There was an excellent article about Mirage created for the South Texas Marksmanship Training Center (STMTC) website a while back. This article explains what causes mirage and how mirage can move the perceived aiming point on your target. Most importantly, the article explains, in considerable detail, how you can “read” mirage to discern wind speeds and wind directions.
Mirage Is Your Friend
While hot days with lots of mirage can be frustrating, mirage can reveal how the wind is flowing (and changing). If you learn how to recognize and read mirage patterns, you can use that information to shoot higher scores. That’s why many leading long-range shooters tell us: “Mirage is your friend.” As the STMTC article explains: “A mirage condition is not a handicap, since it offers a very accurate method of perceiving small wind changes[.]”
Mirage Illustrated with Diagrams
With simple but effective graphic illustrations, this is one of the best explanations of mirage (and mirage reading) we have found on the internet. This is a “must-read” for any serious competitive shooter. Here is a brief sample from the article, along with an illustration. NOTE: the full article is six times longer and has 8 diagrams.
The term “mirage” as used by the shooter does not refer to a true mirage, but to heat waves and the refraction of light as it is bent passing through air layers of different density. Light which passes obliquely from one wind medium to another it undergoes an abrupt change in direction, whenever its velocity in the second medium is different from the velocity in the first wind medium; the shooter will see a “mirage”.
The density of air, and therefore its refraction, varies with its temperature. A condition of cool air overlaying warm air next to the ground is the cause of heat waves or “mirage”. The warm air, having a lower index of refraction, is mixed with the cooler air above by convection, irregularly bending the light transmitting the target image to the shooter’s eye. Figure 1 shows (greatly exaggerated) the vertical displacement of the target image by heat waves.
Heat waves are easily seen with the unaided eye on a hot, bright day and can be seen with spotting scope on all but the coldest days. To observe heat waves, the scope should be focused on a point about midway to the target. This will cause the target to appear slightly out of focus, but since the high power rifle shooter generally does not try to spot bullet holes, the lack in target clarity is more than compensated by clarity of the heat waves.
Story tip from Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.
This Wednesday, February 22nd, Shooting USA TV features the Bushnell Brawl, a tactical competition that draws top long-range shooters from military, law enforcement and civilian shooting communities. The match is held at the famed Rifles Only range in Kingsville, Texas. The Brawl is a one-of-a-kind physical and mental challenge that tests shooters’ abilities to read wind, figure ballistics, and adapt to difficult shooting scenarios. There is even a helicopter stage.
Helicopter Stage at 2014 Bushnell Brawl in Texas:
Shooting from a helicopter, shooting off of a wire, and shooting from the physically demanding maze called the Mouse Trap. These are just a few of the unique courses of fire at the Bushnell Brawl, part of the PRS series. Over the course of two days, competitors tackle more than a dozen stages. In addition, Bushnell hosted a special one-day event for the new PRS Production Class. This new division should attract new shooters by limiting the cost of equipment — making PRS competition more affordable.
This image is from Bushnell Brawl Barricade Stage (SEE Video):
New PRS Production Division — Lowering the Cost of Entry
The Production Division is a new PRS classification. Under Production Division rules, the rifle must not exceed $2000.00, and rifle + scope combined must not exceed $3000.00. All other accessories, such as bipod, rear bag, and the sling, can be added at the shooter’s own discretion. Even with these cost limits, you can put together a great rig: “There’s a lot of gear out there that’s not that expensive,” says Production Division Match Director Jacob Bynum. For example, you can get the new Tikka T3X TAC A1 in 6.5 Creedmoor for $1798.00.
Shooting USA Hour on Wednesday Primetime
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Eastern Time: Wednesday 9:30PM, 1:00 AM
Central Time: Wednesday 8:30 PM, Midnight
Mountain Time: Wednesday 7:30 PM, 11:00 PM
Pacific Time: Wednesday 6:30 PM, 10:00 PM
Can you hit an egg at 600+ yards? We mean hit it reliably — not just by luck. To do that you’ll need good shooting skills and a very accurate rifle. How accurate? Well, a chicken egg is, on average, 2 1/4 inches (57 mm) long and 1 3/4 inches (44.5 mm) in diameter. That means to hit an egg (on demand) at 600 yards, you’ll need a rifle capable of 1/3-MOA accuracy (or better). Forum member DukeDuke has such a gun, and he demonstrated its egg-busting prowess in this short video. DukeDuke’s rifle is chambered in 6BRX (a 30° 6BR Improved) and it’s loaded with DTAC 115gr bullets pushed by Alliant Reloder 17. In the video, the eggs are placed on top of poles set 616 yards from the firing line.
See Egg Hit at 38 second mark…
As you can see in the video, that’s a heck of a nice shooting range where DukeDuke scrambled those eggs at 616 yards. The range is situated just outside of Lake Jackson, Texas. As for the gun… the action is a Rem 700 SA BDL, blueprinted and bedded in a Rem/HS Precision PSS stock. The 31″ barrel is 1:8″-twist Broughton. The “P3″ on the barrel stands for Porter’s Precision Products, Lake Jackson, TX. The rifle was built by Kenneth Porter. The load was 33.5 grains of RL-17 at 2950 fps, with 115gr DTAC bullets touching the lands. Cartridge OAL is 2.400″.
How’d you like to locate any rifle range in North America in a matter of seconds? That’s now possible with the Where To Shoot Mobile App, available FREE for both iOS (Apple) and Android devices. The iOS App is designed for both iPhones and iPads.
The Where To Shoot App quickly locates shooting ranges near you, drawing on North America’s most comprehensive directory of shooting ranges. Users can search by current location, state, or zip code and find specifics about each range, including shooting activities offered. Once you locate a range, you can get driving directions to the range.
The app is modeled after NSSF’s popular WhereToShoot.org® website and is updated frequently with range information in every U.S. State and Canadian province. Once you’ve location a place to shoot, the App helps you get directions to the range. The App also includes video tips for shooters, news, and firearm-safety information. Download the app via the links above or by visiting wheretoshoot.org on your mobile device.
The NSSF’s Where To Shoot mobile App has topped 140,000 downloads. The app, which rose to No. 4 on the Apple App Store’s list of free sports Apps, has been a hit with target shooters and gun owners nationwide.
At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.
1. Brownells — Remington 700 SA Receiver with Trigger, $399.99
Here’s a genuine Remington short action receiver with X-Mark Pro trigger for $399.99 (or just $364.50 with coupon M3J). You can use this blued Short Action (SA) for your next hunting or varmint rifle. These Rem actions will also work with many third-party modular chassis systems. DOES NOT include receiver plug screws, recoil lug, triggerguard, triggerguard screws, and magazine components. NOTE: The sale price is $399.99, but you can save $35.00 with code M3J, good for Today Only, 2/20/2017.
2. Amazon.com — 34 dB Noise Rating Ear Muffs, $17.97
These 34 dB NRR earmuffs provide excellent sound protection without being too heavy and bulky. The lower section of the muff is trimmed for a narrower profile — that helps with rifle and shotgun stocks. The headband is adjustable and has comfortable padding. These Pro For Sho Muffs have earned a 4 1/2 star consumer rating, with over 1,600 Amazon customer reviews. NOTE: These fit pretty tight. If you have a very large hat size you might want a different brand.
3. Midsouth — Nosler Blem Bullets at Big Discounts
Nosler Factory Seconds are available at deep discounts from Midsouth Shooters Supply. These have correct weights/dimensions but may have minor cosmetic blemishes — such as tip discolorations or jacket water spots. The Accubond and Ballistic Tip bullets work great for hunting — your prey won’t care about water spots. And the RDF match bullets in .224 (70 grain) and .308 (175 grain) calibers can definitely do the job. But you need to act soon — quantities are limited. Once these factory seconds are gone, they’re GONE! Order now and save up to 53%.
4. Natchez — Special 5 Reloading Press Kit, $199.99
Looking for a great holiday gift for a family member getting started in metallic cartridge reloading? This RCBS Kit has everything a new reloader needs: single-stage press, powder measure, scale, powder trickler, priming tool, cartridge tray, “rocket” chamfer tool, case lube and more. This is an excellent entry-level reloading kit, on sale for just $199.99 at Natchez Shooters Supplies. We like the relatively compact Special 5 press for most reloading duties. Eventually you may want to add an additional, large heavy press, but this will get the job done. For the combined package, with all the tools one needs to hand-load quality ammo — this is a stunningly good deal at $199.99.
5. CDNN Sports — Ruger American Ranch Rifle (Tan), $349.99
Here’s a nice little varmint rifle from Ruger with good features and performance at a killer price: $349.99. You could pay that much just for a barrel. This .223 Rem rifle features a 16.5″ hammer-forged barrel barrel threaded 1/2″-28 at the muzzle for brake or suppressor. The action, which features a 70° three-lug bolt, and Picatinny-style scope rail, sits in an aluminum bedding block. The crisp trigger adjusts down to 3 pounds. With a weight (before optics) of 6.1 pounds, this is a handy carry-around varminter. We like this rifle. For $349.99 it’s a steal.
6. Midsouth — 17 HMR V-Max Ammo, $9.95 for 50 rounds
Need 17 HMR ammo for your planned 2017 varmint safaris? Then grab this Hornady V-Max ammo while you can at $9.95 for a 50-round box. This is a great price. Other vendors are selling the same Hornady ammo for as much as $15.00 per box. We’ve used this ammo and it was very accurate out of both semi-auto (Savage A17) and bolt-action (CZ 455) 17 HMR rifles.
7. Able Ammo — 247 Rounds .223 Rem, HP Bullets
Here you go — instant varmint safari. This Hornady-made .223 Rem ammo features quality hollowpoint bullets, rather than the not-so-accurate FMJ bullets with most bulk .223 ammo. This stuff is much more accurate (with lower ES/SD) than other low-priced ammo. Users report sub-MOA accuracy with this stuff. If you’re planning a varmint safari this spring but don’t have the time (or gear) to reload, pick up a couple boxes of this stuff and you’re good to go. There are 247 rounds in each polymer ammo “can”. This ammo usually comes loaded with Hornady’s XTP (eXtreme Terminal Performance) bullets which work great on varmints.
8. NRA & MidwayUSA — NRA Life Membership, $600.00
Here’s the best deal going right now on an NRA Life Membership. This normally costs $1500.00, but if you CLICK HERE, you can get a life membership for just $600.00, thanks to an NRA/MidwayUSA promotion. You can also save on 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year NRA memberships. Note: This is a limited-time offer.
The 146th National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meetings and Exhibits will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia from April 27-30, 2017. This four-day event will be attended by over 80,000 patriots, feature 800+ exhibitors, and include a jam-packed schedule of seminars, workshops, special events and celebrity meet and greets. In and around the convention hall there will be 15 acres of firearms, shooting and hunting gear, and other exhibits. There will also be an on-site airgun range. For more information, including event tickets, visit www.nraam.org.
If you haven’t attended the NRA Convention before, this 2016 video offers a preview:
There will be nearly 700 Exhibitors displays products at the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits. You can see products from big name companies such as Berger Bullets, Leupold, Nightforce, Nosler, Redding, Remington, Ruger, Savage, Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. You can also meet with top hunting guides and outfitters.
The National NRA Foundation Banquet will be held April 27th in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom, Georgia World Congress Center Building ‘B’. The NRA-ILA Leadership Forum is slated for April 28th in Hall A3, Georgia World Congress Center. With the recent changes in the American national leadership, the ILA Forum should be popular this year.
Hank Williams Concert
Lifetime NRA member and multi-Platinum hit-maker and outdoor enthusiast Hank Williams Jr. will take the stage at the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits Saturday, April 29th! This is always a sell out event, so don’t wait to buy your tickets.
Location of NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta:
Firearms Policy for the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings
During the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, lawfully carried firearms will be permitted in the Georgia World Congress Center and the Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in accordance with Georgia law. However, firearms are not allowed in the remainder of the CNN Center, including the food court and shops. When carrying your firearm, remember to follow all federal, state and local laws.
Here’s a triple-threat hardware package for long-range shooting. This cool set-up combines a folded-path spotting scope with a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) and a Kestrel Wind Meter. The LRF is mounted directly to the Hensoldt-Zeiss spotting scope ($4330.00 retail) so the two units stay aligned at all times. That makes it easy to spot and range your target quickly. LRF and weather data is piped into a PDA which automatically generates a firing solution (providing windage and elevation adjustments). That’s slick. Feeding the range and weather data directly into the Ballistics solver eliminates human input error and allows rapid updates to the ballistics solution.
Ashbury Precison Ordnance sent us these photos, noting: “The ingenuity of APO customers never ceases to impress us! This rig has a co-located LRF adjustable for azimuth and elevation, a Kestrel weather station (Bluetooth?) and Trimble NOMAD RPDA. Firing solutions are updated as data is transmitted to the PDA from the LRF and weather station. That Hensoldt Spotter 60 is a nice piece of glass for shooting at extremely long distances.” The spotting scope is mounted on a Manfrotto 410 3-axis geared head.
Nosler Factory Seconds are now available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. These bullets are completely functional (with correct weights and dimensions), with only minor cosmetic blemishes. You’ll find slight tip discolorations, water spots, and little else. The Accubond and Ballistic Tip bullets will work great for hunting — your prey won’t care about the water spots. And the RDF match bullets can definitely do the job for Service Rifle matches (70gr .224) or F-TR events (175gr .308). Getting match-grade, 30-Cal 175-grainers for $21.49 is a total steal. But you need to act soon — quantities are limited and these factory seconds blems always go fast. Once they are gone, they’re GONE!
Nosler Rifle Bullets on Sale Include:
.224 70gr BTHP RDF Match — now $13.49/100 (regularly $28.84)
.308 175gr BTHP RDF Match, $21.49/100 (regularly $37.21)
TEN Shots in 0.303″ (0.289 MOA) at 100 Yards
How does Dan’s XP-100 pistol shoot? Look at that target showing TEN shots at 100 yards, with eight (8) shots in the main cluster at the top. The ten-shot group measures .303″ (0.289 MOA), as calculated with OnTarget Software. Not bad for a handgun! What do you think, can your best-shooting rifle match the 10-shot accuracy of this XP-100 pistol?
Report by Boyd Allen
This pistol belongs to Dan Lutke, a Bay Area benchrest shooter who publishes the results for the Visalia matches to the competitors and the NBRSA. He has been an enthusiastic competitor for an number of years, at various ranges, notably Visalia and Sacramento. The action is a Remington XP-100, to which a Kelbly 2 oz. trigger has been fitted. On top is an old Japanese-made Tasco 36X scope (these were actually pretty darn good). The Hart barrel (a cast-off from Dan’s Unlimited rail gun) was shortened and re-chambered for the 6x45mm, a wildcat made by necking-up the .223 Remington parent case. The custom stock/chassis was CNC-machined by Joe Updike from 6061 Billet Aluminum to fit the XP-100 action and mount a target-style AR grip with bottom hand rest. The gun was bedded and assembled by Mel Iwatsubu. In his XP-100 pistol, Dan shoots 65gr custom boat-tails with Benchmark powder.
This diagram shows the most common 6x45mm wildcat, which is a necked-up version of the .223 Remington parent cartridge. NOTE: The dimensions for Dan Lutke’s benchrest version of this cartridge may be slightly different.
ACAD drawing by Peter Gnanapragasam CC by SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Title Added.
Story tip from Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.
6.5 Creedmoor vs. Other Mid-Sized 6.5mm Cartridges
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a very popular cartridge with the tactical and PRS crowd. This mid-size cartridge offers good ballistics, with less recoil than a .308 Winchester. There’s an excellent selection of 6.5mm bullets, and many good powder choices for this cartridge. When compared to the very accurate 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge, the 6.5 Creedmoor offers similar performance with less expensive brass options. For a tactical shooter who must sometimes leave brass on the ground, brass cost is a factor to consider. Here’s a selection of various 6.5mm mid-sized cartridges. Left to right are: 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor with 120gr A-Max, 6.5 Creedmoor with 142gr Sierra MK, and .260 Remington.
When asked to compare the 6.5 Creedmoor to the 6.5×47 Lapua, Rifleshooter.com’s Editor stated: “If you don’t hand load, or are new to precision rifle shooting, get a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you shoot a lot, reload, have more disposable income, and like more esoteric cartridges, get a 6.5×47 Lapua. I am a big fan of the 6.5×47 Lapua. In my personal experience, the 6.5×47 Lapua seems to be slightly more accurate than the 6.5 Creedmoor. I attribute this to the quality of Lapua brass.” But now that Lapua is producing top-quality 6.5 Creedmoor brass with small primer pockets, we could have a “second generation” 6.5 Creedmoor that rivals ANY mid-sized cartridge for efficiency AND accuracy. We will soon know how well the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge performs with Lapua brass.
The first shipment of Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass has arrived in the USA. It features a small flash hole and small primer pocket. We have some for testing…
New Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor Brass Field Tests Soon
Our friends at 65Guys.com will be testing the new Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass next week. The goal will be to determine if Lapua’s new Small Primer Pocket/Small Flash Hole brass allows higher velocities than American-made brass (Hornady specifically). In addition the 6.5 Guys want to see how well the new Lapua brass holds up after dozen (or more) firing cycles. They’ll hammer the new brass pretty hard to see how it fares with repeated stout loads. Stay tuned…
Here are three tables from the Sierra Bullets Reloading Manual (5th Edition). IMPORTANT — This is just a sample!! Sierra has load data for many other 6.5mm bullet types, including FB, Spitzer, SBT, HPBT, and Tipped MK from 85 grains to 142 grains. To view ALL 6.5 Creedmoor DATA, CLICK HERE.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
There was an excellent article about Mirage created for the South Texas Marksmanship Training Center (STMTC) website a while back. This article explains what causes mirage and how mirage can move the perceived aiming point on your target. Most importantly, the article explains, in considerable detail, how you can “read” mirage to discern wind speeds and wind directions.
This Wednesday, February 22nd, 
Can you hit an egg at 600+ yards? We mean hit it reliably — not just by luck. To do that you’ll need good shooting skills and a very accurate rifle. How accurate? Well, a chicken egg is, on average, 2 1/4 inches (57 mm) long and 1 3/4 inches (44.5 mm) in diameter. That means to hit an egg (on demand) at 600 yards, you’ll need a rifle capable of 1/3-MOA accuracy (or better). Forum member DukeDuke has such a gun, and he demonstrated its egg-busting prowess in this short video. DukeDuke’s rifle is chambered in 6BRX (a 30° 6BR Improved) and it’s loaded with DTAC 115gr bullets pushed by Alliant Reloder 17. In the video, the eggs are placed on top of poles set 616 yards from the firing line.
How’d you like to locate any rifle range in North America in a matter of seconds? That’s now possible with the Where To Shoot Mobile App, available FREE for both iOS (Apple) and Android devices. The iOS App is designed for both iPhones and iPads.
