|
|
November 1st, 2010
Here’s a great deal from RCBS that is good through March 31, 2011. Just purchase any RCBS-brand reloading products or RCBS shooting accessories and then mail-in proof of purchase with you discount coupon to get money back from RCBS. You can either get $10 off a $50.00 purchase or a whopping $50 off a $300 (minimum) purchase. That’s a savings of up to 20%.
CLICK HERE for $50 off $300 Purchase Rebate Coupon (PDF)
With the purchase of $300 in RCBS® products, consumers can receive a $50 mail-in rebate. Purchases must be made between September 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011 and received by April 30, 2011. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. To receive your $50 mail-in rebate, fill out this coupon and send it, along with your original receipt and the UPC from RCBS qualifying product to: RCBS Rebate, Dept. 7392, PO Box 5010, Stacy, MN 55078-5010. Toll free number: 866-269-5194.
CLICK HERE for $10 off $50 Purchase Rebate Coupon (PDF)
With the purchase of $50.00 in RCBS® product, consumers can receive a $10.00 mail-in rebate. Purchases must be made between October 15, 2009 and March 31, 2011 and received by April 30, 2011. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. To receive your $10.00 mail-in rebate, fill out this coupon and send it, along with your original receipt and the UPC from RCBS qualifying product to: RCBS Rebate, Dept. 6589, PO Box 5009, Stacy, MN 55078-5009. Toll free number: 866-269-5194.
FINE PRINT: For either promotion, you must enclose in an envelope: the Completed Rebate Coupon (no photo copies); Original UPCs for each product; Original Cash Register Receipts for products. Limit one (1) per name, address and household. Material from non-compliant requests will be determined without response. No duplicate or reproduced forms will be honored and this offer may not be combined with any other offers or coupons affecting the same product. Void where prohibited and subject to all laws. Offer good only in USA. Materials must be received by April 30, 2011.
October 14th, 2010
 The 2011 edition of the Hodgdon® Annual Manual has just been announced, and should be at newstands in January 2011. Now in its 8th year, the Hodgdon Annual Manual includes over 5,000 rifle and pistol loads, with information on 29 Hodgdon, 19 IMR® and 10 Winchester® brand powders, with updated propellant burn rate and usage charts.
The new 2011 Manual features 31 cartridge updates including the new 30 AR Remington and 338 Marlin Express. The latest manual of course incorporates the 44 cartridge updates from 2010, which included data for the 6.5 Grendel and 6.5 Creedmoor.
Extensive reloading information is provided for popular cartridges such as the 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 6PPC, 6mmBR, .243 Win, 308 Winchester, .30-06, 338 Federal and more. In addition, the 2011 manual boasts 70 pages of shooting and hunting feature articles by top outdoor writers.
New Superformance Powder Data Included
The 2011 Hodgdon Annual Manual includes comprehensive load data for the two new Hodgdon powders, Hornady® Superformance™ and Hornady LEVERevolution®. This pair of advanced, high-speed propellants are currently used in Hornady’s factory ammunition. Both powders can provide a significant performance boost in many popular cartridges.
The 2011 Hodgdon Annual Manual costs $8.99 at news-stands or $11.99 delivered via mail from Hodgdon. To order call 913-362-9455, visit Hodgdon.com, or write to Hodgdon Powder, 6231 Robinson, Shawnee Mission, KS 66202.
October 10th, 2010
 RCBS has recently started shipping two new Rifle Bullet Feeder Kits for progressive metallic reloading presses. Availble for 30-caliber and 22-caliber, the Rifle Bullet Feeder Kits are designed to fit on most 7/8″-14 threaded progressive presses. An electrically-powered collator unit orients the bullets to drop directly into the feed mechanism where they are placed precisely in the case-mouths of your cartidges.
Feeder Kit Can Increase Load Rate by 50%
The 30-Cal hopper holds approximately 125 (180gr) 30-caliber bullets while the 22-Cal feeder holds about 250 (55gr) 22-caliber bullets. RCBS claims that both units increase load rates by 50%. We’d say that depends on how fast you operate your machine. On this Editor’s RCBS 2000 Progressive press I can usually pick up a bullet and place it in the case mouth in about 2-3 seconds. But now and then I will fumble with a bullet or place it in slightly tilted, requiring me to do it all over again. That’s where the feeder comes in very handy — the bullets always orient correctly in the case. We just wish RCBS offered .45 caliber and 9mm versions for pistol ammo and a 6mm version for rifles. RCBS says these calibers may be offered in the future.
RCBS Bullet Feeder Features:
• Available for either 22-caliber or 30-caliber
• Large hopper for non-stop reloading and max output
• Bullets are oriented to drop directly into feed mechanism/seat die
• Bullet feeding and seating are accomplished in one station.
• Adjustable collator height
• RCBS® two-year warranty
Feeders Increase Reloading Efficiency
The power-operated collator unit ensures each bullet component is properly oriented for feeding directly into the seat die. “This steady stream of properly-aligned bullets increases the consistency of your reloading process,” explains Kent Sakamoto, product line manager. “Red, green or blue, our new Rifle Bullet Feeders fit all progressive presses and increase the seed and consistency of reloading. That’s what these Bullet Feeders bring to the reloading table.” Here is a video we took at SHOW Show 2010 where the RCBS Bullet Feeder was previewed by Sakamoto:
September 21st, 2010
Here’s a word to the wise — not all full-length sizing dies are properly dimensioned to carry out the important task of “bumping” shoulders back on fired cases. With some dies the task may simply be impossible (without die or shell-holder modification). In fact, you may find that your attempt to bump the shoulder may actually INCREASE the dimension from base of case to shoulder datum!
 We recently had some four-times fired 6mmBR Lapua brass. Using a Harrell’s collar that indexes off the shoulder, we measured the length from base of case to top of collar at 1.570″ (with primer removed). We noticed a little more resistance to bolt closure compared to fresh brass, so we decided to bump the shoulders back two thousandths. As a point of reference, we measured the same dimension (base of case to top of Harrell’s collar, primer out) as 1.5675″ on once-fired Lapua 6mmBR brass.
 This Can’t Be Right …
To bump our shoulders we had an RCBS Gold Medal bushing full-length sizing die. Per the manufacturer’s instructions, we started with the die backed off 1/2 turn from contact with the shell-holder with the press ram at full height. We lubed and sized one case and then measured it. The shoulder had not moved. OK, no problem, we screwed the die down to contact the shell-holder (at full ram height) and tried again. This time the measured dimension was actually longer by a couple thousandths. The brass which measured (with collar) 01.570″ before sizing now measured 01.572″ — we were going in the wrong direction!
“Bumped” Shoulder Stretched .003″
Frustrated, we screwed the RCBS die in 1/8th turn past touching to allow “cam-over” which is necessary with some presses to actually push the shoulder back. We sized the case again, and this time the dimension had grown another .001″, to a total length of 1.573″! Wondering if there was something wrong with our calipers, we took the full-length sized brass (which previously had chambered just fine) to our 6BR rifle and tried to chamber it. Sure enough, the headspace had been lengthened by .003″ and the brass would not chamber at all.
 Die Was Too Long Inside to Bump Shoulders Properly
What was going on? Here’s the explanation: the interior cavity of the die was too long so the shoulder surface inside the die was never actually making contact with the shoulder of the brass — and the die could not be screwed down any further. As the RCBS die, which was fairly tight in the bottom half, reduced the diameter of the brass, the case actually grew in length. While the brass was sized at the bottom it grew upwards because the “shoulder” section on the inside of the die was too high. As we “squeezed” the brass at the bottom it simply flowed upwards, increasing headspace.
With this RCBS die, in its current configuration, there was no way we could bump the shoulder back, even by .001″. The die would likely function effectively if we ground a few thousandths off the bottom, but we don’t think a die user should be obliged to make such a modification.
Lesson Learned: If your full-length die can’t bump your brass even when it is screwed down all the way (to cam-over if necessary), then you need a different die or you need to modify your die. As proof of this, we took out my trusty Redding 6mmBR full-length sizing die. This was set up (from experience), one-half turn off contact with the shell-holder. In that position, the Redding die easily bumped the shoulder of a fired case .002″ with no trouble whatsoever. We started at 1.570″ and ended up 1.568″ — right where we wanted to be. The task that couldn’t be done with the RCBS Gold Medal FL Die was accomplished easily with the Redding die. After lubing the case, we simply raised the ram to full height, and this moved the shoulder back .002″ as measured with the Harrell’s collar positioned on the shoulder.
September 4th, 2010
Sinclair International is running a big Labor Day Weekend Promotional Sale. With the use of a promo code on checkout, you can save $15.00, $20.00, or $25.00 depending on the amount of your order. Sinclair explains how this works: “We would like to offer you $15 off your $150 order (code: CP5), $20 off your $200 order (code: CQ2), $25 off your $250 order (code: CR9). Simply enter the corresponding code upon checkout. We’re also offering great discounts off of select items! Not only that, the first 5,000 ground orders will receive a FREE GIFT.”
Many Other Reloading Products are Marked Down This Weekend
In addition to the $15, $20, and $25 off promotions, many popular products are being discounted directly. For example, the $79.95 Wilson Sharkfin Trimmer Kit (with stand) is marked down to $69.95, and the Hornady Lock-N-Load Electronic Powder Dispenser is $25 off, reduced from $249.95 to $224.95. If you need reloading tools and components, you may want to take advantage of Sinclair’s Labor Day Weekend Sale.
August 21st, 2010
Hodgdon will introduce two new propellants in 2011, LEVERevolution and Superformance. According to Chris Hodgdon, these powders will allow hand-loaders to replicate Hornady’s factory-loaded LEVERevolution and Superformance ammunition. Hornady used proprietary powder blends to achieve impressive velocities in its Superformance ammo. Now reloaders can take advantage of that blending technology to get more performance from their hand-loaded cartridges.
According to the Shooting Times website, the two new powders should be available starting in January 2011: “This is welcome news to handloaders who until now have had to sit by and watch as factories make the best use of new bullets such as Hornady’s FTX and mass-produced loads that handloaders couldn’t safely duplicate. This should also be welcome news to shooters who until now have avoided new high performance cartridges over concerns about future high performance ammunition availability.”
August 19th, 2010
 John Whidden of Whidden Gunworks used a collection of .243 Winchester and .308 Win rifles to win his third NRA National Long-Range Championship this week at Camp Perry. We had a chance to discuss Whidden’s winning guns during a long telephone conversation with John yesterday, as he motored back to Nashville, Georgia. John revealed some interesting facts about his long-range arsenal.
For the “Any sights, Any Rifle” and “Iron Sights, Any Rifle” stages of the Long-Range Championship, John used three different .243 Win rifles. He shoots the same load in all his .243s: Berger 105gr VLD bullets (moly-coated) with N160 powder and PMC (Russian) primers. The bullets are seated very long, with about .001″ neck tension, so the bullets “soft-seat” themselves into the rifling as he closes the bolt. This way he can use the same ammo in different guns and the bullets always find the same seating depth relative to the rifling. John uses a very stout load of N160 that drives his Berger 105s at about 3,300 fps. No that is not a misprint. John launches thin-jacket 105s at 3,300 fps and he doesn’t have an issue with bullet blow-ups. Moly helps keep the heat down, but John’s Broughton 5C (canted land) barrels are key. These are gentler on the jackets than barrels which have very tall or sharp lands.
 John shoots the Berger 6mm 105gr VLDs because they are a proven commodity that seem to work in a variety of barrels and cartridges: “We need something that is very reliable from an accuracy standpoint, match in and match out. The 105s are more reliably accurate over a range of different cartridges, barrels, and conditions. I’ve considered using the 115s, but I’ve heard mixed results. Across the whole range of variables, the 105s and 107s always seem to work for people but I’ve heard a lot of mixed results with the 115s.”
At 3,300 fps, the 105s deliver ballistics that are hard to beat, according to John: “My .243 shoots inside a 6.5-284 with 142s. Nothing out there is really ahead of [the .243], in 1000-yard ballistics unless you get into the short magnums or .284s and those carry a very significant recoil penalty. In the past I did shoot the 6.5-284. I went to the .243 because it had similar ballistics but had much less recoil. It doesn’t beat me up as much and is not as fatiguing.
With the .243… there’s no tensing-up, no anticipating. With the reduced recoil, I can break and shoot very good quality shots. I find I just shoot better shots with the .243 than I ever did with the 6.5-284.”
John’s primary “Any Sights” .243 is built on a Winchester m70 action, it has a Broughton 32″, 1:8″ twist 5C (canted land) barrel. This gun shot very well, but he did have a firing pin issue during the Remington Band of Brothers match on Day 1 of the Long-Range competition, so he was forced to bring out his back-up “Any Sights” gun. This features a Stolle Panda action, and Broughton 30″, 1:8″ twist 5C barrel. Both guns employ a Nightforce 8-32x56mm Benchrest Scope. John joked: “I’ve done a lot of hauling back-up guns across the country for no reason in the past, but this time it mattered a lot.”
For the “Iron Sights, Any Rifle” stages Whidden uses a .243 Win with a Gilkes-Ross action, Warner Rear Sight, and CG front sight with +0.5 diopter. As with John’s scoped .243s, this gun has an 8-twist, light Palma contour, Broughton 5C barrel. This is the same gun and 32″ barrel John used to set the Leech Cup record in 2008. It has about 650 rounds through the barrel. The chambering, as with his other “Any Rifle” guns, is a “plain vanilla .243 Win”.
.308 Palma Rifle Shooting 185gr VLDs with N140
Whidden’s .308 Winchester Palma Rifle is the same rifle we featured as our Gun of the Week Number 59 (photo below). It’s the same gun with the same barrel, a 32″ Broughton 10-twist with 5C rifling, light Palma contour. Round-count on this barrel is over 3000! John’s current .308 Win load is a very stout charge of N140 power, PMC primers, and 185gr Berger moly-coated VLDs. The brass is Lapua .308 Win with the standard large primer pocket/large flash holes. He turns his case-necks for a .333″ loaded round in a .343″-necked chamber, which was cut with the popular “95 Palma” reamer. As with his .243s, John loads his .308 ammo long and “soft-seats” his bullets with bolt closure.
Barrel Selection is Key to Running 6mm VLDs at Very High Velocities
Given John’s success with the .243 Winchester at Camp Perry, we asked him why more competitors weren’t using this cartridge at Perry. The combination of great ballistics and moderate recoil seems hard to beat. John explained: “There were several other .243s on the line. Lamar Jones, my travel partner, shot a .243, and there were a couple other guys out there. But there are more 6.5s I think. If there were an equipment list, I would be pretty certain that the 6.5-284 would be the majority in the ‘Any Rifle’ category.”
Importantly, John explained that it takes the right hardware to run the heavy 6mm bullets at high velocities. Bullet blow-up is a risk. John told us: “At the velocities I’m running the 105gr VLDs in the 243s, barrel brand selection is really important. You absolutely have to shoot a barrel that is easy on bullets to run these velocities. To avoid bullet blow-ups at these speeds, you can’t shoot barrels that have the tallest and sharpest rifling, such as you find with some cut-rifled barrels. I’m still shooting the thin-jacket Berger VLDs. I haven’t even switched to the thick-jacket bullets. To do this you need a rifling solution that is kinder to the bullet. The point I’m trying to drive home is that barrel selection is a very important factor. If my barrels didn’t work we would have smoked a lot of bullets. But that’s not the case with the Broughtons. I haven’t blown up a .243 bullet through a Broughton barrel.”
August 16th, 2010
 Following SGT Sherri Gallagher’s record-setting victory in the 2010 NRA High Power National Championship, many readers have asked what caliber (chambering) Sherri was shooting. Well, Sherri was shooting a .260 Remington at all yardages, as confirmed by SFC Emil Praslick, USAMU rifle coach. Runner-up Carl Bernosky was shooting a 6mm Hagar in an AR-platform rifle.
To capture her first High Power Championship, with a record 2396-161X score, Sheri used a Tubb 2000 bolt gun chambered in .260 Rem. According to Praslick: “[the rifle has] the same barrel as last year. I believe it has close to 2000 rounds on it.” To our surprise, Sherri’s ammo was loaded in relatively inexpensive Remington brass. Praslick explained: “We use Remington brass, Federal 210Ms, and Varget powder. For the 300/600 yard lines we use the Sierra 142gr bullet. Her 300RF load is around 2650 fps, the 600SF load approximately 2750 fps. At the 200 [yard line], we use a reduced recoil load using the Sierra 107gr MK.”
 Accuracy Trumps Raw Velocity
Praslick noted that Sherri’s load, while not particularly fast, is ultra-accurate: “All these loads rely much more on accuracy than they do velocity. SGT Gallagher’s rifle has been tested repeatedly at 600 yards. It will easily shoot 3″ to 4″ groups all day long. This is evident by her X-count.” Praslick added: “I am a big believer in the .260 for High Power shooting. [It offers] easy load development, ballistic advantage, and long barrel life.”
.260 Rem Resources
To learn more about the .260 Rem, read Zak Smith’s article: 6.5mm Shootout: .260 Remington vs. 6.5×47 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor. Zak compares three popular 6.5mm cartridges, weighing the pros and cons of each. Zak himself shoots the Rem .260 loaded with 139gr Lapua Scenar bullets and Alliant Reloder 17.
Another great load for this cartridge is the 123gr Lapua Scenar pushed by Hodgdon H4350. That was the best overall performing load in this Editor’s .260 Rem. I was able to run the 123s at 2950 fps with great accuracy and extremely low ES and SD. Compare the 600-yard ballistics of the Scenar 123s at 2950 fps with Sherri’s 142gr SMKs launched at 2750 fps. You may be surprised. The 123s have less drop, and the 10 mph wind drift (at 600 yards) is very close: 23.9″ for the 123s vs. 22.8″ for the 142s. (Calculations done with JBM Online Ballistics Calculator using Lapua and Litz field-measured BCs, 59°, 500′ elevation.)
July 26th, 2010
Shooting at the Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Benchrest Club (Williamsport), Frank Weber, set a new Light Gun Williamsport Record Score and World Record Score this past weekend, a 100-6X (4.237″) for ten (10) shots. Our Assistant Editor Jason Baney witnessed the new record while working the pits. Jason reports: “Frank’s 100-6X beats my Williamsport Record and Andy Murtaugh’s World Record. It was an incredible group. Frank almost got a group record as well — nine of Frank’s ten shots measured about 3.4″, all falling well inside the 4″x4″ white square. This was a great achievement for Frank. He has been shooting at Williamsport since 1968, and this is his first-ever Light Gun group under 7 inches.”
Weber’s Record-Setting Light Gun
Frank Weber set his 1K record with a BAT-actioned 6mm Dasher smithed by Mark King. The Broughton 1:8″ twist, 28″ barrel has a 0.266″-necked Dasher chamber, with 0.155″ freebore. The Broughton barrel is nearly new — it had roughly 100 rounds through it when the record was shot. For optics, Weber used a Nightforce 8-32x56mm NXS scope.
Record Recipe: Varget, BR4s, and Custom 105gr Bullets Jumped .010″
Weber’s record-setting load was fairly typical for a Dasher, except for the projectile. Frank loaded 33.5 grains of Hodgdon Varget and CCI BR4 primers behind a custom 105gr bullet, seated 0.010″ OFF the lands (i.e. he was jumping the bullets ten thousandths). Ironically, Frank was using this relay to test seating depths. It certainly seems that he found a load that worked! Later, in the shoot-off, Frank tried IMR 8208 XBR powder.
July 22nd, 2010
John Hoover of Accuracy One Shooting Supplies is the 2010 Williamsport World Open Two-gun Overall Champion. Shooting a 6.5×284 in both Light Gun (LG) and Heavy Gun (HG) classes, John shot consistently, placing 3rd in Light Gun class, and 6th in Heavy Gun to win the overall Two-Gun with 34 rank points. It was a solid win. The next closest shooter was Paul Chackan with 59 rank points.
 Hoover’s Reloading Tips
We interviewed John after his World Open victory, and he shared his World Open-winning load, and some of the reloading secrets that allow him to craft ultra-accurate long range ammo. For his 6.5x284s, John loaded was Sierra 142gr MatchKings pushed by 48.0 grains of Hodgdon H4350, in “white box” Winchester .284 brass. Both rifles used exactly the same load. John revealed: “I have 9 match rifles, and they all shoot 48.00 grains of H4350.” John pointed his 142gr SMKs, using his own Accuracy One bullet-pointing tool: “I don’t shoot anything that isn’t pointed. All the loads we shoot use pointed bullets. I find that bullet pointing, combined with meplat trimming, reduces vertical dispersion at 1000 yards.”
Hoover’s Secret Ingredient? RWS Primers
Hoover lit his loads with RWS primers — the “Holy Grail” of rifle primers. Where did John get these superior German-made RWS primers, which are virtually unobtainable in the USA these days? John explained: “I bought those primers a long time ago, as a stocking dealer. I had about 100,000 at one time before they quit importing them, I kept a fair amount for us to use. I’m down to about 8000. When they’re gone I’ll have to change to something else.”
Hoover Now Anneals Brass “Early and Often”
Recently Hoover has changed his brass annealing procedure; he now anneals his Winchester brass earlier and more frequently: “I anneal more often now. I used to shoot my cases five to six times before annealing. Now before I shoot a case the very first time, I anneal it. That has help keep the ES and SD down. I anneal before I shoot the first time, and then every third firing. I use the Ken Light annealing machine.”
Ace Smiths Built Hoover’s Winning Rifles
John’s heavy gun was chambered by Al Warner of Warner Tools, while the light gun was chambered by 8-time National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky. Both light and heavy guns had Bartlein 1:8.5″ twist 5R barrels. All the stock work was done by Alex Sitman of Master Class Stocks. John credited these smiths: “I had good equipment from top to bottom, I had good smithing help from Alan, Carl, and Alex, who all did excellent work. When you’re walking to the firing line you get peace of mind from having the best equipment.”
READ MORE: To learn more about John Hoover’s successful 6.5-284s, read this Gun of the Week article.
|
