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February 13th, 2009
 Bryan Litz recently assumed the mantle of “Ballistician” for Berger Bullets. Before joining Berger, Bryan was a missile design engineer working with the U.S. Air Force. An NRA High Master, Bryan also happens to be one of the country’s top long-range shooters. Bryan (aka “bsl135″ in our Forum) has written many ballistics programs and technical papers dealing with long-range flight dynamics of projectiles. Bryan has recorded some very impressive match performances recently. At the 2008 NRA National Championships at Camp Perry, Bryan beat 258 other competitors to win the Palma Individual Trophy Match. Bryan shot a remarkable 450/26x, not dropping a single point.
Palma Match — Caught on Video
Bryan recently crafted a cool video that puts the viewer “in the driver’s seat” as Bryan shoots an 800-yard match with his .308 Winchester, iron-sights Palma rifle. Watch as each shot is marked and scored. Bryan explains: “The inset target at upper right displays each shot location in sequence. The score card shows the windage used for each shot, as well as the windage that was ‘Required’ for that shot to be centered. Wind wasn’t very challenging in this string, only requiring between 2 and 3 MOA right. This particular match is the 800-yard phase of a Palma course fired in the summer of 2008 at Camp Atterbury, IN. NOTE: I’ve had to cut out some ‘pauses’, and speed up the film in order to meet YouTube’s size requirements, so that’s why we sound like chipmunks.”
CLICK SCREEN to WATCH VIDEO. Click Menu Button for High Quality (HQ) Option
Bryan also has his own website with a number of authoritative articles. Topics include: Bullet Design, Meplat Trimming, Gyroscopic and Coreolis Drift, Palma Bullet Analysis, How Ballistics Programs Work, and Ballistic Coefficient Testing. CLICK HERE to visit BRYAN LITZ Website.
February 13th, 2009
 As most of you know by now, supplies of the most popular reloading components are in high demand. We’re seeing shortages of primers, bullets, and brass. As you might expect, .308 Win and .223 Rem components are selling out quickly. However, we have found some deals on .223 Rem cartridge brass.
MidwayUSA has Winchester-brand .223 Rem brass on sale right now. The price is just $20.99 per hundred — a great deal. The 100-count boxes are MidwayUSA item 1390148099. Unfortunately, the larger 500-ct and 1000-ct lots are sold out.
 Midsouth Shooters Supply has 100-count bags of Remington-brand .223 Rem brass on sale for $27.00, item 050-23089100. If you need large quantities, a 2000-count case of Rem-brand .223 brass, is $515.61, item 050-23089. That’s $0.257 per piece.
Bruno’s Sold Out — In case you wondered about Bruno Shooters Supply, on 2/13 we checked with Amy. She reports Bruno’s is completely sold out of all .223 Rem brass (all manufacturers) at this time.
February 12th, 2009
Just how accurate can a 6BR Tubegun be, when shot from the bench with bag-riding attachments? Would you believe 0.170 MOA at 200 yards? Yep, that’s benchrest-grade accuracy out of an across-the-course rifle.
 Forum member Milan recently tested his new Eliseo R5 6BR tubegun with Berger 80gr Varmint bullets. We’ve found the Berger 80s to be extraordinarily accurate, and Milan confirmed that fact. His R5 features a Krieger barrel, Pierce action, and Jewell trigger. At right is his first 5-shot group, with the size calculated with On-Target software. The calculated group size is 0.355″, or 0.170 MOA at 200 yards. (Measured by Milan with calipers, it was slightly smaller, 0.350″.)
Milan reports: “Today, I took my brand new R5 rifle (stock made by Gary Eliseo with Pierce Engineering Action and gunsmithing, and Krieger barrel) to a shooting range for the first time. I was shooting at 200 yards and my very first shot was on target. I shot one more time in the same spot and cleaned my rifle. I shot another three shots to find the center of the target. I cleaned the rifle again and shot my first 5-shot group. Looking through my scope, it all looked like one hole. I got a big smile on my face and could not get any happier. When I got home and measured the group, it measured less than 0.350″. Bummer… I was looking forward to the challenge of finding a good load for this rifle but it seems like now I will have to look for another challenge. My load was Berger 80gr Varmint Bullets, 31.0 grains of Varget, Remington 6.5 primer, and bullet was seated 0.015″ in lands.”
Milan added: “The silver rear bag rider attachment came from CSS. I only modified it a little. I lowered my rifle about 1″. I also made my own design, shown below, which allows me to make fine height adjustment on my rear bag when shooting from a bipod and to keep the front of my rifle as low as possible. I would like to thank to Gary Eliseo and John Pierce (Pierce Engineering) for a great job. I highly recommend the services of both these guys.”
February 12th, 2009
Site contributor Chris Long (aka “TechShooter”) has crafted a report about his July, 2007 Prairie Dog Expedition in Wyoming. Ralph and Lenora Dampman of Trophy Ridge Outfitters served as guides for the trip. Trophy Ridge runs ‘Dog hunts near the town of Carlile in the NW range of the Black Hills, near Devil’s Tower National Monument. Primarily big game outfitters, Ralph and Lenora have access to thousands of acres of private ranch land. They run guided prairie dog hunts during their off-season. Chris reports “The terrain is beautiful, a welcome change from the South Dakota prairie, with lots of hills and Ponderosa pine trees. [These] ranch lands are home to some prodigious dog towns.”
Chris continues: “The goal of this trip (besides having a great time) was to get in some long range (1000+ yard) opportunities, and possibly even a shot over 1500 yards, in order to qualify for the VHA 1500 yard certification. I had worked up some really good loads for the 6.5-284 TubeGun and the .260 AI using the new 130 grain Berger VLDs, and wanted to see how they performed at these extreme ranges. I also wanted to see how the trusty 6 Dasher performed as a long range varmint cartridge.”
Chris Long was joined by two friends who came all the way from Virginia. Chris reports, “Our plan was to get in four days of intense, long-range shooting. We were not disappointed! The shooting was from 100 to over 1000 yards, and the dogs were everywhere. There were plenty of targets close in, so there was a lot a variety. It is especially challenging to move in and out in range by these extreme amounts. It gave me a lot of practice estimating range and wind conditions, then seeing if I could get the come-ups and windage right on the scope for the first shot at the new range. By the end of the trip, I was getting it pretty close, with some 1-shot hits out to about 600 yards.”
Chris’s primary long-range rifle was his 6.5-284 Tube-gun (photo above) running 130gr Berger VLDs at 3165 fps. Chris reports the 130s can be shot at 3165 fps with no excessive pressures, and “scary, one hole, 5-shot 100-yard group accuracy.” With a B.C. of about 0.6, the 130s shoot flatter and exhibit less wind drift than the 140gr class bullets at 2950 FPS.
Chris’s second gun was a more conventional bolt-action in a Franklin LowRider stock, set up with both 6mm Dasher and .260 AI barrels. Chris notes: “The Dasher has proven itself in spades as an extremely accurate cartridge for F-Class Open competition, and I was anxious to see how it performed as a varmint cartridge. The performance was excellent, with many hits out past 1000 yards. This rifle is set up as a switch-barrel rig, and is the platform for the 260 AI. I made a portable barrel vise that mounts in the trailer hitch receiver on the Suburban. That, with a rear entry action wrench, makes barrel changes a 5 minute affair. I would shoot until the barrel got a bit hot, then switch and proceed with the other caliber.”
CLICK HERE to read the complete story. It contains more load data, details of hits made out to 1330 yards, and many great photos of the Wyoming scenery. For .260 AI and 6 Dasher tech tips, visit TechShooter’s Shooting Pages.
Photos and quotes copyright © 2007 Chris Long, All Rights Reserved, used by permission.
February 11th, 2009
Credit this find to ace British benchrest shooter Vince Bottomley, United Kingdom 1K record-holder and publisher of the excellent Precision Rifle website.
Vince writes: “This beautiful compact press is made by an Italian company, BCM Europearms, run by Vittorio Taveggia. Vittorio builds some superb rifles but he also has a very useful range of accessories for accuracy aficionados. I’m sure you’ll be interested in Vittorio’s loading press — this is offered in several configurations for normal dies, Wilson-style hand-dies, or both. The press is superbly made. Vittorio also crafts very nice Weaver-style rings and bases. Again they are beautifully-finished and very strong. Vittorio also makes stocks and actions. At present, there is no UK importer for the press, but there could be very soon. If you are at all interested in any of the products please drop me an e-mail at vinceb [at] 6ppc.fsnet.co.uk and I’ll pass your interest onto the ‘soon to be’ UK importer.” The top photo shows the original Modulo Masterpiece version, which had three stations. There are other versions, as seen in the photo below.
Editor’s note: We don’t know of a US importer, but you can contact Vittorio directly. Information for his company in Torino, Italy is found on the BCM Europearms website. Send email to: info [at] info@bcmeuropearms.it.
Photo © Vince Bottomley, used by permission
February 11th, 2009
On the ShootingUSA television show, today’s episode will feature the Infantry Team Match at Camp Perry. In connection with that segment, Sgt. First Class Kyle Ward of the U.S. Army Marksmanship provides guideslines on how to properly fit a shooting sling, and how to best use the sling in various shooting positions.
CLICK HERE to read Sgt. Ward’s step by step Sling Instructions.
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Proper Sling Adjustment
Once the sling is linked together properly, Sgt. Ward explains: “The next step is attaching the sling to your arm. Attaching the sling to your arm is simply done by creating slack in the sling, turning the sling a quarter turn clockwise if you’re a right handed shooter, or a quarter turn counter clockwise if you’re a lefty. You know that your sling is set to the proper length when you can easily and comfortably get into position, when you can take your firing hand off the rifle, and the rifle remains in your shoulder. To get the most of your sling, setting it to its proper length, and where you place it on your arm is critical. There are some general rules to follow when setting up your sling. You want it tight enough that it’s providing maximum support, but not so tight that you have to fight to get it into position.
Proper Sling Placement
Sling placement on your arm is also critical. In the sitting position, you want to place the sling toward the inside of the arm. Place the sling too far to the outside, and it will likely introduce pulse into your position. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust the length of the sling for different firing positions. While using the sling in the prone position, you should place the sling in the outside of the arm. Placing the sling too far towards the inside will reduce the sling’s effectiveness and likely generate pulse.
Try these techniques the next time you’re on the rifle range. Proper use of the leather sling will definitely increase you scores, and decrease the amount of perceived movement when looking through the sights.” |
February 10th, 2009
 The ladies beat the gents at the 2009 Arizona Long-Range Championship at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ. Nancy Tompkins (photo left) triumphed over 50 other shooters to win the main 1K event with a spectacular 600-36X, followed by Michelle Gallagher (of Berger Bullets) who shot 598-28X. Trudie Fay was the top shooter in Palma (.308) class. Way to go ladies! In this event, competitors shot prone (with sling) at 1000 yards. There were 60 rounds for record over two days, with two “any sights” stages, and one “iron sights” stage; the second “iron sights” stage was cancelled due to a sudden and severe hail storm.
Savage Tubegun Wows the Crowd at Ben Avery
Tubegun builder Gary Eliseo finished third overall with 596-27X. Gary’s performance shocked many fellow shooters … not because Gary doesn’t have the skills, but because he shot a 200-12x and a 199-6X on Day One with a Savage-actioned rifle. That’s right, Gary was shooting a prototype S1 Tubegun built with an out-of-the-box Savage Target Action with factory Accutrigger. Gary told us: “To be honest, like everybody else, I was amazed at how well that Savage shot. And I did no modifications or accurizing to the action whatsoever. All I did was lap the outside of the action to the S1 chassis for a better fit.”
German Salazar believes the Savage Tubegun is a very important development: “Here’s an affordable long-range prone rifle that can be assembled by the shooter with simple tools. Get a prefit barrel with barrel nut and you don’t even need a gunsmith. You save money, and just as importantly, you save time — no more year-long waits to get your rifle built.”
Plenty of 6mm Rifles on the Firing Line
While the match winner and runner-up were shooting 6.5-284s, the majority of the remaining Top 10 finishers were using a 6mm cartridge of some kind. Gary Eliseo finished third shooting a 6BR Improved (BRX), Randy Tesseidre finished fourth, also with a 6BRX, and German Salazar finished fifth shooting a 6XC and four of the next five finishers also shot 6mm cartridges. This may evidence a trend towards the smaller caliber over the 6.5mm. Why are we seeing more 6mm cartridges used at 1000 yards? According to German Salazar: “The answer is pretty simple — higher scores. Many (but certainly not all) shooters have found their scores increase when shooting 6mm cartridges, as opposed to the 6.5-284 or even the 7mms. The reasons are more consistent vertical and less recoil, and those two factors are related. With less recoil it’s easier to maintain the precise hold needed to shoot 10s and Xs throughout the match.” Third-place finisher Gary Eliseo also feels that some of the 6mm cartridges may be easier to tune than the 6.5-284. “I shoot the 6BRX”, Gary explained, “it’s an amazing little cartridge–easy to load for. With Berger VLDs seated into the lands it’s super-accurate and really holds tight elevation.”
More Match Results on Desert Sharpshooters Website
Complete Match Results are available on the Desert Sharpshooters website. The Top Three F-Class shooters (in order) were Jim Murphy, Larry Bartholome, and Jeff Cochran, while John Brewer was F-Class High Senior. The Palma match for .308 rifles, held on Friday, was tightly contested. Among the 48 Palma competitors in Friday’s match (not part of the championship aggregate), the top five finishers were Eddie Newman (445-26X), Gary Eliseo (444-25X), David Littlefield (444-21X), Trudie Fay (443-29X), and Steve Cunico (442-26X). Trudie was the High Women shooter while Steve was High Senior.
February 10th, 2009
Whatever your politics, you owe it to yourself to learn more about the restrictive firearm laws adopted in the United Kingdom and Australia. These have effectively banned hand-gun and semi-auto rifle ownership in the UK. In Australia self-loading rifles and even pump shotguns were banned, and hand-gun ownership was severely restricted. In this 10-minute video, gun owners in the UK and Australia tell their own story. The message is clear–without unified, organized opposition by sportsmen and hunters, gun rights will be taken away. In the UK, even shotguns and 22LR pistols used by Olympic competitors have been banned. Think it can’t happen here? Well already in California, new sales of semi-auto AR15-style service rifles are completely banned.
To further highlight the absurdity of gun laws in the UK, Great Britain agreed to construct a new indoor pistol-shooting venue — in order to win the right to host the next Olympic Games. But Olympic authorities have announced the shooting range will be demolished (at public expense) at the close of the games. Why? Because Brits aren’t allowed to own or shoot handguns. Today, even Britain’s Olympic pistol shooters are prohibitied from shooting in the UK and are required to do their training abroad. When London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, Parliament will have to pass legislation allowing the athletes to import and fire their target pistols.
This is a “must-see” video. Click on the image below to watch the video, hosted by YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch other NRA-produced videos.
February 9th, 2009
 The latest editions of Remington’s product catalogs are now available online. You can download the entire 2009 catalog (a 19.5 mb file), or select particular product lines: rifle, shotgun, ammunition, accessories. The Rifle Catalog features all the latest Remington rifles, including the new Model 700 ‘Target Tactical’ model. This 11.75-lb gun boasts a Bell & Carlson composite stock with ergonomic grip and adjustable LOP and cheekpiece. The Target Tactical is offered in .308 Winchester only, with a 26″ hammer-forged 5R barrel with triangular profile. MSRP is $1972.
Complete 2009 Catalog | 2009 Rifles Catalog
Ballistics Data for Dozens of Factory Loads
Remington also has a comprehensive Ballistics Data Sheet with ballistics information for all Remington loaded ammo — from 17 Fireball all the way up to the 45/70 Government. Even if you don’t use factory-loaded ammo, this is a very useful resource that allows you to quickly compare velocities, energy, wind drift, and drop among a wide variety of cartridges. Which shoots flatter… a .204 Ruger or a 22-250? Remington’s Ballistics Data Sheet provides a quick, reliable answer. Info is laid out in tables, with color coding for different bullet types.
CLICK HERE to download Ballistics INFO
February 9th, 2009
 HPS Target Rifles Ltd., Britain’s leading competition shooting supply vendor, offers a new sling design that should benefit smaller shooters or those whose rifles have shallow fore-ends. The HPS AKTIV Flex Sling, made of non-stretch, reinforced PVC webbing, is designed to overcome the problems of the sling fouling on the trigger guard or rubbing on the underside of the stock. The section of the sling that runs under the rifle is replaced with coated wire. The wire center section can be positioned directly under the stock to give maximum clearance. The front strap can be adjusted to the size of hand and to clear the wrist. The arm cuff can be adjusted in length for arm size and position, while sling length is controlled by a buckle that positions the ‘tail’ of the sling so that there is no fouling under the rifle. The HPS AKTIV Flex Sling comes in three colours: blue (shown), dark green and black. The price is U.S. $95.87, or 74.84 Euros.
To view more products from HPS Target Rifles, including their innovative System Gemini Modular position stocks, visit www.HPT-TR.com, or click the link below to download the HPS catalog as a .pdf file.
CLICK HERE to Download 10 mb HPS Target Rifles Ltd. Catalog (10 meg .pdf file).
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