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October 16th, 2011
 One of the most prestigious rifle competitions in the world is underway right now at the Belmont Shooting Facility, near Brisbane, Australia. Many of the best sling and irons marksmen (and women) in the world are competing for individual and team honors. American aces such as SGT Sherri Gallagher, Noma Mayo, Trudie Fay, Nancy Tompkins, Bob Gamboa, Bryan Litz, Robert Mead, and John Whidden are representing the Red, White, and Blue down-under, but they and their American teammates are facing stiff opposition from the Brits, South Africans, Canadians, New Zealanders, and the host Australians.
You can get complete individual and team results on the World Rifle Championships Website. Results are updated daily, so you can follow the action, which continues through October 22nd. Russ Theurer is also providing regular reports in our Shooters’ Forum.
 One of the best performances so far was turned in by Bryan Litz, Berger Bullets’ Ballistician. In the Senior Australia Team match last week, Bryan outshot every other individual on the course, nailing a perfect 200-26V to tie the Championship Record. This was a brilliant display of marksmanship by Bryan. At the Awards Ceremony after the match, Bryan received a long standing ovation from his fellow competitors.
You’ll find lots of match photos in the official match Photo Gallery. Plus, Facebook users can access hundreds of photos uploaded by members of the USA Young Eagles Team. Young American shooters have been performing well. Russ Theurer reports: “Team USA Red won the Under 25 Australia Team Match, while Team USA Blue came from behind at 1000 to place third. Young Eagle Joshua Lehn was high score shooter of the team match of all teams combined.” Below are photos of the Young Eagles from Day 5, the Under 25 match:
Photos courtesy USA Young Eagles.
October 15th, 2011
Our friend John Whidden accomplished another milestone in his storied shooting career. This time John topped an extremely competitive field of Palma shooters at the World Rifle Championships in Australia. Earlier today Whidden nailed a 100-13V on the final day of the Queen’s Prize Match to win the three-day event with a 399-46V Aggregate. (A “V” is equivalent to the “X” in American matches). John’s Day 1 score of 150-012V and Day 2 tally of 149-21V were enough to overtake early Palma Teammate Norman Anderson, and hold off the strong-finishing SGT Sherri Gallagher on Day 3.
When the dust had settled, John took the Queen’s Prize Match by a single point over runner-up Sherri Gallagher. In fact, Sherri and the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th-place finishers all had identical 398 scores, so V-counts were used as tie-breakers. Yes this match was that close.
By tradition, fellow competitors carried Whidden and his green John Deere-sashed rifle to the awards in a ceremonial sedan-chair. John seems to be enjoying the ride. The above photo was taken by fellow Palma Teammate Dave Cloft. Overall, Americans did very well in the Queen’s Prize Match, taking four of the Top 10 places. South Africa, a strong force at the last World Championship, had three shooters in the Top 10. Here’s how the Top 10 finished in the Queens Match:
1. John Whidden, USA: 399-046V
2. Sherri Gallagher, USA: 398-054V
3. Jim Bailey, Australia: 398-044V
4. Petrus Haasbroek, South Africa: 398-043V
5. Norm Anderson, USA: 398-043V
6. Colin Cole, North Arm: 398-039V
7. Andre Du Toit, South Africa: 397-048V
8. Johannes Du Toit, South Africa: 397-048V
9. Geoffrey Grenfell, Bendigo: 397-048V
10. Tom Whitaker, USA: 397-047V
It looks like the Yanks are picking up steam in the World Rifle Championships, which continue with both individual and team events through October 22nd. (We’ll have a report on the hot-shooting USA Young Eagles team tomorrow.)
Story by Lars Dalseide for The NRA Blog.
October 8th, 2011
Story by Kerrin Brinkman for The NRA Blog.
The 2011 United States Long Range Rifle Team is in Brisbane, Australia and starts competing today in the World Long Range Rifle Championships for the prestigious Palma Trophy. Taking place at the Belmont Shooting Complex near Brisbane from October 8-22, 2011, the competition is 135 years old and only takes place every three to four years, with the last competition held in 2007. The United States has won 13 of the 28 Palma Matches, and Team USA is hoping to clinch another win this year.
The course of fire is comprised of three slow fire stages fired from the prone position. The first stage is 15 shots at 800 yards, the second stage is 15 shots at 900 yards, and the third stage is 15 shots at 1,000 yards. Targets are six feet square with a 20-inch black bullseye (10-ring), and an aiming circle of 44 inches that includes a 9-ring and an 8-ring. A perfect score for each stage is 150 points. Rifles are single-shot bolt actions equipped with iron sights, and ammunition is 7.62×51/.308 Winchester caliber using a bullet weighing 155 grains. CLICK HERE for Current Match Results (Updated Daily)
United States 2011 Long Range Rifle National Team Members and Advisors
Shooting Members: Bob Mead, Bryan Litz, David Littlefield, Gary Rasmussen, John Whidden, Justin Skaret, Kelly Bachand, Lane Buxton, Nancy Tompkins, Noma Mayo, Norm Anderson, Robert Gustin, Sherri Gallagher, Steve Cunico, Steve Hardin, Trevor Hengehold, Trevor Massey, Trudie Fay, Ty Cooper, and Wayne Forshee.
Team Captain: Dennis Flaharty
Vice Team Captain/Adjutant: Dan Simpson
Vice Team Captain: Dr. Tom Whitaker |
Armorer: Robert Gamboa
Head Team Coach: Emil Praslick III
NRA Advisor: Middleton Tompkins |
 Belmont Shooting Complex — World-Class!
The Belmont Range near Brisbane, Queensland is a beautiful facility. Firing mounds are maintained like golf greens and there are over 25 flags. With great facilities (and no pit duty!), it’s truly the lap of luxury for Fullbore shooting. Belmont is the largest shooting complex in the southern hemisphere and most target shooting sports are conducted there. Coordinates: 27°30 ’40″S 153°7’50″E. It is the home of the Queensland Rifle Association (QRA). (Editor’s Note: Click the tab below the photo to see larger image — it’s even more impressive.)
September 15th, 2011
 In our Shooters’ Forum, there’s a long-running thread entitled Pride & Joy Rifles. There you’ll find dozens of fine firearms — from hunting handguns to long-range benchrest rigs. A while back, Forum member John L. (GunDog64) posted this handsome Palma rifle, built by Chad Dixon.
John reports: “Here is my new ‘Pride and Joy’ Palma rifle. The action is a chrome-moly Barnard supplied by MT Guns. The gun is set up for switch-barrel use with two Medium Palma-contour Bartlein barrels, one chambered in 6CM, the other in .308 Winchester. Both barrels feature 5R rifling. Up front is a Riles 30mm front sight, while the rear sight is a Warner. The stock was crafted from a superb Turkish walnut blank supplied by Luxus Gunstocks in Mt. Orab, Ohio.
Gunsmithing by Chad Dixon — Stock Finish by Owner
All gunsmithing and assembly work was performed by Chad Dixon at Long Rifles Inc., Sturgis, South Dakota. Chad designed the trigger guard, handstop rail, recoil lug, and cheek-piece adjuster. John, the rifle’s proud new owner, completed the finish work on the stock. John reveals: “This project was a year in the making but well worth the wait”.
April 18th, 2011
The .308 Winchester, a shortened version of the .30-06, has almost completely replaced the .30-06 in NRA competition. The .308 is required for Palma shooting, so it is also used by many Palma competitors in other long-range and mid-range prone matches. However, with the exception of M1 Garand matches, you won’t see many .30-06 rifles on the firing lines. Does that mean the .30-06 is obsolete? Is the .308 Win really much more accurate? Or does it just offer the advantages of reduced recoil and reduced powder consumption?
Cartridge photos courtesy Deuce45s.com, a leading source of specialized military cartridges.
In his Sibling Rivalry: .308 vs. .30-06 article on the Rifleman’s Journal site, German Salazar argues that the .30-06 remains a viable competition cartridge, particularly for the long-range game. This isn’t just a subjective opinion. German has data to back up the argument that the .30-06 can still do the job.
German compares the actual scores produced by his .308 Win rifles with the scores from his .30-06 rifles. German analyzes scores, over a two-year period, shot by “matched pair” rifles (one in each caliber) with similar actions, stocks, sights, and barrels. For comparison purposes, German also includes score data from his 6XC, a modern low-recoil chambering.
RESULTS: .308 Has Small Edge at Middle Distance, But .30-06 Is Better at Long Range
Surprisingly, the .30-06 performed nearly as well as the .308 at middle distances. The .30-06 delivered 99.2% of max possible scores vs. 99.5% for the .308 Win. Notably, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 racked up 97.7% of max scores vs. 97.3% for the .308 Win. So, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 actually proved superior to the .308 Win. German explains: “This isn’t too surprising when one considers [the .308’s] limited case capacity for the bullet weights typically used in Long-Range shooting. They just run out of steam and dip perilously close to the transonic range as they approach 1000 yards of flight. The extra 150 fps or so that can be safely obtained from the .30-06 case really pays off at 1000 yards.”
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Mid-Range Comparison
In NRA Mid-Range matches (500 and 600 yards), the average score and percentage of possible score for each cartridge was as follows:
.308 – 597-36X (99.5%), 960 rounds fired
6XC – 596-35X (99.3%),1260 rounds fired
.30-06 – 595-31X (99.2%), 2580 rounds fired
If we look at the score averages, the .308 comes out on top at the Mid-Range distances… by 0.3% of the possible score. By the way, notice that the 6XC, as good as it is, simply straddles the .30 caliber cartridges; it is not the winner.
Long-Range Comparison
German rarely shoots the .308 in matches that are only 1000 yards; most of his 1000-yard .308 shooting is done in Palma matches which include 800, 900 and 1000 yards. To make the comparison useful, the Long-Range results are presented only as a percentage of the possible score and the 800- and 900-yard stages of Palma matches were NOT included.
In NRA Long-Range and Palma matches, the average percentage of possible score for each cartridge at 1000 yards was as follows:
6XC – 98.9%, 360 rounds fired
.30-06 – 97.7%, 460 rounds fired
.308 – 97.3%, 490 rounds fired
Editor’s Note: Among the three cartridges German studied, the 6XC actually proved best at 1000 yards, delivering 98.9% of the maximum possible scores. The .30-06 was second-best with 97.7%, slightly better than the .308 Win at 97.3%.
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You’ll want to read German’s full Sibling Rivalry article, which includes an interesting history of the .30-06 and .308 in High Power shooting, along with tables showing German’s actual scores with his .30-06, .308 Win, and 6XC rifles.
February 2nd, 2011
The Berger SW Nationals at the Ben Avery Range outside Phoenix concluded this weekend. Congratulations to: Bryan Litz (Overall Champion — sling), Trudie Fay (Palma Rifle Winner, 2nd Overall), Danny Biggs (F-Open Winner), and John Hayhurst (F-TR Winner). Among sling shooters, Bryan shot a 1441-77X, Trudy scored 1432-63X, and Gary Eliseo and Leo Ahearn tied with 1430-74X, with Gary getting the 3rd place spot on a tie-breaker.
Photos Courtesy Rick Curtis. CLICK HERE for more match photos.
Bryan Litz and Gary Eliseo Loads
For the Palma matches, Bryan Litz was shooting a .308 Win with 185gr, .30-cal LRBT Berger bullets, seated .015″ off the lands in Lapua brass. The load, pushed by Hodgdon Varget and CCI BR2 primers, ran slightly over 2800 fps. For his “Any Rifle” stages, Bryan shot a straight .284 Winchester at “about 2850 fps”, using 180gr Berger Hybrid match target 7mm bullets seated about .015″ off the lands. Bryan’s .284 Win load used Hodgdon H4831sc powder, CCI BR2 primers, and Lapua 6.5-284 brass, necked-up to 7mm. While Bryan favored a 7mm “Any Rifle” chambering, Gary Eliseo did well with a 6mm solution. Gary told us that, except for the Palma match, he was shooting his regular Across-the-Course load: 6mm BRX, 107gr Sierra MK jumped .025″, running about 2940 fps. This is a mild load for the 6BRX and it proves the little cartridge can be competitive at 1K even in tough conditions.
 Biggs Breaks F-Class Record
In winning the F-Open Division, Danny Biggs broke Charles Ballard’s 1000-Yard F-Open National record twice with two 200-15X scores. This was an amazing performance by Danny, who finished with 1439-76X Agg, five points ahead of runner-up David Mann. Forum member TonyR, who shot in the match, reports: “The big story is really Danny’s second 200-15X. He shot that through several big switches and most of us can’t figure out how he did it. I shot the same relay he got the first one on and I wasn’t surprised that someone broke the record on that one, but I was scoring another shooter on the relay when he set the second one and I was just amazed that he did what he did under those conditions.”
Sierra Spindle Shooters Top F-Open Team Events
In the team events, the Sierra Spindle Shooters’ Team did very well, winning both the Palma Match and the 1000-yard Team Match, and scoring 2558-102X overall. Team Berger (2550-97X) finished second in the Team Aggs, with Team Berger member Larry Bartholome posting a 645-24X, the best individual performance in the Team comps. In the photo below (left to right), are Spindle Shooters team members Jeff Cochran, Bret Solomon, Shawn Ahrens and Jeff Traylor. Jeff reports: “The medals are for winning the F-Open Team Agg. In the last few years we’ve won the F-Class Nationals with Nancy Tompkins or Emil Praslick coaching. At this match both of them had other obligations so Bret and Shawn co-coached. They did a great job working together beating out several teams with world class coaches. We hold both the 600 and 1K F-Open team records with and had a good shot at the Palma record in this match but came up a bit short. I think if Nancy wasn’t tied up with the U.S. Palma team we might have beat the record. She’ll be with us again soon at the Nationals this fall in Lodi, Wisconsin.”
Photo courtesy Jeff Cochran.
Three Shots under 1″ at 1000 yards
As a demonstration of the potential accuracy of these long-range rifles, Dennis Selfridge fired a three shot group under an inch at 1K yards with his 6.5X47 in conditions! Check it out:
Complete Match Results
Sling Class Individual Aggregate
Sling Class Team Aggregate
F-Open Class Individual Aggregate
F-TR Class Individual Aggregate
F-Open Team Aggregate
October 23rd, 2010
The United States Palma Team and USA Veterans Team recently ventured downunder to Queensland, Australia to compete in the Australian National Championships, held October 11-16 at the Belmont Shooting Complex outside Brisbane. The US Rifle Team travels well. Overall the Yanks performed great, with outstanding team and individual performances. Complete Match Results are posted at www.nraa.com.au. Team USA shooter Bryan Litz provides this Match Report…
U.S. Teams at Australian National Championships by Bryan Litz
The first match was the President’s Match, a two-day individual Aggregate with 10-shot strings fired at 600, 600, 900, and 1000 yards. Between the US Rifle Team and the US Veterans Team, we had five shooters in the top 20 (out of 128 shooters). That was a promising start.
Day 3 was the Chairman’s Team Challenge, a 4-man team match in which U.S. Teams Blue and Red captured first and second place. Conditions were challenging — during the first three or four days of shooting it rained constantly. There were several cease-fires called each day because of rain. We all learned how to cover our equipment and sights to stay dry while shooting.
 Litz Tops Field in Queen’s Prize Match
Then began the 3-day Queen’s Prize match which is fired at 300, 500, 600, 800, 900, and 1000 yards. I managed to win this match, with a true come-from-behind performance. I went into the last day of shooting in 60th place. The extremely volatile conditions that last day (15-20 mph crosswind when shooting at 900 and 1000 yards) allowed me to make up so much ground on the leaders. For those who wonder, yes I shot “off the shelf” Applied Ballistics FULLBORE ammo to win the Queen’s Prize — the most prestigious match of the tournament. The winner is carried aloft in a ceremonial chair, proceeded by bagpipers and drums. You can see (photo right) that I enjoyed the pageantry.
The final individual event was the Royal Kaltenberg Challenge Cup, which is a shoot-off for an individual winner. The Cup was won by USA Shooter Noma Zinsmaster-Mayo. Congrats to Noma for a huge victory.
The President’s Challenge 4-man team match was swept by the Australian home team. The final event was an 8-man mini-Palma match which was won by Team USA.
 Preparation Paid Off for Team USA
It goes without saying that the recent adjustments made to the U.S. Rifle Teams program under Captain Dennis Flaharty are moving the team in a positive direction. Each of the U.S. Team wins in Australia were ‘come-from-behind’ victories where we made up ground at the longer ranges. That’s a testament to the coaching staffs’ skills and organization. The Sierra 2156 Palma MK bullet was used exclusively by the Americans in all Team events. Sierra’s 2156 MK continues to prove itself to be an outstanding bullet.
The 20 or so shooters on the US Veterans Team Captained by Eddie Newman also traveled
and performed very well in the tournament.
Belmont Shooting Complex — World-Class!
The Belmont Range near Brisbane, Queensland is a beautiful facility. Firing mounds are maintained like golf greens and there are over 25 flags. With great facilities (and no pit duty!), it’s truly the lap of luxury for Fullbore shooting. Belmont is the largest shooting complex in the southern hemisphere and most target shooting sports are conducted there. Coordinates: 27°30 ’40″S 153°7’50″E. It is the home of the Queensland Rifle Association (QRA). (Editor’s Note: Click the tab below the photo to see larger image — it’s even more impressive.)
The Top 10 Grand Aggregate Results (President’s Match, Queen’s Prize, Kaltenberg Cup combined) are listed below. Australian George Edser of the Central Club had the best Aggregate score with 646-050. The top American was Noma Mayo, two points behind, with 644-059.
September 24th, 2010
We recently reported that Trudie Fay of Raton, NM, shooting on her home range, was the Fullbore winner at the Spirit of America Match. Trudie and many other shooters set new National records during the course of the match. Trudie fired an aggregate score of 1781-104x, which was an Open, Civilian, and Woman’s National Record. Second place, with a Senior National Record, was Tom Whitaker. High Grand Senior was Johnie Franklin, high Junior was Kyle Doney, high Service was Emily Windmassinger.
 There were also new records set in F-Class competition, in both F-Open and F-TR classes. High F-Open shooter was Danny Biggs with a score of 1777-88x. Danny’s score was an Open, Civilian and Grand Senior National Record. High Senior was Jim Murphy firing 1766-90x.
Michelle Gallagher was the high F-TR shooter firing a score of 1717-62x. Michellle’s score was an Open, Civilian and Woman’s National Record. Daniel Borwiecki of the Marine Corps Rifle Team was the high Service shooter. Robert Depp was the high Senior and Alan Canavan was high Grand Senior.
Trudie Rides in Style
The winners were “chaired,” holding their rifle and hoisted in the air by the competitors. Trudie Fay, wearing white gloves, was carried in Raton’s timber sedan chair by the Fullbore competitors. Danny Biggs, the F-Class winner, was carried in a rocking chair by the F-Class competitors. Michelle Gallagher, the F-TR winner, was carried in a captain’s chair. All were carried off the 1000-yard line to the Bald Eagles Clubhouse while bagpipe music was played.
Report courtesy Jan Raab and the NRA Blog.
September 19th, 2010
 Trudie Fay continued her outstanding shooting from earlier this week to win the Spirit of America Fullbore Championsihp with a Grand Agg score of 1781-104X, edging Tom Whitaker by one point. That’s as close as it gets — Tom finished with 1780-105X. He had one more ‘X’ than Trudie, but one less point, and it is the total score that decides the Championship. Trudie shot brilliantly right out of the gate, winning the Sunday Agg with a 450-33X. Tom almost matched that later, winning Thursday’s Agg with a 450-31X, but ultimately, Tom was unable to overcome Trudie’s early lead. Congrats to Trudie and Tom, and all the shooters who performed so well at the 2010 Spirit of America Match.
 Biggs Wins F-Open Division
Multi-time F-Class National Champion Danny Biggs won the F-Open Division with an impressive 1777-88X, three points ahead of Ryan Pierce (1774-87X), a master-level shooter who finished ahead of all the High Masters except Danny. Ryan is clearly a rising star in the F-Class world. Third overall with high X-Count for the match was Jim Murphy who scored 1766-90X. Placing fourth overall was Larry Bartholome, whose 1763-78X score also earned him High Senior Honors. (Photo at right is a file photo when Danny shot F-TR at the 2010 Championships.)
Michelle Gallagher of Berger Bullets won the F-TR division with a 1717-62X score. Michelle eged runner-up Laura Perry (1717-57X) on X-Count. Bill Watts finished third in the F-TR Division with a 1710-60X score.
Final Results have not yet been published for the team competition. But so far, in Fullbore Competition, the U.S. National 4-man Team, coached by Tom Whitaker, is in first place, while the 8-person United States Rifle Team, also coached by Whitaker, has a solid lead over the Bald Eagles Team. U.S. Rifle Team members are: Norm Crawford, Trudie Fay, Wayne Forshee, Johnie Franklin, Boyd Goldsby, Noma Mayo, Kent Reeve, and John Rhynard.
Berger 4- and 8-man Teams Lead in F-Class Team Competition
In F-Class Team events, the 4-Man Team Berger (Larry Bartholome, Danny Biggs, Robert Bock, Jim Murphy) has a 6-point lead over Team Sierra Spindle Shooters. In the SOA 8-man F-Class Team event, the Berger Right-Left Team, coached by Mid Tompkins, has a solid lead over the Insane Clown Posse, coached by Mid’s wife Nancy Tompkins. (It’s all in the family we guess.)
CLICK HERE for latest SOA Match Results
September 17th, 2010
The Spirit of America Match (SOA), one of the nation’s most prestigious long-range tournaments, has been underway this week at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. Turn-out has been good, with 111 competitors: 67 Fullbore (Palma) shooters and 44 F-Class competitors, including 31 F-Open and 13 F-TR shooters.
Thus far Trudy Fay won the Camaraderie Trophy match, the Aggregate of last Sunday’s two Matches. Tom Whittaker won US Armed Forces Trophy Match, the Aggregate of Tuesday’s two individual matches. On Thursday the 16th, Match 7 (300, 500, and 600 yards), plus Match 8 (900 yards) were fired. We will provide Thursday results as soon as available. You can check the Bald Eagles Club website for the latest SOA Match Results.
Today, Friday the 17th, the Angel Fire 4-Man Team Match will be held at 300, 500, 600 and 1000 yards. Team matches were previously held on Monday (Raton 8-Man Match) and Wednesday (Cimarron 4-Man Match). The Spirit of America Match will conclude on Saturday with Match 10 (300, 500, 600 yards, sponsored by Sinclair Int’l), and Match 11 (900 yards, sponsored by Lapua). The combined Aggregate of Match 10 and 11 constitutes Match 12, The End of the Trail Trophy match. CLICK HERE for Match Schedule & Class Rules.
The Fullbore National and Spirit of America Championship will be awarded based on the Grand Aggregate of the four Daily Aggregates: Matches 3, 6, 9, & 12 in Target Rifle and F-Class Categories. There are also separate SOA Short Range Championship and Long Range Championship Trophies.
 Sunday Aggregate — Camaraderie Trophy Match
——- HM ——-
TRUDIE FAY W HM 300-25 150-8 450-33 *MW*
MICHAEL STORER J HM 299-18 149-10 448-28 2MW
NANCY TOMPKINS W HM 299-18 149-4 448-22 3MW
NOMA MAYO SW HM 300-25 147-5 447-30 1HM
KELLY BACHAND HM 300-18 147-9 447-27 2HM
——- MA ——-
CARLTON HARDIN MA 300-17 147-3 447-20 1MA
DOUG FRERICHS S MA 298-10 147-6 445-16 2MA
RICK CURTIS MA 299-19 145-4 444-23 3MA
Tuesday Aggregate — US Armed Forces Trophy Match
——- HM ——-
TOM WHITAKER S HM 300-21 143-5 443-26 *MW*
ALLEN ELLIOTT S HM 296-12 146-5 442-17 2MW
JON RHYNARD S HM 296-17 145-4 441-21 3MW
KENT REEVE HM 300-18 141-1 441-19 1HM
TRUDIE FAY W HM 299-20 141-5 440-25 2HM
——- MA ——-
ANDREW DONEY MA 299-17 141-2 440-19 1MA
BILL LAIR S MA 298-12 141-4 439-16 2MA
NICK MOWRER MA 299-11 140-4 439-15 3MA
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