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March 22nd, 2007
 Folks, you should check this out. Lapua, maker of match ammo, Scenar bullets, and our favorite brass, has completely revamped its website. You’ll find detailed specs on .223 Rem, 6BR, 6.5×47, 6.5×55 and .308 Win Match Ammo. You can download a free Reloading Guide or the complete 2007 Lapua Brochure (A full megabyte but well worth the download). You can also leave feedback that will be read by the folks in Finland who actually build and test Lapua ammo, bullets and brass.
March 21st, 2007
 Using wet patches or wet brushes is an inefficient way to really saturate the tight bores of 17s, 20s, and 22s. Even with a cotton bore mop, most of the solvent will be squeezed out before it gets to the end of the bore, where most copper fouling occurs. Here’s a simple solution. Get a small plastic “wash bottle” and fill it with your preferred solvent. Then stick the tapered nozzle right in the chamber. The tapered end will press fit in the throat, sealing off the chamber. With the barrel slightly nose-down, give the bottle a couple good squirts until the solvent mists out the muzzle. In just a few seconds, this will put more solvent in the bore than a half-dozen wet patches. Alternatively, plug the chamber and squirt solvent in from the muzzle. It’s also much easier to saturate a bore brush (without spilling solvent on your stock), by using the wash bottle. You can get these bottles from USPlastic.com or lab supply stores.
March 18th, 2007
A service of the NSSF (Nat’l Shooting Sports Foundation), WhereToShoot.org offers a Searchable Database of pistol, rifle, and shotgun ranges around the country. You can search by state, or select a particular distance from any zip code. The database is very complete. We searched for ranges within 60 miles of our zip code, and a comprehensive list of ranges was returned instantly, with links for detailed, range-specific info. The individual range pages also include web addresses, phone numbers, and, in many cases, a MapQuest link.
March 16th, 2007
 Here it is folks, the new Tooley offset stock. This radical new rig employs an offset design to counter the torque associated with large-caliber benchrest guns. Dave tells us, “the wide, flat fore-end and offset design really tames the big 30s.” The stock is 4″ wide along the fore-end with the barreled action offset 1.5″ from center. From the trigger guard rearward the stock is pretty much the same as a Tooley MBR, with a bottom flat and slight drop from grip to buttplate. In American walnut laminate or maple laminate the stock weighs 3 lbs., 12 oz., the same as a fiberglass Tooley MBR from McMillan. There is also a lighter “Butternut” wood version that weighs 2 lbs., 12 ounces. So making weight in Light Gun Class should not be an issue.
The stock is legal for NBRSA and IBS 600- and 1000-yard benchrest competition, but it is not legal at 4″ for Willliamsport Light Gun Class. Dave notes that you can simply saw 1″ off the left side (looking from the breech foreward), to make the stock 3″ and legal for Williamsport LG and F-Class. Dave tells us “the stock still works really well at 3″, it just doesn’t cancel as much torque as it does in a 4″ configuration.” Tests have shown that the 4″-wide stock will effectively soak up 45 inch-pounds of torque, enough to cancel the twisting effect of a 30-caliber rifle shooting 240-grainers at 3100 fps. Scott Fletcher, who is currently shooting a prototype version with a 338 Lapua Improved says the new stock “works fantastic. It’s like night and day with a heavy recoiling caliber. It makes a 30-caliber feel like a 6.5. And with a 6.5-284, you can easily shoot the gun free recoil.”
You can buy the stock right now. Dave has three stocks “on the shelf” and four more will be delivered next week. The stock, un-inletted but ready to finish, costs $350.00, or $425.00 in Tigerstripe maple. Dave notes: “there is no conventional barrel channel so inletting is very easy.” For $800.00 Dave will deliver the stock fully inletted and pillar bedded for your action, complete with recoil pad. For more info, email Tooleyrifles[at]carolina.rr.com or call Dave at (704) 864-7525. CLICK HERE to view more photos.
March 15th, 2007
 The first rifle/pistol International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup of the season will be hosted by USA Shooting March 31 – April 8, 2007, in Ft. Benning, Georgia. To date, 505 athletes from 62 nations have registered for 834 competition entries, to mark the largest shooting World Cup ever to be held on U.S. soil. World Cup USA will feature Olympic medalists, international record holders and the top seeded shooters from each participating nation.
“This is the largest turnout we have ever experienced for the World Cup USA,” noted Wanda Jewell, Director of Operations for USA Shooting and 1984 Olympic bronze medalist in rifle. Various international shooting events, including World Cup USA, permit nations to qualify for the Olympic Games by earning Olympic “quota” slots through outstanding performances. To date, the USA has earned 17 of a possible 28 Olympic quota slots. For more info, contact Najasila Campbell, USA Shooting, at (719) 866-4896 or go to USAShooting.org.
March 14th, 2007
Savage Arms plans to release a factory-built F-Class rifle later this year. The initial stock design was controversial to say the least. However, the new design looks excellent. It features a 3″-wide fore-end, with venting slots cut on the sides AND the bottom. The rear of the buttstock runs straight back from the grip area and features a bottom flat that looks to be at least 1″ wide. The complete rifle will feature a right bolt, left port action (and possibly a right/right), with a 6-ounce Accutrigger. There is a discussion of the new stock on Long-Range.com. For a larger photo, CLICK HERE. Thanks to Vanessa Warner for these photos.
March 13th, 2007
In August of this summer, the United States Under 21 and Under 25 Rifle Teams will be competing in the World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. The Young Eagles Team consists of 20 young men and women who will be competing for the title of World Champion. The total cost of travel and match fees for the team in 2007 will be no less than $95,000. Team members supply all their own equipment, rifles and ammunition and raise some of the money themselves. The Team is a long way from achieving its financial goal and needs your support.
To make a donation CLICK HERE. This will bring you right into the donations page. Be sure to designate the USA Young Eagles as the recipient. All donations are tax deductible through Palma Promotions. Additional information can be found at: USAunder25Team.org.
On behalf of the team, I thank you for your support. — Vanessa Warner, Fundraising Coordinator, 2007 USA Young Eagles Rifle Team.
March 12th, 2007
 Mike Ratigan, a top Benchrest competitor (and Super Shoot winner), has just released an outstanding new book, Extreme Rifle Accuracy. This book is valuable for anyone involved in precision shooting, though Mike’s principal focus is on 100/200/300 Benchrest competition. Other top shooters tell us Mike’s new book is a “must-have” resource:
Butch Lambert: “It is far and away the best BR book written. Very comprehensive, it touches on every aspect of our game.”
Tom Rose: “I have a copy of Glenn Newick’s Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy which was great. However, this [368-page] book appears to be the next step in defining the sport of extreme rifle accuracy. Great photos and explanations of our sport.”
Mike Marcelli: “This is by far the most comprehensive book on the sport ever released. Mike not only hits the major points, like rest alignment and bag set up, he even addresses the little issues such as making sure your rest feet are on a solid surface and checking to see if the bench is stable before shooting. He points out all the little things that can bite you.”
To order the book, priced at $34.95 for softcover and $42.95 for hardback, contact Mike Ratigan at (580) 256-2963, or fax/mail this ORDER FORM.
March 9th, 2007
In a major legal opinion based on the Second Amendment, a three-judge panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declared the DC ban on handguns to be unconstitutional. The decision, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, held the DC law void on the grounds that the U.S. Constitution guarantees individual citizens (not just “militia”) the right to keep and bear arms.
Senior Judge Silverman’s majority opinion declared:
“To summarize, we conclude that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. That right existed prior to the formation of the new government under the Constitution and was premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government (or a threat from abroad). In addition, the right to keep and bear arms had the important and salutary civic purpose of helping to preserve the citizen militia….Despite the importance of the Second Amendment’s civic purpose, however, the activities it protects are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual’s enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia.”
Download and Read Majority Opinion.
Link (with Video): MSNBC Report
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