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October 18th, 2007
Manners Stocks has released its new “T4″ series of tactical stocks. The new design features flats on the bottom of the fore-end and buttstock so the stock performs well from sandbag rests as well as from bipod. With outer shells composed of 35% aircraft-grade carbon fiber and 65% fiberglass, the Manners T4/T4A stocks are very light and very stiff. The T4 weighs just 2.7 pounds, while the T4A (with adjustable checkpiece) is 4.1 pounds.
 Tom Manners tells us: “The T4A comes standard with an adjustable cheek using Terry Cross’s hardware. Both the T4 and T4A come standard with a fixed 1″ Pachmyer Decelerator pad. They can also be ordered with the optional butt spacer system and a Decel pad. The fore-end is about 2.50″ wide and will take barrels up to 1.350″ in diameter. The sides and bottom of the fore-end and the bottom of the butt behind the hook are parallel with the bore. This allows the stock to ride very straight and true if you want to use bags. We lengthened the pistol grip about 1/4″ longer compared to the Manners T2 stock.”
Manners stocks are built to a very high standard compared to most fiberglass stocks on the market. The geometry is consistent and the shells are free from voids and flaws. Manners stocks are all hand-laid with high-temp epoxy resins, placed under a vacuum, and heat cured for optimal resin to fabric weight ratio. Standard configuration stocks come fullly-inletted with a pillar set ready to install at time of bedding. Tactical stocks come painted with a durable, polyurethane enamel in black, OD green, coyote brown, dessert tan, or sand. A variety of camouflage patterns from Larson Tactical are also available at extra cost. The T4 costs $425.00, while the T4A (with Terry Cross adjustable cheek hardware) is $595.00.
October 12th, 2007
We’ve received inquiries from readers who are looking for a gunsafe that is big and strong but can be broken down and transported more easily that a typical 800 to 1200-lb safe. There IS one product that fits the bill–the Zanotti safe. It arrives in sections, none weighing more than 170 pounds. It is assembled in place, then can be dis-assembled when you need to move. The Zanotti is also well-suited for a gun-owner who lives in an apartment up many flights of stairs.
Zanotti Armor offers safes that are ideal for gun owners who need to move frequently or who live in a location where it is difficult, if not impossible, to position a conventional safe. Zanotti safes arrive in three or four discrete shipping boxes. The safe is assembled by the owner, on site, in six steps. The heaviest component is the door, weighing 110 pounds in the 16-gun ZAI safe, and 175 pounds in the largest 52-gun ZAIII model. Five safe models are offered, ranging from 350 to 925 pounds assembled weight, without interior. Zanotti safes are very popular with police, military personnel, and others whose jobs force them to re-locate often. The safe can be assembled in under 30 minutes with no tools other than a hammer, and all you need is a hand dolly to move any component.
 Guns Magazine reports: “The panels are interlocked by 3/8 inch, nickel-plated steel “L” shaped pins that slip into steel tubing sections welded to the interior surfaces of the panels. The slip fit is held to a tolerance of .003 inch, and the safes are completely assembled and hand fitted at the factory to insure the panels will align properly. The body is made from 1/8 inch and 3/16 inch steel; the door from 3/16 inch steel; the locking bolts are 3/4 inch steel.” This is heavier gauge steel than you’ll find on most conventional gun safes.
Zanotti offers many deluxe interiors including a system of roll-out sliding drawers in the bottom of the safe. We think the sliding drawers are ideal for storing handguns and expensive items such as cameras and binoculars that you want to keep out of plain view. Mark Zanotti, the innovative creator of these modular safes, can also customize any interior to suit the customer’s particular needs.
Editor’s Note: For most applications, a conventional safe is still the best choice. Bolted in place, a conventional safe with welded walls will provide the best security and a conventional safe can provide increased fire protection. Zanotti safes do not employ a separate layer of sheet-rock or ceramic fire lining. The Zanotti is a special product for gun-owners with special needs. The units are well-made and Zanotti offers many nice custom interior features that you won’t find even on much more expensive conventional safes.
To learn more about gunsafe features and fire-proofing, read our Gunsafe Buyers’ Guide.
October 11th, 2007
One of our favorite forms of competition is varmint silhouette at 400 to 600 yards. It’s difficult to see hits on paper at these distances, so we like to use a reactive target during practice sessions. Gongs are good but they’re a bit oversized for this kind of work. A smaller-sized, self-resetting “popper” target is ideal. LV Steel Targets LLC. offers a full range high-quality, durable, and reasonably-priced steel targets, including the spring-loaded “poppers” we prefer. Designed for hard use from centerfire rifles, LV Steel’s targets are made from rugged 3/8″ or 1/2″ thick Armorcoat 500 steel plate. Spring tension is adjustable and the targets break down for storage and transport. With a fresh coat of white or orange paint, you can see your hits several hundred yards away.
LV Steel’s owner, Kurt Stone, tells us: “We have shot thousands of rounds at our targets and never had one break. They have been tested with .300 Win Mags at 200 yards and did fine.” In 3/8″ thickness, Target #1 is $165.00, #2 is $155.00, #3 is $145.00, and #4 is $220 (shipping extra). Our friend DesertFrog reports: “I’ve had a #2 target for the last 4 months and it has become the only target I take with me in the desert. On my 6.5×20 I could easily see the hits up to 747 yards. It’s easy to take with you and install. A definite MUST if you go shooting outside a range. The quality is awesome.”
LV Steel Targets also offers swinger targets (photo below) and stationary targets on steel posts. You can preview all the targets at LVSteeltargets.com. If you have questions, or need a custom target design, contact Kurt Stone, (702) 258-7597 or info [at] lvsteeltargets.com.
October 2nd, 2007
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. This is a well-designed unit with a strong, cast-iron frame. The Lee Classic has two nice features you won’t find on a 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. This allows you to change the leverage to suit your task.
Now through October 31, 2007, you can purchase the Lee Classic Cast Press for just $66.99 at MidwayUSA, item 317831. Natchez Shooters Supply also offers the Lee Classic for $69.99, item LEE90998. 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
“Access to the cartridge is a little better than the RCBS because you don’t have the priming fixture in the line of sight between you and your work.” –L. Dickison
“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’ of the primer seating.” –M. Gallagher
“Totally outclasses any other press in its price range. Runs with presses in the $100-$120 range.”–W. Rose
September 28th, 2007
We’re pleased to report that the MidwayUSA shooting mat is on sale again (in case you missed out the first time around). This is a great deal on a good, basic shooting mat. And this time you’ve got nearly five weeks to buy–the $24.99 price is good through October 31, 2007.
MidwayUSA’s 69″ x 27″ mat, item 169107, features rubberized padding for elbows, and a water-resistant coating on the bottom. It even has grommets at the corners, so you can stake it securely at your shooting position. The mat also stores easily, rolling up to about six inches in diameter. While this mat isn’t as thick or durable as deluxe mats costing $80 or more, for the price, just $24.99, it performs well. Here’s a customer review: “I purchased 30 of these on sale for my shooting club’s use in CMP, Rifle team , and junior shooter use. They are a good buy for the money. They are slightly thinner than some other mats I’ve used, but shooting mats are not sleeping bag pads. ” — Ross E., Dedham, MA
September 23rd, 2007
By uniforming meplats, shooters can reduce variances in the Ballistic Coefficients of a set of bullets. Many top shooters, such as David Tubb, feel that meplat trimming can also reduce group size. Danny Reever has tested and reviewed the Meplat Trimmer from Montour County Rifles. Danny reports this $75.00 tool is well-crafted, easy to use, and it offers some advantages over other meplat trimmers on the market. Starting with a lot of bullets that varied in length up to .008″, Danny was able to bring them all within .003″ using the Montour Trimmer. CLICK HERE for Danny’s full report.
September 14th, 2007
Keeping your loaded cases at a controlled temperature is vital for maintaining good ES and case life. At a late summer varmint match we observed pressure signs with cases that had been sitting in direct sunlight for about 15 minutes. As we were running a “moderate” RL15 load, the pressure indications were surprising. Testing over a chronograph, cases that had been sitting in direct sunlight showed velocities up to 70 fps higher than those that had been kept in the shade. Using QuickLoad’s temperature function, we calculated from the rise in velocities that case pressures had increased by over 4,000 psi–just from 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight!
We will now keep a temp strip in our ammo boxes at all times. Neconos.com offers Bar-L Benchrest temp strips that visually display heat readings from 86 to 140 degrees (our cases got warm to the touch so they were probably about 110-120° F). Think of these strips as compact, unbreakable thermometers. With adhesive backing, they can also be used to monitor barrel heating. Put a strip on the side of the barrel and the barrel’s temp will be indicated by a stripe that changes from black to green. There is also a “general purpose” strip that reads to 196 degrees (bottom row). The Benchrest strip is in the middle.
September 6th, 2007
 FaceAway Camo has introduced a new coating that can be applied to guns, binoculars, tripods or scopes. FaceAway claims that ThinSkin™ is a truly breathable camo tape that allows moisture to escape before rust can form, unlike traditional camo tapes. ThinSkin™ is also thinner and more pliable than most other camo tapes. Application is easy, since ThinSkin™ readily conforms to curved surfaces, unlike some other camo applications. For 2007, ThinSkin™ comes in handy packs designed for smaller items such as binoculars, cameras, and scopes. ThinSkin™ Breathable camo tape sheets are available in seven different patterns including popular Hardwoods and Grasslands styles from RealTree and Mossy Oak. For more info on ThinSkin™ breathable camo tape products visit FacewayCamo.com or call (866) 926-2266.
Editor’s NOTE: Since this product is so new, we are not able to verify FaceAway’s claim that rust won’t form on metal items coated with ThinSkin™, but the product is promising. We recommend you test the coating on an inexpensive piece of steel before you use it on expensive guns or scopes.
September 4th, 2007
 Sinclair Int’l has just released a new catalog chock-full of great stuff for precision shooters. The latest catalog includes old favorites and 100+ new items. Below are some of the more interesting additions to Sinclair’s product line-up. We’re pleased to see that Sinclair will be selling the CED M2 Chronograph, previously reviewed in the Daily Bulletin.
 CED M2 Chronograph: At $189.00, the new CED M2 Chronograph offers the best performance you can get in a Chronograph for under $400.00 (now that the Oehler 33/35 are no longer offered). It is more repeatable than lesser-priced brands in “less-than-ideal” light conditions, and the control unit is much easier to use than the “folding box” variety. Representing a significant upgrade over the previous CED “Millenium” model, the new M2 has more memory and can clock a wider range of bullet speeds–from 50 fps all the way to 7000 fps. The upgraded M2 will record velocities at much lower light levels than the previous Millennium chronograph. Included with the CED M2 are chronograph, sensors, cables, screen mounting bracket, USB computer interface cable and the new CED Data Collector Software program. NOTE: This item is currently back-ordered but units should arrive very soon.
Flexible Chamber Swab Tool: This new gadget works great with lever guns and semi-autos because you can insert it through the rifles’ ejection port without disassembling the rifle. The flexible wand (made of aircraft cable) can be bent or angled to fit the action ports as necessary. Equipped with a comfortable plastic handle, the 10″-long chamber tool is excellent for cleaning an AR15 upper. This new tool accepts all 8-32 male threaded cleaning accessories including Iosso AR brushes, chamber brushes and swabs, and all Dewey brushes, bore mops and chamber swabs.
 Kestrel 4500 Portable Vane Mount: This $46.80 system is a “must-have” for any Kestrel wind gauge owner. It provides a steady platform that allows the Kestrel to work on its own while you’re in shooting position. This new mounting system works with all Kestrel 4000 Series Weather Trackers. The lightweight Vane Mount assembles easily and enables the 4500 Weather Tracker to monitor headwind, tailwind and crosswind direction and speed. A high-quality bearing in the tripod allows the device to respond to small changes in wind direction. The kit, Sinclair Product 24-825, includes a handy Cordura carrying case. NOTE: Check the rules for your shooting discipline to determine whether one is permitted to use this unit during record fire.
Boyt Extra-Long Gun Case: Most soft gun cases are too short to handle match and varmint rifles with long barrels. Quite a few also lack clearance for big scopes–you can slide your gun in the case but may not be able to zip it up with the scope attached. Those problems are solved with the new 50″ Boyt Signature case. Priced at $90.95, the 50″ case is long enough for BR and Varmint rifles with up to a 29″ barrel and has room for most scopes. Boyt’s Signature Series cases are constructed of high-quality canvas, with a leather spine, and heavy-duty brass zippers. The Signature case comes with a large accessory pocket (all soft cases should have one) and a quality leather sling. The $90.95 Signature case also comes in a 46″ length for guns with sporter-length barrels.
September 2nd, 2007
Do you suffer from “Camo Envy” when you see those slick, realistic camo finishes offered on factory Benellis and Brownings? Well, stock-maker Bell & Carlson (B&C) has a solution for you. B&C will apply a factory quality, thin-film camo-coat to your existing firearm.
Available options include Mossy Oak® Breakup®, Trebark® Superflauge®, Realtree Hardwoods®, and NaturalGear™. Cost is $185 for whole gun (not including scope/rings, bolt handle, floorplate or trigger guard), or $65 for stock alone. B&C can also do the rings and ring mounts for $15 each. Shown below are two NaturalGear™ patterns, both well-suited for a Western summer/fall varmint rifle.
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