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July 19th, 2009
 A handgun is useless for home defense unless it is readily accessible in an emergency. At that same time, you must keep handguns safely secured from children and curious house guests. The “loaded .45 under the pillow” is a bad idea. There are many small handgun safes on the market, but most are still too large to be placed at arm’s reach, but out of sight, inside a dresser drawer or bedside table drawer.
Gunvault’s new MicroVault, measuring 11″ x 8 1/2″ x 2 1/4″, is ideal for bedside table installations. It can be secured via four bolt holes in the bottom. Using the No-Eyes® Keypad, a special set of finger-activated push-pads, the MicroVault can be unlocked in under three seconds — we’ve tested this ourselves. It is a reliable set-up that is much faster than using a key or spinning a combo lock. The finger-slot system also works in the dark, unlike most electronic numeric keypads.
MicroVault for Vehicle Applications
There are also situations where you want to transport a handgun in a locked case, but still want to be able to access the weapon in seconds. The new MicroVault serves that purpose well. In many states, it is illegal to carry a handgun in your vehicle unless it is in a locked container. (This assumes you do NOT have a separate concealed carry license.) But if that lockbox has a conventional hasp lock or combination lock with small tumblers, you’re not going to be able to access the weapon in a hurry. With the Microvault, your gun can be secured in the glove box or center console, yet still be accessed in seconds by pressing the right combination of fingers. LEGAL NOTE: In some jurisdictions handguns must be in a locked container in a remote part of the vehicle (e.g. backseat or the trunk), not immediately accessible by the driver. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS.
If you need to transport a handgun, the MicroVault also serves as a secure, locked container that will fit inside a backpack or attache case. The standard MicroVault (model MV500) is available from vendors such as SportCo Warehouse for about $90.00. There is also a “biometric” version that works by reading your fingerprint. Potentially, the biometric MicroVault (model MVB500) offers the fastest access of all. It retails for about $175.00.
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July 18th, 2009
Our “master fabricator” and silhouette guru Mark LaFevers recently attended the SoCal Precision Rifle Competition, Mark’s first-ever tactical match. Competition was fierce at this year’s SCPRC. The match winner, and “top gun” among the 50+ competitors was Sgt. Dan Gilland, (USMC), a scout-sniper from a nearby Marine base. This was only Dan’s second civilian match and yes, the young Marine was shooting a .308 Win (7.62×51 to be precise). Jason Boak took second place while Gordon Campfield finished third. Jason was the top shooter among the NorCal guys, who did well, capturing 6 of the top 10 places, earning California intra-club bragging rights.
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Mark told us that the match was a humbling yet very fun experience. In these kind of matches very few, if any, sighters are allowed, and you’re often shooting at unknown distances. Accordingly, it is imperative that you have rock-solid come-ups at all distances, before you arrive at the match. In addition, the SCPRC offered the challenges of angled shooting (requiring ballistic compensation), and lowlight shooting. Log on to the CalGuns.net Forum for a complete match report by NorCal shooter Vu Pham, with lots of photos, plus stage descriptions (match directors take note).
A wide variety of calibers were shot at the match, and Mark observed that no one chambering seemed to have the edge (though a .308 finished on top). However, most of the top shooters were running detachable magazines, and had barrels fitted with muzzle brakes. You can see the dust kicked up from the muzzle brakes in the video below. The first part of the video shows a stage where competitors had to start with standing (off-hand) shots, then transition to a stepped barricade, moving lower and lower as the timer ticked off the seconds. For the standing stages, Mark noted, you wanted a rifle that balanced well and was not too heavy. Some of these beefy tactical rifles, optimized for prone work, are tough to hold offhand.
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July 16th, 2009
 Bryan Litz, chief Ballistician for Berger Bullets, has just released an impressive new, hard-cover treatise on external ballistics. While Bryan’s 536-page Applied Ballistics for Long-Range Shooting will surely take its place among the “classic” reference books on precision shooting, it does much more than explain theories of bullet flight. Using advanced equipment, Litz measured the actual drag of over 175 popular bullet types in the field. Armed with this new experimentally-derived data, shooters can now calculate their loads’ true trajectories with greater precision than ever before.
If you’re serious about long-range shooting, or just have an interest in bullet design and performance, you should buy this book. It is offered for $39.95 directly from Bryan’s website, AppliedBallisticsLLC.com.
In the video above, Litz explains some of the key features of his new book. (Watch the video — Bryan explains what you’ll get for your $39.95!) Don’t be fooled by Bryan’s youthful appearance. This guy is the Einstein of external ballistics. He holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and he was an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist who worked with the U.S. Air Force on air-to-air missile design for six years before joning Berger Bullets. What’s more, Bryan is an extremely talented long-range shooter. Bryan was the 2008 National Palma Champion, and he holds the all-time NRA mid-range iron-sight record (450-39X).
Even if you rely on a software program to calculate your come-ups, it is important to know how bullets are affected by wind and gravity, and how bullet ballistic coefficients are determined. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of ballistics and the nuances of bullet design, you should find Bryan’s book informative and readable.
You don’t need an MIT degree to understand this book. It was Bryan’s goal to explain the important elements of exterior ballistics in a practical way that can be understood and applied by shooters. What you learn from Applied Ballistics for Long-Range Shooting can help you make better decisions about the bullet(s) and the caliber(s) you choose to shoot, and give you more confidence when taking those long shots in the field.
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July 16th, 2009
Reactive targets — whether balloons, steel gongs, or clay birds — always add fun to a range session. But precision shooters may want something more challenging (i.e. smaller) than a clay bird when shooting inside 300 yards. For a change of pace, try shooting at small reactive targets attached to your target board.
 Necco Wafers and Paint Balls
We’ve seen folks shoot at candy NECCO® Wafers at 100 yards. When hit, these disintegrate nicely but don’t offer much of a visual display. For serious “splat factor”, some shooters use paint balls as targets. Glued to a cardboard backer, the paintballs explode dramatically when hit. Unfortunately paintballs make a really big mess, and your rangemaster might not be happy with the residue. Accordingly, we suggest you leave the paintballs to the “gravel pit”-type plinking ranges.
Pool Cue Chalks — Cheap, Fun, Dramatic
If you’re looking for a nice small target that makes a nice big cloud of color when hit, try pool cue chalks. You know, those little blue cubes you use to dust the end of billiard cues. Measuring about 7/8″ per side, billiard chalks make very challenging targets at 100 and 200 yards. When you hit them, if you nail the circular “dimple” in the middle, they disintegrate impressively, tossing blue “smoke” in all directions.
To see actual hits on chalk at 100 and 200 yards, watch the video below. The movie-maker, Phil of the Random Nuclear Strikes Blog, cautions that: “You’ll notice (in the video) that some of the hits are ‘wiffs’ instead of ‘poofs’. If you look at the picture above, you’ll see the 1/2 inch dimple in the cube face. If you don’t put the bullet in that dimple, it’ll ‘wiff’ on you.”
Pool cue chalks are inexpensive. You can buy a dozen chalks online for about $3.00 — just 25 cents each. And the prices drop with more quantity. One gross of chalks (that’s 144 pieces) costs just $23.00 at ozonebilliards.com.
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July 15th, 2009
 On Monday, we reported that Powder Valley, Inc. would be receiving a very large shipment of Wolf Primers today, July 15th. In addition, Wideners.com has already received a big shipment of Wolf Primers on 7/14. You can now place orders online with Wideners, but they caution that there will be shipping delays of up to one week. Wideners has Small Rifle Magnum primers in stock for $29.00/1000 and the Large Rifle (Regular) and Large Rifle Magnum in stock for $29.50/1000. NOTE: for the BR and PPC cases we recommend the Small Rifle Magnum primers. Regular Wolf Small Rifle primers have soft cups.
CLICK HERE to order Wolf Primers from Wideners.com.
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July 15th, 2009
 With the current high demand for AR15-style rifles, the sales of both bare (stripped) and semi-assembled lower AR receivers has increased dramatically. This has led to questions, from both buyers and Federal Firearms License holders, as to how these lower receivers should be handled during sales. The ATF has issued a letter which deals with these issues. Important points to note are:
1) An FFL may not sell a frame or receiver to anyone under 21 years of age [Title 18, U.S.C., section 922 (b)(1)]. Comment: This is because the receiver could, potentially, be made into a pistol.
2) An FFL may not transfer a frame or receiver to an unlicensed person from another State. [Title 18, U.S.C. section 922(b)(3)]. Comment: Again, this tracks the rules regarding transfers of pistols, because some frames/receivers can be built into pistols.
3) Multiple handgun sales forms (ATF forms 3320.4) are NOT required for sales of multiple frames or receivers of any firearm, as they are not pistols or revolvers. Comment: This may seem inconsistent with points 1 and 2 above, but this follows from the provisions of CFT 478.11 which states that bare frames or receivers are not handguns until so assembled.
Further information on these points is contained in the July 7, 2009 letter from the ATF, which is linked below. All FFLs are encouraged to download this letter and read it carefully.
CLICK HERE for 7/9/2009 Letter from ATF Re Firearm Frames and Receivers
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July 15th, 2009
 If you haven’t got your fill of Tactical TV with the Military Channel and History Channel offerings, check out Tactical Arms, a new program hosted by Larry Vickers and broadcast on the Sportsman Channel. Vickers is a skilled gunsmith who has two decades of U.S. Special Operations experience. He is supported by SEAL Team veteran Kyle DeFoor and Australian ADF Commando Jason Falla. These guys are all very knowledgeable and the technical information is solid. Based on the previews we’ve watched, we can say the show has high production values, enhanced by high-quality animated graphics.
Tactical Arms, which offers a unique exploration of modern weapons, from machine guns to battle rifles to combat pistols, will have its primary airing on Thursday nights at 9:30 pm ET during the network’s “Thursday Night Shooting” lineup presented by Midway USA. (Tactical Arms is followed by Handguns at 10:00 PM, and Guns and Ammo TV at 10:30 PM.) Other show times are Wednesday at 2:30 pm and Saturday at 12:00 am Eastern time.
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July 14th, 2009
This past weekend, Sam Hall of Booneville, NC, set a new IBS Heavy Gun Score Aggregate record, 197 out of 200 (four, 5-shot groups, maximum 10 points per shot). That’s remarkable shooting by Sam, who holds multiple IBS records and was the IBS 600-yard Shooter of the Year in 2008. Sam’s 197 represents the highest Score Aggregate ever shot in either Light Gun or Heavy Gun IBS 600-yard competition. Sam was shooting a 6mm Dasher in a Shehane Maxi-Tracker stock with a Brux cut-rifled barrel.
Sam told us: “Here are pictures of my IBS 600-yard 6mm Dasher. With this 197 HG Score Agg, now Brux holds both the Score and Group Heavy Gun IBS Aggs. Mike Davis set the Heavy Gun IBS 600-yard Group Agg two months ago, also using a Brux barrel.”
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July 14th, 2009
Bushnell has released a new Legend 1200 ARC laser rangefinder (LRF) with a claimed 1,200-yard capability on highly reflective objects. Bushnell claims the Legend 1200 will range a tree out to 850 yards, or a deer-sized animal out to 475 yards.
A compact 4.3″ x 2.9″ x 1.7″ size, the Legend 1200 weighs just 7.4 ounces. This is small and light enough to carry in a shirt pocket. The Legend 1200 features a multi-coated 6X optic and all external lens surfaces are coated with RainGuard HD. With a $349.00 MSRP, the Legend 1200 is available in black or Realtree® AP™ camouflage.
 Built-In Angle Compensation
The Legend 1200 has a built-in inclinometer so it can give you true horizontal yardage for up-angle and down-angle shots. That is very important for hunters and tactical shooters who must rapidly adjust for shot angle to ensure a hit. In Rifle Mode the Legend 1200 calculates the angle and indicates the holdover required in either inches or MOA (user selectable output). The range of angle measurement is -90 to +90 degrees.
A new feature in the Legend 1200 is Variable Sight-In Distance capability or VSI™. In Rifle Mode, users can select between 100, 150, 200 or 300 yard sight-in distances to accommodate their shooting styles and preferences. Other standard features include SCAN, Bulls Eye and Brush Modes for better targeting and accuracy. The Legend 1200 ARC is rubber armored and fully waterproof. It comes with a carrying case, lanyard and 3-volt CR2 battery.
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July 14th, 2009
The U.S. F-Class Open Rifle team takes off for the UK on July 15th to participate in the 3rd World F-Class Championship, hosted in Bisley, England for 2009. This prestigious match is held every four years. The American Team won the inaugural event held in Canada, while the second World Championship was won by the South African squad on their home turf. To view profiles of U.S. Team members and learn more about the 2009 Championships, click the link below:
Daily Bisley Blogs from Shiraz Balolia
 This year Shiraz Balolia, U.S. Team Vice Captain, plans to provide Daily Updates on the World Championships via a Web Blog. In his first Blog entry, Balolia writes: “On July 17th [there are] three matches, the Century 500 and 600 yards and the Admiral Hutton 900 yards. There are a number of different matches just about every single day until Saturday the 25th of July. Then, the World Championships start on Monday July 27, 2009.
The whole U.S. F-Class Open team will be shooting the proven 6.5-284 caliber. Several of the other teams are shooting the ballistically superior 7mm calibers, but we expect to outwit them with our calculated wind calls. The English have a ‘home court’ advantage and are utilizing their best wind readers who know the nuances of their ranges inside out.”
CLICK HERE for F-Class Blog by Shiraz Balolia
F-Class News for Twitter Fans
The U.S. F-Class team has also created a Twitter account, so you can follow events via this popular social networking site. CLICK HERE for the latest F-Class “Tweets”.
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July 13th, 2009
Powder Valley Inc. (PVI) reports that it is scheduled to receive twenty thousand (20,000), 1000-count boxes of Wolf primers this Wednesday, July 15th. PVI staffers don’t know the exact distribution of primer types, but the large shipment should include small rifle, small rifle magnum (recommended for 6BR and 6-6.5×47), large rifle, and large rifle magnum, as well as pistol primers.
You may want to call Powder Valley, 1- 800-227-4299, and place your orders right away. We can’t predict how long Wolf primer supplies will last. Just last week Powder Valley received a shipment of CCI primers and they were gone in two days.
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July 12th, 2009
 The 2009 NRA National Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio kick off tomorrow, July 13th.13th with the First Shot Ceremony. This week, pistol competitors vie for top honors, and then smallbore matches begin on July 22. Our Daily Bulletin will report on highlights of the rifle matches. In addition, the NRA Blog has sent reporters to Ohio to provide regular, day-by-day Blog coverage of the National Matches, from start to finish. Here is a schedule of major events:
- July 13: First Shot Ceremony
- July 14-18: NRA Pistol Matches
- July 22-25: NRA Smallbore 3-Position Matches
- July 26-30: NRA Prone Smallbore Matches
- August 9: Whistler Boy High Power Rifle Match & NRA/Springfield M1A Match
- August 10-14: NRA National High Power Rifle Matches
- August 15-19: NRA Long Range Matches
The National Matches, considered America’s “World Series of the Shooting Sports”, have been a tradition at Camp Perry, Ohio since 1907. Each summer, the nation’s finest civilian and military marksmen and women square off for five weeks of rifle and handgun competition in a variety of formats and events. For complete match results, visit the NRA National Championships webpage. You’ll also find lots of helpful information on the CMP National Match Index Page. This includes a detailed calendar, Match Rules, and Online Event Registration.
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