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July 19th, 2008
Alliant’s new Reloder 17 powder is the new “Speed King” in its burn-rate category. It promises to raise the velocity bar in many cartridges which work best with slow-burning propellants. Based on initial test results, if you’re using H4350, IMR4350, Reloader 19, Norma URP, or H4831 currently, you may find that RL17 can deliver dramatically higher velocities than other powders. CLICK HERE for FULL REPORT.
RL17 Boosts Speeds by 200 fps
The day after two pounds of RL17 arrived in Phoenix, German Salazar and Bob Jensen tried the new propellant in 6XC and .308 rifles, using an Oehler 43 chronograph equipped with pressure-testing equipment. The results were eye-opening. German was able to get 3311 fps using 107gr Sierra MKs in the 6XC. That’s roughly 200 fps faster than other popular extruded powders can deliver. With the 115 Berger, the 6XC topped 3200 fps, again a very impressive speed gain. Most 6XC shooters find that 3000-3050 fps is the most they can get with a 115gr bullet.
Speed by Design
What’s the secret to this new powder? First it’s made differently than most other propellants. Most extruded powders have an external coating on the kernels that governs burn rate. With RL17, the burn regulating compound saturates the entire kernel — it’s not just on the outside. The practical effect is that RL17 is able to maintain a higher energy level for a longer time — the energy output does not fall off as steeply as other powders. The other factor is density. Reloder 17 has fairly small kernels so it packs very tightly compared to H4831sc. As a result you can fit more powder (by weight) into the case.
Accuracy Testing Comes Next
German will continue his testing with other calibers — as soon as we can get more RL17 from Alliant. German also plans to start accuracy testing next week. If RL17 can deliver accuracy to match its high velocities, it looks like it would be a very good choice for the 6-6.5×47 Lapua, 6XC, 243 Win, 6mm Remington, .284 Winchester, and 30-caliber cartridges with the big (185+ grain) bullets.
Limited reloading data is available currently, but Alliant has distributed a preliminary load data sheet with loads for a dozen popular calibers. CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD RELODER 17 DATA.
July 19th, 2008
CDNN Investments is a large retailer that often acquires overstock inventories of rifles, shotguns, and pistols, as well as shooting accessories. You can often purchase brand new rifles for 50% to 70% of the original retail price. And this includes major brands such as Winchester, Browning, Walther, and Anschutz. CDNN’s latest catalog was recently released and it includes great deals on Complete FN (Winchester M70-type) barreled actions ($399.00, p. 26), Winchester M70s (p. 44), and Steyr Hunting rifles (p. 43). CLICK HERE to download the latest catalog. (NOTE: this is a large, 38.4 megabyte .pdf Acrobat file.)
Among the items featured in the current catalog are Russian match rimfires (including an Olympic-grade 22LR pistol), a sweet little Winchester 22LR “Wildcat” for just $159.99, and a wide selection of Winchester lever rifles and falling blocks.
July 18th, 2008
German Salazar, a top small-bore and centerfire shooter, uses the 6XC cartridge for his long-range matches. German has tried a variety of different types of brass for this cartridge, including necked-up 22-250 brass and 6XC brass from Norma and David Tubb (Superior Shooting Systems). German’s measurements reveal significant differences in water capacity, as well as neck-wall thickness.
6XC Source Brass Dimensions
Case Capacity and Pressure Issues
German has noted significant variances in capacity among the different “flavors” of brass. Norma-headstamp 6XC brass has 49.3 grains of H20 capacity, while Norma 22-250 brass holds only 47.8 grains of H20. Third-generation Tubb-brand 6XC brass is somewhere in the middle, with 48.6 grains of capacity. NOTE: These differences in case capacity are large enough that you MUST adjust your load to the brass type. A safe load in Norma 6XC brass could be WAY over-pressure in necked-up Norma or Remington 22-250 brass.
We ran a 6XC QuickLOAD simulation with 115gr bullets and H4350 powder. QuickLOAD predicted that the observed difference in case capacity can result in pressure differentials as much as 4,500 psi! In other words, if you switch from Norma 6XC brass to a lesser-capacity brass type, your pressures could rise 4,500 psi (using H4350 and 115gr bullets).
Neck Thickness and Chambering Issues
German noted that the different types of available brass varied quite a bit in neck-wall thickness — from 0.0121″ (Norma 22-250) to 0.0140″ (Tubb 3rd Gen). Consequently the diameter of loaded rounds also varied. Depending on the brass you chose, your loaded rounds could be 0.267″ at the neck or 0.271″. That’s a huge difference and it’s something you need to take into account when you have your chamber cut for a barrel. For a cross-the-course rifle, you might want a chamber with .003″ total clearance over a loaded round. Obviously, to achieve that clearance, you’ll need to set chamber dimensions base on your preferred type of brass.
July 17th, 2008
In order to allow larger photos, streaming videos, and other enhanced features, we have moved the Daily Bulletin to a new host. This lets us widen the layout. The page should also load more quickly. Don’t worry — all the archived entries since March ’07 are still there.
If you had book-marked our old bulletin page, www.6mmbr.com/bulletin.html, please change your bookmark. The new URL for the Daily Bulletin is:
http://accurateshooter.com/bulletin.html
VIDEO VAULT
We have also moved our dedicated VIDEO page to the new AccurateShooter.com server. The new link is:
http://accurateshooter.com/videovault.html
July 17th, 2008
Folks email us regularly saying: “Hey, there was an interesting item in the Daily Bulletin, but I can’t find it now.” Take heart. Every Bulletin story is saved in our archive. You can always navigate to all previous posts using the “Older Posts” link at the bottom of this page.
The fastest and easiest method to find older posts is simply to search by keyword, or click one of the topic headings. If you want to find a video, for example, just click on “Videos”. If you’re looking for all stories about scopes, click “Optics”. To find a particular item, such as the story on Barnard actions, just type “Barnard” in the search field and click “Search”. Our search works very fast! Try it, you’ll like it.
July 16th, 2008
Ace 600-yard shooter Terry Brady has been testing a box-stock, factory Savage 6BR F-Class rifle for AccurateShooter.com. This gun features a 30″, 8-twist barrel (0.100″ freebore), Savage Target Action, and heavy, laminated stock with 3″-wide fore-end. We know you guys have been eagerly awaiting the accuracy results. We’ll let the targets speak for themselves. Bottom Line: the Savage 6BR shoots… like a house on fire.
Savage Shoots under 1/2″ at 200 Yards
With Terry’s handloads (Norma 203B powder, CCI 450s, Berger 105s loaded .010″ into lands), the Savage produced three-shot groups well under 1/2″ at 200 yards. That’s right, TWO hundred. Measuring off Terry’s photos, using our target measurement software, one of the 200-yard groups was a measured .350″ or 0.167 MOA.
Orange target dots are 1″ diameter. Top row are 3-shot groups, center row (with 90gr factory ammo) are 5-shot groups.
Impressive Bugholes at 100 yards
At 100 yards, Terry had one 5-shot group with the Berger 105gr Match (non-VLD) that measured 0.140″ with our target measurement software. Measuring with calipers, Terry said this group was 0.279″ outside edge to outside edge. It’s interesting that Norma 203B shot tighter in this rifle than did Varget, as you can see.
Orange target dots are 1″ diameter.
Half-MOA or better with Lapua Factory Ammo at 300 Yards
The Savage 6BR also shot exceptionally well with Lapua factory ammo of two types, one loaded with 90gr BT Scenars, the other loaded with 105gr BT Scenars. Because Terry had a limited amount of factory ammo, at 300 yards, he shot three-shot groups. The 90gr ammo shot 1.490″ or about 1/2 MOA, while the 105gr ammo shot .780″, about 1/4 MOA. For comparison sake, Terry’s handloads (Berger 105s, 30.5 RL15) put FIVE shots in 0.650″ at 300 yards.
Complete Report Will Follow
We will provide a complete feature article on this rifle in the weeks ahead. That will include load data, more accuracy testing results, and Terry’s comments about the rifle. If someone in North Carolina can help Terry with a video camera, we’ll add video to the story.
So far Brady has been very impressed with the Savage overall, but he had two minor criticisms. First, he felt the Accutrigger spring weight is a bit too heavy, and second, he noted that the 1″-wide flat on the bottom of the stock at the rear is too wide for most bags: “It didn’t track well with my bag. I had to really hold the gun. Ideally you’ll want a bag with wider ear spacing.”
Overall, Terry gives the Savage an “A” grade: “For an out-of-the-box bench gun, it is well worth the money! I would recommend it to any shooter.”
July 16th, 2008
 The U.S. Army has awarded Bushnell Outdoor Products a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract for a special military version of the Elite® 1500 Laser Rangefinder. Bushnell will begin shipping the units in August 2008. According to Bushnell’s Director of Military Sales, the Army was impressed with the Elite 1500’s multiple targeting modes and rugged, waterproof construction.
The Elite 1500 is capable of ranging distances from 5 to 1,600 yards, though in our own tests, maximum effective range on deer-sized objects is about 700 yards. The elite has a 7-power, 26mm objective, with a special twist-up eyepiece that’s handy for eyeglass wearers. The eyepiece also boasts a +/- 2 diopter, a very good feature not found on some other rangefinders.
In addition to the standard ranging mode with automatic scan, users can select from the BullsEye™ or Brush™ modes for more precise ranging to targets. In the BullsEye mode, it’s easy to acquire smaller targets and game because if more than one object is acquired by the laser, only the closer of the two objects is displayed on the internal LCD. While using the Brush mode, closer objects tree branches are ignored so that the distance to background objects are displayed. The Bushnell also offers Angle-Range Compensation (ARC) in one of its civilian 1500 models. It’s unknown whether the military version will have this feature.
Rangefinder Comparison Review
AccurateShooter.com has an extensive multi-product Rangefinder Comparison Review. Before choosing a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) you should read that article. It compares the Bushnell Elite 1500 to LRFs from Leica, Leupold, Nikon, and Swarovski. In our comparison test, the Elite 1500 was praised for its speed, its diopter eyepiece, and its waterproof housing with Rainguard® lens coatings. Users said the “Brush” setting worked well, filtering out “false returns” from short range. On the downside, Bushnell’s beam divergence is greater than Swaro or Leica, so long-range performance suffers. Bushnell’s own Product Description describes its ranging performance as: “Reflective–1600 yards; Tree–1000 yards, Deer–500 yards, Flag–400 yards”. The optics are a grade below Swaro, Leica, and Nikon, and retailers have reported higher rate of return (10+%) than other brands.
July 15th, 2008
Champion shooter Jerry Miculek is widely acknowledged as the finest competitive revolver shooter in the world. His exploits with Smith & Wesson wheelguns are legendary. Jerry has competed against talented semi-auto shooters and beat them straight-up on a timed, speed-shooting course, including multiple reloads. When it comes to revolver shooting, if you want to learn from a true master, Miculek is the man.
CLICK HERE to watch MICULEK VIDEOS
Jerry “stars” in an excellent series of videos that cover all important aspects of Wheelgun Shooting: Revolver Grip, Reloading, Trigger Control, The Draw, Stance, and Target Acquisition. These six video clips are presented together on a dedicated page, so you can watch them all in sequence. We’re sure you’ll want to stop and “rewind” at points though. Jerry gives very clear and effective instructions, but he can shoot so fast, you’ll sometimes want to re-play his demos. A high-speed internet connection is recommended.
You can also read transcripts of Jerry’s Video lessons on the Shooting USA website. There are six separate web pages, each dedicated to a particular topic: Reloading, Grip, Draw, Stance, Target Acquisition, and Trigger Control. Each page features multiple photos accompanied by Miculek’s specific shooting tips.
July 15th, 2008
This is Nosler’s 60th Year in business. To celebrate six decades in the shooting industry, each month Nosler is offering a special promotion. This July Nosler is offering FREE shipping on all products orders totaling $75.00 or more (with the exception of gun safes and firearms). This applies to direct orders through the Nosler Online Store.
You’ll find that Nosler’s direct-from-manufacturer bullet prices are competitive with other premium bullets sold by major retailers. Here are a few examples of the current Nosler Store prices:
| 20 Cal. 40gr Ballistic Tip |
100 ct. |
$19.95 |
| 22 Cal. 50gr Ballistic Tip |
100 ct. |
$19.95 |
| 22 Cal. 80gr HPBT match |
100 ct. |
$19.95 |
| 6mm 80gr Ballistic Tip |
100 ct. |
$22.95 |
| 6.5mm 140gr HPBT match |
100 ct. |
$21.95 |
| 7mm 140gr Spitzer Ballistic Tip |
50 ct. |
$16.95 (for 50) |
| 30 Cal. 155gr HPBT match |
100 ct. |
$23.95 |
July 14th, 2008
It’s the middle of summer. Temps are hot and the sun is intense. Skin cancer is a very real risk for those who spend a lot of time in the sun. You should wear a hat that provides sun protection for your ears and the back of your neck. That means something with better coverage than the ordinary baseball cap. Cabela’s offers three mesh-top hats that provide excellent sun protection, with good ventilation. Mesh panels in the crown provide cooling airflow.
River Guide® Canvas Breezer Hat — $29.95
This is a great hat with a nice wide brim that offers superior sun protection. The River Guide hat looks good and holds its shape well, even after extended use. Vent panels extend all the way around the crown, with solid material on top.
Cabela’s buyers loved this hat:
“Purchased quite a few wide-brimmed hats in the last few years due to experiencing skin cancer. This one is a quality product, well constructed, with a brim size wide enough to keep the sun off your face, but not so wide that it would be cumbersome moving through the woods. The brown hat is an appropriate color for hunting as it blends well in the woods.” — FranF, Pocono Mtns.
“I took my family and a friend’s family on the Colorado River for a three-day river rafting trip. I only had baseball caps to wear. After the first day, my ears, neck, and cheeks were toast. My buddy kindly loaned me his Cabela’s River Guide hat for the next two days – it was GREAT! I stayed cool and kept the sun off of all the areas my cap couldn’t.” –Gilpin, CO
“This headgear has proven to be exceptional quality and value [and is] currently proving its worth on a farm [in] Zambia. Excellent through the last of the rains… and is now keeping the sun and the dust away from a what was formerly a hot-headed farmer. The hat [is] very light-fitting, sits easily, and stays put, even in open vehicles.” — Adfather, Zambia
Packable Yellowstone Breezer Hat — $29.95
Cabela’s Yellowstone Breezer Hat (item IJ-951344) is a comfortable design, very popular with backpackers, beach-goers, and anglers. The specially-treated fabric offers oustanding sun protection, with a UPF 50+ factor.
This hat is lighter and softer than the River Guide hat, but the brim still holds its shape in the wind. This is a great all-around summer hat that combines light weight with superior sun protection.
“This is the perfect packable hat. Can shove it in a suitcase or wear it and be able to lean back and sleep on a plane. Excellent sun blocking material and a nice wide brim. It is so light you forget you have it on your head which is great if you need the sun protection. Great hat!” — P. Dalton, California
“Extremely good vented hat for the hot, dry California weather.” — C.A., California
Cabela’s Mesh Boonie Hat — Just $5.88
This mesh-top is a great bargain at $5.88 (on sale, item OG-942503). Very light-weight, it can easily be rolled and packed. It doesn’t provide as much sun-protection as the wider-brimmed hats shown above, but then it’s one-fifth the price!
This is a “one size fits most” design, so if you have a very small or very large hat size, you may want to try a different design. Otherwise, it’s a great value. One Cabela’s purchaser, in Sydney, reports: “[This hat offers] Good ventilation for a hot Australian summer. The brim could be wider, but easy to pack and carry.”
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