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July 21st, 2007
Now through the end of July, MidwayUSA has the Berger 35gr hollowpoint varmint bullets on sale. These are excellent .204-caliber projectiles. They are very accurate, with more consistent dimensions than many other varmint bullets. With a wide meplat, the Berger 35s provide reliable expansion in the target. You’ll like these bullets in your 20-222, .204 Ruger, 20 Tactical or 20 Vartarg. MidwayUSA customer C. Benson from Colorado reports: “After trying the Hornady V-max bullets with 100 yard groups 1″ or more, I ordered a new barrel, reamer and headspace gauge. While waiting for the new barrel & reamer I decided to try the Berger bullets. I was very pleased with the Berger 35 grain bullets. Groups were cut in half with the same powders with some powders the groups were even less, in the .3s I will be shooting Bergers from now on!”
July 20th, 2007
Here is a simple, low-cost way to get reliable readings of case headspace when you “bump” the shoulder back on your 6BR, .243, or .308 Win brass. Credit Boyd Allen for this tip. First, you’ll need one .45acp case, with primer removed. Make sure the .45acp case is trimmed square and that it is round. We recommend you first run it through an expander, then size it, trim it and chamfer. Next, take the .45acp case and slip it over the neck of a fired, unsized case with the primer removed. Align the two cases between the jaws of your calipers and note the length from rim to rim (Top Photo, striped case).
OK, now you have the length for a fired case. Next, take a sized case (without primer) and do the same thing, placing the .45acp over the neck of the FL-sized case (Bottom Photo). The difference between the two numbers is the amount of “bump” or set-back you are applying to the shoulder. Here the difference is .0015″. The amount of bump you need varies with your chamber and your load, but .0015-.002″ is a good initial setting. By using this simple tool, you can avoid bumping the shoulder too much. This will also help you set-up the depth of your full-length die to get the proper amount of bump each time.
July 20th, 2007
We had a chat yesterday with Ed Eckhoff, who has served as Match Director for the U.S. F-Class Nationals, NBRSA 600-yard Nationals and other major events held at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. Ed has been working with the 6.5×47 Lapua necked down to 6mm. Ed told us he was getting good velocity and stellar accuracy with the new IMR 4007 SSC powder. “I was testing recently at 300 yards, and the first two shots pretty much went through the same hole. The group ended up well under .4 inches. Pretty amazing for 300 yards”. Ed is using 39.0+ grains of IMR 4007 SSC with his own custom-made 108 grain boat-tail bullets. Ed said he can get his 108s well over 3100 fps and there has been no stiff bolt lift and no extrusion of brass into the ejector area. Ed’s big question was barrel life. He asked us–“Has anyone shot out the barrel on a 6-6.5×47 yet? I wonder what kind of barrel life can be expected.”
July 19th, 2007
On July 5-8, the 101-year-old Los Angeles Rifle & Revolver Club hosted the All-American Smallbore Championship. Many of the top rimfire shooters in the western USA attended the match. The overall match winner was German Salazar. Below is a one-minute video showing German shooting the 100-yard “any sights” stage. If you watch carefully you’ll see how steady German holds his rifle and how quickly/smoothly he cycles his bolt. You’ll see just a small lift of the muzzle as German pulls the trigger. German’s rifle features an Anschutz 2013 action in a fiberglass Master Class stock with an older Leupold 24X Target scope. It has a phenomenal 1.5 ounce Kenyon trigger–as smooth and crisp a trigger as we have ever sampled. Click HERE for large photo.
Other winners, by category, included:
First Master–Sam Thoman
First Expert–Mike Tuck
Top Woman–Dara Zachary
First SharpShooter–Amanda McMullin
(Amanda also posted the high score among Juniors)
First Marksman–Jennifer Smith
Highest Junior (After Amanda)–Shannon Draeker
The LARR ran a very efficient, professional match. Many legendary small-bore and position shooters were present as observers at the match, including former Olympian and world record 300m shooter David Kimes. Click HERE for Complete Match Results. You’ll also find a discussion of the match on ShootersJournal.com.
July 18th, 2007
Terry Brady’s name is synonymous with 600-yard world records. On July 14, shooting at the Piedmont range, Terry smashed his own IBS 600-yard Aggregate world record. Running his 15.5-lb 6BR in the Heavy Gun Relay, Terry nailed an amazing 1.5055″ 4-target Agg. Two of his 5-shot groups were under 1.3″! Target by target, here are his groups: 2.063″, 1.209″, 1.469″, 1.281″ (all subject to IBS verification.)
Terry told us: “The conditions were great. Mild temps, very little mirage, almost no wind. I shot completely free recoil and was able to drill ‘em right in there. I don’t think I looked up at the flags once I started a group.” Previously, in May, at the same Piedmont range, Terry also shot two pending IBS 600-yard records, with a 50-score (1.093″) in Light Gun, and a 50-score (1.175″) in Heavy Gun. Terry says: “As far as I can tell I have four pending world records right now.”
Terry set the new Agg record with the same 6BR rifle that produced Terry’s .860″ single-group IBS record (READ Story HERE). However, the gun has a new Krieger 8-twist barrel and Terry was using the new Spencer 103 BT bullets. In the past Terry shot moly Berger 105s. Recently he switched to shooting naked bullets: “Quite a few boys ’round here have been getting real good results shooting naked bullets lately, so I thought I’d give it a try.” He still uses Berger 105s, but recently tried out the Spencers. In his testing the Berger 105s shoot best in warm weather, but the Spencers shot better in cool to moderate air.
At the 7/14 Piedmont match, Terry shot naked Berger 105s in the first Light Gun Relay. That produced a 2.527″ Agg. Then he cleaned his barrel quickly, and switched to the Spencer 103s, loaded with 30.0 grains of Reloader 15. Terry said the weather was pretty mild in temperature, so he thought the 103s might work well. They sure did.
Terry proved it’s wise to read the AccurateShooter.com Bulletin: “I was on your website last month, and learned about the new Clay Spencer 103s. Jason said they were some of the most consistent bullets he’d ever measured, so I though I’d give them a try. I called Clay, but he didn’t have any left. I managed to get some from Glenn Burroughs.” Terry joked: “Please don’t tell the other folks how well the Spencer 103s are shooting–let me win a few more matches first.”
July 18th, 2007
 Rich DeSimone uses a handy “Stub Gauge” for setting shoulder “bump” and seating depth. The gauge is made from a section of barrel lopped off when the muzzle is crowned. The chambering reamer is run in about 1/4 of the way, enough to capture the neck and shoulder area of the case. Rich then uses his full-length die to “bump” a master case with the ideal amount of headspace for easy feeding and extraction. He takes that case and sets it in this Stub Gauge, and measures from the front of the gauge to the rim. He can then quickly compare any fired case to a his “master” case with optimal headspace. Since the gauge measures off the shoulder datum, this tells him how much to bump his fired brass.
In addition, the Stub Gauge can be used to set bullet seating-depth. Rich has a channel cut transversely on one side of the gauge, exposing the throat area. Since the interior of the gauge is identical to the chamber in his gun, this lets him see where a seated bullet engages the rifling. He can tinker with bullet seating length until he gets just the right amount of land contact on the bullet, confirmed visually. Then he measures the case OAL and sets his seating dies accordingly. This is much handier than using a Stoney Point Tool to measure distance to the lands. As your barrel’s throat wears, you may seat your bullets out further to “chase the lands”, but the gauge provides a constant land engagement point, in the barrel’s “as new” condition. By measuring the difference between the land contact point on the gauge and the actual contact point on your barrel, you can determine throat “migration”.
July 17th, 2007
Ever wondered what it was like to pilot a 60+ pound Heavy Gun in top-level competition? Want to see how fast a shooter can rip off 10 shots downrange? Check out this video of John Buhay shooting his 6 Dasher Heavy Gun at the Williamsport World Open on Sunday, July 15. John launches 10 shots in 26 seconds start to finish, even with multiple point of aim adjustments. John’s rifle employs a trued Remington Action in a Delrin and aluminum stock crafted by Buhay himself. If you cringe seeing John launch brass over his shoulder–he has a towel that catches his empties. Click the image below to download the 4.8 megabyte video. If you have the Media Plug-in, the video should launch when you double-click.
© 2007 AccurateShooter.com, All Rights Reserved
Video by Jason Baney
July 17th, 2007
We contacted Matt Dienes, Williamsport Two-Gun Aggregate Overall Champion, to learn more about his winning rifles. He shot both a regular 16.5-lb Light Gun and a big, over 50-lb Heavy Gun, both chambered in 300 WSM. He used the 30-caliber Berger 210s and Hodgdon H4350 powder.
Matt told us: “The Heavy Gun is just two weeks old. In its first big match, in Ohio, the Heavy Gun did really well. Though I had only 4 days to develop and test a load, the Heavy Gun ended up winning the Ohio HG overall, plus HG score and HG group. (By the way, I was sitting next to Tom Sarver when he shoot his 1.403″ record group at Thunder Valley. Truly spectacular. As for me–I shot a 6″ in that Light Gun relay.) I’m really pleased the Heavy Gun (and my LG) continued to perform at Willliamsport. There were are many excellent shooters and rifles at this match, so winning the Two-Gun overall is the highlight of my shooting career. The Williamsport World Open is a very tough match to win, probably tougher than the Nationals. The 10-shot Light Gun target does make it more challenging and so does the range, it is tough to shoot. Thanks to all.” –Matt
Matt’s Equipment Profile
Gunsmith: Wes Springman, Springman Rifles, Allenwood, PA, (570) 547-1905, springmanrifles[at]hotmail.com
Stock Work: Bruce Baer, Baer Custom Rifles, (717) 349-4077
Chamberings: Both LG and HG are standard 300 WSM, smithed by Springman
Light Gun Barrel/Action: 1:11″ Krieger, BAT 8.5″ action
Heavy Gun Barrel/Action: 1:10″ Broughton, BAT 10″ action
Load: H4350, Norma Brass, Berger 210gr VLD, CCI BR2
July 17th, 2007
OSHA recently proposed new regulations that would treat firearms powders and primers as the equivalent of Det Cord and Explosives. Potentially, this would block mail-order and online sales of powders, because of the tight restrictions on sales and transportation.
Proposed New Regulations:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main
Document ID: OSHA-2007-0032-0001; 29 CFR Part 1910
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) now reports that OSHA’s proposed new regulations for explosives (29 CFR 1910.109 et seq.) are being retracted pending a full review. A bi-partisan group in Congress has convinced OSHA to table the proposed regulations for the time being. The NSSF reports: “26 members of Congress expressed concerns with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed explosives rule. This bi-partisan opposition, along with NRA grassroots initiatives and the work of NSSF and SAMMI, made OSHA understand the necessity … to revise its notice of proposed rulemaking and clarify the purpose of the regulation. NSSF and SAAMI will continue to work with regulators concerning the myriad problems with the proposed rule[.]” For more info visit the SAAMI website.
July 16th, 2007
Forum member Matt Dienes triumphed at this weekend’s Williamsport World Open, capturing the Two-Gun Overall Championship (9.215″ Group Agg, 91.250 Score Agg). Congrats to Matt, whose Light Gun and Heavy Gun were both chambered in 300 WSM. Matt’s new HG, smithed by Wes Springman, was just two weeks old. Eric Springman finished second in the Two-Gun, shooting a 30-330 in Light Gun and a 6mm BRXS in Heavy. Finishing Third Overall was William Kilpatrick, running a 6.5-284 in both classes. (Note: this data is from the equipment list; some competitors may have chosen to run their Light Guns in Heavy Class).
According to our 1000-yard Editor Jason Baney, “Conditions were really challenging. The wind was strong and switchy. On Sunday it was going crazy. In one of my relays we saw it go from prevailing full right to a full left during the course of fire. That can put you off paper at 1000.”
While many shooters were campaigning 6mms (including Jason), this seemed to be a weekend made for the big 30s. Piloting a 300 Weatherby Improved (with 240 SMKs), Scott Weber won the Heavy Gun Class (5.784″ Group Agg, 96.500 Score Agg) and shot the Heavy Gun Small Group, an impressive 3.488″ ten-shot cluster shown below. This was just one bullet diameter off the Williamsport record.
Jennifer Springman finished second in Heavy Gun with her 300 Win Mag, posting a 6.664″ Group Agg plus 92.500 Score Agg. Shannon Lowman won the Light Gun Overall Agg (8.601″ Group Agg, 91.00 Score Agg), shooting a 300 Win Mag. Andy Murtagh finished second in Light Gun (8.995″, 92.00), shooting a 6.5-284 Hoover. Complete match results are found on the Williamsport Website.
NOTE: We will update this Bulletin report later with more info and video. Check back tomorrow.
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