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November 10th, 2008
Jim Kelbly recently let us know that a new March Scope will be entering production soon, a 5-32x52mm. This scope will be available, exclusively from Kelbly’s Inc., in December 2008. The new 5-32x52mm will be the second variable-focal-length scope in the March line-up, complementing the superb March 10-60x52mm zoom. Our friend Joe Friedrich recently received one of the 10-60X March zooms and he has compared it with Leupold comp scopes and his own 45x March. “You won’t believe it”, Joe told us “but I think this thing is brighter than my 45X March when set at the same magnification. As for the Leupolds… well, there’s no comparison. This 10-60X is a fantastic scope.”
The new 5-32×52 scope features 60 MOA of elevation and 40 MOA of windage adjustment, with 1/8th MOA clicks. Max field of view (at 5-power) is 4 degrees, and eye relief is near constant, at 3.34″ to 3.89″ over the entire zoom range. Three reticles will be offered: Fine Cross-Hair, Fine Cross-Hair with 1/8” OR 1/16” dot, and the new MTR-1 tactical ranging reticle. The scope has a 30mm main tube, is 16.02″ long, and weighs 25 ounces. The 5-32x52mm March will be priced at $2400.00, or $2600.00 with MTR-1 reticle. For more info, call Kelbly’s at (330) 683-4674.
CLICK HERE for March 5-32×52 Spec Sheet (Excel file).
 New MOA-based MTR-1 Ranging Reticle
Kelbly’s is also introducing a new MTR-1 ranging reticle for March scopes. Though dubbed a “tactical” reticle, it does NOT have military-style mil dots (for use with milrad scope clicks). The reticle is a fairly fine black crosshair with vertical and horizontal “hash marks” at 2 MOA intervals (when set at 20X magnification). Both the horizontal and vertical directions have a total of 20 divisions each. These hash marks can be used to hold elevation and windage for long-distance target engagement.
For American shooters, who typically think in inches and MOA, the MTR-1 reticle should proove “user-friendly” for horizontal hold-offs at long range since one MOA roughly translates to 1″ per hundred yards. For example, if you are shooting at 600 yards with the scope set at 40X, and your sighter ends up 12″ wide of your point of aim, that’s 2 MOA so you can simply move over one hash mark. This is a quite different than mildot ranging, but we think many competition shooters and varmint hunters (as opposed to military snipers) will find it easy to use. (On the 10-60X52 March scopes, you can also use this reticle at 40-power. At that setting, one hash-mark span equals 1 MOA.)
CLICK HERE for March MTR-1 Reticle Information (.pdf file).
The MTR-1 reticle can also be used for ranging. For example, if a target of a known height of 12″ is seen through the scope and appears to match one hash-mark division, then you can calculate your distance as follows. Dividing 12″ by 2 MOA equals 6, which means the distance to the target is 600 yards. For benchrest shooters, the hash marks can be used to easily estimate the size of a group (provided of course, you are shooting at a known distance and can see the bullet holes).
November 10th, 2008
The prices of semi-automatic rifles may be zooming upwards, but many of our favorite vendors are offering special discounts on reloading components and shooting accessories. Here are some of the bargains to be had this November:
Midsouth Shooters Supply
— 10% off Ramshot powders (already attractively priced). For example: Ramshot Tac, Hunter, or Big Game, just $14.72 per pound. Ramshot SALE ENDS Nov. 14!
— Hornady Lock-N-Load Powder measure just $57.81, and 100 free bullets with purchase. This is a good measure, similar to RCBS Uni-flow.
— Varmint Nightmare X-Treme FBHP bullets, just $34.48 for five hundred (500). Either 34gr .224 diameter or 34gr .204 diameter. That works out to just $6.89 per hundred! Great choice for .204 Ruger, 20 Practical or 20 VarTarg.
CLICK HERE to download Midsouth Fall Specials catalog
Grafs.com
— Special Savings on Leupold VX-III and VXL. Prices too low to post on the web. Call for price quotes and availability, 1-800-531-2666.
 Creedmoor Sports
— $50.00 off famous Hardback Shooting Coats.
— Free ground shipping on any order over $300.00 Total, and free shipping on Kalispel gun cases (no price limit.)
Precision Reloading
— 10% off Berger, Hornady, Sierra, and Remington bullets (if you spend $100.00 or more). Limited to inventory in stock.
— 10% off ALL Norma brass.
Lock, Stock, & Barrel
— 20% off Federal Primers (phone sales only).
Call toll-free: 1-800-228-7925.
November 9th, 2008
 In our recent article on Bullet Coating we covered the basic principles of applying dry lubricants to “naked” bullets. This article covered the three main coating options: Molybdenum Disulfide (Moly), Tungsten Disulfide (WS2 or “Danzac”), and Hexagonal Boron Nitride (HBN or “White Graphite”). All three compounds can be impact-plated on to bullets with relative ease, using inexpensive equipment. Moly is still the most popular choice, but many more shooters are considering HBN because it is ultra-slippery, it is less messy, and it offers some advantages over Moly or WS2.
After we published our Bullet Coating feature, many readers asked for more info on HBN. Some current moly users had questions about switching over to Boron Nitride. Recently Forum member Larry Medler published an excellent web article discussing the process of applying 70nm HBN using plastic jars and a Thumler’s rotary tumbler. If you are working with HBN currently, or plan to experiment with Boron Nitride, you should read Medler’s HBN-Coating Article.
After coating some bullets for his 6XC, Medler seems “sold” on the merits of HBN. Larry writes: “The coating process is much better than Moly — no black mess. My coating process times are the same as for Moly. Three hours of tumbling in the corn cob and three hours of tumbling in the steel balls with 3.0 grains of hBN Powder. The bullets look something like sugar-coated donuts when I dump the jar of steel balls with the freshly coated bullets into my sieve to separate. The coated bullets wipe clean to the touch with a little towel rub down and remain very slippery. So far I am very pleased with my coated bullets’ smoothness and appearance.”
Field Tests Are Very Promising
Interestingly, Larry’s HBN-coated bullets are shooting flatter, with tighter vertical, than his moly-coated bullets. Since he has also pointed the tips of this batch of bullets, it’s not clear whether the reduced drop is due to the pointing or the HBN coating, but the results are certainly encouraging: “I have shot the HBN-coated bullets a couple of times now at 600 yards and everything seems to be okay or a lot like Moly. Funny thing is the HBN-coated bullets are shooting higher by 7/8 MOA. I have to check the speed and see if it has changed enough for that POI change. Good news is I had a string of 15 shots with less than 1.5 inches of vertical which is the best I have ever seen with my rifles. Is that due to the hBN or bullet pointing?”
Boron Nitride 500gr Packs Available for $20.00
Larry acquired more HBN than he needs, so he is offering smaller quantities for other reloaders to try. Larry tells us: “If anyone would like to try using the 70 nm Hex Boron Nitride powder, I have made a few small bags with 500 grains of the HBN powder. That’s enough to coat 10,000 -16,000 bullets based on my results so far.” $20.00 includes shipping. Send email to anyrange [at] comcast.net to order or to check availability.
Photos courtesy Larry Medler, All Rights Reserved
November 9th, 2008
 In the wake of Barack Obama’s election as the next U.S. President, gun vendors around the nation are reporting a significant rise in firearm sales. Customers are flocking to stores to purchase guns they expect to be banned once Obama assumes office. One shop owner noted that, since the new President will enjoy a Democratic-party majority in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, there will be nothing to prevent the passage of a new assault weapons ban and strict new controls on handguns.
As reported on ABC’s Nightline, gun sales have risen dramatically. The FBI reports that background checks are up 15% compared to the same period last year — and that was before Tuesday’s election results. Texas retailer Cheaper Than Dirt (CTD) has sold $100,000 of guns and ammo every day since the election. One CTD customer explained: “Everyone’s here for the same reason — buy it now or you won’t have a chance in the future.” CTD owner Dewayne Irwin says “I’m flabbergasted”, but he adds that he could be selling twice as many guns if he could get the inventory: “We’re buying [for resale] anything… pretty much anything that will take a magazine and is a rifle.” Click on the image above to watch the Nightline Special Report on gun sales.
The news is the same across the country — gun sales are up, way up. The Denver Post reports that a “crush of business” has hit gun shops and the state’s computerized background system was “jammed with waits” due to the spike in gun sales. In North Carolina, the Raleigh/Durham News-Observer reports that distributors are running out of semi-automatic rifles and prices are rising. Reporter Jay Price says that gunshops have the Democrats to thank for the buying frenzy: “Barack Obama said he would improve the economy. Turns out he already has, at least in one retail niche: gun sales. Starting in the days before the election, gun shops across the state have been mobbed by buyers who fear that Obama and a larger Democratic majority in Congress will restrict firearm sales. Many were stocking up on things such as assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and handguns that they think would be the most likely targets of new laws, though practically everything related to shooting has been selling more quickly.”
Are people smart to purchase controversial firearms now, or are they over-reacting to the Democractic election victories with “panic buying”? Some political observers say that there are much more important issues facing the Obama administration, notably the economy and Iraq, so passing new gun laws will NOT be a priority for the new President. Also, it is argued, the recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in D.C. v. Heller upholding the Second Amendment should dissuade Congress from moving aggressively to ban guns. On the other hand, some analysts suggest that quick passage of a new Federal gun ban is likely because it can be accomplished so easily. A gun ban is “showpiece” legislation that could be pushed through Congress quickly to demonstrate that Obama is acting decisively out of the gate. By contrast the bigger issues are much more complex and there are no quick, easy (or inexpensive) solutions. While he struggles with the economy and the Iraq war, Obama can show his supporters that he is “accomplishing change” right away by banning so-called “assault rifles”. He’s got the votes in Congress and a gun ban won’t add to the deficit or require new taxes.
November 8th, 2008
Some months ago, AccurateShooter.com and Robert Whitley teamed up to build a new 20-caliber AR15-based rifle. Our project goal was to create the “ultimate” semi-automatic prairie dog rifle. We wanted a low-recoiling, flat-shooting AR that worked great with a front rest and rear sandbag on a transportable field bench (such as the Coyote Jakes bench). We knew the basic AR15 design needed some “upgrades”, so Robert developed Delrin bag-riders for the forearm and buttstock. But we wanted the bag-riding components to be removable so the gun could be easily returned to standard configuration for shooting with sling or bipod. Robert worked with EGW to develop machined Delrin bag-riding units front and rear. The 3″-wide front “sled” attaches to the threaded anchor for the sling swivel stud, while the rear bag-rider mounts in place of the standard rear sling loop.
 
Our Ultimate Prairie Dog Rifle (PDR) features a 24″ Bartlein 11-twist cut-rifled barrel, DPMS side-charging upper, and a Jewell trigger. It is chambered in “20 Practical”, a cartridge popularized by Warren “Fireball” Brookman. This is simply the .223 Remington necked down to .204. You can use your existing .223 brass — no special case-forming required! The 20 Practical is accurate, flat-shooting, and has almost no recoil. The advantage over the standard .223 Remington is that, grain for grain, the bullets have a higher BC and travel at a higher velocity for more dramatic effect on a small varmint. The ultra-low recoil allows you to easily see your hits, even without a muzzle brake. The 20 Practical, launching 40-grainers at about 3750 fps, shoots flatter than a .223 Rem with 55gr hollowpoints.
Robert has lots of experience building AR15 uppers and he has developed advanced features that make the gun much more ergonomic and easier to shoot from a prone position or from the bench. First, Robert offers a side charging handle. This lets you keep your head in shooting position while charging the gun or retracting the bolt. Second, he has fitted a GG&G extended scope rail. This permits the scope to be mounted far enough forward to allow proper eye relief while using a high-magnification scope. Without an extended scope rail you typically have to move way back on the gun to get enough eye relief and then you can’t seat the buttpad properly on your shoulder.
 In the video above, Robert shoots the Ultimate PDR with Berger 40gr BTHP bullets. Robert is using the Caldwell Fire Control front rest and rear sandbag. The Fire Control Rest is an affordable, joystick-style mechanical rest that allows you to easily adjust windage and elevation with a single movement of the joystick. The rest is solid and sturdy; Robert says it worked well.
In this session, Robert shot three five-shot groups. Each group could be covered by a dime, which measures 0.705″ in diameter. Subtract the 0.204″ bullet diameter, and you can see this rifle easily shoots under half-MOA, even rapid fire (groups 1 & 2). For the third (and last group), Robert slowed down the pace, aimed more precisely, and put five shots in 0.257″. Not bad for shooting off a wooden bench without wind flags! Like what you see? As soon as accuracy testing is complete, this rifle will be auctioned off to benefit this website. EGW will be offering the front and rear Delrin bag-riders. They will cost $40 each or both front and rear for $75.00 total. Robert will also be offering 20 Practical uppers for your AR15. Email rcw3 [at] erols.com or visit 6mmAR.com for upper specs, options, and prices.
November 7th, 2008
The question is often asked “what’s the best cartridge for 1000-yard Benchrest”. This immediately stirs a debate between fans of the “Big Thirties”, 6.5mm and 7mm advocates, and a few staunch 6mm defenders. In truth, a wide variety of cartridges, from the 6mmBR all the way up to .338 Lapua magnum, can do well at 1000 yards.
 However, there is clear statistical evidence that magnum-class 30s are still the top dogs in the 1000-yard game. Steve Shelp, who shoots with the Hawks Ridge Gun Club in North Carolina, has amassed statistics from years 2000 through 2006, recording all the calibers and chamberings used in the matches of the North Carolina 1000-yard Shooters Association. The data is further sorted by Light Gun (LG) and Heavy Gun (HG) classes. Steve has even been able to filter the data to include Relay Winners and Shootoff Participants. Steve has also created tables that show the Top 30 Groups and Scores in both LG and HG classes.
Below is a table showing the Top 15 Chamberings among shootoff participants, for combined LG and HG Classes from 2000-2006. We have totaled the Big 30s in this group of 15, and the large 30 Calibers (red dots) represent 66% of the total. There are 2064 entries in this set of Top 15, and 1355 are 30 Calibers.
The next chart includes ALL LG and HG Relay Winners from years 2000-2006. Steve has sorted the data by bore diameter. The two dominant calibers among Relay Winners are: 30 Caliber (.308) at 60%, and 6.5mm (.264) at 27%. Presumably most of the 6.5mms are 6.5-284s, but there are some larger 6.5mm wildcats as well. NOTE: When you look at Light Gun Relay Winners only, the percentage of 6.5mms rises while the percentage of 30 Cals falls. Overall however, the big bore 30-Caliber rifles are still “King of the Hill” in 1000-yard competition.
Steve Shelp’s data is contained in three Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Click the links below to download the collected 2000-2006 data.
Top 30 IBS Scores and Groups
1000yd Chambering Statistics (LG, HG, and combined)
1000yd Participants by Bore Size (Includes Relay Winners)
November 7th, 2008
IMPORTANT UPDATE April 2009– READ THIS FIRST!!!
BRUNO’s is SOLD OUT of the Federal 205M PRIMERS at this time. Also, when these primers were last in stock the price was $46.95 per thousand. It is not known when 205M Primers will be back in stock. So please do NOT call requesting these primers at 2008 special sale prices.
Date: 11/7/2008 — For quite some time, Federal 205M (match) small rifle primers have been very hard to get. Some major suppliers are still out of stock. But fear not… Amy at Bruno’s informed us that Bruno’s recently received a HUGE shipment of 500,000 Fed 205M primers. This shipment was so big that Bruno’s shelves are overflowing so they’ve cut prices. The old price was $36.95 per 1000 primers. The new Special SALE price for the Fed 205Ms is $29.95 per thousand… for a limited time only. Call Amy Bruno at 1-800-455-0350 to order, or visit BrunoShooters.com.
 Bruno’s also received an “over-abundance” of 8-lb jugs of Hodgdon H335 powder, so it has been marked down on “Special Sale” as well. Bruno’s is now selling the H335 eight-pounders for $117.95 marked down from $122.54.
Hodgdon’s H335 is a good powder for use in the .222 Rem, .223 Rem and .204 Ruger cartridges. It is an accurate, easy-metering spherical (ball) powder that is very similar to Olin’s military WC844, used to load 5.56 military ammo. Prairie dog shooters should find this a very good powder choice.
November 6th, 2008
Forum member Richard H. (aka “DesertLefty”) has found a great bargain — a quality Kowa spotting scope for $850.00 — that’s $455.00 off regular retail. The Kowa TSN-771 scope with 25X long-eye-relief eyepiece is ideal for High Power and prone shooters. It has a waterproof, angled body with an advanced focus system to decrease image movement when focusing.
Richard reports: “Champion Shooters has a great deal on the new Kowa TSN-771 scope with 25X LER eyepiece. Just $850 + shipping. That’s $455 off their regular price.
 I received mine yesterday. Looks good. Haven’t got to the range yet, but my ‘backyard test’ reveals that color and contrast are excellent. Edge-to-edge sharpness is very good. The dual-focus works well and the slide-out sunshade is nice. My only gripe so far is that it doesn’t have an adjustable eyecup. It comes with a stiff, thick eyecup that works well without glasses, but makes the scope hard to use with eyeglasses when the eyecup is installed. The eyecup is removable, however the fit is so tight that it not easy to remove. You won’t want to be switching back and forth. That said, the view using eyeglasses without the eyecup was good. Enough eye relief to see the entire field of view. The eye position might be a bit more sensitive than my buddy’s Leica 77mm, but that’s just a first impression, not a side-by-side comparison.”
Editor’s Note: No other online vendor can touch this price on a Kowa TSN-771 with 25X eyepiece. The lowest price we found elsewhere was $1100.00 with NO eyepiece.
November 6th, 2008
 Creedmoor Sports, Inc., has released its new 24-page holiday catalog. Inside the catalog you’ll find a large selection of shooting products, all offered at discounted prices. The bargains include special savings on the popular Creedmoor Hardback Heavy Shooting Coat, Creedmoor rifles cases, shooting gloves and much more. “We’re expecting our customers to be pleasantly surprised with our holiday issue.” says General Manager, Dennis DeMille. “We’ve worked closely with our vendors and, together, we’ve managed to offer discounts on almost every item in our catalog.”
All holiday sale items are available online at www.creedmoorsports.com. You can request a holiday catalog through the website or by calling 800-273-3366.
November 5th, 2008
The votes have been tallied… Barack Obama will be the 44th President. The Democratic Party will control both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, but it appears the Democrats did not achieve a 60% “supermajority” in the Senate. It was a decisive Electoral College victory, with previously solid “Red States” such as Ohio and Virginia going blue. Obama also won the popular vote, 52% vs. 46% percent for McCain.
What can we learn from the results? There are some surprises. First, male voters split evenly 49% for McCain, 49% for Obama. Women and young people decided this election. Here are some interesting facts:
1. The Democrats did a good job of stirring interest in the election. The total number of voters (including absentees) tallied 136,000,000, or roughly 64% of the electorate. That would make this the highest turnout since 1960, and possibly since 1908. What did it take to achieve this? A huge war-chest. It is estimated that the Obama campaign spent as much as $650,000,000 overall — an unprecedented number.
2. While minorities (both African-American and Latino) voted overwhelmingly for Obama, that didn’t cost the Republicans the election. McCain lost because of women and under-age-30 voters. As during the Clinton years, there was a significant “gender gap” — 55% of women favored the Democratic ticket. Seventy (70%) percent of unmarried women supported Obama, a margin of more than 2-to-1. Among married women, 53% voted for Obama vs. 45% for McCain. As in past elections, there is evidence that a significant percentage of women voted for the candidate they found most attractive (regardless of his politics).
3. The “age gap” was even more dramatic. Obama captured the overwhelming majority of under-30 voters. According to msnbc.com: “Young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68% to 30% — the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976.” Obama’s election team successfully galvanized the young voters, who turned out in record numbers. Report on Youth Vote.
4. Among all voters, the economy was a key issue. Exit polls showed that fully 90% of voters felt the economy was “not in good shape”. 80% of voters polled believed that their family would be harmed financially in the next year because of the economic downturn. These concerns caused independents to vote for Obama, and caused many Republicans to cross party lines, particularly in the Northeast.
5. McCain got swamped in the Electoral College system, though the aggregate popular vote was closer than you might expect: 52.33% for Obama vs. 46.38% for McCain. This will again lead many to question the merits of the Electoral College system, particularly as it works with “all or nothing” states such as California. Every one of California’s 55 electoral votes went to Obama yet 3.7 million Californians voted for McCain.
Message for Republicans and Gun Owners
It’s not widely known, but Bill Clinton lost both his Presidential elections among male voters. He was victorious only because of a significant “gender gap”, with women voters favoring him significantly over his opponents. Barack Obama also benefitted from a “gender gap”, but Obama’s popularity with women, particularly unmarried women, was even more significant. Both Obama and Clinton were perceived as handsome and charismatic. Studies have shown that unmarried women look to male Presidential candidates as surrogate “providers”. Obama did a superb job of appealing to this segment of the electorate. In the future, if Republicans want to win, they must not underestimate the importance of women voters. That did explain, in part, McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Palin, but among many women voters, that choice back-fired. The Democrats understood that unmarried women don’t necessarily want a female candidate. What many women really want is a charismatic male candidate — a matinee idol/protector figure.
The Republican party will also have to examine its “youth strategy”, which failed miserably in this election. Some pundits predicted that the youth vote would fizzle, because the Gen-Xers were lazy and apathetic. Well, this election proved those cynics wrong. If the Republican party intends to get “back on track”, it must provide a candidate and platform that better appeal to young voters.
As for gun rights advocates, the message is quite clear. We must organize, fight harder, and expand the base. One central theme of this website has been to attract new shooters, particularly women and young people. The results of the 2008 election demonstrate that it is more important than ever to draw females and young people into the shooting sports.
The numbers from the election show that gun rights supporters should re-double their efforts to reach across party lines, to appeal to those who may potentially be allies in the Second Amendment fight, but who, for a myriad of reasons, do not fit into traditional “red state” or Republican constituencies. In essence, the challenge is to provide compelling reasons for women, youth, and others (whatever their party affiliation) to involve themselves in the shooting sports and to support Second Amendment rights. The more that Second Amendments rights are seen, by Americans of all ideologies, as an important cornerstone of a free society (as distinct from a partisan issue), the more secure those rights will be.
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