competition in the country. The USA has seen a big growth in rimfire tactical matches over the last five years. NRL22 and PRS Rimfire matches are held throughout the country. Right now there are probably ten times as many rimfire tactical matches as sanctioned PRS and NRL centerfire matches. The reason is simple — rimfire ammo is much less costly, and clubs can run challenging rimfire tactical matches at nearly any outdoor gun range that allows shooting out to 200+ yards.
The National Rifle League (NRL) started off sponsoring major centerfire tactical matches, similar to PRS competitions. That proved successful so the NRL added a .22 LR Rimfire series, called NRL22. The NRL22 rimfire discipline has been a major success, as rimfire guns are fun to shoot and ammo is very affordable. The most popular NRL22 matches have drawn up to 200 rimfire competitors. And now PRS has its own PRS .22 Rimfire series.
Precision Rimfire Match with Through-the-Lens Video
Here’s an interesting video featuring a top-tier .22 LR MDT-chassis rifle. The host, Pieter “Piet” Malan from South Africa, runs the excellent Impact Shooting YouTube Channel, which now has 320+ videos on target shooting and hunting. This video features a TriggerCam unit attached to the scope, so you can see hits on the targets, just as the shooter does.
NRL22 — Affordable, Challenging Rimfire Competition Series
NRL22 is a great way to get into competition shooting with minimal expense. There are five (5) classes: Open, Base, Ladies, Young Guns (8-16) and Air Rifle. Base Class is for the budget-minded shooter — the combined MSRP of Rifle and Optic may not exceed $1200.00 (so you could spend $700 on a rifle and $500 on a scope for example). That keeps the sport affordable. Open, Youth, and Ladies Classes have no price limits on Rifle and Optic. Visit NRL22.org to find an NRL22 match near you.
Precision Rimfire Competition Match Report
This excellent video covers a big rimfire precision match, the King of 0.28 Miles event, held at the Rush Lake Range in MN. The video shows multiple stages with targets out to 300 yards, followed by a 465-yard challenge. Host Dave shot the match with a Vudoo Gunworks V22 rifle in a Grayboe Ridgeback stock, with a Trijicon Accupower 4.5-30x56mm FFP scope. The ammo was Lapua Center-X, a top-tier choice.
Introduction to the .22 LR Rimfire Precision Game
The Modern American Rimfire Series (MARS) was created to offer “a practical/tactical event” that could be shot at modest distances. David Luu founded MARS (intially as the Mid-Atlantic Rimfire Series) to provide PRS-type competition at shorter ranges with more affordable ammo. Though the distances are shorter, the challenge remains: “Shooting a .22 LR at 200-yards is like shooting a .308 at 1,000-yards”, Luu told Guns.com. In this video, to help beginners get started, Luu provides a shortlist of beginner tips and tricks for rimfire PRS. The lead photo in this article come from the MARS website.
Rimfire Ammo Selection — Why Comparison Testing Is Important
Every gun and barrel is different, so you should test various ammo types in YOUR rifle. Additionally, you can benefit from lot testing with particular ammo types to optimize your ammo choice even more. If you’re serious about rimfire accuracy, lot testing can be very helpful, whether at your own rage or a testing center. There is no replacement for starting with a good lot of ammunition your rifle likes.
First Rimfire Precision Match — Lessons Learned
Here’s a helpful video for folks getting started in the Precision Rimfire game. Our buddy F-Class John, a top F-Open competitor (and YouTube video creator), is getting starting in the .22 LR precision discipline. Here he provides lessons learned from his first .22 LR precision match.
Tripod Review — Options for Precision Rimfire Shooters
The NRL22 match format is a great shooting discipline. NRL22 offers a high fun factor at relatively low cost. You don’t have to reload match ammo. A couple of 50-round boxes of .22 LR ammo will get you through the match. While some people bring lots of gear to matches, that’s by choice and not by necessity. You can keep it simple and still be competitive (and win).
Tips for NRL22 Competitors by Jonathan Ocab
I am a match director at my gun club and run our local NRL22 matches. People often ask me for tips for competing in NRL22. First, I recommend getting the course of fire for the month in advance and practicing those stages at the range. Here are other specific tips that should help NRL22 competitors improve their gun-handling and match results.
1. Dry Fire Practice — If you are not able to do live fire practice at the range, I encourage shooters to practice their shooting positions at home via dry fire. Setup props or barricades with pasters or other faux targets on a wall in the garage or inside the house and run through each stage.
2. Scope Magnification Level — The most common issue I see with newer shooters in NRL22 is the tendency to maximize their scope magnification. The timer will start, and the shooter gets into position on a target, but the scope is set to 15x or higher and the shooter can’t find the target. The shooter lowers the magnification, locates the target, and then increases the magnification again, takes the shot, transitions to another target, and repeats the process of decreasing magnification, locating target, etc. Novice NRL22 shooters should try using the mid-range magnification. Try shooting 7x-12x and learn to balance field of view and target image.
GREAT DEAL on Practice Ammo for Precision Rimfire Matches
Sure you can spend $10/box (or more) for top-tier .22 LR ammunition. But if you are just getting starting in NRL22 and PRS rimfire competition, you don’t want to bust your budget in the beginning. You need to practice often as you learn to shoot from barricades and various shooting positions. Expect to put many hundreds of rounds down-range as you hone your skills.
If you are looking for ultra-affordable rimfire training ammunition, we recommend Norma TAC-22. We have shot this ammo in multiple rimfire rigs and it has performed very well. And right now it is available at Palmetto State Armory for just $2.99 per box. You read that right — just $2.99 for 50 rounds which works out to just SIX CENTS per round. Grab it while you can at this Labor Day Sale Price.
The Lapua Monarch Cup is a prestigious smallbore silhouette rifle competition with events in both the USA and Mexico. We congratulate Finland’s Marko Nikkos on winning the first event of the 2024 Lapua Monarch Cup. Nikkos, who scored a 107/120X shooting Lapua Midas+ ammo, edged out Team SK’s Jake Stine in a shootout to collect the $1,000 top prize. Over the three stages (sub-matches) of this event, Nikkos scored 33/40, 36/40, and 38/40, then winning in a final shootout.
The Lapua Monarch Cup is a two-leg, multi-national smallbore silhouette series with the winner earning the title of North American Champion. Competitors are scored by division (Master, AAA, AA, & A), giving all shooters an opportunity to benefit from $100,000 in cash and prizes. With such valuable awards for participants, the Lapua Monarch Cup is a hugely prestigious and popular competition in the smallbore silhouette shooting world.
The first segment of the Lapua Monarch Cup was conducted at the Ridgway Rifle Club in Ridgway, Pennsylvania at the 2024 NRA Smallbore Rifle Silhouette Championship, held July 28-30, 2024. The second leg of the Lapua Monarch Cup is slated for October 5-6, 2024 at the Club Saltillo in Mexico.
Basics of Smallbore Silhouette Competition
Smallbore Silhouette shooting is a fun and challenging shooting discipline that has competitors taking aim at a variety of steel chickens, pigs, turkeys, and rams. Shooters, standing and unsupported, take aim at four banks of silhouettes at increasing distances, shooting 40 targets in all. For every silhouette knocked down, the competitor earns one point. Smallbore Silhouette competitors typically shoot at distances of 40, 60, 77, and 100 meters at metric matches.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Lapua Monach Cup, with information on rules, entries, and venues.
Do you occasionally get completely unexplained flyers, or have a shot land straight down at 6 O’Clock, right below your point of aim? That could be caused by poor or inconsistent trigger technique. How you pull the trigger can and does affect your accuracy.
Many gun enthusiasts start with pistols. When they later start shooting rifles they may carry over some not-so-good practices acquired from shooting handguns with heavy 4 to 6-pound trigger pulls. You may want to “re-learn” your trigger techniques to get better rifle results.
Shooting Sports USA has a good article on trigger technique that offers many useful tips. That article also has many helpful illustrations, including the one shown above. Another illustration shows different types of trigger shoes (straight vs. curved) and explains how each makes a difference: “With a lightly curved trigger, the shooter’s finger can contact the trigger either high or low according to preference. Higher contact will increase the resistance.” READ ARTICLE HERE.
The article analyzes common errors, such as pulling the trigger with the very tip of the finger rather than the pad of the index finger: “Using the tip of the finger can lead to lateral pressure on the trigger, which throws off the shot.”
The article also explains that you should check your trigger regularly to make sure it is functioning properly and is not out of adjustment: “Just like any other moving part, the trigger can suffer from wear. In such a precise mechanism, tiny amounts of wear can cause major problems.”
The ergonomics of the Eliseo Tubegun allow a nice, straight trigger pull.
Trigger Tips
Six Suggestions for Making your Trigger Control More Consistent.
1. If your triggers are adjustable, set the pull weight appropriate to the discipline. For a hunting rifle, you don’t want an ultra-light trigger pull. For High Power, you may want a two-stage pull, while on a Benchrest rifle you may prefer a very light trigger.
2. If you have a two-stage trigger, experiment with different combinations of First Stage and Second Stage.
3. Have a friend watch you as you pull the trigger, and maybe even take a close-up video as you pull the trigger. This can reveal a variety of flaws.
4. Practice dry-firing to see if flaws in trigger technique are causing gun movement.
5. As an experiment, try pulling the trigger with your middle finger. Ergonomically, the middle finger has a more straight alignment with the tendons in your hand. This exercise can help you identify alignment issues with your index finger.
6. For stocks with adjustable Length of Pull you may want to set the LOP differently for bench shooting vs. prone or F-Class shooting.
When Only the Best Will Do…
German-made Bix’N Andy triggers, available from BulletCentral.com, are among the very best you can buy. Available in both single-stage and two-stage, Bix’N Andy triggers are extremely precise, repeatable and smooth. The unique internal, friction-reducing roller ball system allows for extremely low reset force, yielding an ultra-crisp let-off. Bix’N Andy triggers can be fitted with a variety of trigger shoes according to shooter preference.
KEY FEATURES: Ballistics Solver, GPS Tagging, Weather Forecast, Field Notes with Photos
Hunters, here’s a great FREE mobile APP for both Apple and Android systems. The ZEISS Hunting App offers many practical functions: full-featured ballistics calculator, field notes with photo archive, compass function, GPS tagging for documentation of hunting experiences, and a detailed weather forecast service. The Hunting App is offered as a FREE download for Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad) mobile devices.
Three Minute Video Explains Zeiss Hunting App Features:
The Zeiss Hunting App integrates multiple useful features — ballistics solver, compass, GPS tagging, hunt history. The “Field Notes” function can record a wide variety of info — you can save photos, record your shots and hits, log animal sightings during the hunt, and even plot game locations on a map. Zeiss explains: “This allows users to optimally record events, the game population in the hunting territory, and their own hunting experiences.” Shots can be tagged via GPS through the shooter’s and the target’s position, and then displayed on a map. The Field Notes hunt diary shows all entries in chronological order.
Full-Featured Ballistics Solver
The integrated ballistic calculator allows hunters to easily customize the settings to suit their favorite cartridges. You can enter your own data, or choose bullet/cartridge info from a database containing over 7000 ammunition types from a variety of manufacturers. The ballistics solver can be programmed for for current weather conditions (temp/humidity), and the angle (inclination) of the shot.
Weather Functions
The weather tool offers a Five-Day Forecast, and you can choose multiple locations. In addition to the current location, users can also display the weather for their hunting areas of choice. The weather forecast includes temperature, precipitation, wind direction, wind speed, humidity, and air pressure. (Note: For precise ballistics solutions, you must input the ACTUAL conditions at your shooting location).
This video explains how to define a hunting zone and set GPS location tags on the map:
Hunt Log and Photos
The Field Notes function can do many things. You can log all your shots and hits, and you can plot game sightings during the hunt. Events can be augmented with photos and GPS data. With the Field Notes mapping function, you can even locate game populations in the hunting territory. A compass and automatic night mode round off the list of smart features.
You can help support marksmanship training by participating in a major rimfire fun match — Metal Madness — an action shooting contest for all skill levels. The event takes place September 14, 2024 at the Grand Rivers Shooting Range in Kentucky. MidwayUSA Foundation has partnered with the Metal Madness Shooting Sports Association (MMSSA) to organize this event. Each entry donation is matched by the Foundation to benefit the youth shooting program of your choice. To learn more about Metal Madness, visit MMSSA.net.
MMSSA is a rimfire shooting sport offering the instant gratification of ringing steel targets. No special or fancy “raceguns” are needed — most any .22 LR firearm will work.
What is Metal Madness?
Metal Madness is a speed and accuracy-based shooting sport where participants shoot rimfire rifles or pistols at steel plates. Each competitor will shoot through 10 stages, moving to a new shooting lane each time. Each lane has randomized numbered metal plates, which must be shot in numerical order.
Scoring is time-based, plus penalties for missed plates or shooting plates out of sequence. With misses costing 2 seconds each, hitting plates in the proper order is extremely important. The eight fastest times from ten lanes fired are added together for each shooter’s bracket time.
$25 Per Entry — All Rimfire Ammo is Provided
At the fundraising match on September 14, every $25 donation is good for one 10-stage session. For each $25 session, competitors will fire through 10 different shooting lanes, with each lane featuring multiple steel targets. The .22 rimfire ammunition required to participate will be provided.
There is no limit on the number of entries a competitor may have. Competitors may participate in multiple sessions, with the same gun or different guns. All .22 caliber firearms are allowed to shoot Metal Madness.
Grand Rivers Shooting Range Address: 787 Dover Road, Grand Rivers, Kentucky
If you have a question about MidwayUSA Foundation’s Metal Madness Event, contact Sarah Hall, Project/Events Manager: shall@MidwayUSAFoundation.org | 573-303-8869.
September 28, 2024 is National Hunting & Fishing Day. The annual celebration takes place on the the fourth Saturday of September every year. National, regional, state and local organizations will run thousands of “open house” hunting- and fishing-related events around the country. Events will include Fishing Derbys, Hunting Expos, Wing-shooting tournaments, and much more.
Shooting USA TV will feature a major U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) competition — the USPSA Production Class Nationals. Watch the broadcast at 9:00 pm Eastern/Pacific, 8:00 PM Central on the Outdoor Channel. SEE 
