The NRA National Long Range Championship commenced Saturday, August 13 with the Band of Brothers Trophy Match followed by the Mustin Trophy Match. All Long Range matches are shot from the prone position from ranges between 800 and 1,000 yards. The Band of Brothers Match course of fire was twenty shots at 1,000 yards. Saturday’s second event, the Mustin Match, was also shot slow fire in the prone position from 1,000 yards. Mustin competitors have more time than during the High Power Championships, being allotted 30 minutes to get off their 20 shots for record on the Long Range targets.
Whidden Leads LR Championship, Not Dropping a Point So Far
Last year John Whidden won the Mustin Match with a 198-11X and a shoot off score of 100-8X. Whidden won again this year, shooting 200-9X to edge David Tubb by two Xs. With his Mustin win, and his second-place showing in this year’s Band of Brothers Match, Whidden is leading the 2011 Long Range Championship so far, not dropping a point in either event. Listed below are initial results:
Band of Brothers Trophy Match
1. Lance Dement, 200-14X
2. John Whidden, 200-14X
3. Tyrel Cooper, 200-13X
4. Phillip Crowe, 200-12X
5. Justin Skaret, 200-12X
Mustin Trophy Match
1. John Whidden, 200-9X
2. David Tubb, 200-7X
3. Norman Houle, 199-12X
4. Rodrigo Rosa, 199-11X
5. Sherri Gallagher, 199-11X
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) today filed a lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the Gun Control Act to compel 8,500 federally licensed firearms retailers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to report the sale of two or more rifles.
The ATF has issued new requirements, effective August 14, which would compel firearm retailers in these four states to report multiple sales of any semi-automatic rifle larger than .22 caliber and capable of accepting a detachable magazine that are purchased following an FBI background check by the same individual within five consecutive business days.
NSSF’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks an injunction to block ATF from implementing the reporting requirement. ATF has sent “demand letters” to firearms retailers in the four states to inform retailers they must begin reporting such sales by August 14.
NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane pointed out that if ATF can require this record-keeping and reporting requirements in these four states simply by sending a letter demanding the information, then there is no record or report ATF cannot require of any licensee, anywhere in the country, for as long as ATF wants. “This is the proverbial ‘slippery slope,’ and our industry is extremely concerned about it,” said Keane.
Keane added, “At the time Congress authorized the reporting of multiple sales of handguns, it could have required it for the sale of long guns, but it did not. Acting ATF Director Ken Melson himself has questioned ATF’s legal authority to impose this new requirement.”
Even if ATF had the legal authority to require multiple sales reporting for long guns, NSSF believes the policy would still be unwise. The NSSF suggest that illegal firearms traffickers will simply alter their schemes to avoid and evade the reporting requirement, making it more difficult for retailers to identify and report suspicious activity. For example, traffickers could simply move their illegal trafficking activities to other states where the reporting requirement does not exist.
NRA Also Files Suits Challenging ATF’s Multiple Sale Policy
Also today, the National Rifle Association filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging ATF’s requirement for reporting multiple sales of rifles.
The best thing that can be done for the future of sport shooting in America is to recruit more female and junior participants. Young people are the future of the sport. Involving women in shooting can help reverse a “gender gap” in voting patterns that has favored anti-gun politicians. The more we can get women to enjoy shooting and adopt a positive attitude towards firearms, the harder it will be for anti-gun forces to marshal support for restrictive new laws.
The above video features NRA programs for women of all ages and experience levels. Such programs include Women On Target® (WOT) Instructional Shooting Clinics, hunts for women, and the popular Women’s Wilderness Escapes. There are even ladies-only WOT Postal Matches. Ladies can also take part in all the NRA competitive shooting disciplines: handgun, trap/skeet, air rifle, smallbore, silhouette, high power, F-Class, and even the new NRA-sanctioned multi-gun matches.
Junior Womens’ Programs
Young women have the chance to participate in many specialized shooting programs for juniors, including the Youth Hunter Education Challenge, NRA Day events, CMP Junior leagues, and the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program. The NRA Foundatrion also offers a Women’s Wildlife Management/Conservation Scholarships. This women’s scholarship, from the Women of the NRA, is a renewable, one-year, $1,000 scholarship available to full-time college juniors or seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0, majoring in wildlife management/conservation.
Metallic Sights Standing Competition Video
Yesterday, 21 August, marked the opening of the Smallbore 3-Position Competition at the NRA Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio. The video below shows some of the shooters during the standing segment of the Metallic Sight portion of the smallbore championship events.
Standing Position Shooting
This week, smallbore competitors compete in three different positions: Prone, Standing, and Kneeling. Here are images from the standing portion of the event.
Prone Shooting
Here is a slide-show from the prone segment of the Smallbore three-position tournament at Camp Perry. These photos were taken on 21 July, during the first relay.
Images provided courtesy the NRA Blog, used by permission, all rights reserved.
A “Special Edition” of NRANews.com highlights the perpetual NRA trophies awarded at the NRA National Championships. In this webcast, reporter John Popp and Mike Krei, Director of NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, tour the Camp Perry Trophy Room. The Trophy Room holds roughly 130 statues, cups, plaques, and other awards that have commemorated the accomplishments of pistol and rifle shooters for more than a century. The oldest trophy dates back to the historic 1874 Creedmoor challenge match between Irish and American rifle teams.
Traveling Trophy Road Show
The seven-week span of the Camp Perry National Matches is only time all these NRA trophies are gathered together in one place. Krei explained: “[The trophies] are all in traveling cases… we bring them out annually (from NRA headquarters) and set them up [at Camp Perry] so everyone can see them.” Notable shooters such as Carl Bernoski, Sherri Gallagher, David Tubb, John Whidden, and Lones Wigger have their names etched on historic trophies like the Norman Adair Trophy, the Frank Parsons Memorial Trophy and the Wimbledon Cup.
To watch the Camp Perry Trophy Room webcast, log on to NRANews.com, select “SHOW ARCHIVES” then click on the “Jul 14″ tab near the top left corner. Scroll down (using the slider bar) to find the “Curator’s Corner” link, showing a 00:15:47 play time. Click on that and the video should load on the right within a few seconds. Be sure to click on the Curator’s Corner video first — if you click on a different video you’ll have to sit through the whole thing before the Curator’s Corner Video will play. Also, when you click the Curator’s Corner Video, the actual trophy feature doesn’t start until 01:47:00 point in the clip.
There will be future NRANews.com segments from the Trophy Room. These will be webcast on NRANews.com in the near future. Audio-only versions of the Trophy Room webcasts will also air on Sirius/XM Patriot Satellite Radio.
Smallbore competitors — mark your calendars for July 15 through July 19. That’s when the 2011 NRA National Metric Smallbore Championships will be held at the Wa-Ke’-De Range in Bristol, Indiana. Practice Relays will be held on the 15th. With Position shooting scheduled for July 16-17 and Prone for July 18-19, this event is a great way to tune up your marksmanship skills prior to the Smallbore Championships at Camp Perry which kick off on July 21st.
The Second Annual NRA Metric Smallbore Championships are limited to the first 200 competitors. You can still register now by contacting H.Q. Moody at 703-267-1475 or HMoody@nrahq.org. Don’t procrastinate — anyone attempting to sign up after July 8th will have to do so at the Statistical Office at the Chief Wa-Ke’-De’ Range. The Jameson Inn in Elkhart, Indiana is the host hotel. Mention the National Metric Championships to receive a special rate.
Each year, skilled shooters from many countries come to Camp Perry, Ohio to compete in Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, and High Power Rifle disciplines at the NRA National Matches.
With the National Rifle & Pistol Championships kicking off in month, there’s no better time to check out the 2011 NRA National Matches Program. This official guide to the NRA National Matches is available for FREE online in a digital magazine format. The National Matches Program includes a full schedule of events, an explanation of rules and courses of fire for all disciplines, a sponsor list, and other important information for Camp Perry competitors.
In the Daily Bulletin, we recently covered the NRA Junior Pistol and Smallbore Rifle Camps being held at Camp Perry this summer. But what about training opportunities for adults? As it turns out, the NRA offers a variety of instructional sessions at Camp Perry this summer.
First, the NRA Training Dept. offers a Range Safety Officer (RSO) Course. This is for those looking to learn how to run a firing line or simply learn more about proper range operations. Two RSO courses will be held, the first on July 18th and the second on July 29th. To register or to learn more about the courses, visit www.nrainstructors.org or contact Sean Thornton at sthornton@nrahq.org.
The NRA also offers coaching courses. If you’re interested in helping others hone their shooting skills, you can sign up for one of the NRA’s Coach Schools. The Coach Education Program is offering a Level 1 Pistol Coach School on July 13-15. This will be followed by a Level 3 Air Rifle/Smallbore Coaching Clinic from July 25-27. To register for these coaching classes, or learn more about the lesson plan, contact NRA National Coach Trainer Marcus Raab at mraab@nrahq.org.
In addition to the Camp Perry programs, there are adult training courses and coach schools conducted across the country. Check www.nrainstructors.org for training opportunities in your area or the Coach School listing to find the right coaching course for you.
Sell a million guns in a year — and then send a million bucks to the NRA. Sounds simple, eh? Well Ruger issued an interesting challenge last week. Officials of Sturm, Ruger & Co., pledged to donate $1,000,000 to the NRA if one million new Ruger firearms are sold between the 2011 and 2012 NRA Shows.
Is this a publicity stunt or could Ruger really hit the mark? According to Ruger, “no company has ever sold one million firearms in a 12-month period. With the help of our loyal customers, we hope to make history.” Can Ruger do it? On the positive side, gun sales continue to rise, and Ruger continues to roll out popular new carry pistols. On the negative side, the economy remains weak, and many of Ruger’s recent releases have been the subject of embarassing product recalls. We think Ruger is going to have to ramp up its Quality Control before it grabs much more market share from the likes of Glock, Sig Sauer, and Smith & Wesson.
“Our goal is to present the NRA with a check for one million dollars during the 141st NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis next April,” said Ruger CEO Mike Fifer. This substantial donation would reflect a record-breaking feat in the firearms industry. We wish Ruger well in its quest — it certainly won’t be easy to reach the goal. To follow the progress of the “Million Gun Challenge,” visit www.Ruger.com or Facebook.com/Ruger.
While a few specialty events will be held this afternoon prior to tonight’s Awards Ceremony, the 2011 Bianchi Cup category winners have been named. Congratulations to Doug Koenig, the 2011 Bianchi Cup Overall Champion. Jessie Abbate of Team Smith & Wesson won the Women’s Division, while Rob Leatham was the Production Champion. Other divisional Champions are listed below:
2011 Bianchi Cup Champion: Doug Koenig
Production Champion: Rob Leatham
Womens’ Champion: Jessie Abbate
Metallic Champion: Rob Vadasz
Junior Champion: Tiffany Piper
Senior Champion: Chuck Thomey
Service Champion: Kevin Worrell, USMC
Lawman Champion: Bruce Piatt
Newcomer: Nigel Gordon
In the video below you can watch John Pride, four-time Bianchi Cup champion, shoot the Moving Target Event yesterday. Pride shot a 474-28x in the event and went on to finish with a 1822-133x overall in this year’s Bianchi Cup. (Warning: Loud volume — turn down your speakers in work setting.)
In the next video (below), Heribert Bettermann and teammate Dirk Borchardt of the German National Team compete in the Falling Plate event. Heribert finished with an excellent 480-66x. The Bianchi Cup draws many competitors from outside the United States. Teams from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Germany made the long journey to Columbia, Missouri to compete in this prestigious competition.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) today filed a lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the Gun Control Act to compel 8,500 federally licensed firearms retailers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to report the sale of two or more rifles.
The above video features 
A “Special Edition” of NRANews.com highlights the perpetual NRA trophies awarded at the NRA National Championships. In this webcast, reporter John Popp and Mike Krei, Director of NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, tour the Camp Perry Trophy Room. The Trophy Room holds roughly 130 statues, cups, plaques, and other awards that have commemorated the accomplishments of pistol and rifle shooters for more than a century. The oldest trophy dates back to the historic 1874 Creedmoor challenge match between Irish and American rifle teams.
In the Daily Bulletin, we recently covered the 
Sell a million guns in a year — and then send a million bucks to the NRA. Sounds simple, eh? Well Ruger issued an interesting challenge last week. Officials of 
