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April 4th, 2007
Chris Long (Techshooter) has produced a detailed article on how to form 260 Remington Ackley Improved Cases. With nice, big photos illustrating the process, Chris explains how to form your cases, using either bullets, or an inert filler (no projectile). Chris also covers how to place a false shoulder in the cases prior to fire-forming. This creates a slight crush-fit, helping the shoulders to form more reliably, with fewer split necks. Chris formed cases using both Remington-brand 260 Rem cases, and Lapua .243 Win cases necked up to 6.5mm. Chris discusses how doughnuts can form when necking-up .243 Win brass and how doughnuts can interfere with bullet seating. Chris then explains how to remove the doughnuts using inside neck reaming. Click HERE to read article.
April 1st, 2007
The “star” of the recent IWA Euro Shot Show was the impressive new ZT (Zero Twist) ‘Valkyrie’ Heavy Gun from Deutsche Waffenwerkes. Innovative in the extreme, the Valkyrie fires a fin-stabilized 400gr .338-caliber projectile through a smoothbore barrel. Chief Designer Paul Ührleggen explained: “we saw the benefits Mr. Tooley has achieved with assymetric stocks in reducing rifle torque. We concluded that, with fin-stabilization, we could run the bullet through a Zero-Twist barrel. With no rifling to spin the bullet, there is no torque at all. Another problem solved by German engineering.” Accuracy remains elusive however: “Sub-MOA performance is hard to achieve with such a radical rifle. There are many bugs to work out. But we plan to offer the Valkyrie with an iron-clad .338 MOA one-shot group guarantee”. At present, with a weight of 40 kilos, the Valkyrie can only compete in Heavy Gun class. However, Waffenwerkes has teamed with Glock to build an all-plastic 4-kilo sporter version of the Valkyrie–but more fine-tuning is needed. According to Mr. Ührleggen, “there have been some minor barrel melting issues.”
We asked Mr. Ührleggen how Waffenwerkes selected the name Valkyrie for the new gun. “Here at Waffenwerkes we are all fans of your American cinema, and especially the movie Apocalypse Now — you know the scene with the helicopters and the Wagner music–Dum da da dum dum, Dum da da DUM dum. That’s Die Walküre–the Ride of the Valkyries. (Play MUSIC). It seemed apropos. Plus we enjoy playing that music really loud when we shoot this rifle.”
One very high-tech component didn’t make it into production. Ührleggen explained: “We engineered a voice-activated trigger, but we found that this was affected by ambient noise. To our surprise, field testing revealed loud noises to be a problem at shooting matches. Also, our engineers could not agree on the voice-activation command. I personally favored ‘She Bangs’, but my colleagues are not pop music afficionados.”
 The Valkyrie’s most remarkable feature is its optical guidance system. Optics engineer Horst Nichtfarze explains: “We learned from your American gun forums about problems with benchrest scopes not holding zero, so we concluded ‘why use a scope at all’? Borrowing smart-bomb technology, we have placed a tiny camera inside the ceramic nose of our bullets. This feeds to a rifle-mounted LCD screen so the shooter can literally see the bullet fly into the target. Since the projectile is fin-stabilized, we don’t have spin issues.” The fins are controlled by a joystick on the buttstock, so theoretically, one can steer the bullet to the target. Nichtfarze admitted, however, “we do have a little response time issue at short range”. The cost of the in-bullet camera was prohibitive until Nichtfarze stumbled on a solution: “My girlfriend had this old cell phone that was kaput. We salvaged the phone’s camera very easily. In Germany everyone throws away their phone after a year, so there is no shortage of teeny weeny video cameras to put in the bullets.”
Waffenwerkes’ Valkyrie .338 ZT is an engineering tour de force, setting new standards for innovation. But this level of technology doesn’t come cheap. The rifle retails for 8,000 Euros, about $10,647 US Dollars. Mr. Ührleggen conceded, “Sure it’s expensive, but I have to pay for my Porsche somehow.” In the months ahead, Deutsche Waffenwerkes also plans to release a “Tactical” version of the Valkyrie. Mr. Ührleggen noted, “we are very anxious to get the Tactical rifle to market. Priced at 14,000 Euros ($18,632 US), it will be called the RT (“Rambo Tactical”) edition and feature 15 linear feet of Picatinny rails, a 3″-diameter depleted uranium bolt knob, Digital Flecktarn Camo paint scheme, and an X-Box compatible LCD screen. Our marketing director, Tella Liezig, feels this will be the real money-maker.”
March 31st, 2007
Zeiss has introduced a new series of holdover reticles for its Conquest and Victory scopes. Because Rapid-Z reticles are in the second focal plane, they remain the same size at all magnifications. By selecting a particular zoom power, the holdover can be precisely tailored to your load. In addition to holdover reference points, the reticles have horizontal hold points for windage (5mph and 10mph). Five different Rapid-Z reticles are offered: 600, 800, 1000, 1200, and Varmint. We think the Rapid-Z Varmint, in the 6.5-20 Conquest scope, is a great choice for varminters. All Rapid-Z reticles can also estimate range through the use of a simple ranging bracket feature. (The shooter will need to know the size of the target in relation to the brackets.) On SWFA.com’s Optics Talk Forum, you can see (and read about) all five Rapid-Z reticles. Click HERE for an interactive Flash demonstration showing how the Rapid-Z reticles function.
March 28th, 2007
Southern Californian Joe Friedrich achieved the “Holy Grail” of ARA 50 rimfire shooting, a perfect 2500 score, and set a pending new 4-target Aggregate Record this past weekend. By most accounts, only a half-dozen or so perfect 2500s have been shot in ARA competition, but Joe’s Agg (2450, 2500, 2450, 2450, total 9850, average 2462.5) may be even more impressive. Top rimfire shooters agree this “will be the benchmark to beat for quite some time”. Joe, who is also the 2006 ARA Aggregate Champion, was shooting a custom rifle smithed by Bill Myers of Winchester, Virginia.
 ARA 50 targets have 25 bulls with a center 100-Ring. “Worst edge” scoring is used, meaning a “100” must fall completely within the center ring plus the line separating it from the 50-Ring. See ARA Rules. You can’t just clip the 100-Ring from one side. Click HERE for official ARA target. The Aggregate is the total combined points of the day’s four targets divided by four.
March 28th, 2007
Many reloaders like the K&M neck-chamfering tool, because it cuts a very gentle entry angle compared to the typical 45° inside chamferer. The K&M tool is well-made and the cutting flutes are very sharp. However, previous versions tended to rock a little if you weren’t careful, and the cutter was a bit big for the small cases (17s and 20s). K&M has now introduced two new neck chamferers, a small 3-flute tool for 17 Cal to 6mm, and a large 6-flute unit for 6mm to .338 Cal. Both chamferers now feature a center shaft that goes through the flash hole to keep the case in alignment and eliminate cutter wobble. That’s a smart improvement–an example of a toolmaker taking a good product and making it even better. With either tool, the three “fingers” serve as an index stop on the case mouth. You can move the cutter shaft inwards and outwards to adjust the amount of reaming, and then lock the cutter in place with the black knob. This tool is available from Russ Haydon’s Shooters Supply and PrecisionReloading.com for about $24.00. Note: you may have to turn down the tip of the centering shaft to fit unreamed BR and PPC flash-holes.
March 27th, 2007
 On the Russian Guns.ru site, there are dozens of photos from the recent (March 9-12) IWA Shot Show in Germany. (Click HERE to download IWA official Daily Reports.) Reader Remus has pictures of new F-Classers and cool new rifles from Anschutz, Grünig & Elmiger, Keppler, Oberland, Prechtl, and Sauer. In this forum thread click the inline photos to see bigger versions. The text is in Russian, but you shouldn’t have any trouble navigating. Here are direct links to photos:
Prechtl Euro F-Classer: Photo 1 | Photo 2
Prechtl Web Site
Oberland 6.5×47 AR-style: Photo 1 | Photo 2
Keppeler 300m Free Rifle: Photo 1 | Photo 2
Metal Stock, 4 oz. trigger, Calibers: .222 Rem, 6PPC, 6mmBR Norma, 6XC, 6.5×47 Lapua, 7-08, .308 Win
Grünig & Elmiger 300m Rifle: Photo 1 | Photo 2
(Check out the magazine)
Sauer Engraved Showcase Rifles: Photo 1 | Photo 2
Sauer 2007 IWA News
March 27th, 2007
We spoke to Redding Reloading, and Kurt Nelson confirmed that Redding will be producing sizing and seating dies for Remington’s new 17 FireBall cartridge. Kurt advised that these dies will not be backward-compatible with the 17 Mach 4: “The headspace and the shoulder/neck geometry are different–plus there are variations of the 17 Mach 4 out there.” Redding hopes to have 17 FireBall dies to market in six weeks.
Click HERE for more info on 17 FireBall factory ammo.
March 26th, 2007
Forum member Flatlander recently received a RB/RP Savage Target Action with a .473″ boltface. He reports: “I like what I see, and that new Target AccuTrigger is pretty sweet for a factory trigger. I didn’t check it with a scale, but I estimate pull was set for well under a pound. I set it up in my truing fixture, checked the receiver face with a B&S Bestest .0001″ test indicator, and got just a hair over .002″ wobble. A single .0025″ pass cleaned it up completely, as did a very light pass with a boring bar on the lug seats. The action and bolt alone weigh 2.25 pounds. Add the AccuTrigger, recoil lug, trigger guard, and bbl. nut, and that goes up to just a hair over 2.5 pounds.
The recoil lug is double ground. I could not measure any deviation in thickness with my old Lufkin 1″ mic. It also has an indexing stud threaded into the backside, instead of depending on a punch-displaced lump as on Savage’s standard actions. This saved me the $22+shipping a SharpShooter lug would have cost. One note on this action’s screw hole spacing – the front hole is .125″ farther forward than that of a M12.
I’m favorably impressed with the action, but am also impressed with Savage’s initiative in supplying something like this to those of us who want a good basis for an accurate rifle. For those of you who haven’t seen a photo of this action, there’s an article on Savage’s new F/TR rifle in the April ’07 issue of Shooting Times, accompanied by several good shots of the rifle. The guy who wrote the article showed a photo of a 3-shot group fired at 500 yards. that measured .875″, which is kinda impressive for an out-of-the-box stock factory rifle.”
March 23rd, 2007
This morning AccurateShooter.com released its latest Cartridge Guide, covering the .223 Remington and .223 Rem Ackley Improved. This is a major, 8000-word, all-in-one guide to the most popular centerfire cartridge around. We have some exclusive test results on brass, suggested loads, and full info on bullets, primers, and powders. Bookmark this address: 223 Cartridge Guide
March 23rd, 2007
 Our friends at Sinclair Int’l told us about Steve Boelter’s new 352-page Rifleman’s Guide to Rimfire Ammunition. This is a comprehensive study of all types of rimfire ammunition, with over 600 photos. Steve Boelter fired every brand and sample of rimfire ammo he could acquire (including 22LR, 17 Mach 2, 17HMR and 22 WMR), and he recorded all the results. Eleven different brands and 137 different rimfire rounds were tested with over 32,000 rounds fired. Test guns included a Turbo custom BR rifle, Volquartzen Custom 10/22, and Anschutz and Sako competition and sporting rifles. We consider this book a “must-have” resource, even if you are not a hard-core rimfire shooter. The 6″x9″ softcover (Zediker Publishing) costs $29.95. Click HERE for more details and sample pages.
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