11 « August « 2023 « Daily Bulletin

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August 11th, 2023

Vista Outdoor Sporting Products Will Become The Kinetic Group

The ammunition and reloading component producing divisions of Vista Outdoor will become a new separate company under the name “The Kenetic Group” with NYSE ticker symbol “HUNT”. The Kinetic Group enterprise will make and sell CCI, Federal, Remington (ammunition), Speer, and Hevi-Shot products. The establishment of The Kinetic Group will follow the planned spin-off of Vista Outdoor’s Outdoor Products operations. The Kinetic Group will continue Vista Outdoor’s Sporting Products sales and manufacturing.

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO), the parent company of 41 brands that design, manufacture and market sporting and outdoor lifestyle products worldwide, has announced its new name and identity that will be effective following the planned spinoff of Vista Outdoor’s Outdoor Products business.

“The Kinetic Group will be our name moving forward after the separation…” stated Sporting Products President and CEO Jason Vanderbrink. “To hunters and shooters, their favorite brand of ammunition will take center stage as it always has — they’ll look for CCI, Federal, HEVI-Shot, Remington, and Speer on the shelf, at events and online.”

Vista Outdoor will become The Kinetic Group, a name that represents the energy behind the company and its leading ammunition brands. The Kinetic Group will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSO) under the stock ticker “HUNT”, and the brand will feature a North American ram logo. Sporting Products leaders unveiled The Kinetic Group’s branding this week at the CCI-Speer ammunition factory in Lewiston, Idaho.

“The performance of our products is so often measured in energy on target. Kinetic energy is the force behind our world-class brands and exhibits the spirit of the 4,500 American workers who represent our company,” said Vanderbrink, who will be a director on The Kinetic Group’s board of directors post-spin. Joining Vanderbrink on The Kinetic Group’s leadership team are Andy Keegan (CFO) and Jeff Ehrich (General Counsel and Corporate Secretary). Gary McArthur will continue as interim CEO of Vista Outdoor until the completion of the spinoff.

On the new TheKineticGroup.com website, the company explained its company mission:

“Energy is what propels us and inspires us. It defines our products, drives our purpose, and champions our freedoms. Our brands and products give us the ability to unlock freedom, harvest game, protect us, and unite us. Our thirst and our passion to capture and build upon this energy is never extinguished. We are America’s ammunition. We are The Kinetic Group.”

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August 11th, 2023

How Primers Are Made — Start to Finish at Federal Factory

Federal Primer Priming Tool Magnum primers foil anvil primer construction reloading powder CCI

Do you know how gun primers are made — how the explosive elements are applied into those tiny cups? Find out by watching this video filmed at a Federal ammunition factory. It starts out with empty primer cups loaded, 1000 at a time, into trays using vibration (0:05 time-mark). While much of the process is automated, there is still a significant role played by production workers who apply a green, paste-like charging compound to the inside of hundreds of primer cups.

At the 0:17-second time-mark you can see the factory worker “charging” the primers with the priming compound. After the cups are filled, then the plate of cups “mates up with a plate of anvils” (0:40 time-mark). Then the primers are unloaded from trays and inspected.

Federal Primer Priming Tool Magnum primers foil anvil primer construction reloading powder CCI

Primer “Mysteries and Misconceptions” Article

There is an excellent article about primers on the Shooting Times website. This authoritative Shooting Times article explains the fine points of primer design and construction. The author reveals some little-known facts about primers and corrects common misconceptions. Here are some highlights:

Size Matters
Useful Trivia — even though Small Rifle and Small Pistol primer pockets share the same depth specification, Large Rifle and Large Pistol primers do not. The standard pocket for a Large Pistol primer is somewhat shallower than its Large Rifle counterpart, specifically, 0.008 to 0.009 inch less.

Magnum Primers
There are two ways to make a Magnum primer — either use more of the standard chemical mix to provide a longer-burning flame or change the mix to one with more aggressive burn characteristics. Prior to 1989, CCI used the first option in Magnum Rifle primers. After that, we switched to a mix optimized for spherical propellants that produced a 24% increase in flame temperature and a 16% boost in gas volume.

Foiled Again
Most component primers have a little disk of paper between the anvil and the priming mix. It is called “foil paper” not because it’s made of foil but because it replaces the true metal foil used to seal early percussion caps. The reason this little disk exists is strictly a manufacturing convenience. Wet primer pellets are smaller than the inside diameter of the cup when inserted and must be compacted to achieve their proper diameter and height. Without the foil paper, the wet mix would stick to the compaction pins and jam up the assembly process.

Read Full Primer Story on ShootingTimes.com

Video find by Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.

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August 11th, 2023

Leica $50-$200 Discounts on Rangemaster Laser Rangefinders

Leica Sport Optics has a limited-time promotion on its excellent Rangemaster CRF laser rangefinders (LRFs). From August 15 to September 30, 2023 you can save $50.00 to $200.00 on three high-qualtiy Leica Rangemaster models:

Rangemaster CRF 2400-R: MSRP $599, promo price $549 — save $50

Rangemaster CRF 2800.COM: MSRP $799, promo price $699 — save $100

Rangemaster CRF 3500.COM: MSRP $1,299, promo price $1099 — save $200

PROMO DATES: These $50 – $200 instant savings go into effect on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 and run through September 30, 2023.

Leica Rangemaster models perform very well, and have a compact design, and handy control features. These models all feature very good glass plus 7X magnification for easy spotting of targets and hunting prey down-range. The higher-end Rangemaster .COM models boost Bluetooth® connectivity. This allows storage, transmission, and management of ballistics data via the Leica Ballistics App.

If you’re in the market for a laser rangefinder — perhaps to use while hunting this fall, you can take advantage of this Leica Rangemaster promo from August 15 through September 30, 2023. Get these limited-time offers by visiting a participating Leica Sport Optics dealer or Leica online optics vendor. We recommend EuroOptic.com, Brownells, and Sportsman’s Warehouse.