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September 22nd, 2019

Sunday GunDay: Joe Hendricks Jr.’s CMP Cup-Winning Tubegun

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Photography by Meghan Hendricks.

This story is about a great shooter, Joe Hendricks Jr., and his Eliseo RTS Tubegun, chambered in 6mm Competition Match. With this versatile rifle, Joe Hendricks Jr. won the 2019 CMP Cup Aggregate Title for Match Rifles. Joe comes from a long line of talented marksmen. His father AND his grandfather are elite competitive shooters. His dad has been a National Champion, and all three generations have shot together, shoulder to shoulder, on the Remington Rifle Team. Like grandfather, like father, like son.

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Joe says: “I think it’s pretty cool that there have now been two major Across the Course Championships won by a Hendricks using a Gary Eliseo chassis, one by me this year, and one in 2014 when my father (Joe Hendricks Sr.) won the NRA National Championship.”

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Photography by Meghan Hendricks.

Joe Hendricks Jr.’s Rifle — Eliseo RTS Chassis, Rem 40X Action, Krieger Barrel
Joe’s rifle is built on a Competition Machine RTS Target Model chassis. This Tubegun features a Remington 40X action with Pacific Tool & Gauge Bolt and Jewell trigger. The scope is a Leupold 6-18x40mm. The barrel is a Krieger chambered in 6mm Competition Match. Joe explains: “The 6mm Competition Match is a cartridge that my dad came up with. It is basically a .243 Winchester with a 31° shoulder.”

If you look carefully in the photo below, you’ll note the silver-toned, adjustable butt-plate. That’s an upgrade Joe added: “I did a small modification to the stock, where I put on an Anschutz buttplate instead of the standard one Gary Eliseo uses. This Anschutz hardware provides a little bit more adjustability.”

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Here Joe Hendricks Jr. fires at 200 yards from the standing position.

The Standing Position — Why It’s Critical to Match Success
Joe told us: “As far as shooting strategies and training methods go, I shoot a lot of standing practice — at least 50 shots per session. I still train the other positions of course, but I believe if you start your day off with a great standing score, it really makes the rest of the day easy because then you don’t feel like you’re playing catch-up the whole time.”

Joe explains: “When I’m shooting standing, I shoot in a manner very similar to the way that Carl Bernosky does. He’s written a few articles about the standing position. He always talks about making sure the shot goes off inside his hold, and I’m the same way. I don’t try to do too much. I just let the gun do its thing and when/if it stops in the Ten Ring, I shoot the shot. If it doesn’t, I don’t.”

About the CMP Cup Two-Day Course of Fire
The CMP Cup is a two-day match comprised of two, 1000-point Aggregates, for a 2000-point Grand Agg. Each day, the competitors fire 100 shots total from the 200, 300, and 600 yard lines. The match starts with 20 shots slow fire standing at 200 yards. Next are two, 10-shot, rapid fire strings in 60 seconds from the sitting position. Next are two, 10-shot strings in 70 seconds prone at 300 yards (rapid fire prone). Each day’s course of fire concludes with two, 20-shot sequences of slow-fire prone at 600 yards.

Joe Hendricks Jr. CMP Cup Eliseo tubegun RTS 6 Competition High Power

6mm Competition Match Cartridge — Slower Powder Yields Better Barrel Life
My dad was shooting a 6XC for a while and was getting tired of going through almost two barrels a year. So, he came up with the 6mm Competition Match. Like I said, it is a .243 Winchester with a 31-degree shoulder. This delivers the same (if not better) velocity as the other popular 6mm cartridges, but we get almost double the barrel life because we increased the case capacity, so we can shoot a slower burning powder. The barrel I took to Camp Perry that won the CMP Cup had over 3700 rounds on it when I was finished. [EDITOR: Take note readers! Most 6mm barrels are toast after 2500 rounds.] Granted it definitely needed to come off at that point, but it obviously was still shooting well enough to win!

Accurate Load with Peterson Brass, Berger Bullets, and Vihtavuori N165
The two loads I shot all week were Berger 108gr BT behind Vihtavuori N165 in Peterson Cartridge Company brass for 200 and 300 yards, and then Berger 115 VLD behind N165 in Peterson brass for 600 yards. Both loads are easily going over 3000 FPS. I try to only use the best components for reloading, so that’s why I go with Berger, Vihtavuori, and Peterson. Obviously Berger and Vihtavuori quality are pretty known, but I believe Peterson is right up there with Lapua[.] I’ve visited the Petersen factory many times. I’m always blown away by the time and effort Peterson puts into everything.

Winning Marksmanship — the Mental Game
The other big thing I’ve been focusing on lately is my mental game. In order to be at the top of a sport, regardless of the sport, the athlete has to have a solid mental approach. For me, I’ve learned that my key is confidence. A good shooting buddy, who was with me the first day of the CMP Cup, suggested I was arrogant because I kept telling him I was going to win. Then I told him it was confidence not arrogance. If I was confident in my ability, I did not think there was any way I could lose. [Editor: To help build confidence and visualize success, we recommend With Winning in Mind, by Lanny Bassham, an Olympic gold-medal winning marksman.]

All in the Family — Three Generations of Hendricks Marksmen

Joe’s father, Joseph Hendricks Sr., has been a National Champion rifle shooter. Joe’s grandfather, Gary Hendricks, is also a talented marksman. In fact, all three men — grandfather, father, and son — shot together on the Remington Rifle Team. Joe says that the shooting sports have helped build strong family bonds. He and his father enjoy shooting together, and competing against one another: “I learn so much just by watching my dad… shoot. Even though I have been competing for 10 years now, I’m still incredibly new to the shooting sports compared to my dad. My father is always there to help.”

“I feel very privileged to have grown up in the family that I did, with not only my father as a competitive shooter, but my grandfather as well. I definitely would not be the person I am today, let alone the shooter, without either of them. At one point, all three of us were on the Remington Rifle Team. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot team matches with all three of us on one team, as recently as this past summer.”

“Initially when I began shooting competitively, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I wanted to be as good a shooter as my dad and grandfather. I was trying so hard that it was really affecting my scores negatively. Then one year, I told myself I was just going to have fun, and not worry about match scores. That year was the year I really started to win things, and shoot some good scores.”

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“When my father won the NRA National Championship in 2014, I was so proud, but along with being proud, all it did was make me more motivated. Ever since I started shooting, I wanted to win a National Championship, but after he won, it just fueled my fire more. There is a bit of father/son rivalry. It’s a lot of fun if we are shooting right next to each other at the same time. We just give each other crap about shooting a bad a shot, or shooting a lower score by a point or an X.”

“My dad started shooting when he was around 10, so he has a vast amount of knowledge compared to most people, especially me. He is always there to help whenever I have a question on anything firearm or shooting related. To this day, whenever I’m done with a match, I always talk to my dad. He always has time to listen to what I have to say.”

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December 9th, 2014

Get Poker Chips in CMP Airgun “Aces” Postal Match

Postal match CMP air rifleDo you shoot an air rifle or air pistol? Want to test your skills against other shooters across the country? Then sign up for a fun new “Aces” postal match in January. The CMP’s inaugural “Aces” postal match offers airgun marksman a nation-wide competition with Air Rifle, Air Pistol, and Para-Air Rifle/Air Pistol events. Match Registration opens on January 1, 2015 for the initial January-March (Q1) match period.

COURSE OF FIRE
All 3×20 courses of fire are 20 shots prone, 20 shots standing, and 20 shots kneeling in integer format while all other rifle courses of fire are 60 shots in decimal format. All PPP courses of fire are 40 shots with the rest of the pistol events in 60 shots, both in integer format.

cmp postal match air rifle pistol aces 2015

Special “Aces” Event Poker Chips — One Per Quarter
Every competitor in the CMP “Aces” Postal Match will receive a specially- designed participation poker chip. There will be a different color each quarter, so collect all four!

Quarterly matches can be shot on Orion paper targets or electronic targets. Orion targets must be requested from the CMP and will be mailed to participants. All Orion targets must be returned for scoring at CMP. Current National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules and USA Shooting Air Rifle and Pistol rules apply. CLICK HERE for more information and schedules.

Modern competition air rifles are decidedly high-tech. Check out this Feinwerkbau:
CMP Air Rifle feinwerkbau

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June 19th, 2014

How to Become a Distinguished Air Rifle Shooter

Report based on Story by Kyle Jillson in NRAblog.
Air Rifle Shooters — Do you dream of winning the NRA Indoor National Championships or competing in the Olympics some day? All that may be a few years off, but you can work on becoming an NRA Distinguished Shooter in Sporter and Precision Air Rifle right now…

Making Distinguished in Air Rifle shooting is a goal that can be accomplished by a skilled, dedicated shooter in a few seasons. The discipline you learn along the way will help your overall accuracy with just about any gun. Two separate medallions and lapel pins can be earned by each individual who successfully completes the requirements for both 3-Position Precision and Sporter. Shooters who earn both awards will also receive a Double Distinguished pin.

Steps to Become Distinguish Air Rifle Shooter
So how do you become distinguished? First, you need to be an NRA member. Placing in the top-scoring 10% in a designated tournament (e.g. Indoor National Championships, National Junior Air Gun Championships) will earn a step toward an NRA Distinguished Air Gun Award. Each competitor who makes the same numerical score as the last score in the high 10% will be awarded a step toward NRA Distinguished Air Gun Award. Inner tens will not be used as part of the numerical score to break ties.

It takes a minimum of four (4) steps to be presented with an NRA Distinguished Air Gun Award and you can only earn up to two steps each year. At least one step must be earned for competition in the NRA National Air Gun Championship and Training Summit. Additionally, the steps for 3-Position Sporter Air Rifle or in 3-Position Precision Air Rifle cannot be earned simultaneously. If you’re trying to eventually get both, 3-Position Sporter Air Rifle must be completed first before you can complete steps in 3-Position Precision Air Rifle.

Get started working towards this award today! Click the following links to review PDF info sheets: Sporter Air Rifle and Precision Air Rifle.

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April 21st, 2014

Lauren Phillips wins Women’s Smallbore Junior Olympic Title

Based on Report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog.com
I first read about Lauren Phillips in 2012. Back then she part of a spitfire quartet known as the West Seattle/Vashon Thunderbirds. Fresh off her team’s NRA National Junior Sectional victory, she decided to start taking a more serious approach her shooting career.

Lauren Phillips Nebraska

Since then, she hit the road for matches in Fort Benning, Georgia, Anniston, Alabama, Camp Perry, Ohio, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. What did that travel catalog get her? How about a scholarship to the University of Nebraska and a spot in the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships. Once she earned that Junior Olympics spot, well, let’s just say she’s been difficult to stop. So much so that she walked away with the overall Women’s Three-Position Rifle title yesterday.

To get a full breakdown of Phillip’s performance at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships, take a look at the press release from USA Shooting:

Phillips Dominates Women’s Three-Position Rifle at NJOSC
No one could catch Lauren Phillips. Before she even stepped on the line for the Women’s Three-Position Rifle Final at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC), Phillips (Seabeck, Wash.) already had the title in the bag.

Phillips, a freshman at the University of Nebraska, built a dominating eight-point lead over the closest competitor in the 66-shooter field. Champions at this year’s NJOSC are determined through a modified selection format similar to that of USA Shooting’s National Championships: Points are awarded points earned in each day of competition with Nebraska freshman Lauren Phillips takes a moment at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships additional points awarded for performance in the Final – Eight for first, seven for second and so on. Phillips finished fifth in the Final, but it didn’t really matter.

“The Qualification was just like I was planning for – build an early lead so it takes the pressure of the Final,” Phillips said. “That’s just what I did. Went in Day One with a personal best and Day Two two points lower, but stayed consistent…I went in gunning for a record Final but it didn’t happen today. There were some excellent performances by my fellow collegiates.”

Lauren Phillips Nebraska

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September 2nd, 2013

USA Shooting 300M National Championships Held at Fort Benning

Report and Photographs by Tony Chow
On August 12th to 16th, USAMU’s Fort Benning range hosted the 2013 USA Shooting 300m National Championships. This match, held every four years, nominates athletes to represent the United States at the 300m World Championships, due to be held in 2014, in Granada, Spain.

300m Championships Fort Benning

300m Shooting — A World-Class Challenge
300m shooting is a challenging discipline. With much smaller scoring rings than NRA targets, the 300m target can bedevil even the most experienced High Power shooters, especially in tricky wind conditions. While European 300m shooters typically use expensive rifles from the likes of Gruenig & Elmiger (G&E) and Bleiker, less costly American-made equipment has proven to be every bit as competitive. Case in point are the free rifles used by the USAMU team, all of which are built from American target actions such as Panda and BAT, fitted with Krieger barrels, and glass-bedded into Anschütz stocks.

The competition took place in unseasonably mild weather for this time of the year in Georgia. As the popularity of 300m shooting is limited in the United States, 21 shooters in total took part in four days of competition. Despite the light participation, the athletes included some of the best international rifle shooters in the country. The relaxed and club-like atmosphere belied intense and high-level competition on the firing line.

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Electronic targets record all shots as 10, 9, 8, etc., with the X-count being the first tiebreaker. Each whole number score is accompanied by a more precise score that ranges from 0-100. An official 10, for example, could be anything from 91 (on the edge of the ring), all the way to 100 (dead center). The more precise score is NOT used officially for score keeping in ISSF competition, but could be in the future, as already is the case in 50m prone and 10m air rifle.

300m Championships Fort Bennign

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3P Course of Fire and Results
The 3P events occupied the first two days of competition. Athletes shot in three positions–kneeling, prone, and standing — using free rifles, mostly chambered in 6BR. Under ISSF rules, men fire 40 record shots in each position, while women fire 20 record shots in each position. Each event is repeated on the second day, and the two-day aggregates determined the winner. In Men’s 300m 3P, USAMU’s Joseph Hall, who had never shot a 300m match before, beat his more experienced teammates Joseph Hein and Michael McPhail to take gold. Among women, USAMU’s Erin Lorenzen edged out 2008 World Championship veterans Reya Kempley and Janet Raab for the gold.

The prone and Standard Rifle events followed in the second half of the competition. The 300m prone match is shot by both men and women, using same free rifles as in the 3P events. The Standard Rifle match is another 3-position event, except contested only among men, using rifles strictly limited in external shape and adjustability. Cooler temperatures and intermittent rain made conditions trickier to read than during the first two days. In men’s prone, USAMU’s Eric Uptagrafft took gold, edging out Unit teammates Hall and McPhail. In women’s prone, Erin Lorenzen once again came out on top over Reya Kempley (photo below) and Michelle Bohren.

300m Fort Benning National Championship Tony Chow

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In the Standard Rifle event, AMU’s Joseph Hall continued his good form and took another gold over teammate Joseph Hein. Equally noteworthy is the third place finisher Steve Goff. Goff, an AMU Hall of Famer who now competes as a senior in USAS matches, beat back much younger challengers to earn the third and final slot in the 2014 US Men’s Standard Rifle Team.

Cartridge Options for 300m Shooting — by Tony Chow
The cartridge of choice in 300m is 6mmBR Norma (aka 6BR). The AMU shooters all shoot Norma Diamond Line 6BR factory ammo, loaded with moly-coated 105gr Berger HPBT bullets, with the notable exception of prone match winner Eric Uptagrafft, who shoots handloads with HBN-coated bullets in his 6mm Dasher. Civilian shooters mostly shoot the 6mmBR as well, also preferring Berger bullets. I was the odd man out shooting a Gruenig & Elmiger (G&E) chambered in 6.5×47 Lapua. That cartridge was actually the result of a collaboration between G+E and Lapua to create an alternative to 6BR, though in the 300m world, it never managed to catch on. There was one shooter using 6.5-284 and another shooting a wildcat cartridge called “.260 BMR (boomer)”.

6BR 6mmBR Tony Chow 300mI’m not the authority on the pros and cons of various calibers. I doubt that most world-class 300m shooters concern themselves too much with these matters. The 6BR is simply good enough. It holds well inside the 10-Ring, is relatively economical, and offers extremely long barrel life when using mild factory loads. G+E rates its chrome-moly, cut-rifled 6BR barrels as capable of lasting 7,000 rounds. The AMU gunsmith, Glenn Sulser, told me that the AMU’s policy is to re-barrel at the 4,500-5,000 round mark.

Longer cartridges such as 6.5×47 and 6XC are supposed to offer easier feeding, but in my observation, the nose-heavy nature of 6BR is, in practice, not a major problem for 300m shooters. One of the advantages of 6.5×47 is even longer barrel life, and that’s the reason I went for this caliber myself. But looking back now, the greater recoil and extra cost in brass and powder are probably not worth it.

Factory Ammo vs. Handloads — Cost Considerations
One of the advantages the AMU shooters enjoyed over the civilians is that the Unit marksmen had an unlimited supply of ammo, and therefore could shoot as many sighters as they wished. In a 15-minute sighting-in period, it was not uncommon for AMU shooters to fire 20+ sighter shots, just as they do in smallbore. We civilians had to settle with under 10 sighters, in order to leave enough for the match.

Unless you are filthy rich or have someone else paying for the ammo, reloading is definitely the only way to go. A reloaded round costs under 50 cents a piece. The European factory ammo costs nearly $3 a round these days (as sold in the USA).

CLICK Photos to See Full-Screen Images:

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July 19th, 2013

Three-Way Shoot-Off in Smallbore Prone Match at Perry

Breaking News: SPC Hall Wins Camp Perry 3-P Championship
Port Clinton, Ohio – With a final score of 2383-171x, Specialist Joseph Hall of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit captured the 2013 NRA Smallbore 3-Position Rifle title in Camp Perry, Ohio. Besting fellow U.S. Army Marksmanship teammate Jason Parker by a total of three points, this is Hall’s first overall title at the National Championships.

The Smallbore 3-Position Championships consists of two separate phases — Metallic Sights and Any Sights. During each phase, shooters fire their smallbore rifles from the standing, kneeling, and prone positions. Out of a possible 2,400 points, Hall dropped a mere 17 points.

Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for NRABlog
The first match this Friday (19 July) at the NRA National Smallbore 3-Position Championships in Camp Perry was one for the history books. The first match, shot prone with “any sights”, ended in three-way perfection. For not only were three shooters tied for first, they were tied with a perfect score of 400-40X (“X” is a bullseye).

Camp Perry Joseph Hall Prone Smallbore Championship

“Not something you see every year,” said Match Director H.Q. Moody. “Not something you see for a lot of years.” Perfect scores meant there was a chance to chase the National Record. All you have to do is keep hitting bulls until you miss. Nothing like carving your name into a little bit of NRA history, aye? For one of these three shooters — Reya Kempley, Joseph Hall (of the USAMU), and Michael McPhail — immortality was in reach.

Camp Perry Joseph Hall Prone Smallbore ChampionshipBut the weather gods intervened. As Kempley, Hall and McPhail got ready for the the shoot-off — lightning struck, quite literally. As lightning flashed and thunder roared, the shoot-off was delayed. With officials calling for a fifteen minute break, rangemasters, spectators and staff scattered for shelter. When the match resumed (Kempley barely made it to the line in time), the three competitors went at it. All three had early misses (nines instead of tens), so there would be no new record. Kemply was off her game, finishing third, but the two men finished with identical 199-19X scores — just one shot off perfect.

Hall was awarded the match by application of an NRA tie-breaker rule — on the basis that Hall’s one “miss” (i.e. not scoring a bullseye 10X) occurred earlier in the shoot-off’s record string than did the single “miss” by McPhail. The thinking behind this rule is that it is more difficult to shoot consecutive 10Xs later in the match.

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May 31st, 2013

USA Shooting National Rifle and Pistol Championships June 3-9

USA Shooting National ChampionshipsThe USA Shooting National Championships for Rifle and Pistol will be held June 3-9, at the home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) in Fort Benning. More than 500 competitors will vie for national titles in rifle and pistol disciplines. This year’s National Championships serves as a World Cup selection match with the top-three finishers in each Olympic event open class earning a berth in the upcoming World Cup in Granada, Spain in July.

Many talented athletes will visit Fort Benning next week, including 2012 Olympian and Prone National Champion Michael McPhail and Olympic and USAMU teammate Eric Uptagrafft. 2012 Olympians Jason Turner and Keith Sanderson will be returning to defend their titles in Men’s 10m Air and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol. On the women’s side, 2012 Olympian Sarah Scherer looks to repeat as National Champion in 10m Air Rifle. Other standouts include National Rifle Team members Emily Holsopple, Sarah Beard, and Amy Sowash.

USA Shooting National Championships

More information can also be found on the USA Shooting website (USAShooting.org) by clicking on the ‘Match Information’ link located under the ‘Events’ tab. Look for scores on USA Shooting’s match results page following each competition. Photos will be posted on USA Shooting’s Flickr photo gallery.

CLICK HERE to download the complete 2013 National Championships Schedule (XLS format).

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April 22nd, 2013

Ryan Anderson Wins NJOSC Smallbore 3-P and Prone Titles

Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallbore

Story based on report by USAShooting.org
Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallboreThe Alaska-Fairbanks rifle shooting program has produced many great champions, such as Matt Emmons and Jamie (Beyerle) Gray, both of whom went on to medal in the Olympics. (Jamie won the women’s 3-P 50m rifle gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics). Based on his recent performance at the 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC), Ryan Anderson may be the next great world-class shooting talent from Alaska-Fairbanks.

At the 2013 Junior Olympic event, Anderson swept both men’s smallbore (.22 caliber) events — he won both the Three-Position and Prone titles. Combined with his silver-medal finish in the 10m Air Rifle event, Anderson proved to be one of America’s best young shooters — a rising star.

Dominant 3-P Performance
Anderson’s dominance was showcased in the Three-Position event where he walked into the event finals with an 11-point lead over Dan Geer. Anderson added 1.2 points to his lead, finishing the 10-shot final as the only competitor to shoot over 100 (101.1) in the final.

All Photos from USAShooting.org
Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallbore

The smallbore prone event was a tight battle between Anderson and Air Force rifle shooter David Higgins. Going into the prone final, the two young men were tied — having both shot identical scores of 594 and 597 in each of their two relays. They’d follow that up with identical 105 scores in the finals. So the prone event came down to a ‘sudden death’ tie-breaker. Tied after 130 shots, the match came down to a 131st tie-breaker shot for gold. Anderson shot a 10.1 to win, while Higgins managed a 10.0 for second place. West Virginia’s Patrick Sunderman took third, 8.4 points behind.

Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallbore

Also to note in the Men’s Rifle events, Kentucky’s Cody Manning and Anderson’s UAF teammate Tim Sherry finished the competition as the event’s only three-event finalists. Manning finished fifth (Air), sixth (Prone) and seventh (3P). Sherry finished seventh (Air) and earned a pair of fifth-place finishes in the smallbore events.

CLICK HERE for complete 2013 NJOSC results (PDF File).

Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallbore

Alaska Ryan Anderson NJOSC rifle smallbore

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December 7th, 2012

New ISSF 2013-2016 Rules: Finals Start from Zero, and End in Head to Head Duel for Gold

ISSF Rule ChangesIn November, the ISSF Administrative Council approved new ISSF rules calling for major changes in ISSF and Olympic Shooting Sports events. Starting in 2013, all Finalists will start with zero scores and there will be elimination rounds, ending with a final two-shooter duel for the Gold medal (the loser of the duel gets Silver). The new Finals procedure represents the ISSF’s first major format change since the introduction of finals in 1986. The new Finals format will be used in all 2013 ISSF Championships.

This rules were changed to make shooting events more “spectator-friendly”, attract media coverage, and engage a larger fan base. It is hoped that the new format, ending in a duel, is more appealing and easily understandable. The new ISSF rules contain new Finals formats for all Olympic shooting events mandating that ALL finalists start from zero. This means that qualification scores will not be carried into the Final anymore, making the scoring system immediately understandable for spectators. Furthermore, all Finals feature eliminations, and end with duels between the two best athletes to decide the gold and silver medals. The new 2013 Rules have been published on the ISSF website, ISSF-sports.org.

Other Shooting Rule Changes to Be Implemented
The new ISSF Rules also include the separation of sighting and match firing in 10m and 50m rifle and pistol events, a new position order for 50m Rifle 3-Position events, and a provisional test of decimal scoring for 10m Air Rifle and 50m Prone Rifle events. The Final for the 50m 3-P Rifle event will become a true 3-Positions Final, not a one-position Final like it used to be. And new time limits will require shooters to make more rapid position changes in future 3-position rifle Finals. Both 25m Pistol Finals will use hit-miss scoring to encourage more spontaneous spectator reactions.

ISSF Big Shots Praise Finals Format Changes
“The shooting sport has always been a leading sport in the Olympic movement. And with the new finals we made an important step forward to keep that leading position,” said ISSF President, Mr. Olegario Vazquez Raña.

ISSF Sec. Gen’l Franz Schreiber concurred: “It was time to change….The ISSF has always been open to innovation, and we are proving it once again. All sports must adapt to the digital era of technology and media. The time has come to adopt new [formats] which fulfill these objectives.”

Legendary USA Olympic marksman and ISSF Vice-President Gary Anderson observed that the rule changes will present challenges: “We will have to work hard to make this work. But our sport will benefit from this new, appealing format.”

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March 11th, 2012

TCU Wins 2012 NCAA Rifle Championship (Smallbore + Air Rifle)

TCU Wins NRA National Rifle ChampionshipThe TCU rifle team used a dominating effort in air rifle to erase a five-point deficit to claim its second national championship in the last three seasons. TCU’s top-scoring Air Rifle shooter, Sarah Scherer, finished third in the air rifle individual finals, which was won by another lady shooter, West Virginia Mountaineer Petra Zublasing. Congrats to Petra!

In addition to the Team National Championship, the Frogs took home the air rifle title after firing a 2,353, topping West Virginia’s team score of 2,350. Kentucky finished the smallbore competition on day one in first place, but the KY Wildcats couldn’t hold off the TCU squad. TCU’s “Horned Frogs” fired a 2,353 in air rifle to record an impressive 4,676-4,661 overall victory over the defending champion Wildcats. Alaska-Fairbanks took third place overall in the team competition behind TCU and Kentucky.

Final NCAA Rifle Championship Team Rankings:

1. Texas Christian University (TCU)
2. Univ. of Kentucky
3. Univ. of Alaska – Fairbanks
4. U.S. Military Academy (West Point)
5. Univ. of Texas El Paso (UTEP)
6. West Virginia Univ.
7. Jacksonville State Univ.
8. Univ. of Nevada – Reno
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