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January 29th, 2008
The USA Shooting Safety Coalition has completed a “Basics of Firearm Safety” video that showcases the safety practices of elite Olympic shooters. The video includes USA Shooting athletes and leading industry professionals and “is intended to be part of a comprehensive program for use by instructors while raising the awareness of shooting sports as a competitive, fun, family-oriented, life-long activity,” notes Buddy DuVall, USA Shooting Marketing Director.
CLICK HERE for SAFETY VIDEO
The professionally-produced video features a variety of disciplines from Olympic free pistol to skeet shooting, and includes some nice action footage. Even if you’re a seasoned shooter, the video can teach you a few things. USA Shooting is the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports. Other Safety Coalition members are the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National 4-H Shooting Sports and the International Hunter Education Association. To learn more about USA Olympic Shooting, visit www.USAShooting.org.
January 28th, 2008
In recent years, spray-on finishes have become a popular alternative to traditional blueing for chrome-moly barrels and receivers, plus other gun parts. Spray-on finishes provide excellent rust-proofing, some degree of abrasion resistance, and many of the finishes also provide increased lubricity for moving parts. (Be aware, however, that these finishes go on thin, and the finish can wear through on high-abrasion areas, such as slide rails on pistols.)
Matte spray-on products work well for hunters looking for a dull, non-glossy finish that blends into the background. A bake-on polymer-type finish is a very good choice for a shotgun or rifle used in the winter or in damp environments (such as duck blinds).
Brownells has created a Six-part series of videos that explain, step by step, how to apply a spray-on finish to gun parts. In Parts I & II, Brownells gunsmith Dave Bennetts explains the basics of spray-on finishes, then shows how to properly prep metal parts for finishing.
In the next four videos, Bennetts provides specific application instructions for four different spray-on gun finish products. Bennetts explains the strengths and weaknesses of each product for particular firearm types. Click the links below to watch the specific product videos:
Spray-on Finish – Chapter 3 – Baking Lacquer
Spray-on Finish – Chapter 4 – Gun-Kote
Spray-on Finish – Chapter 5 – Teflon-Moly
Spray-on Finish – Chapter 6 – Aluma-Hyde II
Of the four featured products, Gun-Kote, sold by Brownells under license from KG Industries, offers superior corrosion resistance, and is probably the most popular of the four products for use on rifles. Gun-Kote was originally developed for the military and was first used by Navy SEALS. Gun-Kote is an “oven-cure” finish applied to pre-heated metal. Though it goes on thin, Gun Kote cures to a hard coating that resists abrasion and won’t wear through as easily as bluing or chemically blackened surface treatments. Brownells Gun-Kote is offered in a wide variety of colors, shown below.
January 27th, 2008
Last month we featured a new shooting platform from Alamo Four-Star in Texas. Alamo’s DCLW (for “Deros Compact Light Weight”) system featured an innovative, gimballed rifle cradle mounted to a special tripod. This cradle was attached with rocker arms to a rotary head, allowing the rifle to traverse 360 degrees and move up and down up to 75 degrees from horizontal. (READ Dec. 22 DCLW Report).
Equipped with its own dedicated ultralight tripod, the original DCLW system weighs just 4.1 pounds and can be used in all shooting positions: prone, sitting, kneeling and standing. The DCLW was built ultra-light because that’s what the military requested for its troops.
Today we feature a version of the DCLW designed to mount to commercial tripods. Called the “DCLW Head”, this unit can be mounted to virtually any tripod that has a quick-release or screw-on optic mount. The makers of the DCLW Head even offer a machined mounting piece that fits directly into Manfrotto-style tripod quick-attachment mounts. Below you can see the DCLW Head fitted to a photo tripod.
CLICK HERE for FLASH VIDEO showing DCLW Head.
 One of the best features of the DCLW gun support system is that it allows a spotting scope or laser rangefinder to be mounted close to the bore axis, inline with the barrel. So, when you elevate or traverse the rifle your scope or LRF moves right with it–following the movement of your muzzle. Put your crosshairs on a new target and your spotting scope or rangefinder will be centered on the target as well. That’s a great feature for varminters–or anyone shooting targets at unknown distances.
Shown below is the DCLW Head mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. You can also see that a spotting scope is clamped on a Picatinny Rail just to the left of the rifle, in line with the barrel.
CLICK HERE for FLASH VIDEO showing DCLW Head.
CLICK HERE for SECOND VIDEO showing DCLW with original lightweight tripod.
January 21st, 2008
Here’s a remarkable video clip demonstrating state-of-the art CNC production of precision gun parts. In the video, created by STAMA America, an HK pistol gun breech is crafted from bar stock through a totally automated drilling/milling procedure. The breech is made by STAMA’s Model MC 726 MT, a unique five-axis, CNC milling/turning center. The five-axis machine is designed for continuous production of complex parts from bar stock and multiple different parts, including weapon components.
The process shown in the 5-minute video actually takes 50 minutes to craft the breech, starting with a 60mm diameter section of 42 CrMo 4 steel. Amazingly, the 5-axis machine employs 25 separate tools in the operation!
STAMA states that its milling/turning machines “can produce even short runs of complex weapon parts in one operation with superior quality, finish and cost efficiencies. Typically, Model MC 726 MT can result in up to 70% reductions in part processing time, according to current customers.”
CLICK HERE to PLAY 5-minute YouTube VIDEO
January 19th, 2008
Blaser, maker of the innovative R93 straight-pull rifles, has created a new DVD, “Hunting in Motion — Shooting at Moving Game”, that will interest all game hunters. It provides helpful hints on aiming (showing how to “lead” your prey), with strategies for various species, including deer and wild boar. There’s good close-up footage showing the fast Blaser bolt in action on Driven Hunts. The DVD also includes important safety tips. In the sample video, Blaser demonstrates the hazards of ricochets and shows what happens to your bullet if it strikes a branch or obstruction between muzzle and target.
CLICK HERE (or on image) to watch INTRO VIDEO.
The DVD is available from select Blaser dealers, or contact:
Blaser USA
220-G Log Canoe Circle
Stevensville, MD 21666
Phone: (410) 604-1495
Email: info (at) blaser-usa.com
We noted one serious flaw in the Blaser Video. Many of the shooters in the video are not wearing eye protection. Big mistake. Shooters should ALWAYS use safety glasses, even when hunting.
January 15th, 2008
Gunsmith Gordy Gritters and Grizzly Industrial have joined forces to produce an excellent DVD on chambering and fitting match barrels. In our Jan. 5 Bulletin, we ran a segment showing Gordy completing the headspacing of the barrel. That video was a bit hit with our readers. Today we offer another segment from the Grizzly DVD. In this clip, you’ll see Gordy dialing in the barrel using a Grizzly G0509G 3-Phase Gunsmith Lathe. Once Gordy finishes that process he’s ready to align the threaded shoulder and pre-drill the chamber.
CLICK HERE to PLAY VIDEO
(8 megabyte file — Quicktime Plug-in Required)
Click HERE for YouTube FLASH Version (Faster Download)
 On the full DVD, available from Grizzly for $59.95, you can see Gordy do the complete job of chambering a barrel from start to finish, including fitting the barrel to a custom action. Gordy gives step by step instructions for all important operations: 1. Dialing in the barrel; 2. Threading the barrel; 3. Aligning the threaded shoulder; 4. Predrilling/preboring the chamber; 5. Reaming the chamber; 6. Checking and setting headspace; 7. Crowning the muzzle; and, 8. Stamping and polishing the barrel
CLICK HERE for more photos from the DVD. The full DVD can be ordered from Grizzly’s Web Site.
January 10th, 2008
Half of American households have one or more firearms. While anti-gun media attempt to portray firearms owners as a fringe group, in reality, gun owners come from all segments of America society–rich and poor, black and white, Republican and Democrat, urban and rural.
Writer/photographer Kyle Kassidy has undertaken an interesting project entitled “Armed America — Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes”. To our surprise, this was a relatively neutral report that allows gun owners to explain, in their own words, why they own firearms. The reporter takes a “back seat” in this study, allowing gun owners to tell their own stories. Below is a 10-minute video combining audio interviews with still images of firearms owners. It’s worth watching, and worth recommending to your “liberal” friends who may hold negative stereotypes of firearms owners and target shooters.
CLICK SCREENSHOT to Load YouTube VIDEO
January 5th, 2008
Gordy Gritters is a highly-respected benchrest gunsmith who has built many match-winning and record-setting rifles. Gordy has teamed up with Grizzly Industrial to produce a high-quality gunsmithing video on DVD. In the video, Gordy shows how to chamber and headspace a match barrel using a Grizzly G0509G 3-Phase Gunsmith Lathe. Below is a segment from the DVD showing Gordy fine-tuning the headspace as he fits a BAT Machine ‘MB’ action to the barrel. Working with precise indicators, you can see Gordy set the headspace to within a few ten-thousandths of an inch.
CLICK HERE to PLAY VIDEO
(6 megabyte file — Quicktime Plug-in Required)
Click HERE for YouTube FLASH Version (Faster Download)
On the full DVD, available from Grizzly for $59.95, you can see Gordy do the complete job of chambering a barrel from start to finish, including fitting the barrel to a custom action. Gordy gives step by step instructions for all the following operations:
1. Dialing in the barrel
2. Threading the barrel
3. Aligning the threaded shoulder
4. Predrilling/preboring the chamber
5. Reaming the chamber
6. Checking and setting headspace
7. Crowning the muzzle
8. Stamping and polishing the barrel
CLICK HERE for more photos from the DVD. The full DVD can be ordered from Grizzly’s Web Site.
January 3rd, 2008
 We live in a digital, electronic era. The very story you’re reading right now consists of digital data packets transmitted electronically around the globe. Because of cost factors, 99+% of shooting matches in the USA still rely on old-fashioned manual scoring methods. However, target scoring can be done faster and more precisely with electronic scoring systems. Olympic and international CISM shooting competitions now employ electronic target systems. And electronic scoring is widely used in Europe already.
Below is a video showing an electronic scoring system developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Mikroelektronikk AS. Watch as a prone shooter puts five rounds on a 300m target. You can see the group form on the video screen at his shooting station. He’s a good shooter (with an accurate rifle). The first three shots are touching.
As you can see from the video, viewing shots on the monitor is easier than using a spotting scope and waiting for targets to be marked. The electronic target eliminates the need for a crew of target pullers in the pits. Click on the image to go to our VIDEO VAULT page. The electronic scoring video is the first item in the menu.
The Kongsberg system, like the electronic systems produced by Sius Ascor of Switzerland, do more than just display shot locations to the shooter. The target units automatically calculate scores, which are transmitted to a central computer. This can provide updated competitor rankings, and can even display the results to event spectators on large view screens.
CLICK HERE for a longer streaming Flash VIDEO showing how electronic target systems work.
December 13th, 2007
From an upcoming documentary, here’s a nice clip about young women who are involved in the shooting sports. We think this is the kind of positive story that needs to be told by organizations such as the NRA. A variety of teen female shooters are interviewed, including a World Champion Skeet Shooter. Many of the girls mentioned that shooting gave them “a chance to spend fun time with [their] dad.” Others noted that shooting gave them a chance to train and compete with adults, and that was very fulfilling.
CLICK HERE to WATCH VIDEO
The video reveals that, “since 2004, the number of elementary and high school girls competing in shooting sports has increased by 178%.” If you enjoyed this trailer and want to learn more about the feature documentary, “A Girl and a Gun” by Cathryne Czubek, visit AGirlandaGunfilm.com. Producer/Director Czubek notes: “Women and guns have been inexplicably linked throughout American history, but a recent spurt in female gun-ownership begs a closer examination into what’s driving this trend.”
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