Applied Ballistics Founder Bryan Litz and Former USAMU and Team USA coach Emil Praslick III share their wisdom in an informative Guns Magazine Podcast. Along with being a true ballistics guru, Bryan Litz is an outstanding competitive shooter, having won F-TR National Championships, and both Sling and F-TR divisions at the Berger SW Nationals, along with many other matches. Emil is considered one of the world’s great wind-readers and team coaches, having coached 20+ championship teams.
Guns Magazine podcast host Brent Wheat asks Bryan and Emil about multiple topics including: exterior ballistics, bullet design, wind reading, ballistic solvers, BC myths, and more.
Brent reports: “Together, Bryan and Emil understand what happens from the time a bullet leaves the muzzle until it impacts the target, including the atmospheric affects along the way. Grab a pencil, listen in, and get ready to take notes.”
This Long Range Grad School podcast features Berger’s Chief Ballistician, Bryan Litz, and Berger’s Emil Praslick. Both have extensive long range competitive shooting experience, with championship titles (as shooter and/or coach) in a multitude of long range disciplines. CLICK arrow below to start podcast audio:
Emil Praslick (left) confers with Bryan Litz (right) at King of 2 Miles ELR Event.
In this Video Emil Praslick explains his methods for determining wind direction.
Bryan Litz coaching Team USA in Canada using a WIND PLOT.
Bryan Litz at 2011 World Long Range (Palma) Championships in Brisbane, Australia
Yes we miss the good old days… when reloading components were readily available and very affordable. Today, on Gunbroker, a single 1000-count box of primers may sell for well over $300. And some vendors are asking $90 for a single pound of powder that sold for $30 per pound just last year.
We can’t change prices for you, but we can offer a “sentimental journey” back to the “good old days” via a Flashback Thread in our Shooters’ Forum. There, Forum members have posted some items from their collections, with the original prices.
What is the best deal you can remember? How about $1 per pound forty-six years ago — member STS posted: “It was probably 1975 when I bought 100 pounds of H335 from Bruce Hodgdon for $100. It came in cardboard boxes with black trash bags inside. I shot every flake of it at prairie dogs.”
Reloder Powder from Hercules (Now Alliant) for $3.80 per Pound
CCI and Winchester Primers, $16.30 and $13.00 per Thousand
Today some CCI primers are selling for over $300 per thousand on Gunbroker. Member JayHHI6818 said: “Found these the other day in a shoe box in our bedroom closet!”. Nice find Jay!
Hodgdon H4350 for $10.87 per Pound
H4350 remains one of the most popular powders with competitive shooters. It’s ideal for many midsized cartridges, offering great accuracy and temp stability. Today it’s hard to find this powder at ANY price!
Remington 2 1/2 Primers for $1.50 per Hundred
Remington Arms folded. However Remington primers will be produced by Vista Outdoor after the collapse and bankruptcy of Remington Arms. Vista Outdoor, which owns CCI and Federal, will take over the Remington ammunition production facilities.
New American President Joseph Biden, just three weeks after taking office, called for radical, sweeping gun control measures that could dramatically harm the gun industry and strip away citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
On February 14, 2018, Biden said in a statement that his administration will “not wait for the next mass shooting” but will instead “take action” to “end our epidemic of gun violence.”
According to Guns America Digest: “Biden … wants lawmakers to criminalize private transfers, ban many semi-automatic firearms and accessories in common use, and repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects the gun industry from being held liable for the criminal misuse of firearms.”
Biden stated: “Today, I am calling on Congress to enact common-sense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets”.
President Biden is calling for legislation that would ban Modern Sporting Rifles such as the AR-15, shown here as adapted for High Power competition:
The elimination of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act could have disastrous consequences for the general shooting sports industry and firearms makers. This is because it would expose gun-makers to civil lawsuits for injuries caused by criminals using guys. As explained by the NRA-ILA:
About the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act By NRA-ILA
Joe Biden has unveiled his agenda for his first 100 days in the White House, and his list includes an initiative aimed at nothing less than the destruction of the U.S. firearms industry. This is what would happen if Biden succeeds in his pledge to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Imagine if firearm manufactures and sellers – even those who strictly followed the laws enacted to regulate their industry – faced potential civil liability every time a criminal misused a firearm. The affect would be similar to holding automobile makers and dealers responsible for injuries caused by drunk drivers. No business, no matter how conscientious and law-abiding, could ever survive being liable for the acts of millions of random people over whom it had no control.
And that is exactly why the law generally imposes no duty on a person or entity to control the acts of third persons to prevent them from causing harm (unless the person or entity has certain types of relationships with those causing the harm or being harmed).
Yet gun control activists in and outside of government hoped to rewrite that principle when it came to the makers and sellers of firearms. During the 1980s and ’90s, a coordinated series of lawsuits against the gun industry sought to hold these businesses responsible for the criminal acts third parties committed with firearms.
This egregious abuse of the legal system to destroy an industry providing constitutionally protected goods and services sparked a bipartisan response from coast to coast. Thirty-four states passed laws to block these suits in their own courts. Finally, in 2005, Congress followed these examples by enacting the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to provide a floor of protection nationwide.
Caldwell Brass Retriever
Tired of bending over or kneeling down to retrieve your fired cartridge brass? For older shooters (including this Editor) getting down on the ground to pick up brass is tough on the lower back and knees. Here’s a product that makes brass retrieval quick, easy, and pain-free. The Caldwell Brass Retriever works quite well with a little practice, once you apply the correct pressure. While it won’t always grab every fired case, it will capture nearly all, and that can really make the job go much faster. These days cartridge brass (along with other components) is getting more expensive — so you want to recover your brass after every shooting session.
One owner praises this as a “very good tool” that is “a lot easier on my back.” While it can work on grass, gravel, and hard-packed earth, the unit works best on smooth, hard surfaces. The Brass Retriever is under $40 at Amazon.
Caldwell states: “Spend less time bending over and picking up brass at the range and more time shooting. The Caldwell® Brass Retriever picks up brass, saving your back and time. Picking up spent brass is as easy as pushing a mop. The Brass Retriever can pick up rifle and pistol brass quickly and efficiently. The Brass Retriever works anywhere, even on grass and gravel. The retriever comes complete with a roll cage separator that allows you to dump the collected brass into a bucket quickly. It is collapsible as well, making it convenient to transport. The retriever’s handle expands from 28″ up to 57″ tall.”
Caldwell Brass Retriever Owner Reviews
Here are Amazon reviews from actual purchasers. The device is not perfect and can miss a case or two. However, as you can see from the video, the Brass Retriever does pick the vast majority of brass on the ground, sized .223 Rem or larger diameter. This will save time and reduces stress on your back and joints:
“This thing … does a terrific job of collecting the brass from a standing posture quickly and efficiently. It helps to have the cases on a smooth surface like concrete or dirt without a lot of vegetation. But we used it on open desert yesterday and it collected nearly every case with a single pass.” — Hans H.
“This WILL save your back. The only drawback is you can’t overload it with brass. After couple dozen pieces (or less) it will start dropping brass while you’re attempting to collect others. That’s the limitation (one of them). There is a short learning curve (15 min.) in which you’ll learn how much brass is too much and how you need to orientate the wires to pick up the brass. It doesn’t do as well on gravel or high grass as it does on a smooth, firm surface. Even with its limitations, it’s a keeper. Just empty every dozen or so pieces and it works very well.” — Jeff M.
“It’s not perfect. But neither is using a broom or picking it up by hand. Sure, a 9mm might drop out while you’re picking up a .45 ACP. But you roll back over the 9mm and pick it up again. I now pick up my brass in a fraction of the time it used to take me and I stand upright while doing it.” — Johnny C.
How is a modern, metal-chassis rifle built? This very cool video from Masterpiece Arms answers that question. The nicely-edited video shows the creation of a Masterpiece Arms tactical rifle from start to finish. All aspects of the manufacturing process are illustrated: 3D CAD modeling, CNC milling of the chassis, barrel threading/contouring, chamber-reaming, barrel lapping, laser engraving, and stock coating. If you love to see machines at work, you will enjoy this video…
You may have heard the phrase “blueprinting an action”, but do you know what that really means? Do you know what operations are done to an action during the blueprinting process? To help you understand, gunsmith Bill Marr of RifleShooter.com has created a helpful article showing a Rem 700 blueprinting job start to finish. This article spotlights how the procedures can be done with manual tools. Bill, who runs 782 Custom Gunworks Ltd., can also perform many of these operations with modern automated machinery. In fact, Bill has written a follow-up article on Truing a Rem 700 receiver with a Lathe.
Bill explains: “Blue-printing, or truing a rifle action, ensures the receiver face, threads, lugs, bolt lugs, and bolt face are square to the center line of the receiver.” In Bill’s informative article, Bill shows how he blueprints a Remington 700 short action receiver with .308 Win bolt face. He covers the following procedures step by step:
Action Disassembly
Ream Minor Diameter of Receiver Threads
Square the Receiver Lugs
Square the Face of the Receiver
Lap the Bolt Lugs
Square the Bolt Face
We use the bushings to guide the receiver tap. This chases the threads and ensures they are square.
2. Truing the Receiver Face
Using the receiver facing tool, the front of the receiver is trued. The tool is placed over the tap and turned by hand. We used Do Drill to lubricate it.
3. Lapping the Lugs
The bolt lapping tool screws into the front of the action and applies rearward pressure on the bolt face. A little bit of lapping compound is placed on the front of the receiver lugs. The bolt handle is then raised and lowered repeatedly. Note — it is critical that we do not get any lapping compound on any other surfaces.
4. Truing the Bolt Face
On this bolt, the central part of the bolt face was low. After the truing operation, this Rem 700 bolt face is now completely square to the action.
IMPORTANT: Rifleshooter.com states: “This article highlights our project and is presented for information purposes only. This provides an overview of the process and should not be attempted without the guidance and supervision of an experienced gunsmith“.
Good news folks — most states have lifted restrictions on shooting ranges. Subject to “social distancing” and safety requirements (masks etc.) many public ranges and private shooting facilities are now open for business. If the weather permits, we encourage readers to head to local ranges which are permitted to operate. Use the opportunity to get out of the house, enjoy some fresh air, and dust off those skills. To help you have fun on your range trips, here are 12 FREE printable targets.
FREE FUN Targets from NSSF
The Billiards Table Target above offers 15 brightly-colored numbered balls with the cue ball at the bottom. Aim for the numbers, shooting 1-15 in sequence, or alternate between stripes and solids. You can also draw an “X” on the white cue ball (or attach a paster), and use that to set your zero. This target is fun for shooting outdoors with rifles at 50 or 100 yards or indoors with pistols. This billiards target is part of a set of 12 Fun Targets from the NSSF. These were issued a couple seasons back for National Shooting Sports Month, held in August of each year.
FREE NSSF Fun Targets — Dartboard, Golf, Billiards, Bowling, Baseball and More…
HERE are a dozen FREE Targets. Along with Bullseye targets, there are some very cool specialty targets here, including a Golf Course Target, Baseball Diamond Target, Billiards Target, Light Bulb Target, Bowling Pin Target, and even a Windmill Target. Enjoy the myriad possibilities with these 12 fun targets.
Colt Manufacturing LLC, the legendary American gun-maker, is being sold to CZ, the Czech firearms manufacturer. Česká zbrojovka Group SE (“CZG”) has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding equity in Colt Holding Company LLC (“Colt”), the parent of U.S. firearms manufacturer Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC as well as its Canadian subsidiary, Colt Canada Corporation.
CZG will acquire a 100% stake in Colt for $220 million in cash plus 1,098,620 shares of newly-issued CZG common stock. The deal will close in Q2 2021. After the merger, the combined group will become a global gun-making powerhouse with revenues in excess of $600 million USD.
CZG President/Chairman Lubomír Kovařík stated: “This merger is a strategic step for both companies. The acquisition of Colt, an iconic brand and a benchmark for the military, law enforcement and commercial markets globally, fits perfectly in our strategy to become the leader in the firearms manufacturing industry and a key partner for the armed forces. We are proud to include Colt, which has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. Army for over 175 years, in our portfolio. We believe in the successful connection of our corporate cultures, the proven track record of the current management team and the complementary nature of the CZ and Colt brands.”
Dennis Veilleux, President/CEO of Colt, agreed: Having completed a historic turn-around of the operations and financial performance at Colt over the past five years, this important next step with CZG positions the company to take advantage of significant growth opportunities. We are excited to join forces with CZG which will be a powerful combination for both brands and for our customers.”
With this strategic move, CZG will acquire significant production capacity in the United States and Canada and substantially expand its global customer base. Colt is a traditional supplier to global military and law enforcement customers. Colt is a long-term supplier to the U.S. Army and, through its Canadian subsidiary, Colt is a designated exclusive supplier of AR-type small arms to the Canadian military.
About Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC
Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC (formerly Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt. It is the successor corporation to Samuel Colt’s earlier firearms-making efforts started in 1836. For over 175 years, Colt Mfg. has supplied civilian, military and law enforcement customers in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Colt is a supplier to the U.S. military, a primary supplier to the Canadian military* and it also supplies its products to other armed forces around the world. Colt firearms enjoy a reputation throughout the world for accuracy and quality. Colt pistols are carried by military and law enforcement personnel in numerous countries, and Colt handguns are popular with private gunowners throughout the world. In 2020 Colt released a new version of its vaunted .357 Magnum Python Revolver.
About CZG – Česká zbrojovka Group SE
Česká zbrojovka Group SE (CZG), together with its subsidiaries, is one of the leading European producers of firearms for military and law enforcement, personal defense, hunting, sport shooting and other civilian use. CZG markets and sells its products mainly under the CZ (Česká zbrojovka), CZ-USA, Dan Wesson, Brno Rifles and 4M Systems brands. CZG’s subsidiaries include Česká zbrojovka, CZ-USA, 4M Systems and CZ Export Praha. CZG owns a minority stake in Spuhr i Dalby, a Swedish manufacturer of optical mounting solutions for weapons.
Headquartered in the Czech Republic, CZG has production facilities in the Czech Republic and in the USA. CZG employs around 1,650 people in the Czech Republic, the USA and Germany.
*Colt Canada is an exclusive supplier of primary issue rifles for the Canadian military. Cadex and PGW Defense supply some bolt-action and sniper-type rifles.
To err is human… Sooner or later you’ll probably get a case stuck in a die. This “fix-it” article, which originally appeared in the Western Powders Blog, explains how to remove a firmly stuck cartridge case using an RCBS kit. This isn’t rocket science, but you do want to follow the directions carefully, step-by-step. Visit the Western Powders Blog for other helpful Tech Tips.
Curing the Stuck Case Blues
Sticking a case in the sizer die is a rite of passage for the beginning handloader. If you haven’t done it yet, that’s great, but it probably will eventually happen. When it does, fixing the problem requires a bit of ingenuity or a nice little kit like the one we got from RCBS.
The first step is to clear the de-capping pin from the flash hole. Just unscrew the de-capping assembly to move it as far as possible from the primer pocket and flash hole (photo at right). Don’t try to pull it all the way out. It won’t come. Just unscrew it and open as much space as possible inside the case.
Place the die upside down in the padded jaws of a vise and clamp it firmly into place. Using the supplied #7 bit, drill through the primer pocket. Be careful not to go too deeply inside the cartridge once the hole has opened up. It is important to be aware that the de-capping pin and expander ball are still in there and can be damaged by the bit.
Drill and Tap the Stuck Case
Once the cartridge head has been drilled, a ¼ – 20 is tap is used to cut threads into the pocket. Brass is relatively soft compared to a hardened tap, so no lube is needed for the tapping process. RCBS says that a drill can be used for this step, but it seems like a bit of overkill in a project of this nature. A wrench (photo above right) makes short work of the project.
RCBS supplies a part they call the “Stuck Case Remover Body” for the next step. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and have the bit and tap, this piece is easily replicated by a length of electrical conduit of the proper diameter and some washers. In either case, this tool provides a standoff for the screw that will do the actual pulling.
With an Allen Wrench, Finish the Job
Run the screw through the standoff and into the tapped case head. With a wrench, tighten the screw which hopefully pulls the case free. Once the case is free, clamp the case in a vice and pull it free of the de-capping pin. There is tension here because the sizing ball is oversized to the neck dimension as part of the sizing process. It doesn’t take much force, but be aware there is still this last little hurdle to clear before you get back to loading. Don’t feel bad, everyone does this. Just use more lube next time!
Article find by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
We’ve found Brownells Discount Codes that can still save you up to 10% on your purchases. These Discount Codes will qualify you for significant savings on guns, ammo, parts, and reloading components at Brownells. Use these Codes during check-out and the savings will reduce your net cost. Get $40 off on a $450 purchase, $20 off $250, or $15 off $150 (10% savings). NOTE: Some of these discount codes expire at the end of February 2021, while others may expire at any time, so don’t hesitate. If one Code doesn’t work, try another.
Coupon Code: MZB — $40 off $450
Expiration date: February 28, 2021
Coupon Code: MZA — $20 off $250
Expiration date: February 28, 2021
Coupon Code: TAG — $15 OFF $150
Expiration date: Unknown expiration
Sticking a case in the sizer die is a rite of passage for the beginning handloader. If you haven’t done it yet, that’s great, but it probably will eventually happen. When it does, fixing the problem requires a bit of ingenuity or a nice little kit like the one we got from RCBS.
