We all know that young people are the future of our sport. Well here’s a tale of a talented young shooter who is already “running with the Big Dogs” at the ripe old age of 10 years. Rory Jacobs, son of Forum member Tom Jacobs, recently competed at the IBS 600-yard Nationals in St. Louis. Rory won the Junior Nationals title and placed 14th in the Two-Gun Overall, finishing ahead of dozens of highly skilled adult shooters with decades of experience. Among all shooters (of any age) at the Nationals, Rory had the sixth-best Heavy Gun score and placed seventh overall in Heavy Gun. This kid has talent, that’s for sure. Of course, it helps to have a father who runs a shooting range. The Jacobs family owns and operates the Vapor Trail Valley Shooting Range, www.vaportrailvalleyllc.com, near Trenton, Missouri.
That handsome rifle was smithed by Jay Cutright, and stocked by Tom Meredith (the stock is one of Tom’s). The rifle features a BAT action and Benchmark barrel chambered in 6mm Dasher (.270″ neck) . At the Nationals, Rory shot Berger bullets pushed by Alliant Reloder 15 powder and CCI 450 primers. The front rest is from Randolph Machine.
Rory Began Shooting at Age Three
Rory started shooting and hunting at a very young age. He got his first .22LR rimfire rifle when he was three years old, and he started going on hunting trips with his father at the same young age. Within a few years he was a skilled hunter, harvesting a turkey and a couple of deer at age 6. When he was very young, his father took him prairie dog shooting several times. That’s when Rory got “hooked” on long-range shooting. He got involved in competitive shooting at age 9 at some rimfire “fun matches”. He moved up to the big leagues a year later, entering his first IBS match this spring (2012). Amazingly, at his first-ever IBS 600-yard match, Rory won Light Gun class overall and he posted the best LG group aggregate. Not bad for a 10-year-old! And how many folks, young or old, can boast that they won their first-ever benchrest match? This kid’s a natural. Not surprisingly, he is currently leading the IBS in the race for Junior 600-yard Shooter of the Year.
A well-rounded young man, Rory has a variety of interests. Along with shooting, Rory enjoys woodworking and he plays in a summer baseball league. He’s a modest, church-going youngster, whose character impressed all those who met him in St. Louis at the Nationals. When asked what he liked most about the National Championship experience, Rory replied: “I liked spending time with my dad, and I really liked helping other people.” Rory added: “The ride home in Gene Ford’s motorhome was cool.” The video shows Rory shooting at 600 yards.
Report by Ian Pavy (aka “ThunderDownunder” in Forum)
The NIOA Savage Cup for F-TR was held in South Australia at the SARA Lower Light range on the last weekend in September 2012. The three day event covered eight ranges from 300 to 800 metres. It was a history making competition being the first time ever in Australia that F-TR was included into a State Championship, (Queens) event.
CLICK HERE for Savage Cup Results.
Prior to the event, Australian team trials were conducted under the watchful eye of the Team Captain, Linda Shehan. Next year, Australia will be sending a F-Open and F-TR team to Raton, New Mexico for the F-Class World Championships. The formation and inclusion of F-TR has been supported by the NRAA and is a great step forward for Australia’s inclusion into international F-Class events. Those of us that make it into the team look forward to meeting up with our international friends, a lot of whom we got to know through the AccurateShooter.com Forum. Look out guys the Aussies are coming over to compete!
Alan Seaman Tops Field
The NIOA Savage Cup had as first prize a Savage F-TR rifle so it was a hard fought competition with Alan Seaman, (Gosford Rifle Club) taking the prize and the honor of being the first winner in a F-TR championship event in Australia. Alan’s aggregate score of 456.25 was well ahead of Ian Pavy, (Murray Bridge Rifle Club) and Greg Warrian, (Tumut Rifle Club) who both scored 438. Ian won second place on X-count over Greg in third place. These two shooters seesawed back and forth over the three days of competition.
Alan showed remarkable wind reading skills over the three days which included winds up to 50 kph and at times heavy mirage. Alan may be wind coaching the Aussie F T/R team at Raton and from what I have seen we could not be in better hands. Alan’s score of 456.25 would have placed him third outright in F-Open. Scoring Note: The Savage Cup featured an ICFRA target with 6 as the highest ring count and a half-MOA X-ring. The Australian system of 60 points for ten shots can be equated to American scoring (100 points for ten shots) by adding 40 to each Aussie range score.
Barnes Bullets has produced some videos showing the processes used to make Barnes’ popular TSX (all-copper), Match Burner (lead-core, copper jacket), and Varmint Grenade (copper jacket, powdered metal core) bullets.
Drawing Copper Wire for TSX Bullets
The first video features the TSX. These all-copper bullets start by drawing and cutting solid copper wire into slugs. The material is first drawn down to the correct diameter and then cut to the proper weight on a large industrial shear press. Great care is taken to ensure the most consistent weight possible. The machines are checked frequently. The video below show how copper wire is sized (in the first black box on the green machine) and then travels over a series of rollers to the cutting station.
Extruding Lead Wire for Bullet Cores
The second video shows the extrusion of lead core material for Barnes’ Originals and Match Burner bullets. First, soft lead is melted into 16″ long by 2 ½” round ingots. The ingots are then fed into a large steel tube and hydraulically forced through a cone at about 3500 psi, producing lead wire. This extrusion process makes the lead wire to the correct diameter. The lead wire is then fed into a cutter that chops it into the correct weight. After cutting, the lead cores are sorted and again fed into the bullet presses.
Powdered Metal Mixing for Varmint Grenade Bullets
The third video shows the mixing of metal for the composite cores in Varmint Grenade bullets. This powdered metal core is one reason why Varmint Grenades fragment so explosively on impact. The core for these bullets (identical to the MPG bullet) is made from a very fine copper and tin powder. After mixing, the metal powder matrix is fed via the hopper into the Fetta press. This machine then feeds the powder into a chamber where it is compressed into a solid core that can be put into a copper jacket. In the video, the powdered metal is fed into the machine on the left. It’s a bit difficult to see, but there is a bottom punch that matches each top punch. The two punches come together to form the core.
This is a very expensive, high-output machine. Fully tooled and set at a reasonable speed, it can make upwards of 90,000 cores per hour!
Story Tip by EdLongRange. We welcome reader story ideas.
Choosing the right-diameter bullet can have a big effect on accuracy in match rifles. “Wait a minute”, you might say, “doesn’t one simply choose a 6mm bullet for a 6mm barrel and a 7mm bullet for a 7mm barrel, what’s the big deal?” Well… it’s not that simple. Not all bullets of the same nominal caliber actually have the same true diameter. We’ve seen different-brand 6mm bullets vary by as much as a full thousandth (.001″) in diameter. We have seen undeniable evidence that a poor “fit” of bullet diameter to bore dimensions can result in a poor-shooting gun, even one with a high-grade barrel.
Conversely, if you find the bullet diameter you barrel likes, that may instantly improve your accuracy. The accuracy gain may be more significant than making changes to the bullet seating depth or even powder charge. The importance of bullet diameter is compounded by the fact that 6mm match barrels are available with both .236″ and .237″ land diameters. Some barrels prefer “fat” bullets while other barrels prefer “skinny” bullets.
Last year, Jason Baney measured 12 different sets of 6mm Match Bullets, including a couple different lots of the same bullet design. Interestingly, Jason did measure the “old” Berger 105 VLD, the new-generation Berger 105 VLD (first lot from the new die), and the “new, improved” Berger 105 VLD from the new die, after it was polished. Ten (10) Bullets were measured per type. Each bullet was measured three times (3X) around the largest circumference, normally where a pressure ring would be located (some bullets have a pronounced pressure ring, others do not). NOTE: We provide the numbers from Jason’s tests, but remember that bullets from different production runs may have slightly different dimensions. You should augment our findings with your own measurements from later-produced bullets.
The first two columns of the chart show the smallest and largest bullet diameters measured for each 10-bullet sample. The third column shows the extreme spread over each 10-bullet set. Note, these numbers are NOT averages, but represent the “low” and “high” diameters for each set. (FYI: Jason noted that while the Lapua Scenars were very consistent, an earlier 2005 “JEVDAK” lot had smaller meplats than 2007 and 2008 lots.) A Mitutoyo Micrometer was used, zero-checked for each bullet.
SIG P22X series handguns are justifiably respected for their accuracy, reliability, and build quality.* SIG Sauer has combined the features of its P228 9mm and P229 40sw pistols in a new high-capacity 9mm originally designed for Navy Aviators. SIG’s new M11-A1 is essentially a stainless slide P228 mated to a P229 anodized alloy frame. The wider P229 frame bumps capacity to 15-rounds of 9mm parabellum. The SIG M11 is issued to U.S. Naval Aviation and key units in other branches of the Armed Services. The new M11-A1 variant for civilians has been upgraded with a stainless steel slide, short-reset trigger, and 15-round flush-fit magazines. The M11-A1 features the same phosphate-coated internals, night sights, and MIL-STD UID label of the standard-issue M11. The M11-A1 should be available in gun stores this month. MSRP is $1125.00 while “street price” should settle under $900.00.
*This is not just hype. This Editor owns a German-made P226. It is very accurate and extraordinarily reliable. I’ve also owned some polymer-framed pistols over the years. They are gone now, and not missed. I will never part with my P226. I could tell you the round-count over the years without a single misfeed, FTE or stove-pipe, but you wouldn’t believe it. More reliable than a Glock? My personal P226 has proven to be just that….
If you’re looking for the newest, hot tubegun set-up, check out BAT Machine’s new 3-Lug tubegun action. This new action, created with design input from Gary Eliseo of Competition Shooting Stuff (CSS), is designed to work perfectly in Eliseo’s modular tubegun chassis systems. The new BAT “tubegun special” action features a smooth, short-throw 3-lug bolt along with an integral, large-diameter recoil lug precision-machined as part of the action. The new BAT tubegun action will mate perfectly with an all-new tubegun chassis kit Gary Eliseo has “designed around the action”.
Gary Eliseo is excited about the BAT 3-Lug and he will be offering a new chassis for this “tubegun special” action. The new BAT 3-Lug action is shorter than Remington-style actions and Barnard actions, so it will NOT fit in existing Eliseo tubeguns. Accordingly, to use the new BAT 3-Lug action you will need a new chassis kit. Gary may, at some point in the future, offer a retrofit kit, but for now, you’ll need Gary’s new chassis if you want to run the BAT 3-Lug. Gary hopes to deliver BAT 3-Lug-capable chassis kits in about six (6) months time. That sounds like a long time, but remember that it will take you about six months to get your BAT 3-Lug action once you place an order with BAT Machine. The action is currently SINGLE SHOT only, and fits short-action-length cartridges (e.g. 6BR, .243, .308 Win). Price for the new action is roughly $1200.00. Both right-hand and left-hand versions will be offered in both stainless and chrome-moly. Extra-cost options will include fluted bolts and dual ports (as shown in photos). The new chassis kit will initially be available for standard RB/RP or LB/LP configurations.
Gary believes the new BAT 3-Lug action, when fitted to his new chassis, will be ideal for Palma, Long-Range Prone, and F-TR Shooters. Gary says: “This new action is stiff and smooth, with a fast 60° bolt lift. It offers many of the best features of a Barnard action, in a more compact, American-made design, available in stainless steel as well as chrome-moly.” (Barnards are chrome-moly only.) BAT Machine is currently accepting orders for the 3-Lug Tubegun action and you can order the new Eliseo Chassis designed around this action from CompetitionShootingStuff.com.
Here’s an interesting factoid from Hodgdon Powder’s new Facebook Page:
The story of Hodgdon Powders begins with one number: 4895. Founder Bruce Hodgdon, a handloader and U.S. Navy veteran, knew that after WWI tons of surplus powder were dumped at sea. After WWII, rather than let it all go to waste, Bruce borrowed against his life insurance and bought 25 tons of 4895 from the U.S. Government. It was the perfect powder for the flood of surplus M1903 Springfield rifles chambered in .30-06. The rest is reloading history.
Shown below is the life insurance loan contract that funded Bruce Hodgdon’s Purchase of 25 Tons of 4895 Surplus Powder:
Meopta USA now offers additional versions of its award-winning MeoPix® iScoping Adapter to fit Swarovski, Leica and Zeiss spotting scopes and binoculars, as well as most popular mid-level optics brands. With this iScoping Adapter, you can use your iPhone to record still images or video of the view through your spotting scope. This is great for capturing views of your target, or to record mirage conditions and flag positions for later study.
Available in several eyecup diameters, the MeoPix® iScoping adapter correctly positions an iPhone® 4/4S to a spotting scope or binocular eyepiece. Proprietary technology provides a secure fit to the iPhone and precise alignment to the spotting scope or binocular eyepiece. Priced at $59.99, the iScoping Adapter is sold by Cabelas.com and major optics dealers. “The overwhelming responses and feedback about the MeoPix iScoping Adapter convinced us to make versions to fit most popular brands of optics” said Meopta USA GM Reinhard Seipp.
Vitaly Kuzmin is the creator of a popular military Blog in Russia. Vitaly recently reported on a Russian precision shooting competition held in conjunction with Russia’s Armourers’ Day.
Many interesting rifles were on display at this Sniper Match, including Russian designed-and-built ORSIS T-5000 rifles. A T-5000 chambered in 7mm RSAUM won the Armourers’ Day Match. This alloy-chassis ORSIS design has displayed outstanding accuracy shooting a wide range of chamberings from the .308 Win up to the .338 Lapua Magnum. In .308, the T-5000 looks like it would work well in F-TR competition and tactical matches. Read more on ORSIS Website (English language).
Vitaly writes: “Last year, The President of Russia signed a decree about the establishment of Armourers Day on 19th September. This Saturday on September 15th I visited Sniping competition devoted to the Armourers Day celebration. The event was organized by TSNIITOCHMASH, Promtechnologies Group (ORSIS trade mark), Club of Precision Shooting and National Federation of Precision Shooting.
The event was open for public and without fees for participation, and as a result the competition was more like a meeting of old friends. Participants and spectators created a wonderful atmosphere, and the organizers made excellent conditions for competition.
Although the event was purely civil, it was attended by the officers from several special units. So I decided to focus mainly on the sniper rifles they used. And, of course, ORSIS rifles. The overall winner shot an ORSIS T-5000 chambered in 7 RSAUM. The second place shooter fielded a Sako TRG-42 in .338LM, while the third-place shooter used a Russian SV-98 in 7.62x54R.”
15 WEEKS AWAY . . . Registration for the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2013 SHOT Show is now open for all attendees at www.shotshow.org. Believe it or not, the show — Jan. 15-18 in Las Vegas — is just 15 weeks away. While registering, attendees can order State of the Industry Dinner tickets, enroll in SHOT Show University, and sign up for other educational offerings. Media registration is also now open.
CLICK HERE for Savage Cup Results.
Alan Seaman Tops Field
Barnes Bullets has produced some videos showing the processes used to make Barnes’ popular TSX (all-copper), Match Burner (lead-core, copper jacket), and Varmint Grenade (copper jacket, powdered metal core) bullets.
SIG P22X series handguns are justifiably respected for their accuracy, reliability, and build quality.* 
Vitaly Kuzmin is the creator of a popular military Blog in Russia. Vitaly recently reported on a Russian precision shooting competition held in conjunction with Russia’s Armourers’ Day.
