At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.
NOTE: All listed products are for sale to persons 18 years of age or older. No products are intended for use by minors.
1. Midsouth — Big Sale on All RCBS Products, Save $10-$100
⏺ Major sale on all RCBS tools, dies, presses and more
Midsouth is running a huge SALE on RCBS products — Presses, Reloading Tools, Powder Dispensers, Tumblers, Dies, Priming Sets, Casting Accessories and more. Save up to $80 on Reloading Kits, up to $100 on Electronic Powder Dispensers, and save $30 on Rotary Tumblers. Go to Midsouth’s RCBS Sale Page, then chose a product category. NOTE — Check often as inventory is changing.
2. Graf’s — Alpha Brass IN STOCK, Many Popular Types
⏺ Great brass for popular chamberings incl. 6mmBR, 6GT, 6mm Creedmoor
Alpha Brass makes excellent-quality cartridge brass for many popular categories. The price is competitive with other top-tier brass, ranging from $118-$130. In stock now at Grafs.com are: 22 GT, 6mmBR, 6mmGT (6GT), 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5×47 Lapua, .260 Remington, 7mm-08, and .308 Winchester Alpha brass. Both benchrest shooters and PRS/NRL competitors have been impressed with current production Alpha brass which ships in excellent slotted plastic cases with perforated bi-layer foam for protection.
3. Powder Valley — Bullet Bash SALE
⏺ Huge bullet sale — many brands, very good prices
If you need bullets for hunting, target shooting, or competition, check out the big Bullet Bash Sale at Powder Valley. A huge variety of bullets are on sale from Berger, Lapua, Sierra, Barnes, Hornady, Nosler and more. IMPORTANT: From the Bullet Bash Landing Page, click your preferred bullet-makers’ name(s) on the left — that way you can quickly find your favorites.
⏺ Top choice for PRS/NRL competition, plus 15% Off Code
For NRL22 or PRS/NRL matches, you’ll want a FFP scope with 0.1 Mil clicks. While you can spend over $2k on a suitable optic, we suggest getting the Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56mm for $799.99. This has good glass, a handy EBR-7C “Xmas Tree” reticle, and great owner reviews: “You cannot find a better scope for this price. Great glass and built sturdy with 34mm tube”; “Best bang for your buck. Clear glass, turrets track extremely well”; “[Great] for NRL22 … consistently repeatable when dialing for distance. Highly recommend.” To make this deal even better, EuroOptic offers free 2-day shipping, PLUS you get 15% Off with Code VTR15. That lowers your net cost to $679.99, a $120 savings.
5. Natchez — SIG Sauer Scope & Rangefinder Combo, $394.99
⏺ Great “intelligent combo” — LRF data works with scope
Here’s a solid combo kit for hunters. For under $400 you can get the SIG Sauer BDX rangefinder and riflescope system — a 3.5-10x42mm scope and laser rangefinder. With the SIG BDX smartphone App you can pair the KILO BDX rangefinder and the BDX-enabled scope. Once you’ve created your basic ballistic profile, the system’s brain tells you the needed hold-over. After ranging your target, the KILO BDX rangefinder employs advanced Applied Ballistics software and then sends the elevation solution to the scope via Bluetooth.
⏺ Turkey time — save $101 on good Rem 870 pump shotgun
Spring Turkey season is around the corner. Here’s a good deal on a name-brand, American-made shotgun. Brownells is now offering $101 off the Remington 870 Synthetic Fieldmaster 12ga shotgun. This ultra-reliable, pump-action shotgun has a 26″ barrel, and ships with full, modified, and IC chokes. This Rem 870 has a rugged synthetic stock with a nice rubber butt pad.
7. Amazon — Walker’s Black Razor Slim Muffs, $37.00
⏺ Good NRR 23 Electronic Muffs at great price
Here’s a great deal on good electronic muffs favored by shooters. Right now you can get black Walker’s Razor Slim Electronic Muffs for just $37.00, a 47% discount. Other colors of Razor Slim muffs are offered starting at $39.99 (plain black is the best deal). These Razor muffs have a good noise reduction rating (NRR) of 23dB. (For best protection run plugs under the muffs.) The Razor series also feature Walker’s comfort fit headband for all day shooting, and come in a host of color options.
8. Amazon — Lyman LR Precision Reloading Handbook, $12.99
⏺ Good starting resource for long-range competitors
Learning to shoot long range takes time and experience. Shorten the learning curve with the Lyman Long Range Precision Reloading Handbook. This print resource features specific data for a number of precision long range cartridges and bullets. It also includes pressure and velocity data as well as articles by top PRS shooters and industry experts.
9. Field Supply — Dominus Camo Jacket, $15.99
⏺ Incredible bargain for a spring/fall hunting jacket
Here’s a good medium-weight jacket for hunters at an insanely low price. Sold elsewhere for over $200, this Dominus Jacket is now just $15.99! The Dominus Smart Foam 3-Pocket Vented Jacket has a nice Mossy Oak Infinity camo pattern. This scent-blocking jacket features dynamic thermal regulation and the stretchable fabric is water-resistant and quiet. Available sizes are medium and large.
10. Amazon — 6 Inch Calipers w/ Extra Large Screen, $29.98
⏺ Big screen is a big plus with these Digital Calipers
Every handloader can use a good set of digital calipers. With an extra large, high-contrast LCD fisplay, these Jiavarry digital calipers show bigger numbers that are easier to read. That help ensure you don’t make mistakes. These calipers have a good Lithium battery and offer ample 0-6 inch (0-150mm) measuring range with ±0.02 mm/0.001″ resolution.
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For the very first day of 2023 we present a precision rifle built with a relatively new cartridge — the 6GT. Developed by George Gardner of G.A. Precision and Tom Jacobs of Vapor Trail Bullets, the 6GT was designed to have the efficiency of a 6mm Dasher without the need for case forming. It was also designed with a longer case body so it feeds better from magazines. Even with the added capacity, the 6GT is still very efficient, and can achieve good velocities with less powder than a 6mm Creedmoor.
Today’s Sunday Gunday feature rifle was smithed and tested by Gavin Gear of UltimateReloader.com. Gavin did all the gunsmithing — chambering the barrel, fitting the muzzle brake, and even laser engraving the barrel. In building this 6GT rifle, Gavin used top-tier components: BAT TR action, Krieger 28″ 1:7.5″-twist 4-groove 6mm barrel, TriggerTech Diamond Rem 700-compatible trigger, and Area 419 Hellfire Muzzle Brake. The barreled action was then fitted in a handsome and rugged MDT ACC Chassis. On top is a Zero Tech 4.5-27×50mm FFP Trace Advanced scope in 30mm Hawkins Precision high rings.
We recommend you watch the video above — it covers the rifle build, load development, and then features some remarkable shooting sequences across snowy hills in the Pacific Northwest. Gavin’s team actually used a drone to capture overhead footage of the location.
After developing a promising load with Berger 109gr LRHT bullets, Varget powder, and Alpha brass, Gavin literally headed for the hills to test his new rifle at longer ranges, shooting from bipod. His load had shot well under half-MOA at 100 yards in testing so he was hoping he could hit multiple steel targets positioned at 340 yards, 760 yards, and 1000 yards. Indeed he did, proving the rifle’s great accuracy and Gavin’s fine trigger-pulling skills. You can see the hits at these time points in the above video:
340 Yards — 18:15 time | 760 Yards — 19:00 time | 1000 Yards — 19:54 Time
Gavin’s 6GT Hit Highlights on Steel out to 1000 Yards
Building Gavin’s 6GT Precision Rifle
Gavin Gear did all the gunsmithing on this project, using his own Precision Matthews TL-1660 lathe for the chambering with an Alpha carbide 6GT reamer. The barrel work took about four hours total. Shown below is the reamer cutting the chamber, which was finished with a 0.170″ freebore and 0.270″ neck diameter. For other brands of brass you might want the chamber to have a larger 0.272″ neck diameter.
Chambering the Krieger barrel with Alpha carbide 6GT reamer, 0.170” freebore, .270″ neck diameter.
This project when smoothly, with Gavin able to install the barreled action in the MDT Chassis and fit the buttstock in an hour or so. So total build time was about five hours. One nice “finishing touch” on the project was laser engraving the 28″ Krieger barrel — a process you can see in the video below.
Laser engraving of Krieger 28″ barrel.
About the 6GT — Sort of a 6 Dasher on Steroids
6GT Cartridge Design Features
The 6GT was designed to have an optimal length and capacity for mag-fed PRS/NRL tactical rifles. The 6GT is longer than a 6mmBR and 6 Dasher, but shorter than a 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5×47 Lapua. That gives the 6GT ample case body length to feed reliably from a magazine, while the case capacity is sufficient to run popular powders at reasonable pressures. It has a 35-degree shoulder angle.
On paper the 6GT seemed like the perfect cartridge for PRS- and NRL-style centerfire competition. It has the low recoil of a 6 Dasher, with good feeding and mag compatibility. With the 6GT, a competitor can push 6mm 105gr bullets at 3000+ FPS or run heavier bullets at ~2950 FPS. With this 28″ Krieger barrel, Gavin actually achieved 3004 FPS running 109gr Bergers.
Gavin started with quality Alpha Munitions brass. The cases were then annealed with an AMP Annealer and trimmed to length with a Henderson powered trimmer (see video below). After sizing with a Forster Co-Ax press, Federal SR Primers were seated using a Primal Rights competition seater. Next the powder was measured with an A&D FX120i force restoration scale. Finally, the Berger 109gr LR Hybrid Target bullets were seated with a Forster Micrometer die, again using the smooth Forster Co-Ax press.
Initial Load Testing with Berger and Hornady Projectiles
Before it got cold and snowy, Gavin did load development, shooting from a bench with a Sinclair front rest. The Krieger cut-rifled barrel was accurate right from the start and Hodgdon Varget powder proved to be a very good choice for the 6GT.
Gavin’s 6GT boasts a MDT ACC short action chassis with SRS-X Elite buttstock, vertical grip, and MDT CKYE-POD Bipod.
Gavin did initial load testing with both Hornady 110gr A-Tip Match and Berger 109gr Long Range Hybrid Target bullets. The Berger 109gr LRHT bullets were the most promising. A variety of charge weights were tested, with Gavin settling on 34.6 grains of Varget. This delivered fine accuracy with a 3004 FPS muzzle velocity. Group size measurements with this load are shown in the chart. At 100 yards, four three-shot groups averaged 0.361 MOA, and the rifle produced a nice 0.387 MOA (0.405″) five-shot group.
———————————————— Winter Wonderland for Shooters ———————————————–
Coming Soon — Ultimate Reloader Rifles Business
Gavin Gear is in the process of opening his own gunsmithing business. He will be offering a variety of custom-built rifles for multiple disciplines — hunting, PRS/NRL, ELR, and other competitive disciplines. Gavin explains: “Ultimate Reloader is gearing up to do custom rifle work for the general public starting (hopefully) in Spring 2022. We will most likely start with complete custom rifle builds using parts from our inventory. We will focus on high-end, bolt-action rifle builds and gunsmithing, primarily Remington 700 and clones. We will entertain limited gunsmithing work outside of complete builds (i.e. chambering, muzzle threading).
The 6mm GT (aka 6GT) cartridge was conceived as a “bigger Dasher” for PRS and NRL competition. The 6mm GT’s creators wanted 6mm Dasher accuracy and moderate recoil delivered via a cartridge with a slightly longer case body for better mag-feeding, longer neck for seating flexibility, and more moderate pressures. So far the 6GT has performed very well in PRS competition. Today’s story is a bit different — this is about an experiment — running a 6mm GT in an F-TR type rifle. Understand that, under current NRA rules, you may only shoot .223 Rem (5.56×45) or .308 Win (7.62×51), in official, sanctioned F-TR competition, but the 6GT is fine for F-Open. Mike McCasland wanted to see the potential of the cartridge for long-range target shooting, so he put a 6mm GT-chambered Bartlein barrel on a nice custom rifle with McMillan XIT stock and Kelbly F-Class Panda action. The results were impressive.
6mm GT — New Cartridge with Multi-Discipline Potential
Story by Mike McCasland, Texas Precision
The 6mm GT began garnering attention within PRS circles in early 2019. It promised to shoot 105-110gr 6mm bullets at 2950-3000 FPS, yet not suffer from mag-feed issues sometimes found with 6mmBR variants such as the 6 Dasher, 6BRX, and 6BRA. Moreover, since it burned less powder, the 6mm GT promised increased barrel life compared to the 6mm Creedmoor or 6XC. The 6mm GT case size should still work with the accurate powders in the Varget burn-range. I found the 6GT also worked great with H4350.
As someone who aspired to building a repeater and jumping into the PRS game, and had a spare F-TR rifle sitting around, I thought it would be fun to build up a 6mm GT to see if there was any merit to the hype. My smith, Wes Ripley of RIP Precision in Texas, builds a lot of PRS rigs, and already had the reamer on hand (a 0.120″ freebore variant).
Whidden Gunworks had some 6mm GT FL bushing die kits in stock, so I figured why not see what all the fuss was about? At the very least I could play around with the 6mm GT in F-Open Class at local club matches to see how it compared to the 6BRA, 6 Dasher, and other popular 6mm cartridges.
How the Project Got Started with Backup F-TR Rig
My 6mm GT build really started as a project spawned purely from COVID-19 Isolation boredom. This rifle primarily serves as a backup F-TR gun, and it had been relegated to performing some load development on .308 barrels, so I could spin new ones on my main match rifle. The only problem was, I had run out of .308 barrels that needed load development. So, I basically had an ideal test platform just collecting dust in the safe. All I needed was a 6mm GT-chambered barrel, since (like the 6mmBR) the 6mm GT works in a short action with a .308 Win-sized bolt-face.
6mm GT Rifle Specifications:
Action: Kelbly Panda F-Class SA RB/RP
Stock: McMillan XIT with RAD 2A
Barrel: 30″ 5R Bartlein 1:7.5″-Twist, HV Contour
Scope: Vortex Golden Eagle 15-60x52mm
Trigger: Jewell Benchrest, about 2 ounces
Bipod: Phoenix Precision
About the 6mm GT Cartridge
BRASS — The first thing you’ll find is cartridge brass choices for the 6mmGT are rather limited currently. At present, the only commercial options are Hornady and Alpha Munitions. For the die-hard Lapua fans, you can technically make 6mm GT brass from 6.5×47 Lapua, however that process is very labor-intensive.
I have used both Hornady and Alpha brass in this rifle and haven’t noticed much difference between the two. I will say that my batch of Alpha brass was slightly softer than Alpha brass I’ve used in other calibers; you could feel a difference when neck turning cases. I’m unsure if that’s a batch issue, or something specific to their 6mm GT brass as a whole. As far as performance, there was little discernable difference. Oddly enough, the Hornady brass seemed to have slightly less case capacity than the Alpha; with most other cartridges it’s the other way around.
POWDERS — The 6mm GT was designed with Hodgdon Varget in mind, and that popular powder works exceedingly well in this platform. That said, the 6mm GT can work with a wide variety of powders, some yielding better performance than Varget.
I’ve tried a multitude of powders during my initial 6mm GT load development: Varget, Shooters World Precision, RL16, VV N140, H4350, and RL-15 to name a few. In my barrel, Hodgdon H4350 seems to deliver the best velocity/accuracy combination. SD and ES also seemed to be the lowest with H4350.
Load Development for the 6mm GT — Many Powders Tested
BULLETS — The most common 0.120″ freebore chamber allows for the majority of high-BC 6mm projectiles found in both F-Class and PRS. I had good luck with the pointed 107gr Sierra Match Kings (SMK), as well as the 110gr Hornady A-Tips in my rifle. For those looking to run the heavier 112-115 grain 6mm offerings, I believe GAP designed a 0.160″ freebore reamer that gets those bullets out of the neck/shoulder junction. Shown below is the 0.120″ freebore JGS reamer print:
SUMMARY — Good Cartridge with Much Potential
Generally speaking, I think the 6mm GT is a good little round. Some may not subscribe to this theory, but I believe some cartridges are inherently easier to tune than others. I’m not sure the 6mm GT is as easy-to-tune as a 6mmBR, 6 Dasher, or 6 BRA, but I don’t think it lags that far behind.
With relatively little trouble, I was able to find loads with both Varget and H4350 that would consistently shoot very well — 0.2 to 0.3 MOA. Moreover, I found the 6GT cartridge lives up to the velocity claims made by G.A. Precision. I was easily able to push the 110gr A-Tips to 2950 FPS, and the 107gr SMKs to low 3000 FPS range without any pressure signs, or unnecessary wear and tear on the brass.
As a fun test, I ran my 6mm GT rifle in a local 1000-yard F-Class match with the 110gr A-Tips, just to see just how well they would perform. Although wind conditions of the day and some E-Target issues prevented my 6mm GT rig from getting the better of the larger 7mm and .30-Cal rifles, the 6mm GT proved itself an accurate little round at distance. Here is a 1000-yard ShotMarker target:
After putting several hundred rounds through my 6mm GT rifle, I anticipate building another 6GT on a repeater action to give PRS a try. I think if you are looking for a dual-purpose rifle that can run tactical matches (with 100% feeding reliability), and can also be used for mid-range, F-Open Class competition, the 6mm GT would be a very good option.
About the author, Mike McCasland:
Mike McCasland is an avid shooter who competes regularly in F-Class matches. Based in Texas, Mike is the creator of the Texas Precision YouTube Channel. There you’ll find many videos covering reloading, gun projects, and marksmanship. Mike has done some notable product reviews including a comparison test of Micrometer Competition Seating Dies. To access Mike’s YouTube Channel, CLICK HERE.
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As someone who aspired to building a repeater and jumping into the PRS game, and had a spare F-TR rifle sitting around, I thought it would be fun to build up a 6mm GT to see if there was any merit to the hype. My smith, Wes Ripley of 
BRASS — The first thing you’ll find is cartridge brass choices for the 6mmGT are rather limited currently. At present, the only commercial options are Hornady and 
SUMMARY — Good Cartridge with Much Potential
