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March 11th, 2009
Creedmoor Sports has introduced a new Air Rifle that mates an Olympic-quality Anschütz 8000-series barreled action (and trigger) with authentic AR15-style stock, chassis, and sights. The new system, dubbed the “AiR-15™”, is designed to allow Service Rifle and High Power competitors to cross-train with a precision air rifle system between matches and during the off-season. Although the rifle is supplied with a mock magazine (for correct off-hand ergonomics), the gun is a single-shot, using manual-fed 0.177 pellets. The AiR-15 combines an Anschutz 8001 junior barreled action with the patent-pending Creedmoor AiR stock kit. The stock kit includes the receiver sleeve, fore-end (with sling swivel, air cylinder, alignment hanger), butt stock, carry handle with National Match rear sight (1/4 min), and a National Match front sight.
Dennis DeMille, past Camp Perry Champion and Creedmoor Sports General Manager, has worked hard to develop the AiR-15 system. He has shot the prototype and he believes it is an ideal training platform for Service Rifle Shooters. Dennis tells us: “Look, you can shoot this in your basement in the dead of winter. The ergonomics are identical to the AR15. The sights, front and rear, are in exactly the same position. And by using Anschütz 8001 barreled actions and triggers, the system offers superb accuracy. The AR Air Rifle will deliver one-pellet-hole accuracy at 10 meters. I’ve visited the Anschütz factory. Every one of these barreled actions is tested and they all come with test targets verifying their accuracy.”
 Price and Availability
Creedmoor’s new AiR-15 air rifle should be available as a complete rifle by early summer 2009. The retail price for a complete AiR-15 will be US $1850.00. Though delivery will take a few months, Creedmoor is taking orders right now for the first production run.
There will also be a kit for shooters who already own an Anschütz 8000-series air rifle. The kit will include the full AR-style stock and chassis, including handguard, sights, receiver assembly, and buttstock. The price of the kit will depend on production costs and projected sales demand, but Demille hopes to deliver the kits for under $800.00. With the kit, you can simply “drop-in” your 8000-series barreled action.
AiR-15 to Be Used in New CMP Air Rifle National Match Program
For 2009, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has developed a new National Match Air Rifle discipline consisting of High Power-style matches shot at reduced distances with air rifles. At CMP National Match Air Rifle tournaments, you can use sporter, precision or AR-type air rifles to shoot in 10-meter standing and three-position (prone, sitting and standing) courses of fire that simulate outdoor High Power rifle shooting (but with reduced-sized targets). A test match for this new Air Rifle National Match Series will be held this Saturday, March 14th, in Anniston, Alabama. There will be a 20-shot standing event as well as a 60-shot prone + sitting + standing event.
CLICK HERE for CMP National Match Air Rifle Information Brochure.
Challenging Even at 10 Meters
While Dennis DeMille believes the AiR-15 will be ideal for introducing new shooters into rifle competition, he wanted to stress that shooting the AiR-15, even at 10 meters, can help even the best High Power shooters improve their scores. Dennis explained: “While this air rifle is capable of one-hole accuracy (at 10m), it is also very unforgiving of flaws in form or hold. Because the pellets are moving so slowly (about 575 ft/sec.), any mistake will move you out in the scoring ring. This air rifle will help you develop perfect trigger control, perfect follow-through, and perfect natural point of aim. Trust me — you can’t BS any part of your hold with an air rifle. I know if you train with an air rifle in the off season, your centerfire scores will improve.”
Creedmoor May Sponsor Winter Indoor ‘Air AR’ matches
If air-powered versions of the AR15 Service Rifle prove popular, Creedmoor Sports is considering sponsoring off-season matches at different locations across the country. These would feature reduced 10m targets that exactly duplicate the sight picture of NRA Across-the-Course targets at 200, 300, and 600 yards.
For more information, visit CreedmoorSports.com or call 1-800-CREEDMOOR.
March 1st, 2009
It’s the first of March and spring is right around the corner, so here’s a little something to stir your spring fever. Below is a video prepared by Anschütz to promote that company’s line of match rimfire rifles and air rifles. You’ll note there’s some very nice rifles … and a rather comely model. OK, this is shameless merchandising, but they use pretty girls to sell cars, plasma televisions, and even beer … so why not use a pretty girl to sell rifles. Be forewarned though, this may be a little racy for a work computer. But, as one YouTube viewer commented: “Nice girl and nice rifles!”
February 15th, 2009
From February 12th through the 28th, Camp Perry hosts more than 500 high school Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) cadets from across the US and Department of Defense Schools overseas. The cadets will be competing in the All Service Air Rifle Championships to determine Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force JROTC national individual and team champions. In addition, the top competitors in each championship will advance to the National JROTC Air Rifle Championship at Fort Benning, Georgia in March.
Camp Perry’s new Marksmanship Center facilities are comparable to the best airgun ranges in the world (such as those in Beijing and Munich) that host International Sport Shooting Federation (ISSF) competitions. Gary Anderson, CMP’s Director of Civilian Marksmanship, said, “our state-of-the-art air rifle range [is] the finest facility of this type in the entire Western Hemisphere.”
The JROTC competition process started last November when nearly 7,000 cadets and 1,200 JROTC unit teams began firing on CMP-provided postal targets at their home ranges. The CMP then used its Orion Visual Imaging Scoring system to scan and score the 21,800 10-bullseye paper targets electronically.
Competitors in the JROTC Championships will fire with either “precision” or “sporter” class air rifles. In general, precision rifles are high tech and feature adjustable stocks and triggers, internal rechargeable air tanks or CO2 cylinders, etc. Sporter rifles are low-cost, conventional appearing air rifles without specialized adjustments, but they also utilize air or CO2 cylinders to power their projectiles. The competition entails 60-shot three-position events to be fired on two successive days. Each day, competitors will fire 20 shots each in prone, standing and kneeling positions at bullseye targets placed at 10 meters.
For more information, visit the CMP website at www.ODCMP.com. Some of the JROTC Air Rifle matches will be “webcast” on the internet.
January 27th, 2009
The NRA National Indoor Championships is a unique event for both adults and juniors. At different locations throughout the country, multi-discipline smallbore and air rifle regional (aka “sectional”) matches are held. The scores from all the sectionals are collected and compared, and the NRA announces National Champions based on the scores. This is a great way for your local club to have its members involved in a national program. There is still time for clubs to request to sponsor a Sectional in their area.
Indoor Championship Junior Program | Indoor Championship Open Program
First Matches held in January
The National Indoor Championships commenced on January 1, 2009, with the first sectional tournament being shot January 3. These championships will continue through March for Open Adults and through April for Juniors. Both the Open and the Junior Sectionals are now being conducted throughout the country. Open Sectionals are available for NRA 3-Position, NRA Conventional 4-Position, International Air Rifle, and International Smallbore Rifle. Junior Sectionals are being conducted in NRA 3-Position, NRA 4-Position, International Air Rifle, 3-Position Sporter Air Rifle, and 3-Position Precision Air Rifle.
NRA Postal Matches
The NRA also offers a wide variety of Postal Matches in 2009. A Postal Match is an event in which competitors fire on their home ranges using targets which have been marked for identification. The fired targets are then sent to NRA for scoring and ranking for awards. The NRA conducts various postal matches, many of which are in cooperation with national and fraternal organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, 4-H Clubs, FFA, and JROTC. Like the National Indoor Championships, Postal Matches allow local clubs to participate in a nation-wide program.
CLICK HERE for Postal Match Information.
For more information on the NRA Indoor Championships call Dian Bullock, (703) 267-1482, or email dbullock [at] nrahq.org. To learn about the NRA Postal Match program, email postals [at] nrahq.org.
January 18th, 2009
Anschütz, the legendary German arms-maker, harvested a ton of Gold Medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with its latest match rifles (both rimfire arms and air rifles/pistols). In addition to its state-of-the-art bullseye target rifles, Anschutz produces Biathlon rifles and hunting rifles. At SHOT Show 2009, company President Jochen Anschütz was on hand to show his company’s latest wares, including the designs that won gold in Beijing. Jason Baney met with Jochen and got this exclusive Video Interview:
CLICK HERE to watch full-width VIDEO in Higher Quality
In the interview, Jochen noted that Anschütz has introduced a new Model 1770 hunting rifle, chambered in .223 Remington. This features a new six-lug action — the first all-new action design from Anschütz in 30 years. Below, Jochen holds the top-of-the-line Anschütz biathlon rifle. Designed for Olympic-caliber biathletes, this gun has a straight-pull Fortner action that can be cycled nearly as rapidly as a semi-auto.
High-Tech Aluminum-stocked Position Rifle
Among the Anschütz designs on display at Shot Show was the new Anschütz model 1913 position rifle with a gorgeous “1918 ALU Precise” brushed aluminum stock. It looked like it had been crafted in an aircraft plant.
May 18th, 2008
The May 2008 issue of On The Mark, the CMP’s newsletter for junior shooters, has a feature by Gary Anderson on building the proper standing position. Though focused primarily on juniors, all 3P High Power, Service Rifle, and Silhouette shooters can benefit from this article.
CLICK HERE to Download Newsletter as .pdf file
Tips on Hand Position
Here is sample of Gary’s advice: “It is critical not to force the rifle up or down to get the sights pointing at the target. The correct way to do this is to select a left hand-wrist position that fills the support gap between the left hip and the rifle fore-end. A good mid-range starting position is to keep the wrist straight and either set the rifle on top of a closed fit or support the rifle between the thumb and the first knuckle.
Either of these options will work well for most shooters. However, shooters with proportionately longer arms and shorter torsos will have rifle sights pointing high with either of these hand positions. By breaking the wrist and resting the rifle in the flat of the hand or by keeping the wrist straight and dropping the rifle down into the fork of the hand they should be able to comfortably bring the sights down to the target.
Conversely, shooters with proportionately shorter arms and longer torsos need a wrist-hand position that adds more length to the support column. They can achieve this by resting the rifle between the spit fingers and thumb, up on the second knuckles or, highest of all, on the thumb and fingertips.”
In his article, Anderson also explains how to correct the most common mistakes in the standing position:
“1. Incorrect body turn—too little or too much body turn makes it impossible to have a straight column of support under the rifle and upper body and difficult to balance[.]
2. Left elbow not under rifle—incorrect elbow positioning misaligns the column of support.
3. Left hip not under rifle—incorrect hip position misaligns the support column and makes good balance more difficult.
4. Butt too low in shoulder—when the head is tipped down too far to see through the sights comfortably, the butt must be raised in the shoulder and a higher left hand-wrist position must be selected.
5. Left arm not relaxed down onto side or hip—this means the rifle is being supported with muscles instead of bones—relax the arm down onto the side or hip and, if necessary, select a higher hand position.”
The May Issue of On The Mark contains many other useful articles, including a feature on Aerobic Fitness by 2003 Smallbore (3P) National Champion Amber Darland.
(Photos © Copyright 2008 CMP, used by permission.)
February 11th, 2008
Air rifles are ideal trainers for young shooters. They can be used indoors (with appropriate pellet traps). And, because they are not firearms as defined by state and federal law, there is no problem (in most jurisdictions) with the use of air rifles by teen shooters. Junior Air Rifles can be purchased through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).
High School Air Rifle Competition on TV
This week, the ShootingUSA television show features Air Rifle Competition at the high school level. ShootingUSA reports the shooting sports are expanding in high schools across the country: “Air rifle competition is a growing sport in high schools. The proof is the largest invitational high school team match in the country.” The tournament hosted by Mongomery Bell Academy in Nashville, TN draws over 400 competitors from 72 high schools in 16 heartland states.
The format is Olympic-style 10-meter competition. The match requires 20 shots from each of three positions — standing, kneeling and prone. 600 is a perfect score, but with the very tiny Ten-Ring, perfect scores are very unusual. There are three classes of competition. Sporter Pneumatic Class (pump rifle, no special gear); Open Sporter Class (compressed air rifle, glove allowed); and Precision Class (Shooting Suits, Shoes and Gloves allowed).
ShootingUSA runs every Wednesday on the Outdoor Channel at the following times:
Eastern Time 4:30 PM, 8:30 PM, 2:00 AM (Thursday)
Central Time 3:30 PM, 7:30 PM, 1:00 AM (Thursday)
Mountain Time 2:30 PM, 6:30 PM, Midnight
Pacific Time 1:30 PM, 5:30 PM, 11:00 PM
Camp Perry Junior Open
In related news, the Second Annual CMP Camp Perry Junior Open was held successfully on Jan. 18-19. For the second year in a row CMP’s newest three-position air rifle event, the Camp Perry Junior Open, was filled to capacity with 57 junior shooters. Travelers from as far away as Auburn, Alabama and Waukegan, Illinois made the trek to Camp Perry, Ohio, for the sanctioned precision and sporter air rifle match.
The event was held on a temporary range in Camp Perry’s Bataan Armory, which the CMP acquired from the Ohio National Guard. Next year the Camp Perry Junior Open will take place at the new CMP Camp Perry Competition Center which will house an 80-point air gun range with electronic targets. The Competition Center will open in June, 2008.
December 13th, 2007
From an upcoming documentary, here’s a nice clip about young women who are involved in the shooting sports. We think this is the kind of positive story that needs to be told by organizations such as the NRA. A variety of teen female shooters are interviewed, including a World Champion Skeet Shooter. Many of the girls mentioned that shooting gave them “a chance to spend fun time with [their] dad.” Others noted that shooting gave them a chance to train and compete with adults, and that was very fulfilling.
CLICK HERE to WATCH VIDEO
The video reveals that, “since 2004, the number of elementary and high school girls competing in shooting sports has increased by 178%.” If you enjoyed this trailer and want to learn more about the feature documentary, “A Girl and a Gun” by Cathryne Czubek, visit AGirlandaGunfilm.com. Producer/Director Czubek notes: “Women and guns have been inexplicably linked throughout American history, but a recent spurt in female gun-ownership begs a closer examination into what’s driving this trend.”
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