Nightforce Optics has just released a new first focal plane (FFP) scope, the 3.5-15x50mm F1. This scope, developed with input from the U.S. Military, should be ideal for tactical applications. The scope is available with Zero-Stop windage and elevation knobs calibrated in 0.10 Mil-Radian increments. When combined with Mildot or MLR reticles in the first focal plane, the Milrad knobs permit easy and precise ranging and holdovers. (Turrets with 1/4-MOA clicks are also available.)
The big news is the first focal plane engineering — something new for Nightforce. The advantage of the first focal plane design (also called “front focal plane”) is that the reticle size remains constant relative to the target’s dimensions at ALL magnifications. With a first-focal-plane reticle, the ranging marks, such as mildots, stay in synch with the target image at any zoom level. This allows the shooter to range targets and judge hold-offs at any magnification. As Zak Smith explains: “In variable power scopes, a first focal plane (FFP) reticle configuration means that the angular measure of the reticle features stays constant. No matter what magnification [the scope] is set at, 1 MOA will be 1 MOA and 1 MIL will demarcate 1 MIL.”
This scope is made in the USA. It is in short supply right now but Mike at CSGunworks.com has two units in stock, priced at $2290.00 including MLR reticle, Milrad turrets, and Nightforce UltraLite Rings. Those two scopes will sell quickly but Mike should have more inventory before Christmas. Call Mike at (916) 670-1103 for availability (price subject to change).
Ken from Nightforce Optics has announced that supplies of the new 3.5-15×50 F1 will be very limited for the next 4 to 6 months because Nightforce is fulfilling U.S. Army contracts. Ken notes that: “this new model riflescope, in the Mil-Spec version, is currently in use by several U.S. Army Special Forces groups.” Ken provided these details about the new Nightforce F1:
Product Information for the NXS 3.5-15x50mm F1
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price is $2,410.00
Standard Features Include:
1) ZeroStop
2) Illuminated reticle
3) Side parallax adjustment
4) Set of Nightforce Ultralite 30mm medium rings, (limited time only)
Reticle Options:
1) Two mil-radian reticles are currently available: The Mil-Dot and MLR
a. Thin-line subtended measurement equals .250 MOA
2) Proprietary MOA type reticles will be available in the future. (Within the next four to six months)
Adjustment Options:
1) .250 MOA elevation and windage adjustments, ZeroStop
2) 1.0 MOA elevation and 1/2 MOA windage adjustments, ZeroStop
3) .10 Mil-Radian elevation and windage adjustments, ZeroStop
Ken adds: “Considering the fact that we will only offer the Mil-Dot and MLR reticle options in the short term, we believe the Mil-Radian adjustment option will be the most popular of the models listed above for the short term.”
First Focal Plane vs. Second Focal Plane Optics
If first focal plane design is better for ranging, one might ask “why aren’t all scopes made this way?” Well, there are tradeoffs. When shooting at known distances, if you’re trying to aim with extreme precision on a tiny X-Ring, you don’t want the cross-hairs to appear thicker as you turn up the magnification. With first focal plane reticle configuration, the reticle increases in thickness, as viewed by the shooter, as magnification increases. This means that, at higher powers, the reticle lines and mildots/hashmarks may obscure very small targets at long range. For a more complete discussion of the pros and cons of first focal plane vs. second focal plane designs, read Optics for Practical Long Range Rifle Shooting by Zak Smith.
Looking for a “very special” Christmas present for that young shooter in the family? Here’s a timely promotion on a quality Anschütz 22LR target riflle. Creedmoor Sports recently reduced the Anschütz CMP Limited Edition 1903J Junior model by $100 making the price $945. This is a limited offer while quantities last. Anschütz will no longer be manufacturing the 1903J Junior model so if you’ve ever wanted one, now is the time to purchase.
This smallbore target rifle has an ambidextrous beech (blond) stock with the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) logo laser-engraved on the rear of each stock. A quality Anschütz 6834 front/rear sight set is included with each rifle. The model 1903J also comes with handstop 6225, screwdriver, allen wrench, instruction booklet, and original test group.
This special offer is available on the Creedmoor Sports website or by calling Creedmoor Sports, 800-273-3366. More information on the Anschütz 1903J is found on the CMP sales website.
Edgewood rear bags are considered by many to be the “Cadillac” of rear bags. Offered in a variety of shapes and sizes, these bags are beautifully crafted of top-quality materials. Most of Edgewood’s current line-up of rear bags are optimized for use on a bench, but Edgewood also builds bags for F-Class shooters. Jack Snyder, Edgewood’s owner/chief designer, is soliciting ideas for new bag designs for F-classers. Jack posted this request in our Shooters’ Forum:
To all F-Class Shooters: We’re in the process of doing some serious R & D for new products specifically for F-Class Shooters. Our focus, in the past, was on Benchrest, but we’ve had many calls lately from F-Class shooters requesting different Rear Bag body heights, Ear heights/spread and more. Our new Grab Bag (offered by Sinclair Int’l) has become popular with F-Class Shooters because of its easy-to-grab handle. And we’re now ready to begin working on other bags and products to suit the F-Class Shooter’s specific needs. Email sales[at]edgebag.com with any and all ideas, suggestions and general comments, and we’ll get back to you. Thanks, in advance, for any input you might offer. — Jack Snyder
You can reply to the folks at Edgewood via sales[at]edgebag.com or you can join the rear bag design discussion on our Forum:
Muzzle brakes are controversial. Some people swear by them, while others swear at them. Still, there’s no question that a good brake can reduce felt recoil up to 45%. And likewise, the best brakes, when installed properly, seem to have no negative effect on accuracy.
Roy Bertalotto has done considerable experimentation with muzzle brakes, testing dozens of brake designs on his own rifles over the past few years. Roy’s article, Adventures with Muzzle Brakes, discusses various aspects of muzzle brake design and performance. Roy doesn’t claim that his testing is definitive, but his article is definitely worth a read. Here are some of Roy’s interesting findings:
Exit Hole Diameter
“Best accuracy and effectiveness of the brake was obtained with a hole .020″ over bullet diameter. If the exit hole is too small, such as +.005″ over bullet diameter, accuracy suffers. If the depth of the exit hole is too shallow, the metal around the hole will erode very quickly.”
Hole Placement
“The most effective braking was with a brake 1″ in diameter with a 3/4″ exit hole on each side, just in front of the muzzle. The bullet passes through a cone of 35 degrees before it exits the brake. (Like the tank example), Incredible reduction of recoil. But loud and ugly. Very easy to make since you don’t need a spin fixture or a dividing head.”
Bottom Gas Venting Helps Accuracy
“In my tests, not having holes all around the brake effects accuracy a bit. I believe it does something to the bullet by the air pushed ahead of the bullet creating unequal turbulence in the bullet path. I’ve tried a few brakes where I drilled only holes on the top, test fired, and then completed holes on the bottom and in every case, accuracy improved.” Below you see some spiral-ported brakes crafted by Clay Spencer.
Brakes Work Best with High-Pressure Cartridges
“The higher the pressure of the particular round, the more effective the brake. I have over 20 rifles with brakes. The 220 Swift is the king of reduction. Followed very closely by the 25-06, 6mm Remington, any Weatherby small bore. With a proper brake and a hot handload under a 40 gr bullet, the Swift will move 1/2″ to the rear and 0 muzzle rise! Big boomers with low pressure like 45-70s and shot guns benefit the least.” [Editor’s Note: Roy is judging effectiveness by the percentage of recoil reduction rather than absolute levels of recoil. Obviously if you start with a heavier-recoiling round, the absolute amount of recoil energy reduction is greater. Roy is really talking about efficiency–brakes are most efficient when used with high-pressure cartridges.]
Installation is Key to Accuracy
Roy’s findings are fascinating and suggest that further study of muzzle brakes is warranted. But we can all agree that precision installation of the brake is essential for accuracy. A poorly-installed, mis-aligned brake will degrade accuracy, that is well-known.
Harrell’s Precision has made tens of thousands of muzzle brakes, in many styles and port arrangements. The Harrell brothers offer some good advice for gunsmiths installing brakes: “Muzzle brakes aren’t magic, they reduce recoil by redirecting exiting gas. What’s important is that they are straight and the threads are perpendicular with the base. The only way to get the base and threads perpendicular is to thread, not tap, them on a lathe.”
Here’s a sweet deal for a hunter looking for a 3-9 power scope and laser rangefinder for a low total cost. Currently, SWFA (Riflescopes.com) is offering a Package Deal. For just $349.95 total you get a Nikon 3-9×40 ProStaff BDC Scope, plus a Nikon ProStaff Laser 550 Rangefinder (with case). Nikon even kicks in a $50.00 Nikon ProGear Gift Card.
The 12.3″-long scope features low-profile windage and elevation knobs and weighs just 13.7 ounces. The ProStaff Rangefinder has a 6x21mm viewing lens, weighs just 6.3 ounces and is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. The ProStaff 550 Rangefinder, by itself, sells for $185-$200 at other web vendors. This rangefinder has received generally quite positive reviews from Cabela’s customers. We suggest you read those reviews (in full) to decide whether the unit will meet your needs.
Bullet-Drop-Compensating Reticle
Nikon’s BDC reticle features a conventional medium plex crosshair augmented by four hollow circles placed below center on the verticle line. The small circles provide additional aiming points corresponding to Point of Impact at different distances. This way, the theory goes, a hunter can easily move from one distance to another without the need to click different elevations with his scope turrets.
The standard Nikon BDC is designed to be used with most standard centerfire cartridges with typical bullet weights, providing aiming points out to 500 yards with a 100-yard sight-in. With magnum cartridges and typical bullet weights, the same scopes with BDC reticles offer aiming points out to 600 yards with a 200-yard sight-in.
Many of our Forum members have tried Nikon scopes with the BDC reticle. The general consensus was that the crosshairs are quite thick so this reticle is best suited for larger game out to 300 yards or so. At longer ranges, the reticle can obscure small targets such as prairie dogs. For deer and antelope, this can be a good reticle choice.
Many of the most popular powders sold under the Hodgdon brand in the USA (including Varget and H4350) are made by ADI Ltd. in Australia. Some load manuals list ADI data, but not Hodgdon data, or vice-versa, so we’ve compiled this list of equivalent powders. If you can’t find a recommended load for a particular Hodgdon powder in your caliber, download the latest ADI Smokeless Powders Handloaders Guide, a 2.8 megabyte Acrobat file.
Here’s a list of ADI to Hodgdon Powder equivalents:
AS30N=Clays
AP50N = (No Hodgdon)
AS50N = International
AP70N = Universal
AP100 = (No Hodgdon)
AR2205 = H4227
AR2207 = H4198
AR2219 = H322
Bench Mark1 = (No Hodgdon)
Bench Mark2 = BenchMark
USA Shooting, the governing body of the Olympic shooting sports for the United States, has announced that 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Glenn Eller of Katy, Texas, and Silver Medalist Kim Rhode of El Monte, Calif., have been selected as the 2008 USA Shooting Athletes of the Year. Other Olympians receiving honors as Discipline Athletes of the Year were Matt Emmons of Browns Mills, N.J., for men’s rifle, Jamie Beyerle of Lebanon, Pa., for women’s rifle, and Jason Turner of Rochester, N.Y., for men’s pistol. Eller and Rhode’s names will be submitted to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) for consideration for the 2008 USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards.
Four-time Olympian Kimberly Rhode, who was also the 2007 USAS Female Athlete of the year, captured her fourth career Olympic medal in Beijing when she brought home the silver in Women’s Skeet. She won the silver medal at the World Cup in Kerrville, Texas in May and finished in fourth place at the World Cup Suhl and also at the World Cup Final in Minsk, Belarus. Rhode won the Women’s Skeet event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and was also the 2008 National Champion. Rhode finished in second place at the Shotgun Fall Selection Match, claiming a spot on the 2009 World Shotgun Championship team.
Three-time Olympian Eller, a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), claimed the first Olympic medal of his career when he captured the Men’s Double Trap gold in Beijing this past August. He also claimed the silver medal at the Beijing World Cup in April, which served as the test event for the Olympic Games and placed fourth at both World Cup Kerrville and World Cup Suhl. Nationally, Eller finished in first place overall at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shotgun and also claimed the top spots at the Shotgun National Championships and Shotgun Fall Selection Match, landing himself a spot on the 2009 World Shotgun Championship team.
Photos courtesy USAMU and USA Shooting, All Rights Reserved.
Last summer we featured a portable reloading bench built on a Black & Decker Workmate. We’ve received many inquiries about this sturdy, efficient design, so we’re showing it again, in case you missed it the first time. this is a perfect do-it-yourself project that can be used at home or at the range.
Texan Robert Lewis made himself a great portable reloading bench from plywood mounted to a Black & Decker Workmate. The bench, roughly 22″ x 19″ on top, folds up to fit easily in your car’s trunk or behind the seats in a pick-up truck cab. Four recessed bolts hold the wood top section to the collapsible B&D Workmate.The sides and back of the unit are attached to the base with small nails. There is a small shelf (also nailed in place) which can be used to clamp a powder measure or hold a scale. Shown in the photo is a Harrell’s Benchrest measure and Harrell’s single-stage “C” press.
The whole unit can be built for about $65.00 with pine, or $80.00 with oak (as shown). Robert explained: “The Workmate was $40. If someone bought a 2’x4′ sheet of 3/4″ oak plywood, I think it is around $30. Using pine plywood would be about half that. Fasteners were $3. Spar Urethane would be $5.”
Robert told us: “I used a couple ideas I found on the web. The Larry Willis website gave me the idea to use the Black and Decker Workmate as a base. I found the Workmate on sale for $40 and the top is made from oak plywood I had in my shop. I sealed the wood with three coats of Spar Urethane. The whole thing folds into a nice package for transportation to and from the range.”
Whether you’re a High Power or F-Class shooter, or a varminter who shoots from the ground with bipod, you need a decent shooting mat for field use. A mat keeps you off dirty, rocky ground and provides cushioning for the “hard points” (knees, hips, elbow) when shooting prone. You can spend up to $150.00 for a top-quality shooting mat. Alternatively, for just twenty bucks, the MidwayUSA shooting mat will probably suffice. On sale this month for just $19.99, the 69″ long x 27″ wide shooting mat has padded sections for knees and elbows, and it rolls up into a 7″-diameter package with carry strap. The bottom is a non-skid, water-resistent material — a nice feature when you’re shooting off wet grass or damp ground. The pad also has corner grommets so it can be staked down on windy days.
This shooting pad has received favorable reviews from MidwayUSA customers. Here are some recent comments:
Five Stars. Great mat for the money. Small enough when rolled to pack into the P-Dog towns. Well constructed and designed. Midway has their act together. Very fast shipping too. — Michael Kelley of Pleasant Hope, MO
Five Stars. I purchased 30 of these on sale for my shooting club’s use in CMP, Rifle team, and junior [matches]. They are a good buy for the money. They are slightly thinner than some other mats I’ve used, but shooting mats are not sleeping bag pads. They shouldn’t be too thick or soft. The idea is to give you a firm, stable surface to shoot from. Not something to fall asleep on. A good buy for the money. — Ross Estabrooks of Dedham, MA
Four Stars. Could be a bit thicker but it works just fine, I like the waterproof underside. Have used it to cover up the gear during a downpour. — VeRiTas of Atlanta, GA
When Reloder 17 first became available (in limited quantities) our team tested it and found that it possessed some remarkable qualities. In certain cartridges, such as the 6XC and .284 Winchester, Reloder 17 provided significant increases in velocity compared to other popular propellants. We’re not talking about a mere 10 or 20 fps gain. Reloder 17, in some cartridges, lets you shoot 100 or even 150 fps faster than ever before. (RL 17 is a slow-burning powder that works best in cartridges where you might otherwise use H4350, Reloder 22, or H4831sc.) Needless to say, when the word got out, Reloder 17 quickly sold out at the major vendors such as Grafs.com and Powder Valley.
We’ve been informed that a 20,000-lb shipment of Alliant Reloder 17 is on its way to the USA via cargo ship. Once it arrives on American shores it must clear customs, then be inspected, and then transferred from bulk containers into consumer packaging. That will take a few weeks. Alliant tells us it hopes to have Reloder 17 back on dealers’ shelves by Mid-December.
To all F-Class Shooters: We’re in the process of doing some serious R & D for new products specifically for F-Class Shooters. Our focus, in the past, was on Benchrest, but we’ve had many calls lately from F-Class shooters requesting different Rear Bag body heights, Ear heights/spread and more. Our new 
Four-time Olympian Kimberly Rhode, who was also the 2007 USAS Female Athlete of the year, captured her fourth career Olympic medal in Beijing when she brought home the silver in Women’s Skeet. She won the silver medal at the World Cup in Kerrville, Texas in May and finished in fourth place at the World Cup Suhl and also at the World Cup Final in Minsk, Belarus. Rhode won the Women’s Skeet event at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and was also the 2008 National Champion. Rhode finished in second place at the Shotgun Fall Selection Match, claiming a spot on the 2009 World Shotgun Championship team.
Last summer we featured a portable reloading bench built on a Black & Decker Workmate. We’ve received many inquiries about this sturdy, efficient design, so we’re showing it again, in case you missed it the first time. this is a perfect do-it-yourself project that can be used at home or at the range.
