Babes With Bullets Rifle Camp

Shooter make ready...Stand by...BEEP!

And with that, my heart starts racing. I quickly aquire my first target, two shots fired, I move onto several more in the vicinity placing two shots on every target. Feet shuffling, finger on the trigger I get to my next target, it is a hostage situation. I place my crosshairs on the head….CLICK.

Without a second thought, I rack the slide clear the jam and two shots to the head. I then move past a wall. Now is the time to change magazines. I don’t miss a beat as I pass through a doorway that activates two moving targets, each get two shots. I stop, assess that all targets have been shot. I drop my magazine, clear my chamber and show a safe firearm to my timer who happens to be Kay Miculek.

Kay has won several USPSA National Women’s Open Championships, three-time IPSC world champion, 13 time USPSA National Women’s Multi-gun Champion and the list goes on and on.

“25.8 SECONDS” she yells. I follow her fast pace through the course. “Two alpha, alpha Charlie, two alpha, two Charlie, one alpha and ouch, one Mike” she yells to the scorer following behind us. No, I’m not at a match and I am not at a tactical training center. I am in Louisiana attending a Babes With Bullets Rifle Camp.

Nikon is a sponsor of the rifle camp. Smith & Wesson is also a sponsor and provides M&P15s. Nikon tops them with the new M-223 1-4x20 riflescope with the Point Blank Reticle.

I am not going to lie, I expected us to be spending all of our time learning about functions of the modern sporting rifles and shooting paper the rest of the time. Boy was I wrong! We were shooting three yards out to 100 yards. We were shooting prone, off-hand and on the ground. We were moving, working through malfunctions and strategizing when to change our magazines.

It was intense, but I loved every minute of it. The campers were from every walk of life and from around every part of the country. Most had some sort of shooting experience, while others competed at their local ranges in 3-gun competitions and were looking to improve their times and scores.

I learned how to score a match, how to maximize those five minutes to analyze a course and strategize how to move through it and engage all targets. I have never had any experience shooting competitively, but after this camp, I now have the desire to compete with my AR at the local range!

CO Hunt a Success

I just returned home from a great mule deer and antelope hunt in Colorado.

WinchesterAmmunition, Browning/Winchester Repeating Arms, Mossy Oak and Under Armour teamed up to host a cold, snowy, successful hunt.

We hunted in Craig, Colo., with Dick Dodds of Elkhorn Outfitters (www.elkhornoutfitters.com).

We tested a variety of calibers in Winchester's Power Max Bonded line and their new Power Core 95/5 line, which is a lead free (copper/zinc) product that will be available in 2011.

• Power Max Bonded: 270 Win, 270 WSM
• Power Core 95/5: 30-06 and 300 WSM

The animals were taken from 80 yds to 400 yds and the ammo performed great. Not to mention, the guys we were with could shoot. Most of the shots were taken around the 200 yd mark.

We were able to recover a few of the bullets. Here's the 300 WSM Power Core 95/5 bullet that was recovered from John Taranto's (Outdoor Life) mule deer.

As you can see, all four petals are still attached and are rolled back perfectly. Nearly 100% of the weight was retained from this shot.

We are only days away from launching Winchester's 2011 new product line, so keep your ears and eyes open for the latest information about their new product.