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August 27th, 2007
Larry Isenhour became the third man to go “sub-inch” at 600 yards in sanctioned competition, setting two new IBS Light Gun records in the process. Larry’s 0.943″ 50-3X group was an impressive accomplishment on the new, smaller target adopted this season. Fellow shooter Sam Hall reports: “Congratulations to Larry Isenhour. At Oak Ridge, TN this weekend (8/25/07), I got to witness Larry break the IBS 600-yard single target Light Gun group record with a 0.943″ inch group. All were in the 10 ring for a perfect 50 score — which will also be a new IBS 600-yard single target LG score record. That will be hard to beat! Conditions were not ‘perfect’ either. Switchy winds of 5-15 mph. There were several large groups shot over the day. It could not have happened to a more deserving fellow. Larry is a great guy and a great competitor.”
Here’s the target and the gun that shot it. Larry’s rifle (smithed by Mike Davis) features a Stolle Panda action, and 25.5″ Lilja 3-groove 8-twist barrel with 2500 rounds on it. The stock is a one-off custom built by Larry’s brother Robert. It’s walnut with a layer of Curly Maple in the middle. Note how the wood layers are stacked vertically rather than the more conventional horizontal lamination. The barrel is a bit on the short side because it started out as a .243 Ackley and then was re-chambered as a BRX (after 200 rounds), losing some length in the process. Larry believes that “You don’t need a super-long barrel. 25-26″ is plenty for the 600-yard game”. CLICK for LARGE PHOTO.
Larry was shooting a 6 BRX with 32.8gr of Varget powder, along with the Lot 559 Berger 105gr VLD bullets. NOTE: Lot 559 included the first 105s produced with Berger’s new die, and some shooters were concerned that the bullet diameters were smaller than previous 105s. Addressing those concerns, Berger polished the die, with the result that current 105 VLDs are very slightly larger in diameter than lot 559 bullets. Just shows you that maybe the new die VLDs were pretty good right from the start. Larry told us that “The lot 559 105s have shot like lasers through this barrel.”
Larry shoots a mild load, running about 2910 fps, with a .272″ no-turn neck. The record-setting brass was two and a half years old and had been reloaded 15-18 times without annealing. He neck-sizes first then resizes the whole body with a .308 die (this is longer than a 6BR body die so it sizes the longer BRX case from top to bottom). Larry’s shooting style is “modified free recoil”. He places his thumb behind the tang and one finger on the pistol grip very lightly, “just to index the trigger consistently”, according to Larry. He’ll let the stock touch his shoulder lightly. He shoots as fast as reasonably possible under the conditions. “Once I’ve got the gun indexed and the point of aim set right, I’ll touch her off–I don’t wait around”, Larry observed.
Editor’s Note: Larry is definitely a deserving record-holder. He truly is one of the “founding fathers” of this web site. Way back in May/June of 2004, before we even launched 6mmBR.com, Larry provided a ton of information that eventually went into our initial FAQ and competition pages. We want to thank Larry for all his assistance.
August 27th, 2007
 On its website, the Great Britain Palma Team is offering daily updates from the World Long-Range Championships at the Connaught Ranges in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. On the team’s Home Page, you’ll find a full score-sheet and day-by-day reports of conditions and match results. The team has also posted a nice gallery from Connaught. CLICK HERE to view the latest images from the event.
 The World Championship kicked off immediately after the Canadian Championship wrapped up on the 25th. In Significant results from the Canadian Championship, Team Great Britain won the Canada Match with a record score of 1199.183, and also eged Team USA to win the Commonwealth Match by 4 points from the USA. Brit Toby Raincock (photo right) won the Grand Aggregate by 3 points. And American Thomas Whitaker (below) won the Governor’s Cup with a 297-31X.
Photos © Great Britain Palma Team, All Rights Reserved
August 26th, 2007
Though he is busy shooting with the U.S. Palma Team in Canada this week, recently crowned NRA Long-Range Champion John Whidden emailed us this exclusive commentary on his recent achievements. We asked John about the stresses and mental challenges involved in a big match such as the National LR Championship. We also requested details about the rifles John shot at Camp Perry. Read John’s comments below.
Winning Camp Perry and the Mental Game
Winning the National Championship is a long time goal realized. For me, being the National Champion was the single biggest shooting goal I had. I’m not sure exactly what will be my next shooting goal yet.
If I had to summarize the mental game at this level of competition in one word, I would probably choose the word “Confidence”. You have to have the highest level of confidence in your skills, your rifle, and your ammo. There can’t be even a shadow of a doubt that all of your equipment is the best there is. No detail can be left undone.
Confidence is a far reaching idea. It includes little things like making sure you have all of your equipment with you through the use of a checklist. Anything you can do to give yourself a higher level of confidence is worth doing.
Long-Range Hardware
In NRA Long Range, we shoot “Any Sight Rifles” and Palma rifles. The Palma rifles have to be .308s and they have to use Iron sights. The Any Rifles are used at different times with iron sights or scopes. They are also fairly unrestricted, as long as they are safe, .35 cal or under, and have no muzzle brake.
For the Any Rifle matches, I shot rifles chambered in .243 Win. My iron sight gun is a Winchester M70 action, Broughton 1-8 twist 5C barrel, Anschutz trigger, Robertson Original stock, and Warner rear sight. My scope gun is a Stolle Panda action with an Anschutz trigger, Broughton 1-8 twist 5C barrel, Roberston Composites Original stock, and a Nightforce 8-32x BR scope. All of my rifles are proud products of the Whidden Gunworks custom shop. I shoot the same load in each: Berger moly coated 105 grain VLDs, Vihtavuori N160, Lapua brass, and PMC (Russian) primers.
My Palma rifle is the same one I used to win the Palma Team Tryouts back in 2005 (Gun of the Week #59). It’s much like the aforementioned sight gun, except that the barrel is a Broughton 10-twist 5C. I shot the Berger 185 grain VLDs using Varget for powder, Lapua brass, and PMC (Russian) primers. The barrel is getting a little long in the tooth and I plan to replace it this winter.
The accuracy of these guns is simply amazing. The benchrest shooters pioneered this kind of technology, but their accuracy isn’t as far ahead of the rest of us as they think.
August 26th, 2007
 If you’ve been looking for the specialized reloading tools from K&M, contact Precision Reloading, 1-800-223-0900, a catalog and online vendor located in Mitchell, South Dakota. Precision Reloading recently started stocking the excellent K&M Arbor Press, which can measure bullet seating pressure with an optional Force Gauge. K&M’s neck-turning tool (item KMMACN) is a favorite of serious reloaders, and the Primer Seating Tool with depth gauge (item KMPST975, below) is perhaps the most sophisticated device of its kind. This gives a positive read-out confirming that your primers are all seated to the same depth.
Bruno Shooters’ Supply also carries K&M products at very attractive prices. Shown below is the Neck-turning Tool with optional Pilot Jack, Carbide “doughnut-cutter” mandrel and indicator for neck-wall thickness.
August 25th, 2007
From August 26 through September 2, the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) will host the World Long-Range Championship at the Connaught Ranges near Ottawa, Ontario. This follows immediately after the 2007 Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championship which concludes August 25th.
World Long-Range Championship General Information
Long-Range Championship Event Schedule (.pdf file)
World Championship Daily Schedule (Course of Fire)
The World Long Range Championship is a quadrennial event. It commences on August 26th with The World Teams Championships for Veterans, Under 25 and Under 21 Int’l Teams. This is followed by the Individual Long Range Championship events (27th through 30th). The Team World Championship, also known as the Palma Trophy Match, runs from August 31st through September 2nd. Countries that have competed include the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Natal and Rhodesia.
In Team competition, the United States has won 13 of the 27 Palma competitions that have been conducted since the championship started in 1876. There are 17 firing members (16 plus one alternate) and five coaches (four plus one alternate) on the U.S. Palma Team (below). The selection process required each shooter to fire four 15-shot, 1,000-yard matches a day for four days.
The Palma Trophy Match is shot in three stages of slow fire in the prone position using an iron-sight .308-caliber rifle with a 155-grain bullet. Competitors aim for targets that have a 20-inch bull’s eye at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards away.
Connaught is located on the Ottawa River approximately 20 minutes west of Parliament Hill on the municipal boundary separating the cities of Nepean and Kanata. Connaught has been the site of military training and research for over 75 years. The DND property covers 2,600 acres (1,058 hectares) with a waterfront of approx five kilometres. It has been a crown game sanctuary since 1929.
August 25th, 2007
 After some delays associated with licensing issues, Whidden Gunworks has resumed production of its bullet-pointing tool. Whidden’s Pointing Die System narrows the diameter of bullet meplats. This also makes the bullet tips more uniform by smoothing the ragged edges. The result is higher Ballistic Coefficient (BC), and, potentially, more consistent BC.
Our 1000-yard Editor, Jason Baney, has used the tool and he reports it performs as advertised. Jason noted a significant difference in 1000-yard vertical impact when he compared pointed and un-pointed 106gr and 105gr 6mm bullets. The bullets which were pointed-up with Whidden’s tool consistently hit higher on the target, indicating they flew with less drag to the target. Jason reports: “Shot round-robin, with my 6BR, 5-shot group centers were 18+ inches apart vertically. In other words, the pointed bullets flew 1.75 MOA flatter to 1025 yards. This number has been repeated in matches at Williamsport.”
John Whidden tells us: “Tests have shown pointed bullets to have a typical BC increase of about 35 to 40 points as compared to bullets right out of the box. At 1000 yards, we usually see them impact about 1-1.5 MOA higher.” The pointing die costs $250.00 plus $40 for each caliber-specific insert. For more info, call Whidden’s shop at (229) 686-1911 or visit WhiddenGunWorks.net.
August 25th, 2007
Many readers have been concerned that they have been unable to access Benchrest.com. Please be patient. The site should be up and running again very soon. Wilbur and his staff are in the process of upgrading server equipment to better handle the load on the popular website. This should permit the site to handle hundreds of simultaneous connections much more efficiently. Hopefully full access will be restored by Sunday, August 26.
August 24th, 2007
The 2007 IBS Score Nationals last weekend (August 18-19), in Canastota, NY, was a hard-fought battle that went down to the wire. Bradley Niese won the Varmint for Score Grand Aggregate, with a 500-32X combined score, just one “X” ahead of Danny Hensley (500-31X) and Dave Short (500-31X). Bradley was shooting a 30BR with a BAT Action, Bartlein barrel, smithed by Dwight Scott and stocked by Scoville. His winning load consisted of BIB 118gr bullets, pushed by 34.5 grains of H4198 powder and Fed 205m primers.
A very skilled and competitive field of shooters–with superbly accurate rifles–graced the firing line at Canastota. The first 13 finishers in Grand Agg rankings all had perfect 500 scores. In the 100-yard Varmint for Score Match, Ken Alfredo, Ken Wood, and Ricky Read tied at 250-21X (ranking third through fifth), and the next five shooters had identical 250-20X scores. That’s tight competition.
Al Kogoy Sr. dominated the Varmint Hunter class, winning both the 100-yard match (250-19X) and 200-yard match (248-4X). Al’s 30BR was smithed by B. Green, and featured a BAT action and Hart barrel. Gary Long was “top dog” in Hunter class, winning the 100-yard stage (250-16X) and finishing second at 200 (248-4X), just behind Frank McKee (249-3X). Gary was shooting the 30 Aardvark wildcat with Euber 112s and Vihtavuori N130. Gary smithed his own rifle which had a Hart action and Krieger barrel. For complete match results and competitors’ equipment lists, go to the IBS website, and click on “Match Results” in the left navigation column.
August 24th, 2007
MyTopo.com sells custom topo maps centered on the customer’s choice of location. Until recently, Mytopo’s offerings were limited to the United States. Just this week, MyTopo announced the addition of all 13 Canadian provinces and territories. The MyTopo Canadian system provides access to more than 12,000 new base maps, allowing customers to center a custom map print anywhere in Canada. Each map is available in a variety of sizes from 18″ by 24″ to a huge 36″ x 48″. Available finishes include waterproof synthetic paper, glossy poster finish, and full-seal laminated. Every map is printed with UV/fade-resistant inks.
“Those who have planned a backpacking or hunting trip to Canada know it can be hard to find good paper maps,” said Kevin Toohill, founder of MyTopo.com. “We expect the service to be a welcomed resource, and we know map enthusiasts will appreciate our customizing features, our folded, lightweight, waterproof paper option, and our ability to ship the maps within 24 hours.” With the ability for custom-centering and custom-scaling, map buyers have found they can often carry just a couple maps instead of a dozen or more.
Canadian topographic maps are based on the 1:50,000 scale, versus the US Geologic Survey (USGS) topo maps which are 1:24,000. MyTopo’s Canadian maps are made from scans of the original Natural Resources Canada topographic maps. MyTopo offers a choice of paper finishes, including waterproof, glossy, and laminated maps. The topographic maps range in price from $9.95 to $44.95, depending on map’s size. For more information, visit <a href=”Canadian topographic maps are based on the 1:50,000 scale, versus the US Geologic Survey (USGS) topo maps which are 1:24,000. MyTopo’s Canadian maps are made from scans of the original Natural Resources Canada topographic maps. The maps can vary between metric (meters) and English (feet) units. Newer maps are metric. The datum of the original maps also varies between the older North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27) and newer NAD83 maps. Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grids are pre-printed on ALL of the Natural Resources Canada base maps.
MyTopo’s Canadian topographic maps range in price from $9.95 to $44.95, depending on map size. For more info, visit MyTopo.com or call 1-877-587-9004 (toll-free).
August 23rd, 2007
Forum regular Al Nyhus has recently tried his hand at bullet making, producing custom 30-caliber projectiles for his 30 BR match rifles. With help and guidance from his “guru”, bullet-smith Randy Robinett, Al has produced some very impressive bullets. This demonstrates that with patience, determination, and the right tools and components, amazing results are possible, even for a novice bullet-maker.
Al writes: “Thought I’d post some updated info on my 30 Caliber bullet making adventure. It’s been a lot of fun and a real learning experience. I’d like to thank Randy Robinett for all his patient teaching and guidance. The bullets have been working well in competition, being used in the Varmint for Score portion of the IBS Wisconsin State Two Gun Championship win a few weeks back.
Here are two photos from recent testing. In the 100-yard, 15-round target, the wind velocity was purposely ignored and the group was fired only with the same flag angle, trying to determine how they worked in the wind. Winds were 12-18 mph from 4 o’clock.
This 200-yard group was fired in near perfect test conditions — overcast, early in the morning, with no mirage. We usually have a small window of what I call ‘Happy Hour’ before the winds crank up.” NOTE: Al’s 30 BR rifle was smithed by Stan Ware of SGR Custom Rifles.
Measuring Group Size
Note how Al measures his groups. Look at the top photo. You’ll see Al starts with the extreme outside edge of the hole, including the gray edge or ring. Then Al subtracts .290″, the TRUE size of one bullet-hole in the paper, as opposed to .308″, the nominal bullet diameter. If you simply subtract a full bullet diameter you will get a smaller number for your group size. That is good for the shooter’s ego, but Al’s method is more accurate because a bullet normally will cut a hole that is smaller than the actual bullet diameter.
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