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September 11th, 2013
Yesterday (August 10th), the California Assembly, on a 44-31 vote, approved SB 374, which bans the sale (or transfer) of ALL semi-automatic centerfire rifles that can accept a detachable magazine of any kind (no matter what the capacity). Californians who possess such rifles would be required to register them with the State, for a fee, prior to January 1, 2015. Since SB 374 has already passed the California State Senate, this bill, after conforming amendments in the Senate, is expected to go to Governor Jerry Brown for signature within a few weeks.
The scope of SB 374 is sweeping. It bans all self-loading centerfire rifles capable of using a detachable magazine, regardless of magazine capacity (or placement). The operative language of SB 374 with respect to magazines is an awkward double-negative. But the intent is clear — if a semi-auto centerfire rifle can accept a detachable magazine AT ALL, it is banned:
SECTION 1. Section 30515 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30515. (a) Notwithstanding Section 30510, “assault weapon” also means any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept no more than 10 rounds.
The way we interpret this, a semi-automatic with ANY kind of detachable magazine (even a one-rounder) would be banned. This would outlaw a wide variety of commonly-used hunting rifles fitted with flush-mounted 3-, and 4-round ‘pop-out’ magazines. This would outlaw the classic Remington 750 deer rifle, for example. It would outlaw M1 Garands which have an 8-round en bloc clip. And if you already own an M1 Garand, you would have to register it with the state government. (Under other legislation in the works in Sacramento, all ‘bullet button’ ARs would also be banned.)
Other observers read SB 374 the way we do — that it bans any and all centerfire rifles that can take a detachable magazine (of any capacity). Ammoland states that SB 374 will “eliminate the future sale, purchase, manufacture, importation and possession of semi-automatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines. No more mini-14s, no more ARs, no more M1s, and say goodbye to your Remington 750 for deer hunting. [T]he goal is clear – if it is a rifle and has a detachable magazine, then forget about owning one.”
California Legislative Counsel’s Digest
SB 374, as amended, Steinberg. Firearms: assault weapons.
Existing law regulates the sale, carrying, and control of firearms, including assault weapons, and requires assault weapons to be registered with the Department of Justice. Violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law defines a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and other specified features and a semiautomatic weapon that has a fixed magazine with a capacity to accept 10 or more rounds as an assault weapon.
This bill would, instead, classify a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept no more than 10 rounds as an assault weapon. The bill would require a person who, between Jan. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2013, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, and who, on or after Januarry 1, 2014, possesses that firearm, to register the firearm by July 1, 2015. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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May 20th, 2013
 From now on, California will require all new-model semi-automatic handguns to be manufactured with microstamping technology (aka “ballistic imprinting”). This requirement went into effect on May 17th, when the California Attorney General’s office declared that technical and patent barriers to the implementation of microstamping had been removed.
To make a firearm compliant, firearms manufacturers must now engrave a gun’s make, model, and serial number on two distinct parts of each gun, including the firing pin, so that, in theory, this data is imprinted on the cartridge casing when the pistol is fired. If the microstamp on the end of the firing pin wears out, then the gun is considered “unsafe” under California law, and the owner may not sell or transfer the gun.
Read California Dept. of Justice Certification of Microstamping Technology Notice
California’s microstamping law was enacted way back in 2007. However, by its terms, the law did not go into effect until the technology was mature and patent rights were resolved. With the State government claiming that microstamping is now practical, new gun models must have microstamping capability in order to be approved for civilian sale in California. This will, eventually serve as a de facto ban on new-model semi auto handguns in California. Brandon Combs, Executive Director of the Calguns Foundation, explains: “Manufacturers are not going to create a special run of firearms with all of these very burdensome manufacturing technologies just so they can comply and produce firearms for one market.” At present, as far as we can determine, no major gun-maker currently offers a microstamping-capable, semi-auto handgun for sale in the United States — not a single one.
Current “California-Approved” Semi-Auto Pistols Can Still Be Sold — For a Time
The “activation” of California’s microstamping requirement does NOT mean that semi-auto handguns currently on the California “approved” list can no longer be sold. The current inventory of “approved” handguns are “grandfathered”, so they may be sold so long as the manufacturers continue to pay annual handgun roster registration fees to the State of California. However, any new-model semi-auto pistol — even one with a minor design change from a previous version — will be blocked from sale in California unless it has the microstamping feature. If a manufacturer stops producing a particular handgun, replacing it with a newer, upgraded version, that newer model cannot be sold in California unless it is microstamp-capable. (We should add that the microstamp requirement does not apply to handguns sold to law enforcement agencies.)
What we can expect is that, in time, as handgun manufacturers replace old models with new models (or make modifications to existing models), fewer and fewer new semi-auto pistols will be offered for sale in California. If, for example, Glock updates its Glock 17, the new model could not be sold in California unless Glock outfits it with microstamping capability.
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NRA Plans Legal Challenge
NRA Attorney C.D. Michel says that microstamping is a flawed and impractical technology: “This is not going to help solve crimes. [Microstamping] is easily defeated… and can be used to lead police down false alleys.” Michel notes that criminals can easily defeat the microstamp by filing the tips of firing pins. Overall, Michel believes, microstamping will not reduce crime, but it will cut off the supply of handguns available to Californians. He stated the the NRA plans a legal challenge to the implementation of microstamping in California.
While there is virtually no “real world” evidence that microstamping has ever solved actual crimes, there are many important criticisms of the “ballistic imprinting” technology:
- Stamped casing can only be traced to the last registered owner, not to the person who used the gun when the casings were stamped. In the case of a stolen gun, as is the case for most firearms used in crime, the stamped case would not lead to the criminal.
- Criminals could collect discarded brass from a firing range and salt crime scenes with microstamped cases, thereby providing false evidence against innocent people and increasing the workload for investigators.
- Microstamping is easily defeated. Inexpensive files will remove microstamping. Firing pins are normally replaceable and can be changed with simple tools or without tools. Firing a large number of rounds will wear down the microstamp.
- Microstamping is an immature technology, and has not been subjected to sufficient independent testing. Transfer of microstamped marks to the cases is less reliable than proponents claim.
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April 30th, 2013
Report from Jim O’Connell, NBRSA Long Range Nationals Scorer
First off, congratulations to the 2013 National Champions: Richard Schatz, 2013 NBRSA 600-Yard National Champion, and Jerry Tierney, 2013 NBRSA 1000-Yard National Champion and F-Class Bench Winner. In those matches when you aren’t shooting too well it pays to be lucky — ask Ken Schroeder. Ken’s was the first ticket drawn in the prize drawing. Ken is now the proud owner of a NightForce Scope. Be sure to write the vendors that provided prizes/awards and thank them for their support of the 2013 NBRSA Nationals.
The weather for the matches was pretty nice this year and I think that everyone had a good time. The only one that I saw that was unhappy was Bill Hubina. Bill was mistakenly left off the bench sighnup for the 1000 Yard and was not very happy about getting stuck on Bench 25 by himself. He seemed okay about it after he won the Heavy Gun Group. The only record broken this year was 3-Target Light Gun Score. The old record was broken by both Robert Hoppe 50-2, 49-2, 48-0, 147-4 and Richard Schatz 49-2, 49-1, 49-1, 147-4. Once again congratulations to Richard Schatz and Jerry Tierney. I look forward to seeing you all again next year at the 2014 Nationals.
These three MS Word “.Doc” Files contain all the groups and scores for the three different matches. Check them out for all the winners and see how close you came to being the 2013 National Champion.
(Right Click and “Save As” to Download.)
600-Yard Complete Match Results | 1000-Yard Complete Match Results | F-Bench Results
600-Yard Nationals Top Five
NAT’L CHAMPION: Richard Schatz (15 points)
Second Place: Robert Hoppe (16)
Third Place: Peter White (19)
Fourth Place: Steven Raeder (27)
Fifth Place: Curt Mendenhall (34) |
1000-Yard Nationals Top Five
NAT’L CHAMPION: Jerry Tierney (24 points)
Second Place: Curt Mendenhall (32)
Third Place: Bruce Bangeman (38)
Fourth Place: Larry Boers (38)
Fifth Place: Terry Balding (46) |
April 29th, 2013
Jerry Tierney was the big winner this weekend at the NBRSA Long-Range Nationals. On Friday, shooting his .284 Win F-Open rig from the bench, Jerry won the “F-Bench” match with a 393-16X score (200-7X + 193-9X). Jerry followed Friday’s win with a dominant performance in the Sloughhouse 1000, posting the best combined Two-Gun Aggregate to win the two-day 1000-Yard Championship event. There was a good turn-out for these events, with about 40 shooters in the F-Bench match and a half-dozen more for the 1000-Yard Nationals.
On Friday, Jerry shot his 21.5-lb F-Open rifle. On Saturday and Sunday he used that F-Class rig in Heavy Gun, and shot a converted Palma rifle with a .284 barrel in Light Gun. Jerry was loading H4831sc with Berger “orange box” 180gr hunting bullets in both guns. Jerry’s 21.5-pounder has a really long throat allowing Jerry to “hang the bullets way out there” and load more powder. That gives him higher velocity, about 90-100 FPS more than his shorter-throated .284 Light Gun. Jerry tells us: “The long throat is working really well. You’d be surprised at how little shank I’m running in the necks, but the accuracy is there, and you can get a lot more velocity when you adjust the load for the increased boiler room”. Jerry has also long-throated a .308 Win rifle for shooting the 185s and he is getting “really good velocities for that bullet in a .308 Win”.
Jerry Tierney with Awards from 2013 NBRSA Long-Range Nationals. Jerry, now a gentleman wine-maker, presented some of his Tierney-bottled “Sin & Zin” Zinfandel as prizes in the match. |
In winning the F-Bench Match and SloughHouse 1000, Jerry racked up another five NBRSA Hall-of-Fame points. He is now the leading NBRSA HOF’er with 20 points. When asked for his successful match strategy, Jerry replied: “watch the flags and keep ‘em in the middle”. Perhaps the 600-yard competitors are lucky that Jerry had Jury Duty earlier in the week so he could not participate in the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, won by Richard Schatz. Jerry was certainly “on his game” Friday through Sunday.
Jerry says the winds were unusually light (for Sacramento), on the weekend: “There was never any real bad wind — we had plus/minus 1 MOA most of the time, never more than three minutes of windage”. However, the winds were tricky. Jerry says: “It seems like every time we’d finish our sighters, the wind would flip to another direction. That caught many shooters by surprise.”
Editor’s Note: We will augment this story with full match results as soon as they are available. If any readers have a copy of the final results, or photos from the match, please send them to us. Our email address is: mailbox [at] 6mmbr.com.
April 27th, 2013
The NBRSA has wrapped up its 600-yard National Championship, with the 1000-yard National Championship taking place today and tomorrow at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. Richard Schatz, one of the greatest 600-yard shooters of all time, topped over 40 talented shooters to win the two-gun overall title. Richard, we’re told, also won the Light Gun Division. Forum member Terry Balding (aka “Terry”) won the Heavy Gun Class. Terry drove all the way from Wisconsin to compete in the match. We’ll publish more details as they become available. If any of our readers have more photos from the match, or a list of final results, please send them along. Here’s Richard receiving his trophy from match director Craig St. Claire:
April 25th, 2013
 The NBRSA Long-Range Nationals are underway right now at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center Range in Sloughhouse, CA. The NBRSA LR Nationals involves three separate events (over five days), starting with the 2-day 600-yard Nationals, followed by an F-Class Benchrest Match, and concluding with the 1000-yard Nationals on Saturday and Sunday.
The 600-yard Nationals (aka Sloughhouse 600), calendared April 24-25, concludes today. Guys are probably finishing up their final 600-yard relay as this story goes to press. On Friday, April 26, the NBRSA will hold a 1000-Yard “F-Bench” match. This is a popular new discipline which allows guys with F-Class rifles (up to 22 lbs.) to shoot off the bench. It’s a good idea that encourages participation from shooters who might not otherwise come to the Nationals.
After Friday’s F-Bench Match, the NBRSA 1000-yard National Championships (aka the 6th Annual Sloughhouse 1000) will be held April 27-28 (Saturday and Sunday). NOTE: It’s not too late to sign up for the 1000-yard match this weekend. Long Range National Fees are $50 a day, Late fee applies. For more information, visit www.NBRSA.org and www.SacValley.org. Below are Match Application Forms, in MS Word format (right click and “save as”).
F-Bench Match Application | Sloughhouse 1000 Application | Sloughhouse 600 Application
PREVIEW New NBRSA RuleBook
The NBRSA is updating its Official Rulebook and By-Laws. The newly revised Rulebook (version 38) is in the process of being printed. However, the NRBRSA has uploaded a PDF file you can now preview the the latest (version 38) of the Official Rulebook.
CLICK HERE for NBRSA Revised Rulebook (vers. 38) PREVIEW (PDF File, 1.7mb).
Rulebook Tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
April 9th, 2013
Some times nice guys do finish first. Our buddy Vu Pham, co-founder of the NorCal Practical Precision Rifle Club (NCPPRC) took top honors in the NCPPRC monthly tactical long range match on the 1000 yard range at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. Shooting his .260 Remington in a McMillan A5 stock, built by Spartan Rifles, topped with a Bushnell 4-30x50mm from CS Tactical, Vu beat a competitive field on a breezy day that saw the top 6 shooters separated by only 15 points. The Course of Fire had 27 of the 50 rounds shot from 800 to 1000 yards, where the fast-switching winds at 1000 yards were the deciding factor in the outcome. Vu tells us: “This LR Match win has eluded me for seven years now with these guys. I’ve been in the top five quite a few times, but never took home the win. Our matches are so close these days that it usually comes down to one or two bad trigger presses or ‘blown’ wind calls to separate the Top 10 shooters.”
NCPPRC long range tactical matches are held the first Sunday of each month, and are open to anyone 18 or older. No membership in any organization is required. Registration is at Range 12 of the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center from 07:30 to 08:30 in the morning. Cost is $25. To learn more about the match visit the NCPPRC Long Range Match webpage.
New Bushnell 4.5-30x50mm Tactical Scope
Vu Pham was running an all-new Bushnell front focal plane 4.5-30x50mm XRS scope with an amazing 6.7 times zoom range. This 34mm-tube scope features Bushnell’s G2 DMR Reticle. For a scope offering 30X magnification, is it compact at 14″ OAL (only 3/4″ longer than the HDMR). The elevation turret provides 10 mils per revolution with a zero stop. The scope sells for $2149.00 at CS Tactical.
Vu liked the new Bushnell scope and, obviously, it performed well for him. Vu tells us: “I believe this optic just hit the market… and is still pretty new. After having a few days behind the Bushnell XRS 4.5-30, I believe this optic will be a very viable option for the tactical precision rifle game. One of my favorite features of this scope is the mil-based G2DMR reticle. It makes holding over (and holding for windage) fast and easy. I will be doing a full test and evaluation in the next week or two after I get more time behind the optic.” Mike Cecil with CS Tactical provided the scope for this T&E.” Mike notes: “This is not the 4-30 tactical that’s listed as an XRS in the Bushnell online catalog — that’s a 30mm in the 6500 series line. This 34mm-tube XRS is a whole new animal!”
October 12th, 2012
 Team Lapua’s Francis “The Animal” Kuehl won the 6th NorCal Tactical Bolt Rifle Challenge (TBRC) held September 29-30 at the Folsom Shooting Center in California. Along with winning the Match Overall title, Kuehl was TBRC Top Steel Evolution Shooter this year. Kuehl, a mild-mannered CPA in real life, has been the man to beat at the TBRC in recent seasons. His 2012 win marked Kuehl’s third overall victory in the TBRC, having finished first in both 2011 and 2009. This year, Kuehl was shooting a .260 Remington. For ammo, Kuehl used 6.5mm Lapua 139gr Scenars pushed by VihtaVuori N160 powder in Lapua .260 Rem cases.
The match featured five separate ranges, and four different evolutions (Long Range, Short Range, Steel, and Run & Gun) over two busy days of shooting. 77 competitors shot the course of fire that called for 215 rounds fired if a competitor was able to fire every required round. Shortest shot was at 25 yards, with the longest at 1000 yards. The long-range segment called for 36 rounds fired from 800 to 1000 yards. Most of the match was shot from 200 to 600 yards, with a small percentage of targets set inside 200 yards for the short range evolution.
May 12th, 2012
Danny Biggs is one of the nation’s most successful F-Class shooters. A two-time (back to back) National Champion in F-TR Class, Danny also finished third in Open Class at the 2010 National Championships. Notably, Danny’s X-count of 67Xs, the highest of all competitors, was 10 Xs higher than 2010 F-Open winner Derek Rogers.
 Mat with ‘Donut-Hole’ Cut-Out for Rear Bag
Danny is a very savvy competitor, to say the least, and he brought some innovative gear with him to the Nationals. Along with his height-adjustable Sinclair wide-base bipod, Danny used a cleverly modified shooting pad and Edgewood rear sandbag. Danny’s “donut-hole” mat featured a cut-out in the middle, allowing him to place his rear sandbag directly on the ground. This helps stabilize the bag no matter what the ground surface or slope. With the bag sitting directly on the ground, it’s less likely to slide or rotate.
In addition, Danny’s rear bag is raised up via a thick rubber base or “foot”. The fat base, which appeared to be hard rubber, is secured via metal tabs that clamp on to the hard leather bottom of Danny’s Edgewood rear bag. The Edgewood bag has a lip around the bottom that provides a natural attachment point for the metal tabs.
Inexpensive MidwayUSA Shooting Mat
Danny uses an affordable shooting mat — the basic 67″ L x 26.75″ W MidwayUSA shooting pad that retails for $49.99. FYI, MidwayUSA’s larger Pro Series Competition Shooting Mat is on sale right now for the same $49.99 (sale price through May 31, 2012). Sized 73.5″ long x 35.5″ wide, this deluxe, khaki-colored mat rolls up into an 8.5″ Diameter “sausage” for transport or storage. The mat has rubberized elbow and knee pads; the mat is about .535″ thick at the knee and elbow pads. By comparison, the standard MidwayUSA Shooting Mat is only 0.335″ thick on the pads. Both standard and Pro Series mats have corner grommets allowing the mat to be staked down in high winds. These mats both have a carry handle and a shoulder strap.
April 25th, 2012
The official results for the NBRSA 1000-yard Nationals have been released, along with final results for the F-Class Bench and 600-Yard Nationals. Congratulations to Bill Johnston, the new NBRSA 1000-yard Champion. Bill finished first with 18 rank points, edging runner-up Richard Schatz (19 pts) by one point. Terry Balding (who won the 600-yard NBRSA Nationals) finished third with 29 points, ahead of Greg Wilson (30, 4th place) and Robert Hoppe (34 5th Place).
| LIGHT GUN GROUP — RICHARD SCHATZ 4.801″
LIGHT GUN SCORE — ROBERT HOPPE 288-6X
HEAVY GUN GROUP — BILL JOHNSTON 7.759 |
HEAVY GUN SCORE — BILL JOHNSTON 552-4X
TWO GUN GROUP — RICHARD SCHATZ 6.585″
TWO GUN SCORE — BILL JOHNSTON 817-6X |
NEW 1000-Yard NATIONAL RECORDS
RICK DUNCAN — LIGHT GUN 3 TARGET SCORE 149-4X
ROBERT HOPPE — LIGHT GUN 6 TARGET SCORE 288-6X
RICK DUNCAN — LIGHT GUN 6 TARGET SCORE 283-6X |
Jim O’Connell tells us tha several new records were set at both of the National Champonships (1000-yard and 600-yard). Check out the attachments for all the groups and scores as well as the many winners in separate divisions and target categories (LG/HG, Group/Score, Single Target/3-Target/6-Target). We congratulate all the shooters who attended the NBRSA Long-Range Nationals this week. The match directors thank you for your participation and hope to see you next year.
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