If you're not receiving Shooting Sports USA in your inbox for free each month, now's the time to sign up!

The September 2010 issue is hot off the press -- er, the Internet -- and here are some of its highlights:

• Camp Perry exclusive: National Pistol Matches coverage. Check out champ Brian Zins' rapid-fire target, at right.
• Meet a few more of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division staff. 
• Offhand Rifle Shooting, an article recycled from a 1941 issue of American Rifleman.

Check out the September issue now, and watch this accompanying video of the 2010 National Pistol Matches. Stay tuned to NRAblog for the latest on the NRA's Competitive Shooting Journal, manned by our very own Chip Lohman.

When it comes to class, Chip Lohman has more than his fair share. What else would one expect from the Editor of our very own Shooting Sports USA and a former Marine? But last week, he got a little more.

After his performance at the National Rifle & Pistol Shooting Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio, Lohman is now the proud holder of a Sharpshooter classification card. On hand to deliver Lohman’s card (pictured right) was Competitive Shooting’s John Parker.

“That was quick,” said Lohman. “You guys are on the ball up there.”

Classification cards are a measurement of your proficiency on the range. The better you shoot, the higher your classification. While classification has no bearing on your course of fire, it does have a bearing when it comes to the scheduling of awards. For Lohman, his classification rose from Marksman to Sharpshooter.

“It really comes down to experience,” explained Lohman. “2009 was my first time at Camp Perry in a number of years. I left a few things, like the mat placement and hydration, off my list. With a year under my belt, I had a better understanding of what to expect, how to practice, and how to prepare for the line.”

After receiving his card, Lohman can now purchase the corresponding Competitive Shooting Decal. Perfect for your car, office, or gun box, Competitive Shooting Decals are a great way to let others know you're moving up the ladder.

"With any luck, I'll have an Expert card and decal soon enough."

Chip Lohman serves as Managing Editor of Shooting Sports USA magazine, published by the NRA for gun owners, competitive shooters, their fans, and the public. If you don't receive the magazine each month in your inbox, here's your chance! Click here to subscribe for FREE.

The video above follows participants through the 2010 National Pistol Matches at Camp Perry. Lohman competed alongside pistol greats Brian Zins and Phillip Hemphill. Stay tuned for Lohman's next video, which we believe may also come to us from Ohio.

The August 2010 Shooting Sports USA Digital Edition is online right here. (If you have trouble with the link above, try pasting http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ssusa_201008/#/0 into your browser.)

Read all about the 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup, and get to know the folks who comprise the NRA Competitive Shooting Division here at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.

The magazine's Managing Editor, our friend Chip Lohman, is on his way back to the National Matches at Camp Perry to continue his unique competition-coverage. 

Be sure to tell your family and friends to sign up for their FREE Shooting Sports USA digital edition at www.nrapublications.org/ssusa.

NRAblog reported live from the Foundation Banquet during the 2010 Annual Meeting. Here, Traditions magazine has an article giving the full story on each of the talented people honored as a Volunteer of the Year for 2009: 

 

2009 Friends of NRA Volunteers of the Year

All volunteers are essential to the success of the Friends of NRA program, but a select few stand-out as the backbone, the base, the foundation of entire areas and regions within the Friends of NRA network. These volunteers are known as Friends of NRA Volunteers of the Year, and out of all 50 area volunteers nominated for this award, only five are selected as the Region Volunteers of the Year:

Region Volunteers of the Year:
Eastern Region: Maryland: Randy and Suzanne Lewis, Washington Co.
Central Region: Tennessee: Tracy Hightower, Kentucky Lake
Mid West Region: Oklahoma: Ron Tarrant, Southeastern Oklahoma
Southern Region: Florida (Southern): John and Jean Gettle, South Bay
Western Region: Alaska: Denny Hamann, Alaska State 

More...

Just a reminder: Shooting Sports USA is free to everyone -- NRA members, non members, competitive shooters, gun enthusiasts, hunters.

Managing Editor Chip Lohman oversees the monthly production of each magazine, available exclusively online. 

“Every shooter should have a copy in his or her inbox each month,” he told NRAblog. “Since NRA membership is no longer required to participate in NRA matches, there are uncounted numbers of unclassified shooters who join our tournaments, and we welcome everyone to subscribe to Shooting Sports USA.”

Lohman works closely with the NRA Competitive Shooting Division, directed by Mike Krei, to insure complete coverage of as many matches as possible. He recently posted videos of the NRA Bianchi Cup and of the inaugural Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship.

“We’ve been thrilled to have Lohman not only as a dedicated photographer and writer but as a competitor,” Krei said. “By competing in the 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup and the National Pistol Matches at Camp Perry, he brings readers firsthand experience and valuable insight.”

Stay tuned for Lohman's first hand account of competing against pistol greats including Phil Hemphill and Brian Zins during the National Pistol Matches. You may also keep up with Lohman by following him on twitter @SSUSA_Magazine

To subscribe to Shooting Sports USA, visit www.shootingsportsusa.com.

For additional information on NRA Publications, visit nrapublications.org or call 1-800-672-3888.

 

Our friend Chip Lohman, Managing Editor of Shooting Sports USA, is more than a competitive shooter and a magazine journalist -- he's a videographer! Check out his 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup video via the above link or watch it here.

Shooting competitively is a unique experience that can be hard to describe to others. For that very reason, Chip Lohman, Editor of Shooting Sports USA, is at Camp Perry not only to cover the matches, but to compete as well. Lohman will be on the range, shooting shoulder to shoulder with some of the world's best shooters during both the Pistol and High Power phases of the National Matches. 

Aptly named the "Editor's Diary," Lohman's experiences will help his readers get an inside look at competitive shooting as he shares his insight on everything from ammunition to the competitive mindset. Lohman shared some information with NRAblog about what type of equipment he'll be using for the various matches. "I'll be using what competitors call a two-gun box," offered Lohman, referring to the two different guns he'll be shooting. 

For the .22 Caliber matches, Lohman is shooting a Smith & Wesson model 41 built by former Army Marksmanship Unit Gunsmith David Sams. For the Center Fire and .45 Caliber matches, Lohman is shooting a 1911-style Springfield wad gun. Lohman chose this type of gun for its "slower round and lower recoil." 

We'll be checking back with Lohman to see how he's faring and what it feels like to shoot alongside people who have mastered their craft. Good luck, Chip!

Danny McCullough of NRA Publications tipped us off on this article, which is actually a combination of older articles. From AmericanHunter.com:

The New Model 70 Winchester

The Model 54 Winchester has passed into history. No more will be made except in .22 Hornet caliber. The New Year of 1937 will usher in an improved Winchester bolt-action rifle, the new model 70, which will supplant the old Model 54. Practically all criticisms which have been aimed at the old model have been met in the design of the new model. Gone is the "canoe-paddle" forestock, the high-angle bolt handle and vertical safety, the sear bolt-stop, the much-criticized trigger, the solid floor plate and poor trigger guard. Instead we have an excellent modern rifle with the same low receiver line and a much lower action lever to permit a low position of any telescope sight. The firing mechanism is a new development. The trigger is machined out of a single forging and is so designed with the sear that, together, they give a very short, crisp let-off with no military take-up and with scarely any movement of the trigger.

The new bolt stop, working with the left-hand locking lug on the forward end of the bolt, retains the bolt so that the sear no longer acts as a bolt stop. This bolt stop operates vertically. We found the external bolt-release plunger, on the left side just behind the rear edge of the receiver. It is convenient and effective without being obtrusive.

Read the whole thing here.

An excerpt from Scott Olmsted's (Editor in Chief of NRA's American Hunter magazine) latest piece appeared in the online publication The Daily Caller:

Rifle Shooting: Hit the Mark

Imagine you’ve saved a year’s worth of overtime pay to book the elk hunt of your dreams. On day one in the Rocky Mountains you’ve stalked within range of the bull of your dreams. You’re in the sitting position, like Dad taught you when you were a kid. The wind is buffeting the muzzle of your rifle, and it’s a bit of a poke, but you’re confident you can hit the vitals of the 6×6. You squeeze the trigger … and you miss.

“That’s hunting,” you say. “I’ll get another chance.”

But what if you don’t?

I’ve seen this scenario play out more times than I care to count, my friends. I’ve seen grown men return to camp who were at a loss for words to explain how they missed that bull. Heck, it’s happened to me.

In fact, a couple years ago I admitted to myself that it was happening more times than I cared to recall. And try as I might, I couldn’t explain why. So I sought help.

Last year I attended not one, but two shooting schools: Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Ariz., and Sportsman’s All-Weather All-Terrain Marksmanship in Barksdale, Texas. Like many NRA members, I’m a lifelong shooter and hunter. I’m also a former Marine infantryman and an NRA-certified rifle instructor. But I have to admit what I learned about marksmanship at both places can fill a book.

Read the rest of the article here.

The NEW digital issue of Shooting Sports USA is available online!

Click here to read the July issue of the NRA's Competitive Shooting Journal. This time around, Managing Editor Chip Lohman reports on the various collegiate competitions, including the first ever NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship.

If you have trouble with the link above, please paste  http://www.nxtbook.com/fx/mags/lastissue.php?mp=/nxtbooks/nra/shootingsportsusa into your browser to view this issue.

Be sure to tell your family and friends to sign up for their FREE Shooting Sports USA digital edition here.

 

Virginia's Airfield Shooting Club played host to a group of ladies at their November 2009 Women On Target clinic. Below, read the article from Club Connection, as written by Dale Mullin:

Women On Target at the Airfield Shooting Club

Hurricane Ida was no longer at hurricane strength when it visited Southeastern Virginia the week of November 9, 2009, but it still boasted strong winds and lots of rain. Virginia’s Governor declared a state of emergency as the rains that started on Wednesday continued well into Friday.

Some of the ladies who’d signed up for our clinic the following day couldn’t attend due to flooding, but twenty-one intrepid ladies did attend and what a GREAT group they were! We started the morning with a safety briefing and then divided the ladies into three groups.

One group went to shoot pistols, another went to shoot rifles, and the third group went to shoot shotguns. The groups rotated on a fixed schedule and our two volunteer coordinators, Kelly and Linn, did a superb job of helping us to stay on schedule.

When all of the ladies had sampled each of the three shooting disciplines, we gathered in the Airfield 4-H Center’s dining room for a very nice luncheon buffet. After everyone had eaten, ASC President Tim Drewry told the ladies about the club and about other shooting opportunities available to them.

More...

From our friends in NRA Publications:

The July issue of Shooting Illustrated, on newsstands today, features the much-awaited Bushmaster Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) on its cover and an exhaustive review of the gun by former SOF sniper Steve Adelmann. "I found if I reinstalled the barrel to the exact same ratchet position, POI shift was 1/2 inch at 100 yards," he wrote about the innovative carbine's barrel-changing mechanism.

"I've seen other polymer-catch folding stocks that 'break' into the folded position unintentionally, but the ACR I tested did not have the problem," noted Adelmann. It took him 7 seconds to convert the non-reciprocating charging handle to a lefty-friendly position, and of the three types of ammunition tested, one produced a .6-inch, five-shot group at 100 yards.

"Rifle Editor Steve Adelmann's combat experience gives him an unusual perspective in testing the ACR," Shooting Illustrated Editor in Chief Guy J. Sagi said. "As for which ammunition produced a .6-inch group at 100 yards, you'll have to pick up the magazine to find out."

Look for Shooting Illustrated, The Definitive Source for The Modern Shooter, at a newsstand near you, or subscribe by calling (877) 223-3840 or visiting www.ShootingIllustrated.com.

The June 2010 Shooting Sports USA Digital Edition is online right here. (If you have trouble with the link above, try pasting http://www.nxtbook.com/fx/mags/lastissue.php?mp=/nxtbooks/nra/shootingsportsusa into your browser.)

The Managing Editor of this magazine, our friend Chip Lohman, is currently on scene in Columbia, Missouri with the Midway USA/NRA Bianchi Cup. Not only is Lohman covering the event and interviewing some of the top pistol shooters in the world, he's competing against them! NRAblog wishes Lohman the best of luck as a first-time Bianchi competitor.

Be sure to tell your family and friends to sign up for their FREE Shooting Sports USA digital edition at http://www.nrapublications.org/ssusa.

AmericanRifleman.org is bursting at the seams with exclusive content. The monthly series titled “I Have This Old Gun...” is something we're pleased to pass on to our readers.

This month, our friends in NRA Publications introduce viewers to the Smith & Wesson model 10.

The Smith & Wesson model 10, a six-shot .38 caliber revolver, has been in production for over one hundred years. During World War II, more than one million model 10s were produced -- and they went by a different name: the Victory Model.

"The Smith & Wesson Model 10 may be the most dominant civilian, military & law enforcement revolver of the 20th century," said American Rifleman Magazine Shooting Editor Glenn Gilbert.

Tune into this video to learn more about this particular firearm, which was produced for both American and British soldiers during the second World War.

Watch the video now!