Lyman has introduced a number of new products for 2013 for gunsmiths and hand-loaders. An impressive new offering is the new, large-capacity Turbo® Sonic Power Pro Ultrasonic Cleaning machine. This new unit, one of the largest and most powerful on the market, can ultrasonically clean items up to 34″ in length. The Lyman Power Pro’s large, stainless-steel heated tank and ten transducers allow gunsmiths, armorers, and gun-owners to quickly clean a wide variety of metal items. Designed for high-volume cleaning or for larger-than-normal items, the new Turbo Sonic Power Pro’s 34.75″-long* heated stainless steel tank can easily handle most barreled actions, upper receivers, as well as multiple handguns. The Power Pro includes both a timer and adjustable heat control (you can select temps up to 175° F).
With an MSRP of $1395.00 and a 70-lb shipping weight, this is a big, heavy, and costly unit. But if you need a hard-working machine for big jobs, this may be worth the investment.
Ten Transducers Do the Job Fast
The Power Pro’s TEN high-output transducers aggressively clean and degrease items, both inside and out. In fact, the Power Pro is such an effective cleaner that Lyman recommends that cleaned parts immediately be treated with Lyman’s Turbo Sonic Gun Lube. Changing from cleaning to lubrication is easy with the built-in drain system. Lyman now offers both cleaning concentrate and parts lubricant in gallon containers.
(*Note: the tank is listed as 35.75″ in product photo, but Lyman’s spec sheet states 34.75″.)
How-To Video: Ultrasonic Brass Cleaning (Click Arrow in lower left to start video)
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Product tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Pyramyd Air, the leading online airgun retailer, has developed two smart phone Apps for airgun shooters and airsoft shooters. Pyramyd’s FREE Air Wizard App is offered for both Apple iPhones (go to: iTunes Store) and Android OS phones (go to: Android App Market).
Pyramid Apps Calculate Projectile Energy, and Do Conversions
The Air Wizard Apps calculate muzzle energy (based on projectile weight and observed velocity). The Apps can do a host of conversions: foot-pounds to joules, joules to foot-pounds, grams to grains and grains to grams, pounds to pounds and ounces, feet to yards, yards to feet, meters to yards, yards to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, Celsius to Fahrenheit, FPS (feet per second) to MPS (meters per second) and MPS to FPS. Most of these calculations work for all gun types — airguns, firearms and airsoft.
Special Functions for Airsoft Guns
For airsoft guns, the Apps offer additional computations including determining joules, meters per second (MPS), feet per second (FPS), kilometers per hour and battery time for auto-electric guns (AEG).
Additional Air Rifle Information from Pyramyd Air
Pyramyd Air provides professional product videos from Airgun Reporter Paul Capello. Pyramyd’s Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier writes a highly respected daily Blog, the Pyramyd Air Report. Pyramyd also provides instructional videos through its online Airgun Academy.
By voice vote yesterday (Friday), the Colorado State House of Representatives* approved tough new gun-control legislation after hours of heated debate. One new law will ban ammunition magazines over 15 rounds (or 8 for shotguns). In addition, companion bills will require exhaustive background checks on all firearm purchases, and impose severe restrictions on lending guns. Yet another new law will prohibit CCW permit-holders from carrying a firearm on college campuses.
The new laws are not final yet. They advanced on Friday’s unrecorded “voice vote”, but there will be a final “recorded vote” in the House next week. Then, before they can become law, these bills must be approved by the Democrat-controlled Colorado Senate and signed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. However, Senate approval is likely and Hickenlooper has stated his support for the new laws.
House Bill 1224 – Bans magazines with a capacity greater than fifteen rounds. House Bill 1228 – Imposes a “gun tax” for a background check when purchasing a firearm. House Bill 1229 – Criminalizes the private transfer of a firearm. House Bill 1226 – Repeals law allowing CCW permit-holders to carry firearms on college campuses.
Colorado resident (and one of our contributing writers) Zak Smith says: “We are facing a tough fight here in Colorado — but don’t give up yet. Now is the time to contact your state representatives.” The official recorded vote will be taken Monday. Accordingly, Zak adds: “Concerned Colorado gun owners need to contact their legislators this weekend before the final recorded vote.” CLICK THIS LINK to get contact information on Colorado State Legislators, in Colorado General Assembly House and Senate.
MagPul Says it May Leave Colorado
Colorado gun parts-maker Magpul has announced that it might leave Colorado if the magazine ban becomes law. This could result in the loss of 600-700 jobs (Magpul employees and subcontractors). Magpul also contributes “nearly $85 million to Colorado’s economy” according to Fox News. “If we’re able to stay in Colorado and manufacture a product, but law-abiding citizens of the state were unable to purchase the product, customers around the state and the nation would boycott us for remaining here,” Doug Smith, Magpul’s chief operating officer, told the Denver Post.
*The Colorado General Assembly is bicameral, composed of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate. The House has 65 members while the Senate has 35 members.
Good Deal on High-Magnification Sightron
Right now on Amazon.com the Sightron 10-50x60mm SIII Long-Range Target Scope is on sale for $994.90, with FREE shipping. This offer applies to the side-focus Target Dot and Fine Cross-Hair (FCH) models, but not the Mildot models. (However, we expect that most buyers of this scope will prefer the TargDot or FCH versions). This is a very good price — $994.90 is about forty bucks cheaper than we’ve seen it elsewhere on the web at major vendors. For example, MidwayUSA currently charges $1047.26.
If you’re looking for a very high-magnification, variable-power target scope (with 1/8 MOA clicks), the Sightron 10-50x60mm is a smart choice. There is nothing else at the $1000.00 price point that can touch it. The next step up is the 12-42×56 Nightforce Benchrest Model, but that costs $1428.00 and offers only 42X top-end magnification (vs. 50X for the Sightron). The new Nightforce 15-55x52mm Competition Scope is a great product, but it costs $2231.00, more than TWICE the price of the Sightron 10-50x60mm.
We had a chance to try out the new power case trimmer head from Little Crow Gunworks. Dubbed the “World’s Finest Trimmer” (WFT) by its inventor, Dale Hegstrom, this device proved fast, precise, and easy to use. When compared to a Hornady Lock ‘N Load hand-crank trimmer, the WFT processed cases twice as fast, and delivered a more uniform cut length with our test brass.
The WFT features a steel shell-holder, aluminum body, and steel drive shank. You can chuck it into any electric drill or power device that can handle the 3/8″ shank. Unlike most case trimming tools, the WFT indexes off the shoulder datum. This permits you to trim cases very quickly, without fiddling around with rim-grabbing collets, or shell-holders. Watch the videos to see the WFT in action.
WFT is Fast and User-Friendly
Mark LaFevers, our tester, was easily able to trim five (5) cases in under 30 seconds. It took quite a bit longer to trim five cases with the Hornady trimmer he used for comparison. Mark noted that, after just a 20 or so manually-trimmed cases, his arm would start to fatigue. By contrast, he could effortlessly trim 100 or more cases with the WFT. For older folks with a bit of arthritis, the WFT makes life easier. Mark observed that the WFT produces a “nice, square, clean cut”, while offering a “very fast cycle rate”. He tells us, “once you get the hang of it, you probably can trim your brass two, if not three times as fast.”
Mark really liked the WFT tool, and a WFT will be replacing his hand trimmer for big jobs. One downside is that, currently, the WFT is cartridge specific — you normally need to have a different tool for each cartridge type you trim. And there are no swappable inserts allowing you to trim different cartridge types with the same tool. However some WFT versions WILL trim different cartridge types within the same “family”, such as .270 Win and .30-06.*
Hi-Rez Video Shows “Trim-Off” Challenge between WFT and Hornady Trimmer
You should definitely watch the five-minute video below. Mark trims five cases with the WFT, and then five more with the Hornady tool. He times the operation of each device and then measures the trimmed cases. The total variation (in length) of the WFT-trimmed cases was .001. With the Hornady tool, there was a much larger spread: .007″ (seven thousandths). Mark cautioned: “Normally the Hornady tool does a bit better than this — the variance won’t be so large. But getting better results (with the Hornady) might require trimming, measuring, then trimming again. In the video I was trying to move pretty quickly and the measurements were all taken after the initial trim. Possibly, if I slowed down when using the Hornady trimmer, the OAL measurements would have been more consistent. But that just further reinforces the point that the WFT is faster.”
NOTE: If you have a fast connection, we suggest you select 720p (HiRez) and expand to full screen.
In the video below, WFT creator Dale Hegstrom demos his device and shows how quickly it can trim a large quantity of brass. Note how the WFT is attached to a common rechargeable power drill.
“World’s Finest Trimmer” Costs $69.95
The Little Crow Gunworks “World’s Finest Trimmer is available for $69.95 from various vendors including Creedmoor Sports. WFTs index off the shoulder, not the base. The case fits tightly into a steel bearing which has been machined to a specific caliber. This decouples the stationary case from the spinning cutting blade and body, giving you a smooth, exact cut each time. While the WFT makes a nice, square cut, we do recommend chamfering inside and outside after the brass is trimmed to length.
*Most WFTs are cartridge specific. Available sizes include: .204 Ruger, .223 Rem, 22-250, 6mmBR, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5-284 (and 6mm-284), 6.8 SPC, 270 WSM, 7mm Rem Mag (and 300 Win Mag), .308 Win, 300 WSM, .338 Lapua Magnum. There is a ‘5 in 1′ WFT unit that will handle .17 Rem, .221 Fireball, .222, .223 Rem, and .222 Mag. The 6mmRem unit also works with .257 Roberts and 7×57 Mauser. The .30-06 WFT will trim .270 Win, .280 Rem, and .25-06 as well. And the WFT for Ultramags works with 7mm, 300, and .338 Ultramags.
There was quite a bit of interest in our recent Bulletin post about ‘negative’ black-to-white targets for F-Class practice. After seeing that story, some readers wanted to obtain reduced-sized “negative targets” for 300-yard F-Class training. Well guys, you’re in luck. One of our Forum members, Sleepygator, has produced “reduced-distance” targets (with black ring-lines on white background) that he could use at 300 yards for practice. Only the center 10 and X rings are black, so you can see bullet holes easily “in the white” on most of the target (and this uses less ink when printing). There is an official reduced-distanced standard for 300-yard F-Class matches. This utilizes the NRA No. MR-63FC – F-Class Target Center which is pasted over the MR-63 target. It provides a 1.42″ X-Ring, 2.85″ 10-Ring, and 5.85″ Nine-Ring. (The dimensions of F-Class targets are found in the NRA High Power Rules, Sec. 22, part 4.)
To duplicate the 300-yard target, Forum member SleepyGator has prepared a printable version of the MR-63FC Target Center, along with a pair of training targets with two bulls and five bulls. The two-bull and five-bull targets mirror the scoring rings on the MR-63FC, but they display only the innermost three rings and two rings respectively. All three targets are Adobe Acrobat files that can be easily printed. You may need to adjust the scale (sizing) on your printer to get the dimensions exactly correct. As noted above, when printed, the 10-Ring on all three targets should measure 2.85″. This should provide some handy practice targets you can use between matches. Thanks to SleepyGator for providing these targets. You can download all three as a .Zip archive. After downloading the .Zip file, just click on the .Zip archive to extract the individual targets.
American Airgunner is the first and only television show about airgun shooting sports. This cable TV show features a wide range of airgunning interests, including hunting, competitive shooting, and plinking. American Airgunner has signed a 52-week 2013 agreement with Pursuit Channel to help anchor its “Friday Night Firepower” line-up of shows with all-new episodes. American Airgunner will air Friday at 8:30 pm (EST), and again Wednesdays at 4:30 pm (EST). (Check local listings for other times.)
“2013 is already a good year for American Airgunner. We have a primetime slot on America’s largest outdoors network” said Justin Biddle, exec. producer of the show. Episodes this year will include airguns for Olympic-style competition, large- and small-game hunting, training, and backyard fun shooting. This year’s shows will also feature industry experts explaining airgun technologies and airgun history.
Airgunner Challenge — Test Your Skills
American Airgunner TV Show is seeking competitors “with strong personalities” for the 2013 Airgunner Challenge. Chosen challengers will vie for a $5000.00 top prize. You don’t need professional training in the shooting sports, just be in good physical shape and confident in your shooting abilities. Apply soon — Deadline is February 22, 2013. CLICK HERE for more information.
Blaser USA Seeking to Fill Executive-Level Role
Want to be the boss of Blaser USA and make decisions on sales, marketing, strategies, and distribution? Well, here’s your chance. Blaser, USA, the national distribution and service facility for Blaser, Sauer, and Mauser products, is looking for a “highly motivated and dedicated individual … to lead its national operations”. An ideal candidate would have background in sales and marketing, either as a President of another operation, or as a VP of Sales and marketing somewhere else.
Candidates should “combine a passion and in-depth knowledge of hunting/competitive shooting with a high level of experience in marketing and general business.” Candidate needs “strong communication skills; interpersonal as well as organization competencies; strong strategic instincts, and … skills to lead a team of dedicated employees[.]” If you are interested, email your resume, including salary expectation and available start date, by email to: jobs@blaser-usa.com.
After Shiraz Balolia (President of Grizzly Industrial) won the F-Open Division at the 2013 Berger Southwest Long Range Nationals, folks wanted to know more about Shiraz’s match-winning .300 Winchester Short Magnum (WSM) rifle. That gun is a great piece of work, we can assure you. The Masterclass stock was extensively customized by Shiraz himself, who is a talented wood-worker (as well as a superb F-Class trigger-puller). CLICK PHOTO to see large “centerfold” shot of rifle.
The rifle features a BAT Machine ‘M’ action, with a 32″, 1:10″-twist Bartlein barrel. Metal work was done by Gordy Gritters. The scope is a March 10-60x52mm, which sits on a +20 MOA angled rail. The primary stockwork, including fitting of the adjustable cheek-piece and buttplate, was done by Alex Sitman of Masterclass Stocks. Shiraz customized the stock with finger grooves, fore-end channel, and a bottom rear slide. Shiraz did the final stock finishing as well.
Listen to Shiraz Balolia Talk about his F-Open Victory (Click PLAY to Launch Audio File)
[haiku url=”http://accurateshooter.net/Video/shirazmemo1.mp3″ title=”Shiraz Talks about F-Open”]
Q&A with Shiraz Balolia
Q: Is the .300 WSM the “next big thing” in F-Open Competition?
Shiraz: The .300 WSM takes a bit to get used to. With more powder you have a bigger bang next to your head, plus you have to deal with the mule kick. My gun recoils so hard that it was coming to rest down on the neighbor’s target. I had to be careful about not cross-firing. Once you get these behind you it can be a very accurate caliber to shoot because of the great .30 cal bullet choices. There were about five .300 magnums in Phoenix, but only one in the top ten. You still have to read the wind!
Q: What’s your match load for the .300 WSM?
Shiraz: I use Norma brass with turned necks. At the Berger SW Nationals I used Berger 215gr Hybrids, Fed 215 LR magnum primers, and a stout load of Hodgdon H4831 SC. This drives the 215s at around 2910 FPS. If that sounds fast, remember I’m using a a 32″-long barrel.
Q: Can you tell us about your chamber and your fire-forming process?
Shiraz: On the .300” WSM [I run] a tight-neck .336” chamber for turned necks. Basically, I fire-form all my brass in a fire-form barrel and save the good barrels for matches. Gordy is so good that he can chamber different barrels to within .0002” in the headspace dimension. That way I can have several same-caliber barrels and can use the same brass for all those barrels. I use a .0005″ shoulder bump for my brass. I load the bullets so that the bearing surface sits above the doughnut ring.
Q: Do You Think Tuners Will Become Popular in F-Class?
Shiraz: Tuners are a double-edged sword. In order to use them most efficiently you need to load test the barrel in many different conditions and record the results, fine tuning and turning the dials to find the best harmonic of that barrel in a given condition. When you encounter a similar condition at a match to what you tested previously, you would look up your notes and turn the dials so that it matches your tested condition. I am over-simplifying this, as it is quite complex and there are many articles about tuners. I do not see tuners catching on in F-Class as 99% of the users would not want to go through the aggravation.
Q: The stock looks highly customized. What special work did you do?
Shiraz: The stock is a Master Class F-Class stock that was highly modified by me. I channeled out the fore-end so the stock would ride on two “rails” on the front bag and not rock. I also added a wide 1.25″ base on the bottom of the stock that rides on the rear bag. There is a matching rear bag with a wide slot in it. The gun slides back and forth nicely and is very stable. I wanted finger grooves that fit my hand so I carefully filed those by hand with a round file, making sure to fit it many times during the process. Once all the modifications were complete I sanded and sprayed the stock with clear UV lacquer. My UV booth cures the spray in minutes. I usually assemble the gun the same day I spray it. As you know, I build guitars as a hobby as well.
In order to dispel some rumors and misinformation, Hornady has issued a notice concerning Hornady product availability and production priorities. Hornady has been working hard to fill increased demand, and wants to set the facts straight. Here’s what Hornady has to say…
Hornady Product Availability
The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours. Empty retail shelves, long back-orders, and exaggerated price increases on online auction sites – all fueled by rumors and conjecture – have amplified concerns about the availability of ammunition and firearms-related items.
If the information you hear doesn’t originate from Hornady Manufacturing, don’t believe it.
Here are some of rumors we’ve heard, and questions we’ve received:
Q: Have you stopped production, or has the government forced you to stop?
Hornady: Not at all.
Q: Did you stop selling bullets so you could only make loaded ammunition?
Hornady: Absolutely not.
Q: Since we can’t find your product you must be selling it all to the government.
Hornady: Nope, less than 5% of our sales are to government entities.
Q: Why can’t you make more? Ramp up production? Turn on all the machines?
Hornady: We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years. We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that — please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.
Bottom Line — We are producing as much as we can; much more than last year, which was a lot more than the year before, etc. No one wants to ship more during this time than we do.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience. We don’t know when the situation will improve, so please bear with us a little longer. And remember, when it comes to Hornady Manufacturing, if you don’t hear it from us, please don’t believe it.
Ten Transducers Do the Job Fast
“World’s Finest Trimmer” Costs $69.95
Shiraz: Tuners are a double-edged sword. In order to use them most efficiently you need to load test the barrel in many different conditions and record the results, fine tuning and turning the dials to find the best harmonic of that barrel in a given condition. When you encounter a similar condition at a match to what you tested previously, you would look up your notes and turn the dials so that it matches your tested condition. I am over-simplifying this, as it is quite complex and there are many articles about tuners. I do not see tuners catching on in F-Class as 99% of the users would not want to go through the aggravation.
Hornady Product Availability
