October 25th, 2007

Bernosky Sets New National High Power Record

2007 Camp Perry National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky added another milestone to his list of achievements this past weekend. Shooting the same AR15-platform rifle that carried him to victory at Camp Perry, Carl shot an 800-41X score on the New Holland (PA) 200, 300, 600-yard National Match course. When certified, that will be a new National record. The previous record was an 800-38X (shot by T. Lawton in 2005). Carl, modest as ever, downplayed his achievement: “This time the close ones were on the inside instead of the outside [of the scoring lines].”

In High Power matches, competitors shoot in three different positions — standing, sitting, and prone — and iron sights are used. This makes High Power one of the most challenging of all rifle disciplines. Carl feels that his AR-platform gun does give him some benefits over other rifle designs. Carl noted: “For me, I shoot better standing scores with the AR. I can’t tell you why exactly, but certainly the self-loading feature of the rifle allows me to maintain position better shot to shot. The other advantage is in rapid-fire prone. There I think it is a real plus not to have to work the bolt.”

Carl Bernosky’s rifle features a custom upper built by John Holliger on a Smith & Wesson M&P15 lower with Geissele trigger. The upper has a 26″ Krieger barrel chambered in the 6mm Hagar. This is a new wildcat cartridge based on the 30 Remington case, necked down to 6mm. The 6mm Hagar resembles a 6.8 SPC with a .100″ longer body, 30-degree shoulder, and greater case capacity. It has a .420 rim diameter, and is formed from .30 Remington brass.

At New Holland, Carl shot alongside Robert Whitley. Carl said he was impressed by Robert’s new 6mmAR Turbo round. The 6mmAR Turbo is based on 6.5 Grendel cases necked to 6mm with the shoulder blown forward slightly. Carl told us: “If Robert’s 6mmAR Turbo can really shoot the 105s at 2880+ fps, then it should be competitive with the 6mm Hagar, and the brass is available right now. Whitley’s cartridge looks like it has great potential.”

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