That fancy front rest is a Farley with custom polished aluminum magnum base, John Loh top, and upgraded large-diameter “Speed Demon Wheel” elevation adjustment. The barrel is a 1:8.75″-twist Bartlein fitted with Ralph Stewart 3-Disk rotary tuner. The 32″-long tube tapers from 1.250″ to 1.0″ diameter. Speedy prefers to have a bit of taper in barrels even when weight is not a factor.
The F-Class World Championships take place next month at the Connaught Ranges in Ontario, Canada. Here’s something special gunsmith Speedy Gonzales put together for F-Open shooter Brett Solomon. Christened the “Little Red Devil” by Speedy, this ruby red, flame maple-stocked beauty is chambered in .284 Winchester. It features a Melonited BAT 3LL action with two bolts (regular and magnum bolt face). The stock is the Speedy “Spear of Destiny” design crafted by Will McCloskey. These handsome McCloskey stocks are milled with advanced CNC machines, allowing ultra-precise tolerances for improved tracking and perfect geometry.
Speedy tell us: “Wish I could say the pictures do it justice. It is ten times nicer looking in real life. Bret will be rubbing on it for hours when it arrives…”
Torrefied Wood from Yamaha
This wood is very special — the flame maple was sourced from Yamaha which used a torrefaction process to stabilize the wood and prevent warping. Yamaha’s proprietary ARE process was developed by Yamaha for musical instruments. Speedy explained that Yamaha uses heat and pressure (we think) to stabilize the wood and dampen vibrations. During torrefaction, the sap in the wood actually crystallizes.
For this rifle build, the torrefied wood blank was CNC-milled by Will McCloskey to “best-in-industry” tolerances. Then Speedy did the inletting, fit the triggerguard, action pillars, butt-plate assembly, and other details. Then Speedy removed the metal parts and shipped the stock to Lee Garver, a noted guitar painter. Garver applied a special red-tone polyester finish. This is a very hard, yet glossy finish that makes the stock “pretty nearly scratch-proof” according to Speedy.
The rifle sports one of Ken Rucker’s new F-Class Bump-Buster Gold recoil reducers. This new system is optimized for prone shooting and works with minimal touch/hold shooting styles.
This video shows the CNC-Milling process with another Speedy stock, the adjustable-comb version of his “Spear of Destiny” design:
The BAT 3LL action comes with two (2) complete bolts, one with standard bolt face, the other with a magnum bolt face.
When One Stunning Rifle Is Not Enough…
If you aren’t yet totally consumed with envy, consider this. Brett Solomon has invested in THREE more Speedy-built rifles like this red wonder. There’s a TAN (natural finish) rimfire training rig that’s complete, and Speedy’s now working on a GREEN .284 Win “spare”, plus a BLUE dedicated Magnum rig. The tan, green, and blue rigs for Brett will have similar stocks, with “all the bells and whistles” just like the “Little Red Devil”. Brett is currently using the tan-stocked rimfire rig for training — getting lots of “trigger time” without burning out his precious centerfire match barrels.
M1 Garand Springfield Armory July 1941 production. Facebook photo by Shinnosuke Tanaka.
This month at Camp Perry, competitors will be competing with the classic M1 Garand, and its more modern descendant, the M1A. Both the CMP Garand Match and M1A Springfield Match will be held at Perry on July 22, 2017. The Garand and M1A are fun to shoot, but they are NOT so easy to clean because it’s impractical to insert a cleaning rod from the breach. Just take a look at the above photo and you’ll see why. Accordingly, when using a cleaning rod with an M1 Garand or M1A, one normally works from the muzzle. That runs the risk of damage to the critical crown area. Solution? Use a muzzle protector like this….
To avoid undesired muzzle/crown wear when cleaning, Creedmoor Sports sells a special Delrin bushing that fits over the end of the barrel. Produced by Dewey (makers of Dewey rods), these Muzzle Guides feature a brass insert that supports the cleaning rod, and also protects the crown from dirty brushes. Creedmoor offers these Delrin Muzzle Guides for the M1 Garand ($10.95), M14/M1A ($9.95), and also AR15-platform rifles ($9.95). If you own a Garand or M1A you should definitely get one — the ten-dollar price is nothing compared to the cost of recrowning a worn or damaged barrel.
Here a lady competitor shoots in the Springfield M1A match at Camp Perry
Creedmoor also offers special Cleaning Kit for AR-platform rifles, both the AR15, and its bigger brother, the AR10. These deluxe cleaning packs include: 8/32 female threaded chamber cleaning rod, 8/32 male threaded lug recess cleaning head, Delrin sleeve, 50-pack cotton cleaning rolls, chamber brush, chamber mop and a double ended nylon cleaning brush. The price for the complete kit is $35.95. We think that’s reasonable for a system the allows you to clean those critical yet hard-to-reach areas of your AR. With the gas system dumping powder residue right back into the bolt, ARs tent to run dirty. You want to keep your chamber and lug recess area clean to ensure 100% reliablity.
Photos by Stephen Fiorenzo, courtesy Applied Ballistics.
The 2017 King of 2 Miles match has concluded, and we have a new monarch. F-Class Ace Derek Rodgers is the new King of 2 Miles. Shooting with Team Applied Ballistics, Derek delivered a dominant performance, scoring nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival, Ronnie Wright. And Derek was the first KO2M marksman in history to hit the target at the maximum 3368-yard (1.91 mile) distance.
With his McMillan-stocked .375 CheyTac rifle, Derek shot brilliantly from the start. He was perfect — without a miss — at the first three yardages: 1543, 1722, and 1888. He had some misses at 1953 and 2667 yards, but then he out-shot all competitors at 3028 yards, going two for five. No other shooter managed a single hit at 3028 yards. Then it all came down to the big one — the last (and greatest) challenge, the target at 3368 yards (1.91 miles).
This would require superior shooting skills, a masterful wind call (by Emil Praslick), and nerves of steel. Derek tried four shots without success. It looked like the two-mile hit would continue to be an impossible goal. But then, on his fifth and very last shot, Derek did it — he hit the 3368-yard target.
After Derek made the (nearly) two-mile shot, cheers erupted on the firing line — what an achievement! Derek is the first (and only) shooter to make the 3368-yard shot at K02M. Watch him do it in this video:
Derek Rodgers Hits Target at 3368 Yards on his Final Shot:
Derek Rodgers K02M-Winning Hardware and Ammunition
Factory Rifle Finishes in Second Place
With so many full-custom rifles on the firing line, many were surprised to see a factory rifle finishing second overall. Ronnie Wright shot superbly with his stock Barrett M99 chambered in .416 Barrett. Ronnie’s impressive second-place performance proved the effectiveness of the .416 Barrett cartridge (and the build quality of the M99). For ammo, Ronnie used Cutting Edge 472gr MTAC projectiles loaded in Barrett-stamped .416 cases. The powder was Alliant Reloder 50 ignited by CCI #35 50 BMG primers. The rifle had a Barrett factory 32″ barrel fitted with an Accuracy 1st level.
INTERVIEW with DEREK RODGERS:
Q: What do you believe contributed to your success at this match?
Derek: This match was truly a team effort from the entire Applied Ballistics Team. Emil Praslick and Paul Phillips are world class wind-readers and spotters. They have the ability to make decisive decisions and trust that I (as the shooter) will put a bullet on target every time a command is given. We posses a dynamic team background with a lot of history and experience under our belt. Our positive team synergy is hard to find. The addition of vital tools played a huge role in our success. A few of the tools we used were the AB Kestrel and Garmin Foretrex 701 AB Elite to give absolutely crucial and accurate ballistic solutions. The new McMillan ELR Beast stock was stable and the NF ATACR scope is robust and clear. The Bartlein barrel used was top notch! However, one of the most important pieces of the ELR puzzle and the only thing that separates the target is — the bullet. We chose Cutting Edge (CE) bullets due to their high level of precision. These bullets proved to be invaluable in connecting every piece of steel at the KO2M competition. The CE 400gr Lazer Max bullet was selected and was tremendously accurate. This bullet transitioned into a sub-sonic velocity without any loss of precision at ELR distances. Our success would not be possible if the projectile did not fly correctly for 7+ seconds of flight time. CE has outstanding designs and several quality choices to choose from.
Q: How many hours would you say you practiced for this match?
Derek: It is hard to calculate practice time in hours. ELR is a program that we work on every chance we get — day and night for months prior to the event. We have an extremely strong background of team shooting and long range shooting. A lot of time has been invested on and off the range, but does not stop there. The combined range time from other disciplines really helped me to be successful in transitioning from long range to ELR. It really is a compilation of 10 years of trials and tribulations. Some would say, “the Devil is in the details”. Our team tries very hard to not overlook any small detail. Practice and training is always scrutinized for improvements. Our Applied Ballistics team has a love and passion that goes beyond measurable amounts of time. We were fortunate to get together for two days a month prior to the Ko2M event to review our program and practice as a team. Bryan Litz had a plan, and we discovered as a team we had flaws in our program. Each one of us contributed from years of experience on improving our technique until we had a winning solution.
Q: Why did you choose the .375 CheyTac cartridge?
Derek: When I was asked to join the AB Team, I needed to get an ELR rifle built in a short period of time. I was under a very tight time schedule to get the project complete. In an effort to eliminate variables, I decided to keep things standard and as simple as possible. I chose the .375 CheyTac for the ease of getting components. The larger rifles are more difficult to get components quickly and I felt like the .375 CheyTac had enough attributes to be competitive at ELR distances.
The Cutting Edge 400gr bullets are milled from solid copper bar stock on a CNC Swiss-style lathe.
New ELR Hardware and Software on Display at K02M
This marks the second straight year that Team Applied Ballistics has won the K02M event. Last year, Team AB shooter Mitchell Fitzpatrick won the coveted “King of 2 Miles” title (Fitzpatrick finished fourth this year, just off the podium). In the past year, there has been considerable evolution in Extreme Long Range hardware and software, and projectiles are constantly being improved.
Bryan Litz (center) conferring with Team AB members Emil Praslick (L) and Doc Beech (R).
We asked Bryan Litz, founder of Applied Ballistics, to summarize developments in the ELR game. Here are Bryan’s observations:
“Each year the KO2M sees advancements and shooters converging on those tools and processes that have proven effective in prior years. It’s rather apparent, for example, that spotting impacts is a crucial part of success in this match. This was improved by the match directors/organizers placing the targets in very good locations for spotting impacts. We’re seeing less set-ups with adjustable bases, and more with solid/fixed scope mounts. One of the exciting new pieces of equipment is the periscope device made by TACOMHQ (John Baker). This device provides an optical shift to the image which allows you to get more elevation for those long shots. Also, the refinement of fire control (ballistic) solutions has really played a role in getting shooters centered up for their first shots.”
“This tournament highly favors first-round impacts with the scoring system, so the approach of ‘walking the shots on’, isn’t a winning strategy. Those who employed accurate ballistics solvers were able to score more first round hits, and pile up the points. First and second place (at least) were using Applied Ballistics solvers to center their shots. We’re looking forward to even more advancements and making these ELR shots even out to two miles more commonplace in the future thru systematically applying the Science of Accuracy.”
The 2017 National High Power Rifle Championships commence today, June 7th, at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The National Matches, which run through July 25, 2017, involve multiple National Championship events along with famed Trophy Matches. The nation’s finest civilian and military marksmen will convene on some of Atterbury’s 60 ranges for nearly 20 days of High Power rifle competition in a variety of formats. This year’s National Matches at Camp Atterbury will include the National High Power Championships, National Mid-Range Championships, National Long Range Championships, and various side matches, including NRA America’s Rifle Challenge, NRA 2-Gun, and an Extreme Long Range One Mile event.
Shown Below is Reigning NRA Long Range National Champion John Whidden.
This year’s sponsors include ArmaLite, Berger Bullets, Cutting Edge Bullets, Champion’s Choice, FN America, Hodgdon Powder, Krieger Barrels, Lapua, NEXUS Ammunition, Nightforce Optics, Nosler, OTIS, Satern/Liberty Barrels, Sierra Bullets, SK, Timney Triggers, Vihtavuori, and White Oak Arms.
Match Schedules Adjusted to Allow Travel Time
The shooting schedule has been adjusted to give competitors time to travel between events held at different locations. Following the completion of the XTC matches, competitors will have a day to travel to Camp Perry, Ohio, should they wish to attend the Small Arms Firing School and shoot the Civilian Marksmanship Program National Trophy Matches. Similarly, Smallbore Prone competitors in Bristol, Indiana, will have a day of travel to arrive at Camp Atterbury to participate in the High Power Mid-Range and Long-Range Prone matches.
American Outdoor Brands Corporation (AOBC) announced that its firearms business, Smith & Wesson Corp., has agreed to acquire the assets of Gemini Technologies, Inc. (“Gemtech”), a leading provider of suppressors and accessories for the consumer, law enforcement, and military markets.
Smith & Wesson intends to complete the acquisition of Gemtech utilizing cash on hand and expects the transaction to close this summer. Ron Martinez, President of Gemtech, will continue in his leadership role as General Manager, heading up the company’s strong team located in Eagle, Idaho. For more information, visit Smith-Wesson.com and Gemtech.com.
James Debney, AOBC President/CEO, said, “Gemtech is widely recognized for producing some of the finest rifle and pistol suppressors in the market. Gemtech’s strong product development capabilities, combined with our experience in brand management and our manufacturing expertise, will help us to efficiently develop both firearms and suppressors, minimizing our time to market for both product categories. We view this acquisition as opportunistic, allowing us to enter the suppressor category[.] These elements combine to make Gemtech an excellent fit with our long-term strategy.”
About Gemini Technologies, Incorporated
Gemini Technologies, known as Gemtech, began as a group of leading designers with roots in the suppressor business going back to 1976. Gemtech’s suppressors are in use with all branches of the U.S. military and are also in use by many special operations forces, military, and police around the world. Based in Eagle, Idaho, Gemtech is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 certified company and maintains effective rigorous quality assurance systems and processes. Visit Gemtech online at https://gemtech.com.
The AccurateShooter.com Shooters’ Forum hit another membership milestone. We’ve surpassed 36,000 registered members. Now we hope to reach 40,000 members in the next year. If you have considered joining our Forum, but haven’t done so yet, there’s no better time than now. We have fast, “mobile-friendly” Forum software that works great with smart phones and tablets. You can now stay in touch when you’re on the go. Log in with your iPhone or Android phone. Our advanced Forum software also makes it easy to add photos to your posts and classified adverts.
As a Forum member, you’ll be part of an active community of serious shooters. You can get valuable advice on shooting and reloading from top shooters such as newly crowned King of 2 Miles Derek Rogers and National Champions Tom Mousel, Larry Bartholome, and Sam Hall. As well, many top experts visit the Forum, such as Bryan Litz (Applied Ballistics), Shiraz Balolia (Bullets.com), Frank Green (Bartlein Barrels), and John Perkins (21st Century Shooting).
Visit Forum.AccurateShooter.com to check out our Forum features. You’ll find a wealth of information shared by thousands of knowledgeable members. The boards are tightly moderated to prevent the ego battles common to some other internet forums. Our Shooters’ Forum maintains a high “signal to noise ratio”, with courteous and respectful exchange of ideas.
Sell Your Gear with Six FREE Classifieds
Along with our Forum discussion areas, we offer FREE CLASSIFIEDS for all registered Forum members. You’ll find great bargains in the Classifieds, and we provide a feedback system for buyers and sellers. Published feedback helps you buy and sell with greater confidence. Each Forum Member gets six (6) free classifieds per year. Then you can upgrade your membership to Silver or Gold to get Unlimited Classifieds for 12 months. Silver membership costs just $20 per year (a mere $1.67 per month).
Every serious hand-loader can use a powered Case Prep station. This multi-function device saves time and avoids repetitive manual labor (that can be downright painful after 50+ cases). Now you can get the Lyman Case Prep Xpress for a crazy low price. Midsouth just slashed its price on the Case Prep Express, and this unit also qualifies for a sweet $25 Rebate from Lyman. That puts your net cost at just $84.99. Hard to argue with that. Your wrists and fingers will thank you.
The Case Prep Xpress lets you chamfer inside and out, brush case-necks, clean/uniform primer pockets, and ream military crimps. However, the unit does NOT trim cases. The motor is powerful and the Xpress is easy to clean. On sale at MidSouth for $109.99 ($84.99 after Rebate), this is a great deal. You can also purchase at Amazon for $107.71 with free Prime Shipping ($82.71 after Rebate).
The Lyman Case Prep Xpress comes with all the necessary tools (listed above), so you don’t have to purchase extra accessories. The five (5) gear-driven heads on the unit are powered by a high torque, low-speed motor ideal for case prep operations. Lyman’s Case Prep Xpress features handy storage areas for accessories, a removable brass shavings dump pan, and a handy clean-up brush.
Sinclair Int’l video clearly illustrates all case prep functions. Worth watching.
In the four years that this product has been on the market it has been a strong seller. If you’re prepping hundreds of cases, this unit will save considerable time and reduce hand/finger fatigue. While the Case Prep Xpress is not as sturdy as the metal-bodied Hornady prep center, the Lyman unit offers a lot of functionality for the money.
Lyman Case Prep Xpress Pros and Cons
GOOD Features
Quite Affordable (under $120)
Compatible with RCBS and Redding Tool-heads
Removable Bin for Shavings
Four Brush Sizes: .25, .30, .38, .45
Compact Footprint
Not-So-Good Features
Tool-heads Not Particularly Sharp
No Case Trim Function
No Flash-hole Uniformer
No Top Dust-Cover
Only 1-Year Warranty
Reviews by Verified Purchasers
“Case prep is the most tedious and boring aspect for hand loading in my opinion. The process center makes all the steps in prepping the case very quick and with consistent results. It has reduced the time required to do these steps with separate tools by easily 50% if not more. Highly recommended.” — Brandon G.
“Quiet and capable. Worth every penny. I adapted a Lee Cutter and Lock Stud, to cut case lengths, and I can fly through my brass. I can do so much more brass without getting the sore, cramped-up hands.” — Dean Ellis
“This unit has plenty of torque, and my unit is very quiet. This unit will also work with tools made by RCBS and Hornady, or anything else with 8-32 threads. My Redding tools (specifically, my primer pocket uniformers) do in fact fit on this machine. This unit is certainly worth the money, and will revolutionize the way you reload by saving you massive amounts of time and wear on your hands/fingers.” — Mule
The data-packed July issue of Shooting Industry magazine reveals key gun industry metrics — such as background checks, financial results from publicly-traded gun-makers, and the latest U.S. firearms manufacturing production data. The annual U.S. Firearms Today Report presents a comprehensive review of gun industry activity, including data on firearm production by caliber, shifts in export/import totals and the top 25 U.S. firearm manufacturers from 2015 (the latest data available).
As indicated by the ATF’s 2015 Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export, the industry rebounded across several categories after a challenging 2014. Total firearms production increased from 8,692,461 in 2014 to 8,911,530 in 2015, growth of 2.5 percent. For the eighth year in a row, Ruger was the top overall U.S. firearms manufacturer with 1,667,820 firearms produced in 2015, while Smith & Wesson and Remington were the leading handgun and long-gun manufacturers, respectively. One notable trend is that Savage Arms significantly increased its production output compared to other leading rifle-makers.
Here are the top three rifle makers in 2015 with percentage change from 2014:
Gun Sales Trends in 2017 Compared to 2015
The Firearms Today Report reports that, contrary to some perceptions, gun sales remain strong: “Comparing the first five months of 2017 to 2015 (which was the second-largest year for U.S. firearms manufacturing), the industry is performing well. NICS background checks increased by 6.7 percent (from 5,427,494 to 5,793,571) from January through May 2017 compared to the corresponding months in 2015.”
The lastest issue of Shooting Industry (and all 2017 and 2016 monthly issues) can be accessed in their entirety online at www.shootingindustry.com/digital-version. CLICK HERE for July 2017 Digital Edition.
Story Lead from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
The USA Shooting National Championships are underway at Fort Benning, Georgia. This is an elite event for Air Rifle, Smallbore Rifle, and Pistol. Thus far titles have been claimed in Men’s Three-Position Rifle, Women’s Air Rifle, Centerfire Pistol, Standard Pistol and Junior Men’s Sport Pistol. 2016 Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky won the overall Men’s Three-Position Rifle title, an Olympic event. He and eventual silver medalist George Norton shot the same Qualification scores yesterday and today (1166, 1174). Kozeniesky placed two positions higher in the Final to claim the overall gold medal.* Two-time Olympian Michael McPhail won the bronze medal.
In Women’s Air Rifle, Ole Miss Rebel Alison Weisz shared the lead after Day One with an impressive 419.8. Though her Qualification score of 416.6 wasn’t the highest among the competitors, her win in the Final secured her first National Championship title and nomination to the National Team – .1 point ahead of Sagen Maddalena who claimed silver. Emily Stith won bronze AND the women’s Junior title.
Six-time Olympian Emil Milev won the Men’s Standard Pistol competition in dominating fashion – winning the title by an astronomical 61 points. Kevin Bennett won silver and William Dutton won bronze.
Paralympic Sport Match
A World Shooting Para Sport-sanctioned match was held in conjunction with this year’s National Championship with nine countries participating. Some of these competitors shot from wheelchairs, while others shot from a bench with support for the rifles. Three American athletes earned medals and nominations to the National Paralympic Team with their performances today.
File photo 2016
*Here’s how the scoring worked. Athletes completed two days of Qualification matches, with competitors in the Olympic events (Women’s Air Rifle and Men’s Three-Position Rifle) also competing in a Finals match today. Points from the two Qualification matches, plus points earned based on rank in the Finals were combined to determine athletes’ final placements at these National Championships.
Many leading shooting sports online retailers are offering money-saving promotions this holiday weekend. With appropriate discount codes you can save 10%, get free shipping, or qualify for other significant savings. Here are some of the best current promotions we’ve found. Note — these promo codes change frequently. Check www.Retailmenot.com for new codes after these expire.
NOTE: MidwayUSA changes Promo Codes often, sometimes on a Daily Basis. Look for Promo links on MidwayUSA’s home page and check www.Retailmenot.com for the latest codes.
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