This week’s episode of Shooting USA TV features the NRA Annual meeting and the U.S. National Steel Championships, two segments worth watching. Shooting USA airs Wednesdays on the Outdoor Channel, at 3:30 pm, 8:30 pm, and 12:00 midnight (Thursday) Eastern Time (check with your TV carrier for other time zones).
Over 86,000 members attended the NRA’s Annual Meeting and new Product Show held this year in Houston’s giant convention center. With gun issues being so prominent in recent months, the NRA added over 1,000,000 new members in 2013. Not surprisingly, there was a huge turn-out in Houston. Shooting USA interviews industry leaders and spotlights Product Show highlights.
U.S. National Steel Championship
In the world of action shooting, there is no other sound that instantly draws the attention like a round hitting a steel plate. It’s been called “bang and clang” and “drag racing with guns”. For three days, at the U.S. National Steel Championships in Florida, the fastest pistol shooters from across the nation competed for glory, prize money, and the title of “America’s Fastest Gun”. This year the Main Match came down to an epic battle between KC Eusebio and Max Michel, two of the fastest shooters on the planet. Visit www.USSteelshoot.com for more info and complete match results.
Watch Video of KC Eusebio in Action at 2013 U.S. National Steel Championships:
California shooter Mark LaFevers has come up with a slick, adjustable fixture that delivers a precise, repeatable inside-neck chamfer every time. He uses a Holland Case Mouth Chamfer Tool with a 14° cutter, but this set-up works equally well with other chamferers with an extended handle. With Mark’s tool jig, the Holland Tool inserts through the top, indexing vertically off a shoulder. A small recess is cut in the center of the wood base for the case head. The tool mount can be raised or lowered with the adjusting bolts on all four corners. Simply slide a trimmed-to-length case in the middle, give the Holland Tool a few spins, and you get a perfect, identical chamfer every time. Now that’s ingenuity! Mark isn’t planning to produce these commercially, but he’s happy if someone wants to copy his jig design.
NOTE: In the photos above, you see an older version of the tool. Hollands has improved the design of its current 14° Chamfer Tool. The cutting head now has a 3-flute design that provides a smoother, chatterless cut. The head is now made of carbide so it cuts faster and holds its cutting edge longer. This tool is available from Holland’s Shooters Supplies for $32.00 (item CMCT-CAR).
Football fans and Harley guys like to show their loyalty with branded stickers on their cars and trucks. Why shouldn’t benchresters do this same? Well now this is possible for fans of the 6mmBR, PPC, and 6mm Dasher cartridges. These small but ultra-accurate cartridges have set the “gold standard” for rifle precision. Now you can “represent” your favorite chambering — but in a subtle way that won’t spook anti-gunners on the road (or draw unwanted attention from the local constabulary).
PMA Tool offers Euro-style, black-on-white, oval stickers that look cool on your car, truck, SUV, RV, or camping trailer. As PMA says: “Let your shooting buddies know what you shoot, while leaving your non-shooting neighbors scratching their heads.” Place the stickers in the corner of a rear window or slap ‘em on a bumper. They also look nice on a range box or plastic rifle case.
There are currently three sticker versions, “6BR”, “PPC”, and “Dasher”, priced at $5.95 per sticker. PMA Tool may produce stickers for other chamberings if there is sufficient demand. What other cartridge types would you like to see? Perhaps generic “6mm”, “6.5mm”, and “7mm” stickers?
Leupold has just introduced a new second focal plane reticle with MOA-based hashmarks, allowing precise hold-overs and hold-offs (for wind). The new TS-32X1 reticle, is a minute-of-angle (MOA) based system designed to allow for precision shots without the need for dial adjustments. The TS-32X1 reticle is designed to work with riflescopes that employ 1/4-MOA target adjustments or M1 dials.
The TS-32X1 is the first in a family of MOA-based reticles that will cover several magnification ranges. The TS-32X1 will be available for a wide variety of Leupold riflescopes. For $159.99, the Leupold Custom Shop can also retrofit this reticle into many existing Leupold scopes. Adding the TS-32X1 to a new riflescope ordered through the Custom Shop will cost $129.99.
MOA-Based Hashmarks on Horizontal and Vertical Stadia
On the TS-32X1 reticle, a heavy post and thin stadia crosshair features 1-MOA hashmarks on both the horizontal and vertical lines. Every other hash mark on the horizontal stadia is slightly longer, providing quick and easy 2-MOA measurements. There is a number placed every fourth MOA for quick reference.
The vertical stadia is also set up with 1-MOA tics and longer 2-MOA marks. In addition, every fourth mark is numbered, all the way to the complete 32-MOA elevation range. Wind dots in the lower half of the reticle are spaced in 2=MOA increments, both vertically and horizontally.
This new TS-32X1 reticle is currently available for most second (rear) focal plane VX-3, VX-III, Vari-X III and Mark 4 4.5-14 LR/T riflescopes. Existing riflescopes can be retrofitted for $159.99 through the Leupold Custom Shop. To add the TS-32X1 to a new riflescope ordered through the Custom Shop is $129.99.
Product tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Lapua just dropped a bombshell — multiple bombshells, in fact. Lapua just announced that it will be producing .221 Fireball brass and .50 BMG brass starting early 2014. This will be the first truly match-grade brass ever offered for the .221 Fireball. That’s great news for varminters, who can use Lapua’s new .221 Fireball brass “as is” or neck it down to .20 Vartarg or 17 Fireball. Tactical shooters can also use the .221 Fireball brass to make the .300 Whisper and 300 Blackout sub-sonic cartridges. At the other end of the spectrum, ultra-long-range shooters now have a new ultra-premium brass source for the mighty .50 BMG. This is potentially a “game-changer” for fifty-cal shooters who have had to “make do” with military surplus brass for the most part. Lapua says the new brass, both .50 BMG and .221 Fireball, should be in the USA by early April, 2014. Sorry, no pricing info is yet available.
Here is the Lapua Product Announcement for .221 Fireball and .50 BMG Brass:
New 180-Grain and 150-Grain 7mm Scenar-L Bullets
The other big news from Lapua is the release of two new 7mm (.284 caliber) Scenar-L target bullets. Recognizing the popularity of 7mm cartridges among F-Class Open Division shooters, Lapua will offer a high-BC, 180-grain bullet. As part of the “L” series, this new 180-grainer bullet should exhibit extreme consistency in base-to-ogive measurements and bullet weight. We expect this new 180gr projectile to be extremely accurate in the .284 Winchester, .284 Shehane, 7mm WSM, and 7mm RSAUM — popular chamberings for F-Class and long-range benchrest shooters. No BC information has been released yet, but we expect the BC number to be quite high, giving this bullet great wind-bucking capability. In addition to the new 180gr 7mm Scenar-L, Lapua will offer a new 150gr 7mm bullet. This is optimized for medium range competition in Silhouette and Across-the-Course competition. It should offer great accuracy, but with less felt recoil than its 180-grain bigger brother.
Profile by Kyle Jillson forNRABlog
In the December issue of Shooting Sports USA, Barb Baird of Women’s Outdoor News sits down with Nancy Tompkins, one of the most accomplished shooters out there. A past World and National Champion, Nancy likes to reach out and touch targets at 1,000 yards with accurate rifles. She’s been competing in Palma (.308 caliber at 800, 900, and 1000 yards), Long Range (1000 yards) and Smallbore prone for 41 years. Thanks to her father, Nancy began competing in the seventh grade and now shares the love of shooting with her daughters Michelle and Sherri Gallagher, her husband Mid Tompkins, and her goddaughter, Danielle Makucevich. Nancy has competed on numerous international Palma teams, traveling from her home base in Prescott, Arizona.
“There is nothing better than traveling, making new friends and competing with the best shooters in the world,” said Nancy. And she only shoots with the best equipment. Her Palma rifle features a McGee stock, Stolle Panda action, Krieger barrel, Anschütz trigger, Warner rear sight and a Right Sight (front sight). Her .22 LR Smallbore rifle sports an Anschütz action and trigger with a Hart barrel, McGee stock, Right Sight (front sight), and Warner rear sight.
As always, interviewer Barb Baird had a key question for Nancy: “What’s in your range bag, Nancy Tompkins?” Actually, Nancy stores stuff in her Creedmoor shooting stool for High Power matches and in a large plastic box from Home Depot for her Smallbore matches. Here’s what Nancy keeps at the range:
Sinclair timer
Allen wrenches, small screwdriver, and grease
SPF-15 lip balm
Magnifying glass
Two slings
Creedmoor shooting glove
Decot shooting glasses
TLC Gunworks elbow pad
Champions Choice shooting visor
CeCe’s custom ear plugs
One More Item — Nancy’s Lucky Mouse
Nancy’s cat, Sierra, placed a toy mouse in one of her shooting stools a few years ago. Nancy now considers it her lucky charm. To learn more about Nancy’s recommended equipment, and glean great tips on Long Range marksmanship, get Nancy’s latest book, Prone & Long Range Rifle Shooting.
For many guys, a 17 HMR is their “go-to” rifle for squirrels and small varmints. The 17 HMR is a great little cartridge — speedy and accurate. However, in recent months, 17 HMR ammo has been hard to find. Take heart guys, we’ve learned that site sponsors Graf & Sons and Powder Valley Inc. both have Hornady 17gr 17 HMR ammo in stock right now. This ammo is loaded with plastic-tipped 17gr V-Max bullets. Traveling at roughly 2570 fps (from a 22″ barrel), this little 17-grainer is ultra-effective on pesky ground squirrels and other small critters. On our squirrel hunts, the 17gr V-Max did the job out to 200 yards, no problem. Grafs.com sells the 17gr Hornady 17 HMR ammo for $12.99 per box of 50 (item HRN83170). That price includes shipping (after a single $6.95 handling charge). Powder Valley currently offers Hornady’s 17gr V-Max 17 HMR ammo for $11.30 per box of 50 (item HOR83170, shipping extra).
If you want to learn more about the 17 HMR cartridge, read our Gun of the Week Article on the subject. This two-gun shoot-out compares the performance of a Volquartsen 17 HMR semi-auto and a Ruger 77/17 bolt-action. Glen Robinson, the owner of both rifles, has done some serious comparison testing with both rifles, trying out a half-dozen varieties of 17 HMR ammo. The overall results may surprise you. The semi-auto outshot the bolt gun by a significant margin, with all types of ammo tested.
Comparing the Qualities of the Two 17 HMR Rifles
By Glen Robinson
While the Volquartsen proved to be the more accurate of my pair of 17 HMRs, I still enjoy owning both rifles. Each gun has its strong points and weak points.
Ruger Strong Points: From any angle, the Ruger 77/17 is a nice-looking rifle with classic lines. I like the gray-finish stainless barrel — it goes well with the gray laminated stock. With the addition of the aftermarket sear, the trigger is crisp and the bolt function is smooth. The action is strong and dependable. The conventional “open rear” action allows you to clean “normally” with a bore guide, cleaning rod, and patches/brushes. I feel I can do a better job of cleaning with the Ruger than with the boresnake on the Volquartsen. Ergonomically, the Ruger is easier to get down on because the stock is lower.
Ruger Weak Points: Accuracy is somewhat disappointing. The best 100-yard group the Ruger has shot was about 0.82″ and the gun averages well over 1.25″ for 5 shots. In fairness, I haven’t done anything exotic in terms of bedding the action/barrel, and I would expect that an aftermarket barrel, perhaps combined with a barrel pre-load (up-pressure) pad, could improve the accuracy.
Volquartsen Strong Points: The Volquartsen is a well-made, accurate, dependable rifle. The gun cycles very reliably and requires very little maintenance. To clean it, just pull a boresnake through the bore. The gun exhibits very nice machining, and the VX-5000 stock rides steady on a front sand-bag, even though it’s only about 1.75″ wide. Even without any tweaking the trigger is very good, and the pull weight is fine for varminting.
Volquartsen Weak Points: The VX-5000 stock is not ideal for bench work — the comb is a bit too high, though I like the feel of the vertical grip. This stock profile is really more suited for silhouette shooting, but this stock seemed to be the best option offered by Volquartsen that could be used for both paper-punching and varminting. The receiver design limits your options for barrel cleaning.
Conclusion — The Volquartsen Takes the Prize
Having shot both rifles extensively, if I had to pick one gun, it would be the Volquartsen. The Volquartsen is much more accurate and it offers much faster follow-up shots. For varminting the Volquartsen would be superior, no question about it. I’m happy I bought the Volquartsen and the VX-5000 stock. It is a fun, versatile gun that lives up to the accuracy claims.
If you can’t get enough info on ARs, check this out. The folks who brought you the Firearms Guide, have released a new, comprehensive resource for AR-Platform rifles — of all calibers and configurations. The new AR Rifles Digital Guide presents over 1,300 semi-auto and full-auto AR-style rifles from 65 manufacturers worldwide. AR rifles in calibers from .22 LR to .458 SOCOM are covered with technical specifications, features, prices, and up to 12 high-rez, zoomable pictures for each model. This new DVD also contains a schematics library with printable and zoomable exploded views and parts lists. This is great for gunsmiths and guys working on AR projects.
This $15.99 AR resource DVD has thousands of pages of content, all easily searchable with ten different search criteria including: caliber, price, manufacturer, gun finish, barrel type, country, and more. The DVD’s search engine lets you quickly find AR rifle models, schematics, parts lists, and other information. In addition, the AR Digital Guide features a comprehensive ammo database. Choose a cartridge type and caliber. Then, with just one click, you can access information on bullet styles, bullet weights, features and ballistics of all the currently available ammunition in that chambering.
Easy to Buy, Easy to Run
You can order the AR Rifles Digital Guide DVD directly from FirearmsGuide.com for just $15.99. DVDs start shipping on December 19th — just in time for Christmas. This unique AR Rifles DVD works on Windows XP, Vista, 7 & 8. Just drop the DVD in your CD/DVD drive, and it starts automatically — no software installation is required.
We were talking with TubeGun builder Gary Eliseo recently, and the subject of his “Mad Minute” fun match came up. A while back, at our suggestion, Gary re-created the one-minute rapid fire marksmanship training drill done by British riflemen. Using a Competition Machine TubeGun, Gary managed 24 hits in 60 seconds on a 300-yard target. Gary told us that people often ask about his “Mad Minute” experience, so today we’re reprising the story (with video) for those guys who missed it the first time around. Forum member Laurie Holland, who hails from Great Britain, also contributes a brief history of the “Mad Minute” and the Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle.
Last year, the Top Shot TV show featured the “Mad Minute”, a high-speed drill requiring shooters to place as many hits as possible on a steel plate set at 200 yards. The time limit was one minute, and shooters were using historic Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles. Top Shot’s “Mad Minute” was based on a British Army training drill. Soldiers were expected to get at least 15 hits on an bullseye target at 300 yards. Top Shot cheated a bit, placing the target at 200 yards (instead of 300 in the real British Army “Mad Minute” drill). Still the two Top Shot shooters managed only six (6) shots each in one minute. Consider that a “passing score” for a Brit soldier was 15 hits, you have to give credit to those WWI-era Tommies.
Watch Gary Eliseo Shoot the ‘Mad Minute’ (Starts at 4:47 on Video)
Eliseo Gets 24 Hits on 300-yard Target in One Minute
Using an Eliseo RTM Tubegun chambered in .308 Winchester, Gary Eliseo attempted the “Mad Minute” last weekend. Gary ended up with 24 hits on a bull target set at 300 yards. That’s four times as many hits as the Top Shot competitors. Gary actually had 25 hits in 25 rounds fired, but the last round hit just after the 60-second time period expired. Note how Gary pulls the trigger with the middle finger of his right hand. This allows him to work the bolt faster, using his thumb and index finger. The straight-through (inline stock) design of the Tubegun allowed Gary to maintain his cheekweld and head position throughout the minute-long drill.
Gary told us: “This isn’t easy. I came away very impressed with the training of the Tommy soldiers if they could make 15 hits in one minute. We had some skilled shooters who brought their own Lee-Enfields and they only did as well as the guys on Top Shot — making six or seven hits in a minute. The problem is that, with the cock-on-close operation of the Lee-Enfield, the gun would push away when the shooter closed the bolt, so the shooter would lose his sight picture, and have to re-center the rifle. I am truly astounded that the record for the ‘Mad Minute’ is 38 shots. That is hard to do with an AR, much less any bolt gun.”
Gary Hopes to Beat the ‘Mad Minute’ Record in the Future
The record for the “Mad Minute” — 38 shots on target at 300 yards — was set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall*. In the subsequent 98 years, that record has never been broken by any shooter with a conventional bolt-action rifle. Gary told us: “As long as that record still stands, I’m going to keep working at it. I know I lost a few seconds with mag changes. I think with some additional training, I can increase my score. Still, 38 hits is phenomenal. I am very, very impressed at what that guy did — it’s really mind-boggling to do that with an Enfield. Contrary to what has been written, those old Enfields are not that easy to shoot fast. Our club shooters found that out.”
* There is some uncertainty concerning the size of the target used by Snoxall. Some internet reports say the target was 12″ x 12″. Other posts, from England, suggest the target was 36″ by 36″. If the target was a 12″-diameter bull, Snoxall’s achievement is even more amazing.
‘Mad Minute’ and British Marksmanship with the SMLE (Lee-Enfield) Commentary by Laurie Holland
The original military requirement of the ‘Mad Minute’ saw the soldier ready to fire with a round in the chamber, 9 in the magazine, safety on. This course of fire is still followed by the GB Historic Breechloading Arms Association and other bodies in their recreated ‘Mad Minute’ competitions.
The first 10 would go quickly, but reloads were critical, this not done by a magazine change as Gary did with the RTM or in a modern tactical or semi-auto rifle, but through slick use of ‘chargers’. It is this aspect which fouls so many of my colleagues up as it’s very easy to cause a jam and a large part of 60 seconds can go in sorting it out!
As well as the training Gary mentions and commends, there were pay incentives / penalties for certification or failure, and there were valuable monetary and kudos benefits in achieving very high hit counts in the 20 + range. Tommies could draw their rifles from the armory any time when off duty and spent hours in barracks practicing using inert rounds and dry firing. For instance, a common practice was to balance a halfpenny coin on the foresight blade between the sight protecting ears and take shot after shot prone on the barracks floor until the trigger was pressed and the ‘shot taken’ without the coin falling off its perch.
Charger clips were selected for those that just held the rounds firmly enough to stop then falling out, were sand-papered and polished with a stove / fireplace polish called ‘Zebrite’ so that the rimmed rounds would slip through the clips like corn through a goose.
If you’re unfamiliar with the cock-on-closing Enfield action, it seems clumsy. With intensive practice it is very smooth and can be operated incredibly quickly. The trick is to whip the bolt back onto its stop and initiate a rebound movement that takes it and the cartridge well into the chamber thereby reducing the effort required to close the bolt and chamber the round.
None of this is to detract from the skill many of these guys had and the fantastic results they got both in rate of fire and accuracy out to 500/600 yards. That came from long days of live firing at full distances — far more practice than I’ll warrant US doughboys got at that time. The result was when the small British Expeditionary Force acted a blocking force against two advancing German infantry corps in Belgium in the autumn of 1914. Kaiser Wilhelm predicted confidently that his highly trained ‘Landsers’ would sweep this ‘contemptible little army’ aside. Instead, the Germans advancing in the open at ranges they felt was safe from rifle fire ran into a wall of lead of such a rate and accuracy that regimental commanders explained their failure to advance and massive casualties through the British having far more automatic weapons than their intelligence had briefed. The British survivors of that period adopted the self-styled title of ‘Old Contemptibles’ as an ironic rebuke to Wilhelm, one still used today. By Christmas 1914 that small and highly professional British army had been destroyed through attrition and army rifle competitions aside never achieved those riflecraft standards again — but of course that’s what a machinegun is for and it was criminal that BEF battalions (600-1,000 men) went to war with an establishment of only two Vickers-Armstrong machine-guns — a fraction of that in the opposing German units.
TrackingPoint, creator of the Precision Guided Firearm (PGF) system, has released a new “smart rifle”, the XS4 .338 Lapua Magnum. The XS4 boasts TrackingPoint’s revolutionary TTX (Tag Track Xact) technology — a system that automates aiming and ballistic correction once you have “tagged” the target with a laser beam. Along with the exotic computerized targeting system, the new XS4 features top-flight conventional components: Surgeon XL action, 27″ Krieger barrel, and McMillan A5 hunting stock. Full rifle weight including laser/digital/optical scope, two batteries, loaded magazine, muzzle brake, and bipod, is 22.5 pounds.
Like TrackingPoint’s XS1, the new XS4 has a maximum TTX range of 1,200 yards, the longest effective range offered by the company. The rifle’s 27-inch, Krieger cut-barrel is fitted in a traditional-style, adjustable McMillan A5 stock. It also features TrackingPoint’s highest-power zoom optic, offering 6x to 35X magnification. “Our customers have been asking for the power of our 338 Lapua Magnum smart rifles in the form factor of our popular XS3 hunting model,” said John Lupher, Chief Technology Officer for TrackingPoint. Pre-orders for the XS4 are now being accepted. The rifle will be demonstrated at the 2014 NSSF SHOT Show and other trade shows in 2014. To learn more about the XS4 Precision Guided Firearm, visit Tracking-Point.com.
Leupold has just introduced a new second focal plane reticle with MOA-based hashmarks, allowing precise hold-overs and hold-offs (for wind). The new TS-32X1 reticle, is a minute-of-angle (MOA) based system designed to allow for precision shots without the need for dial adjustments. The TS-32X1 reticle is designed to work with riflescopes that employ 1/4-MOA target adjustments or M1 dials.
Ruger Strong Points: From any angle, the Ruger 77/17 is a nice-looking rifle with classic lines. I like the gray-finish stainless barrel — it goes well with the gray laminated stock. With the addition of the aftermarket sear, the trigger is crisp and the bolt function is smooth. The action is strong and dependable. The conventional “open rear” action allows you to clean “normally” with a bore guide, cleaning rod, and patches/brushes. I feel I can do a better job of cleaning with the Ruger than with the boresnake on the Volquartsen. Ergonomically, the Ruger is easier to get down on because the stock is lower.
If you can’t get enough info on ARs, check this out. The folks who brought you the 
Last year, the 
