Can you imagine a shooting match that draws a couple hundred thousand spectators? Amazing right? Well that’s how many people turned out to watch the 2013 Int’l Biathlon Union (IBU) World Biathlon Championships (WBC) recently held in Nové Město in the Czech Republic.
At the 2013 WBC, event organizers constructed a stadium and filled it with 201,000 spectators to watch the best biathletes in the world. Among national teams at the WBC, Norway dominated, winning an incredible eight of the eleven competitions, including all three relays. Tora Berger and Emil Hegle Svendsen each won two individual events and contributed to the relay Golds. Tarjei Boe added Gold in the mass start. These eight Gold medals were a record for the IBU World Championships; no other nation has been so prolific or dominant.
On the other hand, biathletes from 12 different countries won medals — and that was a new record for medal distribution. In 2011 at Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, 11 nations took home a medal. This year 12 nations won at least one medal. Tim Burke from the USA earned a Silver Medal in the 20K event. This was the first medal for the red, white, and blue since Josh Thompson won the 20K Silver in 1987.
Lapua Polar Biathlon .22 LR Ammo Wins 97% of all 2013 WBC Medals
In the world of precision shooting, it’s unusual for one ammo-maker to completely dominate a major shooting event. But that’s exactly what happened at the 2013 World Biathlon Championships. An amazing 32 out of 33 total medals awarded in Nova Mesto went to biathletes shooting Lapua ammuntion, specifically Lapua .22 LR Polar Biathlon. That works out to 96.9% of ALL medals at this year’s IBU World Championships. Hats off to Lapua for producing the winningest biathlon ammunition ever made.
Pyramyd Air, the leading online airgun retailer, has developed two smart phone Apps for airgun shooters and airsoft shooters. Pyramyd’s FREE Air Wizard App is offered for both Apple iPhones (go to: iTunes Store) and Android OS phones (go to: Android App Market).
Pyramid Apps Calculate Projectile Energy, and Do Conversions
The Air Wizard Apps calculate muzzle energy (based on projectile weight and observed velocity). The Apps can do a host of conversions: foot-pounds to joules, joules to foot-pounds, grams to grains and grains to grams, pounds to pounds and ounces, feet to yards, yards to feet, meters to yards, yards to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, Celsius to Fahrenheit, FPS (feet per second) to MPS (meters per second) and MPS to FPS. Most of these calculations work for all gun types — airguns, firearms and airsoft.
Special Functions for Airsoft Guns
For airsoft guns, the Apps offer additional computations including determining joules, meters per second (MPS), feet per second (FPS), kilometers per hour and battery time for auto-electric guns (AEG).
Additional Air Rifle Information from Pyramyd Air
Pyramyd Air provides professional product videos from Airgun Reporter Paul Capello. Pyramyd’s Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier writes a highly respected daily Blog, the Pyramyd Air Report. Pyramyd also provides instructional videos through its online Airgun Academy.
We had a chance to try out the new power case trimmer head from Little Crow Gunworks. Dubbed the “World’s Finest Trimmer” (WFT) by its inventor, Dale Hegstrom, this device proved fast, precise, and easy to use. When compared to a Hornady Lock ‘N Load hand-crank trimmer, the WFT processed cases twice as fast, and delivered a more uniform cut length with our test brass.
The WFT features a steel shell-holder, aluminum body, and steel drive shank. You can chuck it into any electric drill or power device that can handle the 3/8″ shank. Unlike most case trimming tools, the WFT indexes off the shoulder datum. This permits you to trim cases very quickly, without fiddling around with rim-grabbing collets, or shell-holders. Watch the videos to see the WFT in action.
WFT is Fast and User-Friendly
Mark LaFevers, our tester, was easily able to trim five (5) cases in under 30 seconds. It took quite a bit longer to trim five cases with the Hornady trimmer he used for comparison. Mark noted that, after just a 20 or so manually-trimmed cases, his arm would start to fatigue. By contrast, he could effortlessly trim 100 or more cases with the WFT. For older folks with a bit of arthritis, the WFT makes life easier. Mark observed that the WFT produces a “nice, square, clean cut”, while offering a “very fast cycle rate”. He tells us, “once you get the hang of it, you probably can trim your brass two, if not three times as fast.”
Mark really liked the WFT tool, and a WFT will be replacing his hand trimmer for big jobs. One downside is that, currently, the WFT is cartridge specific — you normally need to have a different tool for each cartridge type you trim. And there are no swappable inserts allowing you to trim different cartridge types with the same tool. However some WFT versions WILL trim different cartridge types within the same “family”, such as .270 Win and .30-06.*
Hi-Rez Video Shows “Trim-Off” Challenge between WFT and Hornady Trimmer
You should definitely watch the five-minute video below. Mark trims five cases with the WFT, and then five more with the Hornady tool. He times the operation of each device and then measures the trimmed cases. The total variation (in length) of the WFT-trimmed cases was .001. With the Hornady tool, there was a much larger spread: .007″ (seven thousandths). Mark cautioned: “Normally the Hornady tool does a bit better than this — the variance won’t be so large. But getting better results (with the Hornady) might require trimming, measuring, then trimming again. In the video I was trying to move pretty quickly and the measurements were all taken after the initial trim. Possibly, if I slowed down when using the Hornady trimmer, the OAL measurements would have been more consistent. But that just further reinforces the point that the WFT is faster.”
NOTE: If you have a fast connection, we suggest you select 720p (HiRez) and expand to full screen.
In the video below, WFT creator Dale Hegstrom demos his device and shows how quickly it can trim a large quantity of brass. Note how the WFT is attached to a common rechargeable power drill.
“World’s Finest Trimmer” Costs $69.95
The Little Crow Gunworks “World’s Finest Trimmer is available for $69.95 from various vendors including Creedmoor Sports. WFTs index off the shoulder, not the base. The case fits tightly into a steel bearing which has been machined to a specific caliber. This decouples the stationary case from the spinning cutting blade and body, giving you a smooth, exact cut each time. While the WFT makes a nice, square cut, we do recommend chamfering inside and outside after the brass is trimmed to length.
*Most WFTs are cartridge specific. Available sizes include: .204 Ruger, .223 Rem, 22-250, 6mmBR, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5-284 (and 6mm-284), 6.8 SPC, 270 WSM, 7mm Rem Mag (and 300 Win Mag), .308 Win, 300 WSM, .338 Lapua Magnum. There is a ‘5 in 1′ WFT unit that will handle .17 Rem, .221 Fireball, .222, .223 Rem, and .222 Mag. The 6mmRem unit also works with .257 Roberts and 7×57 Mauser. The .30-06 WFT will trim .270 Win, .280 Rem, and .25-06 as well. And the WFT for Ultramags works with 7mm, 300, and .338 Ultramags.
In order to dispel some rumors and misinformation, Hornady has issued a notice concerning Hornady product availability and production priorities. Hornady has been working hard to fill increased demand, and wants to set the facts straight. Here’s what Hornady has to say…
Hornady Product Availability
The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours. Empty retail shelves, long back-orders, and exaggerated price increases on online auction sites – all fueled by rumors and conjecture – have amplified concerns about the availability of ammunition and firearms-related items.
If the information you hear doesn’t originate from Hornady Manufacturing, don’t believe it.
Here are some of rumors we’ve heard, and questions we’ve received:
Q: Have you stopped production, or has the government forced you to stop?
Hornady: Not at all.
Q: Did you stop selling bullets so you could only make loaded ammunition?
Hornady: Absolutely not.
Q: Since we can’t find your product you must be selling it all to the government.
Hornady: Nope, less than 5% of our sales are to government entities.
Q: Why can’t you make more? Ramp up production? Turn on all the machines?
Hornady: We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years. We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that — please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.
Bottom Line — We are producing as much as we can; much more than last year, which was a lot more than the year before, etc. No one wants to ship more during this time than we do.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience. We don’t know when the situation will improve, so please bear with us a little longer. And remember, when it comes to Hornady Manufacturing, if you don’t hear it from us, please don’t believe it.
Gerry Gereg makes two precision tools that let rimfire shooters pre-sort their ammo for improved accuracy. The first tool, the G3 Rimfire Thickness Gauge, lets you sort rimfire ammo by rim thickness. This tool clamps to the jaws of your calipers and is very simple to use. Just slide a cartridge into the gauge and slide the jaws closed. With mid-grade rimfire ammo you’ll see variances of up to .006″ in rim thickness. High-end ammo, such as Eley Tenex, shows much tighter tolerances. With no moving parts (other than the thumb screw), this simple gauge is easy-to-use and very repeatable. It also has a convenient lanyard you can loop around your wrist. You can learn more about this tool in a full RifleMagazine.com review.
Gereg’s second tool is a very nicely-crafted gauge that measures rimfire rounds from base of rim to the bullet ogive. The G3 MK II Pro tool fits comfortably in the hand while inserting a cartridge in the measuring chamber at the bottom of the tool. This G3 MK II Pro tool features a built-in dial indicator making read-outs quick and easy. Just slide a rimfire cartridge in the base of the unit and gently yet firmly push the round into the measuring chamber until the dial indicator comes to rest. The dial indicator on the gauge gives you a number which you can use to compare base to ogive lengths. Note: The piston is indexed to assure its return to the original setting. When we used the gauge with inexpensive ammo, we saw variances in rim base-to-ogive lengths of up to .025″. The high-end ammo, such as Eley Tenex, is much more consistent, with 80% of rounds falling within .008″ rim base-to-ogive length spread.
To purchase either tool, email Gerry Gereg, gerry.gereg@snet.net, or call 860-354-7500.
Texas Testing: Sorted vs. Unsorted Rimfire Ammo
Texas rimfire shooter Ben Peal ran a series of tests to determine how rimfire ammo sorted with the G3 tools performs vs. “out of the box”, unsorted ammo. Ben shot a series of 5-shot groups at 50 yards, after sorting the ammo for rim thickness and then rim base-to-ogive lengths. Ben tested four (4) types of ammo: Eley Target, Federal Champion, Remington Target, and SK Standard Plus. Ben’s tests, conducted with a CZ 452 rifle shot from the bench, produced some interesting results. Ben’s tests showed that sorting resulted in a meaningful reduction in average group size for all ammo types. In each case, the sorted ammo shot smaller than unsorted ammo (biggest improvement was with the SK Standard). Admittedly these tests are far from definitive because only one factory rifle was used. We certainly don’t claim that sorted ammo will shoot better in every rimfire rifle — and the benefits of sorting high-end ammo may be hard to quantify. But Ben’s tests do suggest that sorting may be worthwhile with low- and mid-priced rimfire ammo. Here is a chart showing Ben’s results:
Ben writes: “Using the ogive gauge, cartridges may be sorted into those of similar measurements, or a narrow range of measurements, allowing us to select cartridges to be chambered with the ogive at or near the same distance from the lands. Cartridges were to be grouped into two categories for test firing. Group one of each brand were cartridges ‘as received’ with no sorting, measuring, or weighing. This represents an accuracy baseline for each particular brand. Group two were cartridges first sorted by rim thickness and then separated into sub-groups based on rim base-to-ogive measurements. I included rim thickness to eliminate a controllable variable that could possibly affect accuracy. I wanted the groups from test firing to reflect the influence of rim base to ogive measurements only.”
I found a considerable difference between brands as I measured and sorted cartridges. Eley Target and Remington Target had the least variance in rim base-to-ogive measurements and very little difference in rim thickness. Federal Champion and Standard Plus had the largest percentage of cartridges longer or shorter than the norm and a wider range of rim thickness. Standard Plus turned in the largest average groups before sorting, Eley turned in the smallest. These two brands had near equal small groups after rim to ogive sorting.
The groups below were shot by tool-maker Gerry Gereg with his Winchester Model 52 and a 20-power scope. In that rifle the rounds with shorter rim base-to-ogive lengths shot best, as you can see:
You can learn more about the G3 rimfire gauges and Ben Peal’s testing by reading Ben’s full, 2940-word report. CLICK HERE to read Ben Peal TEST REPORT (PDF file).
Editor’s Note: Along with rim thickness, and rim base-to-ogive length, we have found that rimfire cartridge run-out (measured on the bullet) can have a dramatic effect on accuracy. In fact, in some of our barrels, we have noted that rounds with very high run-out (poor concentricity) often result in “flyers” that ruin a group. For this reason, we believe that concentricity checking is another procedure that can potentially benefit rimfire shooters.
On our main Accurateshooter.com website, you’ll find a comprehensive review of the STM system for cleaning cartridge brass with stainless media. To clean brass with stainless media, start with five pounds of small stainless pins sold by StainlessTumblingMedia.com. Place these along with a gallon of water, a little liquid cleaner, and two pounds of cartridge brass in a rotary tumbler, and run the machine for one to four hours.
Forum Member Tests STM System
Our reviewer, Forum member Jason Koplin, purchased the STM media and a new Thumler’s Tumbler. He then tested the STM cleaning procedure on his own brass, including some extremely dirty and tarnished “range pick-up” brass. Jason was thoroughly impressed with how well the STM process worked — as you can see from the “before and after” photos below. Brass which looked like it was ready for the scrap heap was restored to “like-new” appearance. The process works equally well on both rifle brass and pistol brass. Jason observed that one surprise benefit of the STM cleaning procedure is a big reduction in noise. Jason said the water-filled rotary tumbler was much quieter than his vibratory tumblers.
You’ll want to read Jason’s full review which shows more before and after images. The full article features a “how-to” video created by Forum member Cory Dickerson, the young man who pioneered the stainless tumbling process and founded STM. The video shows how to load brass, media, and cleaner solutions into the tumbler, and how to separate media from brass once the tumbling is done.
Forum member Roy Bertalotto has found a great print resource for cast bullet shooters. Roy, who runs the RVB Precision website, has started casting his own bullets. Roy tells us: “I recently joined the Cast Bullet Association (CBA) as I’ve discovered the great hobby of casting my own bullets for long range ‘Buffalo Shoots’ and Cowboy Action Shooting.” Roy says he found the information he needed in the CBA’s own guide to bullet casting: “The CBA offers a fantastic 496-page book, mostly prepared by members, on absolutely everything you’d ever want to know and more about bullet casting.”
Cast Bullets For Beginner and Expert (Second Edition) is a collection of articles from serious cast bullet shooters, covering every subject imaginable. Compiled by Joe Brennan, this new edition has updated information. This Second Edition is now available for $29.95 with free shipping in the USA.
You can order this book online, or send a $29.95 check to: Eunice Birmley, CBA Director of Services, 47 Pinon, Cimarron, NM 87714
There is a new player in the field of elite die-makers: Whidden Gunworks. John Whidden’s Georgia-based company is producing outstanding full-length sizing dies and micrometer-top seater dies for 7/8-14 thread presses. The dies look great, work great, and produce very straight and accurate ammo. The Whidden dies are finished beautifully inside and out. They are priced competitively and they are available for popular “extreme accuracy” cartridges such as the 6PPC, 6mmBR, 6mmBRX, 6 Dasher, 6XC, 6.5×47, .260 Rem, .284 Win, and .308 Win (and more). If you are looking for a die set for your new precision rifle, you should definitely check out the Whidden dies. Two-die set, FL Sizer and Micrometer-top Seater, costs $184.99. Sizer die alone is $74.99, while Seater die alone is $109.99.
Many of our Forum members have started using Whidden dies — and they are reporting very positive results. I personally own and use a set of Whidden dies, and I am very, very impressed with them. Here’s my report:
Editor’s Report on Whidden Dies I have a set of Whidden Gunworks dies for my personal 6BRDX (a chambering similar to 6 Dasher but with longer neck). The dies are excellent and they produce very straight ammo. My loaded rounds (made with a Whidden bushing-type FL sizer and Whidden micrometer-top seater) are showing less than .0015″ run-out measured on the bullet, with the majority closer to .001″ run-out. (This is with Lapua Scenar L bullets, which have great jacket uniformity and concentricity.)
One thing I immediately noticed about the Whidden seater die is that there is a very close correspondence between the seater “hash marks” and true changes in seating depth. By this I mean when you dial a value change of 10 on the micrometer scale, you get very close to a .010″ change in seating depth. It is not perfect, but it is definitely more precise than most other micrometer-top seater dies I’ve used (both hand dies and 7/8-14 thread screw-in types).
Cartridges loaded with my Whidden sizer and seater dies have proved very accurate. My 6BRDX is shooting in the mid-ones for five shots at 100 yards. I also have a micrometer-top Wilson inline seater die that was custom-bored with my chamber reamer. As far as I can tell, the ammo loaded with the screw-in Whidden seater is every bit as accurate as rounds loaded with the Wilson die using an arbor press. Additionally, with the Whidden micrometer die, I can hold extremely tight tolerances on base-to-bullet-ogive lengths.
In the past, with my 6mmBR, I favored an inline die because I thought it offered better control over seating depth. But given how well the Whidden seater works, I’m not sure I’d gain anything with my Wilson hand die. At least when used with a quality Harrell’s benchrest press, the Whidden seater gives up little or nothing to the hand die, and that’s big news in my experience.
You will like the look and feel of these Whidden dies. The finish inside and out is very, very good — the dies have a quality feel and run very smoothly. Both the sizer and seater have a fluted section — this offers a better “grip” when you’re screwing in the dies. The outside of the seater has a smooth, gloss-anodized finish — it exudes quality. The markings on the seater’s micrometer ring are crisp and very legible, with large, high-contrast white-on-black lines and numbers.
One other very cool feature of the Whidden sizing dies is that custom-sized tapered expanders will soon be offered. Whidden plans to offer expanders in .0005″ (one-half thousandth) increments. This is great if you have, say, a .265 bushing and a .266 bushing but you want just a little less neck tension than the .265 offers. With the tapered expander, I can use a 0.265 bushing followed by an 0.2655 expander — allowing more precise control of neck “grip”.
Whidden Die Features
Die Dimensions well-matched to PT&G reamers used for match chambers.
Sizing dies spec’d for easy chambering and extraction without overworking brass.
All sizers include shoulder datum collar to measure shoulder “bump” and headspace.
Neck bushing or no-neck bushing configurations.
Bushing dies use standard Redding/Wilson type bushings.
Neck diameter of non-bushing FL sizers can be set to customer specification.
Extended threads on short cartridge sizer dies such as BRs.
Coming soon: custom expander balls (in half-thousandth increments) to adjust neck tension and provide minimum working of the case neck.
Seater: Floating sleeve on micrometer seater enhances concentricity of loaded rounds.
Seater: Large, high-contrast markings for easy adjustment.
Custom Dies for Wildcats or Your Cartridge
Custom-made for your wildcat or standard cartridge.
Can work from fired brass or a chamber drawing to match your chamber exactly.
Neck-bushing die, or no-bushing die with neck diameter bored to customer specification.
Available Die Sets
Here is the current caliber list. Micrometer seaters are available in all calibers listed below except 22BR and 22 BRX.
John Whidden Talks about Sizers, Seaters, and Expanders
There are two sides to our die business. First we are stocking dies in many calibers that are of interest to those who visit this website (such as the 6PPC, 6mm Dasher, 6.5×47 Lapua, .260 Rem, 7mm Shehane, .308 Winchester). These dies are a good fit to the “match chamber” reamers and very few people with these calibers should have to have “Pure Custom” dies made. We have both sizers and micrometer-top seaters ready to go for the many cartridge types listed above. The sizer dies will include a shoulder datum collar that makes it easy to measure shoulder “bump” during the full-length sizing process. This is important to control headspace precisely.
On the “Pure Custom” side, we have a huge amount of flexibility. We can make one-of-a-kind sizers and seaters for wildcats in a short period of time and at an excellent price. We can work with the customer to make full-length sizers, neck sizers, shoulder bump dies, small base dies, or most anything else they can need. We can of course provide micrometer-top seaters for these cartridges as well. We can make non-bushing sizers with specific neck inside diameters tailored to customer specifications.
We will also be offering custom-sized expanders. These expanders will fit our dies as well as Redding dies. Our tapered expanders will be available in .0005” (one-half thousandth) increments for the common calibers. In our shop we have had excellent results using expanders in the dies as long as the expanders provided the correct amount of neck tension and didn’t overwork the brass. Expanders have gotten a bad reputation in recent years but we find them to be excellent tools when the same precision is applied to their use that careful handloaders apply to the rest of their process. Expanders can be most valuable for those who choose not to neck-turn their brass (because the expander pushes neckwall variations to the outside).
One last thing — many gunsmiths with their own wildcats (or “specialty” chambers) have asked us to provide dies for their customers. We gladly do batches of custom dies and encourage gunsmiths to contact us. — John Whidden
McMillan Group International (McMillan) has added three new lines of ammunition: Extreme Velocity ammo (optimized for long range), McMillan Precision ammo (match quality for hunting), and McMillan Tactical ammo. All three new types of ammo are loaded with premium bullets. McMillan claims that its precision cartridge-loading methods ensure: “better concentricity, better uniformity of velocity, [and] better uniformity of pressure”. Along with these three NEW ammo types, McMillan already offers African Dangerous Game ammunition (ADG).
McMillan Extreme Velocity Ammunition — Long Range McMillan’s Extreme Velocity (ExVel) ammunition utilizes high-BC Berger Bullets exclusively. Powders are selected for High FPS and low ES to minimize vertical spread at long range. ExVel ammo was designed with input from Bob Beck of Extreme Outer Limits TV.
McMillan Precision Ammunition — Hunting In its new Precision line, McMillan offers traditional hunting cartridge types. Barnes LRX, TSX, and TTSX bullets with excellent accuracy AND strong terminal performance are used. All critical cartridge measurements are held to precision tolerances and Powders are selected for consistent velocity. Each round is hand inspected.
McMillan Tactical Ammunition McMillan’s Tactical ammunition offers .308, .300 WM, .338 LM, and 50 BMG cartridges loaded to “match-quality standards”. Bullets are carefully selected for mission-specific applications and powders are selected for low ES to minimize vertical spread at extreme long ranges. Each round is hand inspected.
Vintage Military Rifle Matches
Across the country, vintage military rifle matches are growing in popularity. It’s easy to understand why — the matches are fun, the rifles are affordable, and the rules discourage the use of expensive aftermarket sights and fancy triggers. It comes down to good marksmanship… and good ammo.
To help competitors in the Vintage military rifle game, Hornady has devleoped a line of Vintage Match ammunition. Currently available in four cartridge types, Vintage Match ammunition replicates the original military performance specifications of older military rifles. To function safely and reliably in older guns, this Vintage Match ammo is loaded to pressures well below CIP max.
Hornady Vintage Match ammunition was developed for shooters involved in the increasingly popular CMP Vintage Rifle and Vintage Sniper Matches. This “Vintage Match” product offers an off-the-shelf, match-grade alternative to surplus or hand-loaded ammunition. The four varieties of Vintage Match ammo are: 6.5×55 Swede, .303 British (Enfield), 7.62x54R (Moisin Nagant), and 8×57 IS/JS (Mauser)*.
At the 2013 WBC, event organizers constructed a stadium and filled it with 201,000 spectators to watch the best biathletes in the world. Among national teams at the WBC, Norway dominated, winning an incredible eight of the eleven competitions, including all three relays. Tora Berger and Emil Hegle Svendsen each won two individual events and contributed to the relay Golds. Tarjei Boe added Gold in the mass start. These eight Gold medals were a record for the IBU World Championships; no other nation has been so prolific or dominant.
“World’s Finest Trimmer” Costs $69.95
Hornady Product Availability
On our main 
Available Die Sets
There are two sides to our die business. First we are stocking dies in many calibers that are of interest to those who visit this website (such as the 6PPC, 6mm Dasher, 6.5×47 Lapua, .260 Rem, 7mm Shehane, .308 Winchester). These dies are a good fit to the “match chamber” reamers and very few people with these calibers should have to have “Pure Custom” dies made. We have both sizers and micrometer-top seaters ready to go for the many cartridge types listed above. The sizer dies will include a shoulder datum collar that makes it easy to measure shoulder “bump” during the full-length sizing process. This is important to control headspace precisely.
McMillan’s 
In its new 
McMillan’s 
