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July 24th, 2007
In this video by Dan Lilja, you can see the difference between a factory barrel and a hand-lapped custom barrel with your own eyes. The borescope reveals the tooling marks, rough surface, and flaws in the lands that are not uncommon in a factory barrel. Conversely, the custom barrel (shown in the image below), shows sharp lands, a smooth surface (without excess machining marks), and rifling without scratches or cuts. If you haven’t watched this video before, you may be amazed.
You can learn more about borescopes by reading the Hawkeye Borescope Review by top UK shooter Vince Bottomley. Vince put a Hawkeye unit through its paces and concludes that it is an invaluable tool for diagnosing barrel problems and monitoring barrel wear. Vince writes: “With a borescope, you can tell immediately if your cleaning regime is effective, or inspect for throat-erosion and the general condition of the rifling. In addition, I have found that it is very useful for inspecting newly-cut chambers–making sure they are free from scoring and other machining defects and you can even have a good look at the muzzle-crown from the inside–one of the most important parts of any barrel. Tiny burrs can often be present on newly-cut crowns and even the most minute damage to a crown (often caused by careless cleaning) can play havoc with accuracy. For the professional gunsmith, you could say that a borescope is the equivalent of a doctor’s stethoscope.”
July 19th, 2007
On July 5-8, the 101-year-old Los Angeles Rifle & Revolver Club hosted the All-American Smallbore Championship. Many of the top rimfire shooters in the western USA attended the match. The overall match winner was German Salazar. Below is a one-minute video showing German shooting the 100-yard “any sights” stage. If you watch carefully you’ll see how steady German holds his rifle and how quickly/smoothly he cycles his bolt. You’ll see just a small lift of the muzzle as German pulls the trigger. German’s rifle features an Anschutz 2013 action in a fiberglass Master Class stock with an older Leupold 24X Target scope. It has a phenomenal 1.5 ounce Kenyon trigger–as smooth and crisp a trigger as we have ever sampled. Click HERE for large photo.
Other winners, by category, included:
First Master–Sam Thoman
First Expert–Mike Tuck
Top Woman–Dara Zachary
First SharpShooter–Amanda McMullin
(Amanda also posted the high score among Juniors)
First Marksman–Jennifer Smith
Highest Junior (After Amanda)–Shannon Draeker
The LARR ran a very efficient, professional match. Many legendary small-bore and position shooters were present as observers at the match, including former Olympian and world record 300m shooter David Kimes. Click HERE for Complete Match Results. You’ll also find a discussion of the match on ShootersJournal.com.
July 17th, 2007
Ever wondered what it was like to pilot a 60+ pound Heavy Gun in top-level competition? Want to see how fast a shooter can rip off 10 shots downrange? Check out this video of John Buhay shooting his 6 Dasher Heavy Gun at the Williamsport World Open on Sunday, July 15. John launches 10 shots in 26 seconds start to finish, even with multiple point of aim adjustments. John’s rifle employs a trued Remington Action in a Delrin and aluminum stock crafted by Buhay himself. If you cringe seeing John launch brass over his shoulder–he has a towel that catches his empties. Click the image below to download the 4.8 megabyte video. If you have the Media Plug-in, the video should launch when you double-click.
© 2007 AccurateShooter.com, All Rights Reserved
Video by Jason Baney
July 7th, 2007
AccurateShooter.com reader Birgir Saemundsson from Iceland has created some very nice Benchrest videos, which can be viewed on Google Video. Produced in association with Icelandic Television, the short videos show the whole process of shooting–in an outdoor environment that can only be described as “wild and natural”. Birgir had cameras placed close to the target, so you can actually see a 5-shot group form up, shot by shot. If you’ve never shot sub-quarter MOA before, watch these videos and see how it’s done.
Video 1 (6 min. Intro to Benchrest)
Video 2 (2 min. Shooting and Interview)
Below is an animation we’ve composed from frames in the videos showing H.S. Myndatökur shooting a 6PPC at 100m. Nice shooting, young lady!
And here is Birgir Saemundsson shooting his Heavy Gun. Note the muzzle flash:
July 1st, 2007
 Germany’s Werner Mehl is the talented engineer who created the PVM-21 infrared chronograph, in many respects the most sophisticated ballistic speed-measuring system currently available to the general public. Werner runs a company, Kurzzeitmesstechnik, which specializes in high-tech ballistic measuring systems and ultra-high-speed photography. Werner has engineered camera and lighting systems that can literally track a bullet in flight, millimeter by millimeter, with eye-popping resolution. Werner employs digital cameras that record up to 1 million frames per second, with effective shutter speeds as fast as 1.5 nano-seconds. The videos produced by Werner’s systems are amazing. Below are two short samples. The first shows a 7mm bullet penetrating cardboard. Note you can clearly see the engraving of the rifling on the bullet. CLICK HERE to watch VIDEO. (Right click and “save as” to download video.)
The second sample shows a lead 22LR bullet hitting a steel silhouette and disintegrating. Below is a low-frame-count version (for quicker page-load). But CLICK HERE to watch the full 1.9 megabyte version with a higher frame rate. It is much more impressive, as it reveals the complete bullet disintegration in great detail.
To view more videos and learn more about the impressive PVM-21 chronograph, visit Kurzzeit.com. More of Werner’s high-speed gun videos can be accessed via this LINK. In the USA, Werner’s PVM-21 chonograph, which works even in complete darkness, is sold by Neconos.com. The PVM-21 offers a unique combination of compact size and superior performance. It even comes with a TV-style remote control and a complete software package allowing you to track PVM-21 chrono data with a personal computer.
June 30th, 2007
If you have ever done much action pistol shooting at close range on steel targets, you’ll know about the hazards of ricochets and bullet splashback. That’s why you should only shoot low-velocity rounds with soft lead or frangible bullets when shooting at relatively close range. In this video a rather ignorant (yet lucky) fellow demonstrates what NOT to do with a large-caliber rifle (a 50 BMG apparently). He shoots at a steel target about 70 yards away and a bullet fragment comes back directly at him. He was lucky enough that the ricochet just smacked his left ear muff. Another inch to the right and he could have lost his eye… or worse.
Click HERE to WATCH Video (LiveLeak)
The video should be self-starting if you have the Flash plug-in.
Lesson learned–never underestimate the destructive power of rifle-launched projectiles. What appears a “safe distance” from steel may actually be well within the danger zone.
June 6th, 2007
Zak Smith isn’t the only kid on the block with a new 6.5×47 Lapua tactical rifle. Our 1K editor, Jason Baney, has built his own 6.5×47 tactical rig. It has a trued Rem 700 action, Krieger 8.5 twist 25″ barrel, AI CS detachable box magazine (DBM), Badger bottom metal, and a custom U.S. Optics 3.8-22×44 SN3 scope with a EREK elevation turret, MDMOA reticle, and left-handed windage knob. Even with limited load-testing time, Jason quickly found a tack-driving 2960 fps load with Lapua Scenar 123s and Reloader 15.
With that load, Jason recently competed in the Allegheny Sniper Challenge (ASC). Jason placed first in his squad, out-scoring some past and present military snipers. Jason said the load and gun performed flawlessly: “If I could hold it… the gun could hit it. No magazine issues whatsoever. This round is good to go in a mag-feeder.”
Click the above photo to see a VIDEO showing Jason hitting multiple metal targets in a timed, rapid-fire sequence at ASC. Note how much JB has to swing the rifle around and adjust for angle and elevation changes. In this stage, Jason had to engage seven targets from 200 to 600 yards, starting at 350, then moving out to 600 and back to 200. Jason says: “There was a 20 mph full-value crosswind running and we weren’t allowed to touch the scope. That’s a serious hold-off.” Jason was one of the few ASC shooters to “clean” this stage, hitting all targets. Running a tac gun in ASC is a far cry from shooting free recoil from the bench–something which Jason does pretty darn well too. But Jason says: “BR, Tactical, Varminting–They’re all about accuracy and they’re all fun.”
In the weeks ahead, when he’s not involved in Williamsport 1000-yard BR matches, Jason will be working up loads for this rifle, and a new 6mm/6.5mmx47 switch-barrel project gun AccurateShooter.com is developing. His next experiment is to try H4350 with the Berger 130s in the 6.5×47 Lapua. Reloader 15 shot bugholes with the 130s, but Jason felt that ambient temps affected his velocities too much.
Here’s a “glamour shot” of Jason’s 6.5×47 rifle in McMillan A5 stock, smithed by GA Precision. Click for BIG PHOTO.
May 9th, 2007
ShootingUSA, the leading shooting sports TV show, will feature a 6-part training series on precision rifle shooting. The Precision Rifle “Pro Tips” series will offer six lessons, delivered in six episodes (one per broadcast). Part One, dedicated to Rifle Fit, debuts tonight, May 9th, on the Outdoor Channel (9pm Eastern time, 6pm Pacific time).
Future episodes will include: Scope Settings, Shooting Positions, Practice Drills, Wind and Mil Dots, and Shooting Moving Targets. The on-camera host for this series is Bill Davison, Master Rifle Instructor for the respected TAC PRO Shooting Center. Bill says his mission is “…in getting you to a point where you can use your weaponry to it’s full advantage, whether it be to shoot prairie dogs, hunt mountain goats, compete in rifle competition, or to serve in Iraq..” Highlights for all 6 Lessons (with text and photos) are available right now on the ShootingUSA.com website. Click this LINK, scroll to the bottom of the page, and hit the “GO” buttons to view text and photos for all six lessons.
Bill Davison:
April 27th, 2007
Californian Joe Friedrich recently shot a perfect 2500 score on the ARA rimfire target. We are working on a feature story about Joe, who is the ARA 2006 Aggregate Overall Champion. If you’ve never seen how a tuned, 17-lb “full-race” custom 22LR rifle performs on a one-piece rest, check out this Shooting Video. (Right click and “save as” to download, or left click if you have the Windows Media Player plug-in.) Note that the gun only recoils about half an inch. You may have to watch very carefully to see the gun move at all. If you look at the back of the action, however, you can see the rear of the bolt snap forward as Joe pulls the trigger, set at about two ounces. When conditions are good, and the barrel is warmed up, Joe can shoot one-ragged-hole 5-shot groups with this gun at 50 yards. Joe uses red box Eley EPS Ultimate ammo in his Bill Myers-built rifle. The rest is a Miller Uni-Rest with a Fudd sand-bag top.
April 23rd, 2007
 The Bullet Test Tube (BTT), an innovative product from Ballistic Technology, allows hunters to test the terminal performance of hunting bullets. This $69.95 unit contains a re-usable wax-like compound that simulates how a bullet penetrates and expands when shot into a game animal. With the BTT, you can measure the wound channel volume (with water), then split the medium in half to measure the wound channel’s length and width. To re-use the BTT, simply melt the core material in a crock-pot or large pan and pour it into a new cardboard tube. Click the screenshot below to watch a QuickTime Video that demonstrates the whole process.
To learn more about the Bullet Test Tube, read this Product FAQ or this Test Tube Review from Handloader Magazine. The Bullet Test Tube has earned the NRA Publications 2007 Golden Bullseye Award and Field & Stream’s 2006 “Best of the Best” Accessories Award.
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