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October 31st, 2012
 Tonight’s Episode of Shooting USA TV features the 2012 International Revolver Championship (IRC) from the Hogue Action Shooting Range in Morrow Bay, California. You can see another winning performance by Jerry Miculek, considered by many the greatest living revolver shooter.
The IRC, held in June, was the highlight of the 2012 revolver shooting season. More than 240 of the world’s top revolver shooters negotiated their way through 12 stages of fire putting more than 70,000 rounds down range.
Impossible Shots Tonight
Also tonight, Shooting USA’s “Impossible Shots” TV Show features more wheelgun action. Cisko puts a new twist on an old favorite, the El Presidente, but doing it with two six-guns. The challenge is to turn, fire twelve rounds, six double taps, with a gun exchange, in less than six seconds. Plus Jerry Miculek shows what he can do with two guns at the same time.
Shooting USA airs at 3:30 pm, 8:30 pm, 12:00 Midnight Eastern Time on the Outdoor Channel.
Impossible Shots airs at 3:00 PM, 10:30 PM, 2:00 AM Eastern time on the Outdoor Channel
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February 6th, 2012
Polymer Injection Molding (PIM) of Monson, MA has been awarded U.S. Patent 68,062,736 for overmolding gunstocks coated with a decorative or protective substrate. Overmolding typically is used to enhance synthetic stocks by molding a soft, rubber-like material to gripped areas of a gunstock (fore-end and pistol grip). Sometimes overmolding is applied to the entire stock. Overmolding also is used to decorate stocks with contrasting colors and textures.
 Applying overmolding to a decorated gunstock (camo, wood grain, etc.) has proven to be extremely difficult and costly and has not been practiced widely. As a result, overmolded stocks typically have a black, grey, tan or other basic, out-of-the-mold colors. See, e.g. the Hogue Over-Molded stocks. PIM’s patented technology changes all that. Now overmolding can be applied over camo-dipped and other patterned stocks. This is typically done in key contact areas on the fore-arm and on the pistol grip section.
According to PIM President Jim Ryan, “We did our first overmolded stock for a gun manufacturer over ten years ago. It wasn’t long before everybody wanted to camo and overmold the same stock. That proved to be easier said than done. Masking the overmolded part makes a horrible mess and overmolding directly over camo (without our process) has big adhesion problems. We experimented for a long time before coming up with a process that worked. We overmold over camo day-in and day-out without any problem. It looks great and holds up as well as direct overmolding applications”.
Craig Dougherty, PIM’s Marketing Director, echoed Ryan’s comments. “The ultimate added value is to decorate with camo and overmold the grip areas with a complementary color. We’ve done a lot of basic black over camo but overmolded tan, grey and green grips really punch it up. Now that our technology is protected, we expect to be doing more variations”. For more info, visit the PIM website at www.gunvalleymolders.com.
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June 8th, 2010
For the 18th time, Jerry Miculek won the ICORE Open division at the Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) held this past weekend at the Hogue Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. Some 220 wheelgunners from around the world participated in the match, but none shot better than Miculek, a living legend.
“There are hardly enough accolades to accurately depict how good Jerry is with a revolver. Year after year, without fail, he demonstrates what it means to be the best in the world and ICORE is honored to once again, and for the 18th time, name him our IRC champion,” said Art Leach of ICORE.
Miculek’s total 2010 winning time of 225.56 was over 35 seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Neil Hogue, who finished with a final time of 260.59. John Bagakis shot a great match to win the Limited division with a 267.75, the seventh best time among ALL competitors. Craig Buckland took the newly-created “Retro Revolver” division with a 349.00 time. The “Retro” division — new for the 2010 IRC — is limited to six-shot revolvers reloaded with speed-loaders. In Open and Limited divisions, shooters can use 8-round revolvers with moon clips.
Down to the Wire in Women’s Open Division
In an exciting finish to the women’s Open division match, Team Smith & Wesson Captain Julie Golob came from behind on the final stage, to win her second straight Open title with a 404.59 total time. The final “Standards” stage consists of targets as far out as 50 yards. Shooters must put six rounds into a four inch X-Ring to avoid time penalties, making the stage the “make or break” point in the match.
 Golob trailed 13-year-old revolver prodigy Janae Sarabia throughout the match but Golob took the lead on the final stage where accuracy is paramount. Claiming second was Flora Yang who won the all-important final stage and posted a final time of 413.87. After losing the lead on the last stage, Sarabia finished third in women’s Open, still a remarkable feat for a 13-year-old! Janae’s final time of 417.83 secured the Junior Open title, giving Team S&W its third title in the division.
We congratulate all the ICORE winners, but want to give special praise to up-and-comer Janae Sarabia of Lompoc, California. She showed remarkable skill and poise shooting against seasoned pros twice her age. Janae said: “I was pretty happy with how I shot the match. I’ve been improving all year long and and feel a big sense of accomplishment taking third and ecstatic that I finished as the top junior.” It’s great to see juniors experience this kind of success. Jenae’s performance is an inspiration for other young girls getting involved in the shooting sports. Young Miss Sarabia is a rising star.
CLICK HERE for complete 2010 ICORE International Revolver Championship Results.
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May 27th, 2010
Looking to expand its share of the burgeoning market for tactical rifles, Remington has released a new Hogue-stocked Rem 700 variant with a 20″ barrel threaded for sound moderators (suppressors). Remington calls the new rifle the Model 700™ SPS™ Tactical AAC®-SD. (Somebody at Remington got carried away with the acronyms.) There’s nothing new or remarkable to be found in the gun’s internals. It’s pretty much a standard short-action Rem 700 with a 1:10″-twist heavy barrel chambered in .308 Winchester. The rifle does feature a Hogue® Overmolded Ghillie Green™ pillar-bedded stock, an upgrade over the inexpensive synthetic stocks on entry-level Rem 700s.
We generally like the build quality of the Hogue stocks, but some of our tactical testers have complained that the over-molded design is a bit flexy compared to a McMillan or Manners tactical stock. If you’re planning to use the rifle for mostly prone work, you’ll also want to add some sort of buttpad spacer system to allow length-of-pull adjustment. MSRP for the SPS Tactical AAC-SD is $757.00.
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May 19th, 2010
 Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 4-6 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is the 11th consecutive season that San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assn. hosts the IRC, the highlight of the ICORE revolver shooting season. Nearly 200 ace revolver shooters, from the USA as well as 6 foreign countries, are expected to compete. According to Ron Joslin, IRC match director: “This is the highlight of our competition season. It’s where everybody in ICORE comes together to determine who is the best. This is our Superbowl, and it’s been that way for the last 18 years.”
The man to beat in Open Class will be legendary pistolero Jerry Miculek of Team Smith & Wesson. Jerry has won every IRC in which he has competed. When it comes to wheelguns, Miculek is the fastest man on the planet. Also competing will be past Ladies Open Division winner Julie Golob, and last year’s Limited Division Champion John Bagakis.
Along with the adult classifications, the IRC features divisions for Junior shooters. The junior events are always crowd-pleasers. Some of these youngsters are definitely future champions in the making. The video below shows the 2009 IRC Junior Shoot-Off for the overall Junior Title.
Man vs. Machine-Gun — Miculek Duels Uzi on Shooting USA TV
In related news, on tonight’s ‘Impossible Shots’ segment of the Shooting USA TV broadcast, Jerry Miculek will attempt to keep pace with a full-auto Uzi machine-gun. Shooting his tuned 1911 pistol, Miculek will engage a set of targets and try to match the RPM (rounds per minute) rate of the Uzi. This should be an interesting challenge to watch. Who will win? Well, I would never bet against Miculek when it comes to speed shooting….
Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots airs Wednesday at these times:
Eastern Time: 2:30 PM, 10:30 PM | 2:30 AM (Thursday)
Central Time: 1:30 PM, 9:30 PM | 1:30 AM (Thursday)
Mountain Time: 12:30 PM, 8:30 PM | 12:30 AM (Thursday)
Pacific Time: 11:30 AM, 7:30 PM, 11:30 PM
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August 8th, 2009
Tactical, Smacktical. FNH USA is trumpeting the “tacticality” of its new FN TSR “Tactical Sport Rifle”, but what we think they’ve created is a great hunting rifle for small deer, coyotes and other medium-sized game. The TSR comes in two versions — the TSR XP USA (.223, 7.62×39), and the TSR XP (.308 Win, .300 WSM). Both models feature a Win m70-type action with controlled feed, an olive drab Hogue over-molded stock with aluminum bedding block, and a one-piece steel MIL-STD Picatinny rail with built-in elevation. And yes, that nice rail is standard. The factory trigger adjusts from 3 to 5 pounds.
Compact 7.62×39 XP USA features 20″ Fluted Barrel
The smaller XP USA version, as chambered in 7.62×39, is most interesting to us. There are few other US-made bolt action rifles in this popular caliber. The XP USA features an ultra-short action and weighs 8 lbs., 11 ounces. (Why is that action based on the Model 70? Well, for starters, FNH now owns Winchester Arms and builds Model 70 actions in its South Carolina plant.) With a fluted, 1:12″ twist, hammer-forged 20″ barrel, this 7.62×39 looks to be a very handy, ergonomic, and versatile rifle.
We’ve used the Hogue over-molded stocks which feature a grippy, rubberized surface. Some folks don’t like the rubbery feel, but for field work, we’ve found the over-molded surface easy to hold and really secure in wet or snowy conditions. We like the idea of a very short action, combined with 5-round (7.62×39) or 6-round (.223) capacity, with hinged floorplate. We think the 7.62×39 is more than adequate for small deer. It’s hitting power rivals that of the classic 30/30, one of the most popular deer cartridges of all time.
If you prefer a bigger caliber, or detachable box magazine (DBM), you can order the medium-action TSR XP version in .308 with 4-round DBM, and either 20″ or 24″ barrel. Fitted with the longer barrel, the XP in .308 is a full pound heavier than the more compact 7.62×39 XP USA.
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May 15th, 2009
From June 5-7, 2009, the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) conducts the 18th Annual International Revolver Championships (IRC) at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, California. The IRC is the highlight of the revolver shooting season and more than 230 of the nation’s top revolver shooters, as well as several from outside the United States, are expected to compete and negotiate their way through 12 stages of fire putting more than 70,000 rounds down range.
CLICK HERE for MAP to Hogue Action Pistol Range.
The Hogue Action Pistol Range, site of this year’s ICORE Int’l Championships, is the premier action pistol range on the West Coast. A modern facility with 10 shooting bays, the Hogue Range is part of a large complex of shooting sports facilities operating on a former U.S. Army test range located between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, California. The public rifle range, located just North of the Hogue Action Pistol Range, is shown below. This is a beautiful place to shoot, with moderate weather year-round. You’ll find good hotels and excellent campgrounds nearby. The San Luis Obispo region is a great weekend destination for the whole family, with beaches and tourist attractions nearby. Visit the San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assocation (SLOSA) website for more information on the Hogue Range and adjacent shooting facilities.
ICORE — All Revolvers, All the Time
The International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) was founded in 1991 by Mike and Sharon Higashi, long time active shooters in all the handgun sports. Envisioned as an alternative to the “arms race” that was occurring in the other action shooting sports at that time, a revolver-only competition would allow even the most basic equipment to be used and still provide enjoyment and satisfaction. For further information on ICORE or the 18th Annual International Revolver Championships, visit www.icore.org.
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