Dennis DeMille shows a young competitor at the CMP Western Games how to adjust his leather sling.
If you want to learn more about setting up your sling properly for position shooting, here are some tips from Dennis DeMille, a past Service Rifle Champion. Dennis explains how to choose a sling, and how to adjust it to fit properly.
The Benefits of Dry-Fire Training
Once you know how to set up your sling properly, you’ll want to practice. Dennis DeMille stresses the importance of dry-fire practice with sling and shooting coat. Dry-Fire training is essential to the sling disciplines. Dennis DeMille, a national Service Rifle Champion, told us that, for every minute he spent in actual competition, he would spend hours practicing without ammunition. While in the USMC, Dennis would practice in the barracks, working on his hold and dry-firing:
“The most important thing is to spend time off the range practicing. Most of what I learned as a High Power shooter I learned without ammunition — just spending time dry firing and doing holding exercises. Holding exercises will really identify the weak parts of your position. The primary purpose of dry firing is to get you used to shooting an empty rifle. If you can shoot a loaded rifle the same way you shoot an empty rifle then eventually you will become a High Master.”
SFC Brandon Green, 2018 Nat’l High Power Champion. Brandon, one of the nation’s best “hard-holders”, demonstrates proper use of sling in prone position.
Setting-Up a Leather Service Rifle Sling for Competition
So you made the mistake of disassembling your leather service rifle sling, or are intimidated about how to use one? In this Creedmoor Sports InfoZone video, former Creedmoor G.M. Dennis DeMille explains how to set up and use a sling. The covers the basics — Dennis starts with a totally disassembled leather service rifle sling and shows you how to set it up properly.
Tip: “Many shooters shy away from using a leather sling because they have never been taught how to use one. That’s unfortunate. In my opinion a leather sling offers more support than a web sling, which is important when competiting with the heavier than normal rifles.”
Configuring the Sling for the Standing (Offhand) Position
In this second in a series of Creedmoor InfoZone videos on the setup and use of the leather service rifle sling, Dennis DeMille details how to configure and best utilize the leather service rifle sling while shooting from the standing position.
Tip: “Putting the Frogs in different hole will change the amount of added elevation a sling provides.”
Looking at Sling Types — Comparing the Features
In this video Dennis showcases a large variety of shooting slings. He explains the strong points of each type so you can choose the sling best suited to your discipline and shooting style.
SUMMARY: This article reviews a device that “triggers” the LabRadar chronograph to register bullet speed. Rather than activate by sound or Doppler reading, this $35 JKL Inertial Trigger works from the rifle’s instantaneous recoil pulse when a shot is fired. After some frustration with his LabRadar when shooting at a range with reflective surfaces, our tester is now reporting that 100% of his actual shots are being captured correctly by his LabRadar chrono equipped with the JKL Inertial Trigger. He won’t use his LabRadar without it now. Other users have become instant fans of this inertial LabRadar trigger as well. It is very affordable and it works great. VIEW LARGE PHOTO.
JKL Inertial Trigger for LabRadar Chronograph
Product Review by F Class John
The LabRadar chronograph has been one of the most revolutionary tools in the shooting world because of how it collects velocity data, how it reports (and stores) that data, and, ultimately, the ease with which it can be positioned and operated. However, it’s not a perfect system. A majority of the complaints come from users whose LabRadars sometimes fail to record all the shots fired in a string. For the average plinker, this may not be an issue. But for serious shooters trying to do ladder tests or load development requiring all shots to be reported, it can be frustrating when a shot is missed.
Traditionally, LabRadar has recommended trying different settings that compensate for the gap between the unit and muzzle as well as well as having different options for how the unit recognizes a shot fired. While these options work to some degree, they aren’t a guaranteed fix especially when shooting at ranges with concrete baffles or with roofs, walls, and dividers that can alter sound waves. While nobody can precisely explain why shots are lost under certain circumstances, the fact remains it DOES happen. In addition, the default system can sometimes pick up stray shots from nearby rifles.
Not willing to give up on this sophisticated chronograph, many shooters have looked for a foolproof way to prevent such failures from happening. In fact, for this shooter, the frustration was so high that I actually sold my first LabRadar and went back to another chronograph before ultimately buying another LabRadar almost a year later. But I made that repeat purchase only after vowing to finding a way to make the LabRadar work — EVERY time, for EVERY shot.
See How JKL Inertial Trigger Works in this Video
JKL Inertial Trigger — Outstanding Product That Works Great
Enter the JKL Gen 2 Trigger for the LabRadar. This is an easy-to-use, inertial-driven trigger that activates simply from the recoil of your gun. The unit consists of a small rectangular pad attached to a long audio cable. All you do is plug in the audio cable, attach the pad to your gun with the provided hook and loop (Velcro) material. Then (important), you must change the LabRadar trigger settings from “Doppler” to “Trigger”. The unit works great and is easy to set up. In my experience, the unit will activate no matter where you place it on a stock. However the recoil of every gun is slightly different, so you will need to make sure you find a location that doesn’t interfere with your shooting setup.
An unexpected benefit of using the JKL trigger is that it gives you a larger area in which to place your Labradar unit, making it more convenient to setup on benches or range stations. I found this a welcome relief since the LabRadar originally seemed somewhat fussy about where I placed it. Now I can place the LabRadar in more convenient locations — as long as it’s still near my gun and pointed at the target correctly, I get consistent bullet speed data.
Are There Issues with “False Positives”?
If there is any downside to using the JKL Inertial Trigger, it’s that a very hard bump or aggressive working of the action can trigger a false reading. However these are easy to identify in your data, because the speed value is way lower than true fired shot values. Simply remove that low entry or otherwise ignore it in your calculations. To be fair, this “bump activation” really doesn’t happen very often once you get used to using the inertial trigger.
SUMMARY — Outstanding Accessory for LabRadar Users
Bottom line — if you own a LabRadar, then definitely get a JKL Inertial Trigger. Priced at just $35.00 this device is not expensive, yet it’s one of the most effective accessories you can buy for the LabRadar. I’ve recommended these inertial triggers to dozens of shooters. Every one of those guys who did buy a JKL trigger says they can’t imagine using a LabRadar without one. If you love what the LabRadar can do, but have been frustrated with shots not getting recorded 100% of the time, then definitely get yourself a JKL Inertial Trigger. It turns a good system into an amazing system. JKL Industries states that its inertial trigger “will work on anything from a .22 LR to a suppressed system or with standard rifle and brake.”
Emil Praslick III is widely recognized as one of the greatest wind wizards on the planet — a master at identifying wind value and direction, and predicting wind cycles. As coach of the USAMU and top civilian teams, Emil has helped win many high-level championships. In the three videos we feature today, Emil, who works with Capstone Precision Group (Berger, Lapua, SK, Vihtavuori) and Team Applied Ballistics, explains how to determine wind direction and velocity using a variety of indicators. Praslick, now retired from the U.S. Army, was an 18-time National and 2-time World Champion coach with the USAMU.
Video ONE: Wind Theory Basics — Understanding “Wind Values”
In this video from UltimateReloader.com, Emil explains the basics of modern wind theory. To properly understand the effect of the wind you need to know both the velocity of the wind and its angle. The combination of those variables translates to the wind value. Emil also explains that the wind value may not be constant — it can cycle both in speed and velocity. Emil also explains some of the environmental conditions such as mirage that can reveal wind conditions.
Video TWO: Determining the Direction of the Wind
Key Point in Video — Find the Boil
Emil explains how to determine wind direction using optic. The method is to use spotting scope, riflescope, or binoculars to look for the “Boil” — the condition in mirage when the light waves rising straight up. The wind will generate that straight-up, vertical boil in your optics when it is blowing directly at you, or directly from your rear. To identify this, traverse your scope or optics until you see the boil running straight up. When you see that vertical boil, the direction your optic is pointing is aligned with the wind flow (either blowing towards you or from directly behind you).
Video THREE: The No Wind Zero Setting
In this second video, Emil defines the “No-Wind Zero”, and explains why competitive shooters must understand the no-wind zero and have their sights or optics set for a no-wind zero starting point before heading to a match. In order to hit your target, after determining wind speed and direction, says Emil, “you have to have your scope setting dialed to ‘no wind zero’ first.”
Coach of Champions — Emil Praslick III
SFC Emil Praslick III, (U.S. Army, retired) works with Berger Bullets and Applied Ballistics. Emil served as the Head Coach of the U.S. National Long Range Rifle Team and Head Coach of the USAMU for several years. Teams coached by Emil have won 33 Inter-Service Rifle Championships. On top of that, teams he coached set 18 National records and 2 World Records. Overall, in the role of coach, Praslick can be credited with the most team wins of any coach in U.S. Military history.
He who dies with the most toys wins — right? Well Sinclair has another interesting gadget you can add to your reloading bench. The Sinclair Case Neck Sorting Tool lets you quickly sort brass by neck-wall thickness. For those who shoot “no-turn” brass, this can improve neck-tension consistency. Large variances in neck-wall thickness can cause inconsistent neck “grip” on the bullet. Generally, we’ve found that more consistent neck tension will lower ES and (usually) improve accuracy. We know some guys who shoot no-turn 6mmBR brass in competition with considerable success — but their secret is pre-sorting their brass by neck-wall thickness. Cases that are out-of-spec are set aside for sighters (or are later skim-turned).
Watch Case Neck Sorting Tool Operation in Video
How the Case Neck Sorting Tool Works
Here’s how the Sinclair tool works. Cases are rotated under an indicator tip while they are supported on a case-neck pilot and a support pin through the flash hole. The unit has a nice, wide base and low profile so it is stable in use. The tool works for .22 through .45 caliber cases and can be used on .17- and .20-caliber cases with the optional carbide alignment rod. The MIC-4 pin fits both .060 (PPC size) and .080 (standard size) flash holes. Sinclair’s Case Neck Sorting Tool can be ordered with or without a dial indicator. The basic unit without dial indicator (item item 749006612) is priced at $59.99. You can also buy the tool complete with dial indicator (item 749007129) for $89.99. IMPORTANT: This sorting tool requires caliber-specific Case Neck Pilots which must be ordered separately.
Editor’s Comment: The purpose of this Sinclair tool is rapid, high-quantity sorting of cartridge brass to ascertain significant case-neck-wall thickness variations. Consider this a rapid culling/sorting tool. If you are turning your necks, you will still need a quality ball micrometer tool to measure neck-wall thickness (to .0005) before and after neck-turning operations.
Are you a do-it-yourself kind of guy with a creative eye? Then you’ll love the FREE Target Generator from the folks at ShooterShed.com. This FREE, interactive webpage allows you to design a variety of fun targets, including grids, benchrest-type Score/Group Shooting targets, sight-in targets, and even playing card targets. Choose the paper size and orientation (vertical or horizontal), then select the number of target elements on the page. For example, you could have four (4) bulls or a dozen playing cards. Then click the Style TAB to choose your target style. Use the OPTIONS TAB to overlay a grid on the target, choose squares or diamonds, or include load information blocks. For bullseye targets, you can control the number, color, and spacing (diameter) of the rings. LINK to TARGET GENERATOR.
QWIK TIP: For Super-Quick Target Creation, click the “Target Style” tab, then select a design from the list on the left. Then go to OPTIONS.
Click the TARGET STYLE TAB to select one of many target styles, including NBRSA Benchrest targets and 20+ types of NRA bullseye targets, scaled to distance:
Benchrest
Bullseye
Shapes
NRA High Power
NRA Pistol
NRA Rimfire
Images
Playing Cards
Load Test Blocks
Creating new targets is fast and easy. No computer graphics skills required! We created this green diamonds grid target in just five minutes using the ShooterShed Target Generator:
And here is a handy target with short-range range Benchrest competition-style box/circle aiming points, along with fields for entry of gun/load data:
The program provides a preview of each target you generate. There are controls to choose border and fill colors. If you like a particular design, save the file, and then print as many targets as you want. Check it out, this program is fun and handy to use. Here are four (4) targets your Editor created just for this article. With a bit of practice, you can be generating your own custom targets in minutes.
About the Creator of the Target Generator
The Target Generator program was created by Rod Brown of Sheridan, Wyoming. Rod tells us: “I build custom rifles and coach shooters. I’ve got a 100-yard range out my back door. I shoot short- and long-range benchrest competitively around the country. I’m a full-time software development consultant and an FFL holder. When I’m not developing custom software for my clients, I’m usually fiddling in the shop, building a custom benchrest rifle, traveling to a match, chambering a barrel, or reloading some ammunition.
Story tip from Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.
Want to improve your understanding of Ballistics, Bullet Design, Bullet Pointing, and other shooting-related tech topics? Well here’s a treasure trove of gun expertise. Applied Ballistics offers dozens of FREE tech articles on its website. Curious about Coriolis? — You’ll find answers. Want to understand the difference between G1 and G7 BC? — There’s an article about that.
“Doc” Beech, technical support specialist at Applied Ballistics says these articles can help shooters working with ballistics programs: “One of the biggest issues I have seen is the misunderstanding… about a bullet’s ballistic coefficient (BC) and what it really means. Several papers on ballistic coefficient are available for shooters to review on the website.”
Credit Shooting Sports USA Editor John Parker for finding this great resource. John writes: “Our friends at Applied Ballistics have a real gold mine of articles on the science of accurate shooting on their website. This is a fantastic source for precision shooting information[.] Topics presented are wide-ranging — from ballistic coefficients to bullet analysis.”
Here are six (6) of our favorite Applied Ballistics articles, available for FREE to read online. There are dozens more, all available on the Applied Ballistics Education Webpage. After Clicking link, select Plus (+) Symbol for “White Papers”, then find the article(s) you want in the list. For each selection, then click “Download” in the right column. This will send a PDF version to your device.
Summer is approaching. That means many of our readers will be on the road traveling to matches or holiday destinations. LawShield, America’s largest provider of Legal Defense for Self Defense® coverage, offers a National Travel Guide for Gun Owners and state-specific Travel Guides for Gun Owners. These guides feature practical information for people traveling through nearly every state in the USA.
State-Specific Travel Guides — Access for FREE
State-specific Travel Guides and a National Travel Guide for Gun Owners can be accessed for FREE on the the U.S. LawShield website. For planning future travel, bookmark Resources.uslawshield.com/travel-guide,
According to Kirk Evans, President of U.S. LawShield, “Because there are so many details for people to understand before they leave home, we developed state-specific guides to help folks stay on the right side of the law. Take the time to learn the laws before hitting the road because they are not the same everywhere. Don’t wait until after the fact to plan for your guns when preparing for your trip.”
Travel Guide for Gun Owners Topics:
Permits/licenses recognized by specific states
State laws you should know, including vehicle carry, duty to notify law enforcement, and open and concealed carry laws
Where you can legally carry your gun
Federal laws you should know
Carrying in National Parks
Transfer of firearms
Traveling from state to state and the Safe Passage provision
Flying with a firearm, including TSA requirement warnings and how to pack ammunition
Driving with a firearm
Two Knowledgeable Attorneys Explain State Law Issues When Traveling
In this video U.S. LawShield Independent Program Attorneys Richard Hayes and Emily Taylor provide essential information for traveling with firearms. Discussion includes essential information needed to stay safe and responsible while traveling with firearms.
Know the Laws of Every State You Travel Through
“There is no standardization of gun laws within the 50 individual states, so even if a state recognizes your handgun license or permit, they may have additional restrictions on certain types of firearms, magazines, or ammunition,” said Evans. “In some states, it’s illegal for a non-resident to possess a firearm in the passenger compartment of their vehicle. And, because you are subject to a state’s laws when you are in that state, if you break their laws, you could be committing a crime — whether you think you intentionally broke the law or not,” he added.
“Remember, not knowing the law is not a valid defense,” stated Evans. “Use our Travel Guide for Gun Owners for whatever state you’re traveling through, and learn which states honor your carry license or permit before you go.”
Forest of Windflags at World Benchrest Championships in France in 2011
There’s a simple, inexpensive “miracle device” that can cut your groups in half. If you’re not using this device, you’re giving away accuracy. The “miracle device” to which we refer is a simple wind indicator aka “windflag”. Using windflags may actually improve your accuracy on target much more than weighing charges to the kernel, or spending your life savings on the “latest and greatest” hardware.
Remarkably, many shooters who spend $3000.00 or more on a precision rifle never bother to set up windflags, or even simple wood stakes with some ribbon to show the wind. Whether you’re a competitive shooter, a varminter, or someone who just likes to punch small groups, you should always take a set of windflags (or some kind of wind indicators) when you head to the range or the prairie dog fields. And yes, if you pay attention to your windflags, you can easily cut your group sizes in half. Here’s proof…
Which Windflag to buy? For starters, MTM makes a simple, inexpensive flag sold on Amazon for $17.99. For more sophisticated flags CLICK HERE for Benchrest Central windflag vendors.
Miss a 5 mph Shift and You Could DOUBLE Your Group Size
The table below records the effect of a 5 mph crosswind at 100, 200, and 300 yards. You may be thinking, “well, I’d never miss a 5 mph let-off.” Consider this — if a gentle 2.5 mph breeze switches from 3 o’clock (R to L) to 9 o’clock (L to R), you’ve just missed a 5 mph net change. What will that do to your group? Look at the table to find out.
Values from Point Blank Ballistics software for 500′ elevation and 70° temperature.
Imagine you have a 6mm rifle that shoots half-MOA consistently in no-wind conditions. What happens if you miss a 5 mph shift (the equivalent of a full reversal of a 2.5 mph crosswind)? Well, if you’re shooting a 68gr flatbase bullet, your shot is going to move about 0.49″ at 100 yards, nearly doubling your group size. With a 105gr VLD, the bullet moves 0.28″ … not as much to be sure, but still enough to ruin a nice small group. What about an AR15, shooting 55-grainers at 3300 fps? Well, if you miss that same 5 mph shift, your low-BC bullet moves 0.68″. That pushes a half-inch group well past an inch. If you had a half-MOA capable AR, now it’s shooting worse than 1 MOA. And, as you might expect, the wind effects at 200 and 300 yards are even more dramatic. If you miss a 5 mph, full-value wind change, your 300-yard group could easily expand by 2.5″ or more.
If you’ve already invested in an accurate rifle with a good barrel, you are “throwing away” accuracy if you shoot without wind flags. You can spend a ton of money on fancy shooting accessories (such as expensive front rests and spotting scopes) but, dollar for dollar, nothing will potentially improve your shooting as much as a good set of windflags, used religiously.
New Wind Reading App — High Power Wind Lab
There is an innovative new Wind-Reading App, the High Power Wind Lab, that can help you figure your hold-offs in all wind conditions. This is available now for iOS devices, and an Android version is coming soon. In this video, our friend F-Class John reviews this sophisticated new Wind App:
Summer is coming soon, and temperatures are starting to heat up. We are already seeing unseasonably hot conditions in many areas of the country. You never want your barrels to get too hot, which can happen more quickly in summertime. Accuracy suffers when barrels over-heat, and excessive heat is not good for barrel life. So how do you monitor your barrel’s temperature? You can check if the barrel is “warm to the touch” — but that method is not particularly precise. There is a better way — using temperature-sensitive strips. McMaster.com (an industrial supply house) offers stick-on temp strips with values from 86° F to 140° F. A pack of ten (10) of these horizontal strips (item 59535K13) costs $14.06. That’s a mere $1.40 per barrel for strips — cheap insurance for your precious barrels. For best barrel life, you should try to keep your barrels under 120 degrees F.
NOTE: On the McMaster.com website, you’ll need to scroll down to the multi-use “Temperature Indicating Labels”. Then click on the horizontal label and select item 59535K13, as shown below.
Forum member Nomad47 says: “I have temperature strips (bought at McMaster-Carr) on all my barrels. I try not to shoot when the barrel gets to 122 degrees or higher[.]” Here are photos of the McMaster-Carr temp strips on Nomad47’s customized Savage.
Creedmoor Sports now offers handy Temp Strips, with 3-packs for $12.95. These have colored temp range markers so you can quickly see if your barrel is getting too hot. Creedmoor Sports notes: “The temperature range of 30-160° spaced in 10° increments fit most … shooting situations. The 1″-wide 6″-long LCD strip will provide many years of service. In general, we recommend that if a barrel begins to reach 140°, it is too hot and continuing to shoot at these temperatures accelerates barrel wear These barrel temperature strips use a 3M® adhesive and will stick to blued, parkerized and stainless barrels.”
Bad things can happen if your barrel gets too hot. First, with some barrels, the point of impact (POI) will shift or “walk” as the barrel heats up excessively. Second, even if the POI doesn’t change, the groups can open up dramatically when the barrel gets too hot. Third, if the barrel is very hot, the chamber will transfer heat to your loaded cartridge, which can lead to pressure issues. Finally, there’s considerable evidence that hot barrels wear out faster. This is a very real concern, particularly for varmint shooters who may shoot hundreds of rounds in a day. For this reason, many varminters switch among various guns, never letting a particular barrel get too hot.
Neconos.com offers BAR-L Temp Strips that visually display heat readings from 86 to 140 degrees. Think of these strips as compact, unbreakable thermometers that monitor barrel heating.
Put a strip on the side of the barrel and the barrel’s temp will be indicated by a stripe that changes from black to green. There is also a “general purpose” strip that reads to 196 degrees (see bottom row). The Benchrest model strip (86°F to 140°F) is in the middle. These Bar-L temp strips cost $12.70 each, or $25.00 for a 3-pack.
NOTE: These strips can be permanently fixed to the barrel with the heavy-duty clear plastic tape strip provided with the BAR-L Temp strip.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Florida SB 214, a law that bars credit card companies from implementing a special Merchant Category Code (MCC) for credit card purchases at firearm retailers. This new Florida law will esure that the privacy of customers at firearm retailers remains protected and is not collected to be used in an illegal backdoor firearm registry.
“Governor DeSantis is standing up against a ‘woke’ initiative … to use lawful private transactions as a means to usher in gun control,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “No law-abiding American should be subjected to having their name and financial data being added to a government-accessible watchlist simply for exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Governor DeSantis is ensuring that Floridians won’t be held captive by the radical ‘woke’ antigun agenda that seeks to weaponize credit cards in gun owners’ wallets against them.”
Florida’s SB 214 will ensure that the names of law-abiding firearm owners are not illegally recorded on a list or registry. The law also prohibits a payment settlement entity, merchant acquiring entity or third party settlement organization from assigning a MCC classifying a merchant as a seller of firearms or ammunition. And SB 214 authorizes the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate alleged violations of the law.
BACKGROUND: In late 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced it would create a unique MCC, at the behest of Amalgamated Bank, which has been described as the Left’s Private Banker, that would allow credit card companies to monitor transactions at firearm retailers. Credit card companies suspended plans to implement the use of unique firearm retailer MCCs after significant opposition by NSSF and several state governments.
Idaho, Mississippi, and West Virginia Have Passed Similar Legislation
Florida joins West Virginia, Mississippi and Idaho in enacting laws to protect firearm purchasers’ privacy when using credit cards at firearm retailers. Legislation similar to Florida’s law is pending in Congress.
Fighting Back — 24 State Attorney Generals Oppose New Code
The Attorney Generals (AGs) of 24 states have sent letters to Credit Card company CEOs requesting elimination of the new Merchant Category Code (MCC) for gun stores being implemented by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. These AGs of 24 states stated their intent to “marshal the full scope of our lawful authority” to block the use of the new Code to be applied to gun and gun-related sales.
The AGs sent a letter last week to the CEOs of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa. The AGs explained that the Code could be misused and lead to a de facto gun registry: “Creating and tracking this data only matters if your institutions are considering using that information to take further, harmful action—like infringing upon consumer privacy, inhibiting constitutionally protected purchases by selectively restricting the use of your payment systems, or otherwise withholding your financial services from targeted ‘disfavored’ merchants.” READ MORE.
The AGs added that the Code would not be able to distinguish between actual firearms sales vs. hunting/outdoor accessories, leading to problems for consumers: “This categorization would not recognize the difference, for example, between the purchase of a gun safe and a firearm. Nor would it capture firearm purchases made at department stores, resulting in arbitrarily disparate treatment of ‘gun store’ merchants and consumers.”
The Benefits of Dry-Fire Training
He who dies with the most toys wins — right? Well Sinclair has another interesting gadget you can add to your reloading bench. The Sinclair 
There’s a simple, inexpensive “miracle device” that can cut your groups in half. If you’re not using this device, you’re giving away accuracy. The “miracle device” to which we refer is a simple wind indicator aka “windflag”. Using windflags may actually improve your accuracy on target much more than weighing charges to the kernel, or spending your life savings on the “latest and greatest” hardware.
