|
|
November 28th, 2009
 When using the Stoney Point type OAL gauge (now sold by Hornady), we sometimes get a bullet stuck in the rifling. This can also happen with a squib load or when extracting a round with the bullet seated hard in the lands. You can use a cleaning rod or a wood dowel to tap out the bullet, but a brass drop rod will do the job faster and easier, with less risk of nicking your crown.
You can make a drop rod yourself from brass or bronze rod. Just make sure to smooth over any burrs or rough spots on the ends. Or just order a set of brass bullet drop rods from Sinclair Int’l. You drop the Sinclair Rods (item 52-500) down the barrel from the muzzle end with the rifle standing upright. Sinclair Bullet Drop Rods are made of brass so they will not harm the rifling in your barrel. Each $11.95 set consists of two Drop Rods — a 3/16″ diameter rod for 20 caliber through 25 caliber bores, and 1/4″ diameter rod for 6.5 through 416 caliber bores.
Remember, for safety sake:
Drop Rods are never to be used to dislodge live or loaded rounds! Always remove the Drop Rod from the barrel before chambering another round!
November 28th, 2009
A vehicle GPS Navigation system is great for the active shooter or hunter who regularly travels to distant ranges or hunting grounds. Prices for high-quality GPS systems have been dropping even while more features are being added. When we saw that the latest-generation Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS went on sale for $119.99, we thought that was worth a mention in the Bulletin. Assistant Editor Jason Baney did a lot of research on vehicle GPS systems a few months back. He concluded that the Garmin 255W offered the best “bang for the buck.” And that was when a 255W cost about $160.00. Jason purchased a Garmin 255W and recommends it: “My Garmin 255W is easy to use, the screen is bright and easy to read, and the routing is usually very good.”
CLICK for Best Price on Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3″ Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
CLICK HERE for more Garmin 255W Photos and Complete Specs.
This unit has some impressive features. Of course it provides spoken turn by turn directions. You can also search locations with your home computer and load them into the 255W — the unit can hold up to 1000 destinations or way points. The 255W has a large, bright touchscreen that makes it easy to enter directions. With so many GPS Nav units available, the 255W has become one of the most popular on the market. One nüvi 255W owner explains why: “I chose the 255W for several reasons… It uses some of the newest and best maps available. It has one of the more usable touch screens for entering destinations. It’s fast to acquire satellites. And Garmin almost always comes out on top in reviews — especially in routing. Ultimately, you buy a car GPS to get you from Point A to Point B as easily and efficiently as possible. And that’s what the 255W does best. If you’ve ever had a ‘Brand X’ GPS take you on some strange route that adds 20 minutes to your trip, has you turn the wrong way down a one way road, tells you to turn AFTER you’ve passed the street, frequently loses the satellite signal, or has old maps missing streets, you know how important this stuff is.”
No Lane Assist on 255W
We do wish the $120.00 Garmin 255W offered the “Lane Assist” feature found in the more expensive Garmins (but for $120 you can’t have everything). Lane Assist zooms in to show the lane you need when exiting freeways, or navigating through large interchanges. The Garmin 255W does tell you when and where to turn, it just doesn’t offer enhanced Lane Assist graphics. If you want a unit with Lane Assist, we recommend the Garmin nüvi 855. Along with Lane Assist the 855 model offers speech recognition — a nice feature that can simplify inputting new destinations or switching among GPS displays while driving.
November 8th, 2009
This gear review is by respected prone shooter German Salazar. German recently received the first production version (Serial No. 0001) of the NEW Borden Action espressly designed for Tubeguns. German reports this is “really a great piece of equipment” and it’s affordable at $800 for the single-shot version or $850.00 for the repeater.
NEW Action for the Tubegun Revolution by German Salazar
If you’re a High Power shooter then you know that the Tubegun Revolution is in full swing both in across-the-course and prone matches. For many reasons, including accuracy, availability, cost, delivery time, ergonomics, familiar feel (for AR15 shooters) and more, the Tubeguns are becoming the norm in High Power. I recently built a 30-06 Tubegun for prone matches and have been extremely satisfied with the results, but I had a desire for a better action for it, now that desire is a reality.
While most Tubegun stocks are made to take Remington 700 actions or clone, it has become difficult to get bare Remington actions and bargain priced 700s are non-existent these days. Buying a complete rifle to strip, then blueprinting the action leaves you with about the cost of a custom action invested in the Remington — not the most economically sensible outcome.
Seeing the need for a custom action to fit the Tubeguns at a moderate price, Jim Borden of Borden Rifles is now making a Tubegun Special (TGS) action –- actually six variants of it. The TGS action is made to fit the Tubegun stocks without alteration and has been designed in cooperation with Gary Eliseo (Competition Shooting Stuff) to ensure compatibility and functionality.
Special Features Optimized for Tubegun Installations
The TGS is a full round action, without the scallops of the Borden Alpine/Timberline series and without the flattened rear bridge of the Remington 700. This full round surface presents a much larger surface area for epoxy if you intend to glue-in the action, and simply a better fit if you intend to bolt the action into the tube. Additionally, the TGS has no scope mounting holes or bolt stop since these are not required in a Tubegun stock and their elimination reduces machining costs, helping to keep the retail price competitive with a blueprinted Remington.
Beyond the action profile, there are a few choices in the TGS. You can order it right-handed or left-handed, long action or short action, single-shot or repeater. The single-shot models have a coned bolt as shown in the photos, which helps feeding from the action trough, whereas the repeaters have a flat-faced bolt like a Remington to ensure reliable feeding from a magazine.
The TGS has the familiar Remington-type plunger ejector and a claw extractor similar to the Sako. I have put over 4,000 rounds through my 6BR Borden Alpine with 100% reliability from the extractor. It’s a solid, reliable design. The bolt is nicely fluted in a spiral pattern and the fit and finish of every bit of the action and bolt are first class. It’s almost a shame to epoxy it into the tube, but that’s what it’s meant for!
Borden Accuracy is now a distributor for the CG triggers (X-tremeshooting.com) and can time the action to the trigger before delivery. Other triggers are available from Borden as well and the action takes any Remington-type trigger. Finally, Gary and Jim have standardized locations for the serial number and manufacturer information and the CSS stocks have small windows in the main sleeve to allow those to be seen at all times.
If you’re planning to build a Tubegun, you should take a close look at the Borden Tubegun Special action, it’s a very practical and cost-effective approach with the single-shot actions priced at $800 and the repeaters at $850 as of this writing.
November 4th, 2009
Temperature, Atmospheric Pressure, and Altitude — all these things can and do affect bullet ballistics. Moreover, temperature changes can alter powder performance and chamber pressures. The smart reloader takes the predicted ambient temperature into account. And when calculating your come-ups and windage click values, you need to factor in Temperature, Air Pressure, AND Altitude.
 How do you keep track of these important variables when you’re shooting? The Kestrel 4000 Pocket Weather Tracker®, is compact and provides a wealth of information: atmospheric pressure, altitude, density altitude, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind chill, dew point, and heat index. We like the Kestrels and recommend them. But at $279.00, a Kestrel 4000 is too expensive for many shooters.
Timex now offers a solution. Selling for about $60.00-$75.00 (street price), the Timex Expedition® Adventure Tech™ watch (item T41501EA) displays Altitude, Barometric Pressure, and Temperature (ABT). The thermometer function records temps from 14° F to 140° F. The Altimeter reads from -2,296 feet to +29,520 feet with 10-foot resolution. The Barometer tracks current and sea level pressure, and provides a graph of pressure changes over time.
Encased in a stainless housing with a resin band, the Timex watch is water resistant to 50 meters, and offers many other nice features, including dual time zones, countdown timer, alarm, and backlit nightlight (very handy). The countdown timer is very easy to set and activate; and yes the timer can be used effectively in a shooting match.
There are other quality watches, such as the Suunto Core, that provide Altitude, Atmospheric Pressure, and Temperature read-outs. But, at under $70.00, the Timex is one-fourth the price of the Suunto. Amazon.com is currently offering the Timex Temp/Altitude/Barometer watch for $62.88. It is offered with a silver band as well as the black shown above.
Useful Tool or Just Another Gadget?
Is this watch really useful or just another piece of male jewelry? Well just last week a friend was developing loads and he wanted to input the ambient temperature, and current air pressure. The Timex gave us the desired data. (Note: it’s best to take the watch off your arm when gauging air temp). For this editor, the Timex ABT watch is a useful tool. I bought one and use it during load development and when shooting competitively. Negatives? Well the Timex IS big and thick, really thick, but then it’s much handier than carrying BOTH a digital thermometer/altimeter AND a separate count-down timer.
Here’s an owner’s review: “I have been through a Nike ABT, a Swiss Army ABT, and a High Gear ABT watch this year alone. None of them, which cost quite a bit more, have been as accurate and durable as this Timex. It has a better fit, was easy to use and read and just plain ‘on the money’ as far as forecasting weather and altitude. Also, I have not had to take it off my arm for 10-15 mins to get a decent temperature rating. It has always been within 1-3 degrees of actual temp. And I live in the Carribean in a tropical climate… so, for it to be this accurate is a statement in itself.”
November 1st, 2009
For years, Sinclair Int’l has offered a reamer for small, BR-sized flash-holes, product #07-3000. This popular tool features an 0.0625″ cutting tip to uniform the .059″ flash-holes on Lapua 220 Russian, 6mmBR, 6.5 Grendel, and 6.5×47 brass. Sinclair’s tool works from the outside, indexing off the primer pocket. For those people who believe in the utility of reaming small flash-holes (an open question), the Sinclair “outside-in” design may be the best. But until now, there has been no equivalent “outside-in” reamer for cases with large flash-holes.
 Sinclair recently introduced its NEW .081″ large flash-hole reamer, item #07-3081. This $37.50 tool is designed to ream standard flash holes (.080″) to exactly .081 inch, both for small primer pockets and large primer pockets. This tool will remove most burrs left in manufacturing and will uniform the flash-hole diameter of all your brass to ensure consistent ignition.
Double-Ended Design Works with Both Small and Large Primer Pockets
Sinclair’s all-stainless three-piece tool features a double-ended reamer guide for both large and small primer pockets, a knurled handle for easy turning and a straight fluted .081″ reamer. It is designed for all cartridges (with either small OR large primer pockets) with standard .080″ flash holes.
As one Sinclair customer noted: “This is a tool that has been needed for a long time.” As a result, the .081″ flash-hole reamers have been back-ordered through 12/1/2009. But if you order now you should have yours within 5-6 weeks.
IMPORTANT: We recommend, if you order this tool, that you mic the actual diameter of the cutter tip. We have found that some flash-hole reamers, of ALL brands, arrive with slightly oversized cutter tips. Indeed we’ve seen tip diameters of other brands (not Sinclair) vary by as much as .006″ (six-thousandths). You want to make sure you don’t have an oversize cutter before you ream hundreds of cases.
October 21st, 2009
Lee reloading products have always represented good “bang for the buck”. The Lee Classic Cast “O”-style press is no exception — it works as well as some other presses costing twice as much. One well-known “boutique” bullet maker has recently switched to Lee presses because the tolerances and lack of slop were actually superior to more expensive presses.
The Lee Classic Cast press is a well-designed unit with a strong, cast-iron frame and all-steel linkage. It has important (and very cool) features you won’t find on an RCBS RockChucker. First, the ram is drilled in the center and fitted with a plastic drop tube so spent primers drop right out the bottom (where you position your trash can). Second, the handle adjusts for length and “attack angle”. This allows you to change the leverage to suit your task. As Lee explains: “The start and stop position is adjustable with a 48-tooth, ratchet-type handle clamp. In addition, the handle length is completely adjustable. Shorten when you’re loading handgun and short rifle cases.” As you can see, you can also mount the handle on either side, left or right.
 
You can purchase the Lee Classic Cast Press for under $86.00 at major vendors. FactorySales.com offers the Lee Classic Cast for $73.40, item 90998. MidwayUSA sells the Lee Classic (item 317831) for $85.99. Natchez Shooters Supply also offers the Lee Classic for $80.99, item LEE90998.
 Mark Trope of SurplusRifle.com has written a detailed Review of the Lee Classic Press. He notes that the press is “southpaw friendly” and he praises the priming system. Mark found that the spent primer drop tube worked very well and that the press “works perfect and has great sensitivity” when seating primers.
Not yet convinced? CLICK HERE to read comments from actual Lee Classic owners. Here are some highlights:
“It has a large, heavy-duty 1-1/8″ diameter ram that has been drilled out for spent primers … and a long clear plastic hose attached to it so you can route it to a trash can. [This is] a VERY well thought-out way to collect ALL primers to your trash can when you’re decapping.” –D. Oldham
“Fit and finish are impeccable. The spent primer disposal system is simple and neat. There is no spring or flexing of any kind. There is virtually no play in the ram, which is a good tight fit in the frame. Operation is totally smooth.” –R. Smith
“Totally outclasses any other press in its price range. Runs with presses in the $100-$120 range.”–W. Rose
“I like…the position of the ram at priming. The Lee seats the primer with the ram at the bottom of the stroke vs. the RC II, which seats in the middle of the stroke. Priming at the bottom of the stroke gives you a much better ‘feel’.” –M. Gallagher
October 17th, 2009
LINK: Make Your Own Swivel Bipod Adjustment Handles
Save $15-20 by assembling your own easy-adjusting bipod handles with components from T-Nuts.com.
October 17th, 2009
LINK: Eliseo You-Tube Gun Video from the Cole Twins
Rockin’ soundtrack and tack-drivin’ Tube Guns made this one of our most popular videos ever. Them Cole boys from Texas can shoot….
October 17th, 2009
LINK: John Loh Rest Donated for World BR Championships
Can a rest be a work of art? Yes, it can — when crafted by John Loh of JJ Industries. John, one of the great guys in the sport, donated this rest to support the U.S. Team at the BR Worlds in South Africa.
October 9th, 2009
Brass jags perform well for their intended purpose — with one hitch. Strong copper solvents can actually leech metal from the jag itself, leaving the tell-tale blue tint on your patches. This “false positive” can be frustrating, and may lead shooters to over-clean their barrels.
 There are now some good alternatives to brass jags. The best may be the Gunslick® Nylon Snap-Lock™ jags shown at left. These never leave a “false positive” and snap on and off quickly. Larry Bartholome, past USA F-Class Team Captain says: “The best spear-type jags I have used are the GunSlick black nylon tips. I have used the model 92400 for the last couple years in my 6BR and 6.5-284s. Unlike the white plastic jags, these are strong and there’s no brass to worry about.”
92400 22 through 270 calibers: $1.49
92421 30 through 375 Calibers: $1.49
If you prefer a metal jag, MidwayUSA sells Tipton Nickel-coated jags, both individually and as a boxed set. The vast majority of user reviews have been very positive. A few guys have complained that the nickel-plated Tipton jags run oversize, but we use a .22-caliber jag in our 6mms anyway, so this hasn’t been a problem for us. The 22-caliber nickel-plated jag (item 996840) costs $4.79. The complete 12-jag set (item 812503), covering .17 to .45 calibers, costs $24.49 including a fitted box, shown below.
K&M Stainless Jags
K&M Tools offers stainless spire-point jags in .22, .243, and .308 calibers. These are well-made and won’t produce false positives. However, with stainless jags, you MUST always keep the jag covered with a patch when inside the barrel. Otherwise you can rub steel against steel — not good. The downside of stainless is the potential for barrel scratching. On the other hand, according to Forum member Dans40x: “300 series stainless steel jags last a few lifetimes”.
Clear-Coating Your Brass Jags
If you’re reluctant to give up your collection of brass jags (after all they’ve worked pretty well so far), try covering the jag itself with a thin, transparent coating. Forum Member BillPA says: “I give the brass jags a coat of clear lacquer or acrylic; that works for me”. You may need to experiment to find a coating that stands up to your favorite solvent. BillPA says: “The only solvent I’ve found that eats the lacquer off is TM Solution. Butch’s, Shooter’s Choice, or Wipe-Out don’t seem to bother it. Most of the time I use rattle-can clear lacquer”. If you’re feeling creative, you could even color-code your jags by adding tints to the clear-coat.
|
