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August 10th, 2008
This week, Carl Bernosky captured his second straight NRA National High Power Championship at Camp Perry, Ohio. That is 9 championships in 14 tries for Bernosky. 11-time NRA High Power Champion David Tubb was second. Carl scored 2384-118X shooting his 6mm Hagar* in an AR-based “spacegun”. This back-to-back victory, Bernosky’s NINTH Camp Perry High Power Championship, establishes the modest Pennsylvanian as one of the greatest rifle shooters of our generation. Carl also won the Vandenburg Cup, and took second in the McCann Trophy Match, which was won by David Tubb. Tubb’s remarkable 1200-81X score broke the previous McCann Trophy Match record, set by David in 2003. Good Shooting David! Norman Houle took the Clarke Trophy Match, followed by David Tubb.
Final Standings Decided by X-Count
The National High Power Championship was tightly contested, with David Tubb and PFC Sherri Hurd “in the hunt” thoughout the match. Tubb and Hurd finished the 2008 National Championship with identical 2375 scores. The X-Count was used as the tie-breaker; David prevailed with 127X compared to Hurd’s 94X. Sherri was the top Service shooter and top woman. Fourth place was also decided by X-count tie-breaker, with Ronald Zerr edging Norman Houle by a single ‘X’.
Tyrel Cooper won the Service Rifle Championship with a 2362-101 score. The next four places, in order, were: Ron Fleischhacker (2359-79), Shawn McKenna (2358-83), Grant Singley (2351-94), and Daniel Duitsman (2350-89).
NRA Websites Offer More Info on Camp Perry Matches
For complete match results, visit the NRA Championships Results Page. Daily reports from NRA correspondents on the scene are offered on the new Camp Perry Live Blog.
*The 6mm Hagar resembles a 6.8 SPC with a .100″ longer body, 30-degree shoulder, and greater case capacity. It has a .420 rim diameter, and is formed from .30 Remington brass.
August 9th, 2008
This is a syndicated feed from the NBC Olympics website. It provides shooting news and video “webcasts”. It works with current Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, but you may have to install updated video streaming components. There are live feeds of many shooting events, some with live commentary by Lones Wigger, a past world shooting champion and Olympic Gold Medalist for Team USA.
For more info on Olympic Shooting, visit NBC’s INSIDE THE SPORT page.
[clearspring_widget title=”Latest Olympics News Video and Photos” wid=”4812279165b55abb” pid=”489d62c2af671359″ width=”300″ height=”400″ domain=”widgets.clearspring.com”]
August 9th, 2008
Katerina Emmons, representing the Czech Republic, won the first gold medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the women’s 10m air rifle competition. Katie was the only woman to shoot a perfect 400 score in the qualifying round. This equaled the World Record and set a new Olympic Record. The previous Olympic Record was 399. In the finals, Katerina posted a 103.5 score, giving her a final tally of 503.5, beating the previous Olympic record of 502.0 set by China’s Du Li in 2004. It was a stellar performance by a popular champion who started shooting at age 14, tutored by her father, Petr Kurka, a double world champion in three positions.
Photo courtesy Fédération Française de Tir
CLICK HERE for story on official Olympics website.
Photo 1: Katerina kisses Anschütz rifle
Photo 2: Katerina kisses husband Matt Emmons
Photo 3: Katerina celebrates with coach
Photo 4: Katerina holds Gold Medal
Katerina married USA Olympic shooter Matt Emmons last year. The two shooters met at the 2004 Olympics in Athens where she won her first Olympic Medal (Bronze, 10m Air Rifle) competing under her maiden name Katerina Kurkova. After winning gold in Beijing, Katerina moved to the front row of the gallery to embrace her father and then kiss husband Matt. It was a touching moment for the “First Couple” of the Olympic shooting world. “She did a fantastic job. I’m so proud of her,” Matt Emmons told Reuters.
CLICK HERE for full story on how Katerina met Matt Emmons.
New Gold Medalist Shoots Anschütz
Katerina was shooting an Anschütz compressed air rifle similar to the Anschütz model 9003 shown below. With sights mounted, a model 9003 is 42.5″ long and weighs 4.4 kg (9.68 lbs.).
COMMENTARY — Katerina’s First-of-Games Gold Medal a Boon to Shooting Sports
Katerina’s record-setting air rifle victory, being the first gold-medal performance of the 2008 Games, is exactly the kind of positive publicity the shooting community needs. Katerina is a perfect champion — modest, personable, and attractive. She has already become a “Cover Girl” for this Olympic games. And it is great that she is married to a fellow shooter.
 Hundreds of millions of TV and internet viewers worldwide were touched to see how she went to the stands to hug and kiss her husband after her shooting victory. We predict that will become one of the defining “video moments” of the 2008 Olympics.
Katerina’s highly-publicized Olympic win will help counter negative perceptions about the shooting sports. It also shows that shooting is not all about strength and brawn. Her success, we hope, should insprire many young women to try shooting. A diminutive 5’5″ and 118 pounds, Katerina has proven that shooting can be a sport for everyone, regardless of size, gender, age, or nationality. We salute her achievement and we think her Gold-medal win will help increase public interest in competitive shooting worldwide.
August 8th, 2008
Everybody’s conplaining about rising prices these days. And it’s true that, because of the increased cost of lead, copper and other raw materials, the prices of bullets and brass have risen dramatically in recent months. Well, right now Grafs.com has a great deal if you need bulk, 55gr bullets to shoot from your AR or other .22-caliber centerfire. These Federal, 55gr FMJ BT bullets are just $7.99 per hundred. And the cost per bullet is even lower if you buy in quantities of 500, 1000, or 2000. For example, 1000 bullets are just $71.90 (effective cost of $7.19 per 100). Note: These bullets have a cannelure.
 Grafs.com also has low-cost .22-caliber bullets from PRVI Partisan, starting at $9.79 per hundred for 50gr soft points, item PPB224SP50, and $9.99 per hundred for 55gr soft points, item PPB224SP55. We bet these bullets would work well for varmint rifles. The longer PRVI 22-caliber match bullets shot great for Danny Reever and other testers.
Grafs.com also offers other budget-prived PRVI bullets in .224, 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, and .308 calibers.
August 6th, 2008
 As we write this, Jochen Anschütz, new president of J.G. ANSCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. KG, is winging his way to Beijing, China to help support the athletes from many countries who will be using Anschütz air rifles and smallbore rifles in Olympic shooting competition. This year Jochen took over the helm of the company from his father Dieter Anschütz. Jochen represents the fifth generation of his family to direct the operations of the storied German arms-maker. Jochen, along with a team of Anschütz technicians, will be on hand to provide tuning and tech support for the shooters.
Anschütz 64 R for Rimfire Tactical Competition
This morning we were pleased to learn that Anschütz will be shipping one of their model 64 R Biathlon rifles to AccurateShooter.com for testing and evaluation. We think this rifle may be ideal for the new “precision rimfire tactical” discipline. (See our Rimfire Tactical Feature Story). The rifle features a prone-style stock with adjustable cheek-piece and buttplate. There is a forearm rail for mounting bipod or hand-stop. One cool optional feature for is a stock-mounted carrier for multiple magazines.
We hope to have this rifle in our hands by the end of August. We’ll test it for accuracy, fit, and function and then campaign it in regional matches. We hope to bring the rifle to the inaugural NorCal Rimfire Tactical (NCRT) match slated for October 26, 2008 at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. Organized by Ed Eckhoff and Vu Pham, this should be an outstanding match with a exciting course of fire. Ed has been working hard on some fun and challenging targets, including a 100-yard “running target” on a 100-foot track.
August 5th, 2008
 America’s top short-range Benchrest shooters will vie for honors next week at the 2008 IBS National Championship. The 100/200 yard competition will be held August 11-16 at the Kelbly’s Rifle Range in North Lawrence, Ohio. The Kelbly’s range is one of the best facilities of its kind, with over 60 covered benches, along with shaded loading areas. There are camping spaces available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fees for the match are $54 for 1 gun, $108 for 2 gun, $160 for 3 gun, and $212 for 4 gun (there is also a $10 late fee imposed after 7/11/2008). Matches will be conducted as follows:
August 11 – Heavy Bench, Five 10-shot record matches, 100 yards
August 12 – Heavy Bench, Five 10-shot record matches, 200 yards
August 13 – Sporter and Light Varmint, Five 5-shot record matches, 100 yards
August 14 – Heavy Varmint, Five 5-shot record matches, 100 yards
August 15 – Light Varmint & Sporter, Five 5-shot record matches, 200 yards
August 16 – Heavy Varmint, Five 5-shot record matches, 200 yards
Photo of Kelbly’s Range by Turk Takano, used by permission.
August 4th, 2008
Hunters can now have trophy-size animals measured (for record status), more easily. Starting this month, scoring on whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, bear and cougar will be offered as a free customer service at all 50 Bass Pro Shops stores. These outlets will have a Boone and Crockett Club associate measurer on staff. To find the store nearest you, go to www.basspro.com and click on “Store Locations.”
Keith Balfourd of Boone and Crocket Club states: “This partnership [with Bass Pro] provides millions of hunters with easy access to a certified measurer. It’s a new convenience spawned by demand — we’re seeing all-time high interest in our records program.”
Hunters can “green score” their own trophies by following guidelines at the Boone and Crockett Club Web site, www.booneandcrockettclub.com. If unofficial measurements are close to or above minimum scores, and the hunter would like to enter their trophy into the Boone and Crockett Club Awards Program ($40 entry fee), it must be scored by a trained measurer.
The Boone and Crockett Club accepts trophies taken in fair chase by all legal methods (i.e. firearm, archery, muzzleloader, etc.) including found, or “pick up,” trophies that meet or exceed minimum entry scores per species. Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, for more than a century Boone and Crockett Club has been a leader in records keeping, conservation, fair-chase hunting ethics and education.
August 2nd, 2008
Robert Whitley recently received some of the new Alliant Reloder 17 powder. He was able to test it in his 6XC, 6.5-284, and his .284 Winchester. Robert’s results with all three calibers were remarkable. First, he confirmed German Salazar’s findings that RL17 offers big velocity gains in the 6XC. Second, very importantly, Whitley found that RL17 allowed him to drive 180gr Bergers at 3000 fps in his .284 Win. That represents a gain of about 150 fps over his “max load” with other powders. Robert reports: “I just got back from the range and chrono-tested three rifles with RL17 using 5-shot chrono sequences. My results are presented below.”
CLICK HERE for COMPLETE Reloder 17 TEST REPORT
| WARNING: This report lists experimental findings based on a new powder for which very limited official load data is available. Always start low and work up in small increments. For a multitude of reasons, the SAFE velocities you might achieve in YOUR rifle may be substantially lower than the numbers listed here. |
Rifle #1: .284 Winchester with 180gr Berger VLDs
.284 Winchester Prone Rifle built up by Warner Tool Co. with Masterclass Stock, Barnard Action, Broughton 1:9″ twist 5C barrel (31.5″ long).
All loads used neck-turned, Winchester-headstamp .284 brass, CCI BR-2 primers, and naked (non-moly) Berger 180gr VLD bullets seated .010″ in the lands:
51 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 2881 fps, ES 17, SD 7 – No pressure issues at all
52 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 2953 fps, ES 19, SD 7 – No pressure issues at all
53 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 3003 fps, ES 25, SD 10 (Slight sticky bolt lift on 3 rounds – this is about top end for my liking but I would not hesitate to shoot it however if it turns out to deliver good accuracy).
Big Speed Gain with Reloder 17 in .284 Win
RL 17 clearly enables me to run the Berger 180s easily 125-150 fps faster that I normally was able to shoot them with H4350 and H4831SC in this rifle. My previous load ran around 2825 – 2850 fps with the Berger 180s and that was about all I could get out of it.
Rifle #2: 6.5-284 with 140gr Berger BTs
6.5 x 284 Prone Rifle built up by Warner Tool Co. with Masterclass Laminate Stock by Carl Bernosky, Barnard Action, Bartlein 1:8.5″ twist 5R rifled barrel (31″ long).
All loads used neck-turned Lapua 6.5 x 284 brass, Fed 210M primers, and naked (non-moly) Berger 140gr BT Thick Jacket bullets jumped .010″:
48 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 3035 fps, ES 17, SD 7 – No pressure issues at all
49 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 3078 fps, ES 25, SD 11 – No pressure issues at all
50 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 3130 fps, ES 35, SD 12 – No pressure issues at all
51 gr RL 17 – Mean Velocity 3185 fps, ES 17, SD 6 (Sticky bolt lift on 4 rounds – this is about top end for my liking but I would not hesitate to shoot it however if it turns out to deliver good accuracy).
Bear in mind my typical loading with this rifle is 48 grains of H4350 with a Fed 210M primer and the Berger 140gr BT Thick Jacket bullets (no moly) jumping .010″. This H4350 load runs 2987 fps and has sticky bolt lift on just about every round.
Nearly 200 fps More Velocity Using RL17 with 140s in 6.5-284
In this rifle, Reloder 17 clearly enables me to run the Berger 140s almost 200 fps faster than I normally was able to shoot them with H4350. My previous H4350 load ran around 2987 fps with the Berger 140s and that was about all I could get out of it.
Caution — The 6.5-284 already has a reputation as a barrel burner. We can’t predict the long-term effects of using RL17 and shooting 150-200 fps faster, but the higher velocities might cause barrels to wear even more quickly.
Rifle #3: 6XC with 107 SMKs and 115 DTACs
6XC Prone Rifle, MAK Tube Gun kit with Remington 700 short action glued in, Pac-Nor 30″ 1:8″ twist barrel (conventional 4-groove) chambered with an earlier design 6XC reamer (i.e. .275 neck, .090″ free bore and one and a half degree throat angle).
All loads were with Winchester 22-250 brass prepped via the Medler method and pre-fireformed to 6XC, BR-2 primed and loaded with either naked Sierra 107s jumped .020″ or DTAC 115s jumped .020″.
38 gr RL 17 (Sierra 107s) – Mean Velocity 2995, ES 34, SD 14
39 gr RL 17 (Sierra 107s) – Mean Velocity 3114, ES 19, SD 7
40 gr RL 17 (Sierra 107s) – Mean Velocity 3204, ES 32, SD 11
38.5 gr RL 17 (DTAC 115s) – Mean Velocity 3031, ES 45, SD 19
Comment: There were no pressure signs with any of the 6XC loads. With RL 17 I was shooting naked Sierra 107s at 3200 fps with no sticky bolt lift. My prior loading with this rifle was with 40 gr of N160 shooting Moly Berger 105 VLDs and above about 2950 fps I used to get sticky bolt lift so I stayed around 2950 fps. The primers with the 40 gr loading with Sierra 107s were flattening out a bit but there was never any sticky bolt lift with any of the loads. I suspect if I used the Russian primers that I typically use with my other 6mms, the ES and SD numbers might tighten up a bit.
Big Velocity Gain with DTAC 115s in the 6XC
Previously with this barrel and the DTAC 115s I could never get them over about 2875 fps without very excessive pressure, but with RL17 there were no pressure issues at 3031 fps. That’s a gain of +156 FPS and there may be more room above that.
Superior Velocities with Reloder 17 Confirmed
Generally speaking, my results confirm that German Salazar’s results with this powder were not an anomaly and that this RL17 powder is really quite different than the propellants we have previously been using in the shooting community. RL17 really takes both the .284 Win and 6XC to whole new performance levels, previously unattainable. Is RL17 a “miracle powder”? I don’t know, but it sure seems to be pointing in that direction.
| CALIBER |
Previous
Max Vel |
Previous wind drift @ 1000 (10 mph) |
RL17
Max Vel |
RL17 wind drift @ 1000 (10 mph) |
| .284 Win, 180 Berger VLD |
2840 fps, H4350 |
55.25″ |
3003 fps, RL17 |
50.42″ |
| 6.5-284, 140 Berger BT Thick |
2987 fps, H4350 |
61.55″ |
3185 fps, RL17 |
55.56″ |
| 6XC, 107 SMK moly |
2950 fps, N160 |
73.14″ |
3204 fps, RL17 |
64.77″ |
August 1st, 2008
The best way to view the Daily Bulletin is on the dedicated page: accurateshooter.com/bulletin.html. This way you can see the full width of the photos.
Many of our readers prefer to view the Daily Bulletin on our website home page. Unfortunately the width of the home page is fixed, and it is not easy for us to change that right now. We have recently “super-sized” our Bulletin page layout, but this means some of the photos may be partially obscured on the home page. You can still read the text just fine. But if you want to see the photos in full width, just click one of the links on the home page to go to:
http://accurateshooter.com/bulletin.html
We suggest you may want to bookmark the Daily Bulletin Page for your convenience.
July 31st, 2008
Glen Harrison, creator of the original Nesika actions, has been designing and building precision bolt actions for over 15 years. Glen’s products are known for high-quality machining, precision tolerances, and superior accuracy. Glen’s Nesika Bay operation was sold to Dakota Arms, but Dakota tried to grow too big, too fast, and has experienced some difficulties.
Glen has started a new company, appropriately called Phoenix Machine Technologies. Phoenix is currently up and running, building a variety of actions. Some of the first Phoenix actions will be the new Templar design. The Templar features a Rem 700 footprint, Picatinny rail, precision-ground recoil lug, and oversize bolt knob. The Phoenix Templars will be used in the new Crusader Tactical Rifle built by G.A. Precision, of Kansas City, MO.
George Gardner, owner of G.A. Precision, is pleased that Glen is back in the action-building business. He reports the new Phoenix actions are top-quality: “At G.A. Precision, we use only top notch, field-tested, durable parts and accessories. We are proud to be offering the Templar Action, built by Glen Harrison at Phoenix Machine Technologies.”
For more info about Phoenix Machine Technologies, LLC, call (406) 756-2727, write to 36 Jellison Lane, Suite B, Columbia Falls, MT 59912, or email Lisa [at] boltactions.net .
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