|
|
February 13th, 2012
 Here’s smart new product for someone who wants to keep a handgun safely secured, but quickly accessible under a desk at home or at a business. The new SpeedVault (from GunVault) is a drop-down safe that can be mounted under a desk or in various concealed locations. The handgun is cradled in a a holster-like protective foam lined interior. The SpeedVault offers a combination of covert placement and fast, reliable access.
The SpeedVault is constructed of tamper-proof, 18-gauge steel and available in digital lock or biometric finger print scanner. An activation button triggers a spring-loaded door that not only has a high-strength lock mechanism, but also performs reliably, time after time. Foolproof security is ensured with an audio and LED low battery indicator to help guard against direct tampering and unexpected power loss. Mounting hardware is included. The SpeedVault comes in two models, the SV 500 (with standard lock) for $199.99, and the SVB 500 (with fingerprint lock system) for $319.99. Dimensions are the same for both units: Width: 3.5″ W x 6.5″ front to back x 13″ top to bottom.
Fingerprint-Reading Biometrics (SVB Model Only)
The higher-priced SpeedVault Bio handgun safe uses biometrics, specifically fingerprint recognition, to access the safe contents rapidly. A high-performance algorithm is used to achieve speedy identification of enrolled fingerprints and at the same time has a very low False Reject Rate (FRR). The self-learning algorithm adds new details to the fingerprint templates each time a user touches the fingerprint sensor, reducing the chance of FRR. The system can handle up to 120 fingerprint templates.
February 11th, 2012
 Imagine if your shooting club organized a public range day and 1500 people attended (including hundreds of first-time shooters). Now imagine that taking place in “gun-phobic” California. Well, believe it or not, this really happened when the San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Association (SLOSA) hosted its first annual SLOSA Expo. The January event drew more than 1,500 attendees who shot nearly 40,000 rounds while trying out a variety of shooting disciplines under the guidance of 150 volunteers. As a model event, the SLOSA Expo demonstrates how successful a well-organized Range Day Promotion can be.
Expo Introduces Hundreds of New Shooters to the Sport
The purpose of the Expo is to raise gun-safety awareness and expose non-shooting members of the public to what the shooting sports have to offer. The Expo fulfilled its charter by drawing in 63% new shooters to the SLOSA range. In fact, one-quarter of Expo participants fired their first shots ever.
 At the SLOSA Expo, personal instruction, ammunition and loaner guns were provided at no cost to attendees — thanks to a grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Men, women and children of all ages came from as far as 100 miles away to participate in the free fun event. Visitors could try a variety of disciplines including: archery, sporting clays, action pistol, black powder, cowboy action, and much more.
“This one-day event did more to promote the 2nd Amendment and the range itself than 20 years of the range simply being open.” Said Kevin Wooley of Calguns.org. “Kudos to the volunteers.”
“We were elated at the interest and response from the community.” said Art Leach, President of SLOSA. “We expected no more than 500 people to come out for the Expo and were overjoyed to reach over 1,500 guests before 2 o’clock”. One reason for the event’s high attendance is the SLOSA Range’s unique location, just a few hundred yards from scenic California Highway 1.
“This is the first event of this magnitude I’ve heard of ever happening” said Maddy Cooley, Resources Director at SLOSA and author of the Expo grant. “The Expo will forever change the way firearms are viewed by [California] Central Coast residents.”
Story tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
February 11th, 2012
 Valentine’s Day is just three days away, so you better start planning how you’ll show some appreciation for the lady in your life. Of course there are the old reliables: flowers, chocolates, and dinner at a fancy restaurant. But if you want to do something really different this year, how about giving your special lady some “pretty in pink” shooting gear. (Don’t forget the flowers though… if you value your life.)
Natchez Shooters Supplies offers a variety of pink products for ladies. How about a set of pink electronic ear muffs from Champion Shooters? A portion of the proceeds from sales of these muffs goes to fighting breast cancer. These muffs only have a 21 NRR (not so great), but they do collapse for easy storage. The Champion Ladies Target Muffs, item CM40975, sell for just $34.95.
Natchez also offers pink cases for both pistols and rifles. The Bulldog-brand 52″ Pink Rifle/Shotgun Case will hold most rifles or shotguns without optics. This would be a great gift for a young girl who shoots trap or who uses an iron-sighted rimfire rifle (such as a CMP H&R M12). The case features a water-resistant outer shell with a soft, scratch-resistant, tricot inner lining. The pink long-gun case costs just $14.75 at Natchez, item JZBD254.
For the Pistol-Packin’ Mama in the family, the Outdoor Connection makes a hot pink, range case. This tough, leather-bottomed bag features padded central compartments for pistols, with accessory pockets on all four exterior sides. There is plenty of room to stow ammo boxes, muffs, trigger locks, and other shooting gear. The great thing about this bag is that it can do double-duty as a general travel case when it’s not being used to haul pistols to the range. Made from heavy 600-denier nylon, the pink Range Bag is On Sale for $21.95 at Natchez.
Last but not least, MizMac.com offers a Pink, Limited Edition 4-Gun Range Cart, that’s perfect for a gal who shots service rifle, High Power, or multi-gun matches. The cart features a steel frame, run-flat tires on chrome spoke rims, and it even has dual rear parking brakes. The Cart can hold four, full-size long guns in a vertical position. It’s also a great cart for shotgunners, as it has a lower storage compartment that will hold 18 boxes of 12ga shells. Just as important as its ammo carrying capacity, the Rugged Gear Cart has a built-in Six-pack Cooler, for those vital liquid refreshments. As sold by MizMac.com, the Rugged Gear Pink Range Cart retails for $389.99.
February 10th, 2012
Forum member Darrel Evans from the UK pulled off a remarkable feat recently. He set multiple 600-yard UK benchrest records shooting a true, military-type tactical rifle, an Accuracy International AW chambered in 6.5×47 Lapua. The gun had a custom 24″ fluted Border barrel, and bag-riding accessories, but other than that, Darrel’s gun was very much “as-issued” by the factory. Darrel pulled off this fine display of precision shooting at the December 27th 600-yard benchrest comp at England’s Diggle Ranges. (The Diggle, as you may know, is notorious for difficult conditions.)
Report by Darrel Evans
Just thought that you all might like to know how I have been getting on with my Accuracy International AW chambered in 6.5×47 Lapua. To make a long story short, I broke three UK records: smallest group of the day — 1.8″ at 600; smallest Agg for the day — 2.8″; and smallest Agg for the Light Gun class — 2.8″. All these records can be viewed on the UKBRA and TargetShooter websites.
To say that I was ‘over the moon’ would be an understatement. I was happy that all of my hard work had paid off. I was delighted to set records on the rifle’s first outing since [adding bag riders]. The 600-yard benchrest comps over here are run as a winter competition and the winds at the Diggle are not very forgiving. I knew that the group was small as the markers were over lapping each other when the target board came back up. But when they told me that it was 1.823″ I knew that I had got a record, as the last record of 2.225″ was set by myself in 2009 on the first Comp with the 6.5×47 barrel on, this was then broken with a 2.18″ on a calm day later that year. Later I received an email from Vince Bottomley telling me that I also had the best factory Agg record and the Agg record for Light Gun class.
About Darrel’s 6.5×47 Accuracy International
My Accuracy International AW (AI-AW), a military rifle system, started life as a .308 Winchester when I first bought it. But after a lot of reading I decided to buy a 6.5×47 Lapua barrel for it. As you know the AI-AW rifle system is a very good switch-barrel design, so after a phone call to Graeham Clark at Sporting Services I bought a Border Barrels 24″ fluted barrel in 6.5×47 Lapua. My .308 barrel is now in my gun safe. After seeing how the 6.5×47 barrel shoots, I doubt the .308 tube will ever go on again.
The rifle falls in the Factory Class for our 600-yard BR comps. This also qualifies in the Light Gun class. Most folks say that a factory rifle will never beat the custom lads in the Light Gun class…. Well, sometimes it’s nice to see this happen. To help the rifle’s bench manners, I made a plate for the front so that it would sit on my compact front rest with a Farley joystick top. I also made a bar to fit on the bottom of the buttstock for the rear sandbag.
Load Development and Accuracy Testing
 After a lot of testing with different powder and bullet combos, I settled on 38.2 grains of Hodgdon Varget, with 130gr JLK bullets and CCI 450m primers. Velocity is 2914 fps. Seems that this is where it likes to be. In the photo below, you can see the results of a few different powders, but all with the fantastic JLK 130gr bullets. The 38.3 Varget load had all four rounds in nearly one hole and I pulled the fifth, so this was pretty much the load that I went with for my 600-yard Comp. The JLKs are really good, consistent bullets, and I think that the next barrel that I buy will be set up for these bullets and no other — they are that good. I seat the bullets at 2.157″ OAL, just kissing the lands. I could not go any further out as the bearing surface is short.
Wrapping up his success story, Darrel added: “I hope that this is of some help to people who have a 6.5×47 or are thinking of building one. All the best for 2012.”
February 10th, 2012
Creedmoor Sports is currently running an auction of the very first CSR-1 rifle, the personal rifle of Creedmoor’s Gen’l Manager (and former National Champion) Dennis DeMille. NOTE: 50% of the total selling price will be donated to the M1 for Vets program. This CSR-1 rifle (serial number CS-0001) features a Pierce Engineering custom action in a Gary Eliseo Tube-gun chassis. The rifle will be up for auction through February 14, 2012. Current high bid is $3,600.00, as of 2/10/2012, 0900 Pacific Time.
This rifle currently belongs to Dennis DeMille. Dennis’s log book indicates the rifle only has 571 total rounds through it. Dennis reports: “With those few rounds I’ve posted some very good scores: 790-?, 498-23x, 497-?. I used this rifle to test various 6.5 Creedmoor loads from Hornady prior to the initial release of the round.” The rifle is still chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and comes with four (4) mags, single round follower, handstop, and gun log-book.
This is your opportunity to own the very first CSR-1, and at the same time help support the M1 for Vetsprogram. Bids will be accepted either via email or phone. Log on to CreedmoorSports.com for more info. The highest current bid will be posted periodically during business hours.
February 7th, 2012
 Past F-Open Class National Champion (and Forum Member) Larry Bartholome, has authored an authoritative article on the 2011 F-Class National Championship held last fall in Lodi, Wisconsin. Larry writes: “With a wind tunnel for a range, and rain that canceled the final team match, only the strongest stood on the winners’ podium when the Championships ended”. Larry provides a day-by-day guide to the match, with complete results for both F-Open and F-TR classes. You’ll find Larry’s article in the February 2012 edition of Shooting Sports USA.
You can read, for FREE, the digital version of Shooting Sports USA. CLICK HERE to read Larry’s article (pp. 20-22). Along with the report on the F-Class Nationals, there are many other items of interest in the February edition of Shooting Sports USA. You’ll find a 14-page 2012 Event Calendar that covers NRA competitions all across the country.
 In addition, this month’s edition features a well-written, 4-page Guide to Field Target Competition by Jock Elliot. Field Target is a form of outdoor silhouette shooting using high-tech PCP Air Rifles with high-magnification scope. Check out the special Marauder Hybrid bullpup used by Team Crosman member Ray Apelles in the photo below. These high-end rigs are not cheap. A “full-race” Open Class Field Target rifle can cost up to $3000.00 with another $1000.00-$3000.00 for optics.
February 7th, 2012
 The NRA Competitive Shooting Department is promoting a trivia contest on its Facebook page. Once every couple of weeks, the Competitive Shooting staffers gather round, decide on a question and pick a prize. Correct answers are put in a hat and winner is picked.
The last winner, Pennsylvanian Robert Berl, correctly answered that Michelle Gallagher won the 1,000 yard Any Sight Match (Band of Brothers Match) at the 2010 National Long Range Championships.
If you submit a correct entry in this week’s contest, you can win a valuable prize. This week’s question is: “Who was the winner of the inaugural 1979 Bianchi Cup?” Once you’ve figured that out, send an email to compadmin@nrahq.org by 4:00 pm ET on Thursday, February 13 and you can win a 2011 MidwayUSA & NRA Bianchi Cup Gift bag. Inside the bag is a 2012 Bianchi Cup brochure signed by John Bianchi himself and 2011 Bianchi Woman’s Champion Jessie Harrison.
February 6th, 2012
 In the future, Virginians will enjoy the restored freedom to purchase multiple handguns within a 30-day period. The Commonwealth is repealing provisions of § 18.2-308.2:2 of the Code of Virginia restricting handgun purchases to one-a-month. After passing the Virginia Senate (21-19), legislation (HB940, SB323) overturning Virginia’s present one-handgun-a-month restriction is now on its way to the desk of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. As Gov. McDonnell has said he will sign this legislation into law, we can expect the one-gun restriction to soon be a thing of the past in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“We are pleased that the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates have recognized the importance of repealing one-gun-a-month, legislation that rationed the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Virginians,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “We look forward to Gov. McDonnell’s signature on this very important bill.”
February 2nd, 2012
 Hunters and the Sundance Film Festival are two things you normally don’t hear in the same sentence. On Sunday that changed when a short documentary film about a group of female hunters from South Carolina won the prestigious film festival’s Shorts Audience Award, and earned director Maria White a $5,000 prize. The 13-minute film, “The Debutante Hunters”, directed by Maria White, was the audience favorite among 700 short films submitted to the Festival. The film tells the story of women and why they hunt. Director White had the idea for the movie after going on a hunt: “This was a world I wanted to explore, where a woman can be feminine, a mother, a daughter, and still be a total bad-ass.”
The short film, set up for internet streaming by Yahoo.com, has been viewed over half a million times, garnering 50,000+ votes from movie fans. Director White revealed that she hopes to develop the short film into a TV or cable series, using the additional eleven hours of footage she has compiled.
Watch The Debutante Hunters (Full 13-Minutes)
READ Related Story on “The Debutante Hunters” Movie
Debutante Hunters Facebook Page
|
