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October 27th, 2007
 Here is an interesting product, currently on sale as a $19.99 “October Special” at Midsouth Shooters Supply. The Shooters Ridge Varminter Shooting Bag is a roomy gear bag fitted with a built-in rifle rest that retracts into the front pocket. The bag is built of rugged 1200-denier nylon, PVC-coated for rain resistance. It is big enough to hold ammo, muffs, binoculars, compact spotting scope and more. The bag also includes a padded shoulder strap.
While the integral rest is hardly a substitute for a good pedestal rest, this Varminter bag could be useful for the walk-around varminter or a shooter who might otherwise use a rucksack as a handy rest. At just $19.99, this product is a very good deal for a roomy range bag even without the integral rest feature. This bag regularly retails for $39.00 to $46.00 at other vendors including a lightweight shooting mat. (The $19.99 Bag sold by Midsouth, item 097-40484, does NOT include a mat). Here is a report from a Cabela’s customer: “There is plenty of room for gadgets and ammo, not to mention the fact that I have one less thing to carry when zeroing at 100 yards. I’m not sure that I would use this for any long range shooting or hunting but when sighting in my 243 WSSM it gave me the stability to produce consistent satisfactory 1/2″ groups with factory loads.”
To further sweeten the deal, Shooter’s Ridge is currently offering a FREE $24.99 Multi-tool, if you purchase $30.00 or more of Shooter’s Ridge Products.
Shooters’ Ridge Multi-Tool Rebate Coupon.
October 26th, 2007
Site contributor Chris Long (aka “TechShooter”) has crafted a report about his July, 2007 Prairie Dog Expedition in Wyoming. Ralph and Lenora Dampman of Trophy Ridge Outfitters served as guides for the trip. Trophy Ridge runs ‘Dog hunts near the town of Carlile in the NW range of the Black Hills, near Devil’s Tower National Monument. Primarily big game outfitters, Ralph and Lenora have access to thousands of acres of private ranch land. They run guided prairie dog hunts during their off-season. Chris reports “The terrain is beautiful, a welcome change from the South Dakota prairie, with lots of hills and Ponderosa pine trees. [These] ranch lands are home to some prodigious dog towns.”
Chris continues: “The goal of this trip (besides having a great time) was to get in some long range (1000+ yard) opportunities, and possibly even a shot over 1500 yards, in order to qualify for the VHA 1500 yard certification. I had worked up some really good loads for the 6.5-284 TubeGun and the .260 AI using the new 130 grain Berger VLDs, and wanted to see how they performed at these extreme ranges. I also wanted to see how the trusty 6 Dasher performed as a long range varmint cartridge.”
Chris Long was joined by two friends who came all the way from Virginia. Chris reports, “Our plan was to get in four days of intense, long-range shooting. We were not disappointed! The shooting was from 100 to over 1000 yards, and the dogs were everywhere. There were plenty of targets close in, so there was a lot a variety. It is especially challenging to move in and out in range by these extreme amounts. It gave me a lot of practice estimating range and wind conditions, then seeing if I could get the come-ups and windage right on the scope for the first shot at the new range. By the end of the trip, I was getting it pretty close, with some 1-shot hits out to about 600 yards.”
Chris’s primary long-range rifle was his 6.5-284 Tube-gun (photo above) running 130gr Berger VLDs at 3165 fps. Chris reports the 130s can be shot at 3165 fps with no excessive pressures, and “scary, one hole, 5-shot 100-yard group accuracy.” With a B.C. of about 0.6, the 130s shoot flatter and exhibit less wind drift than the 140gr class bullets at 2950 FPS.
Chris’s second gun was a more conventional bolt-action in a Franklin LowRider stock, set up with both 6mm Dasher and .260 AI barrels. Chris notes: “The Dasher has proven itself in spades as an extremely accurate cartridge for F-Class Open competition, and I was anxious to see how it performed as a varmint cartridge. The performance was excellent, with many hits out past 1000 yards. This rifle is set up as a switch-barrel rig, and is the platform for the 260 AI. I made a portable barrel vise that mounts in the trailer hitch receiver on the Suburban. That, with a rear entry action wrench, makes barrel changes a 5 minute affair. I would shoot until the barrel got a bit hot, then switch and proceed with the other caliber.”
CLICK HERE to read the complete story. It contains more load data, details of hits made out to 1330 yards, and many great photos of the Wyoming scenery. For .260 AI and 6 Dasher tech tips, visit TechShooter’s Shooting Pages.
Photos and quotes copyright © 2007 Chris Long, All Rights Reserved, used by permission.
October 26th, 2007
Forum Member Jeff R. (“aJR”) from Australia has crafted a slick, handsome cartridge holder to use with his heavy Benchrest Gun. Composed of two blocks of wood with parallel metal arms, the unit adjusts for height and block angle. Jeff tells us: “This is my new cartridge dispenser I knocked up in the shed. I wanted to get the record rounds up next to the action and this is adjustable for just about any gun/port configuration, right or left.” The cartridge caddy has ten round holes (for record shots) in the top wood block, stacked in two rows. The base piece has five holes for sighters, with the holes cut at an angle for easy access.
For the blocks, Jeff used “Jarrah” wood, a deep, red hardwood native to West Australia. Jeff says he did not stain the wood–what you see is the natural color, just sprayed with acrylic lacquer. A similar wood available in the USA is Satiné, also known as “Bloodwood”.
By the way, Jeff’s 1000-yard rifle is worth mentioning in its own right. It features a tensioned barrel system, and metal/composite stock. He will be shooting it at a 1000-yard match in Brisbane this weekend. Good luck Jeff.
October 25th, 2007
A quality mirage shield reduces the amount of optical distortion caused by heat waves rising from the barrel directly in front of the scope. On a hot day, after many rounds through the barrel, the benefit of a mirage shield can be quite dramatic. Benchrest shooters have used mirage shields for many years. Mirage shields can be just as beneficial for the serious varmint shooter. But, curiously, most varminters we know don’t employ mirage shields. We think they should. A mirage shield is a low-cost accessory that helps you get more hits and fewer misses.
As our friend Boyd Allen observed: “Varminters should use mirage shields. Think about it. You’ve invested thousands of dollars in a fancy varmint rifle and quality scope. You may have spent hundreds of dollars traveling to the varmint fields and spent dozens of hours loading up your ammo. Without a mirage shield on your barrel, once that barrel gets hot, you WILL get mirage effects that can make you miss a shot. A mirage shield costs just a few dollars. It really doesn’t make sense to go out to the varmint fields without one, if you plan on shooting lots of rounds. Barrel heat mirage can cause you to miss that critter, even if you have the most accurate rifle in the world.”
Dan Lilja offers a nice, wide mirage shield for $10. Dan notes: “Our benchrest mirage shield also works very well for field varmint rifles if there is a lot of action and the barrel is getting hot. The shield deflects image-distorting heat waves that come off of a hot barrel. The heat flows out past the edge of the shield and out of the line-of-sight of the rifle scope. These shields are 18” long, made of thin painted steel (like window blind material) and can be easily trimmed to length.”
Sinclair International also offers a 2″-wide venetian-blind style Mirage Shade, that costs just $3.95. It is available in two lengths, 18″ for BR barrels (item 06-7200), and 24″ for longer varmint barrels (item 06-7300). The Sinclair Shade is made of aluminum and can easily be trimmed to a shorter length. Like the Lilja shield, the Sinclair Mirage Shade attaches with adhesive-backed Velcro fasteners.
October 25th, 2007
 2007 Camp Perry National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky added another milestone to his list of achievements this past weekend. Shooting the same AR15-platform rifle that carried him to victory at Camp Perry, Carl shot an 800-41X score on the New Holland (PA) 200, 300, 600-yard National Match course. When certified, that will be a new National record. The previous record was an 800-38X (shot by T. Lawton in 2005). Carl, modest as ever, downplayed his achievement: “This time the close ones were on the inside instead of the outside [of the scoring lines].”
In High Power matches, competitors shoot in three different positions — standing, sitting, and prone — and iron sights are used. This makes High Power one of the most challenging of all rifle disciplines. Carl feels that his AR-platform gun does give him some benefits over other rifle designs. Carl noted: “For me, I shoot better standing scores with the AR. I can’t tell you why exactly, but certainly the self-loading feature of the rifle allows me to maintain position better shot to shot. The other advantage is in rapid-fire prone. There I think it is a real plus not to have to work the bolt.”
Carl Bernosky’s rifle features a custom upper built by John Holliger on a Smith & Wesson M&P15 lower with Geissele trigger. The upper has a 26″ Krieger barrel chambered in the 6mm Hagar. This is a new wildcat cartridge based on the 30 Remington case, necked down to 6mm. The 6mm Hagar resembles a 6.8 SPC with a .100″ longer body, 30-degree shoulder, and greater case capacity. It has a .420 rim diameter, and is formed from .30 Remington brass.
At New Holland, Carl shot alongside Robert Whitley. Carl said he was impressed by Robert’s new 6mmAR Turbo round. The 6mmAR Turbo is based on 6.5 Grendel cases necked to 6mm with the shoulder blown forward slightly. Carl told us: “If Robert’s 6mmAR Turbo can really shoot the 105s at 2880+ fps, then it should be competitive with the 6mm Hagar, and the brass is available right now. Whitley’s cartridge looks like it has great potential.”
October 24th, 2007
 Looking for firearms and accessories on the web? You can spend hours cruising Forum Classifieds. Or, with one click, you can view items for sale on a dozen different gun forums. Using robotic web spider technology, EliteDealSeeker.com collects active “for sale” listings from around the web, displaying them all on one page, sorted by site. It’s a great system that makes shopping for bargains fast and easy. Most of the listings are for optics and accessories for AR15 or semi-auto style rifles, and for handguns, but you can still find a bargain out there and this technology can save you lots of time. Spidered sites include AR15.com, Gunsnet.net, Smith-wessonforum.com, Sturmgewehr.com, Snipershide.com, TheHighRoad.org, Thefiringline.com, 1911Forum.com, and SigForum.com.
October 24th, 2007
 Winchester Repeating Arms, now a subsidiary of FH Herstal, plans to resume production of Model 70 rifles in 2008. Delivery will commence in June of 2008. The rifles will be built at the modern FN Manufacturing Plant in Columbia, South Carolina. This facility operates under ISO 9001 production standards.
The new Model 70s will have both classic and new features. The latest generation of Model 70s will retain a three-position safety, and the Pre-64 controlled round feeding. However, the new guns will be fitted with the completely new “M.O.A.™ Trigger System”. This three-lever trigger adjusts from 3 to 5 pounds. Triggers will be set at 3.75 pounds, and Winchester claims: “the trigger mechanism [will] exhibit zero take up, zero creep and zero overtravel.” We shall see–it’s hard to image a shooter-friendly trigger that would function well with absolutely no take-up.
The new Winchester Model 70 will be offered in a Super Grade, Featherweight™ Deluxe, Sporter Deluxe and Extreme Weather SS models for 2008. Prices start at $999.00 MSRP for the Sporter Deluxe. All models will feature a Pachmayr® Decelerator® pad and hammer-forged barrels. Winchester claims that Model 70 barrels will deliver “1 MOA accuracy for 3-shot groups using properly managed barrel, quality match ammo and superior optics under ideal weather and range conditions.” Future testing will determine whether Winchester’s accuracy claims are warranted.
Large Photo FeatherWeight Deluxe
Large Photo Super Grade
October 23rd, 2007
Preston Pritchet, the “main man” at Surgeon Rifles, wanted to create a special rifle for his daughter, to use in varmint and fun matches at his local club. Preston explained: “Here are a couple pictures of my daughter’s rifle. I’ve never built a flashy rifle before, because I have always felt most rifles are for hunting and should be a dull color and not flashy. But my daughter shoots the club matches with me, and after getting a lot of harassment because she was shooting a Remington, this is the result. I took our Surgeon single-shot action and stoned the surface to get rid of the tool marks. Then I sent it to a friend for engraving, and I had the action nickel-plated. Finally, the gun was fitted with a 28” Krieger 1:8.5 twist barrel, chambered in 6.5 x 47 Lapua. The barreled action was set in a McMillan F-class stock.”
Preston said his daughter had immediate success with her new rifle. “We had a match coming up and no time for testing loads. From the information on this website, I knew that 123gr Lapua Scenars and Reloader 15 should be an accurate combination for the 6.5×47. I took 123 Scenars, 37.5 grains RL 15, Fed 205M, Lapua brass. I got the rifle to the range and found a zero for her at 100 and 500 yards. To make a long story short, she took her new rifle and out-scored me at the most recent balloon match at our club. Lesson learned–with a good rifle, young ladies can definitely compete with the guys.”
October 23rd, 2007
Now through October 31, 2007, the Jewell AR15 trigger is on sale at MidwayUSA for $189.99, $14.00 off the regular price. This quality two-stage trigger, item 709049, allows sear engagement and trigger pull weight adjustment from the top of the lower receiver without disassembly of the firearm. Since it adjusts from 1.5 to 6 pounds, the Jewell trigger suits many disciplines–paper punching, Service Rifle Matches, and hunting or defensive uses.
The trigger kit includes trigger, trigger spring, disconnector, hammer and hammer spring. Installation tools and detailed instructions are included. This editor fitted the Jewell trigger in a couple ARs–installation is not that difficult. But if you are all thumbs, you may want to have a gunsmith mount the trigger and adjust it to your desired pull weight.
October 22nd, 2007
Whatever your politics, you owe it to yourself to learn more about the restrictive firearm laws adopted in the United Kingdom and Australia. These have effectively banned hand-gun and semi-auto rifle ownership in the UK. In Australia self-loading rifles and even pump shotguns were banned, and hand-gun ownership was severely restricted. In this 10-minute video, gun owners in the UK and Australia tell their own story. The message is clear–without unified, organized opposition by sportsmen and hunters, gun rights will be taken away. In the UK, even shotguns and 22LR pistols used by Olympic competitors have been banned. Think it can’t happen here? Well already in California, new sales of semi-auto AR15-style service rifles are completely banned.
This is a “must-see” video. CLICK HERE, or click on the image below to watch the video, hosted by YouTube. Other NRA-produced videos are available on this webpage.
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