Tripp Research Halts Plating Services

Virgil Tripp is a respected gunsmith and member of the American Pistolsmiths Guild. For over a decade, his company, Tripp Research of Alpine, TX, has provided superior metal-coating services for firearms. Tripp’s work was as good as it gets. If you wanted a superb hard chrome job, with uncompromising attention to detail, Tripp Research was the place to go. However, take note: Tripp plans to halt its gun-coating operations soon — if you want Tripp to refinish your gun, you MUST submit the work before June 13, 2008!

Unfortunately, Tripp Research has decided to concentrate on retail sales of magazines and other shooting products, so it will halt its metal coating services, effective June 13, 2008. The following notice appears on the Tripp website:

“Tripp Research Inc. is discontinuing its refinishing division on 06/13/2008. This includes both Hard Chrome and Coating services. This is a permanent cessation of refinishing services. It is not temporary. We will not accept refinishing jobs received after this date.

Tripp Research Inc. continues to stand by all of our refinishing work. Should you have any warranty questions regarding our refinishing, please contact Virgil Tripp…..Thank you for a over a decade of refinishing successes and all your support. The following is a partial list of firearm refinishers. This list, naturally, is not an endorsement, but rather a starting point for you to research[.]”

Metaloy
APW Cogan
Fords Guns
Robar
Techplate
Metalife
Rebel
Black T (coating) – 601-939-74488
Elite Custom Guns
Bear Coat

Gun Transport Tips from an O'Hare Airport Cop

Before he retired, Forum member Ron D. served as a Police Officer assigned to Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Ron offers some excellent advice for shooters traveling with firearms and expensive optics.

First, Ron explains that airport thieves can spot bags containing firearms no matter how they are packaged: “Don’t think you’re safe if your guns are placed in cases designed for golf clubs or trade show items. Baggage is X-Rayed now and cases are tagged with a special bar code if they contain firearms. It doesn’t take long for bad guys to figure out the bar coding for firearms.”

Carry-On Your Scopes and Expensive Items
Ron advises travelers to avoid placing very expensive items in checked baggage: “When traveling by air, carry on your rangefinder, spotting scope, rifle scope, medications, camera, etc. You would be surprised at the amount of people that carry-on jeans and shirts, but put expensive items in checked baggage. Better to loose three pairs of jeans than some expensive glass.”

Mark Bags to Avoid Confusion
Ron notes that carry-on bags are often lost because so many carry-on cases look the same. Ron reports: “People do accidentally remove the wrong bag repeatedly. I frequently heard the comment, ‘But it looks just like my bag.’ When de-planing, keep an eye on what comes out of the overhead that your bag is in. It’s easy to get distracted by someone that has been sitting next to you the whole flight. I tie two streamers of red surveyors’ tape on my carry-on bag.” You can also use paint or decals to make your carry-on bag more distinctive.

Choosing a Rifle Transport Case
Ron advises: “Buy the best [rifle case] that you can afford. Don’t cry when your $3,000+ Benchrest rifle has a cracked stock or broken scope. Think about what it would be like to travel across the country (e.g. to Montana or the Cactus Classic) and arrive with a damaged rifle. Remember the Samsonite commercial. (For you younger shooters, it shows a monkey throwing the suitcase around in his cage at the zoo.) Baggage handling is NOT a fine art. There is no guarantee that your rifle case will be on top of all the other baggage. Then there is shifting of baggage in the belly of the plane. Ponder that for a while. Rifle and pistol cases must be locked. It doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist to figure out that a simple pry tool will open most case locks. There is not much that you can do to disguise a rifle case. It is what it is, and opportunists know this. Among thieves, it doesn’t take long for the word to get around about a NEW type of case.”

General Advice for Air Travelers
Ron cautions: “Keep your hands on your items before boarding. One of the most often heard comments from theft victims was, ‘I just put my computer down for a minute while I was on the phone.’ Also, get to the baggage claim area quickly. If your family/friends can meet you there, so can the opportunists. Things do get lost in the claim area. Don’t be a Victim. Forewarned is forearmed.”

RCBS Partner Press

Compact in size, and weighing just 5.3 lbs., the RCBS Partner Press is popular with 100/200 yard benchresters who load at the range between match relays. Made of cast aluminum with a steel compound-leverage linkage, the Partner press is small enough to fit in a toolbox, and light enough that it can easily be moved from truck to loading table. Natchez Shooters Supply has the Partner press on sale currently for $58.20. Elsewhere you’ll see it priced from $60.00-70.00.

While we prefer something beefier for heavy case-forming duties, the Partner is a good portable press that you can take to the range or on a varminting trip. In the shop, it has a small footprint, so it doesn’t take much space on your bench. The Partner handles full-length sizing of smaller cases such as the 22-250 and 6mmBR with ease. The big ball handle is comfortable and there is enough leverage to handle most tasks. This press WILL load accurate ammo — last week we tunnel-tested 220 Russian ammo loaded on a Partner press. (Bullet seating was done with hand dies on an arbor press.) That ammo produced three-shot groups in the ones and zeros.

Negatives? We would NOT use the Partner for heavy case-forming duties, and the Partner is not designed for large magnums or very long cases. The press is less rigid than its RCBS RockChucker Big Brother and the priming system is inefficient. As with most presses we recommend you use a separate tool for priming.

Still, given its price and intended purpose, the Partner performs admirably. The Partner is also a good choice if you’re looking for a small, secondary press to mount on a portable workstand, so you can de-cap cases or seat bullets while watching TV or working indoors.

California Legislation Threatens to Restrict Ammunition Sales

A very extreme piece of legislation, AB 2062, is now being considered by the California Legislature. This bill, if passed by Assembly and Senate, and signed by the Governor, would impose stringent new limitations on the purchase of handgun ammunition. AB 2062 would also ban internet sales of pistol ammunition (and potentially) ammunition components. Because many popular rifle cartridges (such as .223 Remington) can be chambered in single-shot handguns, this bill could affect rifle shooters as well as handgun owners.

CLICK HERE for Audio File Explaining AB 2062

Under the proposed legislation, all vendors selling handgun ammunition would need a special handgun ammunition license that would be registered through the California Department of Justice. Pistol ammo buyers would have to obtain a permit, and purchasers would have to submit a thumbprint at the point of purchase that would then be sent to the California Department of Justice to be stored in a database. Finally, all sales of handgun ammunition would have to take place in a face-to-face transaction — no mail orders.

In the past, we have seen the California Department of Justice broaden the reach of a new gun regulation law far beyond its express terms. If AB 2062 is adopted, we fear that the DOJ could use this law to ban ammunition reloading components as well as complete, loaded ammo. If mail-order brass and primer sales for handguns can be restricted, you can bet that rifle ammo components are next. Let us be clear, however — on its face, AB 2062 does not ban online brass, powder, and primer sales. But we would not put it past the DOJ to try to extend a ban on ammo to the ammunition’s components, particularly bullets.

We encourage all California gun owners to contact your local Assembly Member today and urge him or her to oppose AB 2062. The NSSF and the California Assn. of Firearms Retailers (CAFR) are asking individuals to visit their local firearms retailers to add their signature to the opposition petitions for AB 2062.

CLICK HERE to download sample Petition.

Pennsylvannia Keep and Bear Arms Rally Set for April 7.

The third annual Pennsylvania Keep and Bear Arms rally will be held Monday, April 7 in Harrisburg, PA. In addition to interested citizens, representatives of major shooting organizations including the NRA, NSSF, and Second Amendment Foundation will attend the event. Pro-Second Amendment Pennsylvania legislators have also pledged to attend the important rally which begins at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, PA. Those of you who can make it next Monday should try to attend.

Aussies Build Electronic RailGun

This is it — a true revolution in Benchrest technology, a gun that can shoot one-hole groups with boring regularity without wind flags or sighters. Armed with technology from Australian defense contractor Metal Storm Ltd., a team of Aussie benchrest shooters has developed a new unlimited rail gun for international competition. This rig features five rounds pre-loaded into the barrel. Each projectile has propellant in its base that is triggered by an electrical impulse. Metal Storm figured out a way to fire each round individually, and the Aussie Rail Gun team, lead by retired engineer (and part-time barkeep) Tony Dundee, licensed the technology for Benchrest competition. Based in the small town of Merth, New South Wales, Tony said “the blokes at Metal Storm wanted $1,000,000 for the rights, but we nicked ‘em down to a couple cases of Fosters… and our solemn pledge to ‘Spank the Yanks’.”

A local legend in benchrest circles, Tony had been tinkering with a tensioned barrel benchrest gun for many years, until Internet Forum posters, including a noted Rimfire gunsmith, convinced him that set-up wouldn’t work because one can’t “Bong” a tensioned barrel to find the vibration nodes. On the advice of the “experts”, Dundee sold that gun. (The gun’s new owner then used it to win the Australian Long-Range Championship three years in a row.) Learning about the Metal Storm system developed by his countrymen, Dundee figured electronic ignition was the answer.

Dundee tells us: “Once I saw the Metal Storm, I said ‘Crikey!’ that’s the ticket. Five rounds downrange before the conditions change or the barrel moves. Bloody Brilliant! And it’s all-Aussie technology.” Below is video and a still image taken from the video. The video shows the Aussie Rail Gun, dubbed “Downunder Thunder”, firing rounds at various intervals from 1 second through 3 milliseconds.

At the max rate-of-fire setting, the Aussie Rail Gun can shoot all five projectiles in as little as 15 milliseconds. That’s a separation of just 3 milliseconds per projectile. Traveling at roughly 3000 fps, the bullets (more accurately described as “self-propelled electronically-ignited projectiles”) all reach the target in 1/10th of a second. But more importantly, the bullets all arrive on the same spot in a span of just 15 milliseconds–so changes in wind value don’t matter and windflags are no longer needed. “It’s about time”, Dundee said, “a forest of spinnin’ daisies and day-glo windsocks is just about the ugliest sight on God’s earth.”

The proof is on the target, as they say. The Aussie Rail Gun shoots one-holers with boring regularity. Dundee revealed, “You know mate, we don’t even really need a scope anymore for group competition. We just boresight the bugger and let ‘er rip.” All the shooter needs to do is center the Rail Gun on the target and pull the trigger 5 times (antiquated USA benchrest rules require a mechanical trigger, and having one pull per round ensures the gun does not violate machine gun laws). Then after a 1-second delay, a microchip-controlled circuit launches the five projectiles at 3 millisecond intervals. “It’s so easy”, Dundee added with a laugh, “a blind man could make the Hall of Fame with this technology.”

With the new Aussie Rail Gun, wind is no longer a factor. Dundee says: “Forget wind–we’ve taken it out of the equation.” In a rather poor Mexican accent, Dundee joked: “We don’t need no steeeenkin’ windflags”. Dundee notes the new technology makes matches more enjoyable: “This is the ‘no-stress express’. Hook up the battery, click the trigger, then bangity-bang and it’s time for a frostie with me mates. I’ll be drinkin’ while you silly buggers are sweatin’ over the bleedin’ daisy-wheels.”

Revolutionary Performance — At a Price
Technology like this doesn’t come cheap. Dundee admits development costs have been high: “I reckon we’ve got $100K into this rig, easy. But the folks at Metal Storm are picking up the tab for the most part and they’re swimming in cash–thanks to the U.S. Department of Defense and your silly Venture Capitalists.” Dundee concedes that at about $20.00 per round, the gun is a bit pricey to shoot, but he adds “think of the money we save in windflags… and, Hell, $100 a target is cheap if you KNOW it’s going to be a winner.”

Nervous Americans Fear New Australian Technology
The Aussie Rail Gun has caused concern among American Benchrest shooters. Posting on Internet BR forums, many have challenged the legality of the new Rail Gun. One poster wrote: “If it outshoots the gun I just spent $4500 on, it must be illegal.” Others concede that while the Aussie Rail Gun may satisfy the express terms of Unlimited Class Benchrest Rules, it violates their spirit: “As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t have to load your ammo between matches in a big hurry, worry about tune, piss and moan about conditions, and spend your entire afternoon staring at erratic windflags, it ain’t benchrest and I don’t want no part of it.”

Dundee isn’t concerned with the keyboard commandos challenging his new Rail Gun. “Typical Americans–just a bunch of whinging Sheilas. If they can’t beat us, they’ll try to ban us.” Dundee adds confidently, “‘Bring ‘em on’ as your President would say. When the dust settles at the big matches, you Yanks will all be singin’ ‘Waltzing Matilda’.”