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April 12th, 2007
 The Davidson Star-D tripod is a solid, all-metal rig that is sturdy enough to be used for movie cameras. Star-Ds feature convenient rotary cam (collet) leg height adjustments and all-metal tilt and pan controls that lock solidly. The center post is clamped with a big locking ring that adjusts for tension. The rugged, machined-aluminum Star-D tripods are no longer in production but you can find good “previously-owned” models for sale on eBay. This tripod is ideal for use with a chronograph or spotting scope (for viewing in sitting or standing positions). Right now there are three nice Star-Ds on Ebay, items 170099554007, 230114024777, and 230114022708. If these units sell out, watch for the newer Star-Ds with all-silver heads and cam-locked legs. You can often pick them up for under $25.00. Look for the latest versions, as shown in the picture.
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April 11th, 2007
Summer’s approaching and temperatures are starting to heat up. For all-day sessions at the range, it’s a good idea to wear a hat that shades your ears and neck from the sun. At the 2006 F-Class Nationals, we noticed that many of the top competitors, including winner Eric Bair and runner-up Alan Warner, sported wide-brimmed hats. Alan even wore his hat while shooting.
Cabela’s sells excellent brimmed hats that feature 50+ UPF sun protection ratings and moisture-wicking sweatbands. These are similar to boonie hats, but are more comfortable, better ventilated, and have a slightly broader and stiffer brim. The Yellowstone Breezer Hat, our favorite, has a mesh top, and is on sale right now for $19.88, item OG-951124. A DeLuxe Breezer Hat, with fully-vented top, is $29.95.
Cabela’s RiverGuide Series hats, shown below, are also on sale for just $19.88. The San Juan Packable Hat (item OG-951125), available in Sage (green-gray) or Natural tan is soft, well-ventilated, and packable. There is also a canvas version (item OG-951126) with a foam crown insert so it floats–great if you use the hat when boating or fishing. To order any of these summer hats, click this Cabela’s LINK and type in the item number.
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April 11th, 2007
You need a strong gun case for valuable rifles. One of our forum members recently shipped a costly match rifle via UPS. When it arrived the fancy stock was broken in half. Replacement cost? $961. We’ve also found that the inexpensive plastic cases with foam padding can put a serious side load on your scope turrets or iron sights that can affect the zero. We’ve seen a Redfield Olympic rear sight actually bend from the side pressure in a cheap plastic rifle case. The best systems for gun transport, in our view, are the expedition cases that store rifles vertically, side-by-side. This puts no bending or lateral pressure on the gun or scope/sight mounts. Also, with this “toaster”-style layout you can place the gun case on the ground with the lid open, and the rifle and optics are still shielded from dust and blowing sand.
 The very best side-by-side gun cases are built by Ziegel Engineering, (562) 596-9481. Featuring heavy-gauge aluminum with welded corners, Ziegel cases are beautifully made, but expensive. Ziegel’s Double Expedition Box with cam locks retails for $639.95. A similar product is offered by Cabela’s for much less money. The “bullet-proof” Safari case, made from .063″ marine-grade aluminum with welded corners, costs $359.99 for a 2-gun version, and $379.99 for a 3-gun version. Click THIS LINK and type in “226585” for the Cabela’s item number. NOTE: The interior slots, from foam edge to foam edge, are 50.75″ long. That should fit rifles up to a 30″ barrel unless you have an extended buttstock or bloop tube.
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April 10th, 2007
Superior Shooting Systems has released a new 117 gr DTAC bullet, designed for 1:7.5″ or faster twist barrels. David Tubb advises these 117s require at least .040″ more throat length compared to his 115s. Robert Whitley got some new 117s and he told us they look very impressive: “The 117 gr bullet looks great, but it’s a real Goliath for a 6mm projectile. I checked on how the bullet sits in relation to the throating of various 6mms. I measured them multiple times in three different barrels–two with brand new, unfired chambers. It looks like you need about .050″ – .060″ more freebore than you need with a DTAC 115 to keep the junction of the boat tail and bearing surface in the same place, and about .125″ – .135″ more freebore than you need with a Sierra 107 to keep the junction of the boat tail and bearing surface in the same place. (I have cases with a slit up the neck so I can see where the junction of the bearing surface and boat tail sits in relation to the neck and shoulder of the case.)”
Robert adds: “I will try these in a 6XC (after I throat out one of my barrels a bit) but the bullet looks big for a 6XC case. I am also looking forward to trying these in the 6mm Super X, the 6CM, and the 6mm Remington I have, all of which have a good bit more powder capacity to enable the use of slower powders (H4831SC, H1000, etc.) with such a bullet. If these shoot as well as they look, the 6mms may give a 6.5 x284 some real competition at long range–we’ll see!”
Left to Right: Boron nitride-coated 117 gr bullet (1.376″) ,
Moly 115gr DTAC (1.290″), Moly 107 Sierra MK (1.225″)
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April 10th, 2007
The new Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24x50mm “Tactical” SF has been released. It features a 30mm main tube, 45 MOA of elevation (top to bottom), 12 MOA per turret revolution, and side-focus parallax adjustment. The scope weighs 22 ounces, eye relief is 3″, and the multi-coated lenses feature RainGuard weather-proofing. A number of vendors have the new scope in stock at prices ranging from $530.00 to $580.00. Currently, befitting its “tactical” name, the scope only comes with a MilDot reticle. Ranging is performed at 12X power, indicated by a red dot on the zoom ring.
Mike of CSgunworks.com reports: “The glass is good. The finish is nice and the turrets feel really positive. I like the fact that it ranges at 12x not 10x, and the side parallax is well-marked all the way down to 25 yards. The crosshairs on the Mil-Dot reticle are a little thicker than I would like, but not too bad. Overall, for the price this scope is hard to beat. I like it more than the Burris TAC scopes.” Mike plans to comparison test the new Bushnell vs. other mid-priced tactical scopes–watch this Bulletin for updates. You can purchase the new 30mm Bushnell 6-24×50 SF at Csgunworks.com, SWFA.com, and The Optic Zone.
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April 9th, 2007
Al Nyhus and Stan Ware have created a radical short-necked “Wolf Pup” wildcat that won a number of matches in 2006. Al and Stan started with a 30BR design and blew the shoulder forward until the case had enough water capacity to satisfy the Hunter Benchrest rules. The Wolf Pup neck is only about .080″. Even with the ultra-short case neck, the Wolf Pup displays uniform neck-tension, long case life, and great accuracy. During testing, groups in the ‘teens were routine with several powders and the case appears to every bit as tuneable as the 30BR. Tuning is simple as “max accuracy and max velocity occur simultaneously”, according to Stan.
Left to Right: Lapua 6BR case; 6BR case necked-up to .30 caliber; neck-turned case ready to fire; fire-formed 30 Wolf Pup case; loaded 30 Wolf Pup round.
Al tells us: “This is a radical new case that myself and Stan Ware (SGR Custom Rifles) are trying in IBS and NBRSA Hunter Bench Rest (HBR) competition. The cartridges used in HBR must hold at least 45.0 or 45.5 of water, depending on whether you’re reading the IBS or NBRSA rulebook. The Wolf Pup holds 45.7 grains of H20, so it’s legal under either set of rules. When you look at the ratio between case capacity and bore size it is almost identical to a 6PPC.
Our Wolf Pup cases (.080″-.085″ neck lengths) show similar loaded round runout figures to our other .30 caliber cases with .320″ and .250″ neck lengths. We set the throat to position the base of the bullet well below the neck-shoulder junction. Obviously, the throat is quite a bit longer on this setup than the freebore length that we’ve been running with our more traditional neck lengths…that is, freebore lengths in the .000″ to .035″ range for bullets based on the 1.00″ long jackets and weights in the 118-125 range. We worried about bullet misalignment in that short neck, but jamming the bullets into the lands seems to take care of that–provided the chamber has as little runout as possible, is well-centered to the bore and the cases are sized aggressively enough to allow a bit of ‘wiggle room’ in the chamber.
 We’re still learning–remember that the concept was not to have a short neck, but the short neck was the consequence of blowing the shoulder forward enough to reach legal case capacity for Hunter Benchrest class rules. But as we got into the project, we decided to take a fresh approach to the neck length issue. Like everyone, we’ve been amazed that this ultra-short neck works so well. The 30 Wolf Pup has been one of the most fun and interesting projects we’ve ever worked with. It delivers great accuracy, easy tuning, and long case life.” (Target shown was a 5-shot group fired 4-8-06 at 100 yards on the Wolf Pup’s first outing.)
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April 9th, 2007
 This is a great deal for hunters. For a limited time, if you purchase a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40mm scope at Midsouth Shooters Supply, you’ll receive a free Garmin eTrex GPS. The popular eTrex has a “street price” of about $90.00. Compact, yet fully featured, the 6-ounce, 4″x2″ eTrex literally fits in the palm of your hand. All five buttons are placed on the sides, for simple, one-handed operation. Midsouth’s package price is just $235.99 (item 023-200162-GPS). That means you are getting a quality, fully-coated “major-brand” hunting scope for under $150.00.
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April 8th, 2007
This website is all about precision rifles, and achieving the Nth degree of accuracy. But sometimes we should remember the simple pleasures that made shooting fun to begin with. Today, on Easter Sunday, it’s worth contemplating rifles that allow all members of the family to have fun, without a lot of expensive gear or costly ammunition.
I spent a few hours yesterday testing big-buck rimfire bench rifles, shooting through a 36-power scope from a thousand-dollar, one-piece rest. Before heading to the range, I spent two full hours sorting my ammo by run-out, OAL, rim thickness, and weight. The whole afternoon, I strained to deal with the scope’s ultra-critical eye-relief and miniscule 1mm exit pupil. While shooting, my partner and I would grumble and groan if we had a single shot leak out of a group at 50 yards. Then we’d second-guess our wind call, or speculate whether Juenke-sorting the ammo might take 0.10″ off the average group size. The standard of accuracy we demanded made this “Saturday at the Range” more work than play. At day’s end, I realized I had a stiff neck, a tension headache, and a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. Then I thought, wait a minute, shooting is supposed to be fun.
What was missing from Saturday’s “all-business” shooting session was a time-out for some stress-releaving fun stuff. Typically when I go to the range I’ll bring a pistol, or a lever gun, or a factory 22 to shoot steel. It’s very rewarding to stand up on your hind legs with a lever gun and “ring steel” at 50 or 100 yards, using iron sights or a low-power scope with forgiving eye relief and a bright image. When I bring my Marlin 39A to the range, invariably a fellow shooter asks to give it a try, or says “mind if my boy tries your 22?” After sending a dozen rounds of inexpensive ammo downrange at steel targets, they’d hand back the rifle with a big grin saying “Now THAT was fun.” Kids especially love shooting a light, well-balanced 22 offhand and getting instant gratification from the “ping” of a well-placed shot.
In our obsession with precision, we can forget to involve the family in the shooting game, and fail to allow needed diversity into our shooting. It’s OK for a Hall of Fame BR shooter to stand up and shoot iron sights now and then. We BR-aholics can actually benefit from trying different shooting disciplines. I find that taking a break from the serious bench stuff and shooting from a standing position with iron sights loosens up the body and clears the mind, so when I go back to shooting from the bench, my performance improves.
Here are three great plinking rifles that combine low cost with surprising accuracy. The Marlin 39A is a classic, with the heft and feel of a centerfire lever gun. The Micro-groove barrel provides “best in class” accuracy. The CZ 452 Varmint is a versatile sporting gun with a comfortable stock and quality action. With a Brooks trigger upgrade, it’s good enough to win a club-level silhouette match (or you can get a model 453 with factory set trigger). The Izmash “Biathlon” basic offers a fast-cycling Fortner-style toggle action (kids love them), a heavy barrel, and 1.3-lb trigger pull out of the box. Often priced as low as $349.00, this rifle, from Russian American Armory, is hard to beat from a price/performance standpoint. For more info (including accuracy test results), read this Review of Biathlon Basic. Here are some 50-yard targets shot with the Biathlon Basic by Tod at GunTech.com.
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April 8th, 2007
 Most rear sand-bags (from Edgewood, or Protektor, or SEB) are optimized for use on the bench with low-profile stock designs like the McMillan Edge or Kelbly Klub. If you use these bags when shooting from the ground F-Class style or with bipod, you may find the rifle is too low to the ground for comfort. Yes you can suck in your belly and crank down your front rest, but it makes more sense to elevate the rear bag. Jason Baney has a simple solution that costs under $4.00 in materials.
Get a small 12″x12″ section of 1″ thick plywood and trim it to fit the base of your bag, leaving maybe 1/2″ extra on all sides. Then get some rubberized, waffle-pattern GRIP-IT shelf-liner from your local home improvement center. Alternatively, if you want a more rigid base (with less ‘give’) for hard, flat ground, use high-durometer unlined Neoprene, available from industrial supply shops. Glue a layer of shelf liner or Neoprene on the bottom and top of the plywood. This will give good grip on your shooting mat and provide a stable, non-slip surface for the base of your sandbag. If you need more elevation, just use a thicker piece of wood, or sandwich two pieces together. If you have a heavy recoiling rifle and need a riser with more mass, put a metal plate (same dimensions) between the plywood and the bottom layer of rubber shelf-liner/neoprene. If you want a bag riser without the work of trimming and glueing, Dave Dohrmann sells high-durometer Neoprene riser pads in 1/2″ through 1″ thicknesses, starting at $25. Call Dave at 864-884-0155 or email dbugholes[@]aol.com. With textured surfaces top and bottom, Dave’s heavy pads work equally well to elevate your bag on the bench.
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April 7th, 2007
 When you look at a new piece of Lapua brass you’ll notice the neck and shoulder area is a darker color. That darker hue comes from the annealing process. You can do this yourself to extend the useful life of your brass. Click HERE to read our Annealing Guide and learn all about annealing methods. After many firings and reloading cycles, brass work-hardens, losing its resiliency or “springiness”. This will affect the consistency of neck tension, a very important factor in accuracy. By annealing your cases regularly you can extend their useful life. Champion 30BR shooter Joe Entrekin anneals his brass very often and his brass is still winning matches after 40+ firings. We normally recommend annealing when you notice the brass has stiffened signficantly, or after 7-8 firings. There are many different methods to anneal brass. You can anneal by hand, or use a machine. It’s a good idea to mark your necks with a temperature-sensitive laquer or Tempil stick so you don’t overheat the cases (which can ruin them). Unless you’re very skilled at manual annealing, the machines normally produce the most consistent results.
Annealing Video with Home-Built Carousel
Our Dutch friend Jim DeKort created this 2.5 minute video of his annealing machine in action, processing 6BR cases. This carousel unit, similar to Ken Light’s BC 1000, was designed and built by Jim’s father. Currently Jim leaves a gap between each shell to allow more “flame time” per case. But with a second torch he can have a case in each slot. The cartridges spin in their mounting holes while they are rotated clockwise by the shell wheel. Right-Click on Screenshot and “Save As” to download 2.8 megabyte Windows Media video. If you have the video plug-in, you can left-click to watch the video.
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April 7th, 2007
Signature Zee rings are inexpensive and effective. The inserts allow you to mount the scope with no binding or misalignment, and no lapping is required. Using the offset inserts you can pre-load up to +20 MOA elevation, allowing you to shoot out to 1000 yards without a costly inclined rail. The polymer inserts ride between your scope tube and the metal ring, so you can mount/unmount your scope without marring the finish. If you have a Weaver or Picatinny rail on top of your rifle, these rings are hard to beat for the price–that’s why Burris Signatures are on all of this editor’s long-range rifles. Currently, 1″ diameter Signature Zee “High” rings are on sale at MidwayUSA for $28.99, item 612622.
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April 6th, 2007
 In somewhat startling news, the Remington Arms Company announced yesterday that it would be acquired by Cerberus Capital Managment. Cerberus is paying $118 million in cash and assuming Remington’s $252 million of accumulated debt. The deal is expected to close June 7th. Remington Arms was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington II. Currently, Remington is the #1 producer of shotguns and #1 producer of rifles for U.S. domestic sales according to published BATF records. For the time being Remington’s executives will stay in place, but Cerberus is known for bringing in its own management teams to run the companies it has acquired. Cerberus specializes in acquiring large enterprises that are cash-strapped or on the verge of bankruptcy, and then turning them around. In 2006 Remington posted earnings of $300,000 after three previous years of losses. Cerberus has been quite successful with its turn-around strategies, and now controls $23.5 billion worth of holdings, including MCI, the National and Alamo car rental chains, Air Canada, and Mervyns’ Department stores.
Interestingly, Cerberus acquired Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., for an undisclosed sum in April 2006. With both Bushmaster and Remington under its wing, Cerebus is poised to expand into the defense contract area. Cerberus campaigned very aggressively to successfully retain MCI’s $1 Billion computer services contract for the U.S. Navy and Marines. We expect Cerberus’ long-term plans include competing for major military small-arms contracts, including the eventual replacement for the M-16. Watch out Colt and FN–we think Cerberus is looking to build America’s next military rifles. Sources close to both companies confirm that a Remington-branded AR15 is in the works for the civilian market.
It will be interesting to see if Remington, under Cerberus’ control, makes changes in its product line-up. Remington executives can be faulted for ignoring major trends in the sport shooting market. Cowboy Action Shooting is the fastest growing segment of the shooting market, and Remington, despite its strong brand name and legendary heritage, offered very little that cowboy action shooters wanted to buy. Sturm, Ruger & Co. tapped that market very successfully. Remington, in many respects, has also failed to keep pace with competitors Ruger and Smith & Wesson in adopting modern, computerized production technologies. Ruger also produces a variety of non-firearms products such as golf clubs and industrial metal castings.
Remington Press Release | Bloomberg Report
Remington Bond Certificate courtesy of Scripophily.com.
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