This Christmas Eve day, amidst the shopping frenzy, let’s not forget the scores of American military personnel, volunteers all, who remain deployed overseas, thousands of miles from home. In this video, Marine Master Sgt. Robert Allen sings a Christmas song he wrote for his wife back home. Allen is one of the thousands of service men and women still deployed in Afghanistan. His song helps us remember the many soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen who serve this nation in battle zones far, far from home. MSG Allen hopes his song “will help people understand that though we’re willing to do it, it’s still heart-breaking”.
Video recorded at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.
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Wilson Combat now offers an Adjustable Lo-Profile AR Gas Block for direct gas impingement AR-type rifles. Wilson Combat’s new adjustable gas block replaces a standard AR gas block and allows you to tune your AR’s gas system for smoother cycling and enhanced reliability. Wilson Combat explains: “Adjusting your rifle’s gas port will lower or increase your bolt’s cyclic rate. This tailors your rifle’s performance to your unique needs.”
A simple adjustment of the hex screw at the front of the block modulates the gas volume allowing you to tune your rifle’s function to your favorite loads. This is very handy when shooting non-standard AR calibers, unusual hand-loads, or suppressed rifles. Adjustable Gas Block systems are sold as complete kits starting at $74.95. Wilson Combat offers two diameters (.750″, .937″) and three lengths (Carbine Length, Mid-Length, & Rifle Length), so you can select the right dimensions for your rifle configuration and barrel diameter. The blocks are Chromoly steel with a Melonited finish.
Package Includes:
Adjustable Gas Block (Melonite Finish)
Adjustment Set Screw (Installed)
Straight Gas Tube (Installed, Gas Tube Pin Installed)
12″-Long Allen Wrench to Adjust Inside Handguard
$74.95 – $79.95
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The new 2013 Annual Hodgdon Reloading Manual (the 10th Annual Edition) has just been released. The manual now contains over 5000 loads, with updates for 37 rifle and pistol cartridges. You’ll also find data for Hodgdon’s popular, new CFE-223 reduced-fouling powder — CFE-223 load info has been added for 19 more cartridges. Varmint hunters will be pleased to see the addition of complete data for the popular 17 Hornet. Along with comprehensive load data, the 2013 Annual Manual offers authoritative articles by top gun and outdoor industry writers working with the editors of Shooting Times magazine.
You’ll find the 2013 Hodgdon manual at newsstands and gun stores in early 2013, priced at $8.99. (Some stores already have the 2013 Manual on the shelves.) You can also order direct by visiting Hodgdon.com or calling (913) 362-9455. (Direct sales price is $11.99 including postage.)
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The NRA’s American Rifleman Online website has an excellent article showing how to construct a rock-solid Reloading Bench. There are plenty of photos, and a detailed set of Bench Blueprints showing all dimensions and listing all needed materials. This bench is very well designed, with many deluxe features, such as an upper drawer with fitted slots for die boxes, and large lower drawers with 100-lb rated slides to store heavy materials or tools. If you have good wood-working skills this would be an excellent project.
The author, Dave Campbell, offers good advice on building the bench top: “I ripped a sheet of 3/4″ AC plywood into two 24″ wide pieces and cut them to 72″ long. Then I glued them together to form a 72″ long, 1 1/24″ thick top. The trick here is to keep the edges smooth and flat so that the laminate will adhere properly and without voids. I chose a light grey laminate finish for the top because it’s easier to see what I am working on and keep clean. If you have never worked with laminate, remember it’s prudent to glue and rout the edges flush before gluing on the top. The top was attached to the carcass with eight steel L-shaped angle brackets and No. 10×1 1/4″ wood screws.”
According to the ancient Mayan Calendar, the world was going to come to an end on December 21st (to be precise, at 2400 hours on December 20th, 2012). Apparently, Doomsday has not occurred. That’s a relief. The experts assure us that the Mayans got it wrong. And near the international dateline, this official message was posted on the internet: “The world has not ended. Sincerely, New Zealand.”
So enjoy the fact that planet earth (and its inhabitants) have apparently avoided the Apocalypse — at least until an asteroid the size of Texas decides to pay us a visit. On December 21st (today) the sun came up, the earth continued to rotate on its axis, we still face taxes and traffic jams, and we all grow older every day.
So, now that we don’t have to worry about the end of all life as we know it — maybe it’s time to finish up that Christmas shopping, or better yet, celebrate our deliverance from Mayan Doomsday by spending a day at the shooting range with family and friends.
Did the Mayas Really Predict an Apocalypse?
Apparently not. According to Missouri University Professor Robert Smale, the concern over “Mayan Doomsday” results from a mistake. Smale stated: “I can tell you definitively from the Mayan texts that we have, books that we have, inscriptions, that the Mayas never predicted an apocalypse, cataclysm, a last judgment or an end of the world on December 21, 2012.” Smale explained that the doomsday fears emerged from a confusion over symbols. The Mayan script used the same marker to represent zero as well as thirteen. Once we understand that point, Smale says, it becomes clear that the Mayas never predicted the “end of time”. In fact, just like the Gregorian Calendar, the Mayan Calendar “starts from year zero and has no end.”
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Carl Zeiss Sports Optics has some very attractive promotions in place right now — with rebates from $50 to $500.00. With Zeiss Field Days mail-in rebates you can save money on premium rifle scopes, spotting scopes, laser rangefinders, and rangefinding binoculars. But time’s running out. The 2012 Carl Zeiss Field Days Promotion runs out on December 31, 2012. CLICK HERE for Field Days Rebate Coupon.
Save $500.00 on Zeiss Diascope Spotting Scopes
Zeiss produces a very high-quality spotting scope. We did a three-way test with a Pentax PF-100ED, 2010-model (one piece) Swarovski 80mm, and 2012 Zeiss 85mm Diascope. Compared to the big Pentax, the Zeiss could resolve very fine lines better and the Zeiss had less chromatic aberration. The Diascope was very, very close to the Swaro in resolution, but it had a slight edge in low light given its larger front objective. Most of our testers gave a slight edge to the Swaro for contrast. The dual-rate focus system on the Zeiss does take a while to master, but it allows faster focusing than either the Pentax (which uses two separate knobs for course and fine focus), or the Swaro (which has one large full-diameter focusing ring). If you’re choosing between the Swaro and the Zeiss, the $500.00 rebate can easily settle the argument. Street price for the Zeiss Angled 85mm Diascope (before rebate) is $2999.99 including Vario 20-60x Eyepiece. Do note, however, that anyone considering a high-end spotting scope should also look at the Kowa 88mm TSN-88X Prominar HD series ($2310.00 street price for TSN-883 Angled, BODY ONLY).
How to Get Your Discounts
All purchases must be made from a Carl Zeiss Authorized Dealer in the United States and rebate request forms must be completed and postmarked within 30 days of purchase. Payment will be made by a ZEISS Prepaid Reward Card by American Express. For promotion details, visit the Field Days Promo Page. For faster payment and real-time tracking, register on-line at Zeiss.4myrebate.com. After submitting your rebate forms, check the status of your rebate with the Zeiss Online Rebate Tracker.
$500 rebate on the 65mm and 85mm VICTORY DiaScope (plus free tripod).
$300 rebate on the award-winning VICTORY RF rangefinding binoculars.
$50 rebate on the award-winning VICTORY 8×26 PRF laser rangefinding monocular.
$100 rebate on the NEW Conquest HD 42mm binoculars.
$100 rebate on the NEW Conquest 30mm Duralyt Riflescopes.
$100 rebate on all riflescopes that have any Rapid-Z reticle.
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We live in a digital, electronic era. The very story you’re reading right now consists of digital data packets transmitted electronically around the globe. Because of cost factors, 99+% of shooting matches in the USA still rely on old-fashioned manual scoring methods. However, target scoring can be done faster and more precisely with electronic scoring systems. Olympic and international CISM shooting competitions now employ electronic target systems. And electronic scoring is widely used in Europe. Virtually all the rifle and pistol events at the recent ISSF World Championships in Munich featured electronic scoring — complete with large, overhead digital displays so the audience could track the action, shot for shot.
Below is a video showing an electronic scoring system developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Mikroelektronikk AS. Watch as a prone shooter puts five rounds on a 300m target. You can see the group form on the video screen at his shooting station. He’s a good shooter (with an accurate rifle). The first three shots are touching.
As you can see from the video, viewing shots on the monitor is easier than using a spotting scope and waiting for targets to be marked. And, electronic targets eliminate the need for target pullers in the pits.
The Kongsberg target systems, like the electronic systems produced by Sius Ascor of Switzerland, do more than just display shot locations to the shooter. The target units automatically calculate scores, which are transmitted to a central computer. This can provide updated competitor rankings, and can even display the results to event spectators on large view screens.
CLICK HERE for a longer streaming Flash VIDEO showing how electronic target systems work. This video, produced by Sius Ascor, shows Olympic target systems in action.
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If you are looking for an affordable precision scale, the GemPro 250 scale is now on sale for just $145.00 at Amazon.com. This scale offers 0.02 grain resolution, good enough to trickle kernel by kernel. The GemPro 250 comes with a 30-year warranty for American buyers. As this scale weighs more precisely than popular digital powder scale/dispensers, you can use the digital dispenser to throw a “close” charge and then fine-tune your load with the GemPro, kernel by kernel.
by Bill Schnauffer (aka Cover Dog)
The Importance of Precise Loads for Long-Range Shooting
The reloading scale is the life blood of anyone’s loading bench. It’s used for everything from weighing powders to cases or bullets and yes even primers. I would have never considered weighing primers but that is one of the many things I learned the weekend of May 20-22, 2011 at The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Bench Rest Club’s Bench Rest Instructional School. All aspects of reloading for 1000-yard BR have to be identical. Your brass, bullets, powder and primers all have to weigh the same, for all your sighters and your 10 record shots, if you want any chance of being competitive. This can only become a reality if your scale is up to the task. Everything you do when shooting at 1000 yards is magnified 10x and your scale needs to be above all else, accurate and repeatable.
I thought that a scale accurate to 1/10th of a grain was good enough. Not so in the long range BR game. Scales need to be accurate to at least 5/100ths of a grain or better if you can afford it. This prompted my search for such a scale.
GemPro Is Half the Price of Denver Instrument MXX-123
I have read reviews for several of the better scales used for reloading including the Accu-Lab VIC 123 (now replaced by the Sartorius Acculab AY123110V). The [AY123 seriess] scales are accurate to 2/100ths of a grain, but is also a scale that many felt was affected by RF interference and the slightest air movement made it drift. This was due in part because of the strain gauge technology that is used in the manufacture of this scale. And with parts not readily available, the lead time for one is you want it is over 20 weeks. The Denver Instrument MXX-123 also had a good review but the current version, [Sartorius Acculab AY123110V], is into the $320 price range. And this is out of reach for many reloaders.
This now brings me to the My Weigh GemPro 250. It uses True-Division German HBM sensors and professional components in the manufacture of this scale. It has a 50 gram weight capacity (771.72 grains) and accuracy down to 2/100ths of a grain. It features seven (7) weighing modes as listed below. And with a retail price in the $145.00 range, this is a scale that most reloaders could afford for their reloading bench. And you won’t be pressed for room on that bench. The scale is very compact, measuring 5.25″ X 3.75″ X 2.5″.
Product Sale Tip by Boyd Allen. We welcome Reader Submissions.
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McMillan regularly offers a selection of inletted “Specials” stocks. You should check McMillan’s Specials Page regularly to set if there’s a stock that suits your next build. Not only can you save months of wait time, but you save on the cost of the stock. Many of the Specials stocks are priced $100.00 or more below normal retail. From the list on the Stock Specials Page, choose your action and find a great deal on a McMillan stock. (Once you are on the Stock Specials Page, move your mouse to the left and select action type from the list under the McMillan logo.)
Currently, there are a number of A-Series McMillan stocks on sale. There are currently a large supply of A3s and A5s, inletted for various actions including: Defiance, McMillan, Remington, Ruger, Sako, Savage, Stiller, and Surgeon.
McMillan A5
Hunting Stocks and Benchrest Stocks on Sale Also
In addition to the A-Series specials, McMillan has discounted hunting stocks for Browning, Mauser, Remington, Ruger, Sako, and Winchester actions. There is also currently a good selection of Benchrest Stocks on sale, including the popular McMillan Tooley MBR Stocks. CHECK HERE for availability of your action choice.
McMillan Tooley MBR
Tooley MBR Stocks Available Now: #2924 MBR 70% WHITE 30% BLACK MARBLE, LBRP STILLER PYTHON, SINGLE SHOT, REM ADL T/G, NO FRONT SCREW HOLE, 1.375" STRAIGHT B/C, 1" DEC PAD, 13.5" LOP. $275.00
#3001 MBR 70% TURQUOISE 30% BLACK MARBLE, RBLP, LAWTON 7500 LA, 1.36" DIA, SINGLE SHOT, REM ADL T/G, KRIEG HV B/C WITH 4" CYL, 1" DEC PAD, 13.5" LOP, ALUM. PILLARS INSTALLED. $350.00
#3034 MBR 70% ORANGE 30% YELLOW MARBLE, RH XP100, SINGLE SHOT, BAT T/G, #7 LILJA B/C W/ 4.5" CYL, 1" DEC PAD, 13.5" LOP, ALUMINUM PILLAR INSTALLED. $425.00
#3035 MBR 70% GRAY 20% BLUE 10% LT GRAY MARBLE, RBLP, BAT M 1.53X8.5", SINGLE SHOT, BAT T/G, HV B/C W/ 5" CYL, 1" DEC PAD, 13.5" LOP, 3 ALUM. PILLARS INSTALLED. $475.00
#3078 MBR YELLOW, ORANGE, BLUE FLAME PATTERN, LEAD ADDED, STOCK WEIGHS 15.75 LBS, RH SAVAGE 210, SINGLE SHOT, FAC SAV T/G, 1.5" STRAIGHT B/C, 1" DEC PAD, 13.5" LOP. $473.00
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Cerberus Capital Management, LP (Cerberus), announced today that it would sell its stake in Freedom Group, Inc. (Freedom Group), a holding company that owns numerous firearms-industry businesses. The Freedom Group Family of Companies includes Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin, H&R, DPMS, Barnes Bullets, Eotac, and Dakota Arms. A Bushmaster AR15-type rifle was one of the weapons found at the scene of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings. Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old shooter, also carried Glock and Sig Sauer pistols.
In deciding to sell the Freedom Group, Cerberus was influenced by its large institutional investors. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which has over $700 million invested in Cerberus, stated that it was re-examining its Cerberus investment in light of recent events. Translation: After Newtown, this big pension fund was very uncomfortable with the fact that Cerberus was so heavily involved in the gun business (through its ownership of the Freedom Group and specifically Bushmaster).
Here is the text of the Press Release issued by Cerberus on December 18, 2012:
We were shocked and deeply saddened by the events that took place at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on December 14, 2012. We cannot comprehend the losses suffered by the families and friends of those killed by the unthinkable crimes committed that day. No words or actions can lessen the enormity of this event or make a dent in the pain that was inflicted on so many.
In 2006 affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. made a financial investment in Freedom Group. Freedom Group does not sell weapons or ammunition directly to consumers, through gun shows or otherwise. Sales are made only to federally licensed firearms dealers and distributors in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. We do not believe that Freedom Group or any single company or individual can prevent senseless violence or the illegal use or procurement of firearms and ammunition.
It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level. The debate essentially focuses on the balance between public safety and the scope of the Constitutional rights under the Second Amendment. As a Firm, we are investors, not statesmen or policy makers. Our role is to make investments on behalf of our clients who are comprised of the pension plans of firemen, teachers, policemen and other municipal workers and unions, endowments, and other institutions and individuals. It is not our role to take positions, or attempt to shape or influence the gun control policy debate. That is the job of our federal and state legislators.
There are, however, actions that we as a firm can take. Accordingly, we have determined to immediately engage in a formal process to sell our investment in Freedom Group. We will retain a financial advisor to design and execute a process to sell our interests in Freedom Group, and we will then return that capital to our investors. We believe that this decision allows us to meet our obligations to the investors whose interests we are entrusted to protect without being drawn into the national debate that is more properly pursued by those with the formal charter and public responsibility to do so.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and communities impacted by this tragic and devastating event.
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
About Cerberus Capital Management: A private equity firm established in 1992, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. has more than US $20 billion under management invested in four primary strategies: distressed securities & assets; control and non-control private equity; commercial mid-market lending and real estate-related investments.
The new 829-page Berger Reloading Manual is now on sale at MidwayUSA.com for $24.99. This is a very good deal. This impressive new resource sells elsewhere for $29.00. At this price, you may want to pick up a couple and give one as a gift.
Book Sale Tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
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Christmas Day is just one week away. Books have always been popular Xmas gifts. If you haven’t completed your holiday shopping, here are some recommended titles that should please the serious shooters and firearms enthusiasts on your shopping list. For Shooting Clubs, books also make great end-of-season member awards. Most of us would rather have a useful book than one more piece of wood to toss in a box in the closet.
Here are six recommended titles, in alphabetical order:
If you’re a serious long-range shooter you NEED this book. Since its initial release Bryan Litz’s treatise has become the definitive resource on long-range ballistics and bullet design. While Bryan covers some very advanced topics, Bryan does a very good job of making the text comprehensible to the layman. You don’t need a degree from MIT to read this work. Bryan’s book comes compete with a CD packed with ballistics software and additional reference materials. AND, Bryan includes Ballistic Coefficient data for over 236 long range bullets.
Frederick Selous was a legendary African hunter. It was for him that Tanzania’s famous Selous Game reserve was named. If you have an interest in big game hunting in Africa, you should get this book. As readers have noted, this is “Classic Africana”… “one of the very best exploration/hunting history books about Africa”. It is an excellent book, well-written and “all about hunting”. Selous’ life was full of adventure, and his book lets readers experience, vicariously, the danger and excitement of African hunting in a bygone era.
This handy reference guide contains scores of useful tips from many top shooters. However, this is NOT a load manual. Rather, it explains the techniques for precision reloading, and offers advice on how to get the “Nth” degree of accuracy from your handloads. Each topical chapter is authored by a different expert. Chapters include: Reloading for Extreme Accuracy, High Power (Bolt Guns), High Power (Gas Guns), Benchrest, Magnums, Wildcats, Cast Bullets, and working up an accuracy load. Readers have praised this compact (5.5″ x 8.5″) reference: “I’ve been reloading for many many years, and [this] book still managed to contain pearls of wisdom I’d never heard before.” –T. Pratt.
Tompkins’ treatise is a must-read for serious Palma,
F-Class, and High Power shooters. The revised and updated edition is set for release in 2013. Topics include Mental & Physical training, Reading Wind & Mirage Shooting Fundamentals, International Competition, and Loading for Long Range. Nancy Tompkins is a 4-time winner of the National Long Range Championships, and has won countless other major events. Nancy has been on six Palma Teams (as both a shooter and a coach).
Decades after it was written, Vaughn’s work remains a seminal treatise on accuracy. Vaughn was a serious scientist, working for the Sandia National Laboratories. Many “gun writers” toss out hunches about rifle accuracy. Vaughn, by contrast, did serious empirical testing and statistical analysis. Vaughn wondered why some guns shot well while seemingly identical rifles did not. Rifle Accuracy Facts covers a wide variety of topics, including internal ballistics, chamber design, barrel vibration, bullet imbalance, external ballistics, scope design and more. Writer Boyd Allen notes: “If you are serious about precision shooting, Vaughn’s book belongs in your library.”
Steven Boelter’s 352-page book is a comprehensive study of all types of rimfire ammunition (including 17s and 22 mags), with over 600 photos. In a remarkable undertaking, Steven Boelter fired every brand and sample of rimfire ammo he could acquire (including 22LR, 17 Mach 2, 17HMR and 22 WMR), and recorded all the results. In all, Steven tested 11 brands and 137 different rimfire rounds, firing over 32,000 test rounds.
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This Christmas Eve day, amidst the shopping frenzy, let’s not forget the scores of American military personnel, volunteers all, who remain deployed overseas, thousands of miles from home. In this video, Marine Master Sgt. Robert Allen sings a Christmas song he wrote for his wife back home. Allen is one of the thousands of service men and women still deployed in Afghanistan. His song helps us remember the many soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen who serve this nation in battle zones far, far from home. MSG Allen hopes his song “will help people understand that though we’re willing to do it, it’s still heart-breaking”.
According to the ancient Mayan Calendar, the world was going to come to an end on December 21st (to be precise, at 2400 hours on December 20th, 2012). Apparently, Doomsday has not occurred. That’s a relief. The experts assure us that the Mayans got it wrong. And near the international dateline, this official message was posted on the internet: “The world has not ended. Sincerely, New Zealand.”
We live in a digital, electronic era. The very story you’re reading right now consists of digital data packets transmitted electronically around the globe. Because of cost factors, 99+% of shooting matches in the USA still rely on old-fashioned manual scoring methods. However, target scoring can be done faster and more precisely with electronic scoring systems. Olympic and international CISM shooting competitions now employ electronic target systems. And electronic scoring is widely used in Europe. Virtually all the rifle and pistol events at the recent ISSF World Championships in Munich featured electronic scoring — complete with large, overhead digital displays so the audience could track the action, shot for shot.
If you are looking for an affordable precision scale, the GemPro 250 scale is now on sale for just $145.00 at 
Christmas Day is just one week away. Books have always been popular Xmas gifts. If you haven’t completed your holiday shopping, here are some recommended titles that should please the serious shooters and firearms enthusiasts on your shopping list. For Shooting Clubs, books also make great end-of-season member awards. Most of us would rather have a useful book than one more piece of wood to toss in a box in the closet.
