Show off your ‘Pride and Joy’ in our Forum

In our Shooters’ Forum you’ll find a thread in which readers can post photos of their “pride and joy” — their favorite rifle. You’ll find a wide range of guns, from “big boomers” to .17-caliber varminters. Here are some of our favorite entries in the “Pride and Joy” Gallery.

Flaming PPC from Oz

ChrisT, a diesel fitter from Australia, submitted this image of his stunning flame-painted PPC. Whoever did those flames is a true artist — the gun really looks like it’s on fire. This rifle features a Stiller Viper action, Speedy (Robertson) BRX stock, and Maddco (Australian) 14-twist barrel chambered in 6PPC.

The Bear’s Barbed-Wire Barnard

BarryO, aka ‘the Blue-eyed Bear’, posted his beautiful 6mm Dasher, with its unique barbed wire 3D finish. (There’s a story behind that design.) This rifle was smithed by John King in Montana, with stock bedding work by Leo Anderson. The gun features a Barnard ‘P’ action (with trigger), and 28″ Broughton 5C fluted barrel with VAIS muzzle brake. The Barnard sits in a Tom Manners carbon fiber BR stock decorated with amazing graphics by Mad Shadow Custom Paint.

Sebastian’s Radical Swallowtail 6PPC

Sebastian Lambang is the designer and builder of SEB Coaxial Rests. He’s a smart, creative guy, so you knew when he designed a short-range benchrest stock it would be something special. It needed to be lightweight, yet very rigid. Using “out of the box” thinking, Seb employs a truss-style structure to provide great strength with minimal weight. The rear section is equally radical. There are two splayed “keels” in the rear, forming what this Editor calls a “swallowtail” rear design. Others have called it a “catamaran buttstock.” Below is a side-view of the prototype SEB stock before painting.

And here are a couple more cool BR rifles, just posted on the Forum. First, from Walter in Belguim, is the “Lion of Flanders”, an Anschutz BR 250, with Kelbly’s stock and matching SEB front rest. Walter did the paintwork himself:

And here is Mark Walker’s amazing Zebra-skin BR rifle. Now that will turn heads on any bench:

New Zealand Hosts NRA World Action Pistol Championships

From November 5-8, Hamilton, New Zealand will host the 6th Annual NRA World Action Pistol Championships. This major event will draw hundreds of top shooters from around the globe. The 2008 World Action Pistol Championships will be held in conjunction with the Kiwi Cup Action Pistol Championships at Hamilton Pistol Club. This is the second time that the Hamilton Pistol Club has hosted this prestigious event, which has been held previously twice in Australia, and twice in the USA. The NRA World Action Pistol Championships is an aggregate match with four traditional events: Falling Plates, Barricade, Practical, and Moving Target. For more information, visit the World Action Pistol Championships website, www.WAPC2008.com.

Located 80 miles south of Auckland, Hamilton is becoming known as a hub for action sports. In addition to the World Action Pistol Championships, Hamilton will host the V8 Supercars Street Race, World Rally Championships, and 2010 World Rowing Champs. The Waikoto River, shown in the photo below, runs through the heart of the city of Hamilton.

Background on Shooting Sports in New Zealand
New Zealand is a remarkable country, a land of great natural beauty. The island nation is similar in size to California … but with about 30,000,000 fewer people! Nice eh? If you combined the natural terrain of Oregon, California, and the Colorado Rockies, doubled the coastline, and then eliminated smog, urban sprawl, and traffic jams, that’s a good description of New Zealand.

Though small in size, New Zealand has a very active community of sport shooters and hunters. While Australia has imposed draconian restrictions on self-loading pistols and rifles, New Zealanders still retain the ability to own most types of firearms, including semi-automatics. In fact, New Zealand has fewer restrictions on “Black Rifles” than do many American states.

ATF Delays Implementation of Revised Form 4473

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) had planned to put its new, updated Form 4473 into effect November 15, 2008. Well… they’ve now pushed back the implementation date until January. The ATF recently informed the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) that it is pushing back the date by which the revised and updated Form 4473 must be used to Jan. 15, 2009. The date was delayed because of objections from dealers about implementing a new form during hunting season.

ATF Form 4473 (Firearms Transaction Record Part I — Over the Counter) is used to prevent criminals and other prohibited persons from gaining access to firearms. This form is required to be completed by Federal firearms licensees prior to the transfer of a firearm to a nonlicensed person, with limited exceptions. The newest version incorporates some new elements.