Pumpkin Blast event graphic from P2K Sports Range in El Cajon, CA.
Halloween (originally “All Hallows Eve”) is celebrated every year on October 31st — this upcoming Monday. That means it’s pumpkin time. Just how much fun can you have with pumpkins? Watch these six videos and find out. In the first video, the RatedRR team sends a few orange gourds to pumpkin heaven using Det Cord, C4, and binary explosives. The sequence starting at the 2:00 minute mark in the first video is truly amazing. WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
Oh, and as a bonus for you guys who like ladies who can shoot, we included a fun video with the enthusiastic YouTuber and gun enthusiast Babee Blue. She posted: “Had a leftover Halloween pumpkin and wanted to blow it up using a Ruger .270 Win rifle. Add some Tannerite and it made for quite the fun explosion. Doesn’t everybody blow up their leftover Halloween pumpkins?”
NOTE: For all the videos, if you don’t hear sound, then click the speaker icon.
Watch Pumpkin Blasting with Explosives
In this lead video, the RatedRR team blasts a collection of pumpkins using Det Cord, C4, and binary explosives. The sequence starting at the 2:00 minute mark is jaw-dropping — truly top-tier Hollywood-style colored explosions. WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
Pumpkin Face Carved in 5.5 seconds with Handgun
In two days, on October 31st, we celebrate Halloween (which was originally called All Hallows’ Eve). That means the neighborhood kids will be ringing doorbells as soon as it gets dark. No doubt some of you procrastinators will wait ’til the last minute to set out your Halloween decorations and Jack-O-Lanterns. Don’t worry, in the video below, our friend, 3-Gun ace Taran Butler, shows how to carve a pumpkin in just about 5.5 seconds, give or take a tenth. Taran performed this feat of speed-carving with his trusty Infinity handgun, chambered in 9mm Major.
Kirsten Carves Pumpkin Face with .22 LR Volquartsen
In this video, the lovely and talented Kirsten Joy Weiss shows off her impressive trick-shot skills. To help celebrate the gouls/goblins holiday, Kirsten “carved” a pumpkin using her semi-auto Volquartsen .22 LR rifle. Kirsten had to send a lot of rimfire rounds into her orange friend.
It turns out that Mr. Pumpkin’s posterior side was better than his front. On inspection, Kirsten saw that the most impressive Jack ‘O Lantern face appeared on the reverse side of her pumpkin. It turns out the little .22-caliber bullets worked better on exit than entry. Those “exit wounds” made a very successful Halloween face.
Babee Blue Blows Up Pumpkins with .270 Win and Tannerite
In this video, the popular Babee Blue uses a rifle to drill pumpkins that were filled with some Tannerite. The result is an impressive blast when Babee puts a .270 Win round into a pumpkin downrange. This is a fun video to watch, and Babee Blue is an enthusiastic pumpkin blaster.
Which Cartridge Best Destroys a Pumpkin
This video is more about pumpkin blasting than pumpkin carving. Hosted on the Garand Thumb YouTube Channel, this engaging video has been watched over 1.3 MILLION times. The shooters try a variety of cartridge types to determine which firearm destroys pumpkins the best? The host explains: “In this very spooky special we will be putting lead to gourd in the most kinetic way possible. Which gun will do the best? Only science can tell us.”
Carving Pumpkin with Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum Revolver
Hickok45 Carves Pumpkins with Handguns
To celebrate Halloween, here’s an example of master wheelgun marksmanship. Popular YouTube host Hickok45 skillfully creates a smiling face on a pumpkin using a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver. Hickok45 is using the classic blued, double-action revolver popularized by Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry. To form the eyes he uses multiple shots then uses a string of shots to form the mouth, reloading his Model 29 along the way. Carving pumpkins with bullets has become a tradition for Hickok 45 — every year he puts a face on a pumpkin using a different firearm, typically a pistol, but he’s used other handguns and a couple rifles as well. SEE PUMPKIN Shooting Playlist. Happy Halloween!
Keanu Reeves, the A-List Hollywood actor who starred in The Matrix, Speed, Point Break, and other hit movies, is a talented shooter. For his role in the popular John Wick series of movies, Reeves has done extensive training with our friend Taran Butler, one of the nation’s top 3-Gun competitors. Check out this video showing Keanu Reeves running through some multi-gun stages. The actor’s speed on target is outstanding, and his transitions are very fast. We’ve run some multi-gun matches in the past. Trust us, it takes a lot of training and dedication to get this fast. You also need good equipment.
Watch Keanu Reeves Display Impressive Multi-Gun Speed in this Video:
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Tomorrow is October 31st, Halloween (originally called “All Hallows’ Evening”). That means kids in costumes will be ringing doorbells as soon as it gets dark. No doubt some of you proscrastinators will wait ’til the last minute to set out your Halloween decorations and Jack-O-Lanterns. Don’t worry, in the video below, our friend, 3-Gun ace Taran Butler, shows how to carve a pumpkin in just about 5.5 seconds, give or take a tenth. Taran performed this feat of speed-carving with his trusty Infinity handgun, chambered in 9mm Major.
What Are the Origins of Halloween?
Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of “All Hallows’ Evening”), also known as All Hallows’ Eve, is a yearly celebration observed on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints). According to many scholars, it was originally influenced by western European harvest festivals and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain. Others maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has Christian roots.
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Keanu Reeves, the A-List Hollywood actor who starred in The Matrix, Speed, Point Break, and other hit movies, is a talented shooter. For his role in the popular John Wick series of movies, Reeves has done extensive training with our friend Taran Butler, one of the nation’s top 3-Gun competitors. Check out this video showing Keanu Reeves running through some multi-gun stages. The actor’s speed on target is outstanding, and his transitions are very fast. We’ve run some multi-gun matches in the past. Trust us, it takes a lot of training and dedication to get this fast. You also need good equipment.
Watch Keanu Reeves Display Impressive Multi-Gun Speed in this Video:
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Congrats to Taran Butler, who won the Open Division title at the USPSA Multi-Gun National Championships held last week at the Desert Sportsman’s Range outside Las Vegas. Butler also won this event in 2012, becoming the first person in history to win all three USPSA Multi-Gun divisions: Open, Tactical, and Limited. This year, Taran packed some serious firepower, with extra-long magazines for both carbine and shotgun. Shown below is the rig Taran used to win the 2012 Open Class Nationals. Taran reports: “This is a custom AR that TTI built with parts from Vltor, LaRue, PRI, Surefire, Noveske, Trijicon, and JP. Its called the Taran Tactical Innovations 17″ Signature Series Rifle. The optics I use are the Trijicon TR24R 1-4 power and the RMR. This is by far the fastest optic setup on the planet.”
In this video, Taran talks about multi-gun competition and how he maintains his drive to win even after having a bad stage. Top competitors like Taran are able to stay focused and come from behind to win.
Taran Butler Talks about the Multi-Gun Game
When he’s not competing at matches, or testing products for Taran Tactical Innovations, Butler works as a firearms expert in Southern California. He often works with celebrities, training Hollywood stars for action movie roles. Here he is with leading man Johnny Depp and songstress/actress Rihanna.
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Greg Jordan is now $50,000 richer, and he can claim bragging rights as the top 3-Gun shooter in the nation. Jordan defeated ace shooter Taran Butler to claim the title of 3-Gun Nation Champion, taking home $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NRA Sports. The 3-Gun Nation Championship was held at the Clark County Shooting Sports Complex outside of Las Vegas, on January 15, during SHOT Show week. This final match culminated the 2013-2014 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour, where more than 50 of country’s top 3-gunners battled for cash and series points.
Jordan completed what was arguably the most impressive 3GN Shoot-Off run to date, eliminating two past 3GN Shoot-Off winners, including the 2010 3GN Champ, a world champion Steel Challenge shooter, and a multi-time national handgun and 3-gun champion. Jordan navigated a minefield of talent — BJ Norris, Burton Thompson, Daniel Horner, and Taran Butler — to become the fourth competitor to earn the title of 3GN Champion.
Lena Miculek Wins Ladies Championship After Clean Sweep of Season Events
Lena Miculek won the Ladies’ Division in dominating fashion, followed by runner-up Dianna Leidorff of Team MGM. Lena, who earned a $25,000 prize, came into the event as the number one overall seed after sweeping the 2013 3GN Lady Pro Series, winning all four matches during the season. Lena’s back-to-back championships, in only her second season of 3-gun competition, rivals the accomplishments of her mother, Kay, arguably the top female 3-gunner in the sport today.
For more info on the 3GN Final Championship in Las Vegas, visit the 3-Gun Nation News Blog.
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SSG Daniel Horner of the USAMU came from behind to win the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) match at the South River Gun Club in Covington, GA. Trailing Keith Garcia with one stage remaining, Horner laid down a blistering final stage to finish first. This was Horner’s second win in three events on the 2012 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour. Just a little more than two and a half months ago, during the first 2012 3GN Pro Series event in St. Augustine, Florida, it was Garcia who had a great final stage run. On that day, Horner came up just a few tenths of a second short, giving Garcia his third 3GN win.
Behind the Scenes with Dan Horner (Excellent Video, Click to Watch)
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
In third place for the second time this season was Taran Butler, who shot a very solid match. Butler, who also finished third in St. Augustine, has won $4,000 on the 3GN Pro Series this season. In all, $26,000 in cash prizes were paid to the field, with $10,000 across first, second and third provided by Stag Arms.
3-Gun Nation Matches are Fast and Furious
The 3GN Pro Series puts 64 of the game’s top shooters into a one-day, all-Tactical Optics format. All competitors shoot five extremely fast, open stages, where multiple stage strategies are possible, challenging even veteran shooters. The top 10 then make the cut, proceeding to stage 6, where in front of a crowd of onlookers, including the entire field of competitors; scores are posted on the large 3GN Scoreboard for all to see.
The next event on the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour with be the second annual Rockcastle Pro-Am. This runs August 26-28, 2012, at the Rockcastle Shooting Center in Park City, Kentucky. A 3GN Pro Series Shoot-Off will culminate what promises to be the largest 3-gun match of the season, with more than 500 shooters registered in the Pro and Amateur matches combined.
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Multi-Gun fans should tune in to Shooting USA TV this Wednesday, May 23rd. This week, Shooting USA features the USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals held recently at the Desert Sportsman range in Las Vegas.
John Scoutten and Mike Irvine narrate the action and provide analysis of this exciting discipline, which requires mastery of rifle, shotgun, and pistol. In addition, this week’s episode of Shooting USA covers wheelgun competition at the Memphis Charity Challenge. Shooting USA airs Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern (check your local listings for other time zones).
Watch Video Preview of May 23 Shooting USA Episode
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Our friend Taran Butler recorded a major accomplishment at the 2012 USPSA MultiGun Nationals held April 11-15 in Las Vegas, NV. By winning the 2012 Open Class title, Taran became the first person in history to have won all three USPSA MultiGun divisions: Open, Tactical, and Limited. You can only shoot one division per year at the Nationals, so it’s impossible to hold all three class titles simultaneously. But no other USPSA shooters have won all three class titles over the course of their shooting careers. Not even “immotals” Jerry Miculek or Mike Voight, both multi-time Open-Class winners, have captured all three class championships. Before his Open Class win this year, Butler had previously captured the Tactical Division title four times, and he won the Limited Division back in 2003.
Taran observed: “This has now become the biggest achievement in my shooting career, to finally be the first person in history to win all three divisions of the USPSA MultiGun Championships. I owe thanks to God, my sponsors, and awesome friends.”
Watch Taran Butler in Action
The video below shows Taran accepting a trophy for his 2012 USPSA Open Class victory. Then, starting at the 0:46 mark, you can watch Taran run stages at the recent Nationals. You can see Taran used all three guns: pistol, semi-auto carbine, and shotgun.
In Las Vegas, Taran used the same .223 Rem AR Carbine he shoots in Tactical Division — however he added a second optic (for close targets) when running the gun in Open class. This way he can just tilt the rifle to switch magnification levels to suit the target distance. Taran explains: “Here’s the rifle I used to win the 2012 Open Class Nationals. It’s a custom AR that TTI built with parts from Vltor, LaRue, PRI, Surefire, Noveske, Trijicon, and JP. Its called the Taran Tactical Innovations 17″ Signature Series Rifle aka TTI-17SS. The optics I use are the Trijicon TR24R 1-4 power and the RMR. This is by far the fastest optic setup on the planet.”
The pistol Taran used was an Infinity IMM with comp, shooting the standard 9mm Parabellum round. In the shotgun stages in Las Vegas, Taran used a mag-fed shotgun. The shotgun’s huge external magazines (two are sandwiched together) allow long strings with fewer reloads. However, Taran did suffer a major shotgun jam in one stage that cost him 18 seconds (watch video at 4:12 – 4:30). Amazingly, Taran shot a near perfect match after that to win the Open Title.
Overcoming Mistakes — And Staying Calm — Was Key to Victory
According to Taran, the shotgun jam marked a turning point in his match: “To win at this level, you can’t give up when disaster strikes — as it did with my shotgun in Stage 5. But I kept my cool and stayed focused. After that I really shot the match about the best I could and I didn’t try to rush, which can cause more problem. A lot of shooters, when they encounter a big problem, they get discouraged and just give up. Or, they try to shoot really fast to make up time, and then they usually make even bigger mistakes.”
Open Class: “Anything goes” in the Open Class. Rifles may have multiple sighting systems including any kind of optics. Pistols may be fitted with comps, optical sights, and very large extended magazines.
Tactical Class: This is the most popular USPSA MultiGun class currently. Rifles may have ONE (1) optic, plus back-up irons. Pistols are usually tweaked factory guns with upgraded iron sights and triggers. However muzzle brakes, comps, and Red dot or other optics are not allowed on the pistols. Taran says: “The Tactical Division is #1 in attendance. The hardware is similar to what actual operators would use — ARs with a single optic, and normal-looking pistols with conventional sights.”
Limited Class: The Limited Class restricts rifles and pistols to iron sights (or a non-magnified red dot on the rifle only). This class has seen declining participation in recent years.
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Story by Chad Adams for3GunNation.com Blog
Eight Multi-Gun Competitors will be competing for the $50,000 top prize at the 3-Gun Nation (3GN) Championship in Las Vegas on January 18, 2012 (during SHOT Show Week). Eight competitors punched their tickets to Las Vegas for the 3-Gun Nation Finale by winning elimination matches held at Peacemaker National Training Center (Glengary, WV) earlier this month. The winner of the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale will receive a huge payday — $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports.
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
The road to the 3GN Championship began last September, as competitors have compiled series points at major 3-gun matches across the country. The top 64 competitors were invited to compete in the 3GN Championship Match (at Peacemaker NTC), a one-day Tactical Optics event that featured four stages of fire—each with all three guns.
In what most are calling the deepest 3-gun field ever assembled, the top 16 advanced into the Shoot-Off elimination round. Now the Las Vegas eight will compete for the highest cash payout in the history of the sport, with $50,000 going to the 3-Gun Nation Champion, courtesy of Leupold and NBC Sports. To learn more about 3-Gun competition, watch the video below in which Jerry Miculek, Mike Voigt, and Maggie Reese discuss the 3-Gun Nation shoot-off and the struggles of head-to-head competition.
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In two days, on October 31st, we celebrate Halloween (which was originally called All Hallows’ Eve). That means the neighborhood kids will be ringing doorbells as soon as it gets dark. No doubt some of you procrastinators will wait ’til the last minute to set out your Halloween decorations and Jack-O-Lanterns. Don’t worry, in the video below, our friend, 3-Gun ace Taran Butler, shows how to carve a pumpkin in just about 5.5 seconds, give or take a tenth. Taran performed this feat of speed-carving with his trusty Infinity handgun, chambered in 9mm Major.
Hickok45 Carves Pumpkins with Handguns
Tomorrow is October 31st, Halloween (originally called “All Hallows’ Evening”). That means kids in costumes will be ringing doorbells as soon as it gets dark. No doubt some of you proscrastinators will wait ’til the last minute to set out your Halloween decorations and Jack-O-Lanterns. Don’t worry, in the video below, our friend, 3-Gun ace 
Congrats to Taran Butler, who won the Open Division title at the USPSA Multi-Gun National Championships held last week at the Desert Sportsman’s Range outside Las Vegas. Butler also won this event in 2012, becoming the first person in history to win all three USPSA Multi-Gun divisions: Open, Tactical, and Limited. This year, Taran packed some serious firepower, with extra-long magazines for both carbine and shotgun. Shown below is the rig Taran used to win the 2012 Open Class Nationals. Taran reports: “This is a custom AR that TTI built with parts from Vltor, LaRue, PRI, Surefire, Noveske, Trijicon, and JP. Its called the Taran Tactical Innovations 17″ Signature Series Rifle. The optics I use are the Trijicon TR24R 1-4 power and the RMR. This is by far the fastest optic setup on the planet.”
Greg Jordan is now $50,000 richer, and he can claim bragging rights as the top 3-Gun shooter in the nation. Jordan defeated ace shooter Taran Butler to claim the title of 3-Gun Nation Champion, taking home $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NRA Sports. The 3-Gun Nation Championship was held at the Clark County Shooting Sports Complex outside of Las Vegas, on January 15, during SHOT Show week. This final match culminated the 2013-2014 3-Gun Nation Pro Series Tour, where more than 50 of country’s top 3-gunners battled for cash and series points.
Trailing by less than a second heading into the final stage, Horner shot superbly with his rifle, was very clean with pistol, and laid down a solid shotgun run. In three Pro Series Events this season, Horner has two wins and one second place, earning a total of $13,000 this season. Garcia cashed his second 3GN check of the season, totaling $8,000 after three events.
Rustin Bernskoetter, Taran Butler, Jeff Cramblit, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Phil Strader,Tommy Thacker, and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round. Thacker was paired against current 3GN Champion Dan Horner of the USAMU. Horner finished the course faster, but the young soldier later conceded the match to Thacker after footage showed that Horner had failed to knock down one of the targets. In another notable one-on-one 3GN elimination at Peacemaker NTC, our buddy Taran Butler knocked off legendary Jerry Miculek. Anytime Jerry Miculek doesn’t make it into the finals, you know the competition is tough.
