Are laser sights really useful on a handgun? Yes, and not just in low-light situations. That said, many folks who own laser-equipped handguns do not train effectively with the laser. For many gun-owners, the laser is just a toy, a gimmick that is used a few times and then ignored. Those gun-owners miss out on some of the most important advantages of a laser sights, benefits you can get from formal training with your laser-equipped pistol.
Crimson Trace has produced a series of training videos that may change your mind about lasers. If you shoot a handgun you should watch these videos. They show how laser sights can help diagnose and correct common handgun-shooting errors (such as flinching and anticipating the shot). The videos also show how to improve sight alignment and get your sights on target quickly.
Training with Laser Sights, Full 12-minute Video
Covers Muzzle Awareness, Sight Alignment, Target Acquisition, Trigger Control
This video shows how training with laser sights can: 1) improve muzzle direction awareness; 2) aid with sight alignment; 3) speed up target acquisition; and 4) improve trigger control. The video also demonstrates the obvious advantage of laser sights in low light conditions. Numerous firearms experts are featured in this video filmed at Arizona’s Gunsight Academy.
Training With Lasers — Trigger Control
Training with laser sights helps diagnose and improve trigger control errors by showcasing the importance of “surprise break” and follow-through. Lasers quickly diagnose errors such as recoil anticipation, jerking the trigger, and breaking the wrist.
Training with Lasers — Sight Alignment
Training with laser sights can improve/correct alignment. The laser provides a visual indicator of proper sight alignment, allowing shooters to quickly see any errors before taking a shot. Additionally, lasers can enhance sight alignment on popular sub-compact carry guns with small, low-profile sights.
Muzzle Awareness — All-Important for Safe Shooting
Training with laser sights improves a shooter’s muzzle awareness. A daylight-visible laser shows the gun operator where his or her muzzle is pointing at all times. This helps teach proper safety practices.
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CMP-Affiliated Clubs May Continue Sanctioned Matches with Restrictions
While the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has cancelled its National Events at Camp Perry this summer, the CMP has stated that club-level CMP matches may proceed, provided important health practices are followed.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program recently announced that affiliated clubs may resume CMP-sanctioned rifle and pistol matches those events, provided state and local guidelines and safe range practices are being followed.
The CMP states: “The CMP has canceled all of its match events based on the large volume of participants at its marksmanship events. However, clubs who have relatively manageable numbers of attendees may use discretion in conducting activities for safety reasons. We will continue to monitor the current environment and follow practices in the best interest of our staff, customers and participants regarding future events.”
“In the best interest of everyone involved, the CMP is not opposed to affiliated clubs holding sanctioned matches, as long as they provide a safe environment for participants, range safety personnel and spectators,” said Christie Sewell, CMP Programs Chief.
The CMP Recommends Affiliated Clubs Follow Guidelines to Keep Facilities Safe:
1. Following state and local laws and adherence to health advisories
2. Limiting/spacing the number of participants who congregate for safety briefings, etc.
3. Spacing out firing points, leaving empty firing points between shooters
4. Ensuring participants wear masks, covering their nose and mouth.
5. Washing hands frequently and/or providing disinfectant wipes.
6. Cleaning common surfaces such as shooting benches and equipment.
(Editor: This cleaning should include public restrooms).
“In our sport during this time, we need to practice safety on two fronts – safe firearms handling at all times and providing a healthy place for competitors to hone their skills. That means practicing appropriate social distancing, disinfecting common surfaces and screening participants for health concerns,” added Christie Sewell. Visit the CMP website at www.TheCMP.org for more information.
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Watch this Video — It’s one of the best Custom Rifle Build Videos ever produced!
This video, produced for the folks at S&S Precision in Argyle, Texas, shows a full custom 6.5×47 Lapua bench rifle being crafted from start to finish. It is a fantastic video, one of the best benchrest gunsmithing videos you’ll find on YouTube. It shows every aspect of the job — action bedding, chambering, barrel-fitting, muzzle crowning, and stock finishing.
You’ll be amazed at the paint job on this rig — complete with flames and four playing cards: the 6, 5, 4, and 7 of spades. Everyone should take the time to watch this 13-minute video from start to finish, particularly if you are interested in stock painting or precision gunsmithing. And the video has a “happy ending”. This custom 6.5×47 proves to be a real tack-driver, shooting a 0.274″ three-shot group at 400 yards to win “small group” in its first fun match. NOTE: If you have a fast internet connection, we recommend you watch this video in 720p HD.
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Here’s a very pricey, exotic Air Rifle for Field Target Competition. Notice the complex adjustments.
We like air rifles both for fun shooting and for competition. However, so many options are now available that is easy to get overwhelmed with the choices. Thankfully, there is a good book that helps air rifle shooters make informed decisions about air guns and accessories. Steve Markwith’s comprehensive resource, Air Rifles: A Buyer’s and Shooter’s Guide offers a wealth of useful information. This 154-page book is now available for $12.95 (paperback) or $9.95 (Kindle). The book is also offered as a FREE Kindle download for Kindle Unlimited members. Check it out — you may be able to get the book for free.
Read Free Sample Chapters Online
If you go to Amazon.com and click on the cover of this book, you can view a FREE preview with extensive samples from many chapters. The book covers all the most important types of air rifle systems, both pre-charged pneumatics and other self-charging guns. Markwith reviews the wide variety of pellets available, offering suggestions for particular applications. You’ll also find a useful discussion of Airgun Power, Range, and Accuracy. This will help you pick the right air rifle for your application.
Markwith explains the many attractions of airguns. They are not considered firearms (in most jurisdictions) so they can be purchased at local shops or mail-order outlets without FFL fees or background checks. You’ll find a huge online selection of airguns at PyramydAir.com that can ship direct to you — no FFL required. Air rifles are also quiet and very inexpensive to shoot. While .177 and .22 caliber air rifles are most common, there are also larger-caliber airguns offered for hunting or special applications.
“This is a very informative book explaining the ins and outs of air rifles, their capabilities and limitations. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering purchasing an air rifle for marksmanship practice or small game hunting.” – L. Stanek, Verified Amazon Reviewer
Here’s a more conventional air rifle with a nice wood stock. This can work for a variety of disciplines.
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Important Information for Gunbroker Users
The Gunbroker Mobile Apps for Android and iOS users are no longer fully functional. You can see listings but you cannot bid or buy. The reason is that “big tech” — Google and Apple — are no longer supporting the Apps. So, you can still look at auctions, but in order to bid on an item (or purchase it), you need to go to Gunbroker.com using your internet browser on your smartphone or tablet. You want to stop using Gunbroker’s mobile Apps and you should probably remove them from your mobile device.
Gunbroker Tech Support NOTICE Last Updated 4/27/2020
Mobile App Users: Bidding and Buying is no longer available in the apps.
Bid and Buy functionality for the mobile app has been disabled. All bids and purchases must be done on the responsive website. If you try to bid or buy you will see this message: “You do not have permission to use this operation.” This permission has been taken away from everyone and cannot be restored.
Due to policy changes within their companies, Apple and Google have chosen to not support our apps at this time. Unfortunately, that also means we cannot provide needed updates and fixes or new access to the app. We hope you will continue to use our site via your mobile browser, which we are making more responsive to phone users.
To better serve our users who are increasingly using mobile devices and tablets, we are working daily to make our site responsive and mobile-friendly. Our enhanced site is designed to work effectively on mobile devices including phones and tablets. We recommend you add the GunBroker.com web site to your phone’s home screen. If you require assistance in creating this shortcut, please CLICK HERE for instructions[.]
Here is the explanation of Google’s action removing the Gunbroker App from the Google Play Store:
Why Google Removed Gunbroker Android App
Gunbroker notes that: “Unfortunately, Google has removed our app from the Google Play store. They state our app violates their guidelines. Here is what they told us:”
After review, GunBroker.com, com.gunbroker.android has been suspended and removed from Google Play due to a policy violation.
Issue: Violation of Dangerous Products policy
We don’t allow apps that facilitate the sale of explosives, firearms, ammunition or certain firearms accessories. We also don’t allow apps that provide instructions for the manufacture of explosives, firearms, ammunition, restricted firearm accessories, or other weapons.
Why Apple Removed Gunbroker iOS App
Apple has modified its “Objectionable Content” policy. New Item 1.3 now specifically targets gun sales:
1.1 Objectionable Content:
Apps should not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, or in exceptionally poor taste. Examples of such content include:
1.3 Depictions that encourage illegal or reckless use of weapons and dangerous objects, or facilitate the purchase of firearms.
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Gun sales are up, way up. So far in 2020, there have been 32% more NICS gun background checks run than there were in the same time period in 2019. And April 2020 saw the fourth-highest number of monthly NICS checks in history, after March 2020 set an all-time monthly record for background checks conducted through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Check System (NICS). The FBI conducted 2,911,128 NICS background checks last month — a nearly 25% increase from the previous April.
More than 2.9 million NICs checks were run in April 2020. By the numbers, there were 984,872 checks related to the transfer of a handgun; 508,122 checks related to the transfer of a long gun; 68,746 checks related to “other” transfers; and 34,779 checks related to multiple transfers. There were also 311,568 permit checks and an additional 888,385 permit rechecks.
April continued the 2020 trend of record-setting months for the NICS office. January was (at the time) the sixth-busiest month ever. February saw even more checks than January, making it the third-busiest month ever (at the time). March 2020 reset the all-time record with more than 3.7 million checks.
NRA-ILA Comment on the Significant Rise in Gun Sales
This is not an emerging trend. December 2019 saw more than 2.9 million NICS checks and was the second-busiest December ever. Before that, each of these months in 2019 had set the record for that respective month: April, May, June, August, September, October, and November. Of course, April 2020 and May 2020 shattered those respective records.
There were more NICS checks run in 2019 than in any other year[.] The four busiest years for the NICS offices have been the last four years. So far this year, there have been 32% more NICS checks run than there were in the same time period in 2019.
To Protect Their Rights, Gun Owners Must Vote!
We respect the millions of Americans who have decided to become law-abiding gun owners in 2020, but their rights may be revoked if they do not vote this November. Protecting our rights will take every one of us. Every single American that applied for a permit and/or purchased a firearm this year must do everything they can to help us protect our rights. Volunteer. Spread the word. Get your family and friends registered to vote. Vote and make your friends and family vote, too.
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The Firearms Guide is a comprehensive guns and ammo reference guide, available online or on a flash drive. Published since 2009, this Guide offers gun prices, gun schematics, blueprints, and manuals. Guns are cross-referenced with the ammunition database. Guns and ammo are presented with prices, tech specifications, features, ballistic information and high-resolution color pictures. The Firearms Guide also includes a wide selection of printable targets.
The 11th Edition of the Firearms Guide has just been released. If you’d like to have instant access to 15,000+ gun schematics and descriptions of 77,000 types of guns and ammo from 1,300 manufacturers, then check this out. The basic annual subscription is on sale right now for just $29.95. If you only need the info for a month or two, get a monthly membership at $7.95 per month, and cancel any time.
You can also get a Flash Drive add-on that lets you access the database even without a web connection. The 1-year Online Edition PLUS Firearms Guide 11th Ed. Flash Drive for Mac & Windows is $59.95. CLICK HERE. This lets you directly access the data from laptops and most tablets with a USB port — no WiFi connection needed.
You may be familiar with the Firearms Guide when it was distributed as a DVD. Now the 11th Edition is a fully interactive, subscription-based online database of firearms and ammo, which is also the most complete guide to global gun values on the web. The amount of imagery is amazing — there are tens of thousands of photos and over 8000 schematics, which help you work on a firearm or identify key components/parts. The Firearms Guide permits detailed searches of antique and modern guns and side by side comparisons. Guns are cross-referenced with the ammunition database.
Database Includes Printable Targets: This resource even includes printable targets. You’ll find practice targets, sight-in targets, silhouette targets, special shapes and, yes, even Zombie targets.
Guns and ammo are presented with prices, specifications, features, ballistics, and up to 12 high-rez color pictures. NOTE: The Ammo information includes bullet BCs and velocities. GUN VALUES are provided for dealers and gun collectors. You can access thousands of printable and zoom-able GUN SCHEMATICS (diagrams or exploded views) with parts lists and blueprints for professional gunsmiths. Here’s an example of the schematics:
The online database’s comprehensive search capability lets you search by gun caliber, manufacturer, and key features (e.g. “.223 Rem, Colt, folding stock”). There are 14 different search criteria — allowing you to find the exact gun you want in seconds. Shown below are typical profiles of listed products:
If you are a gun collector, or just an information junkie, you’ll find the Firearms Guide to be an invaluable resource. The scope is truly worldwide, with coverage of gun makers in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South America, South Africa, and Asia as well as North America.
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Add another major National Rifle Championship to the list of shooting events cancelled in 2020. We’ve lost the CMP matches at Camp Perry, and the NRA High Power and Smallbore Championships at Camp Attebury in Indiana. Now the 2020 NRA National Silhouette Championships in Pennsylvania have been cancelled due to Pandemic concerns. Here is the official statement from the NRA:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the many ensuing federal and state safety regulations and mandates, the Ridgway Rifle Club has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 NRA National Silhouette Championships which was to be held July – August 2020 at the Ridgway Rifle Club in Ridgway, Pennsylvania.
The NRA and the Ridgway Rifle Club share your disappointment that these competitions had to be cancelled.
A decision regarding the 2021 NRA National Silhouette Championship dates and location(s) will be announced later this year. The NRA and the Ridgway Rifle Club wishes everyone good health and the best of luck. For more information please visit Competitions.nra.org.
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There is a great multi-part episode of ShootingUSA on the Outdoor Channel this week. This week’s show covers the Bianchi Cup, AR rifles from Colt and S&W, the historic Model 1903 Springfield, Smith & Wesson 10mm Model 610 Revolvers. Plus there is a bonus Pro Tip segment on how to mount and align riflescopes. If you receive the Outdoor Channel, you can see this excellent hour-long show today (5/13/2020) at 9:00 pm Eastern/Pacific, or 8:00 pm Central.
If you miss the show, or don’t get Outdoor Channel on cable, all ShootingUSA episodes are available “on demand” through Vimeo.com. You can subscribe for $3.99/mo, or watch any specific episode for a modest $0.99 fee. Under a buck for an hour’s entertainment? That’s a lot cheaper than going to the cinema.
Lead Feature: Bianchi Cup
27 years ago Doug Koening, who has won the Bianchi Cup 18 times, set the standard with a 1920 score. Since then, every Open shooter knows that he or she must “clean” this match (i.e. score a “1920”) to have a chance to take the title of “Champion”. The X-Count is the tie-breaker.
Feature: M1903 Springfield Rifle
The M1903 Springfield served in both WWI and WWII. The accuracy and quality and service life have clearly made the ’03 Springfield one of History’s Guns.
Feature: Smith & Wesson Model 610
The Smith and Wesson Model 610s are back and now chambered in 10mm. The Model 610 is a N frame, all stainless-steel construction, in a choice of barrel length – four inch, or six-and-a-half-inch.
Pro Tip — Mounting a Scope
In this episode, John Paul from JP Enterprises shows his method of Truing a Riflescope. He says: “If you’re going to be successful you need to lay down a solid foundation. One of those basic foundation blocks is making sure that your scope is true to the rifle.”
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SUMMARY: This article reviews a device that “triggers” the LabRadar chronograph to register bullet speed. Rather than activate by sound or Doppler reading, this $35 JKL Inertial Trigger works from the rifle’s instantaneous recoil pulse when a shot is fired. After some frustration with his LabRadar when shooting at a range with reflective surfaces, our tester is now reporting that 100% of his actual shots are being captured correctly by his LabRadar chrono equipped with the JKL Inertial Trigger. He won’t use his LabRadar without it now. Other users have become instant fans of this inertial LabRadar trigger as well. It is very affordable and it works great. VIEW LARGE PHOTO.
JKL Inertial Trigger for LabRadar Chronograph
Product Review by F Class John
The LabRadar chronograph has been one of the most revolutionary tools in the shooting world because of how it collects velocity data, how it reports (and stores) that data, and, ultimately, the ease with which it can be positioned and operated. However, it’s not a perfect system. A majority of the complaints come from users whose LabRadar’s sometimes fail to record all the shots fired in a string. For the average plinker, this may not be an issue. But for serious shooters trying to do ladder tests or load development requiring all shots to be reported, it can be frustrating when a shot is missed.
Traditionally, LabRadar has recommended trying different settings that compensate for the gap between the unit and muzzle as well as well as having different options for how the unit recognizes a shot fired. While these options work to some degree, they aren’t a guaranteed fix especially when shooting at ranges with concrete baffles or with roofs, walls, and dividers that can alter sound waves. While nobody can precisely explain why shots are lost under certain circumstances, the fact remains it DOES happen. In addition, the default system can sometimes pick up stray shots from nearby rifles.
Not willing to give up on this sophisticated chronograph, many shooters have looked for a foolproof way to prevent such failures from happening. In fact, for this shooter, the frustration was so high that I actually sold my first LabRadar and went back to another chronograph before ultimately buying another LabRadar almost a year later. But I made that repeat purchase only after vowing to finding a way to make the LabRadar work — EVERY time, for EVERY shot.
See How JKL Inertial Trigger Works in this Video
JKL Inertial Trigger — Outstanding Product That Works Great
Enter the JKL Trigger for the LabRadar. This is an easy-to-use, inertial-driven trigger that activates simply from the recoil of your gun. The unit consists of a small rectangular pad attached to a long audio cable. All you do is plug in the audio cable, attach the pad to your gun with the provided hook and loop (Velcro) material. Then (important), you must change the LabRadar trigger settings from “Doppler” to “Trigger”. The unit works great and is easy to set up. In my experience, the unit will activate no matter where you place it on a stock. However the recoil of every gun is slightly different, so you will need to make sure you find a location that doesn’t interfere with your shooting setup.
An unexpected benefit of using the JKL trigger is that it gives you a larger area in which to place your Labradar unit, making it more convenient to setup on benches or range stations. I found this a welcome relief since the LabRadar originally seemed somewhat fussy about where I placed it. Now I can place the LabRadar in more convenient locations — as long as it’s still near my gun and pointed at the target correctly, I get consistent bullet speed data.
Are There Issues with “False Positives”?
If there is any downside to using the JKL Inertial Trigger, it’s that a very hard bump or aggressive working of the action can trigger a false reading. However these are easy to identify in your data, because the speed value is way lower than true fired shot values. Simply remove that low entry or otherwise ignore it in your calculations. To be fair, this “bump activation” really doesn’t happen very often once you get used to using the inertial trigger.
SUMMARY — Outstanding Accessory for LabRadar Users
Bottom line — if you own a LabRadar, then definitely get a JKL Inertial Trigger. Priced at just $35.00 this device is not expensive, yet it’s one of the most effective accessories you can buy for the LabRadar. I’ve recommended these inertial triggers to dozens of shooters. Every one of those guys who did buy a JKL trigger says they can’t imagine using a LabRadar without one. If you love what the LabRadar can do, but have been frustrated with shots not getting recorded 100% of the time, then definitely get yourself a JKL Inertial Trigger. It turns a good system into an amazing system. JKL Industries states that its inertial trigger “will work on anything from a .22 LR to a suppressed system or with standard rifle and brake.”
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Ben Avery Re-Opens with Online Reservations
The Ben Avery Shooting Facility (BASF) in Arizona will soon be open for business again. However some key operational changes will affect customers. To ensure public health and safety, only online reservations will be accepted and shooters must observe social distancing rules and special range guidelines. BASF will at 7:00 am Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Reservations canbe made online now at Bookben.azgfd.com. Ammunition and safety gear can be reserved online, as well. NOTE: Reservations cannot be canceled or rescheduled.
At this time, the shooting facility is unable to accommodate walk-in customers on its rifle and pistol ranges, as well as the Clay Target Center (CTC). Any changes will be based on gradual reopening guidelines for businesses and customers, as outlined by the Governor’s Office.
“BASF’s implementation of a new online reservation system is two-fold: We want to maximize the shooting opportunities that this world-class facility has to offer, while maintaining common sense health practices,” said Mike Raum, shooting sports branch chief for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Located on 1,650 acres in north Phoenix, BASF is one of the nation’s largest publicly operated shooting facilities. A City of Phoenix “Point of Pride,” the facility has received a five-star rating from the National Association of Shooting Ranges.
Firing Line at Berger SW Nationals. Click to Zoom Image:
If you load pistol or rifle ammo with a progressive press, we strongly recommend you get a Lock-Out Die from RCBS. This unique reloading die will prevent your progressive press from advancing if the dispensed powder charge is more or less than about 0.3 grains too high or too low. The Lock-Out Die really works. Your Editor uses it on his RCBS 2000 progressive press. I can affirm that a Lock-Out Die has “saved my bacon” a half-dozen times over the years when there was an over-charge (which could cause a Kaboom) or a low charge (which could cause a squib load).
The Lock-Out Die works by using a central die detection rod that sets its vertical position based on the height of the powder column in the case. Through an ingenious design, if the powder column height is too low or too high, the rod locks in place as you start to pull the press handle. This halts the press before the ram can lift and the cartridge plate can advance. Unlike a beeping alarm system (which can be ignored or defeated), the Lock-Out Die physically stops the movement of the press ram and prevents a bullet being seated in the “problem” case.
It takes a bit of tweaking to get the Lock-Out Die detection rod setting just right, but once it is correctly positioned, the Lock-Out Die works smoothly in the background. The Lock-Out Die won’t interfere with the loading process unless it detects a high or low charge — and then it positively stops the progressive loading cycle.
While crafted for use in RCBS progressive presses, the RCBS Lock-Out Die can also be used on a Dillon XL Progressive (see video below) or Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive — though it does take up one station which could otherwise be used for a final crimp die (after the seating die). The RCBS 2000 has one more station than a Dillon 550/650, so it’s an ideal platform for using the Lock-Out Die.
Learn More at UltimateReloader.com
On the UltimateReloader.com website, run by our friend Gavin, you’ll find an excellent two-part series on the function and set-up of the RCBS Lock-Out Die. Part One explains how the Lock-Out Die functions, using cut-away illustrations. Part Two shows how to install and adjust the Lock-Out Die on various progressive presses. The video below shows setup of the RCBS Lock-Out Die on the Dillon XL-650 progressive press.
This video, produced for the folks at 
Gunbroker Tech Support NOTICE
Ben Avery Re-Opens with Online Reservations
If you load pistol or rifle ammo with a progressive press, we strongly recommend you get a Lock-Out Die from RCBS. This unique reloading die will prevent your progressive press from advancing if the dispensed powder charge is more or less than about 0.3 grains too high or too low. The Lock-Out Die really works. Your Editor uses it on his RCBS 2000 progressive press. I can affirm that a Lock-Out Die has “saved my bacon” a half-dozen times over the years when there was an over-charge (which could cause a Kaboom) or a low charge (which could cause a squib load).
