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.
MidwayUSA — RCBS Reloading Tools Sale
⏺️ » RCBS reloading equipment and tools with big savings
If you need a press, reloading scale, dies, or other loading tools, definitely check out the major RCBS Sale running now at MidwayUSA. They have everything RCBS on sale, including Presses, Combo Reloading Kits, ChargeMaster Electronic Scale/Dispensers, Priming tools, Mechanical scales, Dies and more — all priced to move. There are very significant savings, up to 25%. For example the innovative RCBS Summit Press is $75 off, a 20% savings while a RockChucker combo reloading kit is $125 off, also 20% discount.
Brownells — Labor Day Sale + 12% OFF with Code LABORDAY12
⏺️ » Deals on guns, ammo, optics and gear plus 12% OFF Code
Get big savings with the Brownells Labor Day Sale. Along with the already discounted prices, on select clearance items you can save an additional 12% by using Code LABORDAY12 during check-out. Sale items include rifle scopes, Howa barreled actions, Reloading equipment, Hunting packs, Ammo (rifle, pistol, shotgun), powder and primers. Definitely check out this Clearance Sale. There are exceptional deals plus there are ZERO HazMat Fees on Powder and/or Primer purchases with no minimum!
Natchez — Giant Ammo Sale
⏺️ » Great deals on major brand rimfire and centerfire ammo
If you need quality rimfire or centerfire ammo at great prices check out the Giant Ammo Sale at Natchez. There is regular and subsonic .22 LR rimfire ammo. For pistols, choose .380 ACP, 9mm Luger, or .45 ACP from CCI, Federal, and Remington. And there is Federal American Eagle 5.56 NATO (.223 Rem) rifle ammo. All these ammo types are heavily discounted. For example the 1000ct CCI Blazer 9mm ammo is $269.99, $50 off the regular $319.99 price. And along with the savings on the ammo, Natchez is offering $5 Flat Rate Shipping on $99+ Orders (use Code FR260903).
As an Amazon affiliate, this site can earn revenues through sales commissions.
When shooting groups at long range on paper it can be difficult to distinguish which bullet holes belong to a particular sequence of shots. If, for example, you shot three 5-shot groups at 600+ yards on a paper target, you would have 15 bullet holes on the target (assuming no misses). But at that distance it would be difficult to see the holes on target (even with a spotting scope). Accordingly, when you inspected the target up close, it would be hard to tell which shots belonged to which group. You might have a vague idea, but couldn’t be sure, without a target camera recording the shot sequence.
Here is a method to separate multiple shots into specific groups so you can better evaluate your load and shooting skills. The trick is pretty simple — mark your bullets with a color from a Sharpie or other felt marking pen. If you are shooting three 5-shot groups, mark five with red, five with green, and five with blue (or purple). Then, when you inspect the target, you can identify the group placements by the colors that appear on the paper.
Round Robin: Using colors you can shoot “Round-Robin” to evaluate seating depths, neck tension, or other variables without having the shot order (and barrel heating) affect group sizes unequally. For example you might have three different neck tensions, each marked with a different color on the bullets. Then shoot Red, Blue, Green in that sequence for five total shots per color.
Smart Tip to Show Colors More Vividly
If the bullet inks are not showing up on your target paper clearly, here is a simple trick that can make the colors “bleed” to be more visible. In your range kit, bring some alcohol solution along with some Q-tips. Then dab the shots on the paper target lightly with wet Q-Tips. Here is the front of a target before and after application of alcohol:
Forum Member NewbieShooter explains: “Dabbing a bit of alcohol on the bullet holes with Q-Tips makes the color pop a bit… especially on the back side.” See below:
In short order you will see the colors spread into the paper, clearly marking the shot holes by distinguishing colors. If you were shooting a dark bullseye, view the the BACK side of the target to see the colors on a light background.
Credits: Bullet Tips photo by Forum Member Dave Way; Target photos by Forum Member NewbieShooter; Story tip from Boyd Allen.
Here is Tom Mousel with Whitetail taken with his ultra-light hunting rifle fitted with 6mm Creedmoor Lilja barrel. Friend Cody (right) actually took the shot. This gun has a second barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor.
Hunting season is opening up soon across the country. In just three weeks, on 9/26/2026, the nation celebrates National Hunting & Fishing Day. This Sunday we feature an impressive state-of-the-art, ultra-light hunting rifle. This rig is very accurate AND very light, and features two barrels, one in 6mm Creedmoor and the other in 6.5 Creedmoor. With this Titanium-actioned rifle, owner Tom Mousel has successful taken Whitetail deer and other game.
“Light is Right” when it comes to carrying deer rifles long distances in the backcountry. A lighter rifle DOES make a difference when you’re hiking many miles and carrying other gear including binoculars, laser rangefinders, food/water, and packs. And then, if you are successful, you’ll be carrying out game meat, so a lighter rifle translates to a lighter overall load.
When Forum member Tom Mousel (a top 1000-yard competitor) considered a new hunting rifle, he wanted a very light-weight rig. What he got was a low mass masterpiece — an ultra-accurate, five-pound hunting rifle. Not only does this twin-barrel rifle, as built by Alex Wheeler, come in under five pounds (before optics), but it has produced some quarter-MOA 3-shot groups at 1000 yards. The 6mm Creedmoor version of this rifle has demonstrated truly stellar accuracy at long range. The 6.5 Creedmoor barrel also shoots well and packs more punch for hunting use.
CLICK HERE to view full-screen large version of photo.
Here is Tom’s rifle weighing in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces with 21″ Lilja #1 contour 6mm barrel. Tom says: “Here’s the rifle with full Titanium action, bolt, and lug, in a Tom Manners 17 oz. carbon fiber stock. It’s exactly one pound heavier fitted with my Leupold Mark AR 4-12x40mm scope in Talley rings.”
Tom has two barrels for the rifle, one chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor and the other for 6mm Creedmoor. Tom reports: “The 6.5mm is a bit lighter being fluted. But I won’t be switching back now that I’ve shot the 6mm version. Neither has too much recoil, but the 6mm CM just kills the 6.5mm at distance for groups.”
Tom tells us: “What I like about this rifle is there were no corners cut to make it light. On some other ultra-lights, the fore-end has no strength or they are cut down really short. This is a full-sized stock, pillar-bedded with aluminum-filled epoxy and free-floated barrel. The ignition is set up with a TON of firing pin fall to function in the coldest temps.”
Gunsmith Alex Wheeler of Wheeler Accuracy is pleased with how this project turned out: “Tom has shot a bunch of sub-5″ groups and a couple one-inchers back-to-back at 1K. He has the Berger 115gr VLD going about 3050 fps.” Tom noted the 6mm barrel picked up about 50-60 FPS after the first 50 rounds. He shoots 115gr Berger VLDs with CCI 450s and Reloder 16, with the Bergers about .005″-.008″ in the lands.
Groups at 1000 Yards with 6mm Creedmoor Barrel, 115gr Bergers
Here are two of Tom’s 1000-yard targets. This is with the 6mm Creedmoor barrel shooting 115gr Berger VLDs pushed by Alliant Reloder 16 at about 3050 FPS. The average of the two groups is 0.246 MOA. Pretty amazing for an ultra-light rifle shot off a bipod. Tom acknowledges that he can’t do this every day. He says that “shooting 871 yards at my home range, the rifle typically shoots 4″ to 5″ 3-shot groups”.
Q & A with Tom Mousel About his Ultra-Light Hunting Rifle
Q: Why did you choose to build this rig?
Tom: I just wanted to do it to see how light we could build an accurate, good-shooting rifle.
Q: What are your favorite things about the rifle, and is there anything you would change?
Tom: Definitely the light weight, and the overall size — it has a pretty short barrel (21″), so it’s just handy. I wouldn’t change anything about the rifle, now that I have the Titanium bolt. When I bought the action originally it had the steel bolt.
Q: How does this rifle handle?
Tom: It points well considering it is a light rifle. The 6mm Creedmoor version has very little recoil. On a good bipod I can sight in at 1000 without a spotter.
Q: What are your favorite accessories?
I use a Solo Hntr Mtn Lite stretchy cover. You can see it in the photo at right showing me on a hunt. I like this because you can roll it up like a sock and and use it for a rear support.
Q: Why did you choose Alliant Reloder 16 powder?
Tom: Lonnie Anderson, a fellow Deep Creek shooter, did a 6mm Creedmoor and he said RL16 was absolutely the most accurate. We have also found that Reloder 16 is really consistent on velocities through the seasons — from 90 above to teens below zero.
Q: Could this ultra-light set-up work for a bigger caliber also?
Tom: I’ve tried bigger calibers, but I’ve never been satisfied with the consistency of the groups. There’s a cut-off — there’s too much torque and recoil. We see a limit — you don’t want “too much gun” for the platform. Even here, the 6.5 barrel just doesn’t shoot as well as the 6mm.
Q: What advice do you have for hunters considering ultra-light rifles?
Tom: Be careful about falling in love with ballistics and trying to build too much bang for too small a platform. If I built a 7mm WSM for example, I’d want to rifle to weigh at least two pounds more.
Full Titanium Action from Pierce Engineering
This photo shows the Pierce Engineering Titanium Featherweight short action featuring Titanium (Ti) receiver, Ti bolt, and Ti lug. This unit is a mere 15.90 ounces complete. (NOTE: with Titanium body and STEEL bolt the weight is 18.5 ounces). The long action version is 17.4 ounces for the complete Titanium action with Ti bolt and Ti lug.
Jud at Pierce Engineering tells us: “Both the Ti action body and Ti bolt are DLC-coated. This action also has an anti-bind rail for added smoothness and ease of functioning. This really is one of the lightest actions on the market. If you’re looking into building an ultra-light rifle I would seriously check one out! We make these with the highest level of detail, pride, and machining tolerances. They’re just sweet actions… and our Ti Featherweight short action is roughly half the weight of a Remington Model 7. So there’s a significant weight savings with the Pierce Ti Featherweight over a Model 7.”
Owner Profile — Tom Mousel, Hunter AND Long-Range Benchrest Ace
Tom Mousel knows a few things about accurate rifles. He is a top 1000-yard competitor at IBS matches and at the Deep Creek range near Missoula, Montana. In 2016 Tom set a remarkable 6-match Light Gun Group World Record, with a 2.9540″ group size Aggregate for SIX matches. And a year later, in 2017, Mousel set a 10-Match Heavy Gun World Record with a 5.3376″ Aggregate. NOTE: that is for TEN-shot groups in Heavy Gun. That’s an average ten-shot group under 6 inches for 10 matches! Over the past decade, Tom has remained at the top of the 1000-yard game, with many match wins at Deep Creek and other ranges.
Many online vendors are running sales this Labor Day Holiday weekend. You’ll find scores of products marked way down, plus discount codes that can save you 15% or more on your purchases. Some sales run through end-of-day (11:59 pm) on Monday, September 1st, while other Labor Day sales extend all week long. Be sure to check the sale schedules.
Brownells Labor Day Sale — 12% Off Plus Sale Pricing
Save now with Brownell’s Labor Day Sale which is already underway. You get 15% Off popular $200+ parts and gear orders with promo code: LABORDAY12. Plus there is special SALE Pricing on a vast selection of popular products including actions, barreled actions, triggers, magazines and ammo.
Precision Reloading Labor Day Sale
Precision Reloading is running a major Labor Day Sale through midnight on September 7, 2026. A huge variety of products are on sale. Plus, during this sale you can save 10% on virtually all orders over $99 with with Coupon Code LD26.
Sportsman’s Warehouse is running a big Labor Day Weekend Sale. There are major discounts — up to 50% on camping, hunting, and fishing gear. Gun guys will find many rifles, shotguns, and pistols on sale, and there are big savings on factory ammunition. In addition there are deals on optics, gun safes, and hunting packs, rangefinders, and Garmin GPS/SatComm units.
Midsouth Shooters Labor Day Sale
Midsouth has special promotions for Labor Day weekend. Along with big savings on Accurate Powders, and MD Primers (through 9/7/2026 at 11:59 pm) you can get special deals on orders over $99 with three codes. Pick your deal: FREE Shipping (up to 49 lbs.), FREE Hazmat, or 10% off ALL regular-priced items. For an order to qualify, the order must include $99 or more of in-stock items. NOTE: These codes are good through 11:59 pm CST on 09/08/26.
1. Get 10% off ALL Regular Priced items with Code 10S926; or
2. Get Free Shipping with Code FS926; or
3. Get Free Hazmat with Code FHM926.
Bruno Shooters Supply — Labor Day Blowout Sale
Bruno Shooters Supply is running a major Labor Day Blowout sale this week with big discounts sitewide. Bruno’s says the vast majority of product are current “at or below costs” with “heavy discounts sitewide”. If you are looking for benchrest and f-class rifles, reloading equipment, optics, or top-quality brass and bullets, head over to Bruno’s for major savings. In addition, there is a New Customer Promotion, where you get $5 off your first purchase with a $75 minimum order.
If you need factory ammo for your rifles, pistols, or shotguns, head over to the Ammunition Depot. Right now there are discounts on a huge selection of ammo from many different ammo-makers including CCI, Federal, Fiocchi, Speer, Winchester and other big names. Use Code LABORDAY6 to save 6% on your ammunition order.
Keith Glasscock is an outstanding competitive shooter, who has finished second at the F-Class National Championships (F-Open) multiple times. Keith is also a skilled wind coach who runs the popular Winning in the Wind YouTube Channel. Along with his interest in F-Class competition and (recently) PRS/NRL competition, Keith also enjoys game hunting and varmint adventures.
Hunting season is coming soon, so today we showcase two videos Keith has made about developing hand-loads for hunting rifles. Developing accurate hand-loaded ammo for hunting and varmint rifles involves procedures that may be a bit different than load testing for a match rifle. You want to be efficient, and use the types of brass and bullets you’ll be using on the hunts. In these two videos, Keith shows how he developed good, accurate loads for a .223 Rem varmint rifle and a .308 Win hunting rifle.
In addition to Keith’s two informative videos, today we feature three other videos with useful tips and techniques for hunters and huntresses. These cover rifle marksmanship, hunting optics selection, and methods for sighting-in hunting rifles.
.223 Rem Load Development — Powder Charge and Seating Depth
In the first video, Keith covers the load development process for a Remington 700 bolt-action varmint rifle chambered in .223 Remington. Keith starts by full-length sizing the brass. Then he experimented with powder charge weights, and came up with a promising load of 24.7 grains of Alliant AR Comp with Hornady 50gr A-Max bullets.
Next Keith experimented with seating depths (see 5:30-6:100) and found that accuracy improved as he changed OAL length in .005 increments. Keith ended up with 2.270″ with a 3-shot group in the twos! This video shows the importance of testing your bullet choice at various seating depths. Keith shoots this rig prone off bipod, which is similar to the bipod shooting he does in the varmint fields. Keith explains key factors to consider when optimizing the .223 Rem cartridge in a varmint rig. Velocity readings are made with a LabRadar unit.
Load Development for .308 Win Hunting Rifle
In a second video, Keith shows the process for load development with a .308 Winchester hunting rifle. Here Keith uses a large X-type sandbag for a front support. Again, he was shooting a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, this time with Barnes TSX solid copper bullets, PPU Brass, Federal 210m primers, and AR Comp powder. Keith said the Barnes bullets were excellent — he commented that these bullets were “match quality in terms of precision”. Keith achieved some very small three-shot groups with AR Comp and the TSX projectiles. Keith did note that point-of-impact shifted up significantly with increases in charge weight (see 6:20-7:10). With thinner-contour hunting barrels, this is not unexpected. But POI change should be observed carefully during load development, as you may need to adjust your zero after completing testing.
Three Bonus Videos for Hunters and Huntresses
Here are three videos with useful tips and techniques for hunters and huntresses. These cover rifle marksmanship, optics selection for deer hunting, and efficient methods for sighting-in hunting rifles.
How to Shoot Better with a Hunting Rifle
This “must-watch” video has great practical advice for hunters. It illustrates proper hand-hold and head position, and shows how to stay steady when breaking the shot. Even competition shooters can learn a few things. One viewer notes: “This was very informative. The footage through the scope showing how one’s position moves the sight alignment was particularly helpful.”
You’ll find more great videos on Thomas Haugland’s THLR.NO YouTube Channel, that offers videos for long-range hunters and marksmen. Haugland, who hails from Norway, is a serious shooter, who takes his rifles out into the field, in all conditions. The THLR.NO channel offers solid advice on scopes, reticles, wind-reading, field positions, and much more. Haugland’s team puts a wide variety of gear through serious field tests — every thing from suppressors to packs to electro-optical hardware. In addition the THLR.NO channel provides good advice on stalking techniques and hunting skills.
The Complete Optics Selection for For Deer Hunting
In this video, Vortex optics techs explain the optics package deer hunters will want to take into the field. Along with a good medium-power zoom riflescope, you’ll want binoculars and (probably) a spotting scope. You’ll also want a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) or laser-equipped binoculars. As the team points out, the LRF is not just to range your prey right before you take a shot. A top-quality LRF can range a reflective object as far as 1500 yards away. That helps you decide whether you want to hike a mile to reach that buck you see way out on the next ridge.
How to Sight-In Your Hunting Rifle
This video offers good basic advice for sighting-in a hunting rifle. There are a series of six points covered. Here’s Tip #1: “Find a safe place to shoot your rifle with a backstop. If possible, use a bench and a rock-solid shooting rest. Sighting-in is all about consistency, so the less human error you have, the better. For safety, be sure to also bring ear and eye protection.” READ FULL ARTICLE on NRAWomen.com.
Ace tactical shooter and gunsmith Jim See of Elite Accuracy LLC has tested a Frankford Arsenal rotary brass tumbler. Like the older Thumbler’s Tumblers, this can tumble your cases in a liquid solution. The wet-tumbling process worked very well Jim reports. Posting on Facebook, Jim noted: “I was super impressed with the Frankford Arsenal rotary tumbler and cleaning packs they sent me. I ran 350 pieces of brass for one hour. They now look great.” Jim appreciated not having to deal with dry tumbling media, such as crushed walnut shells. Dry media produces dust and can leave residues or clog flash-holes.
Interestingly, Jim recommends you try wet-tumbling WITHOUT using stainless media. At least give it a try. Tumbling without media simplifies the process and you don’t have to worry about pins stuck in flash-holes or case-necks*. Jim reports: “Stainless steel pins come with the Frankford kit, but mine hit the trash right out of the box. There is no need to clean the inside of your cases 100% and that’s all the pins add to the equation. The brass bumping brass with hot water and Frankford’s liquid cleaner works great all by itself.” One wag stated: “That’s great to hear. Stainless steel pins are a PITA.”
Other Facebook posters concurred with Jim’s evaluation of the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler:
“I’ve had one for a couple years, and it works well. I usually run about 250-300 Dasher cases at once in it. But I use the pins because I’m OCD about clean brass.” — David W.
“I’ve had one for a year and a half and it definitely works with or without pins.” — Luke C.
“I got one about six months ago and have yet to use any stainless steel media [pins]. I just use some dawn, distilled water, and Lemi Shine®. Turns nasty 5.56 range brass bright and shiny.” — Brian D.
“I don’t use the pins either and use a combination of Dawn soap and Lemi Shine.” — Jon N.G.
This video shows how to assemble and operate the Frankford rotary tumbler. But note, Jim See does NOT feel that it is necessary to use stainless media.
How to Dry Your Brass — Hair Dryer Vs. Machine
The downside of wet tumbling is that you end up with a pile of wet brass at the end of the cleaning cycle. There are many ways to dry brass, from drying in the sun to using a kitchen oven (be careful not to “overcook” your brass). One Facebook poster asked Jim: “What is your drying method for wet brass, and how long does it take?”
Jim See replied: “To start I just drain off the dirty water, and rinse the brass with clean hot water. Then I roll the brass on a towel for 30 seconds and put the brass in a one-gallon bucket. Next I insert a hair dryer in the bucket (with the brass) and let it run for about 5 minutes. With this procedure, the drying process for me is done in less than 10 minutes.”
Jack Lanhart has another method: “I use a food dehydrator. It takes 30 to 45 minutes.”
For those who don’t want to mess with towels and hair dryers, Frankford Arsenal offers a matching Platinum Series Case Dryer ($67.99 on Amazon) that simplifies the process of drying brass. Lyman also makes an excellent Cyclone Case Dryer ($81.99 on Amazon). These drying machines both have multiple levels so you can separate different types of cartridge brass. Lyman states that “The forced heated air circulation of the Cyclone will dry your brass inside and out within an hour or two, with no unsightly water spots.” The Lyman dryer can also be used for ultrasonically-cleaned gun parts.
*The Frankford Rotary tumbler does include media separators if you choose to use the provided pins or other media. CLICK HERE for diagram showing how to use media separators.
Have you ever wondered how Olympic-class position shooters hold their aim so steady? Those bulky shooting coats help, but there is a lot of bio-mechanics involved also. Top shooters employ their body structure to help support the weight of their rifles, and to steady their aim. This interesting video, produced by GOnra Media, demonstrates rifle hold and body alignment for prone, standing, sitting, and kneeling positions. Olympic Gold Medalist Jamie Corkish (formerly Jamie Gray) demonstrates the proper stance and position of arms and legs for each of the positions.
Ideally, in all of the shooting positions, the shooter takes advantage of skeletal support. The shooter should align the bones of his/her arms and legs to provide a solid foundation. A shooter’s legs and arms form vertical planes helping the body remain stable in the shooting position.
Jamie Corkish, London 2012 Gold Medalist in Women’s 3 X 20, has retired from top-level competitive shooting. However, Jamie remains involved in the shooting sports as a Public Relations/Marketing representative for ELEY, a leading maker of rimfire ammunition. Jamie also works with shooting clubs and educational institutions to promote smallbore target shooting.
Images are stills from GOnraMedia video linked above.
Killough Shooting Sports (KSS), the Texas-based retailer serving precision rimfire, benchrest, and competitive pistol shooters, has a new and improved online store at KilloughShootingSports.com. The new site has been designed around how serious shooters actually shop: by discipline, by rifle, and by the specific grade of ammunition they are looking for. The new site has faster page loading, faster check-out, and more payment and shipping options.
“Our customers know exactly what they want, and they want to get to it quickly,” said Michael Atkinson, KSS Sales and Marketing Director. “Whether that is a case of ELEY Tenex, a rimfire barrel or a front rest for the next benchrest match, the new site gets them there in fewer clicks, and it gives us a far better platform for looking after them once they have ordered.” KSS is the home of ELEY, the British manufacturer of world championship and Olympic-winning .22LR ammunition. ELEY’s US customer ammunition testing is carried out at Whidden Gunworks.
Same day dispatch and delivery direct to the match
Every order placed before 2:00 pm Central is dispatched from the KSS warehouse in Brownsville, Texas, the same day.
Delivery Direct to Shooting Match Locations
KSS also offers a unique service — free shipping to competitions. Competitors can pre-order their ammunition through the store and have it delivered directly to the match, eliminating the need to travel with ammunition cases.
The Full ELEY Ammo Selection including ELEY X-Shot
KSS is an online source for the complete ELEY .22 LR range, from recreational and training grade ammo through to Match, X-Shot, and Tenex.
Full Product Line at Killough Shooting Sports Store
Actions | Barrels | Stocks | Rests | Scope Mounts | Targets | Ammo
Along with .22 LR rimfire ammunition, the KSS store has ELEY 9mm and .38 Super competition ammunition, actions, stocks, rimfire rifle barrels, scope mounts, deluxe front rests, plus targets and cleaning supplies. Products come from leading manufacturers including Benchmark Barrels and Burris.
The new website gives KSS a more reliable checkout, faster page loading, enhanced mobile functionality, and modern payment and shipping options. For more info, visit KilloughShootingSports.com
Talented sharpshooter Kirsten Joy Weiss is featured in an episode of NRA All Access. The show covers Kirsten’s development as a competitive shooter, and her success as a trick-shot artist with her own popular YouTube channel. Here’s the All Access segment featuring many of Kirsten’s most famous trick shots.
During the video Kirsten also talks about her background in shooting and how she wants to be a good ambassador for the shooting sports, “spreading the positive reality of shooting”. Kirsten explains: “The fun challenge and joy of shooting is important to me because I really wanted to be a positive example. So when the media says the ‘guns are a bad thing and nobody does anything good with guns’, they can say ‘Well, what about her [Kirsten]’?”
Kirsten: “I think that it’s important for young girls to have somebody that they can look up to… I feel responsibility to show young shooters coming up, especially females, that you can respect yourself and shoot a gun as well.”
A gifted “natural” shooter, Kirsten started shooting fairly late — at age 16. Despite her relatively late start, she learned very quickly, and managed to earn a place on the University of Nebraska shooting team. That literally opened up a new world for Kirsten: “During the course of my career, I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve gone to World Cups… in Zagreb, Croatia, in Munich, Germany. I’ve won National Championships, and got on to the U.S. Olympic short list, so it’s been a good career.”
Proper Cheek Weld
No matter what your discipline — smallbore, silhouette, High Power, F-Class, or even PRS — it’s vital to have a consistent cheek weld for every shot. You want your head to be in the same position on the stock each time. This helps ensure proper eye-to-sights/optic alignment and consistent rifle balance.
In this video, Kirsten explains how to find the best position for your head on the stock, which may require adjusting the cheekpiece and/or length of pull. Then Kirsten demonstrates how to maintain consistent cheek weld shot after shot.
Kirsten tells us: “A lot of people don’t think of shooting as a sport, but it absolutely is, and I would even go so far as to say that it is an art form.” We don’t know if this is art, sport, or magic, but very few shooters have the skill or flexibility to make this upside-down shot…
When shooting targets, the closer to the center the better the result. But this is not necessarily true when it comes to using jags and patches. There are some good reasons to try spiking your patches away from the center. This Creedmoor Sports Tech Tip explains why you may want to spike (puncture) your patch away from the center. CLICK HERE to order patches and Swab-Its cleaning bore tips from Creedmoor Sports.
You begin to push your first patch down the barrel and you notice it is extremely tight and then it jams! How can this be? A commonly overlooked solution to remedy the frustrating occurrences of overly tight or jammed patches is what we like to call “Side-Spiking”. Side-Spiking is super simple and works!
“Side-Spiking”, as the words suggest, refers to moving your patch spiking position from the center of the patch towards the corner of a square patch or the edge of a round patch.
Moving From Center-Spiking To Side-Spiking
The closer toward the edge of the patch you spike your jag, the looser the patch will be when pushed down the bore.
Important: Be careful to not go to the very edge of the patch. Leave enough patch material to fully cover the first set of rings on your jag as this insures your jag is properly centered in the bore and that no contact with the rifling will occur.
Proper Side-Spiking Location Creedmoor Sports recommends side spiking all wet patches. This allows for a looser patch in the bore which removes gross powder fouling and leaves more cleaning solution behind to start working on the remaining fouling.
When a tighter patch is needed, simply move your spike closer toward the center of the patch. The closer to the center of the patch you get, the tighter the patch will become in the bore. The objective is to have a snug-fitting patch that allows you to smoothly push your rod down the bore. Remember you do not need to end up in the center of the patch!
Bore-Tech Patch Size Selection Chart Recommends Patch Sizes by Caliber:
Q: Why did you choose to build this rig?
A gifted “natural” shooter, Kirsten started shooting fairly late — at age 16. Despite her relatively late start, she learned very quickly, and managed to earn a place on the University of Nebraska shooting team. That literally opened up a new world for Kirsten: “During the course of my career, I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve gone to World Cups… in Zagreb, Croatia, in Munich, Germany. I’ve won National Championships, and got on to the U.S. Olympic short list, so it’s been a good career.”
“Side-Spiking”, as the words suggest, refers to moving your patch spiking position from the center of the patch towards the corner of a square patch or the edge of a round patch.
