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June 7th, 2007
Forum member Robert S. recently acquired one of the new Denny Phillips cleaning rods to use for his 22-caliber rifle. We’ve noticed that many of the rods sold for 22s and 20s are very flexy and can easily take a “set” or slight bend in the middle. A bent rod can drag on the rifling. You don’t have to worry about that with the Phillips rod according to Robert.
Robert says he is very impressed with the Phillips rod: “It’s nice and stiff, straight, and very well polished. I’ve really grown to like these nice slim handles and this one also turns very easily. It almost makes me want to clean my .22–well, not really.” Denny is charging $30.00 plus actual shipping for these rods. That’s cheaper than many of the commercial brands. You can contact Denny via email: denphillips2 at earthlink dot net.
Rod-maker Phillips reports: “Lengths over 44″ are additional. The stock that I have right now is the .156, .1875, .1925, and .2035. I can put 8-32 threads in everything but the .156, it has to have 5-40. The .187 stuff is what is hot right now. I am working on some harder stuff than what I have, but that will be later on. If you would like to order, let me know the length, diameter, and rod end you want (threads or jag).”
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June 7th, 2007
MidSouth Shooters Supply has a special running now on Sack-Ups rifle storage socks. You get six (6) bags, plus a bonus Hunting CD, for just $22.55, item 093-109MSS. These 52″ synthetic bags are treated with silicone to help prevent rust. The fabric is stretchy and fits easily over shotguns, iron-sights rifles, and conventional hunting rifles with small scopes. For wide-forend BR rifles with tall scopes, we recommend the Bore-Store Fleece Bags instead. The Bore-Store bags provide much more cushioning for your rifle in the safe or during transport, and they are treated with a very effective rust inhibitor PLUS silicone. Still, Sack-Ups are much better than leaving your rifles bare, and they will prevent nicks and scratches. With this special, the bags are only $3.75 each. Keeping your rifles in Sack-UPs bags also lets you move the rifles around in your safe without worrying about fingerprints that can lead to rust spots.
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June 6th, 2007
Zak Smith isn’t the only kid on the block with a new 6.5×47 Lapua tactical rifle. Our 1K editor, Jason Baney, has built his own 6.5×47 tactical rig. It has a trued Rem 700 action, Krieger 8.5 twist 25″ barrel, AI CS detachable box magazine (DBM), Badger bottom metal, and a custom U.S. Optics 3.8-22×44 SN3 scope with a EREK elevation turret, MDMOA reticle, and left-handed windage knob. Even with limited load-testing time, Jason quickly found a tack-driving 2960 fps load with Lapua Scenar 123s and Reloader 15.
With that load, Jason recently competed in the Allegheny Sniper Challenge (ASC). Jason placed first in his squad, out-scoring some past and present military snipers. Jason said the load and gun performed flawlessly: “If I could hold it… the gun could hit it. No magazine issues whatsoever. This round is good to go in a mag-feeder.”
Click the above photo to see a VIDEO showing Jason hitting multiple metal targets in a timed, rapid-fire sequence at ASC. Note how much JB has to swing the rifle around and adjust for angle and elevation changes. In this stage, Jason had to engage seven targets from 200 to 600 yards, starting at 350, then moving out to 600 and back to 200. Jason says: “There was a 20 mph full-value crosswind running and we weren’t allowed to touch the scope. That’s a serious hold-off.” Jason was one of the few ASC shooters to “clean” this stage, hitting all targets. Running a tac gun in ASC is a far cry from shooting free recoil from the bench–something which Jason does pretty darn well too. But Jason says: “BR, Tactical, Varminting–They’re all about accuracy and they’re all fun.”
In the weeks ahead, when he’s not involved in Williamsport 1000-yard BR matches, Jason will be working up loads for this rifle, and a new 6mm/6.5mmx47 switch-barrel project gun AccurateShooter.com is developing. His next experiment is to try H4350 with the Berger 130s in the 6.5×47 Lapua. Reloader 15 shot bugholes with the 130s, but Jason felt that ambient temps affected his velocities too much.
Here’s a “glamour shot” of Jason’s 6.5×47 rifle in McMillan A5 stock, smithed by GA Precision. Click for BIG PHOTO.
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June 6th, 2007
SWFA.com has a great deal running right now on Leupold scopes and other optics. Purchase a Leupold optic from SWFA and you’ll receive FREE shipping plus a selection of free Leupold shooting accessories. The extra gear you get depends on the item purchased and the sales price, as explained in the graphic below. Click HERE for a larger version of the promo flyer. For more info, call SWFA at (972) 726-7348.
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June 5th, 2007
Robertson Composites today unveiled final production CAD-CAM drawings of its new MK IV “GBF” F-Class stock. According to Ian Robertson, “this new design evolved with considerable input from the British F-Class team, hence the ‘GBF’ name. We’ve refined the grip area, and the fore-end is completely new, with a stepped design for a lower center of gravity and improved tracking. The front of the fore-end is also relieved on the underside. This effectively lets the stock run on two integral rails. We’ve learned that this also improves tracking and reduces rocking since the stock doesn’t contact the hump in the middle of the front sandbag.” Click for BIG PHOTOs.
Stocks intended for F-Class shooters will have a solid, high-strength fore-end fill for increased rigidity, improved balance, and to eliminate the need to add external weight to bring guns up to the 22-lb (10 kg) F-Class Open weight limit. However, Ian noted, the stock can also be built lighter to “make weight” in 16.5-lb and 17-lb benchrest classes.
Ian expects the first completed “GBF” stocks to ship within three weeks. The price of the stock will be $799.00 US through July 4, 2007 as a promotion for AccurateShooter.com readers. After that, the price will be $825.00 US. As delivered the stock includes the following:
- Two-color high-grade gelcoat finish (customer choice of colors including granite).
– Full inletting for Rem-style actions and most popular custom actions.
– 3-way adjustable buttplate and pad, installed with all hardware.
– Adjustable integral cheek-piece, with magnetic clamp and all hardware.
If you want one of the new Robertson MK IV F-Class stocks, call Ian soon at 1 + (613) 228-7543. Robertson Composites already has numerous advance orders for this outstanding new stock.
Click HERE for large PHOTOS.
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June 5th, 2007
InterMedia Outdoors Holdings, LLC announced that it had completed its acquisition of The Sportsman Channel, a 24-hour television channel dedicated solely to hunting and fishing programming. InterMedia Outdoors now claims to be the leading outdoor media company in the United States, having recently acquired 17 hunting, fishing and shooting magazines, including Guns & Ammo, Handguns, RifleShooter, and Shooting Times, from Primedia. The Primedia deal included web sites, television and radio programming, and branded products related to the 17 publications.
Commenting on The Sportsman Channel acquisition, Jeff Paro, CEO of InterMedia Outdoors, said, “With over 22 million readers and over 15 million page views per month on our websites, we have the ability to drive significant growth of The Sportsman Channel through targeted promotional campaigns in coordination with our distribution partners. The reach of our combined assets far exceeds that of any existing outdoor cable network.”
Beginning immediately, InterMedia will integrate its sales and marketing functions with those of The Sportsman Channel. In addition, InterMedia Outdoors will produce a number of new original shows for The Sportsman Channel and will use its large content library to enhance its popular Video on Demand (VOD) offerings to Channel viewers.
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June 4th, 2007
Does the new 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge work in a Tactical Rifle? You better believe it…
Zak Smith, our project tester, has been doing load development for the past few weeks. The rifle is an Accuracy International AI AW with custom Steve Satern 25″ fluted barrel, smithed by George Gardner at GA Precision. Zak had some nice conditions at his local range, and tried out one of the more promising loads with Reloader 15 and Berger 130gr VLD bullets, seated OFF the lands, fed from his DBM (detachable box magazine). Shooting from rucksack and sandbags (to simulate actual Tactical match conditions), this load drilled three-shot groups in the ONEs. The photo above shows an 0.182″ group at 100 yards. That’s right–three shots in well under 1/4 MOA off a rucksack! Zak has another 6.5×47 Lapua load with Lapua Scenar 139s and Vihtavuori N550 that shoots just as tight. Stay tuned for project updates.
Click HERE for more photos.
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June 4th, 2007
MidwayUSA has their Frankford Arsenal Digital Calipers on sale. Marked down from $32.99, these are just $24.99 through the end of June, 2007. Product #: 604242 . We have a set of these calipers and they have performed basic measuring functions in the loading room reliably for many years. Even if you already have calipers, at this price, your can afford to buy a spare set for your range kit. This unit switches from English to Metric and comes in a protective plastic case, with battery.
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June 3rd, 2007
Gun journalist and three-gun match competitor Zak Smith employs a simple, handy means to store come-up data on ones rifle in the field–a laminated data card. First generate a come-up table, using one of the free online ballistics programs such as JBM Ballistics. You can also put the information in an Excel spreadsheet or MS Word table and print it out. You want to keep it pretty small.
Below is a sample of a data card. For each distance, the card includes drop in inches, drop in MOA, drop in mils. It also shows drift for a 10-mph cross wind, expressed three ways–inches, MOA, and mils. Zak explained that “to save space… I printed data every 50 yards. For an actual data-card, I recommend printing data every 20 or 25 yards.” But Zak also advised that you’ll want to customize the card format to keep things simple: “The sample card has multiple sets of data to be more universal. But if you make your own data card, you can reduce the chance of a mistake by keeping it simple. Because I use scopes with MILS, my own card (bottom photo) just has three items: range, wind, drop in MILS only.”
Once you have the card you can fold it in half and then have it laminated at a local office store or Kinko’s. You can keep this in your pocket, tape it to your stock, or do as Zak does, and tie the laminated card to his rifle (see photo below). One thing to keep in mind is that both bullet drop and wind drift can change with altitude and ambient temperature. If you regularly shoot at both low and high altitudes, you may want to create multiple cards. To learn more about ballistic tables and data cards, check out the excellent “Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting–Part 1″ article on Zak’s website. This article offers many other insights as well–including valuable tips on caliber and rifle selection.
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June 3rd, 2007
If you’ve been looking for the Russian primers, Wideners has them right now at very attractive prices. These primers have given extremely low ES/SD with many popular powders including Varget. The small rifle primers (Wolf WFSR, item 647) are $18.50 per 1000 or $87.00 for 5000 ($17.40 per 1000). Large rifle primers (Wolf , WLR, item 655) are slightly more: $19.00 per 1000 or $89.00 per 5000. Many of the top across the course shooters have had very good luck with these. When Jackie Schmidt tested some a year and a half ago for our joint 6BR/Railgun project, however, he found a few per box that seated deep in the pocket–so you may want to watch your primer seating depths carefully at first.
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June 2nd, 2007
The new ONIX 400 GPS from Bushnell, slated for summer 2007 release, offers live weather feeds utilizing XM Satellite broadcasts (XM NavWeather subscription required). In addition, this portable GPS can store aerial photos and topo maps, with GPS info and way points layered on top. Along with Latitude/Longitude and UTM, other internal map data and grid systems can be selected.
The ONIX 400/400CR is the first handheld GPS to integrate satellite weather information with GPS maps and navigation data. While the Bushnell ONIX 200 also offers layering of topo maps and satellite photos, only the ONIX 400 series has the ability to layer weather information on the screen. This could be a real boon for hunters, as well as match shooters looking to predict incoming weather patterns. The compact, waterproof ONIX 400 is powered by a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, with a sleep mode allowing up to 32 hours run-time. An embedded 64 or 128 MB micro SD card holds weather data, maps, photos, and saved locations. Internal memory will store up to 1000 waypoints, 20 trails and 20 routes. (A limited number of map/image downloads are included with each ONIX 400. You can download more photos/maps for a fee.) Models come with a USB cable for connecting to a laptop or home computer. Suggested retail is $499.99. (NOTE–This is just a preview; test units haven’t shipped yet.)
 
Click HERE and HERE for more ONIX 400 product previews.
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June 1st, 2007
While the Benchresters were drilling bugholes at the Super Shoot, west coast tactical devotees were slapping steel at 75 to 1000 yards in Sacramento. In the first-ever Nor-Cal Tactical Bolt Rifle Challenge, 43 shooters battled through a variety of innovative scenarios, many involving shooter movement or targets at unknown distances. This was a far cry from a static benchrest match or even a Highpower match, though participants shot from all positions–prone, kneeling, sitting, and standing. Though this was the first match of its kind at Sac Valley, all available spots “sold out”, and the match attracted big-time sponsorship. The happy winner was Dave McGrath who came home with a $2200+ U.S Optics scope. Dennis Lorenzo finished second, while Mark Soulie took third.
There were a variety of stages in the two-day match, held May 26-27. One of the timed action stages started with the shooter 20 yards behind his rifle. On a signal, the shooter ran to his rifle and engaged a mini-popper at 75 yards, then moved to a barricade and engaged 3 more medium poppers at 175 yards. But there’s more–next he targeted four clay birds at 175 yards (from prone) and finished on another mini-popper at 60 yards. All this had to be done in just 2 minutes! In another multi-target stage, the shooter started on an elevated wooden ramp. On the signal, he engaged an MGM target with two rounds at 100 yards. This was immediately followed by two rounds at a pair of 10″ plates at 250 yards, then two rounds at a pair of steel targets at 330 yards. Then, with action open, he moved off the raised ramp, re-positioned on the trunk of a car and engaged two more steel plates at 540 yards. There were eight rounds total for that stage, with a two-minute time limit. A more conventional evolution involved taking successive shots at two steel targets from standing, kneeling, sitting and prone positions.
Below is Bolo, whose “Lucky Dragon” Benchrest Rifles were featured in last month’s Blog. He demonstrates that you can have fun shooting a variety of disciplines, with very different rifles. And what you learn via one discipline can often help another. Whether it’s benchrest or “move and shoot” action, the common denominator is shooting skill and rifle accuracy. For more information on this interesting match, read this Snipers’ Hide thread or visit WestCoastTactical.com.
Click HERE and HERE for more full-size photos.
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