Rade Tecnologías SL, through its USA subsidiary Radetec, has developed a fired-shot counting system for pistols and long guns that offers immediate benefits for soldiers and LEO personnel. Down the road, we envision how an automatic shot-counting system could benefit Multi-Gun and High Power competitors. Firing one shot too few in a course of fire can lose a match, and firing one too many can have the same result — or worse yet, a DSQ.
Two Display Options for Pistols Radetec’s SpeedShot shot-count system employs a sensor in a special, dedicated magazine which outputs to either a digital or LED light display. Both the numeric display and color-changing LED light indicate rounds left in the magazine. For pistols, Radetec will market custom grips which incorporate the shot-counter display modules. Currently, Radetec systems are available for Beretta, Glock, Smith & Wesson M & P, and 1911-platform pistols. The digital-numeric display on these grips indicates the actual number of rounds left in the magazine. The total number of rounds fired can also be accessed.
The SpeedShot counting system is powered by a 5-year lithium battery. Pistol systems feature special Radetec grips with embedded electronics for each make/model of firearm, one magazine, and a user’s manual. MSRP is $160 for either the digital-numeric model or the LED display version.
Story by Chad Adams for3GunNation.com Blog
Eight Multi-Gun Competitors will be competing for the $50,000 top prize at the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) Championship in Las Vegas on January 18, 2012 (during SHOT Show Week). Eight competitors punched their tickets to Las Vegas for the 3-Gun Nation Finale by winning elimination matches held at Peacemaker National Training Center (Glengary, WV) earlier this month. The winner of the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale will receive a huge payday — $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports.
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
The road to the 3GN Championship began last September, as competitors have compiled series points at major 3-gun matches across the country. The top 64 competitors were invited to compete in the 3GN Championship Match (at Peacemaker NTC), a one-day Tactical Optics event that featured four stages of fire—each with all three guns.
In what most are calling the deepest 3-gun field ever assembled, the top 16 advanced into the Shoot-Off elimination round. Now the Las Vegas eight will compete for the highest cash payout in the history of the sport, with $50,000 going to the 3-Gun Nation Champion, courtesy of Leupold and NBC Sports. To learn more about 3-Gun competition, watch the video below in which Jerry Miculek, Mike Voigt, and Maggie Reese discuss the 3-Gun Nation shoot-off and the struggles of head-to-head competition.
Fans of 3-Gun competition should watch this week’s episode of Shooting USA television. Wednesday’s show features the Fort Benning 3-Gun event, the only multi-gun match held on an active Army base. At this 3-Gun match, the USAMU Action Shooting Team created very tough stages, with combat-type challenges for the competitors. The video below shows stages at the 2010 Fort Benning 3-Gun Competition. The video begins with a competitor firing an Army-supplied M249 machine gun.
M24EI Sniper Rifle, Henry Rifle, and Julie Golob Also Featured
In addition to the Fort Benning 3-Gun coverage, this week’s ShootingUSA broadcast features three other interesting items. Shooting USA provides a first look at the U.S. Army’s new, upgraded sniper rifle, the M24EI, based on Remington’s XM-2010 modular rifle. Also, Shooting USA tells the history of the Henry Rifle, the first really successful lever rifle and the predecessor of Winchester’s classic Model 1866 and Model 1873 lever guns. Last but not least, Team Smith & Wesson captain Julie Golob gives a lesson in IDPA shooting — one of today’s most popular pistol competitions.
This rare .44 caliber Henry rifle, used during the Civil War, sold for $48,300 at a 2009 auction.
Shooting USA airs Wednesday on the Outdoor Channel at these times:
Online registration opens today (Feb. 15) for the Rockcastle Pro Am 3-Gun Championship, the largest 3-Gun match in the country. At the match to be held August 26-28, 2011, the nation’s top 3-Gun pros will compete over two and a half days running eight tough stages designed by former and current 3-Gun champions. Amateurs will compete over two days shooting seven similar stages on a separate course, tailored especially for the amateur and celebrity competitors. Over 500 shooters, across both divisions, are expected to participate.
Be Ready to Register at 9:30 ET Tonight
The online registration process commences at 9:30 PM (evening) Eastern Time. There is a good chance that all available places for this match will be reserved right away. You’ll want to be ready when registration opens at 9:30 pm ET. Similar matches have filled up very quickly and every indication is this match will be no exception. UPDATE: As of 11:59 pm 2/15/2011 (Pacific Time), the online registration system was still accepting signups — so if you want to sign up, give it a try.
To learn how to register, go to the Match Schedule Page and read ALL the instructions. You can download the match application in advance and get that filled out. If you have never done this process before, you can practice at www.lchico5u.com/ar15.html. The practice page will be open until 8 PM Eastern on Tuesday, February 15th.
Online Registration
Match registration will be done online and require submitting registration after 9:30 PM Eastern Time (down to the second). Registration will be taken in order of receipt to the database, registration will require picking a division (Pro or AM) and will allow registration of a friend. A confirmation number will be sent out to those in the match, while late registrants will be placed on a waiting list. Applications and payment will be required to be sent in with confirmation numbers after online registration.
The match has also been named a points match for the 2011 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Tour. With points on the line, film crews will capture all the action for “3-Gun Nation Television” on Versus. The 2,000-acre Rockcastle resort is the newest addition to the Park Mammoth property located in south central Kentucky. Visit RockCastleShootingCenter.com to view the shooting areas and facilities.
Vortex is an up-and-coming optics maker that has made great strides in recent years. Vortex scopes, spotting scopes and binoculars offer excellent value for the dollar. This year, at SHOT Show, Vortex unveiled its new Viper HS series of scopes, with 30mm tubes and 4X magnification ranges. We checked out the new Viper HS 4-16×50 LR (Long Range) model. This features an exposed elevation turret with Vortex’s CRS zero stop. The 4-16 Viper HS offers 75 MOA of elevation travel (24 MOA per revolution).
Order Custom-Calibrated Elevation Turret Caps
One thing we really liked about the new Viper series of scopes is the availability of custom elevation turret caps. For about $100.00, Vortex will craft a elevation turret cap with range markings custom-calibrated for the ballistics of your load in your rifle. As explained in the video below, you can go to the Vortex website, and input your MV, bullet BC, altitude and other load variables. Then, using the custom elevation turret cap, simply dial in your target range, and hold ‘dead on’.
New Viper HS 1-4x24mm with TMCQ Reticle
The growing popularity of multi-gun competition has spurred interest in compact, zoom scopes that can switch from a wide-angle, zero magnification view for close work to four- or five-power magnification for long-range stages. Vortex Optics has developed a new scope that should work well for 3-Gun carbines, as well as dangerous game hunting rifles. The Viper HS 1-4x24mm with the TMCQ (Tactical Milling Close Quarter) reticle features a 30mm main tube and built-in illumination with 10 intensity levels with an off position between each setting.
We had a chance to chat with Team Smith & Wesson Captain Julie Golob at SHOT Show. Julie is one of the finest action pistol shooters in the world, so she knows a thing or two about shooting competitively on the clock.
Kelly Bachand, our SHOT Show correspondent, is primarily a Palma shooter. In that discipline there’s ordinarily plenty of time between shots. But Kelly, a popular contestant on the TOP SHOT TV series, hopes to branch out into action shooting and multi-gun competition.
Julie gives Kelly some great advice on how to succeed in speed games by finding the “acceptable” sight picture. Julie explains that you need to abandon the “pursuit of perfection” and find a zone of “acceptable” accuracy that lets you to score points while running the stage as fast as possible. As Kelly puts it, you need to find out “what you can get away with” in terms of sight picture. Kelly and Julie also discuss equipment for 3-Gun matches and the differences between open and tactical classes.
During Media Day we kept our eyes out for new multi-gun gear, since 3-Gun Competition is becoming so popular. At the Surefire booth we ran into 3-Gun Ace Barry Dueck (pronouned “Duke”). Barry demonstrated the side-mounted iron sights he produces for AR-type carbines (actually these sights can work on any rifle that has suitable rails).
Running a combination of a magnified, 1-5X Leupold on top with iron sight mouted at a 45-degree angle on the sides, Dueck can rapidly transition from optics to irons. The top scope works great for longer shots, but Dueck finds he can engage close targets more quickly (and accurately) with the iron sights. While some other 3-gunners run a magnified optic on top and a red dot sight on the side, the use of two (2) glass optics puts a 3-gun competitor in a different division. Dueck’s Rapid Transition Sight (RTS) System, allows him to compete in the single-optics classes. The side-mounted irons are also more foolproof than any electronic sight, as Dueck explains in the video below.
If you get the Outdoor Channel, tune in to the ShootingUSA hour of programming tonight. The first half-hour features the Fort Benning 3-Gun Match, one of the most popular multi-gun matches of the year. This is the only Multi-gun match that draws on the assets of the US Army — that means competitors get to ride in armored fighting vehicles on some stages. This year the match was designed to represent different army units, beginning with basic training and a DI yelling commands at the competitors. Below is some helmet-cam footage shot by our friend Zak Smith at the 2008 Fort Benning 3-Gun Match. In this stage, which was based on a “Sgt. York” scenario, Zak starts in the back of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and proceeds into a trench system to engage pistol targets.
The “Sighting In with Shooting USA” half-hour follows the Fort Benning feature. On this week’s “Sighting In” segment, soldiers from the US Army Marksmanship team (USAMU) action shooting team conduct a skills clinic for young shooters. This clinic focuses on basic skills and safety training. The USAMU Kids Clinic is the effort to help expand participation in practical shooting, and develop future champions in USPSA competition.
ShootingUSA TV and Sighting In air Wednesday on the Outdoor Channel at these times:
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.
This week’s episodes of Impossible Shots and Shooting USA are definitely worth watching. On Impossible Shots, Bob Munden shoots 600-yard targets with a .44 Magnum handgun and Jerry Miculek shows off his steel-shooting skills. Wednesday’s Shooting USA episode is outstanding — it features the Fort Benning 3-Gun Match, followed by rifle shooting tips from top marksmen with the USAMU. Both Impossible Shots and ShootingUSA air multiple times each Wednesday on the Outdoor Channel, starting at 2:00 pm (Eastern) for Impossible Shots and 4:00 pm (Eastern) for Shooting USA (consult your local listings for other areas). Watch the video below for previews of both shows.
Radetec’s SpeedShot shot-count system employs a sensor in a special, dedicated magazine which outputs to either a digital or LED light display. Both the numeric display and color-changing LED light indicate rounds left in the magazine. For pistols, Radetec will market custom grips which incorporate the shot-counter display modules. Currently, Radetec systems are available for Beretta, Glock, Smith & Wesson M & P, and 1911-platform pistols. The digital-numeric display on these grips indicates the actual number of rounds left in the magazine. The total number of rounds fired can also be accessed.
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
Fans of 3-Gun competition should watch this week’s episode of 
Order Custom-Calibrated Elevation Turret Caps
We had a chance to chat with Team Smith & Wesson Captain 
The “Sighting In with Shooting USA” half-hour follows the Fort Benning feature. On this week’s “Sighting In” segment, soldiers from the US Army Marksmanship team (USAMU) action shooting team conduct a skills clinic for young shooters. This clinic focuses on basic skills and safety training. The USAMU Kids Clinic is the effort to help expand participation in practical shooting, and develop future champions in USPSA competition.
The 
