Pyramyd Air, the leading online airgun retailer, has developed two smart phone Apps for airgun shooters and airsoft shooters. Pyramyd’s FREE Air Wizard App is offered for both Apple iPhones (go to: iTunes Store) and Android OS phones (go to: Android App Market).

Pyramid Apps Calculate Projectile Energy, and Do Conversions
The Air Wizard Apps calculate muzzle energy (based on projectile weight and observed velocity). The Apps can do a host of conversions: foot-pounds to joules, joules to foot-pounds, grams to grains and grains to grams, pounds to pounds and ounces, feet to yards, yards to feet, meters to yards, yards to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, Celsius to Fahrenheit, FPS (feet per second) to MPS (meters per second) and MPS to FPS. Most of these calculations work for all gun types — airguns, firearms and airsoft.

Special Functions for Airsoft Guns
For airsoft guns, the Apps offer additional computations including determining joules, meters per second (MPS), feet per second (FPS), kilometers per hour and battery time for auto-electric guns (AEG).

Additional Air Rifle Information from Pyramyd Air
Pyramyd Air provides professional product videos from Airgun Reporter Paul Capello. Pyramyd’s Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier writes a highly respected daily Blog, the Pyramyd Air Report. Pyramyd also provides instructional videos through its online Airgun Academy.

This week (March 8-17) the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) hosts the Army Strong Collegiate Shooting Championships at Fort Benning, Georgia. More than 300 elite junior and collegiate shooters are expected to compete. This event involves six distinct championships: the NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships; the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship; the Scholastic Steel Challenge (SSC) Collegiate Championship; the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Challenge; the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) Collegiate Championship; and the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) East Coast Clay Target Championship.

Colleges and Universities competing at this year’s championships include Clemson, Ohio State, Univ. of Michigan, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, Penn State, and the Virginia Military Institute. Junior shooters from Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, Massachusetts, and other states will compete in the SCTP Challenge. The Scholastic Steel Challenge (SSC) provides the opportunity for junior and collegiate shooters to participate in the exciting and challenging family sport of “speed steel.” The competitive format is based on the Steel Challenge, the nation’s most successful handgun competition. West Point will be among the favorites at this year’s SSC match.

The USAMU’s facility at Fort Benning “is the ideal location to hold a shooting competition of this magnitude,” said Lt. Col. Don King Jr., USAMU commander. “These collegiate and junior championships are on par with the World Cups, Olympic Trials and National Championships we have hosted throughout the years here at the ‘Home of Champions’”. For a complete schedule of events, go to www.usamu.com.

Story based on report by Ashley Brugnone for CMP’s First Shot Online Magazine

High-Tech Hits the Road
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has a portable air gun range that travels around the country in trailer rigs. The CMP’s new $425,000 mobile range features 60 electronic targets, automated target lifts, target monitors (for 60 stations), and jumbo viewing screens for spectators. Positioned on tables along the firing line (photo below), the 60 MEGALink color screens show scores in real time. The high-tech electronic targets provide quick and accurate results, and spectators can watch a “live feed” on eight big-screen LED television monitors. The entire system is controlled by a trio of computers which do the scoring and operate the targets, lifts, and TVs.

The CMP’s state-of-the art, mobile air gun range boasts 60 electronic MEGAlink targets produced in Norway. MEGAlink is the same target system used at CMP North and South stationary air ranges. The MEGAlink target “boxes” are each connected to a lift system than can raise and lower the targets for 3-position shooting. All of the components are designed so that the range can be quickly constructed using as few as three people. A large trailer can haul all 60 targets plus all the related monitors, computers, tables, chairs, and hardware in one load-out.

“With travel being difficult for competitors to make it to Ohio or Alabama, the idea of the mobile range arose to transport electronic targets to the shooters instead of them coming to us,” said James Hall, CMP Program Outreach Supervisor. Because of its versatile design, the range can be used as either a 60-point range or broken down into three sets of 20 targets or two sets of 30 targets. “The range can be set up in almost any combination of targets, which allows small gyms and conference centers to host a match with maximum target use,” said Hall.

The first “trial” match of the Mobile Range was at the Montgomery Bell Classic in Nashville, TN in October 2012. “The match was a success, not only for the Montgomery Bell Academy, but also for the CMP,” Hall said. “The targets ran well, and we received a positive response from spectators.” Other CMP events where the range has been put to the test include the 5th Brigade Championship in Kerrville, TX in December 2012 and the Bass Pro 600 in Leeds, AL in January 2013.

All packed up and ready to go, the CMP’s Mobile Range will roll on to future events, including the JROTC Service Championship in Salt Lake City, UT, 4H Nationals in Grand Island, NE, the American Legion Championship in Colorado Springs, CO and various CMP summer camps and clinics. “The Mobile Range has generated a great response,” Hall admitted. “We hope it continues to give shooters out west and other areas of the United States a chance to compete.”

Report by Kyle Jillson for NRABlog.com
This year you can catch all the action at the 2013 NCAA Rifle Championships in real time thanks to a live stream from the match venue in Columbus, Ohio. Just hop on over to the NCAA Live website and dive right in. (The NCAA also provides live streaming coverage of other winter championship events.) The individual finals are set to stream live at 4:30 pm Eastern time.

CLICK HERE for NCAA Rifle Championship LIVE STREAM.

Relay #3 is underway now (as this story is released) and the finals begin at 4:30 PM Eastern. In Relay #1, Alaska-Fairbanks’ Ryan Anderson took the lead with a 586-35X. After shooting a perfect 200 from prone, Anderson faltered slightly while standing and shot a 191, dropping nine. In kneeling, the final leg, he warded off the other shooters in his relay with a 195 to stay at the top.

Photos courtesy NRA Media Relations, some rights reserved.

Story based on report by By Kyle Jillson for NRABlog.com
West Virginia University (WVU) won its 15th NCAA Rifle Title this past weekend. The WVU Montaineers, the winningest team in NCAA Rifle competition history, finished with a final score of 4679 out of 4800 (combined air rifle and smallbore scores). The Mountaineers overcame a one-shot smallbore deficit and outshot the field in air rifle, scoring 2363. The WVU Mountaineers’ 4679 final point total is the second-highest in NCAA Rifle Championship history, bettered only by Kentucky’s 4,700 in 2011. Kentucky, always near the top, finish second this year with a 4670 score, while defending champ TCU took third with an aggregate score of 4,664.

WVU’s Petra Zublasing Wins both Smallbore and Air Rifle Titles
On a rifle team with many skilled shooters, WV’s Petra Zublasing proved to be the “best of the best”. At the 2013 Championships, Zublasing dominated the competition, winning both the Smallbore and Air Rifle individual events. Hailing from Appiano, Italy, Zublasing won the Mountaineers’ first Individual Smallbore Rifle Championship since 1997. After winning the smallbore event in a close match, in the air rifle competition she shot a 598 (99-100-100-100-100-99) — two points shy of a perfect score. That remarkable performance gave Petra the win, completing Zublasing’s sweep of the 2013 individual championships. Zublasing is the first shooter to win both NCAA titles at one championship since Alaska-Fairbanks’ Matthew Emmons took the victories in 2001. “Winning an individual title in both guns is just great, but I’m most happy that the team won,” says Zublasing.

Over the summer Zublasing shot for Italy in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was an eye opening experience she explained: “After the Olympics, I realized I actually like shooting. I don’t do this because I have to or because I’m good at it. I actually enjoy it and try to help everyone else realize they should just have fun.”

Watch Interview with Petra Zublasing

National Championship Celebration at WVU Coliseum on Monday, March 11th
West Virginia University fans are invited to attend a celebration for the national-champion rifle team Monday, March 11, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm in the Jerry West Lounge at the WVU Coliseum. Mountaineers Shooting Team members and team coach Jon Hammond will be available to greet fans and pose for photos. Fans can also take pictures with the team’s 15th NCAA Rifle Championships trophy.

West Virginia Squad Features Shooters from Many Nations
WVU Coach Jon Hammond, a Scot who still competes with Great Britain’s national team, has built the nation’s top shooting program by recruiting top young shooters from around the world. (Hammon himself shot for WVU during the 2002-2003 season.) The Mountaineer’s squad features talented shooters from both sides of the Atlantic. 2013 National Air Rifle and Smallbore champion Petra Zublasing is from Appiano, Italy. Sophomore Meelis Kiisk is from Paide, Estonia. Sophomore Maren Prediger is from Petersaurach, Germany. Freshman Garrett Spurgeon is from Canton, Missouri, Sophomore Taylor Ciotala is from Pasadena, Maryland, and Sophomore Thomas Kyanko, is from Wellsburg, West Virginia.

In leading her team to victory in 2013, Zublasing followed in the footsteps of another great foreign-born shooter, WVU All-American and Italian native Nicco Campriani. This talented young man, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 3-P 50-meter event, literally re-wrote the record-books during his two collegiate seasons (2009-10 and 2010-11) with West Virginia.

“Nicco changed the level of shooting in U.S. [Collegiate rifle competition],” Hammond said. “He came over here and started shooting world-record scores — 590 and 600 in air rifle, which really hadn’t been done before. That raised the bar for us.”

Story based on report by Kyle Jillson for NRABlog
The University of Michigan Wolverines won the 2013 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships, with an Aggregate score of 4363 out of 4800. After winning the Air Rifle championships on Day One with a 2221 score, Michigan topped the field in the Day Two Smallbore event as well, with a 2142 out of 2400 team score. That gave Michigan the overall title, ahead of runner-up Penn State University.

Matthew Chezem from the University of Akron took the Aggregate overall individual championship, with a great smallbore performance on the last day. Matt won the smallbore match with a high of 565 of 600, leapfrogging competitors who had scored higher on Day One (during the Air Rifle Competition). Matt finished with 1132 out of 1200, to earn the individual title.

Ying Yi Liu Shoots Perfect 100 in Air Rifle Match
A highlight of the Match for the Wolverines was the stellar Air Rifle performance by Univ. of Michigan’s Ying Yi Liu. She shot a perfect 100 score (10 points on all 10 targets) in her final air rifle relay, to lead the Wolverines to a first-day win in the Air Rifle segment. That gave Univ. of Michigan a lead it never reliquished. Liu also won the individual Air Rifle Championship with a 565 score.

Original story by Marco Dalla Dea for ISSF.
The ISSF has announced a new name and new competition for the ISSF Run & Shoot event. ISSF TARGET SPRINT will now be the official title for this action-filled ISSF “Sport for All” event. And the ISSF is organizing an international Target Sprint Grand Prix in Munich (GER) in May to promote the new sport. ISSF Target Sprint combines athletes’ precision shooting and running abilities. The new event mixes air rifle shooting and middle-distance running. It requires participants to be fast, accurate shooters and to possess outstanding physical fitness. LINK: ISSF-Sports.org.

You Provide the Running Shoes — ISSF Provides the Air Rifles
“A pair of running shoes is all you need. Everything is designed to keep costs down for the athletes. The ISSF will provide targets and single-shot air rifles,” explained ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber. “The game is as easy as it looks”, says Schreiber, “Competitors will run on a track or running path and then stop at the air gun range to shoot at falling targets on their assigned firing points. There are no complicated scoring systems — the first athlete to cross the finish line is the winner.”

ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Raña adds: “We are developing ISSF TARGET SPRINT under the rubric of Sport for All, a program now being strongly promoted by the IOC. We were looking for a new event that combines marksmanship and fitness, can be staged outdoors, and is accessible to everybody.”

How Does ISSF TARGET SPRINT Work?
ISSF Target Sprint participants begin each event with a mass start and a fixed distance run. At the end of the first run, normally 600 meters, they stop at a 10-meter air rifle range where they must pick up their rifles and shoot at and hit five knockdown targets from standing position. More than five shots are often required to hit all five targets, but that adds to the shooting time. There are no penalties, but the sooner you finish shooting, the sooner you can start running your next lap. At the end of the second run, participants must shoot another five targets before beginning the third and final running stage. The final rankings are clear and easy to understand. The athlete who completes the three running stages and two shooting stages and who is the first at the finish line is the winner.

ISSF TARGET SPRINT Competition this May
at ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany
The new event will have its official 2013 inauguration during the 2013 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Munich, set for 23-30 May at the Hochbrück Olympic Shooting Range. The ISSF TARGET SPRINT competition will be held on the 26th of May.

Participation is open and more than 40 athletes have already registered to compete. World Cup participants who are interested in trying TARGET SPRINT are invited to bring their running shoes and clothing to Munich and give it a try.

The rifle phase of the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) commences this week at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Women’s matches start on Tuesday April 9th, while the men commence their rifle competition on Monday, April 15th.

Pistol matches were held this past week, and National Junior Team member Starlin Shi scored an impressive win. Starlin still handily defeated her opposition to capture a third straight NJOSC Women’s Sport Pistol title. In the 10m Air Pistol events, USA Shooting Junior National Team members Wyatt Brown and Alana Townsend both secured national titles (in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively). In the men’s 25m Sport Pistol division, Robert Wells took top honors.

Rifle Shooting Starts Tomorrow
Women’s Rifle competition begins Tuesday (April 9) in Colorado Springs as the 17-day NJOSC competition moves on to its second of three weeks. The competition takes place over a three-week period with over 500 of the finest junior shooters in attendance. The top two finishers in each event earn a spot on USA Shooting’s National Junior Team. The 17-day event features shooting matches in Men’s and Women’s Pistol (Air/Sport) and Rifle (Air/Smallbore). More information can also be found on the USA Shooting website. For scores visit USA Shooting’s Match Results Page

Women’ Rifle (April 9-12)

• April 9-10 — Air Rifle
• April 11-12 — Smallbore

Men’s Rifle (April 15-19)

• April 15-16 — Air Rifle
• April 17-19 — Smallbore

The nation’s best young air rifle marksmen put on an impressive display at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) on April 16th in Colorado Springs. A trio of Wildcats, a pair of Nanooks, a Falcon, a Mountaineer, and a home-schooled 17-year-old all battled for the National Title in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle Final.

The Univ. of Kentucky’s Connor Davis emerged victorious among a talent-rich NJOSC Air Rifle final that featured five USA Shooting National Junior Team members. Davis earned a 1.5-point victory over University of Alaska-Fairbanks rifle shooter Ryan Anderson while 2012 champ and U.S. Air Force cadet Tyler Rico took the bronze medal. Kentucky freshman Davis was joined in the final by Wildcat teammates Cody Manning and Elijah Ellis who finished fourth and sixth respectively. The surprise of the match was 17-year-old Mark Matheny. The home-schooled shooter from Delaware shot well to finish fifth overall and as the high J2 (15 to 17-year-old) competitor.

Davis’ victory affirms his fast-rise in the sport and backs up his fourth-place finish at the recent NCAA Rifle Championships. “Connor has great spirit and a work ethic to be envied,” said Amy Sowash, a National Development Team athlete and Univ. Kentucky Rifle Assistant Coach. “As a native Kentuckian, we are so proud he represents [Univ. of Kentucky]. He lives on the range and thrives on the excitement of competition, which I think is his greatest strength.”

To learn more about the National Junior Olympic Championships, visit the USA Shooting website. Get the latest updates on USA Shooting’s Facebook Page and Match Results Page following each competition.

The USA Shooting National Championships for Rifle and Pistol will be held June 3-9, at the home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) in Fort Benning. More than 500 competitors will vie for national titles in rifle and pistol disciplines. This year’s National Championships serves as a World Cup selection match with the top-three finishers in each Olympic event open class earning a berth in the upcoming World Cup in Granada, Spain in July.

Many talented athletes will visit Fort Benning next week, including 2012 Olympian and Prone National Champion Michael McPhail and Olympic and USAMU teammate Eric Uptagrafft. 2012 Olympians Jason Turner and Keith Sanderson will be returning to defend their titles in Men’s 10m Air and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol. On the women’s side, 2012 Olympian Sarah Scherer looks to repeat as National Champion in 10m Air Rifle. Other standouts include National Rifle Team members Emily Holsopple, Sarah Beard, and Amy Sowash.

More information can also be found on the USA Shooting website (USAShooting.org) by clicking on the ‘Match Information’ link located under the ‘Events’ tab. Look for scores on USA Shooting’s match results page following each competition. Photos will be posted on USA Shooting’s Flickr photo gallery.

CLICK HERE to download the complete 2013 National Championships Schedule (XLS format).

There is a new digital magazine for Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest enthusiasts, The Benchrest Shooter. You can download the premier, Summer 2013 edition for free. This initial trial version of the digital magazine is free to all member states of the WRABF and ERABSF, allowing readers to preview the type of articles planned for future editions. Here is a link for a free download:

The free download links will be valid for the next two weeks — so grab this issue while you can. Future editions will be by paid subscription only. The magazine’s creators plan to produce four (4) issues of The Benchrest Shooter eZine per year, costing $3.50/ €3 per issue (based on an annual subscription price of $14/ €12). Articles in future issues will include:

• Review of the Plzen World Championships
• Product reviews — airline cases, rifles, components, rests, etc.
• Plans for building your own front rest
• Barrel tuners — how to choose one and how to use one
• Country profiles and the international community

The editors of The Benchrest Shooter encourage air rifle and rimfire benchrest competitors to get involved: “The magazine in many respects is about you, your countries, the sport, development of equipment, and sharing ideas. [We] hope that people would submit articles about such ideas and products for future issues. The magazine can supply a great more detail than a forum for instance. All advertising supports WRABF and ERABSF sponsorship. The first year is a trial to see if the new eZine will be cost-effective.”

The 2013 World Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Federation (WRABF) European and World Cup Championships will take place August 3-16 at the Plzen International Shooting Range in the Czech Republic. Top smallbore and air rifle benchresters from 19 countries will compete, along with junior squads from six nations. With over 130 registered competitors, this should be the biggest WRABF Championship event ever held.

The Championships run for 13 days in August, starting with two official practice days on August 3-4. Then Air Rifle benchrest matches will be held August 5-7. Rimfire 25m matches are slated for August 8-11, followed by 50m matches August 12-15. Awards presentations will be made on August 16th, then all the shooters head for home.

Team Italy created a handsome banner especially for the WRABG Championships:

At its scenic Bloomfield, New York facility, Crosman hosted the largest regional competition sanctioned by the American Field Target Association (AFTA) and the 2013 edition of the Northeast Regional Field Target Championship (NRFTC). Over one hundred competitors (and three international teams) participated in the two-day rifle match, single day pistol match, and Quigley Bucket Challenge.

The big draw was Team USA as they prepare to attend the World Field Target Federation Championship in Germany in August. Nine members of the 15-member team were on hand including past NRFTC champions Hector Medina, Greg Sauve and Harold Rushton. They were joined by five shooters of Team Venezuela and when a few Canadian participants formed Team Canada, the international side match was on. Scores were based on the team aggregate and after Day 1 it was Team USA (41.33) leading Team Canada (38.83) and Team Venezuela (36.80). Anchored by Rushton, Sauve, and Ray Apelles, Team USA took the weekend with an aggregate score of 88.66. Team Canada finished with 78.66, and Team Venezuela posted a 72.60.

CLICK HERE for complete Team and Individual Match Results.

Quigley Bucket Challenge
Always a favorite pre-event competition, the Quigley Bucket Challenge is a re-creation of the dramatic scene in the film Quigley Down Under in which Tom Selleck’s character must shoot a bucket at 700 yards. Scaled for airguns, this equates to a 1.75″ target placed at 55 yards. Shooters must use a 6.5 ft-lb. rifle using only open / iron / non-magnified sights. The Quigley had 45 shooters try five shots apiece. Just eight hit the bucket and after two over-times, Greg Sauve was the only shooter to repeat the feat, thereby winning the Challenge.

Tech Talk: Why the Big Side-Wheels on the Scopes?
Field Target rifles shoot pellets propelled by compressed air. These light-weight, low-BC projectiles drop very quickly, with a looping trajectory. In order to hit targets at distances out to 50 yards or so, you have to adjust your scope to compensate for pellet drop. But you can’t set the scope correctly without knowing the precise range to the target. This is the function of the big wheels on the side of the scope. Field Target Competitors use the parallax adjustment on high-magnification scopes to determine target range. The big wheel allows quick, yet precise parallax adjustment. Markings on the wheel show the shooter the scope settings required for the distance “dialed-in” via the over-size parallax wheel.

See More Photos at Crosman Flickr.com Photo Archive

Imagine if thousands of junior shooters, from all around the country, could somehow compete in one giant, mega-match hosted at hundreds of different locations, with the scores all tallied together? Juniors in Maine could compete with young marksmen in Montana, or Florida (or any of the other 50 states). Sound like a pipe dream? Well such a program really exists. It’s called the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Postal Match, a 10-meter, three-position air rifle competition.

The CMP Postal Match allows juniors from all 50 states to compete from the convenience of their home ranges. The top shooters later compete shoulder-to-shoulder at regional and national matches. The CMP Postal Match is open to all junior programs, including all JROTC, 4-H, Boy Scouts and junior clubs. Participants must be school age (not yet graduated from high school), and all team participants must be from the same school or club.

Here’s How the CMP Postal Match Works:

• Shooters must register with the CMP before January 24, 2014.
• Registered shooters will receive official CMP targets by mail ($5.00 per shooter).
• Targets must be mailed back to CMP for scoring, to be received no later than 2/4/2013.
• Postal scores can be viewed through CMP’s Competition Tracker system.
• The top Postal Match shooters will qualify for CMP Regional Championships, to be held at Camp Perry (OH), Anniston (AL), and Layton (UT) in 2014.

CMP Postal Match INFO | Postal Match Registration Instructions | National 3-P Air Rifle Rules

With the price of reloading components rising and .22 LR rimfire ammo being difficult to obtain, more shooters are looking at air rifles for training and competition. With air rifles, the propellant is free, and pellets are cheap and readily available from local stores or web vendors such as Pyramyd Air.

UPDATE: The 2013 Extreme Benchrest Event is being held November 8-10 at the Quail Creek Gun Club. Friday the 9th was an open shooting day. The actual competition starts Saturday November 10th. You can still show up and compete if you register before 10 a.m. on Saturday. A variety of matches (benchrest, field target, silhouette, and pistol) will be held over the weekend.

The video below shows a very popular air rifle match — the Extreme Benchrest Event held at the Quail Creek Gun Club, in Green Valley, Arizona (south of Tucson). Many types of shooting took place over a full weekend. A 25m benchrest match was followed by the popular steel silhouette speed match (shot from the bench). Both indoor and outdoor pistol matches were held. There was even a “Extreme” Benchrest match, with bullseye targets placed at 75 yards (that offered plenty of challenge). This is very nicely made video, well worth watching. Enjoy!

GREAT Video of Extreme Benchrest AirGun Event In Arizona

Though you won’t experience the recoil, blast, and noise of centerfire shooting, air rifle shooting still offers the challenge of hitting the target, just like any other shooting sport. With an air rifle you save money and there are fewer regulations (no FFL is required for an air rifle purchase). Modern air rifles can be very accurate. The top-of-the-line air rifles are not kids toys — these are sophisticated, finely-machined systems capable of surprising accuracy. And you won’t lack for competition opportunities. Around the country there are air rifle matches for both position shooters and benchrest competitors.

Are you thinking, “Snow’s on the ground, winter’s here, I won’t be competing until spring.” Well think again — there are opportunities to compete indoors during these cold months.

The 2014 NRA National Indoor Rifle & Pistol Championships start January 1, 2014. There will be indoor matches around the country with a variety of disciplines including Air Pistol, Rimfire Pistol, Air Rifle, and Rimfire Rifles. There is even a BB gun class for Juniors. The Indoor Championships involve multiple sectional tournaments, held in a variety of states from January through mid-April. This is like a super-duper postal match. Your results are sent to the NRA where they’re compared to other shooters. Winners are determined in late May. It’s a fun way to compete with many other shooters and it’s easy to get involved. There will be nearly 300 sectionals in 2014, so you’ll probably find an event close to home. Here are dates for 2013:

Open Sectionals: 1/1 – 3/18 | Collegiate Sectionals: 1/1 – 2/12 | Junior Sectionals: 1/1 – 4/15

For more information contact these NRA staffers: Dian Bullock, (703) 267-1482 (Rifle); Ann Boyd, (703) 267-1452 (Pistol); Tori Croft, (703) 267-1473 (Collegiate).

The 50m Free Pistol is one of the events in the NRA National Indoor Championship. It takes skill — the pistol is shot one-handed, with iron sights, and the Ten-Ring is only 50mm (about 1.97″) in diameter. A competitive world-class score is 560 or better out of 600 possible points. Learn more about this challenging discipline in this USA Shooting video:

Story based on report in NRA Blog.

Looking for a gift for a young shooter in the family? Perhaps a niece or nephew, grandson or grand-daughter? Then head over to the Pyramyd Air website. Pyramyd, the nation’s largest retailer of air rifles and air pistols, has a huge selection of airguns that can provide the perfect introduction to the shooting sports for a youngster. And right now, Pyramyd is running a 12 Deals of Christmas Special, with new bargains every day through December 15th. Pyramyd also offers FREE Shipping on orders over $150.00. That all adds up to impressive savings on gift items for this holiday season.

Pyramyd offers a vast collection of air rifles, from $35.00 Red Ryder BB guns to $3700.00 Olympic-class air Rifles from Anschutz and Feinwerkbau.

Ana Pereira, from Portugal, is a Field Target World Champion. In the three videos below, Ana explains her sport and interviews other Field Target shooters. Field Target competitors shoot air rifles from a variety of positions over a multi-station field course. Targets are typically placed 9m to 50m distant (minimum distance rules vary country-by-country). Targets are usually small animal shapes that fall down when hit. There are a variety of air gun classes for Field Target, with the most exotic pre-charged pneumatic rifles costing many thousands of dollars.

Watch Interview with Ana Pereira

Field Target Shooters use very high-magnification scopes fitted with large side-wheels that control the parallax. The shooters use the parallax control to range the distance to the target and then adjust their elevation accordingly. In the video below, featuring the Steyr LG110 Field Target Air Rifle, you can see how the large side wheels are used for distance-ranging.

In the United Kingdom, most shots may be taken in any stance, but the seated position is the most popular due to its stability (and often one must shoot over logs or tall grass, so the prone position is not practical). Most competitors carry a small beanbag or cushion to sit on while shooting. It may also be used under the knee or to support the ankle during kneeling shots.

Targets are shot from “gates” in a firing line, and are divided into “lanes” of two targets each. Targets are often placed at about the same height as the shooter, but it is not uncommon for them to appear high up banks or in trees, or down steep slopes. The hit zone of a target is circular, usually 40–45 mm in diameter, although “reducer” targets as small as 25 mm may be employed for closer-range shots.

Ana Periera Interviews Springer Class World Champion Heli Jalakas in Estonia.
This Video Also Shows Shooting Sequences from International Competition:

Here’a a new twist. Earlier this month a CMP Air Rifle match, the Bass Pro 600, was held inside a shopping mall. This match featured a junior 3×20 match, as well as a 60-shot standing competition. The Tracker Boat section of the Bass Pro Shop of Leeds, Alabama was adapted to hold the CMP’s mobile range, so the young shooters could showcase their air rifle skills indoors. Some 24 electronic targets were set up in the boat garage, between permanent artificial swamp trees that decorate the area. Competitors traveled from several states to shoot in this unique indoor match, held January 4th and 5th. “The Bass Pro 600 is such a unique idea that many competitors travel to shoot in the event just for the novelty of the venue,” said James Hall, CMP program outreach supervisor.

Shoppers at the store could actually watch the young competitors in action. On Saturday, 42 junior competitors fired in a three-position match, while the store’s music played and shoppers stopped by to watch. Spectators were drawn over to the boating area, with 60-inch big-screen TVs displaying the scores in real-time.

Bass Pro patrons were also allowed to try their hand at air rifle shooting using a SCATT electronic training system, right beside competitors on the line. The photo below shows the trace captured by the SCATT machine. This tracks muzzle movement, helping shooters to steady their aim and chose the right moment to break the shot.

This is the second year the Bass Pro Shop in Leeds has opened its boating area for a CMP match. The success of these events have inspired many young shooters to attend the open range nights at the CMP Marksmanship Center in nearby Anniston, Alabama.

Shoot like a girl? That’s a source of pride at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Nebraska Huskers womens’ shooting team, Nebraska Rifle, has a strong tradition of excellence. Led by Coach Stacy Underwood, the Huskers are ranked among the top teams in the country. In the past 10 years, the Huskers have earned four Top-5 finishes in the NCAA Championships, and Nebraska has had over 30 All-American selections, as well as individual national champions.

This video spotlights some of the current members of 2013-14 Nebraska Rifle Team: Alexandrea Lorentz, ReAnn Wilson, Magdalena Mical, Lauren Phillips, Rachel Martin, Denise Martin, Sunny Russell, Marissa Major, Jaycee Carter, and Kelsey Hansen.

Nebraska Rifle Team Member Kelsey Hansen

The 2014 season is going well for the Nebraska Team. Just this past weekend the No. 8-ranked Huskers completed a sweep of two matches against Air Force, scoring a 4,679-4,671 win over the Falcons. Follow the team via the Nebraska Rifle News Page

Here is a more detailed video that shows the Nebraska Training Range, complete with electronic targets. This is one of the most advanced collegiate shooting facilities in the nation.

Getting to Know Coach Stacy Underwood
Q: What is your coaching philosophy?

A: Rifle is the only NCAA sport where you compete against yourself without awareness of how your fellow competitors are doing, until you’re finished. Only then are scores compared. So my athletes have to be totally self-contained — in motivation, discipline, and focus.

Even more, my athletes have to be supremely calm. A minute waver of even hundredths of a millimeter at the rifle barrel end can throw a shot way off a center target that’s the size of a pin head at 10 meters away. Very slight differences in breathing, heart rate, pulse strength, and muscle twitch amplify that waver.

Finally, rifle is a sport of slight differences. A perfect individual match score is 1200 points. A perfect team score is 4800 points. Perform at 96 percent of perfection and you’ll be marginally competitive. Perform at 98 percent of perfection and you’ll be setting NCAA records. It’s in that two percentage point spread that you find greatness in rifle.

So, given these rigors, I’ve organized my coaching philosophy around the idea of “just 1 percent more”. I’m asking each team member to give just 1 percent more in all areas- academics, personal development and performance.

Sounds simple, but think about what’s involved. Every team member has to deliver. To deliver, they’ll have to organize all the areas of their lives so they’re always ready mentally and physically. Any issues that come up can be referenced by “what will get us just 1 percent more”. They can learn from each other what works. Their lives – mind and body – will be in sync and at peace. That will give them calm. So my efforts will focus on helping each one achieve their goal. I expect great individual surprises, and from that, a great team result.