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November 1st, 2009
Larry Potterfield, owner and founder of MidwayUSA, has created some basic gunsmithing videos that are worth watching. These show some key aspects of rifle metal-working, such as crowning a barrel. Be aware that these videos are really just teasers — they don’t illustrate most of the critical preparatory steps a skilled gunsmith will do, such as leveling his lathe precisely, and indicating the barrel very, very carefully. Nonetheless, there are some good, basic tips in the videos, which should be informative for all shooters, whether they do their own smithing or not. Please note that benchrest smiths may employ more advanced methods.
VIDEO One: Cutting and Crowning a Barrel (Radiused Crown)
VIDEO Two: Threading and Chambering an Octagon Barrel
VIDEO Three: Trueing the Bolt Face on a Mauser 98
October 30th, 2009
This week we activated our new, enhanced Shooters’ Forum. The Forum has been re-installed with speedier software on a fast, dedicated server. If you haven’t visited our Forum yet, you should check it out. Users have been very pleased. Brand 962 says: “Fantastic upgrades. Well worth the wait.” Mike (aka Pdog06) reports: “The Forum is way faster on my end than before. I also like the fact that there are now timestamps on posts and PMs, which can help out in the classifieds when you get multiple ‘I’ll take it’ responses.”
Set your bookmarks to http://www.accurateshooter.com/forum.
How to Log In to the New Forum
If you were registered in our Forum before, you can use the SAME User Name and SAME Password on the new Forum. However, on your first visit to the New Forum you’ll need to log-in TWO TIMES in a row to activate your account. The first log-in captures your name and password, and encrypts the info for higher security. The second log-in will activate your account. Thankfully, most people have figured this out. Note that your password is CASE SENSITIVE now. So, if it was all lower case before, you need to type it exactly that way.
Forum Attachments Now Working
When we launched this new Forum we imported over 3500 file attachments (mostly pictures), from the old Forum. That was a very difficult task and we had a few glitches. Now all the attachments are linked up successfully so the attachment feature is live and “open for business”. To attach files to a post you can either upload your image to an image host (such as Photobucket.com) then simply paste the code for the picture into your post. We recommend using a third-party image host for photos, as this will display your pictures full size (or any size you set during upload).
But, if you prefer, you can also upload your images as attachments. Your files will then be stored on our server. To upload image attachments, click on the “Additional Options” link below the text box. This will display the attachments option. Click “Choose” to find a file on your computer hard-drive. NOTE: Max file size for an attached file is 150kb so you may have to re-size your images before loading.
Once you’ve designated a file attachment, you can add more attachments the same way if you want. Then, when all the attachments are listed, click POST. Your files will be uploaded to our server and will appear in the post as 180-pixel thumbnails. Click on the thumbnail to see the full-size image.
October 29th, 2009
Looking for a sturdy, versatile shoulder/sling bag that doesn’t look like a “metrosexual” man-purse? Check out the Rapid Deployment Pack (RPD) from Natchez. Sturdily made from heavy-duty nylon with beefy fasteners and a quick-release front buckle, the RPD offers plenty of storage in a 10″ H x 12″ W x 3″ D format. On the front the RPD has velcro-secured mag pockets which can also be used for hand-held radios, wind meters or other gear.
While other companies offer similar bags for up to $120.00, the RPD retails for $26.99. That’s a lot less than most sling bags cost. This editor personally likes this bag (made by U.S. Peacekeepers) because it will hold a 10″ netbook (and paper notepads) in the main compartment, while I can put my still camera and video camera in the mag pockets. The $81.00 Maxpedition “Jumbo”, while otherwise a good bag, is a bit too small to carry a netbook easily in the main compartment. The RPD has the carrying capacity I need for assignment work, without being too large. In the field the RPD can easily carry your wind meter, laser rangefinder, log book, spare mag, and water bottle, making this a useful option for tactical comps. The RPD offers serious utility for half the price of the Maxpedition Jumbo.
October 28th, 2009
 Every month ShootingUSA.com offers a handsome new firearm in a drawing. This month the prize is a S&W M&P 15, a 5.56 (.223 Rem) AR15 clone with adjustable stock and iron sights. The MSRP $1,406.00. To enter the contest, you need to provide personal info and the name of an FFL-holder to whom the gun can be shipped. In addition, you need to answer a question. The question this week relates to the Bianchi Cup: “What is the highest possible score on the barricades at Bianchi?” Suggested answers range from 370 to 1920. The answer can be found by watching this week’s episode of Shooting USA.
HINT: there are 48 shots total in the Barricade Event.
October 27th, 2009
Billy Copelin dominated the 2009 NBRSA 1000-yard Nationals in Sacramento, winning the National Championship and setting four pending records in the process. Billy used a 17-pounder in Light Gun Class, and a bigger rifle in Heavy Gun Class, but both were chambered for the 6mm Dasher. The little case, an improved version of the 6mmBR Norma, performed brilliantly in Billy’s hands. Along with his overall championship, Copelin won Two-Gun Group Agg (6.566″), Two-Gun Score Agg (840-8X), Light Gun Group Agg (4.611″), Heavy Gun Group Agg (8.522″), and Heavy Gun Score Agg (561-4X).
Jim O’Connell, official match scorer, observed: “It was Billy Copelin’s weekend as he won just about everything that wasn’t nailed down. On his way to winning the 2009 National Championship, Billy set four new records and earned himself a spot in the Hall of Fame (joining Jerry Tierney and Don Nielson). Congratulations to Billy…that was some fine shooting!” Copelin’s four pending records are: 3-Target LG Score (147-3X); 6-Target LG Group (4.611″); 2-Gun 12-Target Score (840-8X); and 2-Gun 12-Target Group (6.566″). Below is a video of Copelin shooting at the 600-yard NBRSA Nationals in 2008.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this VideoPress video.
Generally Good Conditions Prevail
Fairly nice weather conditions prevailed for the 2009 NBRSA 1000-Yard National Championship. As a result, some fine scores were fired. Ventura, CA shooter Barry Bluhm, who won the Light Gun Score title with an impressive 279-6X, told us “There was nice weather most of the time all three days. Winds were 3 to 6 mph, but they didn’t stay the same. During some relays, winds got twitchy and would switch from side to side. If you missed a wind call, you could get burned.”
Barry, who does testing for AccurateShooter.com as one of our elite “designated trigger pullers”, noted that while Copelin “pretty much cleaned everyone’s clock with his Dashers”, a lot of guys shot big cartridges in Heavy Gun Class. George Tompkins was shooting 300gr bullets from a massive, metal-stocked Maxi chambered for the .338 Lapua Magnum.
Jerry Tierney finished second overall in this year’s NBRSA 1K Nationals. Jerry, the 2008 NBRSA 600-yard Champion, brought his .284 Winchester to the match, “making LG weight by an ounce or so.” Tierney, who is renowned for his wind-doping skills, tells us “he was rooting for the wind to blow, but it was Dasher weather.” Jerry added that the big boomers did not distinguish themselves: “The true heavies made a lot of noise but were not really in the running in these conditions. It was strictly a Dasher weekend, and a really great shooter [Copelin] behind a Dasher finished on top.” Tierney added that Copelin really deserved the championship: “Billy’s been at it many years; we all knew he was going to win the big one someday.”
Great Shooting by Many Competitors
Though Copelin hauled away the biggest trophies, there were many impressive performances by other shooters. Jay McMunn shot an amazing 2.445″, five-shot Small Group in Light Gun, and Stu Harvey wasn’t far behind at 2.473″. Charles Greer nailed two ten-shot 99s in Heavy Gun and one was a very small 6.649″ to boot. Robert Hoppe and T. Johnson both had 10-shot HG groups under 5.5″ (though Copelin shot smallest of all with a 4.907″ in HG).
Overall Rankings, using the NBRSA scoring system, which counts placements for both score and group, are listed below (lowest total wins). CLICK HERE to download complete results with group and score rankings for all events. We send a big “Thank-You” to Jim O’Connell from providing these match results so quickly.
National Champion — BILLY COPELIN (5 total points)
Second Place — GERALD TIERNEY (24)
Third Place — KENNETH SCHROEDER (26)
Fourth Place — CHARLES GREER (31)
Fifth Place — BARRY BLUHM (33)
Sixth Place — GREG WILSON (44)
Seventh Place — ROBERT HOPPE (46)
Eighth Place — LOU MURDICA (47)
Ninth Place — T. JOHNSON (54)
Tenth Place — GARY NOBLE (55)
October 27th, 2009
The CMP recently launched a new, upgraded CMP Online Forum that’s faster and easier to navigate. The New Forum features 18 categories, covering CMP Sales, Auctions, and CMP events. There are separate sub-boards for Bolt-Action Rifles, M1 Carbines, M1 Garands, and Smallbore rifles. At the top of the new CMP Forum you’ll find links for Competition, Rifle Tech Info, and Sales. NOTE: Even if you were a member of the CMP’s Old Forum, you must re-register on the new site. The Old Forum will remain online for a few months, though it is now closed to new posts.
CLICK HERE to visit CMP Online Forum
The newly updated forum also has a marketplace area (for parts trading), and a calendar section where readers can post info about Regional matches and events. Collectors should watch the Auctions category for advanced notice of items to be auctioned on the CMP’s online Auction Site.
October 26th, 2009
Today we activated the new FORUM for AccurateShooter.com. The new Forum includes all the info from the original Forum, including photos and attachments. Our new FORUM uses a new dedicated server for faster page display and quicker searches. In addition, the new software provides many new (and often-requested) features, such as direct feedback for members who buy and sell via our classifieds.
CLICK HERE to visit new FORUM.
Please set your bookmarks to: http://www.accurateshooter.com/forum/.
Same Names and Same Passwords Will Work
If you were already a member of our Shooters’ Forum, you can log-in with the SAME User Name and SAME password as before. However, the first time you log in to the new Forum, you may have to enter name and password two times in a row. (The first input installs and encrypts your password; when you enter name + password a second time, the server “sees” the password and logs in your account).
The new forum replicates ALL the threads and posts from the existing forum, so the new FORUM will have all the information accumulated in the last five years. This includes tons of valuable load data and reloading information. You can also see thousands of images in our new FORUM. And we even retained all the private messages, so you won’t lose any info found there.
Some Attachment Issues Remain
In moving from the old server to the new FORUM server, we had to parse and move over 3500 attachments. This was a very difficult task and there are some technical issues that remain to be resolved. When you access your personal profile on the new FORUM, you may see a file that you attached to an old post. Don’t wory about that… we’re working on a fix. Likewise, some members may see an old attachment at the top of the FORUM front page, but we think we’ve got that resolved.
When creating a new thread (topic), or replying to a post, you can still attach a digital image stored on a third-party hosting site such as PhotoBucket.com or ImageCave.com. And, while our attachment system is up and running, we request that you do not use the attachment feature yet to attach new files. Please upload your photos to a 3rd party host instead… for a few more days. This way if we have to re-format the attachments, your file(s) won’t be lost.
October 22nd, 2009
The 2009 NBRSA 1000-yard Nationals (Sloughhouse 1000) will be held at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center in Sacramento, California on October 23, 24, & 25th.This event is being hosted by the Sloughhouse Benchrest Shooters Club. The NBRSA 1K benchrest Nationals should draw many of the nation’s top shooters. This is one of the major long-range events of the year on the West Coast. Match organizers invite all long-range benchresters to attend, even if you have not tried 1000 yards before. A good 600-yard gun can be quite competitive at 1000 when conditions are favorable. Two classes will compete, Light Gun (17-lb max weight) and Heavy Gun (Unlimited Weight). The current match fee is $75.00 per class, so it will cost $150.00 to shoot both classes.
CLICK HERE for the match Sign-Up and Registration form (PDF file).
Sacramento Valley Shooting Center 1000-yard range (seen from 600-yard line).
There are RV/camping facilities adjacent to the range, and moderately priced hotels can be found within a 20-minute drive of the range. If you camp you should bring water, food and all essentials as the range is pretty far from a store. Do note, however, on Saturday, October 24th, a catered lunch will be served and on Friday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 25th, a hot vendor will be available on the grounds so that shooters may purchase lunch.
If you have questions about the range facilities or driving directions, you can call Sac Valley Shooting Center at (916) 354-9668. The Center is located approximately 15 miles South/East of the city of Sacramento. The physical address for the range is 15501 Meiss Road, Sloughouse, CA 95683. To navigate to the range, take a look at the map below. The Sac Valley staff cautions: “Do not use GPS or Map Quest to get to the range. On the Dillard Road side is an unpaved, nearly impassible rock road. Use Ione Road to approach Meiss Road [from the east]”. You can also get detailed, turn by turn directions (from main approach highways), on the Sac Valley Shooting Center website. CLICK HERE for directions to range.
October 20th, 2009
If you had purchased Ruger (RGR) or Smith & Wesson (SWHC) stock after the November election, you would have seen your investment grow almost three-fold. Ruger stock now trades at over $13.00 after hitting $4.52 last fall. If Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin and other Freedom Group companies “went public”, could they ride the coat-tails of Ruger and S&W, and succeed collectively as a publicly traded stock? Cerberus, a private holding company that controls the Freedom Group, apparently thinks so.
Cerberus Plans IPO for Remington and Freedom Group
A surge in gun sales has pushed the stock prices of major firearms manufacturers upwards. Will that trend continue? We can’t say. However, the money men at Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin, and other Freedom Group companies, have decided that the time is ripe to “go public” and start selling stock. According to a 10/19 report in the Wall Street Journal Blog, Cerberus plans an initial public offering (IPO) for its Freedom Group companies. The Freedom Group is comprised of Advanced Armament Corp., Bushmaster, Dakota Arms, DPMS, Eotac, H&R, L.C. Smith, NEF, Parker Gun, Remington Arms Company. Advanced Armament Corp. (AAC) is the latest addition to the Freedom Group collection, having been acquired just this month and placed under the Remington Military Products Division.
In its report on the pending Freedom Group IPO, the Wall Street Journal Blog cited AccurateShooter.com. When Cerberus acquired riflemaker DPMS in 2007, we wrote: “One positive aspect to Cerberus’ involvement in the gun industry is that the huge political clout Cerberus commands as the ‘rescuer’ of Chrysler Corp. should undermine efforts to ban AR-platform rifles. Cerberus is big enough to make waves in Washington. Money talks in politics and Cerberus has lots of it.”
Is the timing right for a gun-company IPO? The stock-market continues to move upward, and gun and ammunition sales remain very strong. On the other hand, the panic buying of black rifles has tapered off and AR-platform gun prices are now dropping back to “pre-panic” levels. Morever, at the end of each calendar year there are usually major stock sell-offs. That could drive down prices of Ruger and Smith & Wesson, which could dampen enthusiasm for a Freedom Group IPO. On the other hand Remington is an historic brand with a strong customer base, and Remington/Bushmaster are poised to take an increasing share of lucrative military contracts. With its new ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle), Remington could well win the contract for the AR15’s replacement. And, even if the US military sticks with Stoner’s 50-year-old AR design, Bushmaster can fill that need, though it has strong competition from Colt and FN Herstal.
A cynical observer might say that Cerberus is simply looking to grab easy profits by “flipping” arms companies it acquired at fire-sale prices. Given the huge run-up in Ruger and S&W stock prices over the past 12 months, Cerberus may figure that investors will be hungry for Freedom Group shares. Right now may be the best time to take the Freedom Group public while gunmakers are still considered a “hot property” on Wall Street. In six months that could change.
October 19th, 2009
 From October 22-25, the 2009 USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals will be held at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club (BRPC) in Boulder City, Nevada. USPSA Multi-Gun matches are exciting events, with timed stages requiring shooters to engage multiple targets with pistol, rifle, and shotgun. Some stages involve all three weapons, while other stages may be for pistol only, shotgun only, rifle only, or two weapons, such as pistol and shotgun. All twelve stages in the 2009 event are illustrated in the USPSA Stage Map, a 12-page PDF file.
Shown below is Stage 10, “Dark Alley”, a Rifle + Shotgun + Handgun stage. Shooters fire 12 handgun rounds, 11 shotgun rounds, 18 rifle rounds plus 11 rounds shooters’ choice (pistol or shotgun) for a total possible score of 270 points. Fixed targets are: 12 Metric, 11 PP, 11 Clay Birds, and 6 Flashers. All targets must be engaged in a specified order, with a designated weapon (or shooter’s choice). As you can tell, these stage scenarios can be complicated, so it takes good planning and tactics to do well, in addition to accuracy and trigger-pulling speed.
Notes for Competitors
The round count is approximately 160 rounds of handgun, 110 rounds of rifle, 115 rounds of birdshot and 20 slugs. There are some targets that may be taken with your choice of firearms, be sure to bring some extra ammunition for each firearm for reshoots, extra shots, etc. Match directors have announced that BRPC will provide one of its 100-yard bays for sight-in on Thursday afternoon only from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Squad schedules are now complete. CLICK HERE to download PDF squad schedule.
The official Match Hotel is the Sunset Station Casino & Hotel in Henderson, NV. The reserved block of rooms at the Sunset Station appears to have been filled. However, if you need a room at the match hotel and have been informed that the block is full, please email Matt Pickhardt (matt@uspsa.org) or call Matt at 360-855-2245 and he’ll get a room added for you. At this point rooms must be added individually to avoid USPSA being charged for rooms not used.
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