|
|
July 27th, 2008
Proper eye protection is a “must” for all shooting sports. Even when shooting rimfire guns you should wear eye protection. A wide variety of styles and shapes are available. However, any shooting glasses you choose should provide ANSI Z87+ safety standard impact protection. We see many shooters that just wear ordinary glasses with non-tempered glass lenses. That’s not wise. Ordinary glass lenses can shatter on impact.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get superior quality shooting glasses. The UVEX line of safety glasses are durable, comfortable, and inexpensive. Featuring interchangeable lenses, UVEX glasses meet ANSI Z87.1-2003, CSA Z94.3 and MIL-STD-662 standards. Uvex safety glasses are the world’s top-selling protective eyewear brand.
The popular UVEX ‘XC’ style, shown above, comes in a variety of styles, starting at $8.50 per pair (clear lenses). The most expensive you can buy are still under $12.00. Replacement lenses range from $2.50 to $8.50.
The UVEX Genesis, shown below, is our favorite model. It features extended side shields and has been rated #1 for comfort by an independent testing group. The Genesis, starting at $7.65 per pair, has an elastomer brow guard, and soft, pliable nose pads making it very comfortable to wear for extended periods. It meets the Mil V0 ballistic test for impact. Like the ‘XC’, the Genesis features interchangeable lenses (including Clear, Amber, Espresso, Gold Mirror, and SCT glare-reducing lenses), and four different frame colors (black, brown, Vapor Blue, and Patriot RWB).
 
You can buy UVEX glasses at gunshops or on the internet. You’ll find great prices on UVEX safety glasses (and replacement lenses) at DiscountSafetyGear.com, Cooper Safety, and Tasco-Safety.com. Tasco Safety also carries many other stylish, ANSI Z87.1-approved safety glasses, including the Edge Dakura ($9.25 for Clear, Amber, Smoke, and mirrored lenses), and the Smith & Wesson 30-06 by Olympic Optical ($7.50).
July 26th, 2008
We’ve had our SEB coaxial front rest now for many months and we are impressed with its quality and performance. One of the great features of the SEB Rest is the front sandbag. It employs double-layer construction on the sides and bottom, and has a unique microfiber material on the surfaces contacting the stock. The bottom of the bag is hard and flat, so the bag sits nice and square. We whole-heartedly endorse the SEB front bag — it is an outstanding product, affordably priced at $20.00.
We’ve tested both 3″-wide and 2 1/4″-wide SEB front bags and they work great. With guns ranging from 22 lbs. to 10.5 lbs. we’ve found that that SEB front bags perform very, very well. They hold their shape, and don’t “hump up” in the middle. The microfiber material, in our opinion, is superior to either Cordura or untreated leather. Even without stock tape on your gun, the microfiber allows the rifle to slide very easily. With stock tape, friction is super-low. You don’t need to put silicone, sailcloth lube, or powder on the front bag — it’s not necessary.
Less Vertical, Better Groups with SEB Front Bag
One of our testers was experiencing vertical when shooting a 6 PPC with a different front bag. He tried both leather and Cordura front bags, and experimented with various amounts of sand fill, but the results were unsatisfactory. The leather and Cordura bags either did not hold their shape, or, with more sand fill, they were too hard and the gun jumped. Then our tester switched to a SEB front bag. He noticed an immediate improvement in gun handling and his targets showed reduced vertical with the same load. Problem solved. That tester is now consistently shooting groups in the low- to mid-ones off a SEB rest with SEB front bag.
While the SEB front bag is optimized for use with the SEB coaxial rest, it can be adapted to other front rest tops. The standard version is made from black microfiber with brown leather, but it is also available with black leather sides. The standard vertical thickness for the 3″ or 2 1/4″ section between the ears is approximately 1″, but other dimensions are available on request. The latest SEB front bags have a filler spout on each side.
SEB front bags are available in the USA from Paul Schmid in Ohio, (330) 684-2596, email: coyote [at] zoominternet.net . Call for current pricing. Price of standard SEB front bag in the USA is $20.00, while a SEB front bag for the big Farley Rest is $25.00.
July 25th, 2008
Shooting in the Unlimited (rail gun) class, James “Jim” McGowin shot a 0.355″ 5-shot group at 300 yards. This has now been officially “certified” as a new NBRSA record. McGowin’s group beat the previous 0.373″ shot by Art Freund in 1981. McGowin was shooting the 6mm Beggs cartridge in a match in St. Louis, MO. For his record group, Jim used his own 63 grain BT bullet, a 7.5 ogive made on J-4 .750 jackets in a Niemi die.
The 6mm Beggs cartridge is basically a 220 Russian necked up to 6mm, with a very small modification of the radius at the neck-shoulder junction. (Gene Beggs added a tighter radius to reduce case lengthening on repeated firings.) The 6mm Beggs, and its smaller cousin, the 220 Beggs, have slightly less capacity than a fire-formed PPC case. However, in a good BR gun, the “raw accuracy” of the Beggs’ cartridges can rival that of a 6 PPC. Indeed a standard, unmodified 220 Russian is competitive in the 100/200 yard BR game. Lou Murdica, a top shooter on the short-range BR circuit, has won many matches with a “plain-jane” unmodified 220 Russian.
July 25th, 2008
 Here’s something that can save you lots of time and aggravation on a varminting trip. This little $70 gizmo is great for varmint hunters and any one who needs to make a quick shot in shifty wind conditions. Instead of the traditional 1/4-MOA hash marks, the Kenton windage turret features markers corresponding to the wind drift your rifle will encounter at various distances.
Kenton Industries’ Tuned Windage Compensator (TWC) has built-in windage marks for 10 mph cross-winds at 100-1000 yards. How do they do that? Well the knobs are calibrated either for specific calibers/loads, or they can make custom knobs using your observed field data. The knobs can compensate for various wind speeds (2-20 mph) and angles (15°- 90°), by applying some simple conversion ratios. As a general rule, with a “full-value”, i.e. 90°, crosswind, the wind drift will go up or down in direct proportion to the change in windspeed. That means, for example, at a given distance, a 10 mph crosswind will push the bullet twice as much sideways as a 5 mph crosswind.
Two versions of Kenton’s TWC knobs are offered. The $69.95 TWC #1 features calculated ballistics for your caliber and barrel length. The $79.95 TWC #2 or #3 feature customized windage settings based on bullet BC, environmental conditions, elevation, and ballistic information you provide.
Kenton also makes an elevation-compensating TTC knob, that can be customized to your rifle. With this elevation turret, yardages are marked in 50-yard increments, and you can literally just “dial in your distance”. However, to work effectively the TTC knob must be tailored to a particular load (velocity and bullet). Moreover, actual bullet drop will differ with changes in altitude, temperature, and shooting angle — so it’s not as simple as it sounds, and you may need multiple knobs if you shoot a variety of loads.
July 24th, 2008
 Up-to-date results of the NRA National Rifle & Pistol Championships are available online at the NRA website. The Pistol events are concluded, the Smallbore (rimfire) 3-position matches finished on July 18, and the Smallbore prone events will wrap up today, July 24. The High Power Rifle Championships commence August 4th.
CLICK HERE for current Camp Perry Results
Daily updates, complete with interviews with shooters, are being published on the new NRA BLOG. This blog, with daily entries from two correspondents at Camp Perry, features plenty of photos, late-breaking news, a full schedule of events, and links of special interest. You should check it out.
July 24th, 2008
Sightron just delivered to Jason Baney an SIII 6-24×50 Mildot, the latest in the new SIII line-up of side-focus, 30mm Sightron scopes. This follows on the hot-selling 8-32×56, which was the subject of our recent Scope Test. Jason will be testing the scope’s optical qualities soon and using it in an upcoming tactical match.
The new 6-24×50 scope is also offered with a fine cross-hair with target dot reticle. Both mildot and FCH versions are 14.96″ overall with a near-constant 3.6-3.8 inches of eye relief. Clicks are 1/4 MOA (15 MOA per revolution), and total elevation (and windage) adjustment is listed as 100 MOA (50 MOA on either side of center). That’s a class-leading amount of elevation which should make the new 6-24×50 popular with long-range shooters.
Shown above and below is the Sightron 6-24×50 Mildot, flanked by a Leupold 8-25×50 LRT and the Sightron 8-32×56. The controls on the 6-24 Sightron are identical to those of its big brother, but it is shorter, with a smaller objective. The shorter length and 50mm front objective allow a 2.8 ounce weight savings over the larger model (21.9 oz. vs. 24.7 oz.).
Below are reticle specs for Fine Cross-Hair + Target Dot Version
July 23rd, 2008
The first-ever World Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Championship will be held from July 27 to August 3 in Milan, Italy. The event will be hosted at the Tiro a Segno Nazionale di Milano shooting club and the event will be conducted in association with the UK Association of Rimfire Benchrest Shooting International. The match will be administered under the Rules of the European Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Shooting Federation (ERABSF RULES).
This International Match is open to all shooters and organizations that shoot for Score similar to the RBA, IR50/50, UKBR22, .22 Hunter, BR50, or UITS. A standardized common target will be used and the match will be conducted under ERABSF RUles. For more info, visit the European Rimfire & Air Rifle Benchrest Shooting Federation website, www.erabsf.org.
CLICK HERE for Championship SCHEDULE of EVENTS
CLICK HERE for Match Rules
July 22nd, 2008
Bob Boch, current captain of the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team, has posted a new multi-distance F-Class record, a fantastic 449-32x. The new record was shot at the Forbes Rifle & Pistol Club in New York state. This was the “long-range” Palma-style match with targets at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. The Palma course of fire is 15 shots at 800 yards, 15 shots at 900 yards, and 15 shots at 1000 yards. Unlimited sighters precede the 800-yard stage, there are two sighters for 900, and two sighters for 1000.
Bob was shooting a 6.5-284 with a 30″ Bartlein barrel, 5R rifling, 1:8.5″ twist, 1.250″ straight contour. Barrel fitting and metal work was done by Warner Tool Co. in Keene, NH. Bob says: “My 6.5-284 load consist of the best bullet ever made, the 140 grain Berger VLD, behind 48.4 to 49.0 grains of H4350, depending on the particular barrel I am shooting. I have been shooting Norma brass in the past six months.
 Setting the Record — Just one “9”, On the Very Last Shot
Bob reports: “The conditions were good in my opinion, but conditions are like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. It was hot and humid, over 90 degrees by the time we got to the 1000 yard, with probably 90% humidity. Lots of grumbling on the line. The wind was light, but the flags are in the trees on the Forbes range. Very little if any use. It was overcast at 800, sun breaking in/out at 900 and very sunny by the 1000. Mirage varied between boiling, running and disappearing. The 9 was my 45th shot. The rifle/ammo performed superbly, the 9 was operator error for sure. Last-shot-itis or missing the change, you take your pick.”
Congratulations to Bob for setting an impressive new mark for the F-Class open division. A retired mechanical engineer, Bob was born in Hungary and moved to the United States in 1964. He has been involved in all kinds of shooting including pistol silhouettes, IPSIC and combat sniper rifle in various parts of the country. He has been shooting F-Class since 2001. Bob won the 2007 U.S. F-Class Open National Championship in Raton. He was a member of the 2005 U.S. F-Class Team and placed 7th in the individual World Championship, plus was a member of the 4-man team that won the Rutland Cup at the World Championship in South Africa. Bob also won the McDonald Stewart Grand Aggregate in the F-Class final of the 2007 Canadian Fullbore Championship.
July 21st, 2008
The Varmint Hunters Association Jamboree takes place this week, July 21 – 25th, in Pierre, South Dakota. This 5-day event features a 2-Day Shootout, 3-Man Team Competition, and 3-Gun Match with prizes valued at over $4900. Classes for the Shootout are: Stock, Modified, Limited Open, and Unlimited Open. CLICK HERE for complete Shootout Rules.
This is a family event with fun shoots Monday through Friday. There will be live and silent auctions, symposiums, special Ladies’ Events, regularly nightly speakers or entertainment, and a big Jamboree Banquet at the Ramkota Lounge on Friday. For more information, visit www.Varminthunter.org/jamboree.html, or call VHA members services, 1-800-528-4868.
CLICK HERE FOR VHA Shootout and Jamboree SCHEDULE of EVENTS.
Registration during Jamboree cost $40.00. A Shootout ticket alone is $25.00, while a Banquet ticket costs $25.00. You must be a member of the V.H.A. and registered for the Jamboree in order to compete in the Shootout.
July 21st, 2008
The PACT XP Chronograph is now on sale at MidwayUSA for $206.99, $23.00 off the regular price. (Sale ends July 31, 2008.) This unit contains many advanced features, is fairly easy to set up, and has a handy control unit with built-in printer. An enhanced “Glint Guard” bullet detection system provide greater sensitivity in a wide range of light conditions.
The PACT XP chronograph can also be upgraded with infrared screens. We highly recommend the infrared option, a $49.95 upgrade from PACT. You can also purchase the PACT Pro XP with infrared kit directly from PACT for $269.95.
The PACT Pro XP includes improved “Mark 6″ Skyscreens, mounting bracket, storage case, and a 9-volt battery. With software available from the PACT website, you can transfer your data to a laptop or home computer. The PACT Pro XP also features a built-in ballistics calculator that uses your actual chronograph and bullet data and corrects for windage, elevation, and temperature. PACT provides a bullet database with the Ballistic Coefficient (BC) of nearly all bullet designs from popular bullet-makers.
|
