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January 26th, 2010
The AccurateShooter.com Shooters’ Forum hit a major milestone on January 23, 2010, logging our 10,000th registered Forum member. Matt G. from Castalia, Ohio is now officially “Member10K” in our Forum. In recognition of Matt’s milestone membership, Matt will receive a pack of prizes including an official “limited edition” AccurateShooter.com T-shirt, a box of Berger bullets, a box of Lapua cartridge brass, and a Gift Certificate good at Grafs.com.
 Matt tells us: “I am just getting into precision shooting, actually built my first rifle over the winter! Well, still working on it as I am about to order up a Russo stock. But, this is a new hobby I am just getting into along with a couple other buddies of mine. We are going to try out the 300-yard matches at our local conservation club this year. I was just searching for some neck-turning and case annealing info, and came across the AccurateShooter.com website. I just finished reading the case annealing write-up on the site and decided to register.”
Well, Matt picked the right time to visit the site and register. Over the past few days we added many other new Forum Members, bringing the total, as of 1/26/2010, to 10,114. We wish to thank ALL our Forum members, both the old guard and the newcomers, for participating in our site.
Shooters’ Forum Offers Active Discussions and FREE Classifieds
Our Shooters’ Forum, launched in 2004, is a great resource where you can find answers to your reloading and gunsmithing questions. As well we offer FREE Forum classifieds for registered members. The Forum Classifieds sections are a great place to sell your guns and gear quickly, with zero transaction fees. And for buyers, you’ll find outstanding deals on everything from dies and bullets to complete rifles.
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January 26th, 2010
It’s big, it’s bright, and yes, it’s finally here in America. We’re talking about the Schmidt & Bender 12.5-50x56mm PM II/P scope, perhaps the most impressive long-range riflescope we saw at SHOT Show 2010. We first profiled this scope in April 2007, so it’s been a very long wait, but reasonable quantities of the big 12.5-50X PM II have finally reached American shores in reasonable quantities. The suggested retail price is a jaw-dropping $3199.00, but when you consider the whole package — clarity, sharpness, image contrast, color fidelity, click options, reticle options, ruggedness, and warranty policy — the S&B 12.5-50×56, has few, if any, rivals among ultra-high magnification scopes. This is a great scope, make no mistake about it, even if does cost as much as a custom-built rifle. Jason and I both agreed that, if there was one item we’d like to carry home from SHOT Show and mount on our rifles, it would be the S&B 12.5-50x56mm. This scope is as bright at 50X as other quality scopes at 40X.
The 12.5-50x56mm is is available with 1/4 MOA clicks, 1/8 MOA clicks, or mil-based clicks, and with normal or double-turn turrets. NOTE: S&B also sells a 12.5-50×56 version optimized for 10m-70m Field Target shooting. It has a silver finish and “Big Wheel” side parallax control.
CLICK HERE for Schmidt & Bender 12.5-50×56 Rifle Specifications.
New Features on 5-25x56mm PM II
In addition to the 12.5-50x56mm long-range scope, Schmidt’s engineers showed us the popular 5-25x56mm PM II sporting a new “desert tan” ceramic coating. (CLICK HERE for large photo.) For 2010, this scope features new turret options that provide extra feedback and security for the shooter. First, either or both turrets can be locked in place by pushing down on the turret sleeve. Just pull up to unlock. Second, a pop-up cap confirms when the elevation knob is on the second revolution. That makes easier to use the scope at night. Finally, every 10th click of knob rotation is a heavy, tactile “clunk”. This does help track your revs and is especially useful with mil/cm-based turrets. S&B offers a wide selection of reticles, and you can choose between either first focal plane (FFP) or second focal plane (SFP) options.
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January 25th, 2010
At SHOT Show, Sightron rolled out its much-awaited 10-50x60mm, and it looks good. Currently available in either a Fine-Cross-Hair (FCH) reticle, or FCH with target dot, the new unit has 1/8 MOA clicks and 50 MOA of windage and elevation. Priced under $1000.00, this is a good value compared to other premium optics with similar max magnification.
Affordable High-Magnification Long-Range Optic
With a “street price” under $995.00, the Sightron 10-50 could become hugely popular in 600/1000-yard benchrest and F-Class shooting. The big new zoom features a jumbo 60mm objective, 30mm maintube, and 1/8 MOA clicks. Nearly 17″ long and weighing 28.9 ounces, make no mistake, this is a BIG piece of glass. If the new 10-50×60mm SIII Sightron is as good as the 8-32×50mm LR SIII we tested in 2009, this should be a fantastic scope for the money.
New Tactical Scopes with Rear Parallax Control
Sightron had another much smaller, but equally impressive, scope on hand. It was the 10X model from the new SIII Tactical series which includes 16X and 20X versions also. The new SIII fixed-power Tactical Sightrons feature a modified mildot (MMD) reticle with 1/4 MOA clicks. These scopes (10X, 16X, and 20X) all boast an amazing 150 MOA of total elevation (and windage). We repeat: 150 MOA of total up/down travel. That allows you to shoot well past 1000 yards without needed an angled scope base. The parallax control is at the back, where you’d normally find a zoom ring. The position is actually very handy. With the parallax (focus) control near the rear eyepiece, you can easily set the parallax with your firing hand without moving out of position. These new fixed-power Tactical Scopes will retail for about $550.00.
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January 25th, 2010
Lapua arguably has the best line of match-grade cartridge brass you can buy in the USA. And now Lapua has made its brass even better. Starting this month, when you purchase 100 pieces of Lapua brass, your cases will arrive in a handsome blue plastic box. Snapped in place under the box lid is a rectangular plastic grid that fits in the bottom of the box. Pop the grid loose and slide it into the box. Side supports molded into the lower section hold the grid in place.
Voila, instant Ammo Box! Each grid contains holes for fifty (50) loaded rounds or empty cases. The convertible plastic container/ammo box is a great idea that Lapua executed very nicely. Now you have even more motivation to purchase your cartridge brass from Lapua.
Brass delivered in the blue convertible blue plastic boxes has already started to arrive. We confirmed with Powder Valley that its most recent shipments of Lapua brass have arrived in the blue plastic boxes. Note, however, that pre-existing inventories of Lapua brass, from Powder Valley and other vendors, will continue to ship in cardboard boxes until the older supplies are exhausted.
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January 25th, 2010
Now that Zephyr Dynamics’ “Brass-O-Matic” rotary case annealer is no longer in production (Zephyr Dy’s owner received a “job offer he couldn’t refuse”), we were excited to learn that Bench-Source is bringing out an all-new, micro-processor-controlled, automated annealing machine. Bench-Source, based in Mississippi, currently produces high-quality scope bases for Savage target actions. The annealing machine is a new direction for Bench-Source, but it displays the company’s trademark attention to detail and superb machining.
 The new Bench-Source automatic case neck annealing machine processes 500-600 cartridges per hour, from 22 Hornet up to the big magnums. Heating time from 1.5 to 10 seconds is precisely controlled by a microprocessor with both a manual mode and “Automatic” mode. Note that the cartridge spins in place when it is at the annealing position, giving a uniform anneal. After annealing, the case exits via a gravity-fed drop port, so you don’t have to handle hot cases. Note: In the video below, the flame you see on some cases is burn-off of temp-indicating marker. Watch carefully and you can see that the case being annealed spins while being heated.
You can use either one or two heat sources. Torch tips are adjustable in height, angle, distance and vertical tilt by two clamp knobs. Unlike some other units, the flame height is quickly and easily adjustable. We were pleased to see all the top surfaces are metal (no plastic to warp or melt). The solid aluminum table top and index plate are also cooled by a 50-cubic-feet-per-minute fan — they will not heat up significantly during use. Additionally, the table acts as a heat sink to maintain hardness in the cartridge case head.
The unit goes on sale in March 2010. Anticipated retail price is $449.50. To order, visit Bench-Source.com, or contact Vertex Mfg. at (662) 895-0803.
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January 25th, 2010
For decades rimfire shooters have used muzzle weights and various types of tuners to optimize barrel harmonics. Just in the last few years have tuners started to appear on centerfire bench guns. And for centerfire rifles, partly by reason of benchrest rules, most of the tuning systems are fairly heavy metal cylinders placed at the end of the muzzle.
 It is well-established that mid-barrel tuners can work on rimfire rifles, and we also know that certain types of materials (such as rubber, cork, and Delrin) can have beneficial damping effects on both rimfire and centerfire barrels. Given these facts, we were quite interested in the new Flexi-Weight System introduced by AirForce Airguns at the 2010 SHOT Show.
The Flexi-Weight system consists of a cluster of 3 to 6 metal weights, held in place by a rubber O-ring. Multiple Flexi-Weight clusters can be installed on a single gun and the fore-to-aft position is easily adjusted. The shooter can simply slide a Flexi-Weight cluster back and forth along the barrel until he finds the optimal position.
We have no idea whether Flexi-Weights can improve accuracy on a centerfire rifle, but it’s worth a try. Flexi-weights are affordable ($29.95 for a set of five, 48 gram weights) and you can slip them on your barrel without cutting threads or making any other permanent modifications. The weights are designed to fit a 1.25″ diameter tube. For more info, visit Airforceairguns.com or call (877) 247-4867. Airforce Airguns is a U.S. company based in Fort Worth, Texas.
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January 24th, 2010
If you recently purchased a Remington 40X rimfire rifle from the CMP, and the bolt is old, worn out, or missing altogether, take heart, Dave Kiff of Pacfic Tool & Gauge (PTG) has a solution.
For a $199.00 “locked-in price” for AccurateShooter.com readers, PT&G offers a complete Remington 40X replacement bolt for CMP Rem 40X rifles. Even if your original factory 40X bolt functions, the replacement bolt should fit better (with less slop) and provide more consistent ignition, shot after shot. We won’t promise improved accuracy, but we predict that you get fewer unexplained flyers with the Kiff replacement bolt. Below, the charming Ashley Kiff explains the $199.00 special offer for our readers.
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January 24th, 2010
Among the many brands of gunsafes on display at SHOT Show 2010, two series of safes caught our attention. Browning’s new Tactical MK II safes possess many smart features, such as rubber-coated shelves and built-in LED lighting, that we’d like to see as ‘standard equipment’ on other safes. The Browning Tactical safes even offer handy Picatinny rail sections on the bottom of the upper shelves, so you can securely stow optics or rail-mounted accessories when not in use. Check out the video below, which showcases the unique features of the 60″x30″ Browning Tactical MKII safe.
 Cylindrical High-Security Safes from Pendleton
Pendleton drew crowds with its innovative line-up of cylindrical safes. A Pendleton Safe looks like a large vertical water heater clad in heavy steel. Pendletons feature a fairly narrow front door with a multi-level, rotating gun storage carousel inside.
The big advantage of the Pendleton safes is that they are very, very resistent to pry-bar attacks. The door gap is just .090″ (ninety thousandths) making it very hard to insert a prybar. The safe’s curved sides offer no entry points for prybars, and if a thief manages to tilt the safe over, it just rolls when leverage is applied to a prybar. The doors feature a patented cam locking mechanism and a commercial grade blocking plate to prevent drill attacks. Notable were the number of locking “bolts” — actually rectangular locking tabs of solid 1/4″ steel, providing 54 square inches of locking surface (compared to 4-8 sq. inches on bargain Costco/Walmart safes). Where some cheaper safes may have only three locking bolts on one side of the entry door, the 72″ Pendleton has 14 locking “tabs”, arrayed on the left AND right door sides (seven per side). A very impressive new safe, the Pendleton offers exclusive, patented security features, along with quality fabrication by a well-known, US-based commercial safe manufacturer.
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January 24th, 2010
At SHOT Show 2010, Zeiss Sport Optics displayed its impressive new series of Diavari scopes with FL (flourite) glass. The new scopes are extremely clear and bright (on a par with Schmidt & Bender), and the flourite lens elements allow very high light transmission with super-low fringing (chromatic aberration). Controls are very positive and the Zeiss eyepieces feature a +2 to -3 diopter. With that broad diopter range, you can use the scopes without corrective lenses even if you normally wear eyeglasses or contacts. A variety of reticles are offered, including ballistic compensating reticles calibrated for four popular cartridge types. Three scopes will initially be available in the new Zeiss FL lineup: 4-16x50mm, 6-24x56mm, and 6-24x72mm, shown below. This extra-large 72mm objective provides superior low-light performance plus a large exit pupil, even at full 24X magnification.
Higher Magnification and Dual-Rate Focus for New FL Diascope
In addition to the new FL Scopes, Zeiss displayed its new 65mm and 85mm Diascope FL spotting scopes. These look very similar to last year’s models, but there are internal lens upgrades, a new focus system, and a superb new eyepiece that raises the max magnification to 75X on the 85mm model.
We really like the new “dual-rate” focus system. Focusing a high-magnification spotting scope can be frustrating with a single control knob. The dual-rate system is an intelligent solution. When you spin the knob more than 270°, it automatically goes into fast focus mode, which is five times faster. Then as you “dial in” your subject, it reverts to fine focus mode. This is a smart system that works very intuitively. Kudos to Zeiss for this innovation. Zeiss engineer Stephan Albrecht, Diascope project manager, explains the new features.
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January 23rd, 2010
As this is written on Saturday morning, January 23rd, there are officially 9996 registered members of our Shooters’ Forum. Within a few hours, we will hit 10,000 members, a major milestone for the site.
Who will be Mr. (or Ms.) 10,000? Could it be you? Our 10,000th member will receive a special prize, to be announced later. If you visit our Forum regularly, but haven’t registered yet, now is the time!
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January 23rd, 2010
 Culminating a 2.5-year investigation, on January 20th, FBI agents arrested 22 execs and sales employees at the 2010 SHOT Show, on allegations that the defendants, to secure lucrative arms contracts, had tried to bribe FBI agents posing as foreign officials. The FBI based its arrests on alleged violations of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
According to Outdoor Life: “Charged are people at companies in eight states and executives at companies in the United Kingdom and Israel. The defendants allegedly agreed to pay a 20 percent commission to a sales agent they believed represented the defense minister for an African country to win a multimillion-dollar deal to outfit the presidential guard. The sales agent was actually an undercover FBI agent, and no defense minister was involved at all.”
Over a two and a half year period, some 250 FBI agents were involved in the sting operation. Based on the length of the investigation, and the number of agents involved, this sting surely cost the taxpayers many millions of dollars, and also diverted manpower from much-needed investigations of suspected terrorists and big-time drug traffickers.
Can the Charges Stick?
At least one law professor thinks the Federal prosecutors may have great difficulty obtaining convictions. The reason is that object of the bribes was NOT a foreign official, but was instead an FBI agent. This may be similar to cases where store owners accused of selling alcohol to minors “beat the rap” because the “minors” were actually young-looking detectives well above the drinking age. Arguably, if there is no actual foreigner involved then there can not be an illegal bribe under the terms of the FCPA. However, there are some other crimes listed along with the alleged FCPA violations.
What Will Likely Happen?
We expect some of the less important defendants will plea bargain to stay out of jail. These “small fish” will be asked to turn States’ evidence to help the prosecution of the higher profile defendants, such as Smith & Wesson VP Amaro Goncalves. The big shots who were arrested will almost certainly mount a vigorous defense and appeal any convictions. The appeal process could go on for many years. Ultimately, the nation’s High Court might be asked to decide whether the FCPA can be violated when no actual foreign official was involved and the whole scheme was cooked up by American law enforcement.
Misguided Federal Priorities?
So far the mainstream media has missed the underlying question here — namely: “Why did the FBI, at the behest of the U.S. Dept. of Justice, commit millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of man-hours to trick American arms salesmen, when their alleged ‘crime’ may not be an FCPA violation at all, and when there are other far more important priorities — such as real terrorists?” The Red Alerts blog declared: “When dealing with third world nations corruption is part of the price of doing business. Everyone knows that but the government wasted the time of at least 250 FBI agents while real Muslim terrorists were sneaking underwear filled with binary explosives on airplanes.”
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January 22nd, 2010
At the 2010 SHOT Show we had the unique opportunity to corner three “superstars” of High Power shooting, and solicit their wind-reading secrets. In the three videos below (in alphabetical order), Carl Bernosky (8-Time Nat’l High Power Champion), David Tubb (11-time Nat’l High Power Champion), and John Whidden (2-Time Nat’l High Power Long-Range Champion) shared some of the wind-doping strategies that have carried them to victory in the nation’s most competitive shooting matches. This is GOLD folks… no matter what your discipline — be it short-range Benchrest or Long-Range High Power — watch these videos for valuable insights that can help you shoot more accurately, and post higher scores, in all wind conditions.
We were very fortunate to have these three extraordinarily gifted champions reveal their “winning ways”. After recording the interviews, both Jason and I stood there in stunned silence…with jaws dropped. These guys REALLY know their stuff. I thought to myself “Wow, this is how a baseball fan might feel if he could assemble Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams in the same room, and have them each reveal their hitting secrets.” Watch the videos and soak up the wisdom of some truly legendary shooters….
By the way, the above clips are only part of longer interviews with Carl, David, and John. Stay tuned for other videos where these three champions talk about specific skills and techniques they’ve developed for the high power and long-range prone game.
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