The NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) has announced that firearm and ammunition manufacturers topped $16.1 billion in excise tax contributions to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund since its inception in 1937. When adjusted for inflation, the total is more than $25 billion. The latest Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET) Collection report released by the Department of the Treasury, covering the 4th Quarter Calendar Year 2022, indicates that firearm and ammunition manufacturers contributed more than $235 million, the third-highest fourth calendar-quarter in history.
The notable $16.1 billion in overall Firearm and Ammunition Excise Tax contributions represents more than $1 billion contributed to conservation since crossing the $15 billion threshold just 12 months ago.
These 10-11% excise tax dollars collected since 1937 under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act are specifically designated to be used by state wildlife agencies for conservation and related purposes. Collectively, purchasers of firearms and ammunition, hunters, and the firearms industry represent the greatest source of wildlife conservation funding.
NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi stated: “The firearm and ammunition industry understands [that] wildlife and the habitats in which they thrive are invaluable. They are critical to future generations taking part in hunting and the recreational shooting sports traditions and learning about their vital importance. The Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, funded significantly by taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers, is responsible for the restoration and recovery of America’s iconic game species across the country, including the Rocky Mountain elk, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, wild turkey and a variety of waterfowl. These contributions have also facilitated the remarkable recovery of the majestic American bald eagle, of which there are now more than 316,000 in the lower 48 states. The firearm and ammunition industry is [proud of] the role our industry plays to ensure America’s wildlife is perpetuated for future generations.”
The Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson fund, is funded by excise taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers on their products, as well as archery equipment manufacturers. The excise tax is set at 11 percent of the wholesale price for long guns and ammunition and 10 percent of the wholesale price for handguns. The excise tax, paid by manufacturers and importers, applies to all firearms produced or imported for commercial federal law enforcement sales, whether the purpose is for recreational shooting, hunting or personal defense. The tax is administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the Department of the Treasury, which turns the funds over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
USFWS deposits the Pittman-Robertson revenues into a special account called the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund administered by the USFWS. These funds are made available to states and territories the year following their collection based on a statutory formula.
Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR) shooting is the most popular and fastest-growing form of shooting sports competition for junior shooters (High School age and younger). The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) conducts two primary Three-Position Air Rifle events. First, Precision Air Rifle is modeled after Olympic-style shooting and allows the use of specialized target rifles and equipment. Second, Sporter Air Rifle is designed for new competitors or those who desire to compete with a minimum of equipment and expense.
In both types of shooting, competitors fire at targets at a distance of 10 meters in three different positions, prone, standing and kneeling. Three-Position Air Rifle provides young competitors with competitive shooting sports opportunities that can be offered on a wide variety of easily accessible or easily constructed ranges, with equipment that is commonly available at affordable costs.
The CMP actively promotes Three-Position Air Rifle shooting as a premier youth marksmanship competition by providing low-cost equipment and pellets as well as training materials and competition activities. In addition, other air gun events for juniors and adults are hosted by CMP throughout the year. CMP facilities have Open Public Shooting evenings, and matches for air rifle and air pistol take place at the CMP Marksmanship Centers. CMP ranges are equipped with OpticScore Targets featuring technology by Kongsberg Target Systems.
The updated Challenger PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) Air Rifle is a preferred .177 sporter class air rifle for competitive marksmanship programs throughout the country, including the Marine Corps JROTC, Army JROTC, Air Force JROTC, Navy JROTC, American Legion, and 4-H. The Challenger is a three-position competition rifle that features a fully adjustable stock, a two-stage, adjustable match grade trigger, a hooded front aperture sight, a micro click, adjustable diopter rear sight, a patented ambidextrous pull bolt, and a floating Lothar Walther™ barrel.
Young American Wins Gold Medal in Air Rifle at 2021 Olympics
William Shaner won a Gold Medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The University of Kentucky marksman, then age 20, captured Gold in the 10-meter (10m) Air Rifle, setting an Olympic record in the process. Shaner scored 251.6 points in the 10m final to set a new Olympic Record just 1.2 points shy of the world record. Will scored 10.5 or above on 13 of his 24 shots in the final. At the Tokyo Games, William was shooting a Walther air rifle.
Watch Will Shaner capture Gold with a stellar shooting performance, broadcast by NBC Sports:
William hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started his shooting career at age nine in a 4H program in the appropriately named town of Rifle, Colorado.
CMP Records 580+ Entries During 2022 National Air Gun Events at Camp Perry
Air rifle shooting is a very popular activity throughout the nation. Air rifle matches can draw a huge number of competitors. Last summer, the 2022 National Air Gun events, held as part of the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s National Matches, welcomed over 580 air rifle and air pistol entries. The events were held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry, Ohio.
Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry.
Special CMP Air Rifles from Anschutz
Back in 2009, the CMP ordered a special run of Anschutz Air rifles. These had laminated wood stocks and the CMP logos on the buttstock.
The CMP currently offers Precision Air Rifles and Sporter Air Rifles for sale via the CMP Website.
CMP Precision Air Rifles from Walther
The new Walther LG400 Bluetec was specifically designed for 3-position air rifle shooting. The barreled action and trigger are the same as the top-of-the-line LG400 models. It comes without an absorber but it can be retrofitted with one. The barreled action will fit into any of the higher end stocks if you wish to upgrade it. The accuracy is the same as the higher-priced LG400s. With a top-tier marksman, this rifle can put 10 shots through the same hole at 10 meters.
The LG400 Bluetec is sold by the CMP with the Walther Basic rear sight, Walther 22mm front sight and a 200/300 bar steel cylinder. The aluminum stock comes with an ambidextrous grip, trigger guard, and an adjustable cheekpiece and buttplate. This rifle is sold by the CMP but shipped via Walther Arms.
Video from the U.S. Army Junior Air Rifle Nat’l Championships at Fort Benning, Georgia. This invitation-only event features top 30 precision and sporter individuals, and top 30 teams in both disciplines.
Sporter Air Rifles
The largest and fastest-growing segment of junior shooting today, Three-Position Air Rifle Shooting, uses a class of target air rifles called Sporter Air Rifles. These Sporters now constitute a special class of junior shooting competition, and are used extensively in JROTC programs.
Sporter air rifles are characterized by their light weight (5-7 lbs.), low cost (from $180 to $600), basic target features (adjustable sights, adjustable length stocks, adjustable sling attachments) and good accuracy (rifles sold through this program must be capable of consistently shooting tens on the standard competition targets).
Shown above is the new Daisy Model 599 10-Meter Competition Air Rifle, a .177-caliber gun that allows competitors to shoot the entire match without having to recharge.
Sierra Bullets has released extensive load data for the popular 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge. This medium-sized cartridge has become one of the most popular chamberings for tactical and PRS shooters. The 6.5 Creedmoor combines excellent accuracy, good mag-feeding, good barrel life, moderate recoil, and reasonable component cost. That’s why this cartridge has caught on quickly, and is now one of the most popular chamberings in factory rifles.
Developed in 2007 by Dennis DeMille and Dave Emary, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a shortened and improved 30 TC cartridge case that was inspired by the .308 Winchester design. This short action design was created to maximize case capacity and a wide range of loading lengths, while still fitting in standard short action magazines. With the correct twist barrel, the versatile 6.5 Creedmoor can take advantage of the wide range of bullet weights available in 6.5 mm (i.e. .264 caliber). Reloaders should keep in mind that the 6.5 Creedmoor works best with medium to medium-slow powders such as H4350, Varget, Win 760, and RE-17. The light recoil and adaptability of the efficient 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge has already proven itself in high power, precision rifle series and benchrest competitions. Couple that with respectable barrel life and its intrinsic accuracy potential and you have a recipe for success which should insure its legacy for decades to come.
Here are three tables from the Sierra Bullets Reloading Manual (5th Edition). IMPORTANT — This is just a sample!! Sierra has load data for many other 6.5mm bullet types, including FB, Spitzer, SBT, HPBT, and Tipped MK from 85 grains to 142 grains. To view ALL 6.5 Creedmoor DATA, CLICK HERE.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
INDICATES MAXIMUM LOAD – USE CAUTION
LOADS LESS THAN MINIMUM CHARGES SHOWN ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.
Two More Great 6.5 Creedmoor Reloading Resources
Want More 6.5 Creedmoor Load Info? View Starline’s 6.5 Creedmoor Guide by Gavin Gear:
PRB 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5 Creedmoor Load Survey
The Precision Rifle Blog compiled Load Data from PRS Competitors, for both 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5 Creedmoor. This is a good place to start. PRB surveyed the match loads for “173 of the top-ranked precision rifle shooters in the country”. CLICK HERE.
Readers who have just recently discovered the Daily Bulletin may not realize that AccurateShooter.com has hundreds of reference articles in our archives. These authoritative articles are divided into multiple categories, so you can easily view stories by topic (such as competition, tactical, rimfire, optics, shooting skills etc.). One of the most popular categories is our Technical Articles Collection. On a handy index page (with thumbnails for every story), you’ll find over 100 articles covering technical and gunsmithing topics. These articles can help you with major projects (such as stock painting), and they can also help you build more accurate ammo. Here are five popular selections from our Technical Articles archive.
Stress-Free Pillar Bedding. Richard Franklin explains how to do a top-quality bedding job, start to finish.
OnTarget Software Review. Our Editors test free software that measures shot groups with great precision. We explain how to use the program and configure advanced features.
Savage Action Tuning. Top F-TR shooter Stan Pate explains how to enhance the performance of your Savage rifle by optimizing the torque settings of the action screws.
Complete Precision Case Prep. Jake Gottfredson covers the complete case prep process, including brass weight sorting, case trimming, primer pocket uniforming, neck-sizing, and, case-neck turning.
Stock Painting Instructions. Step-by-step guide for stock painting by expert Mike Ricklefs. Mike shows both simple coverage and fancy effects.
Last week, oppressive legislation was re-introduced in Congress that would ban and confiscate all suppressors (aka “silencers”) in all 50 states. This sweeping suppressor ban is the work of two Democratic party lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). This unconstitutional legislation is called “HEAR Act”. HEAR stands for “Help Empower Americans to Respond”. The deceptive name falsely suggests this statute was in some way designed to protect hearing or reduce noise pollution.
Just the opposite is true. This misguided legislation would prohibit the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, and possession of suppressors. The object is both to ban suppressors AND to confiscate currently-owned suppressors. As GunsAmerica Digest explains: “Emphasis was added on ‘possession’ for the obvious reason. It means even current can owners would be affected!”
Senator Menendez, in a press release, argued that suppressors are very commonly used by criminals, something which is completely and totally false. The mendacious Menendez stated: “Gun silencers are devices designed for a very specific purpose — to suppress the sound of gunfire from unsuspecting victims and reduce the chances they can run, hide, take cover, and call the police during an active shooter situation. [This] legislation that would prevent armed assailants from using deadly devices that only make incidents of gun violence all the more dangerous.”
Sen. Menendez has an interesting reputation in Washington. He was indicted in 2015 on bribery charges, and stood trial in 2017, resulting in a hung jury. And, according to the N.Y. Times and Politico, he is currently under investigation for more questionable practices. SEE N.Y. Times Report.
The sponsors of the legislation do not acknowledge that there is a complex, and expensive process to acquire a suppressor, involving background checks, ATF paperwork, and a costly $200 Tax Stamp. As usual, these Democrats ignore the facts and push legislation based on fraudulent assertions.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman attacked the use of silencers, completely ignoring how they are safely used by hunters and sportsmen throughout the world. Coleman states: “Silencers are not tools of self-defense, they are tools of murder. They have no legal application, which is why law enforcement officials around the country have called for their elimination.”
The HEAR act would ban all future sales of suppressors. In addition, the law would allow confiscation of existing suppressors via a buy-back program using Byrne JAG grants. Current suppressor owners would have a 90-day grace period after the date of enactment to surrender their silencers/suppressors.
GunsAmerica Digest notes: “Not surprisingly, the legislation is backed by a collection of the usual suspects.”
U.S. Senators who are listed as HEAR Act co-sponsors include: Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). Every one is a Democrat.
In the House of Representatives, HEAR Act cosponsors include Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). Again all the co-sponsors are Democrats, including some of the most radical legislators in Congress (such as Rashida Talib).
The America Suppressor Association (ASA) has condemned the reintroduction of the HEAR Act.
“ASA is unequivocally opposed to any attempt to ban suppressors. We are unwavering in our support of the Second Amendment and the individual right to possess suppressors. We will fight this tooth and nail. With the facts on our side, we will succeed.”
Read HEAR Act Text Banning Suppressors and Authorizing Confiscation:
We know many of our readers are getting older and are not as flexible as they once were. If you shoot prone with sling, or do position shooting, you can definitely benefit from doing some key stretches on a regular basis. This can help avoid cramping, muscle pain, or unwanted tension. In addition, doing stretching exercise can help with general health and fitness.
Shooting Sports USA has a good fitness article: Easy Stretches And Strength Movements. While the main focus of this article is on strethces to alleviate lower back pain, many of the movements illustrated can help ease neck, shoulder, and mid-back tension. This Editor, who suffers from neck/shoulder tension, can confirm that these exercises really do help. NOTE: The lead photo above shows the Floor Pec stretch (left) and Pigeon stretch (right), referenced below.
The article’s author, Corey Howard, explains:
Let’s look at the simple stretches … to maintain a healthy range of motion in your four corners — your hips and shoulders. If any of these areas are tight, then nine times out of 10, your body can’t stabilize and you’ll have low back issues.
There are four simple yoga stretches I have all my clients do: child’s pose, floor pec stretch, half kneeling hip flexor, and pigeon. These are simple and can be seen in the photos. The child’s pose lengthens the spine and stretches the lats, the big muscles in your upper back. Pec stretch on the floor opens up your chest and relaxes your shoulders so your posture improves. Half kneeling hip flexor stretch should be felt on the front side of your hips and ease the strain on your lower back. Finally, pigeon stretch can be felt through your glutes and will ease any lower back discomfort.”
Good Basic Stretching Routines — Video Instruction
Here are two videos that offers some other stretching techniques that can help older marksmen. This Editor started doing some of the listed morning stretches. Right away this helped to significantly reduce stiffness associated with working at a computer all day long.
And here is a more aggressive stretching routine that includes some of the stretches found in the Shooting Sports USA article. For older readers — you may want to just do a few of these stretches for starters — not the entire routing.
Jason Baney was one of the “founding fathers” of this website when we started out as 6mmBR.com 18 years ago. A few seasons back, Jason created an interesting wildcat, a mid-sized 7mm cartridge based on the 6.5×47 Lapua case. In this report, Jason (who now works at Eurooptic.com) talks about his 7×47 wildcat and his initial velocity (and feasibility) tests. To determine the 7×47’s velocity potential, Jason did a multi-stage test, cutting a barrel in two-inch increments. This process is illustrated in a video, embedded below.
You may be surprised that the little 7×47 cartridge could drive a 180gr Berger Hybrid at 2770+ FPS with a 32″ barrel and Reloder 17. Max Velocity with H4350 (and 32″ barrel) was roughly 70 FPS slower. With a 24″ barrel length, the 7×47 was still able to propel the 180gr Hybrids over 2600 FPS with H4350. That’s impressive performance for a mid-sized cartridge pushing a very big bullet.
7×47 Lapua Wildcat — Great Accuracy and Surprising Velocity
By Jason Baney, Eurooptic.com
The biggest enemy in long-range shooting is wind. This also happens to be the hardest to gauge and predict. The only way mere mortals can attempt to defeat the wind demons is to shoot a cartridge with the most ballistic efficiency, yet maintain a user-friendly combination of recoil and component consumption as well as performance on target.
The 7mm bullets tend to yield the best compromise of all of these aspects. Their BC-to-weight ratio is outstanding and 7mm bullets provide sufficient impact energy for most situations. In addition to that, the recoil of 7mm bullets can be more manageable than heavier/larger .30 and .338 caliber projectiles.
In cartridge design, of course you want the best case possible. Having used the 6.5×47 Lapua since its release in 2006, I felt this cartridge was the perfect choice to start with as I wanted a true short-action non-magnum round that gave the least possible wind drift to 1000 yards. The 6.5×47 parent case also allowed seating of the heavy 180gr class bullets completely out in the neck yet it maintained an overall length that would actually work in a factory Remington short action magazine.
The 6.5×47 brass from Lapua is as good as it gets and is a very efficient case. The small primer pocket has been a proven winner so no need to change anything. This combination has always given reliable precision and extremely tight velocity spreads.
So here I was, ready to expand a 6.5×47 Lapua to 7mm but a web search revealed no info on a 7×47 wildcat, so test loads would be based purely on an educated guess. My initial assessment/prediction was that heavier 180gr bullets in the larger 7mm caliber would end up at a max load very close to a 140gr bullet in the parent 6.5 caliber. This actually turned out to be a very accurate assumption.
The performance goal of this cartridge was to get a 180gr Berger Hybrid moving at 2720 FPS or faster to be able to shoot inside of a 6.5mm 140gr Berger Hybrid at 2900 FPS. (That 2900 speed is what I was able to achieve with the standard 6.5×47 Lapua). I also planned to try the 168gr VLD as well as the 180gr Lapua Scenar and 162gr Amax, but the specific goal was the beat the 6.5 140gr bullets at 2900 FPS. I believed the 180 Hybrid at 2720 FPS would be the easiest way to accomplish this.
Here are Summary Test Results for H4350 and Reloder 17 for 180s, and IMR 8208 for the 168s. Speeds were clocked by two chronographs at nine (9) barrel lengths, 32″ to 16.1″.
Since this cartridge was a complete unknown I thought it would be quite interesting to see what the 7×47 could achieve at various barrel lengths from very long to very short. We wanted to see which length would best suit the bullet/cartridge combination for max performance. Obviously testing 8-10 barrels at different lengths would be pointless due to natural performance variations between barrels, not to mention expensive and wasteful. I decided instead to attempt a fairly radical test and cut a barrel from 32″ down the 16.1” while chronographing the same loads along the way to see what each combination delivered at the different lengths.
Before I could get started of course a reamer and dies and a few other parts were needed. Dave Kiff at Pacific Tool and Gauge was excited to get going on the project so soon after our phone conversation my one of a kind reamer arrived. Since I had been using Forster dies in the 6mmx47 Lapua and 6.5×47 for all these years, I contacted my friend Bob Ruch at Forster and he was willing to make me a few sets of special dies for the project. Lapua of course provided some brass for the project and Rock Creek Barrels sent a beautiful 1:8.7″-twist 5R barrel blank as a sacrificial lamb. The gunsmith I chose for the chamber job on this project needed to be a tactical long range rifle shooter to appreciate the capability of the round all the way down to its 16.1” barrel length so I asked my good friend Wade Stuteville from Stuteville Precision to help me out.
The rifle I selected for the test was Accuracy International’s new AT rifle. This rifle is basically an overhauled and updated AI AW with a quick user-changeable barrel. I can literally change a barrel in 1 minute or less. The machining they have done to give this function was quite simple and brilliant in the way it retains the barrel yet allows the release quickly and with only a 4mm Allen wrench. This would make the test that I contrived go very smoothly as no major tools were needed.
My goal was to use as many different load combos for the test as I could without making it extremely cumbersome to complete. I wanted to test at least the 180 and 168 Berger as well as a couple different powders representing different burn rates to get an all-around feel for how the cartridge would behave at the different lengths. From previous experience with the 6.5×47, the best powder choices were Hodgdon H4350 and Alliant Reloder 17 (RL17) so these would be the main players. I also picked IMR 8208, Varget, and VV N550 to cover the spectrum of acceptable burn rates. Also, my standard CCI 450 primer was used as that has been successful for me in the 6mmBR and 6.5×47 since 2006 as they are incredibly consistent, however they are also better able to take high pressures without blanking. After picking the powders, I first ran ladder tests to assess max loads in the long 32” barrel.
Velocity Study — Chopping the Barrel from 32″ to 16.1″
Laying out the test actually took a bit of bit of mental gymnastics to provide randomness. The barrel was to be cut in 2” increments from 32” down to a final of 16.1”. Each length was actually pre-scored by Wade to make cutting easier to start and was actually 1/8” long at each mark so when I finally ended up at 16 1/8”, I was able to have the barrel re-crowned without going below legal length.
Six loads were assembled using the five powders mentioned above and two bullets (Berger 168gr VLD and 180gr Hybrid). Each set of rounds to be fired at each cut was predetermined and laid out so that the same load never preceded nor followed another more than once. Reloder 17 and H4350 loads were fired at each cut, while the four others were fired at every-other cut to keep the round count under 200. Twenty rounds (4 loads times 5 rounds each) were fired at each cut from 32” down to 18” and at the final 16.1” length each of the six loads was fired. That is a total of 190 test rounds. The barrel was cleaned before firing at the 24” length and before firing at the 16.1” length. After cleaning each time I fired two rounds of the next load as fouling shots to normalize velocities.
The rifle was fitted with a 3” fore-end attachment and fired from my 40-lb front rest for 1000-yard benchrest competition with a rear bunny-ear bag. Throughout the test, the rifle never changed its position — though the muzzle did retreat 2” with every cut. I used two chronographs for the test. An Oehler 35P was placed 10 feet from the original 32” muzzle and a Magnetospeed V3 was attached on the muzzle (at all barrel lengths down to 16.1 inches.)
After every round of firing, the barrel was removed and we poured cold water on the exterior only and wrapped a wet towel around it to speed cooling. While the barrel was cooling we used a couple C-clamps and a 2×4 to create an impromptu barrel vice to hold it while we were cutting. While it was clamped, we used a simple hacksaw to cut off two inches and crowned the barrel with an RCBS deburring tool for a nice finish. It took an average of two minutes to cut through the barrel at each length.
OBSERVATIONS:
Throughout the test, the rifle lost 3.2 lbs on its way to 16.1 inches. The recoil and muzzle blast increased dramatically from 32″ down to 16.1″. Groups on target were actually quite impressive given that we were not really trying for absolute precision and we had rough-cut crowns. Many groups formed one large hole and several were half-MOA or better – even at the final 16.1″ length.
Each load lost between 12.25-16.8 FPS per inch (loss per inch – LPI) over the entire test, though the rate of the loss varied by the burn rate of the powder and by barrel length. Generally below the 24” barrel length the LPI accelerated rapidly. Initial LPI at the longest lengths was 0-10 FPS, while the loss per inch at the shortest lengths were much higher at 30-55 FPS!
In general I did not quite achieve the velocity I was hoping for, but am very close and intend to test longer throats and different throat geometry to get where I want to be. Below I will break the attainable performance down into 3 barrel lengths for consideration in different disciplines.
APPLICATION ONE: 28-30” Barrel for 1000-Yard Benchrest:
Since I am close to or past my target velocity at the longer lengths (above 2720 FPS with the 180gr Berger Hybrid), I intend to barrel a 1000-yard Benchrest rifle in this caliber and give it an honest try in 1K benchrest. I feel that, with a 28-30″ barrel length, my goal will be attainable and it will pull away from 6.5mm class rounds in the wind drift department. While there will be a slight recoil increase, in a 17-lb rifle it is not a concern. There will also surely be a significant gain in useful barrel life as well.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is now one of the most popular cartridges chambered in factory rifles. It found favor among hunters and PRS competitors, but then its little brother the 6mm Creedmoor became widely adopted because the 6mm version delivered less recoil, equivalent or better ballistics, and lower bullet cost.
There’s another Creedmoor cousin, the 22 Creedmoor, basically a 6mm Creedmoor necked down to .224 caliber. While this certainly can be used for PRS and tactical competition, the 22 Creedmoor seems to be ideally suited as a high velocity varmint round — something to replace the 22-250. You get 22-250 class velocities with a more modern cartridge design, and high-quality brass.
LEARN MORE about the 22 Creedmoor
There is an excellent write-up in the GunsAmerica Digest about the 22 Creedmoor cartridge. Reviewer Jeff Cramblit built a 22 Creedmoor rifle and tested it with a variety of bullet weights. He concluded it worked best as a varminter, but could also do PRS duty, provided it is loaded under the 3200 fps velocity limit common in PRS matches. CLICK HERE to read full GunsAmerica 22 Creedmoor test report.
Since there is not yet a SAAMI spec for the 22 Creedmoor, the cartridge is officially still a wildcat. However some ammo-makers have produced 22 Creedmoor loaded ammo: Copper Creek, Gunwerks, and Spark Munitions. Copper Creek has produced the most 22 Creedmoor loaded ammo varieties, with 18 different bullet options from 68 grains to 95 grains, including two lead-free bullet types. However, most everything is “out of stock” right now. Copper Creek also offers load development packs with either Peterson or Hornady brass. Here are five Cooper Creek options with Sierra and Berger bullets:
In addition, multiple companies have offered 22 Creedmoor cartridge brass: Alpha Munitions, Atlas ADG, Hornady, and Peterson Cartridge. The Peterson 22 Creedmoor brass is excellent.
Of course you can neck down high-quality Lapua 6mm Creedmoor brass. Lapua brass has outstanding consistency and durability. Choose from large primer or small primer types. Necking down is a relatively easy one-step operation with a neck-sizing or full-length sizing die. You’re just stepping down to .224 from .243 — not that big of a jump.
22 Creedmoor Brass from Peterson Cartridge
According to Derek Peterson, President of Peterson Cartridge, “We decided to build the tooling to make our .22 Creedmoor brass in response to the uptick in long-distance predator and varmint hunting. Plus the round is just straight-up fun to shoot. It is a low-recoil, flat shooting, wind-bucking round [that is] deadly accurate up to 800 yards.”
“When we designed the tooling for the .22 Creedmoor we set out to make casings with improved features”, Peterson added. “And we were successful. We increased the head hardness to tolerate higher pressures. And we increased our internal volume slightly to work better with the slow-burning powders [such as Reloder 26 or H1000].”
22 Creedmoor for Varmints — Video from the Varmint Fields of Eastern Oregon
Bullet Choices for 22 Creedmoor
If you have an appropriate twist-rate barrel, you can load the 22 Creedmoor with heavy 85-95 grain bullets. However, we think that, for varminting, the cartridge is better suited for lighter 65-80 grain bullets. This yields high velocities that provide explosive impacts on small varmints.
This GunsAmerica photo shows, L to R, 90gr Sierra MK, Hornady 88gr, 80gr, and 75gr .224 caliber bullets.
What is the Best Role for the 22 Creedmoor?
GunsAmerica tester Jeff Cramblit favors the 22 Creedmoor as a varmint round: “The performance of the 22 Creedmoor with 75-80 grain bullets makes it an outstanding varmint cartridge. I’ve seen claims of 80 grain Bergers at 3500 fps out of 26″ barrels, which would be devastating on any varmint. Loaded ammunition is available with bullets in the 70-75 range leaving 24” barrels at velocities around 3400+ fps, a bit more conservative than personal hand-loading, but still making it a very flat shooting, low recoiling round delivering impressive results.”
Jeff says the 22 Creedmoor will also work for PRS with heavier bullets: “I built the 22 CM to be a dual-purpose gun, or actually a 3-purpose gun. The first was for the coyotes and varmints previously mentioned. The second was for shooting PRS (Precision Rifle Series) style matches on occasion, and the third was for hunting deer-sized game. As with any multi-purpose tool there tends to be compromises.”
22 Creedmoor Cartridge Dimensions (No SAAMI Spec Yet)
More Efficient Alternatives — the 22 BR and 22 BRA
If you already have a 6mmBR rifle, and you want a higher velocity cartridge for varmint shooting, you may want to consider just necking down your brass. We’ve shot the 22 BR in the varmint fields and a steel match. This cartridge offers excellent accuracy, and is very flat shooting. We recommend getting a fairly fast-twist barrel so you can shoot the longer, high-BC bullets if you want to use your 22 BR in local matches. You’ll find that shorter 40gr to 66gr varmint bullets shoot great even in the faster-twist barrels.
For more information on the 22 BR for varminting and target shooting, with recommended loads for 40gr to 90gr bullets, read our Accurate Shooter 22 BR Cartridge Guide.
If you want more velocity than a 22 BR offers, you can have your barrel chambered for the 22 BRA (BR Ackley). With its 40-degree shoulder, the 22 BRA offers a few more grains capacity, so you can get more FPS with all classes of bullets. Fire-forming is easy — just use a normal 22 BR load with good bullets and shoot. We’ve fire-formed a 22 BRA in a varmint match and it showed excellent accuracy — there’s no need to waste bullets fire-forming. Go ahead and fire-form during a fun match.
Want to see the details?CLICK HERE to view full-screen photo.
Here are five targets, each with FIVE shots in essentially one hole. This amazing feat of accuracy was accomplished six years ago. We are reprising our report because this five-target Aggregate arguably represents the most impressive feat of 100-yard accuracy in the history of marksmanship on this planet.
Check out those five targets. The Aggregate (average) of all five targets is a tiny 0.0840 inches! These were shot by Gary Ocock at 100 yards in a California benchrest match on August 6, 2017. Though Gary’s amazing 0.0840 Five-Target Agg beats existing records, this was not a “sanctioned” match, so Gary’s killer Agg will NOT be submitted for IBS or NBRSA records. So, sadly, the Agg won’t appear in the record books, but this remains a spectacular, verified feat of rifle accuracy, accomplished in competition.
The argument can be made that this is the Most Accurate Gun Ever Built. As far as we can determine, no one has ever shot a smaller 5-target Agg anywhere, at any time.
The Unlimited Benchrest Record That Will Never Be (Official)
Report by Boyd Allen
Gary Ocock’s stunning unlimited Aggregate is beyond amazing. That’s an average of five, 5-shot groups of .0840. Shot under sanctioned match rules, but at an unsanctioned 100-yard fun match, this Aggregate is well under the current 100-yard official records of the IBS (.1386), and the NBRSA (.1242). The fourth of the five groups measured a minuscule .018, less than half the size of the existing NBRSA Unlimited record of .049 (also shot by Gary). Check it out:
When the top 15 shooters all post teen Aggs, conditions must be pretty favorable. However there were some light switchy winds — Gary said that he shot better in the left to right condition.
GUN SPECIFICATIONS
Ocock’s red Jay Young Unlimited Railgun features one major difference from Young’s typical Railgun designs. The bottom of the barrel block is integral with the top (moving part), of the gun. The barrel is Ocock’s usual 1:13.5″-twist Krieger chambered for the 6 PPC. The BAT Neuvo action is unusual in that its lugs are horizontal at lock-up instead of the usual vertical. With horizontal lugs, both lugs maintain contact with their abutments when the action is cocked. In the more normal configuration when cocked the top lug is forced off of its seat by a combination of the angle of the trigger cocking piece interface, the pressure of the striker spring, and bolt clearance at the rear of the action.
LOAD SPECIFICATIONS
Gary shot this remarkable Agg with well-used brass, Vihtavuori N133 powder, and self-made 66gr BT bullets* seated at “jam”. This amazing Agg was shot on the second day of a 2-day Unlimited Benchrest match. On Day 1 Gary had experimented with various loads using both surplus IMR 8208 and Vihtavuori N133, but was not satisfied with the results. For his first group on Day 2, Gary tried a light load of N133. After seeing the result, however, he decided to go to the other extreme — a super stout N133 load — with the same powder. As you can see, Gary’s willingness to experiment paid off.
Notably, Gary used light neck tension. Ocock found that for these bullets and this barrel, light neck tension worked best (contrary to “normal” N133 benchrest practice). Ocock used a bushing that only produces .001″ difference between the diameters of sized and loaded case necks.
Comment on Ocock’s Achievement
Congratulations to Gary Ocock for superb shooting (and smart loading). Even though the match was not sanctioned (so the Agg will never be a record), Ocock has raised the bar very high, and given us a new standard of ultimate accuracy.
Though this 0.0840 Aggregate and 0.018 group will never go into the record group, they are still noteworthy. There’s virtually no doubt that they would have survived inspection by any record committee. Except for the lack of fixed backers, an IBS requirement (for detecting cross-fires), all other conditions were met for an officially-sanctioned match.
Boyd Allen notes: The reason that the match was not sanctioned was that the sanctioning bodies like to have a month’s notice when scheduling a sanctioned match and because the range had been down for modifications and this was the first match after that, there was some question as to whether the work required to have stationary backers could be finished in time for the match. Rather than promise what might not be deliverable, the decision was made to hold the match under all of the usual competition rules as a non-sanctioned “fun” match. None of this diminishes Gary’s performance.
* Gary Ocock shot his own, boat-tail match bullets, made with George Ulrich-crafted dies using Hood cores. Although he said that it had been a while since he had weighed any, his best guess was that they weigh something around 66.5 grains.
The total economic impact of the firearm and ammunition industry in the United States increased to $80.73 billion in 2022 from $19.1 billion in 2008, a 322% increase, while the total number of full-time equivalent jobs rose to over 393,696 from approximately 166,000, a 136% increase in that same period, according to a report released by the NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association. READ Full REPORT.
The Firearms and Shooting Sports Industry Now Generates 393,696 Jobs in America
On a year-over-year basis, the industry’s economic impact rose to $80.73 billion in 2022 from $70.52 billion in 2021. Total jobs increased by over 17,877 in the same period, to 396,696 from 375,819. The firearm industry has broader impacts throughout the American economy. The gun industry also generates business for firms not directly related to firearms — creating jobs in industries such as banking, retail, accounting, metalworking, and printing.
Gun Manufacturers and Ammo Makers Now Pay over $7.48 Billion in Taxes
The firearm and ammunition industry paid over $7.48 billion in business taxes, including property, income, and sales-based levies. An additional $1.15 billion was paid in federal excise taxes, which directly contributes to wildlife conservation.
“Our industry’s economic input is undeniably contributing to every state and every community. This milestone achievement of over $80 billion in economic impact proves that the American firearm and ammunition industry is strong,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “Over 4.2 million Americans from all walks of life, for the first time, discovered and exercised their right to lawful firearm owners and safely participate in the recreational shooting sports last year. This growth equals more jobs that add to our local economies, averaging $65,000 in wages and benefits, up from $56,900 reported last year. Since 2008, federal tax payments increased by 266%, Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that support wildlife conservation by 226% and state business taxes by 46%.”
The annual Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report provides a state-by-state breakdown of job numbers, wages and output, as well as federal excise taxes paid. CLICK HERE for Full Report (Printable PDF).
Developed in 2007 by Dennis DeMille and Dave Emary, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a shortened and improved 30 TC cartridge case that was inspired by the .308 Winchester design. This short action design was created to maximize case capacity and a wide range of loading lengths, while still fitting in standard short action magazines. With the correct twist barrel, the versatile 6.5 Creedmoor can take advantage of the wide range of bullet weights available in 6.5 mm (i.e. .264 caliber). Reloaders should keep in mind that the 6.5 Creedmoor works best with medium to medium-slow powders such as H4350, Varget, Win 760, and RE-17. The light recoil and adaptability of the efficient 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge has already proven itself in high power, precision rifle series and benchrest competitions. Couple that with respectable barrel life and its intrinsic accuracy potential and you have a recipe for success which should insure its legacy for decades to come.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman attacked the use of silencers, completely ignoring how they are safely used by hunters and sportsmen throughout the world. Coleman states: “Silencers are not tools of self-defense, they are tools of murder. They have no legal application, which is why law enforcement officials around the country have called for their elimination.”
If you already have a 6mmBR rifle, and you want a higher velocity cartridge for varmint shooting, you may want to consider just necking down your brass. We’ve shot the 22 BR in the varmint fields and a steel match. This cartridge offers excellent accuracy, and is very flat shooting. We recommend getting a fairly fast-twist barrel so you can shoot the longer, high-BC bullets if you want to use your 22 BR in local matches. You’ll find that shorter 40gr to 66gr varmint bullets shoot great even in the faster-twist barrels.
