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June 1st, 2016
There’s no denying that 3-Gun competition is growing in popularity nationwide. Using a pistol, rifle and shotgun to shoot multiple targets at varying distances is exciting and challenging. Here are some pointers for performing better on the 3-Gun range by the USAMU’s SSG Daniel Horner, a two-time winner of Crimson Trace’s Midnight 3-Gun Invitational (M3GI) match.
 Competing in Night-Time Stages
“I use the same gear all year long, so when it comes time for this match (the M3GI), I just adapt the guns, so they will work for the night time,” stated Daniel Horner. “I attach the Crimson Trace lasers and lights to the guns in whatever is the easiest way possible. Last year I just screwed a rail to my shotgun with wood screws. So, people can compete with pretty much whatever they have available and make it work.” Horner also recommends using a pair of head-mounted lamps. One can illuminate your firearms’ iron sights while the other headlamp is aimed at the targets.
May 28th, 2016
If you’ve been looking for a premium-quality stock for a new gun project, now’s the time to buy. As a Memorial Day promotion, McMillan is offering 10% off the price of its entire inventory of stocks and accessories in the McMillan Online Store. That can save you some serious coin on many of McMillan’s most popular stocks, including benchrest stocks, hunting stocks, varmint stocks, and tactical stocks such as the A2, A3 and A5.
You can get 10% off McMillan merchandise now through 11:59 pm on May 30, 2015. This applies sitewide on the McMillan online store. The sale applies to all of McMillan’s most popular designs as well as new-for-2016 stocks such as the XTR and Game Warden. To get 10% off, use Promo Code “MemorialSale” at check out.
Sale Tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
May 26th, 2016
The Precision Rifle Series (PRS) has introduced a new, price-capped Production Class in an effort to boost participation by making competition more affordable. Under recently-issued PRS rules, Production Class rifles may cost no more than $2000.00. The rules state:
“Production Division combined rifle and scope MSRP as listed on the company’s website shall not exceed $3,000 USD, the rifle shall not exceed $2,000 USD and the optic not exceed $2,000 USD.
Production Division rifles are not permitted to be altered or improved in any way from the original factory configuration.
In an effort to prevent exorbitant costs for beginning shooters, Production Division round count will not exceed 80 rounds.”
To fit the new Production Class Rules, MasterPiece Arms (MPA) has developed the new BA Lite PCR Competition Rifle built around a Savage Model 12 short action. Designed specifically for the new PRS Production Class, MPA’s PCR Competition Rifle offers many premium features yet stays under the $2,000 Class limit. The Savage action is upgraded with a Rifle Basix 2-lb trigger, and the adjustable, modular chassis offers a bag rider, barricade stop, and even a built-in bubble level. Bipods can be attached up front to a rail, with optional spigot mount. MPA PCR Rifles come with stainless Bergara barrels, 22-26 inches in length, fitted with MPA muzzle brakes (muzzle thread is 5/8-24 TPI).
MPA BA Lite PCR Competition Rifle Specifications:
Chamberings: 6mm Creedmoor, 243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Win, 6.5 x 47 Lapua, 6mm x 47 Lapua
Action: Savage Model 12 Short Action
Trigger: Rifle Basix Savage Trigger Set to 2 lbs.
Barrel: Bergara 416R Stainless Premium Barrel Blank
Chassis: MPA BA Lite Chassis
Muzzle Brake: MPA High Performance Muzzle Brake
Magazine: AICS Type (10 Round Accurate/AICS Type Magazine Included)
Chassis Weight: 2.9 lbs. (Overall rifle weight depends on barrel length and contour.)
MSRP: $1,999.99
Left-Hand and Right-Hand Models in Choice of Five Cerakote Colors
The MPA BA Lite PCR Competition Rifle is available in black, burnt bronze, flat dark earth, gunmetal, and tungsten in both left- and right-handed set ups. All chassis and barrels are Cerakoted® in a multitude of colors and patterns. (Custom patterns are $150.00 extra). Barrel lengths available include 22 inches through 26 inches. The barrel twist is caliber-specific and the barrel muzzle thread is 5/8-24 TPI.
Editor’s Note: While the MPA PCR Competition rifle has nice features, it’s hard not to compare it to the Ruger Precision Rifle costing hundreds less. The latest Gen 2 Ruger Precision Rifle, with a sleeker handguard and factory muzzle brake, is available for under $1500.00 “street price”. Ruger lists a $1599.00 MSRP for the Gen 2 RPR versus $1399.00 for Gen 1 models.
May 17th, 2016
There are two segments on Shooting USA this week that are well worth watching. On Wednesday (May 18, 2016), Shooting USA features a lengthy segment on the Bushnell Brawl tactical match. This is followed by an “Impossible Shoots” episode featuring top USAMU shooter SSG Daniel Horner.
 This Wednesday, May 18th, Shooting USA TV features the Bushnell Brawl, a tactical competition that draws top long-range shooters from the military, law enforcement and the civilian shooting communities. The match is held at the famed Rifles Only range in Kingsville, Texas. The Brawl is a one-of-a-kind physical and mental challenge that tests each shooter’s ability to read wind, figure ballistics, and adapt to difficult shooting scenarios. There is even a helicopter stage.
Shooting from a helicopter, shooting off of a wire, and shooting from the physically demanding maze called the Mouse Trap. These are just a few of the unique courses of fire at the Bushnell Brawl, part of the PRS series. Over the course of two days, competitors tackle more than a dozen stages, and this year Bushnell hosted a special one-day event for the new PRS Production Class. This new division should attract new shooters by limiting the cost of equipment — making PRS competition affordable.
New PRS Production Division — Lowering the Cost of Entry
The Production Division is a new PRS classification. Under Production Division rules, the rifle and scope must cost under $3,000, combined. All other accessories, such as bipod, rear bag, and the sling, can be added at the shooter’s own discretion. By lowering the cost of entry, PRS organizers hope to get more shooters involved: “There’s a lot of gear out there that’s not that expensive that you can use to get into this and start to play the game,” says Production Division Match Director Jacob Bynum.
Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots — Threading the Needle
This time, SSG Daniel Horner has combined with the Army Marksmanship Unit Gunsmiths to set up the ultimate Impossible Shot. Horner attempts to send one bullet through two barrels to pop a balloon.
This challenge is definitely demands the ability to “thread the needle”. In other trick shot challenges this week, Randy Oitker switches to a crossbow to set up his Annie Oakley-style, over the shoulder challenge. Julie Golob is your guide to some of the most amazing exhibition shots ever seen.
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Shooting USA Hour on Wednesday Nights
Eastern Time – 3:00 PM, 9:00 PM, 12:30 AM Th
Central Time – 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM, 11:30 PM
Mountain Time – 1:00 PM, 7:00 PM, 10:30 PM
Pacific Time – 12:00 Noon, 6:00 PM, 9:30 PM
Also on Saturdays Prime Time:
Eastern Time – 12:30 AM
Central Time – 11:30 PM
Mountain Time – 10:30 PM
Pacific Time – 9:30 PM |
Impossible Shots — Wednesday Nights
Eastern: 10:30 PM
Central: 9:30 PM
Mountain: 8:30 PM
Pacific: 7:30 PM |
May 17th, 2016
We like AR-style .22LR rigs for Rimfire Tactical Matches and 3-Gun cross-training. With an AR-style rimfire rifle you can train with low-cost ammunition while enjoying the same ergonomics, controls, and sighting systems found on your centerfire ARs.
Smith & Wesson has upgraded its M&P 15-22, a fun rifle that we’ve praised in the past. The new M&P 15-22 Sport MOE SL model (Magpul Original Equipment Slim Line) features a more comfortable handguard, an improved grip, and an adjustable Magpul buttstock. The dedicated .22 LR M&P rifle retains the look and features of the company’s popular M&P rifle line, with the enhanced ergonomics of Magpul furniture. Click HERE for Spec Sheet.
May 11th, 2016
The NRA will debut a new long range training program this summer at the Peacemaker National Training Center in West Virginia. Registration is now open for the National Rifle Association’s Precision Long Range School. Three summer sessions will be offered: July 2-3, August 13-14, and September 3-4, 2016. Price is a painful $1900.00 per two-day session. That does include guns, ammo and instruction, but NOT lodging. (Think about that — for $1900.00 you can buy a pretty nice rifle and practice on your own. Likewise that $1900.00 will buy a very high-quality scope.)
The NRA Precision Long Range School is designed to teach students how to hit very small targets out to (and beyond) 1,100 yards, and how to make hits on the first shot. Sessions will be lead by some of the nation’s best long range instructors and students will be provided with top-of-the-line guns, ammo, optics, and all necessary gear.
This unique school covers a spectrum of long range shooting disciplines. Students will learn long-range competition “best practices”, tactical long-range methods, and long-range hunting techniques. This school will be taught in MILS. Specific techniques covered will include: Dialing, Holding Off, Target Transition, Advanced Long Range Marksmanship, Suppressor Usage, and Long Range Speed Shooting.
The school will also cover Advanced External Ballistics, Advanced Wind Reading, and Applied Ballistics Software Usage. For these subjects, seminar-style instruction will be combined with range practice to put learned skills into practice at long range.
The NRA Precision Long Range School will provide top-quality hardware to participants: Surgeon rifles built on Modular chassis systems, chambered for the .260 Remington cartridge. These rifles will be fitted with Nightforce ATACR MIL-R optics and AWC Silencers suppressors. The Top-of-the line Swarovski spotting scopes and range-finding binoculars will be employed, along with Kestrel wind meters with Applied Ballistics software. Nexus-brand .260 Rem ammo completes the package available to Long Range School attendees.
To register, or obtain more information about the NRA Precision Long Range School, visit the Long Range School Webpage or call (844) 672-6883.
May 10th, 2016
The Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR) has been a huge sales success. Nearly a year after its introduction, the RPR remains in very high demand. The first production run by Ruger essentially sold out, so it is very hard to find one for sale, in any caliber.
CLICK HERE for Large-format Ruger Precision Rifle Product Brochure (4mb PDF).
Though it has a big winner on its hands, Ruger has made some upgrades to its popular RPR. An “enhanced” RPR will be offered with a new handguard, bolt shroud, and muzzle brake. Two new models have been added to the RPR line-up, the model 18004 in .308 Win, and the model 18008 in 6.5 Creedmoor. These models, priced at $1599.00 MSRP, feature a new, low-profile handguard, a new aluminum bolt shroud, and a muzzle brake. The new handguard will work better for scopes with large front objectives. The muzzle brake should reduce felt recoil, but we do wonder whether accuracy might suffer. The brakeless, first-generation RPRs exhibited very good accuracy most of the time.
For the time being, the original model RPRs will be offered along with the new enhanced RPRs: “Both the original and enhanced configurations will be available from Ruger for a time, with the initial pattern being phased out as supplies are depleted.” (Source: American Rifleman). But there is a catch. The new models cost $200.00 more than Gen 1 RPRs. Ruger lists a $1599.00 MSRP for the enhanced RPRs versus $1399.00 for Gen 1 models.
To See NEW FEATURES, click the image below, then SCROLL down the page on the Ruger web page that loads. Yes, the VIDEO is there — you just have to scroll down.
According to American Rifleman, the new handguard has multiple benefits: “Still free-floating and KeyMod-compatible, the new design omits the original’s top-mounted Picatinny rail in order to increase scope clearance. Given the larger objective lenses utilized by long-range optics, this enhancement makes a lot of sense. The bottom surface of the new handguard is also contoured with a flatter surface, providing for a more stable foundation for the mounting of bipods than the original model.” Current RPR owners can purchase the new-style 15″ aluminum handguard for $249.95 from ShopRuger.com.
 Ruger RPR Hybrid Muzzle Brake
The original, Gen 1 Ruger Precision Rifle had a threaded muzzle covered by a thread cap. The new “enhanced model” features a factory-installed “hybrid” brake fitted to the barrel. This brake combines radial holes in the rear half with large, angled side ports in the front. Ruger claims the brake reduces recoil almost 40% on a 6.5 Creedmoor. This brake can be purchased separately for $99.95 from ShopRuger.com.
April 24th, 2016
With barrels, one wonders “Can a little more length provide a meaningful velocity gain?” To answer that question, Rifleshooter.com performed an interesting test, cutting a .308 Win barrel from 28″ all the way down to 16.5″. The cuts were made in one-inch intervals with a rotary saw. At each cut length, velocity was measured with a Magnetospeed chronograph. To make the test even more interesting, four different types of .308 Win factory ammunition were chronographed at each barrel length.
READ RifleShooter.com .308 Win Barrel Cut-Down Test Article.
Test Barrel Lost 22.7 FPS Per Inch (.308 Win Chambering)
How much velocity do you think was lost, on average, for each 1″ reduction in barrel length? The answer may surprise you. With a barrel reduction from 28″ to 16.5″, the average speed loss of the four types of .308 ammo was 261 fps total. That works out to an average loss of 22.7 fps per inch. This chart shows velocity changes for all four ammo varieties:
Summary of Findings: The average velocity loss per inch, for all four ammo types combined, was 22.7 FPS. By ammo type, the average loss per inch was: 24.6 (Win 147 FMJ), 22.8 (IMI 150 FMJ), 20.9 (Fed GMM 168gr), and 22.5 (Win 180PP).
Interestingly, these numbers jive pretty well with estimates found in reloading manuals. The testers observed: “The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, ‘muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24″ barrel’.”
How the Test Was Done
The testers described their procedure as follows: “Ballistic data was gathered using a Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. At each barrel length, the rifle was fired from a front rest with rear bags, with five rounds of each type of ammunition. Average velocity and standard deviation were logged for each round. Since we would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut, we decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. Once data was gathered for each cartridge at a given barrel length, the rifle was cleared and the bolt was removed. The barrel was cut off using a cold saw. The test protocol was repeated for the next length. Temperature was 47° F.”
CLICK HERE to Read the Rifleshooter.com Test. This includes detailed charts with inch-by-inch velocity numbers, multiple line charts, and complete data sets for each type of ammo. Rifleshooter.com also offers ballistics graphs showing trajectories with different barrel lengths. All in all, this was a very thorough test by the folks at RifleShooter.com.
Much Different Results with 6mmBR and a Longer Barrel
The results from Rifleshooter.com’s .308 barrel cut-down test are quite different than the results we recorded some years ago with a barrel chambered for the 6mmBR cartridge. When we cut our 6mmBR barrel down from 33″ to 28″, we only lost about 8 FPS per inch. Obviously this is a different cartridge type, but also our 6mmBR barrel end length was 5″ longer than Rifleshooter.com’s .308 Win start length. Velocity loss can be more extreme with shorter barrel lengths (and bigger cartridges). Powder burn rates can also make a difference.
April 18th, 2016
Here’s a new tactical-style rifle you should consider if you are involved in the Tactical/Practical shooting disciplines. It features a modern, adjustable Archangel stock with the smooth, made-in-Japan Howa 1500 action, outfitted with a detachable 10-round box magazine.
Legacy Sports, distributor for Howa rifles, is offering the new Howa Archangel Rifle in .223 Remington and .308 Winchester. The ambidextrous, carbon-reinforced polymer stock features a click-adjustable cheek-riser, adjustable length-of-pull, grip storage compartment, plus front/rear quick-detach flush cups. There is also a clevet, integrated, push-button bipod attachment system. The Howa actions mate precisely into the stock and ride on aluminum pillars.
In .223 Rem or .308 Win, the complete rifle, with either 20″ or 24″ barrel, starts at $915.00 MSRP, including 10-round mag. We expect the actual street price to be around $800.00. That makes this a more affordable alternative to the Ruger Precision Rifle, which is commanding $1200.00+ these days (if you can find one). Note: Archangel Mfg. offers this Howa 1500-compatible stock in Black, OD Green, and Desert Tan, but it appears that the initial Legacy Sports complete rifle will be in black only. These rifles are fitted with the very good HACT adjustable two-stage trigger and 3-position safety. The Howa Archangel rifle is also available (for about $230 more) in a scoped package with a 4-16x50mm Nikko Sterling Scope (see below). For more information call Legacy Sports at 1-800-553-4229 or visit LegacySports.com.
Note: If you already own a rifle with a Howa 1500 barreled action, you can purchase the Archangel AA1500 stock separately (MSRP $355.99) from Arizona-based Archangel Manufacturing. This company also offers similar stocks for Rem 700, Springfield M1A, and K98 Mauser barreled actions, starting at just $202.99 for the Mauser variant.
March 28th, 2016
What do you get when you cut a 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered barrel down to just over 16 inches? A lot more velocity than you might think. Our friends at Rifleshooter.com recently did a barrel cut-down test with 6.5 Creedmoor test rifle, shortening the barrel from 27 to 16.1 inches in one-inch increments. Surprisingly, with a 142gr Sierra MK, the total velocity loss (as measured with a Magnetospeed) was just 158 FPS, an average of 14.4 FPS per inch of barrel length. With the lighter 120gr A-Max bullet, the total velocity loss was 233 FPS, or 21.8 FPS average loss per inch of barrel.
To perform this velocity test, our friend Bill, Rifleshooter.com’s editor, built up a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle using a Remington Model 7 action, 1:8″ twist Green Mountain CM barrel, and MDT LSS Chassis, all obtained from Brownells.com.
Test Procedure
Five (5) rounds of each type of cartridge were fired at each barrel length and the velocity data was recorded with a MagnetoSpeed V3 barrel-mounted chronograph. The rifle was then cleared and the barrel was cut back one inch at a time from 27″ to just over 16″. NOTE: During this winter test, the air temperature was a very chilly 23° F. One would expect higher velocities across the board had the outside temperature been higher.
The photo below shows how the barrel was cut down, inch-by-inch, using a rotary saw. The barrel was pre-scored at inch intervals. As the main purpose of the test was to measure velocity (not accuracy) the testers did not attempt to create perfect crowns.
6.5 Creedmoor vs. Other Mid-Sized 6.5mm Cartridges
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a very popular cartridge with the tactical and PRS crowd. This mid-size cartridge offers good ballistics, with less recoil than a .308 Winchester. There’s an excellent selection of 6.5mm bullets, and many powder choices for this cartridge. When compared to the very accurate 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge, the 6.5 Creedmoor offers similar performance with less expensive brass. For a tactical shooter who must sometimes leave brass on the ground, brass cost is a factor to consider. Here’s a selection of various 6.5 mm mid-sized cartridges. Left to right are: 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor with 120gr A-Max, 6.5 Creedmoor with 142gr Sierra MK, and .260 Remington.
When asked to compare the 6.5 Creedmoor to the 6.5×47 Lapua, Rifleshooter.com’s editor stated: “If you don’t hand load, or are new to precision rifle shooting, get a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you shoot a lot, reload, have more disposable income, and like more esoteric cartridges, get a 6.5×47 Lapua. I am a big fan of the 6.5×47 Lapua. In my personal experience, the 6.5×47 Lapua seems to be slightly more accurate than the 6.5 Creedmoor. I attribute this to the quality of Lapua brass.”
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