If you want to learn about the latest new guns and shooting accessories for 2011, log on to ShootingIndustry.com and check out the FREE January 2011 Digital Edition of Shooting Industry Magazine. The special January SHOT Show edition is packed with new products. The New Product Showcase spotlights hundreds of new product offerings from manufacturers across the industry. Firearms, ammunition, optics and accessories are included.
SHOT Show Guide and Exhibitors’ Map
The January edition of Shooting Industry Magazine also provides invaluable info for SHOT Show attendees. You’ll find planning tips, last-minute updates, and the official SHOT Show Exhibitors Guide complete with floor map of the convention center.
Last but not least, the January issue of Shooting Industry Magazine includes an up-to-date list of manufacturers’ promotions, sweepstakes, rebates, and dealer incentives.
The 9th Annual SASS Convention and Indoor Championship will be held December 8-12 at the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the Single Action Shooting Society’s annual gathering, SASS members can attend seminars on shooting skills, reloading, gun maintenance, stage planning, and match management. Firearms vendors will display their wares, and a wide variety of activities will be held, including: Indoor World Championship, Classic Cowboy Saloon Dance, Hall of Fame Induction, and Wild West Performers (e.g. Trick Ropers, Gun Spinners, and Bullwhip Artists). The Popular “Cowboys in the Sky” CW band will perform on Friday night.
Indoor Shooting Championship with Wax Bullets
The SASS Indoor World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting is a three-day, nine-stage shooting competition to be held during the SASS Convention in Las Vegas. Competitors will shoot supplied firearms and wax bullets at steel targets in a variety of Cowboy Action Shooting scenarios. The ammunition is powderless, as the wax projectiles are propelled by standard primers only. This allows shooting indoors, within the convention center itself.
Editor’s Comment: Traditionalists may scoff at the use of wax bullets, but SASS has devised a form of action shooting that can be safely done indoors (on hotel premises) without ricochet risks and without pollution issues. By adapting its game to an indoor setting, SASS has added something new to the shooting sports, and has provided an exciting adjunct to its annual Convention. When shooters get together, they want to shoot. The wax-bullet technology allows SASS Convention-goers to enjoy shooting without traveling miles to a formal indoor or outdoor range. There may be something here that can be adapted to other shooting sports. We can certainly see the potential for winter indoors rifle training using primer-propelled wax bullets. Keep in mind however, that shooters must still employ normal safe-shooting procedures; even wax bullets can cause serious injuries.
The 3-Gun Nation Finals television broadcast airs this week on the Versus Channel. Held in September at the Desert Sportsmans’ Range in Las Vegas, the 3-Gun Nation Championship pitted many of the nation’s top multi-gun shooters in head-to-head competition. After a two-day qualifier to narrow the field, 16 of America’s top 3-gunners met in a single-elimination, man-on-man Final Tournament. $40,000 in prizes were up for grabs, with a fat $25K check for the overall winner.
The action was fast and furious as, one-by-one, competitors were eliminated in the 3GN Championship Shoot-Off, an all-steel target course of fire, racing to the final stop-plate. In the Shoot-Off, all contestants used FNH arms: SCAR rifles, SLP 12-gauge shotguns, and FNX-9 semi-automatic pistols. We won’t spoil the drama by announcing the winner (you can check our Daily Bulletin archive for match results), but you can preview the event by watching this teaser video featuring Bruce Hiatt, Jerry Miculek, and SGT Dan Horner of the USAMU. More videos are found on the 3-Gun Nation Website.
3-Gun Nation Repeats on Mondays and Thurdays throughout December
This 3-Gun Nation Finals broadcast airs on Thursday, December 2, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. The entire three-part championship block of episodes will repeat on Mondays and Thursdays throughout December.
Legendary shooter Jerry Miculek of Princeton, Louisiana won the Open division at the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s (USPSA) 2010 Multi-Gun National Championships this past weekend at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miculek, who finished second in 2009, has won the title previously in 2008, 2007, and 2005. His first place finish this year also earned Miculek the Senior Open division title.
This was an impressive come-from-behind victory by Miculek, who trailed most of the match. Jerry grabbed the lead on the 10th of 12 stages, then held on to win with a final score of 1997.2577. In winning his fourth USPSA Multi-Gun Championship, Jerry out-gunned dozens of other shooters half his age. Maybe those young bucks should buy Jerry’s Practical Rifle DVD in which he explains his techniques. Though some of his younger competitors could cover ground faster, Jerry was ultra-accurate with his rifle, scoring hits faster than the younger shooters. As Jerry told photographer Yamil Sued: “Son, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it right.” In the video below you can see Jerry competing in the 3-Gun Nation Championship, which was held on Monday, immediately after the USPSA event.
“Jerry is one of our sport’s most respected competitors. There is no match that he enters that he is not among those favored to win and that’s certainly true when it comes to Multi-Gun competition,” said Michael Voigt, USPSA president and the defending Multi-Gun champion who finished second this year behind Miculek. Voigt’s final score of 1963.7636 placed him second in the match while Taran Butler finished third with 1927.1224.
Reese Repeats as Women’s Champion
In the Women’s Open division contest Maggie Reese of South Pasadena, California took top honors, winning six of the 12 stages and posting a final score of 1272.8205. This gave Maggie back-to-back USPSA titles, as she also won the Womens’ Multi-Gun Championship in 2009. A soft-spoken, humble competitor, Maggie really dominated her division in this event. She is a deserving Ladies’ Champion. Maggie’s final total was more than 155 points ahead of second place Vinky Castillo’s score of 1117.8194.
SGT Horner and Tasha Hanish Both Win Tactical Division Second Year in a Row
In the Tactical Division, SGT Daniel Horner of the USAMU successfully defended his USPSA Multi-Gun Tactical division title. The Army shooter, who won five of the 12 stages, finished with a 2075.0824 score, beating his nearest competitor by more than 218 points. Then, one day after securing his USPSA Tactical title, SGT Horner won the first-ever 3-Gun Nation Championship, capturing a $25,000 cash prize donated by Leupold.
Cave Creek, Arizona’s Tasha Hanish, a member of the FNH USA shooting team, won seven of 12 stages and dominated the field as she won the Women’s Tactical division title for the second year in a row. Hanish won the first four stages of the match, jumping out to a 62+ point lead over FNH USA teammate Dianna Liedorff. Hanish won the title with a final score of 1252.3448. Liedorff finished second with 1095.2133. Watch Tasha in action in the video above.
More than 150 top shooters from 26 states, as well as Canada, competed in the 2010 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals. Despite the brutal heat, which reached the mid-90s, these shooters managed to “run and gun” for four days straight, sending over 19,000 rounds downrange during the competition.
Over the past five days at the Desert Sportsman’s Range in Las Vegas, the nation’s top multi-gun competitors competed for glory and serious prize money. Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 9-12), the USPSA conducted its Multi-Gun Nationals — a big event with shooters competing on twelve separate stages, some 3-gun, some 2-gun, and a few shotgun-only, pistol-only, or rifle-only. One of the USPSA stages even started off with a full-auto FNH machine-gun (provided by the match organizers). On most of the stages, most competitors blazed through the rifle and pistol segments, but many shooters struggled with their scattergun reloading. Those guys and gals who could stoke their shotguns quickly (and smoothly) enjoyed a major competitive edge.
3-Gun Nation Finals
On Monday, September 13, the Finals of the season-long 3-Gun Nation series was held at the Desert Sportsman’s range. The number of stages was reduced to four, but the scenarios were longer and tougher, with more moving and shooting, and generally more challenging scenarios. On ALL the 3-Gun Nation stages, all three guns (rifle, pistol, and shotgun) were used. To do well you need to be strong with all weapon types. The top shooters all had their serious game faces on as big money — over $40,000 in prize money — was at stake. Conditions were tough; temps were in the mid-90s, and erratic afternoon winds toyed with the shooters during the long-range rifle events.
SGT Horner Wins 3-Gun Nation Championship and $25,000 Prize
After seven hours of elimination events to select shoot-off participants, the 3-Gun Nation Final Shoot-off was held at day’s end. In this signature event, sixteen 3-Gun Nation competitors dueled in a series of one-on-one matches until just two shooters remained. These two then competed head-to-head for the Championship. The “last man standing”, SGT Daniel Horner of the USAMU, won the Grand Prize of $25,000, provided by Leupold. Runner-up Bruce Piatt took home a check for $10,000, which US P.A.L.M. supplied. David Neth finished third, winning $5,000, courtesy of Timney Triggers. Congrats to SGT Horner and all the 3-Gun Nation competitors.
This weekend, September 10-12, over 150 of the nation’s best rifle, shotgun and pistol shooters will compete at the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s 2010 Multi-Gun National Championships. The event is hosted at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club , on the west side of Las Vegas, NV. Your Editor will be on hand to report on the action.
The USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals will feature 12 challenging stages involving rifle, shotgun, and pistol. The action is fast, demanding speed AND accuracy. National Titles will be decided in multiple USPSA Classes: Open, Limited, Tactical, Heavy Metal Limited, and Heavy Metal Tactical divisions. Honors will also be awarded in the categories of High Lady, Senior, Super Senior, Junior, Military & Law Enforcement.
Multi-Gun Competition is fast and exciting. With plenty of action and lots of fire-power, multi-gun matches are crowd-pleasing events that play well on television. The 3-Gun Nation TV show has been a popular addition to the Versus Channel this year. 3-Gun Nation culminates its inaugural season on September 13 with the 3GN Championship at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club in North Las Vegas, where the top 3-gunners in the country will battle for $40,000 in cash prizes.
Immediately preceding the 3-Gun Nation Champsionship, the 4-day USPSA Multi-Gun World Championships will be held September 9-12 at the same Desert Sportsman’s Club Range. Shooters will compete in five divisions: Standard, Standard Tactical, Open, Heavy Metal Standard, and Heavy Metal Tactical. AccurateShooter.com will be on hand to cover the action.
Ozarks 3-Gun Match in Missouri — Watch the Video
Just a few days after the Vegas Multi-Gun Comps, the Adams Arms Ozark 3-Gun Championship will be held September 24-26, 2010, near the Lake of Ozarks in the heart of Missouri. Check out the very cool video below for a preview of the action. (You may want to turn down your speakers at work.)
Nearly 230 shooters will compete during this 3-day competition with nine stages of fire. Stages feature the natural terrain and hills of the Ozark Mountains on 1,000 acres of land. “We like to be challenging, but fun,” said Match Director Kirk Broyles. “We want to make sure the most experienced shooters are challenged and enjoy the match, but that new shooters can compete and won’t be overwhelmed.” Run by the Adams Arms Shooting Team, the Ozark 3-Gun Championship held its first competition just last year. The match gained NRA-sanctioning in 2010.
The Shooting USA TV show on the Outdoor Channel presents its Annual SHOT Show Special today. The one-hour broadcast airs three times on Wednesday, March 17, starting at 4:00 pm Eastern Time. SHOT Show is the shooting industry’s largest annual event, attracting thousands of exhibitors and over 25,000 dealers and media attendees. Shooting USA interviews representatives of many leading companies, including Barrett, DPMS, Les Baer, Smith & Wesson, STI, and U.S. Optics.
For the 4-day event, held in Las Vegas from Jan. 18-22, Shooting USA brought its entire reporting team: Jim Scotten, John Scoutten, Mike Irvine, Brian Speciale, and videographer Greg Simmons. To preview the new products covered in the SHOT Show Special broadcast, visit the Shooting USA website.
Shooting USA SHOT Show Special Broadcast times
* Eastern Time: 4:00 PM, 8:00PM, 12:00 Midnight
* Central Time: 3:00 PM, 7:00PM, 11:00 PM
* Mountain Time: 2:00 PM, 6:00PM, 10:00 PM
* Pacific Time: 1:00 PM, 5:00PM, 9:00 PM
SHOT DAILY Digital Editions Available
You can still download digital (PDF) editions of the SHOT Daily print magazines distributed to SHOT Show attendees. Each of the four (4) issues contains a major product review, and many other shorter features. The Day 1 Daily features new Rifles for 2010, while the Day 2 Daily features new Optics and Ammo. In addition, you’ll find many other items of interest to rifle shooters.
If you couldn’t attend SHOT Show 2010, don’t despair. You can now download complete digital editions of the official SHOT Show Daily Magazines provided to SHOT Show attendees and exhibitors.
Each of the four (4) issues contains a major product review, and many interesting shorter features. The Day 1 Daily features new Rifles for 2010, while the Day 2 Daily features new Optics and Ammo. New Knives are featured in the Day 3 Daily. In the Day 4 Report, there is a good summary of new Airgun offerings.
Even if you’re not interested in the latest retail trends it’s worth downloading all four issues, because there are a number of features relating to club operations and range management. In addition, you’ll find many shorter items of interest to rifle shooters. As well there are handy directories of manufacturers and distributors.
Are you headed to Vegas to attend the 2010 SHOT Show, Jan. 19-22? To do the show right, you need a plan. Wandering randomly among the 1800 exhibits (on TWO floors this year) wastes time and energy. By the end of each day you’ll be exhausted and you won’t have seen half what you wanted to see.
Here’s what to do — log on to the SHOT Show Planner website. There you’ll find floor-plans for the whole show. You can alpha-search for particular companies, and the interactive planner will automatically plot their locations on the grids. What’s more, you can “mouse-over” booth locations on the grid and the planner will display the company name and booth number. Say, for example, you’ve located RCBS at booth #14638. You can just slide your mouse around the nearby area to find Sierra Bullets at booth #14934 and Nosler at booth #15938.
Log In to Create Customized Exhibitor List and Show Navigation Maps
If you sign up with a name and password, you can save all your search results and even print out highlighted floor-plans with your “targeted” booths. The SHOT Show planner will create (and remember) a customized list of the booths you want to visit. Then you can print-out custom floor-plans with your choices marked on the grids.
Using the SHOT Show Planner, you can quickly identify all the exhibits you want to visit, and then create personalized show maps with your “destinations” marked. When you’re at the show, bring your customized maps and simply “connect the dots” from one pre-marked booth to the next. That lets you proceed efficiently from one location of interest to the next, without backtracking or wasting time.
If you want to learn about the latest new guns and shooting accessories for 2011, log on to ShootingIndustry.com and check out the FREE January 2011 Digital Edition of Shooting Industry Magazine. The special January SHOT Show edition is packed with new products. The New Product Showcase spotlights hundreds of new product offerings from manufacturers across the industry. Firearms, ammunition, optics and accessories are included.
Editor’s Comment: Traditionalists may scoff at the use of wax bullets, but SASS has devised a form of action shooting that can be safely done indoors (on hotel premises) without ricochet risks and without pollution issues. By adapting its game to an indoor setting, SASS has added something new to the shooting sports, and has provided an exciting adjunct to its annual Convention. When shooters get together, they want to shoot. The wax-bullet technology allows SASS Convention-goers to enjoy shooting without traveling miles to a formal indoor or outdoor range. There may be something here that can be adapted to other shooting sports. We can certainly see the potential for winter indoors rifle training using primer-propelled wax bullets. Keep in mind however, that shooters must still employ normal safe-shooting procedures; even wax bullets can cause serious injuries.
The 
Legendary shooter Jerry Miculek of Princeton, Louisiana won the Open division at the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s (USPSA) 2010 Multi-Gun National Championships this past weekend at the 
“Jerry is one of our sport’s most respected competitors. There is no match that he enters that he is not among those favored to win and that’s certainly true when it comes to Multi-Gun competition,” said Michael Voigt, USPSA president and the defending Multi-Gun champion who finished second this year behind Miculek. Voigt’s final score of 1963.7636 placed him second in the match while Taran Butler finished third with 1927.1224.
Over the past five days at the Desert Sportsman’s Range in Las Vegas, the nation’s top multi-gun competitors competed for glory and serious prize money. Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 9-12), the USPSA conducted its Multi-Gun Nationals — a big event with shooters competing on twelve separate stages, some 3-gun, some 2-gun, and a few shotgun-only, pistol-only, or rifle-only. One of the USPSA stages even started off with a full-auto FNH machine-gun (provided by the match organizers). On most of the stages, most competitors blazed through the rifle and pistol segments, but many shooters struggled with their scattergun reloading. Those guys and gals who could stoke their shotguns quickly (and smoothly) enjoyed a major competitive edge.
Multi-Gun Competition is fast and exciting. With plenty of action and lots of fire-power, multi-gun matches are crowd-pleasing events that play well on television. The 3-Gun Nation TV show has been a popular addition to the Versus Channel this year. 3-Gun Nation culminates its inaugural season on September 13 with the 3GN Championship at the 
