AmmoLand Shooting Sports News Service, in partnership with the National Rifle Association, will be broadcasting live video coverage of important events from the 2013 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Houston, Texas.
The streaming will open at 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 3rd, with the ILA Leadership Forum, which will be followed that day, at 4 p.m., by NRA News and Cam & Co on the Sportsman Channel.
On Saturday, May 4th, streaming begins at 9:50 a.m. with the NRA members meeting. In the afternoon, there is a special edition of NRA News and Cam & Co, and at 7:20 p.m. is the NRA Stand and Fight Rally. Sunday, May 5th, features the Special NRA News Wrap-Up Show at 10:00 am.
For more information, visit Ammoland.com. If you log to the NRA Meeting Video Feed, hit “refresh” to restart the embedded video player for each new event.
Forum member Keith T. (aka “KT”) is in the U.S. Navy, so he has a fondness for seafaring, nautical color-schemes. Here is KT’s new F-Open rifle, smithed by Accurate Ordnance out of Winder, Georgia. The gun is chambered in .284 Winchester for Lapua brass (necked up) and 180gr Berger Hybrids.
KT admits, “It’s a little bit different than most in appearance!” But KT likes it that way: “When I had Accurate Ordnance build it, the only thing I specified was the stock, action, caliber and barrel length. I left the rest up to them. I think they did a pretty awesome job.”
The gun features a Pierce cone-bolt long action (with Jewell trigger) in a McMillan F-Class stock. The barrel is a Brux 31″, 1:9″ twist in the Brux “F-Class contour”. Sitting on top is the new Nightforce 15-55x52mm Competition scope with turrets and sun-shade coated blue to match the blue-coated action, bolt handle, rings, trigger guard and barrel.
The build came out great, but there were a few “bumps on the road”. KT explains: “This rifle took a long time to finish. When it comes to building guns I always joke and say if it weren’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all. We started ordering parts in September 2012. Somehow I managed to order the stock from McMillan for the wrong Pierce action. After a bunch of scrambling and hard work on Accurate Ordnance’s part we were able to get my screw-up fixed. Then we ran into a few more snags. AO wanted to have the scope on hand before doing the coating. The first trigger was not up to standard with AO so they ordered another one and the list goes on. The rifle is finally done though and I couldn’t be happier.”
Precision Rifleman, the official magazine of the NBRSA, is now available for free online. In addition to match results, equipment lists and pictures, in each eZine issue you’ll find good articles about various benchrest-related topics.
Daily Bulletin contributor Boyd Allen recommends you check out these NBRSA eZines: “For those who are considering the sport of benchrest, this is a good way to get a better ‘feel’ for what it is like. For those who are building a new rifle, the equipment lists can provide invaluable information. Take a look.” All of the back issues are available at: www.issuu.com/precisionrifleman.
The hit History Channel TV series Top Shot returns for an ALL STAR season Wednesday, May 29 at 10:00 pm Eastern, 9:00 pm Central. This season will feature a All-Star crew of competitors. The show’s producers say: “This season, it’s all about skill. No teams. No nomination range. Politics and alliances are a thing of the past.”
Past Top Shot champions Iain Harrison, Chris Reed, Dustin Ellermann, and Chris Cheng will also take part in the All-Star season. Colby Donaldson returns as host. And yes our buddy Kelly Bachand is back behind the trigger. Kelly tells us: “I can’t reveal what happens, but rest assured, this will be an exciting new series — there’s some serious talent in this line-up”. Donaldson agrees: “We brought back the best of the best — All Stars, All Skills.”
Check out the Top Shot All-Stars sneak peek below:
What You’ll See in Season Five of Top Shot
Season Five comes fully loaded with formidable, history-inspired challenges and a vast array of weapons. The first episode calls for mastery of a Soviet semi-automatic rifle, which was used in the 1941 Nazi invasion; a Tactical OBR with 20-round magazines; the Milkor M32A1 grenade launcher; and an FN-FAL self-loading selective-fire battle rifle, popular among NATO troops. In addition, competitors must conquer a mortar-rigged barbed wire fence, an unstable platform and a bull’s eye target, where elimination is just a fraction of an inch away.
Top Shot fans are excited about the new All-Star format. But, not all fan-favorites from the past will be returning this season. One Facebook commenter noted: “I’m definitely excited, but they should have brought back JJ Racaza (probably best shooter not to win) and Tara (only female to not get eliminated).”
Just two more days until the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits kicks off in Houston, Texas. This year’s 142nd Annual NRA convention is expected to have a record turn-out because of the current political situation. Paul Erhardt, Shooting Wire Editor, explains: “This year’s NRA Show is likely to be a blow-out of epic proportions thanks to a perfect storm of political climate and location (Houston). Turnout for the NRA Show could reach a new record and break the 70,000 mark. Not bad for a three-day event….”
There will be plenty to see and do at the NRA Show, with seminars, celebrity appearances, and banquets — along with priceless collections of firearms. Virtually all the major gunmakers in the country should have their latest products on display. In fact, there will be over 550 exhibitors whose displays will cover 400,000 square feet of exhibit hall space.
Editor: With Jerry Tierney steering a straight .284 Win to victory at the recent NBRSA 1000-Yard Nationals, we thought readers would appreciate a “second look” at this story. Our friend Bruce Duncan talks about the .284 Win and explains why it has proven so successful in long-range competition.
Building a Straight .284 Winchester
Sometime back–at least two years ago–Jerry Tierney confided in me that he was givng up on the 6.5s, and moving to the 7mms. “If you could only shoot one 7mm, Jerry,” I asked, “which would it be?” … “Straight 284 Win,” he answered.
So when I was thinking to rebarrel my 6.5×47 Lapua, in the fall of 2010, the .284 Win came immediately to mind. I am not about to argue the primacy of any chambering. I look at the dominance of the 6mm Dasher, at Missoula, say, or the recent NBRSA 600- and 1000-Yard Nationals and wonder.
And I’m reasonably convinced that none of us ever makes an entirely rational decision — one based purely on fact, and void of prejudice and emotion. But I knew a bunch of the U.S. F-Class guys were moving to 7mm, and decided to build one myself. This would be a NBRSA Heavy Gun, using my existing Barnard PC twin-port action, and my existing Shehane MBR Tracker stock. Going to the 7mm made sense to me — an accurate heavy bullet with a high BC, such as the Berger 7mm 180gr Hybrid, has a good chance of getting where one wants it to go. That’s particularly important when you’re shooting in tough wind conditions.
I ordered a 1:9″-twist barrel from Bartlein with 5R rifling and 1.250″ straight contour. (By the way, MT Guns has racks of Bartlein barrels if you need one right away.) I spoke at length with Ray Bowman of Precision Rifle & Tool (PR&T), who has immense experience with the .284 Win, and his fingerprints on a lot of winning rifles. Ray was supportive.
“The .284 Shehane isn’t enough bang for the buck”, Ray suggested. I sense he was telling me that I could achieve what I wanted with a standard .284 Win, without the cost of custom-run dies or the hassle of case-forming. I had David Kiff of Pacific Tool & Gauge cut me a reamer with a .313″ neck. I hadn’t decided on a bullet — I shoot Bergers exclusively — but watched the results from Phoenix in 2011, and noticed Bryan Litz did well with his .284 Win, shooting the Berger 180 Hybrid, as did Danny Biggs, shooting a 7mm RSAUM. I did some preliminary 100-yard load testing, and settled on a few loads I wanted to try (at longer range) with the Berger 180.
Shooting in good conditions on an Ojai, California morning, I tried three, five-shot groups with three different loads at 600 yards. One load in particular gave me two groups out of three at 1.8xx”. That’s pretty darn good at 600. The only surprise was that the bullets were seated to have the ogive just kiss the lands, rather than the slight jump that most were using.
It turned out that my load development wasn’t a fluke. The gun shot well, taking Third Place, 6-Target Aggregate Heavy Gun Group at the 2011 NBRSA 1000-Yard Nationals in Sacramento. Together with my 6×47 Lapua Light Gun, I took Third Place Overall. (The LG also featured a Barnard Action, Bartlein barrel, and Shehane stock.)
Great Accuracy Is Possible
So I was not surprised when Ed Docalavich, one of MT Guns clients, wrote to say how happy he was with the .284 Winchester we built for him. He attached one of the proverbial “Wallet Targets” from load testing. You can see it at right. There are five (5) shots at 100 yards, in a ragged hole you could practically cover with the Excedrin tablet in the photo. Not bad for a stout-recoiling rifle. Ed’s gun features a Barnard P action, Bartlein 5R 1:9″-twist, 1.250″-straight barrel, chambered for a no-turn neck.
Like I said, I’m not about to argue the primacy of any particular chambering, and my hat is off to the 6mms that do so well at 1000 yards. But I like the idea of a heavier bullet; the Berger 180gr Hybrid seems like magic. And as you might imagine, I don’t think it’s any coincidence at all that Ryan Pierce recently set a new 1000-Yard F-Open Record shooting the straight .284 Winchester. (READ Pierce Record Story).
Nightforce Optics will unveil new products at the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits this upcoming Friday. The big news is an 82mm spotting scope — the first-ever spotter from Nightforce. We knew Nightforce was planning an important product launch, but frankly this announcement caught us by surprise — Nightforce has always been a riflescope company. This is new territory. Why is Nightforce rolling out a high-magnification spotting scope now? Kyle Brown, Nightforce’s Director of Sales and Marketing, explains: “Our customers have asked for many years when we would introduce a spotting scope. The answer was, ‘at a time when we could produce a spotting scope equivalent in performance and quality to Nightforce riflescopes.’ That time is now.”
The new TS-82™ Xtreme Hi-Def™ spotting scope features a large 82mm objective, plus high-quality, European-made APO Fluorite Glass. The “street price”, including a 20-70X eyepiece, should be $2522.00 ($2600 MSRP). Shown above is the straight-body version, but the TS-82 will also be offered with an angled body for the same price ($2522.00 including 20-70X eyepiece). Nightforce promises that, by the end of 2013, an optional wide-angle 30-60X eyepiece will be available. In addition, Nightforce plans to offer an accessory mount for attaching a red dot sight or a laser rangefinder. This is good news for long-range hunters — you can locate your target through the spotter and then instantly range distance-to-target with an LRF aligned precisely with the spotting scope lens. Nightforce will also offer a handy iPhone accessory mount for digiscoping.
At the NRA Meeting in Houston, Nightforce will also introduce a new, side-focus 2.5-10x42mm NXS riflescope. For years, the Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm NXS Compact has been a popular optic. The new Nightforce 2.5-10x42mm NXS Compact, with its larger objective, should be more effective in low light. Yet the scope is still fairly light-weight (19 oz.–20.5 oz.) and compact (11.9 inches in length). Expect “street price” to be around $1740.00.
The notable feature of the new 2.5-10x42mm NXS is its side parallax adjustment (25 yards to infinity). It’s unusual to find side parallax control on an optic with 10X max magnification. The new 2.5×10 also incorporates red or green reticle illumination with adjustable intensity settings. Six different reticles are available, including the new IHR™ (International Hunting Reticle). The 2.5-10x42mm is offered with .250 MOA Hi-Speed™ or .1 Mil-Radian adjustments on exposed turrets, or, alternately, enclosed (capped) turrets with .250 MOA clicks. For more information, visit NightforceOptics.com
Report from Jim O’Connell, NBRSA Long Range Nationals Scorer
First off, congratulations to the 2013 National Champions: Richard Schatz, 2013 NBRSA 600-Yard National Champion, and Jerry Tierney, 2013 NBRSA 1000-Yard National Champion and F-Class Bench Winner. In those matches when you aren’t shooting too well it pays to be lucky — ask Ken Schroeder. Ken’s was the first ticket drawn in the prize drawing. Ken is now the proud owner of a NightForce Scope. Be sure to write the vendors that provided prizes/awards and thank them for their support of the 2013 NBRSA Nationals.
The weather for the matches was pretty nice this year and I think that everyone had a good time. The only one that I saw that was unhappy was Bill Hubina. Bill was mistakenly left off the bench sighnup for the 1000 Yard and was not very happy about getting stuck on Bench 25 by himself. He seemed okay about it after he won the Heavy Gun Group. The only record broken this year was 3-Target Light Gun Score. The old record was broken by both Robert Hoppe 50-2, 49-2, 48-0, 147-4 and Richard Schatz 49-2, 49-1, 49-1, 147-4. Once again congratulations to Richard Schatz and Jerry Tierney. I look forward to seeing you all again next year at the 2014 Nationals.
These three MS Word “.Doc” Files contain all the groups and scores for the three different matches. Check them out for all the winners and see how close you came to being the 2013 National Champion.
(Right Click and “Save As” to Download.)
600-Yard Nationals Top Five
NAT’L CHAMPION: Richard Schatz (15 points)
Second Place: Robert Hoppe (16)
Third Place: Peter White (19)
Fourth Place: Steven Raeder (27)
Fifth Place: Curt Mendenhall (34)
1000-Yard Nationals Top Five
NAT’L CHAMPION: Jerry Tierney (24 points)
Second Place: Curt Mendenhall (32)
Third Place: Bruce Bangeman (38)
Fourth Place: Larry Boers (38)
Fifth Place: Terry Balding (46)
Jerry Tierney was the big winner this weekend at the NBRSA Long-Range Nationals. On Friday, shooting his .284 Win F-Open rig from the bench, Jerry won the “F-Bench” match with a 393-16X score (200-7X + 193-9X). Jerry followed Friday’s win with a dominant performance in the Sloughhouse 1000, posting the best combined Two-Gun Aggregate to win the two-day 1000-Yard Championship event. There was a good turn-out for these events, with about 40 shooters in the F-Bench match and a half-dozen more for the 1000-Yard Nationals.
On Friday, Jerry shot his 21.5-lb F-Open rifle. On Saturday and Sunday he used that F-Class rig in Heavy Gun, and shot a converted Palma rifle with a .284 barrel in Light Gun. Jerry was loading H4831sc with Berger “orange box” 180gr hunting bullets in both guns. Jerry’s 21.5-pounder has a really long throat allowing Jerry to “hang the bullets way out there” and load more powder. That gives him higher velocity, about 90-100 FPS more than his shorter-throated .284 Light Gun. Jerry tells us: “The long throat is working really well. You’d be surprised at how little shank I’m running in the necks, but the accuracy is there, and you can get a lot more velocity when you adjust the load for the increased boiler room”. Jerry has also long-throated a .308 Win rifle for shooting the 185s and he is getting “really good velocities for that bullet in a .308 Win”.
Jerry Tierney with Awards from 2013 NBRSA Long-Range Nationals. Jerry, now a gentleman wine-maker, presented some of his Tierney-bottled “Sin & Zin” Zinfandel as prizes in the match.
In winning the F-Bench Match and SloughHouse 1000, Jerry racked up another five NBRSA Hall-of-Fame points. He is now the leading NBRSA HOF’er with 20 points. When asked for his successful match strategy, Jerry replied: “watch the flags and keep ‘em in the middle”. Perhaps the 600-yard competitors are lucky that Jerry had Jury Duty earlier in the week so he could not participate in the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, won by Richard Schatz. Jerry was certainly “on his game” Friday through Sunday.
Jerry says the winds were unusually light (for Sacramento), on the weekend: “There was never any real bad wind — we had plus/minus 1 MOA most of the time, never more than three minutes of windage”. However, the winds were tricky. Jerry says: “It seems like every time we’d finish our sighters, the wind would flip to another direction. That caught many shooters by surprise.”
Editor’s Note: We will augment this story with full match results as soon as they are available. If any readers have a copy of the final results, or photos from the match, please send them to us. Our email address is: mailbox [at] 6mmbr.com.
ISSC will soon be shipping its new SPA 22/17 series of rimfire rifles. These rifles all feature a fast, biathlon-style, Straight-Pull Action (SPA). This allows for rapid cycling without having to lift your head off the stock. Watch the video below and you can see how you can easily work the toggle action with thumb and two fingers. ISSC offers the SPA 22/17 in three popular rimfire chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR, and 17 HMR. We think the 17 HMR version of this little rifle would be a great “carry-around” varmint rig. And the “Target” model, as chambered in .22 LR, seems ideal for the popular “Rimfire Tactical” game.
The Austrian-made SPA 22/17 is offered in three (3) different stock versions: Wood stock (with raised comb), Polymer sporter stock (with Snabel-style fore-end), and a “Target” model (with a folding, Accuracy International-style thumbhole stock). All variants come with 10-round magazines. The rifles are currently offered in three popular rimfire chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR. The ISSC SPA 22/17 series of rifles is distributed in the USA through Legacy Sports International.
We’re told that the first shipments of ISSC Spa 22/17 rifles should be arriving by mid-May, with larger shipments scheduled for June, 2013. We expect these rifles to be pretty popular, so you may want to get in line. Here’s a video from Legacy Sports showing how the straight-pull actions work:
ISSC is located in Ried, Austria. The company’s design and engineering work is accomplished at the company’s ESC subsidiary, located in Ulm, Germany.
AmmoLand Shooting Sports News Service, in partnership with the National Rifle Association, will be broadcasting live video coverage of important events from the 2013 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Houston, Texas.
The hit History Channel TV series 
Just two more days until the 
Building a Straight .284 Winchester
It turned out that my load development wasn’t a fluke. The gun shot well, taking Third Place, 6-Target Aggregate Heavy Gun Group at the 2011 NBRSA 1000-Yard Nationals in Sacramento. Together with my 6×47 Lapua Light Gun, I took Third Place Overall. (The LG also featured a Barnard Action, Bartlein barrel, and Shehane stock.)
ISSC will soon be shipping its new 
