Here’s good news for Applied Ballistics Mobile App users with Samsung smart-phones, running the latest OS. Bryan Litz reports: “For those who were experiencing problems with the Applied Ballistics Mobile app on the new Galaxy S4 devices, I’m happy to announce that the problem has been resolved. App users should have the update already — once you have a network connection, the App will check for the update, which will be pushed out to the device.”
Products in the 2013 CMP catalog include: M1 Garand Rifles, Smallbore Rifles, Air Rifles, Replacement Barrels (newly manufactured), Garand Stock Sets, m1903 Stock Sets, M1 Carbine Stock Sets, Ammunition (commercial and surplus), Tools/Gauges, Rifle Cases, Shooting Coats, Shooting Gloves, Shooting Mats, and Instructional DVDs. Note: To order a rifle from the CMP, purchasers must provide proof of: 1) U.S. Citizenship (and age); 2) Membership in a CMP-Affiliated Organization; and 3) Participation in a Marksmanship or Other Firearms-Related Activity.
We like to use the Birchwood Casey 2″ and 3″ orange “Target Spots” stick-on circles (with diamond centers) for shooting at 300 yards and beyond (photo right). These give you a very precise aiming point if you align your cross-hairs with the corners of the diamond. However, we know that some guys, particularly those whose scopes have “target-dot” reticles, prefer to have a small box for an aim point. In addition, the orange Target Spots are not a true “Day-glo” color, so they may seem a little dull (low-contrast) when the target is in shadow.
For guys who want an ultra-high contrast target with a square box in the center, Birchwood Casey has released a new series of neon green targets with box centers and spike-style extended vertical and horizontal lines (like on a compass). The manufacturer explains: “These newly designed adhesive Target Spots come in highly-visible Atomic Green. The crosshair design fulfills the needs of open-sight shooters along with scope users. Easily line up your open sights on the center square or lay the crosshairs along the vertical and horizontal diminishing lines.” You can also rotate the Atomic Green Target Spots 45° to create a diamond center with the crosshairs in an “X” pattern.
We’ve sampled these targets. The Atomic Green background is a true “day-glo” color (like safety signs) so these circles appear very bright on a target backer. These work well in low light. We won’t throw away our orange Target Spots, but these Atomic Green circles are a nice option. NOTE: Atomic Green spots are NOT “splatter” targets — a contrasting bright color does NOT appear around your bullet holes.
Multiple Sizes Offered
Birchwood Casey sells the new Atomic green circles in various sizes. You can order a Combo Pack with sixty 1″-diameter spots, thirty 2″-diameter spots, and twenty 3″-diameter circles.
Liberty Safe has just introduced the SAFELERT wireless monitoring system. This will notify the safe owner instantaneously if the safe is moved, if the safe door is opened, or if there is a notable change in safe temperature or humidity. Liberty’s SAFELERT is small, battery-powered sensing device placed inside your safe (easily hidden out of view). When something happens to your safe (e.g. movement, door opening, humidity change etc.) the device detects the activity and sends alerts (via texts or emails) directly to the safe’s owner.
The SAFELERT works wirelessly via your home or business network. You just need a WiFi router plus at least one networked device (computer, tablet etc.) on the system. If you can open an internet browser page and enter a few numbers, you can get the SAFELERT running in minutes. Communicating via the web-based elertus.com service, SAFELERT monitors your safe and immediately sends you (and up to 4 recipients) alerts when the “triggers” are activated by tampering, door opening, or temp/humidity changes (inside the safe). The SAFELERT also sends a message if its batteries run low or if your WIFI connection fails (hourly network checks). You can “test-drive” the system via Liberty’s SAFELERT demo page. Log in to set a trigger type and receive a simulated alert message.
By now you may be wondering — “what’s this high-tech gadget going to set me back?” Liberty’s SAFELERT Costs $199.00 and there is an ongoing service charge to maintain continuous monitoring. Annual fees are: 3 Years at $39.95/year; 2 Years at $49.95/year; 1 Year at $59.95/year.
As an extra incentive, Liberty is currently offering the first month of monitoring for free.
Optional Antenna for Enhanced WIFI Reception
In most cases, SAFELERT will function well with your wireless router (WiFi system) without a separate antenna. But for situations where WiFi network reception is weak, Liberty includes an antenna to enhance SAFELERT’s reception range. The antenna is placed on the exterior top/side of the safe, with a wire connecting it to the SAFELERT device hidden inside the safe.
Only as Secure as Your WiFi Connection
Writing in the Firearm Blog, Richard Johnson points out some issues with any WiFi-Based security system: “The system … connects to the internet via your home WiFi connection. Therein lies the point of failure. If thieves are breaking into your home, they might first hit your phone/cable connection which will prevent the SAFELERT from contacting you. A workaround would be to have a MiFi or similar device that connects to the internet via cell signal.” We should add that the elertus.com service does promise to check your WiFi connection every hour and send you a message if the WiFi connection drops. But a lot can happen in an hour….
Birchwood Casey has just introduced a super-sized grid target that should work great at 250 yards and beyond. The new Shoot-N-C “Sight-In” target, 17.75″ on a side, features five (5) red aiming points inside large, yellow-edged diamonds.
The background is a grid of 1″ squares with a larger cross outlined in heavy yellow lines. The accurately-sized grid pattern makes it easy to estimate your groups (and adjust your scope to center point of impact). Even if shots fall inside the large, black diamond zones without grid lines, you easily make a quick correction using the nearby grid markings.
As with other Shoot-N-C “splatter” targets, this big 17.75″ target produces a bright, highly-visible yellow ring around each bullet hole. In most conditions, with a 25-power or greater scope, we can see bullet holes at 600 yards using this kind of target. You can buy a lot of these targets for the cost of a target cam — something that might be otherwise required to see bullet holes reliably beyond 500 yards.
Birchwood Casey also recommends this target for sighting in. We can see how that might be useful if you have very low-power riflescope or no spotting scope. Again, the handy grid pattern lets you dial your correction with precision, which should speed up the sight-in process.
After sighting-in, if you have a very accurate rifle, this may not be the best choice of target at 100 and 200 yards. A half-inch group will just create a big yellow blob, and it may be difficult to distinguish single bullet holes. But at longer ranges, even the most accurate rifles will normally produce large enough groups that you can see individual shot placements (with black separating yellow splatter rings).
Shoot-N-C 17.75” Sight-In Targets come in packs of five targets, with 85 stick-on pasters. There are red diamond pasters (for additional aiming points) and black pasters to cover shot marks. MSRP for the 5-pack is $25.30, but many vendors are selling the 5-pack for under $17.00. The lowest price we found was $11.89 at www.bigsupplyshop.com.
Gary Eliseo of Competition Machine is now (again) manufacturing adjustable heads for spotting scopes. These work great for High Power, Three Position, Across-the-Course, Prone, and F-Class shooting. The head fits on a scope stand, so it can adjust to any height you need. This is a super-high quality unit according to our buddy Dennis Santiago: “They’re back — the best scope head on the planet is back in production. Direct from Gary Eliseo this time. Uses any 3/4″- or 1″-diameter shaft stand.”
Gary tells us: “I had so many people ask me to bring my scope head back into production I thought I’d try a trial run to see how they were received. Well, the first run nearly sold out just by word of mouth! I do have some still available from the first run, and we’ll do another run. Price is $185.00 plus shipping. You can choose from 12 Cerakote colors.”
Eliseo Universal Scope Head Features
Scope Head can be mounted above or below scope body.
Scope Head works for both right-handed and left-handed shooters. 6.25″ Offset.
Scope Head works with 3/4″-diameter and 1″-diameter uprights.
Integral dovetail mount (saves wear and tear on spotting scope base threads).
Coarse and fine elevation settings require no tools to adjust.
Adjustable windage disc brake friction.
The Competition Machine Universal Scope Head is available right now — a few units are left from the first production run. To order, call 714-630-5734. To see other Competition Machine products, including tube gun chassis kits, visit www.GotXring.com.
Smart phones from Apple, Motorola, and Samsung offer some amazing features such as GPS-enabled mapping and internet connectivity. And now you can “stay tuned” to Gunbroker auctions even if you’re away from your regular computer. Gunbroker now provides a “bare bones” version of its website designed for web-enabled mobile devices.
Visit http://m.gunbroker.com to check out the mobile-friendly site. NOTE: to use the mobile version of Gunbroker initially, you need to be registered with Gunbroker.com and log in with user name and password.
Mobile Gunbroker Works with Regular Computers Too
You can also use the streamlined “mobile” version of Gunbroker from a lap-top or your regular computer. Search results come through blazingly fast, and you only need a small section of your screen. If you just want to get a quick idea of what a particular firearm sells for these days, the mobile version of Gunbroker may be ideal. And you can always switch back to the full-featured Gunbroker website.
Ever wish you could see the image from your riflescope on a large bright screen, and record your shooting experience when shooting targets or hunting? Well, here’s a new product that offers that functionality. The iScope is a handy adapter that connects a smartphone to your rifle scope — virtually any scope. You can see your target and cross-hairs easily without squinting and with your head in a comfortable position. Importantly, the image from the scope can be seen easily from a few feet away, allowing an instructor to provide guidance during the shooting process.
Jeff Foxworthy iScope Promo Video
(Install, App Launch, and Zoom at 1:10)
To use the iScope, you need a $0.99 App that allows you to zoom the image with a slider on your smartphone. This app also operates the Record on/off function, so you can record video clips. These can later be uploaded to YouTube and social media sites. Show the world your great bughole group, or your successful game hunt.
Practical Advantage of Digital Viewing We think this product (or something like it) will be very valuable during training. The large view-screen allows instructors to “see what the shooter sees”, so the trainer can provide immediate feedback to the trainee. In addition, while practicing at long range, a shooter can record the position of wind-flags, or record mirage for later analysis. During a match, the iScope could be used by match directors to record shot placement, with a “shooter’s eye view”.
The iScope also offers obvious benefits for shooters with physical disabilities. Head positioning is critical with rifle optics — you must align your eye very precisely with a small circle of light (exit pupil) only a few millimeters in diameter. With a large viewscreen, a wheelchair-bound shooter can position himself comfortably and view the magnified scope image.
iScope Benefits
Shooting sessions can be recorded and reviewed later.
Digital Zoom allows greater magnification with low-power optics.
Shooters with eye problems can see target and cross-hairs more easily.
iScope helps Shooters with physical disabilities.
The iScope retails for about $110.00 ($99.00 on Amazon). All iScopes come prepackaged to fit the iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 5 at this time. However, you can purchase other backplates to fit popular Android OS smartphones from Motorola and Samsung. The iScope is versatile — it fits nearly all rifle scopes and there is an adapter for spotting scopes also.
At the NRA Show in Houston, Ashbury Precision Ordnance (“APO”) will spotlight the new long-action SABER-FORSST Sporter Chassis. For hunters and recreational shooters, the SABER Composite Series Sporter is a “drop in, torque down and shoot upgrade” for long-action rifles with 1.200″ to 1.300″ barrel shank diameters. The SABER Sporter chassis features adjustable shoulder stock and carbon-reinforced fore-end (with traditional sporter shaping and twin swivel studs). You can install your barreled action in the SABER Sporter chassis in minutes using simple tools. No gunsmithing or bedding is required. All metal surfaces are coated for durability.
Rugged and Fully Adjustable
The SABER Sporter long-action chassis weighs just 5.25 lbs including the box mag, adjustable buttstock, Limbsaver® recoil pad, and ERGO® Sure Grip. This chassis offers full adjustability — length of pull (LOP), cheek-rest height, buttpad position, and even grip-to-trigger distance. APO says this is a very versatile stock, suitable for both hunting and field applications: “The Sporter is a comfortable, low-recoil rifle chassis impervious to all weather conditions and shoots comfortably off-hand, supported, or from a bipod”. APO’s SABER Sporter is offered in four colors for these action types: Rem700 SA and LA; McMillan G30 SA and LA; Surgeon RSR, 591, 1086, 1581.
Precision Rifleman, the official magazine of the NBRSA, is now available for free online. In addition to match results, equipment lists and pictures, in each eZine issue you’ll find good articles about various benchrest-related topics.
Daily Bulletin contributor Boyd Allen recommends you check out these NBRSA eZines: “For those who are considering the sport of benchrest, this is a good way to get a better ‘feel’ for what it is like. For those who are building a new rifle, the equipment lists can provide invaluable information. Take a look.” All of the back issues are available at: www.issuu.com/precisionrifleman.
We like to use the Birchwood Casey 2″ and 3″ orange “Target Spots” stick-on circles (with diamond centers) for shooting at 300 yards and beyond (photo right). These give you a very precise aiming point if you align your cross-hairs with the corners of the diamond. However, we know that some guys, particularly those whose scopes have “target-dot” reticles, prefer to have a small box for an aim point. In addition, the orange Target Spots are not a true “Day-glo” color, so they may seem a little dull (low-contrast) when the target is in shadow.
By now you may be wondering — “what’s this high-tech gadget going to set me back?” Liberty’s SAFELERT Costs $199.00 and there is an ongoing service charge to maintain continuous monitoring. Annual fees are:
Birchwood Casey has just introduced a super-sized grid target that should work great at 250 yards and beyond. The new Shoot-N-C “Sight-In” target, 17.75″ on a side, features five (5) red aiming points inside large, yellow-edged diamonds.
After sighting-in, if you have a very accurate rifle, this may not be the best choice of target at 100 and 200 yards. A half-inch group will just create a big yellow blob, and it may be difficult to distinguish single bullet holes. But at longer ranges, even the most accurate rifles will normally produce large enough groups that you can see individual shot placements (with black separating yellow splatter rings).
Smart phones from Apple, Motorola, and Samsung offer some amazing features such as GPS-enabled mapping and internet connectivity. And now you can “stay tuned” to Gunbroker auctions even if you’re away from your regular computer. Gunbroker now provides a “bare bones” version of its website designed for web-enabled mobile devices.
Ever wish you could see the image from your riflescope on a large bright screen, and record your shooting experience when shooting targets or hunting? Well, here’s a new product that offers that functionality. The 
We think this product (or something like it) will be very valuable during training. The large view-screen allows instructors to “see what the shooter sees”, so the trainer can provide immediate feedback to the trainee. In addition, while practicing at long range, a shooter can record the position of wind-flags, or record mirage for later analysis. During a match, the iScope could be used by match directors to record shot placement, with a “shooter’s eye view”.
Rugged and Fully Adjustable
