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September 27th, 2008
Among our readers are fans of the ultimate “big boomer” cartridge, the 50 BMG. The fifty is popular with long-range shooters, many of whom compete in matches under the auspices of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FCSA). The FCSA World Championship was held at Raton, NM in July, attracting shooters from around the globe. The Whittington Gun Club is holding a regional 50-caliber match at Raton this very weekend (Sept. 26-28). Other 50-caliber match dates are calendared on the FCSA website, www.fcsa.org. The FCSA site offers general info, match rules, a list of 50-cal friendly shooting ranges, plus a records archive.
50 BMG Components on Sale
If you’re a 50-Cal shooter, or are thinking about acquiring a Fifty in the near future, it’s not a bad idea to lay in a stock of reloading components. The Big Fifty has been banned in California, and there are efforts in Congress to extend that ban nationwide. Better to be prepared. Here are some good deals on 50 BMG components:
Wideners.com has brand new, primed Lake City 50 BMG Brass. This is 2006 production, with “LC 06″ headstamp. The brass is factory boxer primer w/ purple sealant, annealed case necks, and tar sealant* inside the case mouths. This is top tier brass that is fully reloadable. Widener’s is charging $52.50 for 25 cases or $200 for 100, item LC50BMG.
Natchez Shooters Supplies currently has a sale on primed, Winchester-headstamp 50 BMG brass (item WN50CALPB). The price is $34.70, marked down from $39.79. That works out to $173.50 per hundred — a good deal on new, WCC 06 Mil-Spec brass.
50bmgSupply.com also has Winchester-headstamp 50 BMG brass. This is NEW manufacture (WCC 06 and WCC 08) with neck sealant and sealed primer. Cases are boxer primed, and fully reloadable. The price is $195.00 for 100 pieces.
50bmgSupply.com also offers 2004-2007 once-fired Lake City or PSD head-stamped 50 BMG brass. (PSD is made in South Korea by Poongsan Metal Manufacturing. It is good brass.) This used brass has been tumbled clean, resized, deprimed, primer pocket chamfered (to remove military crimp), then trimmed to length. It is ready to reload. Prices is $100.00 for 100 unprimed cases, or $130.00 for 100 primed cases.
Polygunbag.com carries a wide variety of 50 caliber projectiles including Hornady 750gr A-Max match bullets, and Barnes “Banded Solid” 750gr match bullets. Both the 750gr A-Maxs and 750 Barnes Solids are priced at $37.00 per box of 20 bullets. The A-Maxs are very popular with long-range 50 Caliber match shooters.
*Regarding the Tar mouth Sealant, Widener’s notes: “This brass is ready to be charged and the bullet seated. If you want complete waterproofing, leave the tar seal in the mouth. If you do not want the tar, use a swab with XYLENE solvent and the tar can be easily removed. NOTE: Do not use an expander unless you remove the tar first as the tar will gum up on it.”
September 27th, 2008
Forum member Jim (aka FalconPilot) recently provided a strong endorsement of a Tennessee gunsmith. We thought this was worth sharing. Jim notes:
“A lot of times on the internet all we hear are the bad things. I just wanted to pass a little valuable info along to all my fellow shooters. Disclaimer: I am in no way connected to or sponsored by Howard — I pay just like everyone else.
Howard Pitts of Taft, TN is the owner of Pitts Precision Rifles. I met Howard at the Regional F-Class Championship in the spring and he is a hell of a nice guy. At the time, the barrel gave out on my Dowling-built 6.5-284, and someone there referred me to Howard. After watching his daughter Halie shooting all weekend (she kicked a number of well-known butts!!) with a gun that her dad had built, I decided to have Howard rebarrel my gun. This gun was a hummer before, and even more of a hummer when I got it back. Not only does it shoot “lights out”, but the quality of work was top-notch, and turn-around time was impressive.
Move forward a few months…I had a 6BR built and chambered by another very well-known gunsmith. Great guy, fast turn-around, but the gun give me problems from the get-go. The Lapau brass was just too big for the chamber. I tried bumping shoulders, using small body dies, everything I knew of, and finally after about 800 rounds, gave up. (Moral to this story is ALWAYS use your own reamer, one that you know is right.) The gun shot in the high .30s to low .40s… but I expected more.
I’d decided that I wanted a Dasher anyways, so a call to Dave Kiff had the reamer on its way. Another call to Tim North and I had another barrel on the way — Tim is a great guy, went way out of his way to help, and makes a damn good barrel.
I next called Howard Pitts, explained my situation, and he told me to get him the equipment. He set my old barrel back, and chambered both barrels for me. Three weeks later, the gun returned with the same top quality work that I had received the first time around. Again, at a price that was more than reasonable (Pitts charges $150.00 for a typical chambering job). I’ve shot the gun over the last two days. While fireforming the brass, the gun is shooting in the .20s. With formed brass, I turned in a 5-shot, 100-yard group of .089″, my best group ever. Here is a group at one thousand (1000) yards:
I just wanted to point out a gunsmith that is honest, very accommodating, and who produces incredible work at a very fair price. Anyone looking for a smith, should give Howard a call at 931-993-6122 or 931-425-6895 (secondary), email: htpitts [at] bellsouth.net .”
Editor’s NOTE: Jim makes a very good point about reamers — it’s wise, when possible, to acquire your own reamer for an important project. That eliminates a variety of potential problems and it also ensures that you can get a near-identical chamber when it’s time to re-barrel the gun.
Regarding Pitts Precision — we’re pleased to spotlight a smith who does excellent work, at a reasonable price, with good turn-around times. There are many otherwise outstanding smiths who, due to their heavy workload, may take months or even years to complete a rifle. With one of this site’s own project guns, we had to wait 10 months for a barrel job — not a complete rifle — just chambering, fitting, and crowning a barrel. We applaud those smiths who can organize their schedules to provide good work in a timely fashion.
September 26th, 2008
 Benchrest accuracy from a Barnard? You Betcha! In a recent 600-yard benchrest match in Ojai, California, the powder-blue 6.5×47 Barnard shown below delivered an impressive 1.5″ five-shot group to set small group for the match. The gun has shot well under 1/4-MOA at shorter ranges during testing. Owned by SoCal shooter Bill H., the gun was smithed by Mac Tilton of MT Guns in Santa Barbara, CA. Mac says, “even with that long barrel, the gun balances well on the bags in the Mastin stock.” Owner Bill is delighted with the gun’s performance, telling us “this rig really demonstrates how accurate the 6.5×47 cartridge can be.” Bill was shooting Lapua 6.5×47 brass with Lapua 123gr Scenar bullets, Reloder 15 powder, and CCI BR4 primers.
Key Components from Down-Under
The rifle features a Barnard model “P” three-lug action, Barnard target trigger, Mastin F-Class laminated stock (with painted finish), and a 32″ heavy-contour True-Flite barrel. Both action and barrel are products of New Zealand, while the Mastin stock was crafted in Australia. For a better look at this handsome rifle, CLICK THIS LINK for a supersized photo.
September 26th, 2008
 AccurateShooter.com’s Cartridge Guides are among the site’s most popular content features. Our .308 Cartridge Guide has been viewed nearly 350,000 times. By popular demand, we’re adding a new multi-cartridge 7mm Cartridge Guide. As planned, this will provide key information for: 7mm08, .284 Winchester, 7mm SAUM, and 7mm WSM (including 7mm-270 WSM). (We know there are many other popular 7mm cartridges, but we can’t do everything at once.)
Pet Loads and Tuning Advice Wanted
If you shoot one of the above calibers, and have developed a very accurate (and safe) load, please send us the specifics. We are particularly interested in successful match loads. Please include: bullet type and weight, brand of brass, powder charge, primer type, OAL (from base of rim to tip of seated bullet), and measured velocity (if available). Also include a sentence or two describing how this load performs, and the relevant info, such as: “1/2-MOA easy. Works good jammed or jumped. Good F-Class load. 2800 fps in 28″ barrel.”
Here is your chance to share your wisdom with a world-wide readership and help others “focus in” on a good load quickly.
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
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