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March 15th, 2010
Texas Christian University (TCU) won its first-ever NCAA Rifle Championship, on its home floor at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. In this coed sport, the all-female TCU team triumphed over the all-male Alaska-Fairbanks squad. In the 31-year-old history of NCAA rifle shooting, this is the first time an all-women squad has captured the National title. Way to go girls!
The men from Alaska-Fairbanks did win the .22LR segment of the competition, but the TCU ladies’ superior air rifle shooting secured the overall team title. TCU’s Sara Scherer also won the Individual NCAA Smallbore Championship. (CLICK HERE for team profiles.) TCU (4,675 points) won in its fourth NCAA appearance after previous finishes of third, fifth and fifth. Alaska-Fairbanks was second with 4,653 points, followed by 14-time NCAA champion West Virginia at 4,641.
 TCU alumni nationwide are celebrating this NCAA championship, TCU’s first NCAA team title since 1983 (women’s golf). TCU won football national titles in 1935 and 1938, but those years are distant memories.
The TCU “Horned Frogs” all-female rifle team is coached by Karen Monez, a former world and national champion air rifle shooter. In a few short years Monez built a championship-level squad, five members of which were named All-Americans this week. Sarah Scherer, Sarah Beard and Lorenzen were honored as both smallbore and air rifle All-Americans, while Simone Riford and Caitlin Morrissey garnered All-American honors in air rifle. Senior Erin Lorenzen was honored as the MVP of the championships by the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association.
CLICK HERE for TCU Rifle Team Media Guide
CLICK HERE for Full Match Report
March 11th, 2010
The 31st Annual National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships will be held this weekend, March 12 & 13, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.
In team competition, shooting powerhouses West Virginia and Alaska-Fairbanks are favored to win team championships, but one of the other six schools could pull off an upset. The eight teams who qualified for this year’s team championship are:
Murray State University
Texas Christian University
University of Alaska-Fairbanks
University of Kentucky
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
U.S. Military Academy
U.S. Naval Academy
West Virginia University
If you want to follow the action, the NRAblog.com will have reporters in Fort Worth providing updates, photos and interviews from the championships.
August 5th, 2009
It was “Ladies First” at the 2009 NRA National Smallbore Silhouette Championships. Cathy Winstead-Severin shot brilliantly to win both the Rifle AND Hunting Rifle titles, as well as the High Woman title for both classes. We’ve always said women can compete head to head with male shooters and win. Cathy proved that convincingly.
This wasn’t Cathy’s first big victory. She won her first National Smallbore Silhouette title in 1998. Along with husband James Severin, Cathy operates Good Shooting Sales & Service in Joplin, Missouri, a shooting supply business specializing in rimfire and silhouette products.
Smallbore Rifle Championship Top Finishers:
First Place (and High Woman): Cathy Winstead-Severin: 111
Second Place: William Motl: 108
Third Place: Derek Greenaway: 107
High Junior: Tyler Kamp: 104
High Senior: Loren Peter: 96
Team Champions: Texas State Gold: 214
Smallbore Hunting Rifle Championship Top Finishers:
First Place (and High Woman): Cathy Winstead-Severin: 108
Second Place: William Zander: 105
Third Place: Laura Goetsch: 104
High Junior: Tyler Kamp: 98
High Senior: Bob Snyder: 85
Team Champions: Belgrade Air Shooting Sports: 205
August 1st, 2009
The Smallbore Prone Championship matches have concluded at Camp Perry, and we have a new National Champion, Spc. Joseph Hine from the U.S. Army.
As the Smallbore prone champ and winner of the Critchfield Trophy, Specialist Joseph Hein was awarded the Critchfield trophy plaque, a gold tone national champion, a medallion, a Chiappa blackpowder muzzleloading rifle, and a $500 Visa gift card. Here are the top finishers and their final scores.
1. SPC Joseph Hein – 4790×354 | National Champion
2. Richard Fowke – 4790×355 | Civilian Champion
3. Reya Kempley – 4789×374 | Woman Champion
Runner-up Richard Fowke was crowned the Civilian Champion. Fowke actually outscored Hein by one “X”. But as a British citizen, Fowke wasn’t eligible for the U.S. National Championship. Third-Place finisher Reya Kempley also received an award as Top Female Shooter. Reya also shoots a 6mmBR centerfire rifle in international 300m competition.
This story was provided by the NRA Blog. You’ll find many more photos of the Camp Perry Smallbore competition and awards ceremonies on the NRA Media Relations Public Gallery. On that page, click on any thumbnail to view a slideshow of related photos.
July 25th, 2009
The NRA Blog provides daily updates from the NRA National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry. Over the past couple of days the Smallbore three-position (3P) events have been held, and the NRA Blog has syndicated videos of the competition. Linked below are Thre videos of the Smallbore 3P “optical” division. The first video shows the prone phase, while the second shows the standing event. Note that, even in the difficult standing position, the shooters can hold their rifles very steady. That takes years of disciplined training.
CLICK HERE to watch full-width HD versions on YouTube.com.
July 23rd, 2009
 July 22nd was smallbore practice day at Camp Perry, Ohio, site of the NRA National Championships. In this video, provided by the NRA Blog, junior three-position competitors practice their prone, standing, and kneeling positions, even as rain fell on the range. NRA correspondent Lars Dalseide reports that: “unless there’s lightening in the air, rain does little to stop things at Camp Perry.” The NRA Smallbore Championships begin with the three-position events (July 23-25), followed by a variety of prone matches running July 26-30. The CMP Rimfire sporter match is scheduled for the 26th also.
CLICK HERE for NRA National Championships Information and complete Match Schedule.
July 12th, 2009
The 2009 NRA National Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio kick off tomorrow, July 13th.13th with the First Shot Ceremony. This week, pistol competitors vie for top honors, and then smallbore matches begin on July 22. Our Daily Bulletin will report on highlights of the rifle matches. In addition, the NRA Blog has sent reporters to Ohio to provide regular, day-by-day Blog coverage of the National Matches, from start to finish. Here is a schedule of major events:
- July 13: First Shot Ceremony
- July 14-18: NRA Pistol Matches
- July 22-25: NRA Smallbore 3-Position Matches
- July 26-30: NRA Prone Smallbore Matches
- August 9: Whistler Boy High Power Rifle Match & NRA/Springfield M1A Match
- August 10-14: NRA National High Power Rifle Matches
- August 15-19: NRA Long Range Matches
The National Matches, considered America’s “World Series of the Shooting Sports”, have been a tradition at Camp Perry, Ohio since 1907. Each summer, the nation’s finest civilian and military marksmen and women square off for five weeks of rifle and handgun competition in a variety of formats and events. For complete match results, visit the NRA National Championships webpage. You’ll also find lots of helpful information on the CMP National Match Index Page. This includes a detailed calendar, Match Rules, and Online Event Registration.
June 7th, 2009
 For high-schoolers, summer vacation is right around the corner. If you have a junior shooter in the family, here’s a great opportunity. The NRA’s Training Department will conduct Junior Pistol and Smallbore Rifle Camps this summer at Camp Perry, Ohio. The camps are open to intermediate-level pistol or smallbore rifle shooters ages 12 to 18. But get your application in soon — both camps are filling up.
| Pistol Camp | Rifle Camp |
The NRA Junior Pistol Camp will be held July 14-17, 2009. The NRA Junior Smallbore Rifle Camp, which provides instruction in 3-position and 4-position smallbore rifle shooting, will be held July 25-30, 2009. Each camp costs $175.00 for advanced registration (must be received before June 15, 2009) or $200.00 for standard registration (paperwork received after June 15, 2009). Space is limited. First-time campers are eligible for tuition and travel reimbursements up to $500.00 per individual and up to a total of $5000.00 for the entire camp.
Taught by NRA Certified Coaches, both camps provide expert instruction in the fundamentals of shooting while providing a safe, enjoyable learning experience. “These camps are an excellent way for young rifle and pistol shooters to hone their current skills while learning new methods and techniques to improve their competitive shooting abilities,” said Bill Poole, Director of NRA’s Education and Training Division.
Log on to the NRA website for registration paperwork, or call Chris Thacker (703) 267-1481 for more information.
June 5th, 2009
 Forum member Kent Reeve (Cary, NC) is best known as a High Power and long-range shooter. Kent won the 2006 NRA National Long-Range Championships, edging out John Whidden by two points. However, Kent recently set a new NRA civilian record for smallbore metric prone shooting. Scoring 1,576 out of a possible 1,600 points, Reeve broke the record at the NC Smallbore Metric Prone State Championship held May 9-10 in Creedmoor, North Carolina. Kent used Lapua’s new X-ACT rimfire ammo.
Reeve’s accomplishment attracted the attention of the mainstream media. On June 4, Reeve was profiled by the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC. In that story, Reeve revealed that he shoots rimfire matches “for the training… it’s easier to find a 100-yard range.” Reeve also explained that smallbore shooting helps improve his centerfire marksmanship because the longer barrel time of the 22LR round makes a perfect hold even more important: “The .22 [rimfire] bullet stays in the barrel about three times longer than the .308, so any shot placement error is magnified.” Reeve recently headed to Wisconsin, where he will compete for a spot on the 2011 USA Palma team. Reeve has been a USA Palma Team member in the past, and we wish him luck in the team selection matches.
April 25th, 2009
 Ever wondered what twist rate is required to stabilize a particular bullet? Or would you like to see how changes in spin rates (rpm) affect bullet stability? Well thanks to our friends from Canada, you’ll find helpful formulas online that answer many questions about external ballistics.
The Ballistics Page for the Canadian National Firearms Association (NFA) website offers a variety of useful programs and data charts created by Peter Cronhelm. These include:
Caliber Twist Rate Chart
Greenhill Formula Twist Calculator
Bullet Stability Calculator (requires MS Excel)
Ballistic Coefficients Chart (MS Word), (Or DOWNLOAD HERE.)
Ranging Ballistics Computer (Scroll to bottom of page.)
This exterior ballistics computer works in conjunction with range data as well as computing a conventional drop and windage chart. Using an FFP (Final Firing Point) and multiple TRP’s (Target Reference Points) the system will simultaneously calculate Drop and Windage data for up to 30 TRP’s 360 degrees around the FFP. Windage is corrected for the TRP direction compared to the primary wind direction. The spreadsheet consists of six individual pages. Each page performs a distinct function and contains all the information required to complete a shot at a target or targets. The entire system can be used in any laptop or handheld computer capable of running MS Excel or Excel CE.
CLICK HERE to download Ranging Ballistics Computer (requires MS Excel)
Rimfire Ammo Comparison Table
Canada’s NFA even provides a detailed table with bullet weights and velocities for over 100 varieties of 22LR Rimfire ammunition from Aguila, CCI, Eley, Federal, Fiocchi, Lapua, PMC, Remington, RWS, and Winchester. This Rimfire Ammo Table is a “must-have” resource for any smallbore shooter. Shown below is the section for Lapua:
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