Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 20th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 2-5 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is the 12th consecutive season that San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assn. hosts the IRC, the highlight of the ICORE revolver shooting season. Nearly 200 ace revolver shooters, from the USA as well as 6 foreign countries, are expected to compete. According to Ron Joslin, IRC match director: “This is the highlight of our competition season. It’s where everybody in ICORE comes together to determine who is the best. This is our Superbowl, and it’s been that way for [two decades] now.”
The man to beat in Open Class will be legendary pistolero Jerry Miculek of Team Smith & Wesson. Jerry has won every IRC in which he has competed. When it comes to wheelguns, Miculek is the fastest man on the planet. Also competing will be past Ladies Open Division winner Julie Golob, and past Limited Division Champion John Bagakis.
Along with the adult classifications, the IRC features divisions for Junior shooters. The junior events are always crowd-pleasers. Some of these youngsters are definitely future champions in the making. The video below shows the 2009 IRC Junior Shoot-Off for the overall Junior Title.
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The 2011 MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup National Championship will take place in Columbia, MO, May 25-28. This major event draws shooters from all over the world. In 2010, international competitors hailed from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Firearm categories include: Open Division, Metallic Sights, Service Pistol, and Revolver. In addition there be awards for the top shooters in specific classes: Law enforcement, Women, Junior, International, Newcomer, Senior, Grand Senior.
Bianchi Cup — Classic Course of Fire
The MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup is a combination of Speed and Accuracy. Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages. Stages may combine stationary and moving targets. As conceived by former police officer and holster-maker John Bianchi, the Bianchi Cup originated in 1979 as a Law Enforcement Training match. The Course of Fire consists of four separate matches:
The Practical Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.
The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.
The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8 inch round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
The Moving Target Event: From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.
2010 Bianchi Cup Video
How to Save Money on Entry Fees
This year, there are some new ways to save on entry fees. First, if you “bring a buddy” who has never competed at the Bianchi Cup, both you and your friend get a discount. Match organizers also offer reduced fees to Juniors, Production Firearms shooters, and Active Duty Military personnel.
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If you’re looking for a versatile carry revolver, consider the new Smith & Wesson Governor, introduced at the 2011 SHOT Show. The six-shot Governor will chamber three types of ammo: .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, and .410ga 2.5″ shotshells.
The ability to chamber shotshells makes this piece more useful as a “trail gun” that can put down snakes and other threats that are difficult to hit quickly with a pistol round. If you choose, you can load a mix of shotshells and regular cartridges. The 29.6 oz. Governor has a Scandium frame with blackened stainless cylinder. The basic model ($679.00 MSRP) comes standard with a Tritium dot front sight. There is also a more expensive ($899.00 MSRP) version with a Crimson Trace grip with built-in laser. A button in the grip activates the laser.
This Editor personally likes the shape and feel of the laser grip better than the standard grip. The laser grip (shown in the slideshow below) lets you position your hand up higher on the frame for better control, and it has a smoother profile. The laser obviously offers an advantage in low-light situations. We think, if you can afford the laser version, that’s the smart choice.
Technoframes Ammo Carriers and Display Cases.
These CNC-machined display boxes look great. There are many varieties to choose from, including wood, metal, and plexiglass. We like the fact that many of the boxes are lockable.
Custom Tool for Loading and Unloading Revolver Moon Clips
This unique moon/de-moon tool set retails for $80 and is available from Randell Kenner, 3111 Lien Street, Rapid City, SD 57702, (605) 605-348-3538, bmtmooner@rushmore.com.
Faux Guitar Case Gun Bag
This Ultimate Discrete Rifle Case, produced for LWRC Int’l by Blue Force Gear, stows a tactical carbine inside what appears to be a guitar case. Looks nicely made, but when you think about it, why pay $149.99 for the “Ultimate Discrete Rifle Case” when, for forty bucks or less on eBay, you can buy a real “previously-owned” guitar case that will do the same job — and be even more stealthy.
Check Out the Podcasts from PersonalArmament.com
You should visit the Personal Armament Podcast Site. Launched in 2009, this website features dozens of podcast interviews with interesting folks, including 2010 National Long-Range Champion John Whidden, Chris Hodgdon of Hodgdon/IMR Powders, and Kevin Thomas from Nammo Lapua.
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The USPSA National Handgun Championships were held October 9 through 16 at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 600 shooters put more than 250,000 rounds downrange in a quest for coveted U.S. Practical Shooting Association national titles in the Open, Limited-10, Limited, Production and Revolver divisions.
K.C. Wins Opens Division — His First USPSA National Title
K.C. Eusebio won the Open division title, outgunning his nearest challenger by more than 73 points. K.C. notched his first Overall USPSA Nationals win with this impressive victory. The Team Limcat shooter who earlier this year won the Steel Challenge Nationals and the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships, put his speed and shooting skills on display as he won six of 18 stages and finished in the top five on all by three. However, Eusebio sat out the first day of competition waiting for his match ammo to arrive and had to make up the missed stages over the next two days of the competition. Second place in the match went to fellow Limcat shooting team member J.J. Racaza who posted a final score of 1649.2863.
Miculek Wins Yet Another Revolver Championship — But It Wasn’t Easy
Jerry Miculek once again won the Revolver Division, with a close victory over runner-up Matt Griffin. Miculek finished with 1680.7297 match points — mere 9.4980 points ahead of Matt. Getting to the top of the podium wasn’t a walk in the park though, as Miculek battled jetlag after returning from a match in Australia, an inner ear infection and a fly away front sight. Despite all the obstacles before him, Miculek won six of 18 stages and finished in the top five on all by one. No other shooter in any division in the competition came close to that kind of consistency.
Miculek competing earlier this year at the Steel Challenge. Photo Courtesy SteelChallenge.com.
“It was the longest three days of my life. I told my wife Kay it felt like I’d been here for a week,” joked Miculek.”It was the longest, hardest match and every time you pulled your gun out of the holster it was extremely difficult to try and survive the stage. Every time you made a shot it was a hard cover, no-shoot, long range disaster event. It was just nerve-wracking and I do believe it was the hardest [pistol match] I’ve ever shot,” said Miculek.
“There are some good shooters coming up,” said Miculek about his competition. “I’m getting toward the end of my competition lifespan, I guess you could say. I realize that physically so the younger bucks are going to start coming in and pushing the old bucks out. It’s just the way of the world and I left my mark and I hope they do well and leave their mark.”
Jessie Abbate 3-Peats As USPSA Limited National Champ
Jessie Abbate won the USPSA Women’s Limited Division Championship for the third year in a row, finishing 75 points ahead of runner-up Lisa Munson. After finishing second in the earlier Open division contest, Abbate, adjusted her approach: “Coming into the Limited match, I decided that I had to be aggressive, I had to shoot my sights and let those be my speedometer,” said Abbate.
“This is a very hard match, especially for iron sights. There are more partial targets here than I’ve ever seen and I knew I had to be accurate. I had to be patient and let my sights tell me what to do.” That patience paid off as Abbate won 11 of the 18 stages in the match to post a final score of 1173.5946. Abbate used some Open Class techniques to her advantage in Limited Class: “I’ve been shooting mostly Open this year so and I’ve brought some things over from my open shooting to limited that have helped me a lot. Lots of speed, more shooting on the move and being a more aggressive shooter overall.”
Team Glock’s Dave Sevigny Wins His 6th Production Division USPSA Title
Competing in a field of 120 top Production division shooters, Sevigny had to come from behind to win. “Unfortunately I started out a little bit flat, and I think everybody at some point got sideways in this match. I’ve been in these situations before where I knew I had to lay the hammer down to go for the win, and I knew that today I had to do that.” Finishing second behind Sevigny was Team CZ shooter Matt Mink of Conway, Ark. who finished more than 80 points behind with a final score of 1556.5509.
For the 18th time, Jerry Miculek won the ICORE Open division at the Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) held this past weekend at the Hogue Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. Some 220 wheelgunners from around the world participated in the match, but none shot better than Miculek, a living legend.
“There are hardly enough accolades to accurately depict how good Jerry is with a revolver. Year after year, without fail, he demonstrates what it means to be the best in the world and ICORE is honored to once again, and for the 18th time, name him our IRC champion,” said Art Leach of ICORE.
Miculek’s total 2010 winning time of 225.56 was over 35 seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Neil Hogue, who finished with a final time of 260.59. John Bagakis shot a great match to win the Limited division with a 267.75, the seventh best time among ALL competitors. Craig Buckland took the newly-created “Retro Revolver” division with a 349.00 time. The “Retro” division — new for the 2010 IRC — is limited to six-shot revolvers reloaded with speed-loaders. In Open and Limited divisions, shooters can use 8-round revolvers with moon clips.
Down to the Wire in Women’s Open Division
In an exciting finish to the women’s Open division match, Team Smith & Wesson Captain Julie Golob came from behind on the final stage, to win her second straight Open title with a 404.59 total time. The final “Standards” stage consists of targets as far out as 50 yards. Shooters must put six rounds into a four inch X-Ring to avoid time penalties, making the stage the “make or break” point in the match.
Golob trailed 13-year-old revolver prodigy Janae Sarabia throughout the match but Golob took the lead on the final stage where accuracy is paramount. Claiming second was Flora Yang who won the all-important final stage and posted a final time of 413.87. After losing the lead on the last stage, Sarabia finished third in women’s Open, still a remarkable feat for a 13-year-old! Janae’s final time of 417.83 secured the Junior Open title, giving Team S&W its third title in the division.
We congratulate all the ICORE winners, but want to give special praise to up-and-comer Janae Sarabia of Lompoc, California. She showed remarkable skill and poise shooting against seasoned pros twice her age. Janae said: “I was pretty happy with how I shot the match. I’ve been improving all year long and and feel a big sense of accomplishment taking third and ecstatic that I finished as the top junior.” It’s great to see juniors experience this kind of success. Jenae’s performance is an inspiration for other young girls getting involved in the shooting sports. Young Miss Sarabia is a rising star.
The NRA Blog has complete coverage of the 2010 Bianchi Cup, held this week at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Columbia, MO. The Bianchi Cup is one of the most prestigious handgun competitions on the planet. This year, the 32nd Annual MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup features over 200 of the best pistol and revolver shooters in the world, from the USA and six other countries.
The match continues through Saturday, May 29th, but results from the first two days of competition are available on the NRA Blog. NRA Media Relations has also posted a collection of 2010 Bianchi Cup photos online. CLICK HERE to view Bianchi Cup Photo Gallery.
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Want to become a pro shooter? Here’s your chance. Smith & Wesson is now soliciting new shooters interested in joining Team Smith & Wesson for the 2010-2011 competitive season. Applications, which will be accepted until April 30, 2010, are available online at Champions.smith-wesson.com. The selection process is open to all shooters interested in becoming a part of a winning team. You must have the “right stuff” of course.
To evaluate each applicant, Smith & Wesson has developed a cumulative point system to award sponsorships to prospective S&W Team members. Selection criteria includes, but is not limited to, match level, performance, experience and exposure. Over the course of last year’s season, the 20 members of Team Smith & Wesson won a total of 28 state, 31 regional, 9 national, 5 international and 18 world championship titles.
Julie Goloski — Captain of Team Smith & Wesson Womens’ Team.
Tom Kelly, Vice President of Marketing for Smith & Wesson states: “By becoming a member of Team Smith & Wesson, you will have the opportunity to showcase your skills in matches across the country while serving as a representative to one of the largest and most prestigious firearms manufacturers in America.” For more information regarding Team Smith & Wesson, including team member bios, match recaps and to access an application, visit www.smith-wesson.com and click on the Champions Icon on the left side of the homepage.
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The International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) announced that Smith & Wesson will sponsor the organization’s annual International Revolver Championships and six ICORE regionals across America.
The 19th Annual Smith & Wesson International Revolver Championships will take place June 4-6 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, Calif. This match is the highlight of the revolver shooting season. More than 250 top revolver shooters, from the USA as well as foreign countries, are expected to compete.
ICORE Regionals Start March 20 in Louisiana
The ICORE revolver competition season commences March 20 and 21 when the Southern Shooting Center (Thibodaux, Louisiana) hosts the Southern Regional Revolver Championship. The remaining regional matches are as follows
April 10 — 13th Annual Southwest Regional (San Luis Obispo, CA).
May 1-2 — Rocky Mountain Regional (WCFW High Plains Range, Galeton, CO).
May 2 — New England Regional (Hartford Gun Club, East Granby, CT).
July 18 — Central States Regional (Bend of the River CC, Buchanan, MI).
Sept. 26 — East Coast Regional (Ontelaunee Rod & Gun Club, New Tripoli, PA).
To learn more about on ICORE’s National and Regional Championships, visit www.icore.org.
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Michael Bane, producer and host of the popular DownRange TV show on the Outdoor Channel, also creates a short video “podcast” each week. Michael’s weekly podcasts cover a variety of topics — product intros, major competitions, shooting tips, and gun industry news. This week (8 min, 30 sec into the video), Michael comments on the upcoming Supreme Court hearing in McDonald v. Chicago. That case will determine whether the landmark Second Amendment ruling in D.C. v. Heller shall be extended to state and local government actions. Bane also spotlights the FBI’s new 40sw AR15 carbines (from Rock River Arms) and the re-introduction of the classic Merwin-Hulbert revolver, now marketed as a compact CCW weapon. Notable Merwin-Hulbert design features included interchangeable barrels and auto-ejection of spent cartridges (when bbl assembly was unlocked).
The U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) has announced the dates of its 2010 National Championships. Divided into four events, the Nationals are expected to draw more than 1,000 top shooters competing in a variety of divisions. Featured in the video below are “Women of USPSA” (including Team Glock’s Jessie Abbate) shooting at the 2009 USPSA Nationals. Be sure to watch this great video. Some very talented ladies demonstrate amazing shooting skills.
The first event on the calendar, the USPSA Single Stack Nationals, will take place April 28 through May 1 at the PASA Park ranges in Barry, Ill. In 2009 this event drew 270-plus devotees of the venerable 1911 pistol. Next on the schedule is USPSA’s MultiGun Nationals which will take place in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club ranges September 9 through 12. The MultiGun championship draws close to 150 shooters using pistol, rifle and shotgun in the Open, Tactical, Limited and Heavy Metal divisions.
The USPSA championship season will wrap up with back-to-back handgun championships also held in Las Vegas from October 8 through 16, 2010. With over 600 shooters participating, the USPSA back-to-back handgun championships represent the largest gathering of Practical Shooting competitors in the USA. In addition to America’s top guns, the match will also draw some of the best shooters from South America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.
USPSA National Championship dates
April 28 – May 1: Single Stack Nationals (PASA Park, Barry, IL)
Sept. 9 – 12: Multi-Gun Nat’ls (Desert Sportsman’s Range, Las Vegas, NV)
Oct. 8 – 12: Open & Limited-10 Nat’ls (Desert Sportsman’s Range, Las Vegas, NV)
Oct. 13 – 16 Limited, Production & Revolver Nat’ls (Desert Sportsman’s Range, Las Vegas, NV)
To learn more about the USPSA National Championships and other major matches on the 2010 schedule, visit www.uspsa.org or call (360) 855-2245.
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This week’s episode of Michael Bane’s Shooting Gallery features the Bianchi Cup, one of the world’s most prestigious (and lucrative) pistol competitions. The show will be broadcast on the Outdoor Channel at 3:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., or 11:30 p.m. EST. (Check your local listings.)
The Bianchi Cup is the brainchild of former police officer (turned holster-maker) John Bianchi and the late Ray Chapman – one of the original IPSC “Combat Masters”. The Cup originated as a law enforcement training match. Since its inception in 1979, the NRA Bianchi Cup has retained its original course of fire, consisting of four matches: Practical, Barricade, Moving Target and Falling Plates. Competitors need to be both FAST and ACCURATE. This event now draws shooters from all over the world. In 2009, competitors came from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and must shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages.
Bianchi Cup Course of Fire The Practical Event – From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits. The Barricade Event — From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits. The Falling Plate Event — From the shooting lines, the shooter fires at 8″-round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits. The Moving Target Event — From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.
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Many of the world’s best wheelgunners will be in California the first week in June. The 20th Annual Smith & Wesson Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) takes place June 2-5 at the Hogue Action Pistol Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. This is the 12th consecutive season that San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Assn. hosts the IRC, the highlight of the ICORE revolver shooting season. Nearly 200 ace revolver shooters, from the USA as well as 6 foreign countries, are expected to compete. According to Ron Joslin, IRC match director: “This is the highlight of our competition season. It’s where everybody in ICORE comes together to determine who is the best. This is our Superbowl, and it’s been that way for [two decades] now.”
The 2011 MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup National Championship will take place in Columbia, MO, May 25-28. This major event draws shooters from all over the world. In 2010, international competitors hailed from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Firearm categories include: Open Division, Metallic Sights, Service Pistol, and Revolver. In addition there be awards for the top shooters in specific classes: Law enforcement, Women, Junior, International, Newcomer, Senior, Grand Senior.
The ability to chamber shotshells makes this piece more useful as a “trail gun” that can put down snakes and other threats that are difficult to hit quickly with a pistol round. If you choose, you can load a mix of shotshells and regular cartridges. The 29.6 oz. Governor has a Scandium frame with blackened stainless cylinder. The basic model ($679.00 MSRP) comes standard with a Tritium dot front sight. There is also a more expensive ($899.00 MSRP) version with a Crimson Trace grip with built-in laser. A button in the grip activates the laser.
The USPSA National Handgun Championships were held October 9 through 16 at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 600 shooters put more than 250,000 rounds downrange in a quest for coveted U.S. Practical Shooting Association national titles in the Open, Limited-10, Limited, Production and Revolver divisions.
Jessie Abbate 3-Peats As USPSA Limited National Champ
For the 18th time, Jerry Miculek won the ICORE Open division at the Int’l Revolver Championship (IRC) held this past weekend at the Hogue Range in San Luis Obispo, CA. Some 220 wheelgunners from around the world participated in the match, but none shot better than Miculek, a living legend.
Golob trailed 13-year-old revolver prodigy Janae Sarabia throughout the match but Golob took the lead on the final stage where accuracy is paramount. Claiming second was Flora Yang who won the all-important final stage and posted a final time of 413.87. After losing the lead on the last stage, Sarabia finished third in women’s Open, still a remarkable feat for a 13-year-old! Janae’s final time of 417.83 secured the Junior Open title, giving Team S&W its third title in the division. 
The 
The first event on the calendar, the USPSA Single Stack Nationals, will take place April 28 through May 1 at the PASA Park ranges in Barry, Ill. In 2009 this event drew 270-plus devotees of the venerable 1911 pistol. Next on the schedule is USPSA’s MultiGun Nationals which will take place in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club ranges September 9 through 12. The MultiGun championship draws close to 150 shooters using pistol, rifle and shotgun in the Open, Tactical, Limited and Heavy Metal divisions.
This week’s episode of Michael Bane’s 
