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September 26th, 2012
Congratulations to David Bailey, the 2012 F-Open National Champion. Shooting at Raton last week, David scored 1283-59X, to finish one point ahead of fellow Forum member Bob Sebold (1282-59X). Past F-Open Champion Jeff Cochran tells us: “David did a masterful job. He had one of the best, if not the best, rifles on the line for the morning trigger-pulling contests. He also showed great patience choosing his shots wisely in some of the nasty, switchy afternoon conditions. Not only spitting them downrange when the conditions called for it, but he was smart enough to put on the brakes and not get burned. All in all, David had a great performance in a wide range of conditions.”
Bailey Shot a .280 Remington with Berger 7mm Hybrids
David was shooting a 7mm cartridge, but not the 7mm you might expect. David’s Bat-actioned F-Open rifle has a 32″ Bartlein, 9-twist barrel chambered for a no-turn-neck .280 Remington. David’s winning load consisted of 180gr Berger Hybrid bullets pushed at 2860 FPS by Russian primers and Hodgdon 4831SC powder. Bullets are seated about 0.015″-.020″ away from the lands (this happens to be Berger’s suggested “starting point” seating depth for these Hybrids). David says he does “very little brass prep” other than sorting his Remington brass. (That’s right — Remington!) He does use an expander ball during reloading to push out any neck-wall-thickness variations.
The pretty green stock is a Robertson Composites ‘Speedy F-Class’ model, with adjustable cheek-piece. David added 4.5 pounds of lead in the buttstock to bring the gun up to max F-Open weight. David’s rifle was originally smithed by Richard King of King’s Armory in Arlington, Texas, (817) 265-0118, rking3005 [at] sbcglobal.net. The current .280 Rem barrel was chambered and fitted on the gun by David himself.
 We had a chance to chat with David Bailey after the Nationals. When asked how he felt about the big win, David replied: “It took a while to sink in… I was extremely happy that two of my teammates finished in top 10 — Mark (Walker) and Michelle (Gallagher) — [as a team] we had a very good week overall.” David wanted to give credit to his past/present team-mates, “both the Spindle Shooters and Long Shots — they have been a tremendous help.” David added, “In particular I want to say thanks to Jeff Cochran. And I can’t forget my gunsmith Richard King, he’s been a tremendous asset.”
For those who have been following David’s shooting, it was no surprise that he did well at Raton. David noted: “I’ve been shooting well for the last couple of years, but this time it all came together. I will say my wind reading has gotten a lot better the last couple of years.”
Asked if he had any advice for new F-Class shooters, David replied: “Practice — shoot as much as you can. And as for hardware and reloading — don’t get hung up on the gimmicks.”
Team Long Shots Wins F-Open Team Title
As captain of Team Long Shots, David Bailey helped lead the Long Shots Open Team to their second consecutive national title. The Long Shots compiled a 1583-83X score to finish first, ahead of second-place Team Spindle Shooters (1576-65X). Long Shots Team Members are: David Gosnell, Mark Walker, Ken Dickerman, team captain David Bailey, and coach Michelle Gallagher. This year, the Long Shots turned in a great performance, emerging victorious over what may be the largest number of F-Open teams ever at the F-Class Nationals.
For the equipment junkies, it’s interesting to note that Michelle Gallagher used a rifle with a new stock David Bailey designed and built. Texas gunsmith Richard King barreled Michelle’s rifle in .280 Remington, and also built other guns for Long Shots Team members. Richard built Mark Walker’s rifle and Ken Dickerman’s rifle and stocked David Gosnell’s gun. Jeff Cochran reports that Richard King also smithed two rifles used by the Sierra Spindle Shooters team (Cochran’s own gun and Jeff Traylor’s rifle). Overall Richard King worked on six rifles for the top two F-Open teams — that’s a pretty strong endorsement of King’s gun-building skills.
September 22nd, 2012
The 2012 F-Class Nationals have concluded and the event was a great success. Nearly 200 shooters competed at Raton this year.
Congrats to the new F-Class National Champions: David Bailey (F-Open) and James Crofts (F-TR). Bailey amassed a 1283-59X score to edge F-Open runner-up Bob Sebold (1282-59X) by a single point. Note that Jim and Bob, both AccurateShooter Forum members, had the same X-count. Bob’s excellent X-count placed him ahead of Jim Murphy (1282-50X), who captured third place along with F-Open High Senior Title. High Lady Shooter was Michelle Gallagher with a 1274-51, while Danny Biggs, a past National Champion, was High Senior with 1273-46X.
Forum member James (‘Jim’) Crofts took the F-TR crown with a truly dominating performance. Jim’s 1272-47X was a full six points and 11 Xs ahead of runner-up (and 2011 champ) Jeff Rorer, who finished with 1266-36X. In third-place overall, was High Senior Daniel Pohlable (1264-42X). In fourth overall, was the High Lady shooter Trudie Fay (1259-45X).
Jim Crofts really deserves praise for his marksmanship at Raton. Jim’s F-TR Score of 1272-47X would have ranked him 13th in the F-Open division, ahead of dozens of skilled shooters running ballistically-superior cartridges. In his .308 Win, Jim ran Berger 200gr Match Hybrids at 2600 fps with Hodgdon Varget. Jim’s winning F-TR rifle featured a 30″ Brux barrel and Precision Rifle & Tool (PR&T) stock. And take note — Jim’s barrel had over 3000 rounds though it by the end of the match. Jim wants to thank Ray Bowman at PR&T for smithing a great rifle and providing sponsorship.
CLICK HERE for Complete F-Class Nationals Results with Match by Match Scores
 Interview with Jim Crofts
We had a chance to talk to Jim by telephone this morning, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for us….
AccurateShooter: Is this your first big win? How did you feel receiving the trophy as National F-TR Champion?
Jim: I won the Berger SW Nationals earlier this year, but this is my first-ever National Championship. I was very relieved once it was over because there were many great shooters right behind me.
AccurateShooter: Did you run any new hardware at the Nationals? Did you alter your load any?
Jim: This is the same combination that I’ve used all year long. I went back to my old faithful PR&T-built rifle and my old faithful load and everything works. I still anneal my cases every firing. You will find this helps maintain consistent bullet seating and it helps lower your extreme spread.
AccurateShooter: Shooters from your neck of the woods have now won the F-TR division two years running — Whats the secret?
Yes, with my win we’ve had back to back F-TR National championships for North State X-Men club members. Jeff Rorer, last year’s F-TR champ [and 2012 runner-up] shoots with us at a local level. That’s who I’ve been chasing since last year’s National Championship. When you shoot against quality competition every week, it makes you strive for perfection.
AccurateShooter: How were conditions during the week? Raton can be windy…
Jim: Actually, conditions were moderate most of the week. However, on the last day, it was calm during the first match, but in the second match it got to be very tricky. There were changes in velocity and angles — I had a hard time keeping up with the velocity changes in the last match.
AccurateShooter: How has the FTR game changed in the last couple years? Is it more competitive than ever before?
Jim: The sport is growing and it’s getting tougher, that’s for sure. This year we had 91 competitors in F-TR. It went up from about 60 last year to 91 this year — a 50% increase. And the competition is really getting tight in F-TR. Not only are the numbers of shooters growing, but the quality of the competition is getting higher every year.
Also at the F-Class Nationals this year, some Eliseo Tubeguns made an appearance. Shown below are Linda Shehan (Team Australia) and Warren Dean (Team USA) with their GC-1 FTR rigs at the nationals. These tubeguns feature actions by Rod Shehan, with an Adam Davies bipod on the left, and Sinclair F-Class bipod on the right.
September 21st, 2012
Breaking News: We’re informed that Forum Member James Crofts (aka “VA Jim”) has won the F-TR division of the F-Class Nationals, shooting a .308 Win rifle with Precision Rifle & Tool stock. Read more about Jim Crofts HERE.
The F-Class Nationals are underway right now at the Whittington Range in Raton, NM. Conditions have been fairly challenging. On Day 1 of the individual championship, forum member Steven B (aka “Sleepygator”) reports that: “The winds later in the day were a little tougher. The tailwind caused some vertical to those unfortunate enough to shoot the third match at the little end.” F-TR shooter James Crofts shot amazing well on Day 1, recording 446-17X. Crofts outscored not only all other F-TR shooters, but he beat all but one of the F-Open “hot rod” shooters, Mark Walker (who posted a 446-19X). When an F-TR outshoots nearly the entire F-Open field, that’s newsworthy. Well-done James. Forum member Mark H. (aka “Hunsucker”) observed: “I personally know for a fact how much Jim [Crofts] practices and how hard he works.”
On Day 2, conditions became trickier at the end according to Forum member Greg Taylor: “Day 2 started out very like Day 1, except a bit warmer. Winds were relatively forgiving, especially for Raton. That is until the third match. The last match of the day, winds were absolutely wicked, ranging from 1-2 mph, up to 10-11 mph, from SE/S. Scores for many dropped predictably.”
Close Competition in F-Open
F-Open leaders after Day 2 are: F-Open Leaders after Day 2: Bob Sebold with 886-39X, David Bailey with 885-44X, and Mark Walker with 885-37X. This is a tight battle — the top ten places in F-Open are separated by 6 points.
 CLICK HERE for Official Scores from F-Class Nationals
Team Sinclair Secures F-TR Team Win
In F-Class Team competition earlier this week, Team Sinclair secured a victory in the F-TR division with a combined score of 1561-48X. The team is coached by Raymond Gross, and shooters are Paul Phillips, Derek Rodgers (Captain/shooter), Jeff Rorer and Brad Sauve. Phillips declared: “Ray did a great job coaching for both spirit of America and nationals. Brads rifle shot half the national record and jeff and mine were the other half. Great work from the whole team. Very tough competition. FTR is getting very very competitive now.”
September 19th, 2012
Congrats to the U.S.A. F-Class Team which triumphed in the 2012 Stars & Stripes Challenge Match held September 16 at Raton, New Mexico. The showcase event in the Stars & Stripes Match is a team competition with 8-man national teams. Team USA finished first with a 3443-107X combined score. In second place was the South Africa Protea Team with 3428-88X. Team Australia came in thirds with 3398-81X, and Team Canada scored 3364-63X to secure fourth place. In the photo below, Team USA members celebrate their victory. Shown (left to right) are: Charles Ballard, Larry Taite, Laura Perry, John Weil, Trudie Fay, Shiraz Balolia (Captain), Bob Mead, Rick Hunt, Jeff Rorer, Darrell Buell, Jim Murphy and Larry Bartholome.
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Along with the signature National Team Event, the Stars & Stripes event featured 4-person team matches for both F-Open and F-TR divisions. Winner of the F-Open 4-person event, with a 1757-65X score, was Team Long Shots, captained by Mark Walker and coached by Michelle Gallagher. Team shooters were: David Baily, David Gosnell, Ken Dickerman, and Mark Walker. Finishing first in the 4-person F-TR team event was Team Misfits, coached and captained by Lige Harris. Lige also shot on the team, along with Leslie Jones, Tom Jones, and John Kills. Team Misfits scored 1710-34X to secure a 16-point victory over F-TR runner-up U.S. Development Team #4.
CLICK HERE for Complete Stars & Stripes Challenge Match Results.
September 14th, 2012
Report by Bryan Litz
Day 3 of the Spirit of America Individual Aggregate (Thursday, 9/13/2012) started out cold and misty. Everyone was pretty much wearing every shred of clothing they had to get thru the morning, but the afternoon warmed up nicely. Short range was typical; constant and relatively calm at 300 and 500, but the wind kicked up about the time we started shooting 600 and some points started falling. After lunch we shot 900 yards and the points really started falling! As expected, the chaos shook up the standings quite a bit.
Controversy in Sling Class
In the sling class, Noma Mayo was the high shooter at 4 points down. Noma shot a miss at 600 yards, challenged it, and lost the challenge. She finished the range, then later went to the stat house and had the miss removed from her score card. A formal protest was filed, but her amended score stood (without a miss). Needless to say, the result is somewhat controversial, especially considering that Noma is in contention to win the tournament. The current standings in the individual sling aggregate are: Nancy Tompkins at 6 points down, Noma Mayo at 8 points down, and Bryan Litz at 9 points down.
Trudie Fay Continues to Lead F-TR
In F-TR, Trudie Fay continues her dominant performance at 13 points down to win the day. Trudie is also leading the F-TR aggregate with one day to go. Tomorrow is the Raton 8-man team match.
Larry Bartholome won the F-Open class at 7 points down for the day (Aggregate standings were not posted as of when we left the range so it’s difficult to calculate those full standings).
Click Links for Day 3 Full Results: F-Class Individual | Sling Individual
July 16th, 2012
 Using a “box-stock”, 30-lb Steyr HS.50 rifle, Walter Wilkinson of Edgewood, NM, bested a field of 31 competitors (most using heavier custom rifles) to take the Hunter Class Score title at the recent Fifty Caliber Shooters Association World Championships. This event was held July 1st and 2nd at the NRA Whittington Center outside Raton, NM. This is the second year in a row that a competitor with an off-the-shelf Steyr HS.50 won the Hunter Class title. (Eduardo Abril de Fontcuberta won Hunter Class with an HS.50 last year.)
Wilkinson, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant major and current Gunsite Academy instructor, ran up a two-day Aggregate score of 274-6X out of a possible 300, beating his next closest competitor, .50 Cal legend Lee Rasmussen, by two Xs. The Hunter Class is a 1,000-yard course of fire consisting of six, five-shot strings, with three strings shot on the first day, and three strings shot on the second day. Due to the wildly varying winds on this range, competitors who shot in the morning of the first day were required to shoot in the afternoon of the second day, and vice versa, to equal the playing field.
Slotted in the first afternoon’s fourth relay, Wilkinson’s consistency, solid wind-doping and holding skills paid off as the winds made an especially tricky display with a 180-degree shift as thunderheads came over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Heading into his morning relay on the second day, Wilkinson found himself in second place with nothing to do but hammer the 10-ring to work his way into the championship title.
Wilkinson’s .50 Delivered Quarter-MOA Groups During Load Testing
Wilkinson said the Steyr .50-Cal has shown outstanding accuracy: “As I was working up a load for the HS.50, I shot groups that amazed me. I was getting groups of .214 MOA at 220 yards, and I didn’t know what to think. All the bullets were going in the same hole, and it was like ‘Wow, I’ve really got a rifle that can shoot here’. They were the best groups that I have ever shot in my life — and they were with the .50 BMG!” That surprised Wilkinson: “With my [military] experience with the performance of the same cartridge overseas, I didn’t expect that kind of accuracy out of it.”
Wilkinson Was Also Member of Winning .50 Cal Team
Along with his individual Hunter Class Title, Wilkinson earned team honors as a Ten-X team member. The Ten-X team won the Team World Championship with an aggregate score of 1081-24X combined with an average group size of 14.549 inches. Each team had four shooters with one from each of the four classes represented at the .50 Caliber Championships: Light, Heavy, Unlimited, and Hunter.
January 6th, 2012
This Report was submitted by Darrell Buell, F-T/R Team USA Captain
The F-Class World Championships are just over a year and a half away. In the past four years, much has changed in the F-T/R game. Most noticeably, participation has increased greatly. We had 60 shooters at the 2011 Nationals in Lodi compared to 19 shooters in 2007. The level of competition has risen as well. There was a mere 3% spread in scores for the top 30 places this year. That’s tighter than it has ever been since I started keeping statistics. The top 15 spots had only a 2% score spread!
F-T/R Team USA Selection Process
With many more shooters and a higher level of competition, selecting the 2013 American F-T/R team was especially difficult. There were many qualified applicants to choose from. The selection criteria have not changed over the years. All of the 40+ applicants’ qualifications were dumped into a matrix to get sorted. The initial sort was done by examining the best data I have that compares all of the shooters side by side, i.e. Nationals scores. More weight was given to those times when I could compare shooter vs. shooter on the same relay, when they were facing the exact same conditions. From there, we used modifiers for International Team experience, and other factors. 50 million calculations later, a ranking was developed. This ranking was used to set the Roster List below.
| USA F-T/R Team Roster: |
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Team Staff:
Captain: Darrell Buell
Vice Captain: Mike Miller
Head Coach: Mid Tompkins
Coach: Steve Cunico
Adjutant: Kathy Buell |
Team Members:
Jeff Rorer
John Hayhurst
John Chilton
Chris Ozolins
John Weil
Dale Carpenter
Derek Rodgers |
Team Members (cont’d):
Philip Kelley
Warren Dean
Brad Sauve
Paul Phillips
Monte Milanuk
Lane Buxton
Sierra Scott |
As with past Teams, this roster will be used for the next four (4) years for International Competitions of every description. These events include (but are not limited to): 2013 F-Class World Championships in Raton, NM; 2013 South African International Matches in Bloemfontein; 2013 Stars & Stripes Challenge 2013; Creedmoor Cup; USA vs. Europe, and others.
Reserve Team Spots
The sharp-eyed will notice that I may seem to be a couple of shooters short. I am reserving a couple of spots to be named after the 2012 Nationals in Raton, in case other shooters are absolutely on fire this year, and would be good additions to the Team.
F-T/R Team USA Sponsors
As with past Team campaigns, the financial challenges (especially for the travel) will be considerable. I am absolutely committed to taking the very best Team I can field, regardless of finances. To this end, some outstanding sponsors are helping take some of the burden off the individuals: Berger Bullets, Nightforce Optics, Surgeon Rifles, Hodgdon Powder, Lapua, Kowa, and Redding Reloading. Many thanks to these and other sponsors for their continuing support.
October 12th, 2011
Tune your TV to the Outdoor Channel tonight. There’s a good episode of Shooting USA featuring the 2001 NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburg, PA, along with a special report from the NRA Youth Adventure Camp in Raton, NM. There are also two helpful tech features. USAMU gunsmiths demonstrate the official Army way to camo-paint your AR, while Wade Bourne explains how to set the trigger pull on a hunting rifle.
 NRA Annual Meeting
The NRA’s annual meeting moves to a new city each year. For 2011 time Pittsburgh was the location and the gathering point for 70,000 members to conduct business, elect members to the board, and hear from a slate of speakers including Newt Gingrich, Lt. Colonel Ollie North, and Mike Huckabee. Along with the speeches and the politics, the highlight of the annual meeting is the trade show, open to all NRA members. Hundreds of vendors are on hand displaying thousands of firearms and shooting-related products. In addition, many top Pro Shooters and celebrities attend the show, meeting and greeting visitors.
NRA Adventure Camp at Whittington
At the NRA’s Youth Adventure Camp, teen participants (13- to 18-years-old) spend two weeks learning about shooting at the 33,000-acre Whittington Center in New Mexico. There are ranges for every NRA shooting sport, and the young campers work their way through most of them, learning the fundamentals of rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting. In two weeks, the lucky campers will shoot thousands of rounds under the guidance of expert instructors.
| SHOW TIMES — Shooting USA airs every Wednesday on the Outdoor Channel, at these times:
Eastern Time: 4:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 12:00 Midnight | Central Time: 3:00 PM, 7:30 PM, 11:00 PM
Mountain Time: 2:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 10:00 PM | Pacific Time: 1:00 PM, 5:30 PM, 9:00 PM |
September 18th, 2011
September 11-17, the Bald Eagles Rifle Club hosted the 2011 Spirit Of America rifle match, at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. This match serves as U.S. National Fullbore Championships, but there are also F-Class divisions. The match consists of conventional sling (TR) class, as well as F-Open and F-TR, and the event is shot at distances of 300, 500, 600, 800, 900 and 1000 yards. Approximately 80 shooters, including about 20 F-classer attended the event.
Bryan Litz won the Fullbore TR (sling) competition with a 1782-105X overall score, with runner-up Andrew Wilde (1780-101X), just two points behind. Sean Morris finished third with 1776-85X, and Jim O’Connell shot 1772-81X to claim the High Senior title.
Photo by Randy Pike
In F-Open Class, familiar names topped the leaderboard. Larry Bartholome earned his chair ride as F-Open winner, shooting an impressive 1776-98X. Second in F-Open, five points back at 1771-96X, was past F-Class National Champion Danny Biggs. In the F-TR division, Michael Smith topped the field with a 1738-69X, followed by John Killen, who shot a 1720-52X. NOTE: F-Open and F-TR competitors shoot a target with smaller-diameter scoring rings than the Fullbore Target.
Conditions Were Mild… Then Wild
Bryan Litz tells us the conditions weren’t so bad … until the final day: “We dodged some rain throughout the week, but wind conditions were easy to moderate for the most part. That is until the last 1000-yard string of the last day when Raton finally showed its evil side! The most wind I had used all week was just over 3 MOA. That last relay on Saturday, it was running between 7 and 12 MOA with very quick changes. There were many misses, and just keeping all shots in the black was an accomplishment.” Rick Hunt concurred that the conditions were arduous on the final 1K stage: “At 1000 yards, there was a 9:00 o’clock wind running between 9 1/2 and 13 1/2 MOA. As seen by the scores, two shooters really nailed it. Other than that, it was pretty disastrous for most shooters with the really fast velocity changes.”
When the smoke had cleared, the standings were all jumbled up compared to what they were the rest of the week. Litz added: “An experience like that really drives home the importance of wind shooting skills. To be honest, I had no particular strategy going in other than to stay calm and positive no matter what. A big part of shooting in adverse conditions is managing yourself mentally. I dropped 10 points that last relay, more than I’d lost in the entire tournament up to that point. But given the conditions, I felt good about it, knowing I’d done my best.”
Berger 155gr Hybrids Work Well in Fullbore Competition
Bryan Litz credits his 155gr Berger .308-cal Hybrids for his strong performance: “I was shooting the new Berger 155 grain Hybrid bullets which played a part in saving some points in that nasty wind (on the last day). Due to their length, these bullets require a 1:12″ twist to stabilize and have a higher BC than any other .30 caliber 155 grain bullet. The hybrid ogive makes them length tolerant (insensitive to seating depth) and as the results of this tournament show, they are very effective”.
Complete Final Scores On SOA Blog
You’ll find complete interim and final SOA Match Scores linked from the Bald Eagles Match Blog.
Saturday and Final TR (Fullbore Sling) Class (PDF).
Saturday and Final F-Open and F-TR Class Results (PDF).
At the match the USA Young Eagles unveiled the new uniforms the American team will wear at the World Fullbore Championships in Australia next month. On opposite sleeves, the uniforms feature logos from both major bullet sponsors — Berger and Sierra. Bryan Litz observerd: “Historically teams have been sponsored by ‘one or the other’, but there’s no reason a team can’t enjoy sponsorship by multiple brands, and this is a very positive step in that direction.”
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.
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