National Junior Air Gun Championship at Camp Perry

The 2009 National Junior Air Gun Championship, held at the CMP’s high-tech Camp Perry indoor Marksmanship Training Center, has been a huge success. The 3-day event has drawn nearly 290 competitors from 27 states to Camp Perry, Ohio. Shooters have traveled from as far as Hawaii and Alaska to shoot against other top juniors in the country. Winners will be honored at an awards banquet, scheduled for July 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Shooters may enter either the Sporter or Precision class based on the type of rifle and equipment they use, and are then grouped into categories according to age: Sub-Junior (Age 14 and under); Junior (age 18-20); and Intermediate Junior (Age 15-17). There is no age minimum to compete at NJAGC, and this year there are competitors as young as 12 years old. The rules for this year’s championship break with years past. For the 2009 competition, there are no entry requirements; every junior shooter is welcome to compete.

The National Junior Air Gun Championship (NJAGC) isn’t just about competing for this year’s title — it’s also about learning to improve and advance in the shooting sports. A training summit is held each year in conjunction with the NJAGC to help competitors, coaches, and parents learn how to train properly, as well as to introduce young shooters to future opportunities.

Report from NRABlog.com. Photos courtesy ODCMP.com.

More RCBS ChargeMaster Tips

If you own an RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 electronic powder scale/dispenser, or are thinking about purchasing one, here are a few tips that can cut your loading times and eliminate some petty annoyances.

Mute That Annoying Beep
Some ChargeMaster users complain about the loud beep at the end of each cycle. There’s a simple way to silence the beep — and you don’t have to cut any wires or permanently disable the speaker. To mute the beep, simply hold down the Zero button until “beep off” displays. Repeat to restore the beep function.

Activating the Auto-Dispense Mode
You can set the ChargeMaster to automatically dispense your pre-programmed charge as soon as you put the pan back on the scale. Simply press and hold the “Enter” button. The code “Auto” should then appear on the display. At this point, push “Disp” to dispense the first charge. When you replace the pan, the unit will automatically dispense the same charge. For some people this is an added convenience. You can always go back to the default manual dispense method by changing the dispense mode using the “Enter” button again.

Use a McDonald’s Straw to Reduce Over-Throws
Jaco Brink provided another useful tip to avoid “over-throws” (excess charge weight): “The RCBS employee advised me to take a McDonnell’s straw (because it is thicker than a normal straw), cut off about a half inch piece and put it into the tube where the powder exits. This caused the last part of an extruded powder to cluster less, and reduced the amount of overthrows dramatically.”

Instructional Video
The video below shows how to set up and calibrate a Chargemaster 1500. Be sure to level the unit carefully, both left to right and front to back. Starting at the 1:44 mark in the video you can see the unit dispense a 50-grain charge in 30 seconds. The slow, final trickle stage takes about half of the total time.

How to Shorten Dispensing Times
The last tip is for advanced users only. You can alter the programming settings to speed up powder dispensing dramatically. One user reported that, by re-programming his machine, his cut his dispensing time for a 30-grain load from 22 to 13 seconds “with no overthrows”. WARNING: once you change the parameters, there is no “restore” command to set everything back to the defaults. So proceed carefully. The speed enhancement procedure is described on the pages linked below:

Basic ChargeMaster Speed Enhancement | Advanced ChargeMaster Programming Tips

Hornady V-Max Promo from Graf & Sons

Here’s a good deal from Graf & Sons, www.grafs.com. Right now, if you purchase a 250-count box of Hornady 22-caliber, 55gr V-Max bullets, you’ll receive a FREE Hornady DVD ($9.99 value) or a FREE Hornady Reloading print magazine ($6.99 value).

The Hornady 55gr V-Maxs (item HRN22716) are priced at $37.99 for 250 bullets, delivered. That works out to $15.20 per hundred — a pretty good price for premium bullets that are know for excellent accuracy and impressive performance on varmints. To receive your free item, enter “Free DVD” or “Free Magazine” in the special notes section when placing your internet order.