|
|
May 17th, 2008
MidwayUSA has Bore-Store synthetic fleece rifle storage bags on sale. We can say, unequivocally, that Bore-Stores are a great product. Every gun in this editor’s safe rests in a Bore-Store. Bore-Stores cushion your guns against dings and scratches while the breathable fabric wicks away moisture and fights rust with a special anti-corrosion coating. The fabric is coated with pure silicon and an extra rust-inhibiting chemical. Bore-Stores are relatively inexpensive and last forever. Unlike cotton, wool, leather or canvas bags, the fibers do not absorb and retain moisture. You really can’t beat them for storage in a safe because they cushion the gun as well as fight rust and aluminum corrosion.
MidwayUSA has the full line of Bore-Store cases on sale. We’ve found that the latest examples run on the roomy side, so the 46″ scoped rifle case, item SRC-1, will fit guns up to 48″ overall, with plenty of clearance for a big scope. The 46″ case is now $9.99 marked down from $11.49. The 40″ Scoped Rifle Case, item SRC-3 ($9.49 on sale), will fit most short-range BR guns up to 42″ in length. There are also models for shotguns, carbines, and pistols.
May 16th, 2008
At the NRA Annual Meeting, Savage Arms has its latest long-range precision rifle on display — a Palma rifle, chambered in .308 Winchester. Team Savage Captain Stan Pate will be manning the Savage booth (#527) during the show and can answer questions about the new gun.
The .308 Palma is made for 1K prone competition with iron sights and sling. It comes with Savage’s Target AccuTrigger, adjustable down to six ounces. The rifle features a 30-inch heavy barrel tapered to accept standard aftermarket sights. The stock has an adjustable cheekpiece, 3-way adjustable buttplate, and forearm accessory rail. Currently, Savage is the only large manufacturer producing “factory rifles” for Palma competition.
Savage also produces rifles for F-Class Open and F-T/R disciplines. The Palma and F-Class guns, including a new 6mmBR F-Classer, “were made to compete and win against the most expensive custom guns.” Savage VP of Sales and Marketing Brian Herrick said. Terry Brady has been testing a 6mmBR Savage F-Classer for AccurateShooter.com. He reports: “It looks good. I still need to work up a load and chron it, but I’ve been able to shoot sub-inch groups at 300 yards in early testing.”
May 16th, 2008
Ten Intermedia Outdoors television shows, including popular shooting sports shows, will no longer be broadcast on the Outdoor Channel next season. The line-up of shows includes: “Guns & Ammo Television,” “Guns & Ammo Television Classics,” “In-Fisherman Television,” “In-Fisherman Critical Concepts,” “North American Whitetail Television,” “Bowhunter Magazine TV,” “Personal Defense TV,” “Shallow Water Angler,” “In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail” and “Petersen’s Hunting ADVENTURE Television.”
These shows will continue to run, but on a different cable network — The Sportsman Channel (TSC), which Intermedia Outdoors acquired last year. (See Related Story).
Intermedia pulled a large block of TV content from the Outdoor Channel and will use those shows in the future as the backbone of its own network. In a press release, Intermedia Outdoors CEO Jeff Paro declared: “We are going to build The Sportsman Channel into the leading outdoor network, both in distribution and ratings. Shifting all of our programming to TSC is a major first step in that direction. We have led in every outdoors category we have entered-magazine, internet, and television production-and now we will lead in networks.” Paro continued: “We will actively and aggressively program TSC with hunting, shooting and fishing content, with a focus on high-quality original programming….”
Jim Shepard, editor of The Outdoor Wire, believes that the Outdoor Channel was hit hard by Intermedia’s decision to move its TV shows: “In one shot, InterMedia Outdoors has announced to the television industry that it not only intends to become the major player in outdoor television, it is quite willing to hammer its former partner in a very public manner.”
May 15th, 2008
Creedmoor Sports has a new promotion for scope buyers. If you purchase a Nightforce NXS or Benchrest Model scope at regular price, Creedmoor will give you a $75.00 gift cerficate that can be applied to other Creedmoor Sports merchandise. (Note: The certificate can NOT be applied to the original scope sale, or the purchase of another Nightforce product.)
May 14th, 2008
Just this week, Sightron sent us one of the new Sightron SIII 8-32×56 LR D rifle scopes for evaluation. This new optic features a 30mm main tube and weighs 24.7 ounces. Clicks are set in 1/4-MOA increments. The reticle is a fine cross hair with 1/4-MOA dot. The scope comes with a 3″ sunshade, turret covers, and rubber-connected, see-thru lens caps. Jason Baney had a chance to test the scope and give his initial impressions of its optical qualities. We will follow this “First Look” report with more extensive testing of the scope’s mechanical tracking and long-range resolution.
Overall, Jason was extremely impressed with the new scope. It was very bright, with excellent color rendition and contrast. The image remained bright and sharp out all the way out to the edges, with no shadowing or distortion. Compared to a Nightforce 12-42×56 BR scope set at 32-power, Jason thought the Sightron had better contrast and more vivid colors. Jason concluded: “At this point, the new Sightron seems like a good value, and compares well with the Nightforce BR model.”
Parallax and Focus
Importantly, the Sightron’s parallax control worked perfectly. There was no lash issue and Jason was able to attain minimal parallax with the target at maximum sharpness. With some other scopes, if you set the scope to have the target in best focus, you’ll still have too much parallax.
Elevation and Windage
This is a scope you can use to 1000 yards. Jason ran the adjustments top to bottom and recorded 75 MOA of both Elevation and Windage, based on the stated 1/4-MOA click Value. (That’s 75 total MOA available from one extreme to the other.) The target knobs have 15 MOA per turn and operate VERY smoothly and positively. Jason said the clicks “feel similar to Nightforce NXS clicks, but the Sightron clicks engage with a slightly softer feel, with less resistance.”
 Resolution Tests
Jason used two resolution charts, the USAF 1951 Optical Chart, and a line-width/text size chart. To judge resolution, Jason did a comparison test of the new Sightron 8-32×56 and a Nightforce 12-42×56 BR, with both scopes set at 32x with their sunshade attached. Jason looked through both scopes at the resolution test targets at 100 yards, and then at target frames, grass, and flowers at 300 yards. Viewing was done late in the day, with some shadows on the range. Keep in mind these were less than ideal conditions for viewing.
The test charts have incrementally smaller focus lines and text. Both scopes were able to resolve down to the same line/text level on the two resolution charts. The new Sightron showed comparable, but VERY slightly less resolution than the NF. Both could identify the same size of text, but the NF saw it just a bit more crisply. Jason reports: “I could go to the same resolution level with both scopes, but the last line was just a touch more crisp with the Nightforce. Still, the Sightron is very close in resolution.”
Contrast and Color Fidelity
The Sightron was the winner in this category. In fading light, the Sightron delivered better contrast. Green, yellow, red, and white colors showed more differentiation and all the colors were more vivid. Weathered target backer boards also showed more contrast through the Sightron. Jason checked this several times nearing dusk, and the Sightron always seemed more vivid and showed more contrast looking at a patch of grass and colored vegetation. In terms of color temp, the Nightforce has a more whitish tone, whereas the Sightron seemed “warmer” with more vivid colors.
Brightness/Light Transmission
Along with its superior color and contrast, the Sightron seemed to be consistently brighter through the fading light. We note, however, that manufacturers’ published light transmission factors are nearly identical for the Sightron 8-32 and the Nightforce 12-42. The greater brightness of the Sightron is Jason’s subjective perception, but he said “the Sightron definitely seemed brighter.”
View to Edge
With many zoom scopes, at high magnification, the center of the “circle of light” is bright and sharp, but the edges are faded or shadowy. The brightness attenuates (fades out) on the edges. In addition, you sometimes see some image distortion or focus loss at the edges. The Sightron showed none of these issues. At SHOT show, this editor looked through a prototype 8-32 Sightron and it was bright and sharp all the way out to the edges. Jason observed the same thing: “The Sightron was noticeably clear edge to edge, where the Nightforce showed some fading or darkening at the edges. This point was quite surprising to me.” Jason also noted that the Sightron had about a 3-4″ wider field of view at 100 yards.
Fringe Effect with Highly Reflective Subjects
With the Sightron, when looking at extremely bright, reflective objects, such as a car’s chrome trim, Jason did observe some minor fringing–what he called a “thin halo”. This also appeared around the edge of a white target paper viewed in bright light. A through-the-lens photo appeared to show edging colors (purple fringe), so this may be Chromatic Aberration*. It wasn’t a major issue and it did not affect the sharpness or contrast of the viewed object itself. This was visible only on the periphery of very bright objects.
Conclusion–Impressive Optics for $825.00
We only were able to comparison-test one sample of each scope, Sightron vs. Nightforce. As noted, the performance was very close, and it is possible that different samples might perform slightly better or worse in each optical category. In this test the Nightforce had a very slight edge in resolution, while the Sightron was brighter. We plan to do more testing, with bullet-hole targets set at long ranges. That should give us a better sense of how the Sightron can resolve bullet holes and target lines out past 300 yards. Jason will also do a box-test to check the tracking and repeatability of the Sightron. Based on what we’ve seen so far, however, the Sightron, with a “street price” of about $825.00, is a very good value. Jason concludes: “Given the 8-32 Sightron’s price point, I’d say most people will feel it is a great scope for the money.”
*Chromatic aberration occurs in a riflescope when white light, bent by the objective lens, separates into different colors (wavelengths), each color bending at a slightly different angle. When that occurs, the colors don’t focus at the same point. This most often appears as a deep blue/purple or yellow edge on the image, particularly straight black and white edges.
May 14th, 2008
From May 16-20, the National Rifle Association will hold its NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Scheduled events include the Members Meeting, NRA Foundation Banquet, Sportsmen’s Luncheon and Auction, plus a free concert. Many leading firearms manufacturers will also have products on display at the Kentucky Expo Center. In addition, major private collections will be displayed by NRA-affiliated gun collector clubs. Hunting Guides and Outfitters be featured in an exclusive outfitter section.
CLICK HERE for Schedule of Events
 Throughout the 3-day event, there will be Special Seminars, including an African Hunting Seminar, Reloading Seminar, and a full, day-long Firearms Law Seminar with officials from the FBI, Law Professor Glenn Reynolds, and Kentucky Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Will Scott. The Seminars take place at the Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, which is also the site of all Exhibits. The Foundation Dinner and NRA Celebration of American Values Banquet will be at the Kentucky International Convention Center (221 Fourth Street).
Live Radio Coverage Offered
“Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk”, will broadcast live from the NRA Annual Meeting, Sunday, May 18. The 3-hour radio program will feature appearances by spokespeople from the NRA, the NSSF, and leading firearms companies.
“Gun Talk” will air from 2:00pm until 5:00pm Eastern time, and from 8:00pm til 11:00pm Eastern on XM Satellite Channel 166. “Folks who miss the live broadcast,” said Gresham, “can always download the show from www.guntalk.com.”
May 13th, 2008
The regular, monthly 600-yard benchrest match at the Piedmont Gun Club in Rutherfordton, NC rivals a National event in terms of the quality of the shooters and the rifles. On May 10th, there were multiple IBS-record holders in every relay, with a dozen rifles capable of going sub-inch at 600 yards. Piedmont, the “home of world records”, attracts many of the top mid-range benchrest shooters, such as Terry Brady, Mike Davis, Sam Hall, Larry Isenhour, Joel Kendrick, Buster Long, Mark Schronce, and Rodney Wagner. That line-up includes some IBS Shooters of the Year.
Piedmont Gun Club:
CLICK HERE for Equipment List and Match Results
There was a very competitive field on May 10th at Piedmont. Larry Isenhour, shooting a 6 BRX, took Light Gun Overall by winning the Light Gun Group size Agg, and placing third in Score. In Heavy Gun, Mark Schronce combined a fourth in Group and first in Score to take the HG Overall. Schronce also shoots a 6 BRX. Rodney Wagner, yet another 6BRX pilot, shot a very consistent match, with all four targets under 2.55″ to place first in HG group Agg.
In both Light Gun and Heavy Gun, about half the guns were straight 6BRs, with quite a few BRXs. There were a half-dozen 6.5x47s or 6-6.5x47s, and a few 6.5-284s and 243 AIs. Learn more about the shooters’ rigs by reading the Equipment List (scroll to bottom of linked page).
May 13th, 2008
 The NRA has selected four women to receive the 2008 Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Award for their contributions to the Second Amendment and the shooting sports. This year, the prestigious award, named for the NRA’s first female president, was presented to: Linda Hill of Pueblo West, CO; Cathy Lynch of Renton, WA; Paula Radcliff of Dexter, KS; and Patricia Stoneking of Bonner Springs, KS.
Linda Hill is on the board of directors of the Pueblo Municipal Shooting Range in Colorado. She started a women’s shooting group at the range and a youth shooting program. An NRA Certified Instructor, Hill is involved with Women On Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics, NRA Basic Pistol classes, NRA Range Safety Officer training, and personal protection seminars. An experienced hunter education instructor, Hill has taught in both Alaska and Montana.
Cathy Lynch is a shooting sports director at the Cascade Scout Reservation for the Boy Scouts of America. An NRA Certified Range Safety Officer and Instructor in rifle, shotgun, and muzzleloading firearms, she is an instructor at the Boy Scout National Camp School, and a hunter education instructor for the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.
Paula Radcliff is a member of the Kansas State Rifle Assn. and served as the group’s legislative representative when Kansas’ concealed carry law was passed in 2006. Her efforts were instrumental in Kansans winning the right to carry concealed firearms. Radcliff has supported the NRA’s Women On Target® and Youth Hunter Education Challenge programs, hosting events for both programs on her ranch.
Patricia Stoneking is a legislative advocate, and NRA Certified Instructor in multiple disciplines. Stoneking owns Target Master Shooting Academy in Bonner Springs and is head instructor at The Bullet Hole Shooting Range. She led a grassroots effort to pass Kansas’ concealed carry law, hand-delivering a petition to the governor’s office.
For more info on the Marion P. Hammer award, and to nominate a deserving woman, visit www.nrahq.org/women/awards.asp or call (800) 861-1166.
May 12th, 2008
Gene Beggs operates his own 100-yard indoor tunnel and rifle testing facility just outside of Odessa, Texas. Gene provides instruction and “tunnel time” for serious benchresters looking to improve their skills and optimize the accuracy of their rifles. Along with teaching the fine points of short-range benchrest, Gene has been developing two radical new rifles, one chambered in 220 Beggs, a slightly modified 220 Russian, and a second chambered in 6mm Beggs, a necked-up version of the 220 Russian that retains the original body taper and shoulder angle.
Both rifles share a skeleton design which uses the Stiller Cobra or Viper action as a central load-bearing member. Remarkably, there is no conventional fore-arm at all. Gene has bolted, directly to the barrel, a 3″-wide bag-riding aluminum sled. The sled was not designed as a mid-barrel tuner, but it might have some beneficial effects in that regard. However, the tuning functions are handled by two concentric rings threaded to the muzzle. Gene believes that with minor rotations of his front tuning rings, he can dial the gun into tune and the tune can be easily adjusted as conditions warrant.
Do Mr. Beggs’ guns shoot? Absolutely. We had the chance, a month ago, to visit Gene in Odessa. We shot both the 220 Beggs-chambered rifle, and its 6mm Beggs-chambered cousin. Both rifles are nearly identical, though the Heavy Varmint-weight 220 has a longer, 27″ barrel compared to 22″ for the Light Varmint 6mm.
In the tunnel, the 220 HV, with a no-turn-neck 220 Beggs chamber, produced three-shot groups in the low ones and zeros right out of the gate, even before the tuner was optimized. With a barrel with over 1000 rounds through it, after firing 40 rounds without cleaning, Gene produced a tiny 5-shot group in the low ones. The first shot was slightly high (a common occurence in the tunnel according to Beggs). The last 4 shots, rounds 42-45 since the barrel had been cleaned, went into 0.084″. This rig, though radical in the extreme, certainly appears fully competitive with more conventional BR rigs, and it tracked superbly, with no hopping or rocking on the bags.
220 Beggs — Simple, Accurate, Efficient
We were also very impressed with the 220 Beggs cartridge. It’s basically a plain 220 Russian with a sharper radius at the neck-shoulder junction. Gene has commissioned a 220 Beggs reamer with matching seating and full-length sizing dies. The little cartridge achieves 3600+ fps with a 52gr bullet, pushed by Benchmark powder. From what we could tell during our short visit, the 220 Beggs is easy to load for, and performs exceptionally well with either turned (.250″) or no-turn necks. The recoil was noticeably less than a 6mm PPC, making the gun a joy to shoot. This round, we felt, could also be an outstanding varmint cartridge. The velocity is there, and we don’t think any other 22-caliber varmint cartridge is going to beat it for inherent accuracy.
 Gene notes: “The .250 turned neck is probably the best choice and I have custom carbide neck bushings available for that diameter. I also have a new shipment of custom Hornady dies. Freebore? Anywhere from .035 to .045 is fine. I prefer flatbase bullets of 52 grains. Hodgdon’s Benchmark has become my favorite powder for the 220 Beggs. A case full gives around 3550 to 3600 fps with no signs of excessive pressure. The little sucker is a hoot to shoot and is competitive with anything out there on the 100/200 yard line.”
As for the 6mm version, Gene told us: “The 6mm version of the cartridge performs best with Hodgdon’s H4198 Extreme, but the 220 has proven it will shoot well with just about anything you put in it including N133, H322, Benchmark, 8208, Norma 200 etc. It is the most trouble-free, user friendly cartridge I have ever worked with and will compete heads-up with anything. It’s also very easy on the shoulder.”
How to Learn More
Gene sells components (reamers, dies etc.) for the 220 and 6mm Beggs, and also offers training/testing sessions in his West Texas Tunnel on an appointment basis. For more information, or to schedule a session, email genebeggs [at] cableone.net.
May 12th, 2008
 Over the past two weekends, concluding on May 11th, hundreds of shooters participated in the 2008 Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup at Camp Butner, NC. Some 398 shooters took part in the CMP Games on the first weekend. That makes the Games one of the most popular shooting events of any kind hosted in North America. Importantly, at a time when match attendance is shrinking for many other disciplines, CMP Games participant numbers were up dramatically since last year’s inaugural event. This reflects the growing interest in traditional, military-style firearms.
CLICK HERE for Complete Match Results
 SFC Singley Wins Creedmoor Overall
The CMP has posted complete CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Results online. The Creedmoor Cup Overall Champion was SFC Grant Singley, with a 790-31X score. A service rifle shooter with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), SFC Singley was the Military Marksmanship Association (MMA) Soldier of the Year in 2007 and 1996. Taking second in Service Rifle was Singley’s USAMU team-mate Tyrell Cooper, with a 787-26X. First in Match Rifle Class was Troy Lawton, who posted a 787-25X.
CMP Games Popular
Warm Carolina spring temperatures, light winds and only one brief spell of rain created ideal shooting condition. As a result there were 12 Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle scores in the 280s. Sean Leighton (287-5X) won the Eastern Games Garand Match, while Robert Churchill (281-5X) won the 1903 Springfield Match. Churchill was also High Senior among Springfield shooters.
The best score of the CMP Games was a 288-6X fired by CWO2 Peter Burns, USMC, in the Vintage Military Rifle Match. Burns is now the OIC of the Marine Corps Rifle Team, but he competed in the Camp Butner As-Issued Military Rifle Matches to “just shoot for fun.” He fired a Swiss Schmidt-Rubin M1911 rifle in 7.5mm Swiss caliber. The Schmidt-Rubin has a barrel-mounted open rear sight. Burns’ winning performance demonstrates that peep (aperture) sights are not essential to shoot great scores. Burns also placed sixth in the Garand Match, third in the Springfield Match, and first overall in the As-Issued M1 Garand EIC Match.
|
