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May 21st, 2014
There is nothing more frustrating (or embarassing) than sending a live round into your expensive new chronograph. As the photo below demonstrates, with most types of chronographs (other than the barrel-hung Magnetospeed), you can fatally injure your expensive chrono if it is not positioned precisely.
 When setting up a chrono, we always unload the rifle, remove the bolt and bore-sight to ensure that the path of the bullet is not too low. When bore-sighting visually, set up the rifle securely on the sandbags and look through the bore, breech to muzzle, lining up the barrel with your aim point on the target. Then (during an appropriate cease-fire), walk behind the chronograph. Looking straight back through the “V” formed by the sky-screens, you should be able to see light at the end of the barrel if the gun is positioned correctly. You can also use an in-chamber, laser bore-sighter to confirm the visual boresighting (see photo).
Adjust the height, angle and horizontal position of the chronograph so the bullet will pass through the middle of the “V” below the plastic diffusers, no less than 5″ above the light sensors. We put tape on the front sky-screen supports to make it easier to determine the right height over the light sensors.
Use a Test Backer to Confirm Your Bullet Trajectory
You can put tape on the support rods about 6″ up from the unit. This helps you judge the correct vertical height when setting up your rifle on the bags. Another trick is to hang a sheet of paper from the rear skyscreen and then use a laser boresighter to shine a dot on the paper (with the gun planted steady front and rear). This should give you a good idea (within an inch or so) of the bullet’s actual flight path through the “V” over the light sensors. Of course, when using a laser, never look directly at the laser! Instead shine the laser away from you and see where it appears on the paper.
Alignment of Chronograph Housing
Make sure the chrono housing is parallel to the path of the bullet. Don’t worry if the unit is not parallel to the ground surface. What you want is the bullet to pass over both front and rear sensors at the same height. Don’t try to set the chrono height in reference to the lens of your scope–as it sits 1″ to 2″ above your bore axis. To avoid muzzle blast interference, set your chronograph at least 10 feet from the end of the muzzle (or the distance recommended by the manufacturer).
Rifles with Elevated Iron Sights
All too often rookie AR15 shooters forget that AR sights are positioned roughly 2.4″ above the bore axis (at the top of the front sight blade). If you set your bullet pass-through point using your AR’s front sight, the bullet will actually be traveling 2.4″ lower as it goes through the chrono. That’s why we recommend bore-sighting and setting the bullet travel point about 5-8″ above the base of the sky-screen support shafts. (Or the vertical distance the chronograph maker otherwise recommends). NOTE: You can make the same mistake on a scoped rifle if the scope is set on very tall rings, so the center of the cross-hairs is much higher than the bore axis line.
TARGET AIM POINT: When doing chrono work, we suggest you shoot at a single aiming point no more than 2″ in diameter (on your target paper). Use that aiming point when aligning your chrono with your rifle’s bore. If you use a 2″ bright orange dot, you should be able to see that through the bore at 100 yards. Using a single 2″ target reduces the chance of a screen hit as you shift points of aim. If you shoot at multiple target dots, place them in a vertical line, and bore sight on the lowest dot. Always set your chron height to set safe clearance for the LOWEST target dot, and then work upwards only.
Other Chronograph Tips from Forum Members:
When using a chronograph, I put a strip of masking tape across the far end of the skyscreens about two-thirds of the way up. This gives me a good aiming or bore-sighting reference that’s well away from the pricey bits. I learned that one the hard way. — German Salazar
A very easy and simple tool to help you set up the chronograph is a simple piece of string! Set your gun (unloaded of course) on the rest and sight your target. Tie one end of the string to the rear scope ring or mount, then pull the string along the barrel to simulate the bullet path. With the string showing the bullet’s path, you can then easily set the chronograph’s placement left/right, and up/down. This will also let you set the chrono’s tilt angle and orientation so the sensors are correctly aligned with the bullet path. — Wayne Shaw
If shooting over a chrono from the prone position off a bipod or similar, beware of the muzzle sinking as recoil causes the front of the rifle to drop. I “killed” my first chronograph shooting off a gravel covered firing point where I’d not given enough clearance to start with and an inch or two drop in the muzzle caused a bullet to clip the housing. — Laurie Holland
May 21st, 2014
 What’s more fun that a barrel of monkeys? Well a barrel of ammo of course. Here’s an item for the man who has everything, or maybe the prepper who needs enough 5.56x45mm ammo to defeat a horde of zombies, plus their undead friends and relatives. For a mere $5999.99 you can get a barrel containing 12,500 rounds of Federal 5.56x45mm 62gr “Green Tip” ammunition. No joke — this is a real item offered for sale by Grafs.com. When you’re not shooting, your ammo barrel can do double duty as a handy side-table in your living room or man-cave. Just the thing to hold a plate of snacks and your favorite beverage.
In all seriousness, this is impressive Mil-Spec FMJ ammunition right off the production line. The 62-grain green-tipped bullets feature a hardened steel penetrator core. The boxer-primed cases are fully reloadable (though the miltary primer crimps would have to be removed). The ammo is delivered in a heavy-duty steel drum, with steel clamp-on lid with rubber seal. Each container is plastic-lined and packed (from the factory) with dessicant pouches for long term storage.
NOTE: In some jurisdictions there may be restrictions on this product (based on the quantity of rounds or other factors). Check your local laws and regulations.
May 20th, 2014
To be honest, we’re not sure how we feel about the whole zombie-theme marketing efforts in the gun industry. However, if you’re into green-tipped bullets, and blasting replicas of the undead, then get ready for the biggest Zombie-themed shooting match of the year. Hornady’s epic Zombie in the Heartland Pandemic is two weeks away. This event will take place May 30 – June 1, 2014 at the Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. The Pandemic traditionally has a rich prize table worth over $150,000. Prize include pistols, rifles, shotguns, scopes, AR uppers, gun parts, and gear of all kinds. Get more info (and watch videos from last year) at www.ZombiesintheHeartland.com.
Thanks to Hornady and other sponsors, the Pandemic is a veritable theme park for shootists, with many fun stages and innovative targets. Many new and reactive zombie targets have been developed specifically for this match. The use of paper zombie targets has been minimized. Shotguns, rifles and handguns will be used on most stages.
In 2013, there were 10 Competitive Stages and 5 Sidematch Stages. Match directors expect at least the same number of stages for Pandemic 2014. Each presents a different shooting challenge, and a different threat. View the Zombie Guide Page for general information and firearms classifications.
2014 Zombie Pandemic General Guide | 2014 Zombie Pandemic Rules
May 20th, 2014
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) will award $100,000 in grants to public and private colleges for start-ups of new target-shooting clubs and teams. Up to $10,000 will be awarded to each qualifying school. Schools receiving grants range from large universities to community colleges. In the last grant session, 20 colleges received program start-up funding, including the University of Colorado at Boulder, North Idaho College, Slippery Rock University, Concordia College, Middlebury College and Wichita State University, to name several.
 The grants are provided through NSSF’s Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative, which has assisted more than 75 schools with building competitive and recreational shooting programs through more than $1 million in support. The program is credited with helping to spur growth in collegiate target shooting across the country.
Successful target shooting programs have developed from modest beginnings — sometimes involving just several enthusiastic students, a dedicated coach and the NSSF grant. “Students and coaches provide the passion, NSSF provides the seed funding,” said NSSF Manager of Shooting Promotions Zach Snow.
Visit www.nssf.org/college to learn about grant opportunities for college shotgun, rifle or pistol teams/clubs. The NSSF also offers a PDF Brochure on Establishing a Collegiate Shooting Program. This includes sample By-laws and Rules.
May 19th, 2014
Two months ago, the Daily Bulletin featured Six Shooting Tips by Bryan Litz. That article was hugely popular with our Bulletin readers and Facebook fans. In that article, as his Competition Tip Number Three, Bryan told readers to “Actively avoid major train wrecks”. In other words, you must avoid the big disasters (such as equipment failures) that can ruin a whole match. In this follow-up article, Bryan illustrates the types of “train wrecks” that commonly befall competitors, and he explains how to avoid these “unmitigated disasters”.
Urban Dictionary “Train Wreck” Definition: “A total @#$&! disaster … the kind that makes you want to shake your head.”
 Train Wrecks (and How to Avoid Them)
by Bryan Litz of Applied Ballistics LLC.
Success in long range competition depends on many things. Those who aspire to be competitive are usually detail-oriented, and focused on all the small things that might give them an edge. Unfortunately it’s common for shooters lose sight of the big picture — missing the forest for the trees, so to speak.
Consistency is one of the universal principles of successful shooting. The tournament champion is the shooter with the highest average performance over several days, often times not winning a single match. While you can win tournaments without an isolated stellar performance, you cannot win tournaments if you have a single train wreck performance. And this is why it’s important for the detail-oriented shooter to keep an eye out for potential “big picture” problems that can derail the train of success!
Train wrecks can be defined differently by shooters of various skill levels and categories. Anything from problems causing a miss, to problems causing a 3/4-MOA shift in wind zero can manifest as a train wreck, depending on the kind of shooting you’re doing.
Below is a list of common Shooting Match Train Wrecks, and suggestions for avoiding them.
1. Cross-Firing. The fastest and most common way to destroy your score (and any hopes of winning a tournament) is to cross-fire. The cure is obviously basic awareness of your target number on each shot, but you can stack the odds in your favor if you’re smart. For sling shooters, establish your Natural Point of Aim (NPA) and monitor that it doesn’t shift during your course of fire. If you’re doing this right, you’ll always come back on your target naturally, without deliberately checking each time. You should be doing this anyway, but avoiding cross-fires is another incentive for monitoring this important fundamental. In F-Class shooting, pay attention to how the rifle recoils, and where the crosshairs settle. If the crosshairs always settle to the right, either make an adjustment to your bipod, hold, or simply make sure to move back each shot. Also consider your scope. Running super high magnification can leave the number board out of the scope’s field view. That can really increase the risk of cross-firing.
2. Equipment Failure. There are a wide variety of equipment failures you may encounter at a match, from loose sight fasteners, to broken bipods, to high-round-count barrels that that suddenly “go south” (just to mention a few possibilities). Mechanical components can and do fail. The best policy is to put some thought into what the critical failure points are, monitor wear of these parts, and have spares ready. This is where an ounce of prevention can prevent a ton of train wreck. On this note, if you like running hot loads, consider whether that extra 20 fps is worth blowing up a bullet (10 points), sticking a bolt (DNF), or worse yet, causing injury to yourself or someone nearby.
3. Scoring/Pit Malfunction. Although not related to your shooting technique, doing things to insure you get at least fair treatment from your scorer and pit puller is a good idea. Try to meet the others on your target so they can associate a face with the shooter for whom they’re pulling. If you learn your scorer is a Democrat, it’s probably best not to tell Obama jokes before you go for record. If your pit puller is elderly, it may be unwise to shoot very rapidly and risk a shot being missed (by the pit worker), or having to call for a mark. Slowing down a second or two between shots might prevent a 5-minute delay and possibly an undeserved miss.
 4. Wind Issues. Tricky winds derail many trains. A lot can be written about wind strategies, but here’s a simple tip about how to take the edge off a worse case scenario. You don’t have to start blazing away on the command of “Commence fire”. If the wind is blowing like a bastard when your time starts, just wait! You’re allotted 30 minutes to fire your string in long range slow fire. With average pit service, it might take you 10 minutes if you hustle, less in F-Class. Point being, you have about three times longer than you need. So let everyone else shoot through the storm and look for a window (or windows) of time which are not so adverse. Of course this is a risk, conditions might get worse if you wait. This is where judgment comes in. Just know you have options for managing time and keep an eye on the clock. Saving rounds in a slow fire match is a costly and embarrassing train wreck.
5. Mind Your Physical Health. While traveling for shooting matches, most shooters break their normal patterns of diet, sleep, alcohol consumption, etc. These disruptions to the norm can have detrimental effects on your body and your ability to shoot and even think clearly. If you’re used to an indoor job and eating salads in air-conditioned break rooms and you travel to a week-long rifle match which keeps you on your feet all day in 90-degree heat and high humidity, while eating greasy restaurant food, drinking beer and getting little sleep, then you might as well plan on daily train wrecks. If the match is four hours away, rather than leaving at 3:00 am and drinking five cups of coffee on the morning drive, arrive the night before and get a good night’s sleep.”
Keep focused on the important stuff. You never want to lose sight of the big picture. Keep the important, common sense things in mind as well as the minutia of meplat trimming, weighing powder to the kernel, and cleaning your barrel ’til it’s squeaky clean. Remember, all the little enhancements can’t make up for one big train wreck!
May 19th, 2014
 25,000+ members and counting! The AccurateShooter.com Shooters’ Forum hit a major milestone on May 18, 2014. We surpassed 25,000 registered members. If you have considered joining our Forum, but haven’t done so yet, there’s no better time than now.
As a Shooters’ Forum member, you can exchange ideas with other serious shooters. Sell your gear through our FREE Forum Classifieds. You can get valuable advice on shooting and reloading from top shooters such as National Champions Larry Bartholome, Sam Hall, and Derek Rodgers. Get long-range advice from Ballistics Guru Bryan Litz and past F-Class Team Captain Shiraz Balolia. As well, many top tool-makers and barrel-makers visit the Forum regularly, such as Dave Kiff (PT&G), Frank Green (Bartlein Barrels), and John Perkins (21st Century Shooting).
Benefits for Registered Shooters’ Forum Members
- FREE Classified Ads for Forum Members.
- Forum Members Get Advanced Notice of Special Offers.
- Specialty Sub-boards for Reloading and Gunsmithing.
- Gear Talk Section with Hundreds of User Gear Evaluations.
- Special Area for Varmint and Game Hunters.
- Leading Accuracy Forum with High “Signal to Noise Ratio”.
May 19th, 2014
 Here’s “feel-good” story for Monday. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has handed out $160,000 in scholarship awards to graduating high school students who are active shooters. It’s great to see this kind of support for the next generation of marksmen.
Report By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer/Editor
In mid-April, Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) board members and staff sifted through a slew of CMP scholarship applications to determine which young scholar marksmen would receive CMP support for the coming academic year. After careful review, the CMP awarded monetary donations to over half of its scholarship applicants.
A total of 233 applications were received by CMP Headquarters for the 2014-2015 term – the most in the scholarship’s history. With 194 accepted and 160 awarded, the CMP granted a total of $160,000 from its scholarship fund. The $1,000 CMP Scholarships are available to graduating high school JROTC, 4-H, and other junior shooting club members.
 Scholarship committee members review applications. Boxes upon boxes of applications were considered carefully to determine who would receive the $1,000 scholarships.
May 18th, 2014
 Where did all the .22 LR ammunition go? Why are the prices so high? Why can’t the rimfire ammo-makers step up production? Across the country, firearm owners are asking these questions, and demanding answers.
Part of the explanation comes down to production capacity. America’s rimfire ammo production facilities are already running at full capacity. There is no easy way in increase production. In the video below, the crew from Shooting USA Television visits the ATK production facility in Lewiston, Idaho. This plant can produce 4,000,000 rounds of CCI rimfire ammo in one 24-hour period. This informative video shows the complete process of rimfire ammunition production from start to finish.
YouTube Video Link: http://youtu.be/t5qMsmucXhI.
This is a ‘must-watch’ video that reveals some very interesting things. Did you know that 1200 cases (in one large tray) are filled with powder in a single operation? (See 05:45 mark). Likewise, bullets are also lined up in a matching 1200-count tray (See 6:00 mark). This way 1200 bullets can be seated into 1200 rimfire cases in one efficient procedure.
When you watch the video, and see the complex, expensive machinery involved, you’ll realize that it’s no easy thing to increase rimfre ammo production. The rimfire plants are already running at full capacity. To produce significantly greater quantities of .22 LR ammunition, manufacturers would have to make huge capital investments.
May 18th, 2014
Creedmoor Sports will be producing high-quality loaded ammunition very soon. This will be crafted with top-quality bullets, and premium-grade Lapua brass. General Manager Dennis DeMille tells us: “We received four pallets of brass today and we have 13,005 pounds of powder waiting for production.”
Here’s a preview of what will be on the market very soon:
Oh, the beauty of it — all that Lapua brass. From Finland with love….
What does 13,005 pounds (6.5 tons) of powder look like? That would last most reloaders a few seasons. Hoarders, eat your hearts out….
May 17th, 2014
Click photo for full-screen image suitable for desktop wall-paper.
Field Report by Jeff Stover, IBS President
In IBS-land you know that spring has sprung when the Memorial Shoot at Weikert, PA comes along. This year was the 28th edition which honors the memories of Nate Boop and Rich Altemus. These two gentlemen started the benchrest program at the Union County Sportsmen’s Club. This is one of the finest ranges you will find anywhere in the country. Both the range itself and its setting are world-class.
Boop Shoot Match Results Summary (.XLS File) | Boop Shoot Top 10 Equipment List (.XLS File)
This year 42 shooters hit the benches at the Weikert range. Saturday’s 100-yard targets were shot in somewhat tricky, but shootable conditions — attested by four teen Aggs. Shooters enjoyed the readable conditions on Saturday but the 200-yard stage on Sunday was another matter — with strong breezes that switched on a thin dime. Red with tails out for 10 seconds, then green with tails out for 8 seconds. Then there was a nice mix of both — with tails erect all around. Some of us love to shoot tailwinds, which were there for a few fleeting moments. But there is a lot of target real estate — over an inch — between a tailwind with a wee bit of green and a tiny smidge of red.
Though Weikert is a gorgeous range, it has one drawback. The central Pennsylvania countryside only allowed for an east-facing range. So, on a sunny day, the first three targets or so are shot with most shooters hanging blue tarps from the range roof to block the sun. This works well and does not inhibit small groups.
Curtis Nelson lines up for first shot, with blue tarp sun shade in place.
The Light Varmint 100-yard stage looked to be all Harley Baker, one of the newest inductees into the U.S. Benchrest Hall of Fame. Harley arrives at any match with impeccably prepared equipment tuned to a knife’s edge. He is tough to beat at any range. He was cruising to yet another Agg win, with Smiley Hensley pretty far behind. To finish off with a flourish, Harley nailed a very nice .190 on his last target.
Many times at the last match of an Aggregate, shooters will banter, “last chance to be a hero”. It is so trite as to not get much reaction from the line. Well, some days a hero does emerge. Smiley shot a .071″ group in Match 5 to win the LV 100 Aggregate with a .1902. Harley settled for a flat .2 and second place. Smiley may have won the battle, but not the war, as we shall see.
 
Most Shooters Use 10.5-pounders Even in Heavy Varmint Class
In the Heavy Varmint class shooters could be shouldering a 13.5-pound rifle. Most, however, stick to their 10.5-pound Sporters (a Light Varmint rifle with a 6mm bore) for an entire weekend. Many times in the loading area you’ll hear, “what are we shooting?” Yes, there a few shooters that will pull out a favored “real” Heavy Varmint, but that is pretty rare these days.
The competition in Heavy Varmint 100 was pretty fierce. Small groups were shot. Teen Aggs were possible. Al Auman shot a fine .1808 to win the Agg. Other Aggregates under 0.2 were shot by Harley Baker (.1950) and master accuracy gunsmith Sid Goodling (.1990).
First Time’s a Charm for Troy Twist. Benchrest Novice Shoots 0.126″ Group.
Shooting a .126 group would make any Benchrest shooter happy. If you accomplish that feat the very first time you ever shot a bench rifle, and in a real match to boot, then you have Troy Twist’s story.
Troy works with Dale Boop and was always talking guns. Dale convinced Troy to show up for the 100-yard stage and Dale let Troy shoot one of Dale’s rifles. Troy performed like a champ, drilling a 0.126″ group — not too bad for a rookie! Nothing like a small group to get a new shooter interested in our game.
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Sunday was beautiful with sunny skies and pleasant temps. The wind was another matter. The Heavy Varmint 200-yard stage was conquered by Harley Baker with a .2689 Aggregate. No Match 5 heroes emerged to take away another Agg win from Harley. The only other Aggregate under 0.3 was posted by Jeff Peinhardt. Jeff is a newer shooter that is making a name for himself in Benchrest. Finishing off the top three in the Agg was Wayne Shaw. Wayne is sometimes more associated with score shooting, but he is a top-flight group shooter as well.
The afternoon was set for Light Varmint 200 while the kaleidoscope of rapidly-changing flag colors continued. Jeff Stover led the way with a .2602 Agg. He tried to shoot whatever tail wind was available, and do it as fast as possible. Jeff got away with this sometimes dangerous tailwind strategy for four targets; on the fifth he was not burned as bad as he might have been. Closing in towards the end was Russell Rains with a .2904. Canadian Andy Laidlaw snuck into third place with a .2937 with the only remaining Aggregate under 0.3.
Andy Laidlaw from Canada loads between stages.
In the overall 2-Gun, Harley Baker was the class of the field with a .2466 for twenty targets. Stover followed with a rather distant .2791. Steady Kent Harshman finished close behind with a .2833. Interestingly, both Stover and Harshman were shooting pull-down 8208 powder (from the Vietnam War era) rather than Vihtavuori 133 or the new kid on the block, Accurate Powder LT-32.
 Two-Gun Top 3: Kent Harshman (Third), Harley Baker (Winner), Jeff Stover (Second).
Moving backers are used in 100/200/300 yard benchrest competition.
Dale and Russ Boop, shown above, are the sons of Nate Boop, in whose honor this Match has been held for 28 straight years. The Brothers Boop have been shooting Benchrest since they were little kids. Russ is in the Benchrest Hall of Fame and Dale is currently only two points out.
Father and Son Team — The Peinhardts
Jeff Peinhardt from Quarryville, PA owns PR2 Racing Technology. His company does national level motorcycle race engine development and tuning. His operation is a sophisticated engineering facility with CNC and the latest equipment. He has brought this analytical outlook and expertise to Benchrest.
Jeff is relatively new to the game, but has already excelled. His 16-year old son, Wyatt, has now moved from Junior Shooter to Rookie to Tough Competitor. Wyatt now runs with the “big dogs”. His father says the tougher the conditions, the better Wyatt does; he is a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
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