CDNN Investments has just released its new Fall 2012 Catalog (issue 2012-4). As usual, the Catalog contains impressive deals on handguns, rifles, shotguns, scopes, magazines, gun parts, and shooting accessories. CDNN acquires, at low prices, overstock and discontinued items from major manufacturers such as HK, Ruger, Sig-Sauer, and Smith & Wesson. CDNN then can sell this merchandise for well below typical retail prices. You can either view the CDNN Fall 2012 Catalog online or download a PDF version to your hard drive.
Among the very attractive deals in the latest CDNN Catalog are:
Howa 1500 Varmint Hunter in .204 Ruger, .223 Rem, or 22-250, just $389.99
Smith & Wesson iBolt Hunting Rifle in .30-06, just $349.99
Walther SP22 .22LR Target Pistol (6″ bbl) just $219.99
Sig SP2022 for just $389.99 (originally $613.00)
Bifocal Rx Shooting Glasses for Just $6.99
We saw something pretty interesting in this Fall Catalog — Prescription BiFocal Shooting Glasses for just $6.99. These Radians bifocals would be great for shooters who don’t want to spend $100.00 or more for prescription bifocal safety glasses. The magnification diopter is molded directly into the ANSI Z87.1-standard polycarbonate lens. Prescription ratings offered are 1.0X, 1.5X, 2.0X, 2.5X, 3.0X These shooting glasses can also be used when working with tools in the shop. The magnification would be handy when working with small parts. CDNN offers a wide selection of name-brand, non-magnifying protective eyewear as well.
Americans love their outlaws, and, apparently, collectors love outlaw guns even more. Handguns belonging to Bonnie & Clyde (the “first couple of crime”) and western legend Butch Cassidy recently sold at auction for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The .38 Special Colt Detective Special recovered from Bonnie Parker’s bullet-ridden body fetched $264,000 at the RR Auction in New Hampshire this weekend. A Colt model 1911 .45 ACP handgun belonging to Clyde Barrow sold for $240,000. The auction house said this infamous 1911 was recovered from Barrow’s body by Frame Hamer, the lawman who organized the ambush that ended Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree. The 1911 was found by Hamer tucked in Clyde’s waistband, while Bonnie’s snub-nosed Colt was taped to her thigh. According to RR Auction, “In those days, no gentleman officer would search a woman where [Bonnie] had it taped and there were very few women police officers.”
Watch Video Telling History of Bonnie and Clyde Guns
The winning bids for both guns significantly exceeded predictions, proving that, even in a down economy, collectors are willing to pay large sums for historically significant firearms. The guns were sold from estate of Robert Davis, who had acquired both Colts for roughly $100,000 in 1986. An un-named Texas collector was the winning bidder for both handguns. Read Related NBCNews story
Butch Cassidy’s ‘Amnesty Colt’ Sells for $175,000
In another auction this weekend, Butch Cassidy’s famous “Amnesty Colt” Revolver sold to a foreign museum for $175,000. The handgun was offered as part of a collection of Western guns and memorabilia auctioned in Casitas Springs, California. Accompanying the gun was a black holster and extensive documentation showing the revolver’s authenticity. Read Related Ventura Star story.
The “Amnesty Colt” has a fascinating history. This Colt Single Action revolver was surrendered by Butch Cassidy to Sheriff Parley Christison in 1899. Cassidy, whose real name was George LeRoy Parker, sought amnesty for the string of hold-ups and train robberies he committed with his gang. According to auctioneer John Eubanks: “The sheriff was a friend of a friend of Cassidy’s. Cassidy turned in his [Colt Revolver] and his Winchester rifle and the sheriff arranged a meeting with the governor [of Utah]. The governor said, ‘Look, we can give you amnesty, as long as you haven’t murdered anyone. And Butch replied, ‘I’ve never murdered a man.'” As it turns out, Cassidy never received amnesty, because his exploits were simply too notorious.
The provenance for the “Amnesty Colt” is exceptionally solid (unlike many other famous guns from the Wild West). The revolver has been authenticated by many experts, and the gun itself, along with Cassidy’s Winchester Rifle, were logged in surviving official archives from Juah County, Utah. Sadly, however, the Winchester was lost years ago.
Accuracy International (AI) announced that its widely-respected AW 338 rifles will be “phased out” and replaced by AI’s more modern line of AX 338 rifles. AI explains that the AW-338 (chambered for the .338 Lapua Magnum) will go out of production because “the new AX 338 model of rifle has far more versatility and modularity.” However, please note the AW 308 chambered for .308 Winchester will continue to be produced, and it is still available to order.
News tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Richard Schatz won the Two-Gun Overall Title at the 2012 IBS 600-Yard Nationals held this weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. Congratulations to Richard for this big win against very capable competition! This marks two Overall wins for Richard in the past three years (Schatz also won in 2010). The match was well-attended, with 81 shooters in Light gun and roughly 60 shooters in the HG division. Winds were challenging at the Match, particularly on Saturday. Sam Hall stated: “Richard [showed us] some fine shooting shooting in those switchy St Louis winds. Richard didn’t do anything spectacular but he was very consistent in all categories — he rarely makes a mistake. Congratulations on the Overall 2-Gun Championship! It could not have happened to a finer fellow!” We are still awaiting the final, official scores to be posted.
Here are tentative Top 10 Two-Gun Overall Rankings (not official) Forum member LMMike obtained by phone from Match Director Jerry Kloppell (there may be spelling mistakes):
Two-Gun Overall Standings
1. Richard Schatz
2. Mike Hanes
3. Stephen Hall
4. Sally Bauer
5. John Powers
6. Sam Hall
7. Tod Soeby
8. Darrel Daucus
9. Chad Jenkins
10. Rodney Wagner
Tim Claunch photo
Posting in our Shooters’ Forum, Sam Hall and Chad Jenkins provided these preliminary (non-official) Light Gun (Day 1) and Heavy Gun (Day 2) results:
Light Gun Overall
1. Mike Hanes
2. Sam Hall
3. Richard Schatz
4. Sally Bauer
5. Chad Jenkins
Light Gun Group
1. Mike Hanes, 2.124″
2. Tim Claunch, 2.138″
3. Sam Hall, 2.198″
Light Gun Score
1. Mike Hanes, 384
2. Sam Hall, 376
3. Chad Jenkins, 376
Heavy Gun Overall
1. Stephen Hall (5 pts)
2. Richard Schatz (8 pts)
3. Tom Jacobs (9 pts)
4. John Powers (11 pts)
5. Tod Soeby (15 pts)
Heavy Gun Group
1. Rodney Wagner, 2.0159″
2. John Powers, 2.1500″
3. Steve Hoskin, 2.1510″
Heavy Gun Score
1. Stephen Hall, 384 (2.1574″)
2. Tom Jacobs, 382 (2.3796″)
3. Richard Schatz, 381 (2.2241″)
Richard and Rory — A Living Legend and a Bright Young Talent
It seems like every week, readers send us questions about gun safes. They want to know how much they should spend and who has the best deals. They also have numerous hardware questions, such as: “What’s better — digital keypad vs. rotary (spin dial) lock?”, and “Should I look for a safe with internal or external hinges?”. We answer many of these questions in our comprehensive Gun Safe Buyers Guide, which is definitely worth reading.
After reading our Gun Safe Buyers Guide, if you still have more questions, tune in to Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio Show this Sunday, September 30th. On this Sunday’s broadcast, Liberty Safe’s Jamey Skousen talks about the important features of gun safes and security vaults, and Skousen explains what to look for when shopping for a safe. As an added bonus, Liberty Safe is offering a special rebate in connection with this Gun Talk broadcast. To save money on your next safe, click the graphic at right to download the rebate form. Or, go to LibertySafe.com and click on the photo of Tom Gresham in the upper right hand corner. On a $1500.00 Liberty Safe you’ll get a $50.00 instant rebate plus a $50.00 mail-in rebate, for $100.00 total savings.
In its 18th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio airs live on Sundays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern. Gun Talk Radio runs on more than 135 stations, plus XM (Ch. 165) Satellite Radio. The Gun Talk Minute on XM also airs on XM 165, 166, 168 and Fox Sports every day. Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as FREE Podcasts via Gun Talk’s Podcast Archive.
The 9th edition of the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules has just been released. The new 2012-2014 rulebook goes into effect immediately. Digital versions of the new Rulebook can be downloaded from the CMP website in eZine Format or Adobe PDF Format. NOTE: All changes from the previous rules are underlined in the Rulebook so new rules can easily be identified.
The 2012-2014 National Standard Rulebook has several rules that were changed to keep national 3-position air rifle rules in line with what competitors will see in USAS/ISSF rules at larger competitions. The ISSF is changing its rules for 10m and 50m rifle and pistol events to have separate “preparation and sighting” periods before record or competition firing begins. Since this will become the new international standard, the Council decided that junior position air rifle competitors in the U. S. should use the same procedures.
Here are some of the other notable rule changes (this is only a partial list; consult Rulebook for all changes!):
Rule 2.4 – LOAD
The command “LOAD” is no longer given before “START” in regular competitions. The command “LOAD” is still given prior to “START” in finals. This change reflects the fact that there is a separate preparation and sighting time before record fire. The command “START” allows competitors to continue to prepare their positions and then load and fire when they are ready to start firing sighters.
Rule 4.1.7 – 600 FPS Velocity Restriction
The new rules clarify that match directors do not have to check rifle velocities unless they feel a rifle was altered to be a “high velocity” rifle. It also recognized that using non-lead pellets may produce velocities slightly above the 600 fps maximum.
Rule 7.16 – Malfunctions
No extra time will be given for a malfunction or malfunction repair. An athlete may repair a rifle after notifying the Range Officer or a replacement rifle may be authorized by the Range Officer if there is physical evidence that the malfunction cannot be repaired. Additional sighting shots may be allowed if the athlete must get out of position to facilitate the repair, but only within the remaining shooting time. This change is [made] to eliminate delays caused by giving shooters extra time for malfunctions that frequently throw matches off schedule.
Last month, Sally Bauer set a pending new International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) Score Heavy Gun (HG) record for 1000-yard competition. Her score was 100-5X with a 3.495″ tie-breaker group. Sally shot the group on August 19, 2012 at the Gopher Rifle and Revolver Club in Harris, MN. If this record is approved, Sally will be the first female shooter to hold an IBS 1000-yard benchrest record. Sally’s handsome 67-lb Heavy Gun, “Stars & Stripes”, is painted with an American flag theme.
Sally Sets a Record
At the end of the Heavy Gun match #10 Sally was directed by Range Officer Gordy Mitchell to leave all of her equipment and rifle setting on her bench. Sally was perplexed by Gordy Mitchell’s direction but he assured her “It is a good thing”. Rumors swirled and Dave Holland was summoned to the pits.
Dave and Gordy brought the target back to the scoring shed and had club officials and some respected competitors measure and sign the target. All agreed Sally had just shot an IBS record score. Sally’s rifle and equipment were measured and photographed and the target sent off to the IBS for final measurement and verification.
Gun Specifications
Sally’s 67-lb Heavy Gun was originally purchased from Bill Shehane, and it uses Bill’s Maxi-Tracker stock. The gun was originally chambered for the 6-6.5×47 Lapua Improved. But the gun didn’t shoot like the Bauers wanted, so it was rechambered to 6mm Dasher by Gordy Gritters. The action is a 2″-diameter, round, chrome moly, 3-lug, 7 ½” BAT. The barrel is a 28″, 1:8″-twist Krieger, with 1.45″-diameter straight tube. The barreled action is secured in the stock with a 9″-long barrel block. The gun uses a 12X42 Nightforce BR scope and a Jewel BR trigger. Gordy Gritters smithed the rifle. Jim Sauer states: “We have known Gordy for years now and trust every phase of our gun projects — all of them are mechanical works of art. When we get our guns from Gordy we know we can put our focus on brass prep and load development and don’t have to worry about the guns being right. That really helps save time.”
Reloading Procedure for Sally’s “Stars & Stripes” Maxiby Jim Sauer
With every new rifle we start with new brass. The first step is to run them through a full length sizing die, then over an appropriate expander mandrel. Since we use a .270 neck on our 6 Dasher chambers, neck turning amounts to a 80% cleanup of the new Lapua brass necks. We do the normal primer pocket and flash-hole uniforming.
We fire-form two times to make sure we get nice sharp shoulder corners before competition. We then separate them according to weight using 1/10th of a grain differences for each box. Much of our loading process is geared around time savings. We look for easy-to-use, consistently good products and don’t vary from them unless we have a problem or results aren’t to our standards. We have chosen to shoot Clay Spencer’s 103gr 6mm bullets. We weight-sort and bearing-surface sort them and that’s it. I gave up trimming and tipping simply because it didn’t improve how Clay built them. We also use only one primer, the CCI 450.
We use one of four different powders. Our “go-to” powder is RL15, next we try Varget, then IMR 8208, and if that doesn’t work we try H4895. We have found that these bullets usually shoot best at 2970 fps. This is not an absolute, just what normally works best. We always try higher and lower velocities looking for that special load. Once we find the powder and quantity that works the best we play with the seating depth. Usually this is a fine-tune method and most of the time 15 thousandths into the rifling works the best. But don’t be afraid to jump the bullets as much as 0.100″. When we use this procedure we usually find a combination that will shoot nice, round ¾” groups at 400 yards.
Our reloading regimen starts with ultra-sonic cleaning our brass, then tumbling until shiny. We anneal the brass every time. We proceed to full-length resizing, repriming, and lubing the inside of the necks with graphite. We then charge with our selected powder and seat the bullets. We measure for concentricity, [shooting] the best ones for the record and the others for sighters. The load that Sally shot the record with is 33.0 grains of IMR 8208 XBR, CCI 450 primers, Spencer 103gr bullets, Lapua brass, bullet seated 15 thousandths into rifling, Velocity 2980 fps.
About Sally Bauer – This is the third year of competitive shooting for Sally. She listened to proper and basic instruction and learned at her pace. She developed her own style and discipline. Not wanting to be dependent on others Sally learned to set up her rests and carries Stars & Stripes to the bench by herself.
Sally and I would like to thank the kind people we have met in this crazy frustrating game of shooting. For the most part fellow competitors have been helpful and giving of the time, experience and knowledge. Every range owner and operator we have come across has treated us like family and friend. I can think of no other sport where the participants give so freely. We would also like to thank Dave Holland, Gordy Mitchell and all the others at GRRC for the professional way they handled the target and situation. — Jim and Sally Bauer
As an interesting historical note, Gordy Mitchell observed that there was an all-star line-up at the match when Sally set her record: “After checking our bench roster I noticed we had three national champions (2009-Ed Nazy, 2010-Jim Bauer, 2011-Todd Soeby) and current top five Shooter of the Year points leaders (Al Forbes, Sally Bauer, Jim Bauer, Shannon Lowman, and Larry Bryant) all at one match.”
Last year, our friend Roy Bertalotto acquired a budget-priced Kimber 82G rimfire target rifle from the CMP. The Kimber comes with an oiled-wood stock that works fine for three-position training, but Roy wanted to shoot the gun for the bench. The original Kimber stock, with its narrow, radiused forearm, was not ideal for this purpose. Roy wanted a wide, flat fore-end, which is much more stable in the bags. Rather that spend hundreds on a new benchrest stock, Roy modified his Kimber’s original stock by slicing a section off the bottom of the stock and then replacing this with a 3/4″ X 2 3/4″ X 15″ piece of walnut. The finished product is in the second photo below.
Roy explains: “The modification I did on my Kimber 82G stock was done using a milling machine, hand planes, files, die grinder and sand paper. It can also be done with simple hand tools — it will just take longer. The first step is removing the wood on the bottom of the fore-end. This was accomplished in the milling machine. A scrap piece of 2X8 was mounted to the milling machine’s table and the surface milled to be perfectly flat. The Kimber stock was screwed to this 2X8 with two large screws and the bottom of the stock was milled flat. Once this was done, a piece of 3/4″ X 2 3/4″ X 15″ walnut was glued using West System epoxy to the cut out area. I use West System epoxy in boat building, but any good wood glue will work.” WATCH project stages in Slide-Show below:
After gluing the new bottom piece in place, Roy milled the sides to provide side flats with a radius to transition from the wider lower section to the narrower upper part of the fore-end. As a added enhancement, Roy contoured the rear of the fore-end to blend with the rear of the stock, adding what he calls “1965 Ford Mustang side scoops”. Roy then used a Die Grinder with a 1.5″ sanding wheel to modify the wrist area to provide more thumb relief.
Following the cutting, milling, gluing, and shaping, Roy sanded with 150 grit and 300 grit sandpaper before applying multiple coats of Tung Oil. Once the main stock was completed, Roy completed the project by crafting an extended buttplate from a couple pieces of 1/8″ aluminum and two 1.5″ aluminum tubes, “all polished to a slightly less than mirror finish”. NOTE: This metal buttplate assembly was made from scratch (other than the pad). This is not an aftermarket extension kit.
Overall the gun turned out very nicely. Log on to Roy’s RVB Precision webpage to learn more about this Kimber stock modification project, and view more photos of the building process.
American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) now offers a Firearms Appraiser Course conducted via audio CDs, DVDs, books, and an extensive course manual. The total package costs $2497.00 (Yikes!). We think that’s a lot of money, but the program does include a large library of materials including thirteen (13) audio CDs from top firearms appraisers such as Jim Supica, Director of the National Firearms Museum, and Steve Fjestad, author of the Blue Book of Gun Values.
The course package also includes three of the best gun valuation books in print: Blue Book of Gun Values, Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms, and American Gunsmiths (Frank Sellers).
Experts Share Knowledge on DVDs
Four multi-media DVDs are also included in the Firearms Appraiser Course. DVD One provides a step-by-step course content review with AGI President, Gene Kelly. In DVD Two, gun expert and auction operator Greg Martin shares his extensive knowledge of gun valuation and auctions.
In DVD Three, Master Gunsmith Gene Shuey covers Firearms Restoration vs. Refinishing. The fourth DVD, “Appraising in Action,” features Gene Kelly and noted collector/appraiser Carey Creech who specializes in Colt Single Action revolvers and Winchester® rifles.
Students Receive Certification after Completion of Course
Once a student has completed the material and passes the course exam, he will receive a certification number and documentation to validate his AGI Certified Firearms Appraiser status. The AGI Firearms Appraiser Course is offered through AmericanGunsmith.com for $2,497.00. (Product ID# FAPCOURSE)
Adding to its undefeated resume, Team Sinclair Int’l racked up an unprecedented fifth Team F-TR National Championship at Raton, New Mexico, last week. The team, consisting of firing members, Paul Phillips, Brad Sauve, Jeff Rorer, Derek Rodgers (Captain) and wind coach, Ray Gross, prevailed over 12 other teams representing the best F-TR shooters from the USA, South Africa, Australia, and Canada.
Boasting the highest attendance of any F-Class Nationals, the 2012 competition was made up of dual 1,000-yard matches, with 800 possible points per match. Team Sinclair scored 1561-48X to win the F-TR championship, finishing ahead of second-place North State X-Men (1542-39X) and third-place Team Savage (1541-47X). Team Sinclair’s Day 1 score of 790-31X topped all other F-TR teams and set a new (pending) U.S. F-TR National record for 1,000-yard F-Class competition.
“We’re grateful for Sinclair International’s support,” said the team in a joint statement. “All of us use Sinclair’s precision shooting components and reloading supplies when preparing for these events. We need products of the highest quality and consistency for us to succeed. We’ve never been defeated, and that’s a testament to Sinclair International.”
Sinclair’s F-TR Team has been competing since 2007. The newest member, Jeff Rorer, joined the team in 2009. Team Sinclair Int’l remains undefeated in F-TR National Championships. Here’s an interesting factoid about the Team Sinclair shooters. One or more members of the current Sinclair squad have been on the winning F-TR team at every U.S. F-Class National Championships since they were first held in 2004, except for 2010 when Sinclair did not field a team. Brad Sauve has been on the winning F-TR team every year except 2010: Great Lakes Express (2004, 2005 winning team); Team Green (2006 winner); Team Sinclair (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 winner). Ray Gross and Paul Phillips were also on most of those winning squads.
Tim Claunch photo
In its 18th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s 
The 9th edition of the National Standard 
Sally Sets a Record
American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) now offers a Firearms Appraiser Course conducted via audio CDs, DVDs, books, and an extensive course manual. The total package costs $2497.00 (Yikes!). We think that’s a lot of money, but the program does include a large library of materials including thirteen (13) audio CDs from top firearms appraisers such as Jim Supica, Director of the National Firearms Museum, and Steve Fjestad, author of the Blue Book of Gun Values.
Experts Share Knowledge on DVDs
