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September 26th, 2008
The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Benchrest Club (Williamsport) marks 40 years of 1000-yard shooting this year. To celebrate Williamsport’s 40th year, and to raise funds for needed range improvements, a custom Commemorative Rifle will be raffled off. If you’re interested in taking a chance at winning this rifle, valued at $4000.00+, you have a couple more weeks to buy a raffle ticket. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Club’s annual banquet on October 18, 2008. The raffle is limited to 1000 tickets, priced at $20.00 each.
The rifle is chambered in 6mm Dasher. Components include: BAT action, Jewell trigger, Bartlein barrel, Baer stock, and a Nightforce BR scope. Many club members contributed time to fabricate the rifle, which would retail for $4000+. The rifle sports Bruce Baer’s innovative “Sidewinder” off-set stock. Mark King chambered the rifle. Springman Rifles pillar-bedded the stock, and Gary Hendrix applied the clearcoat. Engraved rifle components carry the Club’s logo and 40th Anniversary markings.
Please include a note with your payment stating that it is for 40th Anniversary Rifle Raffle. Raffle tickets can be purchased by mailing a check or money order (payable to “Original PA 1000-Yd BR Club”) to:
Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Benchrest Club
P.O. Box 1413
Williamsport, PA 17703
September 25th, 2008
Forum member Andy (aka GreyMist) has completed an interesting test, with five (5) different types of .243 Winchester Brass. He collected Federal, Lapua, Remington, and two different lots of Winchester-brand brass. Then he selected ten (10) cases at random from each brand and measured their weights. To ascertain case capacity, three (3) cases from each brand/lot that were closest to the average weight for that brand/lot were selected. The results were surprising: there was less than one (1) grain capacity difference between all the cases, even with a 14.7 grain maximum difference in case weight!
Measuring Procedures
The cases were sized in a Redding body die then primed with a spent primer. All were weighed before and after filling them with distilled water. The capacity shown is an average of all three (3) cases from that lot and represents grains of water. Note, I tested two lots of Winchester brass. Lot A was purchased in 1999. Lot B was from factory .243 ammo. There is a rather large disparity in case weight between the two lots. For more info and to see the weights of individual tested cases, visit GreyMist’s webpage.
| Brand |
Federal |
Lapua |
Remington |
Winchester A |
Winchester B |
| Capacity |
53.9 |
54.4 |
53.7 |
54.8 |
54.8 |
| Aver. Weight |
173.28 |
173.13 |
165.34 |
158.58 |
166.44 |
| SD¹ |
0.46 |
0.39 |
0.17 |
0.58 |
0.42 |
| Range² |
1.70 |
1.10 |
0.40 |
1.80 |
1.40 |
| % of Avg.³ |
0.98% |
0.64% |
0.24% |
1.14% |
0.84% |
1) Standard Deviation in grains.
2) Range is the difference in weight between the heaviest and lightest cases in the test.
3) Case range weight divided by the average weight.
 What the Numbers Mean
… And Some Speculations
Andy observes: “It certainly seems there is a huge difference in case weight between Winchester lot A and any other brand of 243 tested. What is also surprising is that there was less than one (1) grain capacity difference between all the cases, even with a 14.7 grain difference in case weight!
Should one be wary of trying the same loads that were initially tested in the light weight Winchester brass even though the capacity difference is small? I have had some interesting results with one brand brass that I cannot pass on yet, except to say I sent that company a sample of the lot I have been using. The Remington brass weight range was very low. These were taken from a box of once-fired factory ammo. I will have to acquire some more and measure it.”
Results of Larger Lapua Sample
In a previous session Andy weighed all 100 Lapua cases he had on hand. His measurements showed a total variation of 2.1 grains, with the weight range being 172.5 to 174.6 grains. That is a 1.2 percent spread. The most that came in at the same weight were 11 cases at 173.5 grains.
September 25th, 2008
 The 2008 Western CMP Games will take place at the Ben Avery Shooting Center north of Phoenix, Arizona on 11-19 October. The Western CMP Games Matches will take place on 11-14 October. The Creedmoor Cup Matches take place on 15-19 October. Together, these back-to-back competitions comprise one of the major West Coast events of the year for Highpower and position shooters, and there’s still time to REGISTER.
MATCH INFO PAGE | BEN AVERY Facilities MAP
These combined matches offer activities for virtually every highpower rifle shooter–from clinics for beginning shooters to less formal Garand, Springfield and Military Rifle Matches to CMP Excellence-in-Competition Matches to NRA Registered Service and Match Rifle Highpower events. The official program is posted at www.ODCMP.com/Competitions/WesternGames.htm. You can sign-up on-line for any of the Western CMP Games or Creedmoor Cup matches at this REGISTRATION PAGE. Just fill in your contact info and select the matches you want to shoot. All data is sent via the web so you don’t even need a postage stamp.
September 24th, 2008
 Precision Shooting magazine’s February ’07 issue featured an excellent write-up about Bartlein Barrels. Bartlein is producing some really outstanding barrels these day. Click HERE to read the story, by Robert Whitley. FYI, the barrel on Richard Franklin’s 300 Varminter in the featured story above was 32″, straight-contour, 15-twist Bartlein.
We were sufficiently impressed with reports about Bartlein barrels from top smiths such as Alan Warner, Grey Tannel, and Richard Franklin, that we chose Bartlein to produce two barrels for AccurateShooter.com’s 6×47/6.5×47 Lapua test gun now in the works.
The two founders of Bartlein are Tracy Bartlein and Frank Green. Both men worked at Krieger Barrels for many years. Bartlein employs advanced CNC machining techniques to produce barrels that are super-straight and dimensionally uniform. Alan Warner says the Bartlein barrel he installed on his wife’s 6.5-284 F-Classer shoots close to 1/4 MOA at 600 yards and cleans up easily. Richard Franklin told us the Bartleins he’s received have been outstanding. Robert Whitley has ordered eight Bartlein barrels, and he reports they are “great on the outside [and] when bore scoped, looked perfect on the inside as well”.
September 23rd, 2008
Legendary North Dakota shooter Richard Schatz, the “Duke of Dashers”, has done it again. Competing in challenging conditions at Byers, Colorado, against a field of top shooters, Richard took the two-gun championship. Glen Sterling also shot very well. Both Richard and Glen broke the existing NBRSA 6-target Light Gun Group Aggregate record. Glen posted a 5.3272″ Agg, while Richard had a 5.3702.” The previous record (6.125″) was set by Schatz at Byers in 2004. We’re waiting for final results, but there was some talk that Schatz may also have set a new 12-target Score record, but that is unconfirmed. Excellent performances were also turned in by Duane Capehart, Robert Hoppe, Daryl Kopriva, Dee Thompkins, and Joe Thielen.
Schatz shot his trusty 15.5-lb, 6mm Dasher in both Light Gun and Heavy Gun classes. This rifle features a Shehane Baby Tracker stock, Nesika Model ‘K’ RBLP, right-eject action, and a 27″ Krieger barrel. The chamber is basically a no-turn neck, but Richard does “clean up” his necks, turning them to a uniform .013″ neck-wall thickness. Richard’s match load was 33.0 grains of Reloder 15, CCI 450s, and 105gr Berger VLDs. This load runs 3020-3050 fps. Richard notes: “That’s the [velocity] spot where every barrel I’ve had likes to run.” Richard’s Krieger barrel now has about 2000 rounds through it. When the barrel was new, Richard seated his bullets just “kissing the lands.” He has not chased the lands over time so he thinks his seating depth is now at least 0.010″ off the lands but he hasn’t measured recently. “I don’t know [the exact depth], and I don’t care,” Richard told us, “because it still shoots great.”
Complete Match Results
Thanks to Forrest Foster, below we offer complete Match Results for the 2008 NBRSA Nationals in spreadsheet format. Right Click and “save as” to download the files. You will need MS Excel (or an Excel Viewer) to open the files.
NBRSA 1K Nationals Complete Score | NBRSA 1K Nationals Complete Group
The course of fire at this match was 12 total targets at 1000 yards, six targets for Light Gun and six for Heavy Gun. There are five (5) shots for record per target in LG, and ten (10) shots per target in HG.
September 23rd, 2008
Brownells has released its latest Catalog of AR-15 parts and accessories. This Third Edition has 76 pages of accessories, parts, tools and supplies for the popular semi-auto rifle platform. The new catalog lists 2000+ items, including 595 new products, plus almost 400 factory parts.
According to CEO Frank Brownell, “We matched the format of the big book (Catalog #61) making it really easy to find things. With the side bars, all the new products, the new custom-built guns, and the Made in USA flags, we think this is the best specialty book we’ve done so far.” Plus, for many products, there’s an online instructional video available.
You can order the FREE catalog at www.brownells.com or by phone at 800-741-0015 (mention code #PEG). Or, download a FREE .pdf version of the catalog by clicking the link below.
CLICK HERE to download Brownell’s AR-15 Catalog #3
September 22nd, 2008
The World Military Shooting Championship recently concluded in Boden, Sweden. American shooters did well, capturing the “Best Nation” title with the top aggregate points total. Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia was the top overall male rifle marksman, while Norway’s Gyda E. Olssen finished as top female rifle shooter. A Captain in the Norwegian military and an Olympic competitor, Olssen is surely one of the prettiest soldiers ever to shoot in CISM competition.
Captain Olssen — photo courtesy Norges Skytterforbund
CLICK HERE to download complete Match Results from Boden, Sweden
Team USA Wins Three Medals and Best Nation Title
American shooters from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, (and one USNR member), won three medals and the coveted title of Best Nation at the CISM World Military Shooting Championship. “We were down by as many as 40 points,” said USAMU Commander Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo, USA CISM Team chief of mission. Ultimately we pulled it out by 10 points and have won the title of Best Nation. We have not won this event in eight years. Our soldiers were shooting in events that are only shot at CISM and they are not events that we practice throughout the year. This just goes to show how important the fundamentals of marksmanship are.”
US Women Win Gold at 50m
The first CISM Gold Medal was awarded to USA’s Women’s Rifle Team in the Women’s 50-Meter Sport Rifle Prone Team Match. Winning gold were: Sgt. Kelly A. Dove, Spc. Nicole M. Cooper of the USAMU, and Army Reservist Lt. Col. Rhonda L. Bright, formerly of the USAMU. In this match, the women fired 60 shots in 1.5 hours at a target with a bullseye smaller than a dime. Germany took the Silver Medal and Norway the Bronze.
China Wins Most Medals
The World Military Shooting Championship involves both pistol and rifle disciplines. By dominating the pistol matches, China finished with the highest medal count. China took home eleven medals from the championships, six of them gold, two silver and three bronze. Norway came second in the medal count with eight medals, followed by Belarus with five.
Norway’s Men and Women Both Win Gold in Team Rifle Events
The Team Rifle competition yielded double Gold Medals for Norway. In the 300m three-position military rapid fire rifle team match, Norway’s men smashed the world record to win gold. The new record is 1,724 points — 31 points better than the previous record. In the women’s 3×20 team rifle match, Norway’s lady shooters grabbed the gold, finishing two points ahead of runner-up Sweden. The Norwegian gold-medal winning team consisted of Kristina Vestveit, Gyda E. Olssen and Hanne Skarpodde. “We really hadn’t expected this, we did have our sights on a medal, but we never thought we’d shoot better than Germany’s team,” said an overjoyed Stale Larsen, team leader for the Norwegian women’s team.
Norway’s Army Capt. Gyda E. Olssen, hugs Norway team leader Stale Larsen
Photographer: Mats Engfors, PIC WMSC 2008.
September 21st, 2008
Earlier this summer, Marine Corps instructors tutored 146 junior shooters at the Annual Camp Perry USMC Junior High Power Clinic. Retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant Ken Roxburgh and his cadre of Marine and Team Bushmaster shooting instructors held forth in proper Marine fashion. As the clinic began, Gunny Roxburg barked: “You will not disrespect your instructors or your classmates by closing your eyes during this clinic.”
The clinic ran Friday, 25 July, through Sunday, 27 July, and focused on the key elements of range safety and etiquette, shooting position, aiming, sling skills, trigger control, zeroing, effects of weather and proper use of the data book. Roxburgh emphasized the science of shooting, spending considerable time explaining the physiology of sight and the physical requirements of successful marksmanship. At one point Roxburg chided: “If a shooter is having difficulty acquiring proper eye relief, perhaps he spent a little too much time with his good friend Jose Cuervo the night before.” Days two and three were spent shooting on the range firing at 200, 300 and 600 yards.
Roxburgh’s style of instruction combines education, discipline, humor, and mutual respect –- all key elements needed to communicate with young adults. Roxburg notes: “What we really try to teach is safe weapons handling as it relates to fundamental marksmanship and match participation. We have to have a great measure of self-discipline and the ability to follow appropriate orders and regulations given by the people that run these matches.” Roxburgh has been a lead instructor in the USMC HP Junior Clinic many different years. A member of the USMC rifle and pistol teams, Roxburg retired from active duty in 2005 after 30 years of service to the Corps — most notably as a sniper instructor.
You can learn more about the USMC Junior Clinic at Camp Perry, and read comments from students, in the The First Shot, the CMP’s Online Newletter.
Photos copyright ODCMP.com, used with permission.
September 21st, 2008
 In some areas of the country, for environmental reasons, shooters and hunters are not allowed to use solid lead or lead-cored bullets. One of the options available for these shooters is the new E-Tip® bullet from Nosler. The E-Tip features a plastic tip, an expansion cavity, and a patent-pending alloy construction that Nosler claims provides less fouling, and better bullet-weight retention than traditional pure copper designs. Nosler claims that the E-Tip’s Expansion Cavity allows for immediate and uniform expansion yet retains 95%+ weight for improved penetration.
As a “September Special”, Midsouth Shooters Supply, is offering E-Tip bullets at discounted prices. Four bullet weights are offered in three calibers. The prices shown below are for 50-count boxes.
| Caliber |
Bullet |
Midsouth Product ID |
Price for 50 |
| .270 Win (.277) |
130gr Spitzer |
115-59298 |
$28.29 |
| 7mm (.284) |
150gr Spitzer |
115-59426 |
$29.73 |
| 30 Cal (.308) |
150gr Spitzer |
115-59378 |
$29.73 |
| 30 Cal (.308) |
180gr Spitzer |
115-59180 |
$31.80 |
September 20th, 2008
The Presidential election is shaping up as a very close contest. Depending on which poll you read, McCain or Obama has a slight lead in the popular vote. What many voters (and most newscasters) forget is that we have an electoral college system. Each state delivers a certain number of electoral votes (usually, but not always, “winner take all”).
According to Electoral-vote.com, if the election were held today, Obama would capture 273 Electoral votes, compared to 265 for McCain. 270 votes are needed to win. The charts display predicted electoral vote outcomes in all 50 states.
But the race see-saws — just yesterday, McCain had the edge in electoral votes, 265 to 252. The difference was Pennsylvania. Interestly, Pennsylvania (21 Electoral votes), just yesterday was listed as “exactly even”, meaning it could swing Democratic OR Republican.
In the latest poll Pennsylvania is “Barely Democratic”. As goes Pennsylvania, so could go the Electoral College. Ohio is another key state. In recent Presidential elections, the result in Ohio nearly always predicted the eventual winner. Ohio is “Barely Republican” right now.
Message to Voters in Key ‘Swing’ States (Pennsylvania This Means You!)
Important states like Pennsylvania and Ohio could swing on a few thousand votes. Pennsylvania has a large population of shooters and hunters. If the hunters and sportsmen come out and vote in large numbers, this could determine Pennsylvania, and that, in turn could put McCain in the White House rather than Obama.
Other key states where the votes of hunters and outdoor sportsmen could shift the balance are: Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire. These states are now listed as “Barely Democratic” with a 3% margin of error in the polls. Quite literally, if hunters and shooters go to the polls in strength, a few thousand more Republican (red) votes could change the election. And consider this, if the tiny state of New Hampshire (whose motto is “Live Free or Die”) swings from “Barely Democratic” into the Republican camp, the loss of those four (4) electoral votes would drop Obama from 273 to 269 votes — below the 270 required to win.
LESSON: In the key states, hunters, shooters, and supporters of gun rights CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. If just one “Barely Democratic” state swings the other way, that could determine the outcome of the election.
The differences between the two Presidential candidates are great. The path this nation takes in the next four (or even eight) years will be very different depending on who sits in the Oval office. Will that be John McCain or Barack Obama? Pennsylvania shooters — it may be you who answer that question!
Charts syndicated via electoral-vote.com. Visit Electoral-Vote.com for daily updates.
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