|
|
June 7th, 2010
 David Tubb’s instructional DVD, “The Art & Technique of the Modern Match Rifle”, is a great resource for any High Power or position shooter. This 2-disc DVD provides over 4.5 hours of instruction and shooting demonstrations. We’ve watched the entire video and can assure you that it is excellent. Novice High Power and prone shooters who apply David’s methods should definitely improve their scores.
David has included highlights from that DVD in a shorter promo video. While the shorter video is a sales tool, it’s very informative in its own right. Watch the video and you’ll learn a great deal just by watching how David shoulders his rifle, and how he adjusts and maintains his shooting position. David shows examples of prone, sitting, and standing positions. In the short “trailer”, David also provides helpful tips on adjusting sights, and placing the spotting scope.
If you shoot Service Rifle, High Power, or prone, you can benefit from watching this short sampler video. The full 2-disc DVD is available for $49.95 from Creedmoor Sports or Superior Shooting Systems. With over 4.5 hours of content, the DVD covers all the across-the-course positions, the set-up and use of aperture sights and diopters, High Power and long range targets, the approach method in offhand, proper placement and use of spotting scopes. The DVD includes bonus footage of David shooting strings in all of the across-the-course positions.
April 29th, 2010
 The latest May 2010 digital edition of Shooting Sports USA is available, and it is definitely worth reading. This May issue contains the much-anticipated sequel to Part One of Competitive Gun Cleaning. Part Two of the series on Gun Cleaning can show you how to clean more effectively, with longer lasting results. Shooting Sports USA Editor Chip Lohman explains that: “Advances in chemicals for the marine, auto, and airline industry have benefited shooting sports in general and competitive shooting specifically”. There are many new products that speed up the cleaning process, so you can spend more time shooting, and less time scrubbing barrels.
Also featured in Shooting Sports USA’s May Edition are:
- A “must-read” profile of legendary High Power shooter Middleton (‘Mid’) Tompkins.
- A Guide to the Distinguished Shooting Program for all 5 NRA disciplines.
- An Introduction to .22LR Rimfire Benchrest Shooting, with resource links.
- Complete schedules for NRA competitive matches nationwide — this covers a wide range of disciplines, including high power, smallbore, black powder cartridge, silhouette, cowboy silhouette, and pistol matches.
April 21st, 2010
 Tired of filling out forms, making copies, purchasing stamps and waiting to hear if your application arrived on time? Wait no longer! Entries for the National Rifle and Pistol Championships — as well as the various junior camps — are now being accepted online.
Just go to the NRA Camp Perry Sign-up webpage, fill out the appropriate fields (enter your NRA ID if you have one), and your application will automatically be entered into the system. According to John Park of the NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, “We’ve had a lot of requests for an online system and [we] can’t wait to start using the new system.” Parker advises that, for the system to function correctly, users should employ Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher or Netscape 6.0 or higher. You can also access the impressive 100-page Camp Perry digital Program & Entry Information, which contains maps, schedules, Courses of Fire, Rules and much more. Click the first link below to read the Program online. Click the second link to download the Program as a PDF file.
CLICK HERE to view 2010 Camp Perry Program (Digital e-book)
CLICK HERE to download 2010 Camp Perry Program (PDF file, printable, 11.7 mb)
(After launching this file in browser, click “Save” icon to download to your computer.)
April 15th, 2010
 The 2010 Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will be held May 8th through 16th at Camp Butner, NC. The event is hosted by the North Carolina Army National Guard. The 4th Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches are co-sponsored by the CMP and Creedmoor Sports, Inc. CMP Games Matches will take place on 8-11 May while Creedmoor Cup Matches will be held 12-16 May. All interested shooters, (of all ages and skill levels) are invited to participate in these popular competitions. You’ll want to get your entry form in soon. There’s less than four weeks before the match starts.
CLICK for Match Program | CLICK for Match REGISTRATION
The Eastern CMP Games begin with a clinic on Saturday, 8 May. Three days of Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle Matches take place on 8, 10 & 11 May. The CMP Games Matches also include an “As-Issued” M1 Garand EIC Match on 9 May, a Rimfire Sporter Match and As-Issued Military Pistol Match on 9 May and an M1 Carbine Match on 10 May. New this year is a “Vintage Sniper Rifle Test Match” for two-man teams on 11 May. The Creedmoor Cup Matches begin on Wednesday, 12 May, with an advanced clinic. The Creedmoor Cup Matches include a Practice Match, a NMC team match, the 80-shot Creedmoor Cup Match and an EIC service rifle-NMC match rifle event. Both competitions feature special hospitality events and prize awards. Remington Firearms is sponsoring the High Power Rifle Clinic and a Practice Match (NMC). Creedmoor Sports is sponsoring a Four-Man team match (4 x NMC), the Creedmoor Cup 800 Aggregate and the Creedmoor EIC Match.
April 5th, 2010
 The 4-day Berger Bullets SW Nationals wrapped up Sunday. It was a successful match with over 80 shooters competing in various classes. After blustery weather on Thursday for the prone 3×600, conditions improved for the ensuing three days of Cross-the-Course events, with milder wind, temps in the low 70s and a bright blue sky.
Phil Hayes of Arizona was the overall Grand Agg winner with a 2256-76X. Congratulations Phil! Johnathan Thornton was close behind, capturing second with 2255-68X. Third overall and the top Service Rifle shooter was Alan Spiker, who shot 2250 with a remarkable eight-two (82) Xs, the high X-count among all competitors. Walt Smith was High Senior with 2231-68X, while Tyler Rico scored 2215-74X to capture the High Junior spot. John Beall was the highest-scoring Master, with a 2216-64X, while Phillip Meyers won the Expert Class scoring 2156-44X.
CLICK HERE for complete Grand Agg Results
On Friday, Jonathan Thornton was the overall winner for the day shooting a 789-23X with his Tubb 2000 in 6XC. Jonathan’s aggregate included clean 200 scores in sitting rapid fire as well as the 600 yard slow fire prone stage. Phil Hayes and Tyler Rico were second and third in the High Master match rifle category. Justin Skaret was the top service rifle shooter at 782-27X, followed by Allen Spiker and Eric Swearingen.
A catered barbeque dinner was provided for competitors and guests and thousands of dollars of merchandise prizes were distributed on a random drawing basis. Barrels, bullets, scopes, powder, triggers and all manner of accessories were distributed and highly appreciated.
March 19th, 2010
 The NRA Competitive Shooting Division has issued its updated Rules for 2010, complete with a quite a few notable changes. Download updated Rules by clicking the link below.
CLICK HERE to Download 2010 High Power Rule Changes (8 page PDF file; changes only).
Competitors should download and read the changes. There are some interesting changes. For example, the eligibility rules have been changed so that foreigners can win NRA matches: “2.1.1 Non-US Citizens — Non-US citizens may compete and are eligible to win any NRA Sanctioned tournament, unless further restrictions are imposed by conditions stated in the program.”
There are also a series of small changes to the Service Rifle (3.1), Any Rifle (3.2), and NRA Match Rifle (3.3) Rules. For Service Rifles, rifle descriptions have changed from separate numbers to Rule 3.1 alpha-subsections, (i.e. 3.1 (a), (b), (c), (d)). Notably, the new 7.62mm M-110 Service Rifle, first approved in 2009 under (then) Rule 3.1.6, is now incorporated under the general service rifle definition as new section 3.1 (d). For Palma competitors, the 2010 Rules have further codified the rifle eligibility standards: “3.3.1 U.S. Palma Rifle — (a) A rifle with metallic sights chambered for the unmodified .308/7.62 or .223/5.56 NATO cartridge case; (b) Any service rifle with metallic sights chambered for the unmodified .308/7.62 NATO or .223/5.56 NATO cartridge case.” There are no 2010 changes for the “Any Sight Match Rifle/Tactical Rifle”, adopted in 2009 under Rule 3.3.4.
If you have questions about any of the rule changes, contact Jan Raab at jraab@nrahq.org. CLICK HERE to sign up for the FREE monthly Competitive Shooting E-Newsletter. The hard-copy High Power Rule book (without 2010 revisions) can be purchased on the NRA Website.
March 7th, 2010
It looks like the NRA is considering creating a new type of multi-distance rifle match, or at least expanding High Power competition as we know it today. The NRA has seen the growing popularity of “tactical” matches with scoped bolt-action rifles, and apparently is looking for ways to bring the tactical game under the NRA umbrella.
 The NRA recently hired Trey Tuggle for the newly-created position of “Tactical Rifle Coordinator”. This position is part of the NRA Competition Division’s efforts to bring more people into the shooting sports. The focus of the Tactical Rifle Coordinator will be to promote the use of optics at existing High Power Matches as well as to move the NRA forward with a sanctioning process for Multi-Gun Action Shooting Events.
As a former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, Trey Tuggle knows his tactical rifles. Tuggle is also an entrepreneur, having created a counterterrorism assault vehicle company called Patriot 3.
Those interested in tactical or multi-gun competition can email Tuggle via ttuggle [at] nrahq.org.
February 24th, 2010
After we reported that Tyler Rico of Arizona won the Nevada Regional High Power Championship (at the ripe old age of 15), some of our readers asked about Tyler’s match rifle. Tyler, who earned his Distinguished badge at age 13 (the youngest ever to do do), primarily shoots AR-platform rifles. The AR with which Tyler won the 2010 Nevada Regional featured a custom 6mmAR upper built by Robert Whitley’s AR-X Enterprises. The 6mmAR chambering, basically a 6.5 Grendel necked down to 6mm, was popularized by Robert, who is himself an avid High Power shooter.
Tyler Rico’s 6mmAR upper has an interesting history. Whitley explained: “Originally we built it up for some testing by the Marine Shooting Team and we took it down to Quantico. They liked it a lot but did not have authority or funding to buy them. When Tyler’s father called me looking for an upper for Tyler, I offered a special deal on it because we wanted to help support a junior shooter.” Built on a heavy-walled DPMS Low Pro receiver, Tyler’s upper features a 26″ Krieger 1:8″ twist barrel, and a side-positioned charging handle.
According to Whitley, “My test rifle with Tyler’s upper shot great. Above is a photo of one of the initial 10-shot, 100-yard test targets I shot with the upper at 100 yards. This gun really hammered. Remember The ‘X’ ring is the size of a dime”.
Five Shots at 300m that Could Fit under a Quarter
Robert Whitley took the photo below at the Marine’s Quantico, VA, Precision Weapons Section facility. The photo shows a target shot with Tyler’s upper at 300 meters. That’s a five-shot group the size of a quarter. Robert reports: “The Marines wouldn’t let me take the target home, because they planned to use the target to support their lobbying effort for funds to purchase new 6mmAR uppers.”
February 7th, 2010
 In December, we published the rules controlling choice of caliber and bullet weight for Palma competition. (CLICK HERE to Read.) In the USA, some events are still limited to 156gr or lighter bullets for .308-caliber shooters. But where such restrictions don’t exist, many shooters are using heavy 175-190gr bullets in their .308s. Is the heavier bullet always better? What considerations favor the lighter 155gr-class bullets in Palma competition? Top Palma shooter Kelly Bachand addresses these questions in today’s commentary.
Factors That Favor the 155s
by Kelly Bachand
It is clear that 155gr bullets are adequate. In the Palma game, more matches have been won and more 450 scores have been shot with 155gr bullets than with any other weight projectile. With the NRA allowing heavier bullets in Palma matches, many shooters prefer to shoot the longer, heavier bullets when possible. With their higher BCs, the longer bullets would seem to offer a ballistic advantage. There may be an edge, but in my opinion, it comes at a high cost.
Shooting a heavier bullet adds complications. You’ll probably need a different powder and new load development will have to be done. New zeroes must be calculated and confirmed on the range. An expensive new barrel with a faster twist rate may be needed to stabilize the heavier bullets. And unless you’re lucky, there’s a chance that the new barrel is less accurate than your existing barrel. (If you’ve got a “hummer” barrel for the 155s, what are the odds of getting another one as good for the 190s?) For a shooter who only competes domestically and who has plenty of time and money, this does not pose much of a problem, as he can work up multiple loads and acquire multiple barrels, or even build up a second complete rifle. But shooting BOTH the 155s and the heavy bullets (which may require a new barrel) certainly adds to the cost of competing, and the time required to work up loads. One who also competes internationally has much more to worry about, since you’ll likely be switching between the heavy bullets for most domestic matches and the 155s for most international matches.
Consider the challenges you’ll encounter switching between a heavy-bullet domestic load and a 155gr international load. Will changing between two different loads (with very different recoil levels) alter your gun-handling and follow-through? Will having two loads (with different ballistics) create confusion when making wind calls? And if you DO shoot both 155s and 190s, should you have two different barrels, or should you stick to one barrel which is adequate for both bullet weights, but perhaps not optimal for either? The heavier bullets typically have a better BC which means they should be less bothered by the wind. At the same time the heavier bullets travel at a much slower velocity. Does this negate the ballistic advantage? You need to check the ballistic tables carefully, looking at BOTH BC and velocity.
As a person who prefers to keep things simple and stick with what works, it’s no surprise I continue to shoot 155gr bullets exclusively in Palma competitions. But I understand this is just one viewpoint. A Palma shooter reading this should survey competitors who are consistently putting themselves in the winner’s circle. Talk to top shooters and then make your own rational, informed decision about which bullets to use. Good luck and keep them in the center.
January 22nd, 2010
At the 2010 SHOT Show we had the unique opportunity to corner three “superstars” of High Power shooting, and solicit their wind-reading secrets. In the three videos below (in alphabetical order), Carl Bernosky (8-Time Nat’l High Power Champion), David Tubb (11-time Nat’l High Power Champion), and John Whidden (2-Time Nat’l High Power Long-Range Champion) shared some of the wind-doping strategies that have carried them to victory in the nation’s most competitive shooting matches. This is GOLD folks… no matter what your discipline — be it short-range Benchrest or Long-Range High Power — watch these videos for valuable insights that can help you shoot more accurately, and post higher scores, in all wind conditions.
We were very fortunate to have these three extraordinarily gifted champions reveal their “winning ways”. After recording the interviews, both Jason and I stood there in stunned silence…with jaws dropped. These guys REALLY know their stuff. I thought to myself “Wow, this is how a baseball fan might feel if he could assemble Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams in the same room, and have them each reveal their hitting secrets.” Watch the videos and soak up the wisdom of some truly legendary shooters….
By the way, the above clips are only part of longer interviews with Carl, David, and John. Stay tuned for other videos where these three champions talk about specific skills and techniques they’ve developed for the high power and long-range prone game.
|
