Harrell’s Precision sells “semi-custom” full-length bushing dies for the PPC and 6BR chamberings. While the Harrell brothers do not cut the die to spec, they carry a large selection of dies made with slightly different internal dimensions. When you send in your fired brass, the Harrells choose a die from inventory with just the right amount of sizing (diameter reduction) at the top and bottom of the case. Given the quality, and precise fit, Harrell’s full-length dies are a good value at $75.00 plus shipping.
Bump Measuring Collar
The Harrell brothers provide a nice bonus item with each full-length die — a neat, little shoulder bump measuring device as shown in the photo at right. Hornady/Stoney Point sells a stand-alone tool that does the same job, but the Harrell’s bump collar is simpler and faster. To measure your shoulder bump, simply place the Harrell’s bump collar over the upper section of your deprimed case (before sizing) and measure the OAL with your calipers. The collar should seat on the shoulder without any wobble. After taking the measurement, then size the case in your full-length die, replace the collar and repeat the measurement. You want to set your die so the shoulder moves back about .001″ to .0015″ for most applications. (With semi-auto guns you may want more bump — .003″ or more.)
When measuring for shoulder bump, you need to remove the primers first. Our friend Boyd Allen explains: “Use a decapping tool or die to remove the fired primer before taking the initial measurement. When working to thousandths, even the raised edge of a crater or a slightly raised primer can throw you off by a significant amount.”
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On German Salazar’s Rifleman’s Journal website, you’ll find an excellent 5-Part Series on barrel chambering. The Series, entitled The Voyeur’s Guide to Barrel Chambering, is not intended to be a “how-to” instructional treatise for gunsmiths. Instead, German’s 5-Part Guide is aimed at the end user — the shooter. German explains: “This Series isn’t intended for anyone who owns a lathe; instead it is for those of us who send an action off to get a new barrel installed. Those who have the equipment know what to do and how to do it and I have nothing to teach them. On the other hand, if you’ve ever wondered just what goes into barrel fitting, this is it.” PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V
With well-written text and dozens of very high-quality images, German takes you through the chambering, threading, shoulder-fitting, and crowning processes from start to finish. The idea is to give the “barrel consumer” a clear idea of the processes involved when a barrel blank is converted into functional form, complete with chamber, threaded tenon, fitted breech, and crown.
We highly recommend German’s 5-Part Voyeur’s Guide to Barrel Chambering. German, with the aid of John Lowther (who ran the machines), did a great job. The series has already drawn much attention from our Forum members, along with praise. After reading the articles, John C. from Australia wrote: “Your Chambering articles… really are excellent [and] informative for those of us too scared to watch our gunsmith chamber one of our barrels lest we distract him at a crucial moment!”
We know you’ll learn something from reading through German’s 5-Part Series. And if you see a photo on German’s website that intrigues you, simply click on it to see a larger, higher-resolution version. All the images in the Voyeur Series on RiflemansJournal.com can be zoomed to larger formats.
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AR this, AR that… sometimes it seems the gun world has gone AR crazy. There is even a book specifically dedicated to reloading for AR-platform rifles. This may seem superfluous when there are so many other reloading manuals on the market. However, there are some special factors to consider when reloading for ARs and other semi-automatic rifles. Cases should be full-length sized, with adequate shoulder bump and neck clearance (more than you might run with a bolt gun). Cartridge pressures must be appropriate for the AR platform, and you want to select powders that minimize fouling. Also, when loading for an AR you may want to experiment with cannelured bullets and crimping. And of course, rounds must be loaded to mag-length. Lastly, with the advent of the 300 AAC Blackout (and similar cartridges), many AR shooters now are experimenting with heavy 30-cal bullets in subsonic applications. AR owners will experience a “reloading learning curve” when moving from .223 Rem to the more exotic, subsonic 30-caliber cartridges.
These and other concerns are covered in Lyman’s new AR Reloading Handbook. This comprehensive reloading guide provides the AR shooter with reloading data for nearly all popular AR-platform chamberings. In addition to data for the standard .223 Rem, the following cartridges are also covered: 6.8 Rem, 300 AAC Blackout, 7.62×39, 450 Bushmaster, 50 Beowulf and others.
Lyman touts its new book: “Reloaders will appreciate the wealth of AR-specific reloading data [for] all popular brands of bullets and powders. Specialty cast bullet and sub-sonic data further expand the usefulness of the handbook. Interesting articles by well known and popular firearms journalists are also included. These cover such areas as ‘Reloading for Suppressors’ and ‘Cartridge Interchangeability”. Finally all this AR data is presented in a full size, easy-to-use 8 1/2″ x 11″ format.”
Here’s a killer deal from Midsouth Shooters Supply. Get 1000 .224 bullets for $109.99. That’s just eleven bucks per hundred. This is a great buy for varmint shooters who go through thousands of rounds during a prairie dog outing. These 50gr bullets have black polymer tips for accuracy and good explosiveness on critters. As “overrun” production bullets these 50-grainers are priced way below regular retail. These will work great in a .223 Rem, 22-250, or even a little .221 Fireball. Run them in your bolt gun or AR-15. Grab these bullets now at this attractively low price. Quantities are limited.
With all the talk about Dashers, 6.5×47 Lapuas, or the big 7mms, it’s worth remembering that the “plain Jane” 6mmBR Norma really is a superb mid-range cartridge. That was demonstrated recently at the 2014 Roanoke Egg Shoot, a clay-bustin’ multi-distance match with targets at 330, 425, and 500 yards. At Roanoke, the 6mmBR (aka 6BR) was the most popular chambering. In fact, 25 out of 43 rifles (58%) were 6BRs. And this little cartridge did most of the winning. In Factory Class, seven of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including first and second place. In Open Class, eight of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including second and third place. And the Open Class winner, a 6BRX piloted by Forum member Mark Schronce, was a 6BR Improved, formed from 6mmBR parent brass.
Mark tells us the conditions were great this year: “We had eleven clean scores [of 15] in Open class. One of the 15s was shot by 8-year-old Cash Brown. Watch out for this young man, he is a shooter!”. With so many cleans there were many shoot-offs to determine the Top Three in each class. Mark explains: “We shoot one round each, no sighter at 500 yards, on 3.5″ clays, until one guy wins.”
*Mark also shot a 15 with his second rifle, chambered in 6mmBR Norma. Mark’s Open Class-winning 6BRX rifle featured a Bat B action and Mike Davis-chambered 26″ Krieger 1:8.5″-twist barrel. Mark loaded Berger 105gr VLDs, pushed by Varget and Fed 205M primers.
Young Guns Shine at Roanoke
Forum member Greg M., (aka Coleridge), also attended the Roanoke Match: “I made it into the Open Class Shoot-Off with two separate guns (6BR and 6-6.5x47L) … only to get whipped by both of the two youngest shooters there (one with my own gun!).” Greg noted that: “the Open Class Second Place finisher was also a youngster, Blake, my 15-year-old son. It won’t be long before Blake and [8-year-old] Cash are whipping us way too often. I’m just glad neither one of them was shooting in factory class!”
Course of Fire
The main match at Roanoke encompasses three yardages. All guns engage 15 clay targets: five 2.5″ clays at 330 yards, five 3.5″ clays at 425 yards, and five 4.5″ clays at 500 yards. Shooters are allowed TWENTY rounds, (no separate sighters). All rounds must be shot in one setting, with a 10-minute time limit. Shooters can shoot targets in any order.
Class Rules
In the primary clays-shooting competition, there are two (2) classes, Open and Factory. In the Open class there is a 30-lb weight limit and no rail guns are permitted. Beyond that, pretty much “anything goes”. The Factory Class is more tightly controlled — this is a true factory class, no customs allowed, not even Coopers. The only upgrades allowed are bedding and trigger job/replacement.
Egg Shoot Is Challenging
In addition to the main clays-shooting match, there is an actual Egg Shoot, conducted separately. For the Egg Shoot, there are no classes — competitors pick their best rifle. After a five-minute warm-up, competitors get two shots to hit one egg at 500 yards. It costs two bucks for each entry — and you can shoot until your money or ammo runs out. All competitors who hit an egg then go into a Shoot-Off for glory and cash awards. Jonathan Dunn, shooting a 6BRX, won the Egg Shoot scoring 3 of 4 hits on eggs in the Shoot-Off stage.
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Sinclair International has produced an eight-part video series on metallic cartridge reloading, hosted by Sinclair’s former President Bill Gravatt. The entire series can be viewed (for free) via Sinclair’s “How-To Videos” archive. While this set of videos starts with the basics, it covers many more advanced aspects of reloading as well. Accordingly, both novice and experienced reloaders can benefit from watching the eight videos. We think everyone should watch Video No. 2, which outlines the hazards of reloading and provides guidelines for safe reloading practices.
We also strongly recommend Video No. 4 to readers who are getting started in reloading. This “How Things Work” segment covers the sequence of events inside the chamber (and barrel) when the cartridge is fired. The video includes helpful graphics that show what happens to the primer, powder, cartridge, and bullet when the round is fired. The video also illustrates “headspace” and explains how this can change after firing. We think this video answers many common questions and will help reloaders understand the forces at work on their brass during the firing process.
Watch Firing Sequence Video
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Need bullets? Check out the Blem Bullets Sale at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Quality bullets from a “big-name” manufacturer are now on sale at big savings. These bullets are priced 35% to 40% below normal retail levels. The “blem” bullets shoot fine but may have some cosmetic imperfections such as water spots or discoloration. Other bullets are marked down because there were production over-runs or packing errors.
Midsouth explains: “OEM Blem Bullets Are Back! These are overruns, cosmetically blemished and incorrectly packaged bullets from a major bullet manufacturer. Small blemishes mean big savings. As part of our agreement to sell these, we can not disclose the bullet manufacturer.”
Video Explains Blem Bullets Sale and Shows the Bullets:
If you want to take advantage of this special Midsouth sale, act quickly. Quantities are limited. Midsouth states: “Once these are gone, they are gone!”. Here are a few examples of the sale items — there are dozens of other bullets types on sale. CLICK HERE for List of Sale Bullets.
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Twenty-two years ago Larry and Brenda Potterfield launched the NRA Round-Up, a special program designed to raise funds for the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). To date, MidwayUSA Customers have contributed nearly $10 million dollars to the NRA-ILA National Endowment for the Protection of the 2nd Amendment.
“On January 2, 1992 we started asking our Customers at MidwayUSA if they would ‘Round-Up’ their order to the next higher dollar and let us donate that money to the NRA-ILA. Our Customers overwhelmingly said yes and to date they have donated nearly $10 Million,” said Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA. “The actual donations have never been spent, but each year, NRA-ILA spends five percent of the interest to fight anti-gun legislation.”
At the 143rd NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis last weekend, Larry and Brenda Potterfield presented a ceremonial check to NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox for $9,892,195.82, the total amount of money that has been donated by MidwayUSA Customers since 1992.
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Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before — a rimfire tracer bullet split in half on the blade of a machete. This pistol trick shot is performed by 22Plinkster, a young marksman who has posted a number of rimfire trick shot videos on YouTube. This impressive split bullet demonstration was filmed with high-speed cameras. This lets you see the bullet fly onto the machete blade in slow motion, with red tracer particles streaming behind. And then a freeze-frame clearly shows the two bullet halves after they have passed through two balloons. Check it out:
The high-speed camera (which allows super slow-motion playback) was provided by RatedRR studios. The .22 LR tracer ammunition was provided by Piney Mountain Ammunition Company.
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Harrell’s Precision sells “semi-custom” full-length bushing dies for the PPC and 6BR chamberings. While the Harrell brothers do not cut the die to spec, they carry a large selection of dies made with slightly different internal dimensions. When you send in your fired brass, the Harrells choose a die from inventory with just the right amount of sizing (diameter reduction) at the top and bottom of the case. Given the quality, and precise fit, Harrell’s full-length dies are a good value at $75.00 plus shipping.
Bump Measuring Collar
On German Salazar’s 
With all the talk about Dashers, 6.5×47 Lapuas, or the big 7mms, it’s worth remembering that the “plain Jane” 6mmBR Norma really is a superb mid-range cartridge. That was demonstrated recently at the 2014 Roanoke Egg Shoot, a clay-bustin’ multi-distance match with targets at 330, 425, and 500 yards. At Roanoke, the 6mmBR (aka 6BR) was the most popular chambering. In fact, 25 out of 43 rifles (58%) were 6BRs. And this little cartridge did most of the winning. In Factory Class, seven of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including first and second place. In Open Class, eight of the Top 10 were 6BRs, including second and third place. And the Open Class winner, a 6BRX piloted by Forum member Mark Schronce, was a 6BR Improved, formed from 6mmBR parent brass.
Egg Shoot Is Challenging
Twenty-two years ago Larry and Brenda Potterfield launched the NRA Round-Up, a special program designed to raise funds for the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). To date, MidwayUSA Customers have contributed nearly $10 million dollars to the NRA-ILA National Endowment for the Protection of the 2nd Amendment.
