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December 17th, 2017
Ret. Army Lt. Col. Lones W. Wigger, Olympic shooter and international champion, passed away on the evening of December 14, 2017 at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old. By many measures, Wigger could be called the best iron sights, position shooter in history. During his shooting career, Wigger won 111 medals and set or tied 29 world records in international competition, more than any other shooter in the world. He was on the USA Olympic Shooting Team in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1980.
Kelly McMillan mourns Wigger: “My heart is broken. Sometimes something happens that though you may have been expecting it, when it happens the effect that it has on you is a complete surprise. I feel honored to have attended his [80th] Birthday Celebration in August and was extremely fortunate to have him on my radio show a little over a month ago. I am honored to have known him and to call him my friend… I miss him already.”
A Lifetime of Shooting Excellence
Originally from Fort Benton, Montana, Wigger won three Olympic medals in his career including Golds in 1964 and 1972. His resume also includes 24 World Championship Gold Medals and 29 World Records. The retired Lt. Col. also served his country in the U.S. Army with tours of duty in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971. Wigger was primed for Olympic success in 1980 but never got the chance due to the U.S. boycott.
Wigger is often regarded as the greatest competitive rifle shooter ever to have taken aim for the United States. He won more medals in international shooting competition (111) than any other shooting athlete in the world and is the only athlete to win medals in all three Olympic rifle shooting disciplines. Wigger is the only USA Shooting Team member ever elected to the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Hall of Fame.
Wigger was a USA Olympic shooting team member in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1980. The 1964 effort resulted in a Gold Medal. He won the gold for the 3-position small-bore rifle. In 1972, Wigger won the Gold Medal for 3-position Free Rifle. Wigger also competed on five Pan American Games teams, where he won five Silver and 13 Gold medals. A retired Army Lt. Colonel, Wigger was a Vietnam Veteran who spent 25 years on active duty, retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel. While in the Army, Wiggers also competed with the USAMU.
Wisdom from Wigger — The Psychology of Winning
by Lones Wigger, Olympic Medalist
 It’s pretty complicated — this subject of dealing with pressure. I’m a precision shooter and have learned to excel in that discipline. You’ve got to learn to shoot the desired scores at home and in training. And once you’re capable of shooting the scores, you may not shoot the same way in the match because of the match pressure. As a result, it takes 3-4 years to learn how to shoot, and another 3-4 years to learn how to win — to deal with the match pressure. It takes several more years to learn how to do it when it counts.
To win, there are several things you have to learn how to do. You have to do it from within. You have to learn how to train just as if you were in a big competition. You work on every shot. You have got to learn to treat it just like a match — to get the maximum value out of every shot.
You have got to use the same technique in practice and in training. A lot of shooters have a problem because they change their technique from practice to the match. In competition, you work your ass off for every shot. You have to approach the training the same way.
A second way to combat pressure is to shoot in every competition you can get into so that you become accustomed to it.
Do Everything Possible to Prepare
The third technique is preparation. Before you are going to shoot in a big competition, train hard to do everything you can to raise your scores. So when you’re in the match, you know that you have done everything humanly possible to get ready for the competition. If you have self-doubt, you will not shoot well. You have to have the will to prepare to win.
When Gary Anderson was a kid, he couldn’t afford a gun or ammunition. He had read about the great Soviet shooters. With his single shot rifle, he would get into position, point that gun and dry fire for hours at a time in the three different positions. He had tremendous desire. He wanted to win and he did whatever he could to get there. When he finally got into competition, he shot fantastic scores from the beginning.
Visualize Winning to Train the Subconscious Mind
A little bit of psychology: You picture in your mind what you want to do. You have to say, OK, I’m going to the Olympics and perform well. Picture yourself shooting a great score and how good it feels. You are training your subconscious mind. Once you get it trained, it takes over. A coach taught me to visualize the outcome, and it worked. Eventually you train your subconscious and it believes you can win. At first I didn’t know about teaching the subconscious to take over, but now I do it all the time. And it certainly worked for me at the 1972 Olympics. What it really takes is training and doing the same thing in training as at a match. If you are “just shooting,” you are wasting your time.
This above text comes from an interview with Lones Wigger by Jock Elliot, part of a three-part series, The Fine Art of Not Cracking Under Pressure. CLICK HERE to READ FULL ARTICLE featuring other interviews with Brian Zins, Bruce Piatt, Carl Bernosky and Ernie Vande Zande.
December 15th, 2017
NOTE: Audio may auto-start when you click this graphic — turn down speakers at work
You should tune in to Kelly McMillan’s Taking Stock Internet Radio Show today, Friday, December 15, 2017. Two very smart and talented guys are featured on the show. Kelly’s first guest, Erik Cortina, is Captain of Team Lapua-Brux-Borden and one of American’s Top F-Class competitors. The second guest, Dan Dowling, is a respected name in the field of bolt-action rifle work, with his main focus being benchrest rifles and similar high-accuracy rifles. Today’s live show, and recorded archives, are hosted on the VoiceAmerica Sports Channel.
Liston to December 15 LIVE SHOW and Access Taking Stock Internet Radio Archives »
We have followed Erik’s career as he has risen to be one of the best F-Class and long-range shooters in the world. Texas State LR Champion (3 years in a row), Erik has placed Top 10 in the Berger SW Nationals, won a Bronze medal in World Championship with Rutland team (Team USA Red), placed 3rd in F-Class Nationals. Erik also has produced very informative shooting/reloading videos on his YouTube Channel. Erik tells us: “I am honored to be on Taking Stock with Kelly McMillan. As you all know, I enjoy passing on what I know so that other shooters can benefit from my experience. I received a lot of help from others, epecially Mike Downey and Mark Pharr, starting out, so I’m paying it forward. I also believe it’s a good way to grow the shooting sports.”
On today’s radio show, Erik added: “We will also discuss the importance of using quality equipment as it is the most reliable and gives me the best chance at winning. Another topic we will discuss is learning to win. I believe learning how to shoot is fairly easy, especially with all the info out there these days, but learning how to win, is the difference between a great shooter and a Champion.”
Erik Cortina shows one of his handsome F-Open Rifles at Berger SW Nationals.
You can also access previous episodes. Recent guests have included F-TR World Champion and King of 2 Miles Derek Rodgers, Multi-Time National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky, USA F-TR Team Captain Ray Gross, and GA Precision’s George Gardner.
CLICK HERE for Taking Stock Radio Show Past Episodes (Warning — Loud Audio May Start)
About McMillan Fiberglass Stocks
Kelly McMillan is the president of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks (MFS). This company began in 1973 when Gale McMillan starting crafting benchrest stocks at home in his carport/garage. In 1975 MFS hired its first employee, Kelly McMillan. By 1979 Kelly was made a partner, and by 1984 Kelly was in charge of running the stock shop. Since that time MFS has continued to grow with innovation and design. Today McMillan Fiberglass Stocks has a 15,000 sq/ft facility and 65 employees.
October 26th, 2017
You’ll want to tune in to Kelly McMillan’s Taking Stock Radio Show tomorrow, Friday, October 27, 2017. This week’s Episode 42 features respected action-maker and gunsmith Jim Borden of Borden Accuracy. The Radio Show, which streams on the internet, runs 8/27/2017 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Sports Channel.
Jim and Kelly will discuss a variety of topics, including gunsmithing, action design/manufacture, the past/present/future of Benchrest and F-Class competition, and how Benchrest technology have influenced other disciplines. Jim Borden is a “benchrest icon” who has been in the business maybe as long as McMillan. Kelly notes: “I remember the Borden name dating way back to when it was just my mother, father, and I working in the garage. Jim Borden will share the story of his legacy with our listeners”. CLICK HERE to LISTEN.
The Radio Show will also feature Kelly’s friend Kevin Finley, a professional bass fisherman. Access this and other “Taking Stock” episodes by clicking the Radio link on McMillanUSA.com, then select “Listen Live” or select Episode on Demand to hear previous shows. In past weeks, Taking Stock Radio has featured K02M and World F-TR Champ Derek Rodgers, Team USA F-TR Captain Ray Gross, Ballistics Guru Bryan Litz, Long-Range Champ Nancy Tompkins, High Power Champ Carl Bernosky, Legendary Olympic Shooter Lones Wigger, Sniper’s Hide Founder Frank Galli, and many other notables.
Borden and McMillan Collaborate on F-Open Rifle for Juniors
It’s great to see two important businessmen give back to the shooting sports. Kelly McMillan and Jim Borden are working together on a project — creating an F-Class Open rifle that can be loaned out to young shooters to help them get started with the sport. Great idea — we need to get more young folks involved in precision shooting. In F-Class (as well as benchrest) we have an “aging population”. Engaging the next generation of shooters is vitally important.
 Borden Accuracy — A Success Story
Borden Accuracy/Borden Rifles has been a source for precision benchrest and hunting rifles for many years. Jim started doing his own gunsmithing while competing in benchrest and High Power silhouette matches. Jim launched his business in 1987, working nights and weekends while still employed at P&G. The business became full-time in 1995 with Jim and his wife Joan doing the work. The business was expanded in 1999 with the construction of the new Springville, PA facility and the addition of sons Jim Jr. and John to the staff. Son-in-law John Mecca came onboard in January 2000.
Jim and company began making Rimrock benchrest and Rimrock hunting actions in 2001. They added Borden Alpine and Timberline actions in 2006. These actions are made in an advanced manufacturing facility which has three CNC vertical Machining centers, three CNC lathes, three manual lathes, a manual knee mill, a surface grinder, a cylindrical grinder and wire EDM machine. To learn more, visit BordenRifles.com, call 570-965-2505, or send email to info [at] bordenrifles.com.
May 4th, 2017
It’s great to see two important businessmen give back to the shooting sports. Kelly McMillan and Jim Borden are working together on a project — creating an F-Class Open rifle that can be loaned out to young shooters to help them get started with the sport. Great idea — we need to get more young folks involved in precision shooting. In F-Class (as well as benchrest) it seems we have an “aging population”. Engaging the next generation of shooters is vitally important.
Kelly McMillan, President of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, reports:
“Big shout out to Jim Borden. He heard I want to build a mid-range/entry level F-Class rifle to be loaned out to new junior shooters interested in finding out whether they like competing in F-Class Open. He contacted me a couple of weeks ago and said he would like to be involved in this project and wanted to send an action on which to build this rifle. Oh boy, it has arrived. Borden’s [operation] has always been synonymous with quality firearms and components but this action is an example of quality craftsmanship in every aspect. Thanks Jim for doing what you do. Hope I can do this thing justice.”
We’d like to see the looks on the faces of the juniors who’ll get to shoot this new rifle Kelly will be building. That’s like a Driver Training student getting to pilot a Ferrari. When this Editor got started in shooting, it was with very well-worn, hand-me-down 22 LRs at a local Boy Scout summer camp. We think it’s great that juniors will be able to sample something built with all-top-quality components.
Every Friday at 11:00 am, Kelly McMillan hosts the Talking Stock Radio Show on the Voice America Network. This week’s show features guest Robbie Barrkman, founder of The Robar Companies and CTI (Coating Technologies Inc.). If you have used any firearm product coated in NP3, you have Robbie to thank for it. Kelly will also interview Extreme Long Range (ELR) shooter Randy Powell from Thunder Ammo & Arms in Oklahoma.
March 30th, 2017
Kelly McMillan hosts three top shooters on his Taking Stock Radio Show this Friday, March 31, 2017. The broadcast will feature ace shooters from three long-range disciplines: Dan Bramley (F-Open), Ian Klemm (F-TR), and Nancy Tompkins (Palma/Sling). Kelly says: “Friday’s show will be awesome. Shooters from F Open, F-TR and Palma/Sling competition will join us to talk about their specific disciplines.” During this week’s Radio Show these three top Long Range competitors will share their experiences and offer some winning tips for other competitive shooters.
The Radio show runs 3/31/2017 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Sports Channel
CLICK HERE to Launch Radio Show (Warning — Loud Audio Starts Immediately)
The ‘First Lady’ of American Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Nancy Tompkins
Ian Klemm (second from right) with Berger SWN-winning North-by-Southwest F-TR team.
About McMillan Fiberglass Stocks
Kelly McMillan is the president of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks (MFS). This company began in 1973 whn Gale McMillan starting crafting benchrest stocks at home in his carport/garage. In 1975 MFS hired its first employee, Kelly McMillan.
By 1979 Kelly was made a partner, and by 1984 Kelly was in charge of running the stock shop. Since that time MFS has continued to grow with innovation and design. Today McMillan Fiberglass Stocks has a 15,000 sq. ft. facility and 65 employees. MFS manufactures around 12,000 stocks per year, most of which are individual customers ordering one custom built stock at a time.
January 4th, 2017
Kelly McMillan, CEO of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, is a featured guest on Gun Freedom Radio this week. In this episode, streamed live via SoundCloud, you can hear Kelly’s take on a number of topics, including how banks discriminate against firearms businesses, new developments in the gun industry, the impact of the November election, and how to bring new shooters into the sport.
Kelly’s interview starts at the three-minute mark of GunFreedomRadio EP71 Hour 2: Better, Stronger, Faster. Kelly notes: “The show is called Gun Freedom Radio, and host Cheryl Todd is a tremendous activist for Second Amendment issues and gun ownership. You can listen to the show with the link below. I am at the start of the second hour if you just want to listen to that portion.”
Guests: Kelly McMillan, CEO of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, located in Phoenix Arizona. If you hunt, or compete in shooting sports, you know the McMillan name has been synonymous with Top Tier quality and design. This is a family business, an American Dream success story.
NEW Kelly McMillan Voice of America Radio Show
Starting new week, January 13, 2017, Kelly McMillan will be hosting his very own Voice of America Radio show, Taking Stock with Kelly McMillan. Tune in on Friday, January 13th, 11:00 am Phoenix time on the Voice of America Sports Channel.
Kelly encourages listeners to submit topics for the show, or submit questions you’d like to have answered by Kelly. Submit questions/comments via McMillan’s Facebook page.
December 20th, 2016
Click Image for full-screen version of photo
F-Class has become one of the fastest-growing types of mid-range and long-range rifle competition. Because of that popularity, a market for specialty equipment has been created, including stocks. McMillan Fiberglass Stocks offers a variety of stocks for both F-TR and F-Open disciplines. Shown above and below is the new Kestros*, McMillan’s upgraded, second-generation F-Open stock. This is an impressive offering, with good stiffness, a torque-taming low-profile design, and good adjustability for the shooter. Our friend Boyd Allen had the chance to test drive a Kestros recently.
McMillan Kestros “First Look” Range Review by Boyd Allen
McMillan’s first-generation F-Open stock was well-received, and this new GEN II Kestros includes some significant improvements, making it even better. To achieve increased stiffness, the fore-end was filled out and its fill density was increased. (F-Open rifles have a rather generous 22-lb. weight limit, so the slight increase in stock weight should not be a problem.)
Because F-Open Shooters typically shoot long, heavy bullets through fast-twist barrels, torque control is an issue, which is why the base of the front section of the fore-end is close to the barrel. This low-profile design counters torque. By maximizing the angle defined by the bottom corners of the stock and the bore’s centerline, this stock geometry increases resistance to roll.
As tested, this Kestros stock features a nice three-way adjustable butt, as well as an adjustable cheek piece. Symmetrical palm swells and the symmetrical cheek piece make the stock truly ambidextrous. We believe that the cheekpiece locking knob can be switched to either side, adapting to both lefties and righties.
Comments by Tester Boyd Allen
Wanting some visual pop for pictures, and knowing that this was to be a range-only rifle, I ordered a tri-color flame pattern gel coat, the most durable of stock finishes, because it is part of the stock rather than being an applied, surface-only finish.
McMillan has been in the stock business for a long time, and when you sit down behind this one, you understand why. This company really knows what it is doing. The Kestros is a real pleasure to shoot, tracking perfectly. As the saying goes, it falls readily to hand.
My test Kestros stock came very accurately CNC-inletted for my action, with the optional aluminum pillars. The fit is so good that I am doing a full load work-up before doing final bedding, so I can see just how much (if any) bedding improves accuracy. For this test I have chosen a 6PPC barrel (yes it does look short with this stock.) because it will allow me to make finer distinctions in this area. Later I will be working with other calibers (and longer barrels). So far I have been very impressed with this stock — ergonomics, tracking, stability, build quality, and inletting have all been excellent.
* The original Kestros (aka “Kestrosphendone” or “Cestrus”) was an ancient Greek military weapon, a type of sling used to hurl heavy, arrow-like finned projectiles.
December 10th, 2016
Kelly McMillan with his lastest creation — the “ELR Beast”.
The design team at McMillan Fiberglass Stocks is working on a new heavy-duty stock for the Extreme Long Range (ELR) game. This beefy gunstock is designed to handle the heavy torque and recoil of big-caliber cartridges such as the .408 Cheytac and .50 BMG. The stock is also designed to balance the ultra-long barrels favored by ELR shooters and King of 2 Mile competitors. Shown above is the boss-man himself, Kelly McMillan, with the new ELR stock prototype. Kelly calls this “the ELR Beast”. Note how the cheekpiece is slotted to allow unimpeded movement of the extra-long bolt.
Kelly tells us: “Making headway on the ELR Beast. Using Paul Phillips’s barrel and action we have been able to make some progress in both the design and the cosmetics of the stock. I am pleased with where we are at this time. As is, this set up weighs 46 pounds, I suspect we can get this stock to weigh between 8 and 9 pounds maximum, and maybe 5 pounds minimum.”
August 27th, 2016
McMillan Fiberglass Stocks is introducing a new F-Class Open Division stock. This offers a low profile fore-end and parallel geometry for improved tracking. This is similar to McMillan’s previous F-Open stock, but with important enhancements. Here is Kelly McMillan’s report:
“Our new Kestro is … made specifically for F-Class Open competition. Notice we have kept the low profile fore-end while increasing the mass and rigidity. The fore-end is not only ‘dead nuts’ in line with the butt stock, but it is also on an exactly parallel plane so when it recoils there is no rise or lateral shift in the cross hairs.
This model comes with an integral adjustable cheek-piece and can have our standard buttplate or our lightweight 3-way adjustable butt plate. My estimation is that this stock will weigh as light as 4.5 pounds fully dressed, or as much as 8 pounds depending on what you need.
We are currently working on the cheek-piece free model for those of you who don’t put your face on the stock. One more thing, this color combination we call a Tiger Stripe Maple.” Editor’s NOTE: Though “maple” is in the stock color name, this is a reinforced fiberglass stock, not wood.
June 29th, 2016
The King of 2 Miles Extreme Long Range (ELR) competition is underway at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. Many of the nation’s top shooters are competing — aiming for hits on targets as far out as 3500 yards.
 Bryan Litz of Applied Ballistics offered this report:
Day One went well. I was the third shooter this morning. Started out good with 4/5 hits at 1454 yards including a first-round hit which is worth a lot of points. The second target was only 100 yards further, but the wind cycled and I missed the first two shots. If you miss three shots on any target after the first, you’re out! So cautiously, and with help from my teammates/spotters Paul Phillips and Mitchell Fitzpatrick, I scored a third round hit at 1550 and was able to advance to the 1720-yard target. I manage to hit that 1720-yard target three out of three times.
The final target on Day One was at 2011 yards. Unfortunately I had three close misses. (Editor: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, Bryan…)
Twenty teams shot today and about 15 more will shoot the qualifying stage tomorrow then the top 10 from the two days will shoot on Thursday at over 3300 yards for the crown. My score of about 29,000 points is good. But I won’t know for certain if I’ve made the Top 10 until all tomorrow’s teams fire.
Mitchell Fitzpatrick hit every target on his first two shots and finished with 40,000 points on Day One. His farthest shots were just over 2000 yards.
So that’s my story so far, but that’s not THE story. Teammate Mitchell Fitzpatrick (with rifle above) topped the field today with a monster score, hitting all targets and racking up over 40,000 points! The prototype Berger .375-caliber, 400gr bullets and Mitch’s .375 Wildcat from Lethal Precision Arms LLC are a super high-performance combination that made short work of the ELR course.
Also, teammate Paul Phillips, who originally was only here to spot, has entered the competition. He’ll be shooting my .338 Edge tomorrow. Luckily I brought plenty of ammo!
Picture below is the full Applied Ballistics team with sponsor Kelly McMillan. Kelly has been great to our team and we’re looking forward to some future projects with him in ELR.
In all the King of 2 Miles event is very enjoyable. It’s a great place to come and learn from fellow ELR shooters what works and what doesn’t work at these ranges. The spirit of the match is education and growing the knowledge base and I think it’s doing a great job at that. We’re thrilled to be a part of it!
DAY 2 UPDATE: Top TEN Shooters
Results of King of 2 Miles After Day Two
The Top 10 listed below continue to Day Three. On this final day, the ten remaining competitors will engage targets from 1-2 miles. Paul Phillips reports: “I managed to finish today with the highest score of the day. That placed me 7th overall and allows me into the shoot-off tomorrow. Team Applied Ballistics place three shooters in the 10 Final: Michael Fitzpatrick, Bryan Litz, Paul Phillips.”
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