The Berger Southwest Nationals (SWN) kicked off Tuesday, February 10th, with an instructional clinic at the Ben Avery 1000-yard Range. This combined a lecture/Q&A session with live-fire training. Ballistics “Professor” Bryan Litz reports: “The clinic was a big hit as usual, with lots of competitor participation. There was a big crowd this year, as you can see.”
The clinic started with a class on Exterior Ballistics hosted by Bryan. This focused on why ballistics is important to competitive shooters, and how to balance ballistic performance objectives against real world constraints. Topics included bullet weight options for F-TR (155 to 215 grains), barrel/chamber considerations, plus the real-world trade-offs involved with heavy bullets (yes the BC may be better but recoil becomes an issue). Many of the questions related to content from Bryan’s recent books, and discussions in AccurateShooter.com’s Ballistics sub-Forum and Daily Bulletin.
Following the ballistics class, shooters made their way to the firing line for one-on-one instruction with experienced shooters in each discipline (sling, F-TR and F-Open). During this segment of the clinic, champion shooters worked directly with novice and intermediate shooters. Bryan said: “It was great to see the ‘top guns’ sharing their knowledge.”
Last but not least, Mid Tompkins directed a wind clinic with live fire demonstrations. Bryan reports: “Mid has a way of getting your attention. Personally, I thought his 2 MOA wind call that put the very first shot in the 5 inch X-ring at 1000 yards got everyone’s attention!” After the demonstrations, clinic “students” went to the firing line to put wind-clinic lessons into practice, and to verify their zeroes.
Mid Tompkins at the SWN Shooters’ Clinic
Here are some more images from the instructional clinic held last year at the 2014 SW Nationals.
The International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) just secured a great alliance with long-range shooters out West in Big Sky Country. The Montana NW 1000-Yard Benchrest Club (www.Montana1000yd.com) is now officially affiliated with the IBS. This is an exciting development. Many world records have been set at the Deep Creek Range near Missoula, Montana, “home base” for the Montana NW Club. Deep Creek enjoys some of the best conditions a long-range shooter could ask for. This is definitely the place to bring that “hummer” barrel if you want to shoot small.
Here is a report from Montana NW Club member Alex Wheeler:
“The decision was made this year to join the IBS and hopefully grow our matches. We have been affiliated with the Original Pennsylvania 1000-yard Benchrest Club (Williamsport, PA) for almost twenty years. Now our Montana-based shooting club enters a new era as an IBS-affiliated operation.
The Deep Creek range is a great place to shoot. Conditions are generally excellent, and the setting is beautiful. The firing line is a raised berm with covered concrete benches. We have full pits and a scoring shed to properly handle the targets. We typically start at 8:00 am to take full advantage of the calm conditions. Many visitors enjoy camping near the range during match weekends. Facilities include water, electric, and restrooms. There are also many hotels in the area.
The group that shoots here regularly are some of the most skilled and serious shooters in the country, but you could not ask for a friendlier group. They seem to always be thinking of ways to shoot smaller and better their equipment. We hope to see some new faces and see the IBS start to make more of a presence in the western states. See you at the first match in March!”
The AccurateShooter.com Shooters’ Forum hit another membership milestone. We’ve surpassed 27,000 registered members. Now we hope to reach 30,000 members in the next few months. If you have considered joining our Forum, but haven’t done so yet, there’s no better time than now. As a Forum member, you’ll be part of an active community of serious shooters. You can get valuable advice on shooting and reloading from top shooters such as National Champions Larry Bartholome, Sam Hall, and Derek Rodgers. 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).
If you haven’t sampled our Forum yet, cruise over to Forum.AccurateShooter.com and check it out. You’ll find a wealth of information shared by thousands of knowledgeable members, including many National Champions and record-holders. The boards are tightly moderated to prevent the ego battles common to some other internet forums. Our Shooters’ Forum maintains a high “signal to noise ratio”, with courteous and respectful exchange of ideas. To join the Forum, simply click the “Register” link and follow the prompts. There is no fee to join.
FREE Classifieds for Forum Members
Along with our informational Forum areas, we offer FREE CLASSIFIEDS for all registered forum members. You’ll find some great values in the Classifieds, and we provide a feedback system for buyers and sellers. Published feedback helps you buy and sell with greater confidence.
Gavin Gear tests .308 ammo with his DPMS LR-308B, AR10-type rifle.
Our friend Gavin Gear of UltimateReloader.com owns a DPMS LR-308B, an AR10-type semi-auto rifle. Gavin finds that his DPMS has a healthy appetite for ammunition. So, he set up his Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive press to produce .308 Win ammo. This video shows the process of press set-up and operation, complete with Hornady’s automated Case Feeder and Bullet Feeder. Employing elevated rotary hoppers, the case feed and bullet feed systems really speed up production. The automated feeders allow the operator to produce cartridges without ever touching case or bullet with his hands.
If you need large quantities of .308 Win ammo for 3-Gun matches or tactical games, and if you value your time, a progressive press may be a wise investment. The progressive can load a complete round with every cycle of the press handle. With Case Feeder and Bullet Feeder in place, the Hornady L-N-L can easily crank out a new .308 round every 3-4 seconds (watch video at 5:25). Conservatively speaking, that’s 15 rounds per minute sustained production (and some guys can go even faster).
Get updates from UltimateReloader.com via Gavin’s twitter feed: @UReloader. To learn more about the Hornady Lock-N-Load Progressive Press (with case/bullet feed options), and to see a list of the dies and accessories Gavin uses, click the link below:
In the hit Hollywood movie “The Patriot”, the hero Benjamin Martin (played by Mel Gibson), tells his sons: “Aim small, miss small”. That advice was given to help his sons survive encounters with the British redcoats, but the “aim small, miss small” mantra can benefit target shooters as well.
We have found that novice and intermediate shooters can often improve their accuracy simply by using targets with smaller, more precise aiming points. Inexperienced shooters can benefit by starting with a large-size aiming circle, and then progressing to smaller and smaller target dots. This lets the shooter increase the challenge as his gun-handling becomes more steady and his aim improves.
Here are two rimfire training targets with “big to small” target circles. Start with the largest circles, then move to the smaller ones in sequence. This systematic drill provides increasing challenge shot-by-shot. Novices often are quite surprised to see their accuracy improve as they move from bigger to smaller aiming points. That provides positive feedback — always a good thing.
Right Click and “Save as” to download printable PDF versions of these targets.
Got a minute — one minute and six seconds to be precise? Then you should watch this excellent “trailer” video from the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) TV channel. You’ll see virtually all the major Olympic/International shooting disciplines. Even if you’re not a skeet/trap shooter you’ll enjoy the clips of shotgun champions at the top of their game. And the footage of position rifle shooters reveals the intense concentration requied in that discipline. We really enjoyed this short clip. The MTV-style editing and soundtrack holds your attention, and the cameramen did a great job of capturing the exact moments when shooters took the winning shot. Enjoy.
The number of women target shooters, hunters, and gun owners has increased dramatically since the start of the new millennium. Consider this, women now comprise 19% of hunters. That’s an 85% increase since 2001. Women are also more important as a purchasing segment of the the shooting market. Women gun owners spend nearly $1300.00 per year on guns and shooting accessories, $870 of that on firearm purchases. That number has gun-makers paying attention — even if some of you guys spend more than that each year just on powder!
Jessie Duff, sponsored by Taurus and Weatherby
Women are definitely becoming a more important segment of the hunting/shooting world. This is a good thing. The larger the “fan base” for the shooting sports, the less political pressure there will be to close ranges and restrict the activities of target shooters and hunters.
Click either image to see a full-size “Girl Power” Infographic.
The Applied Ballistics team tested six (6) same-length/same-contour Bartlein barrels to observe how twist rate might affect muzzle velocity. This unique, multi-barrel test is featured in the book Modern Advancements in Long Range Shooting. That book includes many other fascinating field tests, including a comprehensive chronograph comparison.
Barrel Twist Rate vs. Velocity — What Tests Reveal by Bryan Litz
When considering barrel twist rates, it’s a common belief that faster twist rates will reduce muzzle velocity. The thinking is that the faster twist rate will resist forward motion of the bullet and slow it down. There are anecdotal accounts of this, such as when someone replaces a barrel of one brand/twist with a different brand and twist and observes a different muzzle velocity. But how do you know the twist rate is what affected muzzle velocity and not the barrel finish, or bore/groove dimensions? Did you use the same chronograph to measure velocity from both barrels? Do you really trust your chronograph?
Savage Test Rifle with Six Bartlein Barrels
Most shooters don’t have access to the equipment required to fully explore questions like this. These are exactly the kinds of things we examine in the book Modern Advancements in Long Range Shooting. In that book, we present experiments conducted in the Applied Ballistics lab. Some of those experiments took on a “Myth Buster” tone as we sought to confirm (or deny) popular pre-conceptions. For example, here’s how we approached the question of barrel twist and muzzle velocity.
Six .308 Win Barrels from Bartlein — All Shot from the Same Rifle
We acquired six (6) barrels from the same manufacturer (Bartlein), all the same length and contour, and all chambered with the same reamer (SAAMI spec .308 Winchester). All these barrels were fitted to the same Savage Precision Target action, and fired from the same stock, and bench set-up. Common ammo was fired from all six barrels having different twist rates and rifling configurations. In this way, we’re truly able to compare what effect the actual twist rate has on muzzle velocity with a reasonable degree of confidence.
Prior to live fire testing, we explored the theoretical basis of the project, doing the physics. In this case, an energy balance is presented which predicts how much velocity you should expect to lose for a bullet that’s got a little more rotational energy from the faster twist. In the case of the .30 caliber 175 grain bullets, the math predicts a loss of 1.25 fps per inch-unit of barrel twist (e.g. a 1:8″ twist is predicted to be 1.25 fps slower than a 1:9″ twist).
Above, data shows relationship between Twist Rate and Muzzle Velocity (MV) for various barrel twist rates and rifling types. From fast to slow, the three 1:10″ twist barrels are: 5R (canted land), 5 Groove, 5 Groove left-hand twist.
We proceeded with the testing in all 6 barrels from 1:8” to 1:12”. After all the smoke cleared, we found that muzzle velocity correlates to twist rate at the rate of approximately 1.33 fps per inch of twist. In other words, your velocity is reduced by about 5 fps if you go from a 1:12” twist to a 1:8” twist. [Editor: That’s a surprising number — much less than most folks would predict.] In this case the math prediction was pretty close, and we have to remember that there’s always uncertainty in the live fire results. Uncertainty is always considered in terms of what conclusions the results can actually support with confidence.
This is just a brief synopsis of a single test case. The coverage of twist rates in Modern Advancements in Long-Range Shooting is more detailed, with multiple live fire tests. Results are extrapolated for other calibers and bullet weights. Needless to say, the question of “how twist rate affects muzzle velocity” is fully answered.
Other chapters in the book’s twist rate section include: · Stability and Drag – Supersonic
· Stability and Drag – Transonic
· Spin Rate Decay
· Effect of Twist rate on Precision
Other sections of the book include: Modern Rifles, Scopes, and Bullets as well as Advancements in Predictive Modeling. This book is sold through the Applied Ballistics online store. Modern Advancements in Long Range Shooting is also available in eBook format in the Amazon Kindle store.
The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Club (Williamsport) is now accepting applications for its 2015 Long-Range Benchrest School. If you want to learn how to shoot accurately at very long range, one of the very best places to learn is the Williamsport 1000-Yard Benchrest School. The 8th Annual Benchrest School will be held Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7, 2015. Classes, taught by top 1K shooters, are held at the Williamsport Range, one of the best 1K ranges in the country.
From June 5-7 2015, the club will host a multi-day, long-range Benchrest Academy for novice to intermediate shooters. For $350 students will enjoy 1 night and 2 days of intensive training under the guidance of top 1000-yard shooters. Prospective students will be taught all aspects of long-range benchrest shooting by highly skilled instructors. All areas are covered: load development, precision reloading, bench skills, and target analysis. Much time is spent at the loading bench and on the firing line. And you don’t even need guns and ammo — all equipment and ammunition will be provided. The sign-up deadline is June 1st. To reserve a spot, email School Director/President Ryan Miller: ryanmiller @ htva.net.
School Schedule, Friday Through Sunday
On Friday night (June 5th), students will meet their mentors. Saturday (June 6th), the class moves to the range for a full day of hands-on technical training. Topics will include precision reloading, load development, gun handling, use of chronograph, analysis of shooting results, gun cleaning, and target analysis. The club will provide the rifles and all reloading components. Saturday’s training sessions are followed by a steak dinner which is included in the $350 seminar price.
On Sunday (June 7th), after an early training session covering bench set-up and match strategies, students will participate in a 1000-yard match, spending time both behind the trigger and in the pits. Instructors will explain how to read conditions, and will demonstrate target measuring and analysis after the relays. The program wraps up by 4:00 pm on Sunday.
To see what the 1K Benchrest school is like, watch the slide show/video below, produced by Sebastian Reist, an alumnus of the 2009 Williamsport 1000-yard BR school.
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Story Tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
It’s almost time for the Berger SW Nationals. Phil Kelley says he’s ready for this view…
February in Phoenix… For many of us February is all about the Berger Southwest Nationals, which kicks off Tuesday, February 10th with a Shooting Clinic and runs through Sunday, February 15th. This prestigious match, hosted at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, draws top F-Class and sling shooters from around the country. One of those F-Class shooters, Phil Kelley, posted the above photo, saying he’s ready to make the trek from his North Carolina home to Arizona. Good luck to Phil and all the competitors. A record number of shooters should be on the firing line this year.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015, 9:00 AM
Shooting Clinic: Instruction in both classroom and live-fire settings. Lunch provided.
Wednesday, 11 February 2015, 9:00 AM
Mid-Range Match: Three 20-shot matches at 600 yards.
Thursday, 12 February 2015, 9:00 AM
4-Man Palma Team Match: 15 shots for record at 800, 900 and 1000 yards.
Note – Practice available for those not shooting with a team.
Friday, 13 February 2015, 9:00 AM – Start of Long-Range Grand Agg
Individual Palma Match: 15 shots for record at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. Swap Meet at 1000-yard line after conclusion of match.
Saturday, 14 February 2015, 8:30 AM
Individual 1000-Yard Matches: Two 20-shot matches at 1000 yards. Banquet Dinner at Indoor Range, at approximately 5:00 pm.
Sunday, 15 February 2015, 9:00 AM
Individual 1000 Yard Matches: Two 20-shot matches at 1000 yards. Awards Ceremony at the Indoor Range.
In the hit Hollywood movie “The Patriot”, the hero Benjamin Martin (played by Mel Gibson), tells his sons: “Aim small, miss small”. That advice was given to help his sons survive encounters with the British redcoats, but the “aim small, miss small” mantra can benefit target shooters as well.
The 
