Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) is teaming up with SRT Prosthetics to offer a “Wounded Warrior” training course for injured active/former military personnel. This course will also be open to civilians who are fitted with artificial limbs or other prostheses. The “Wounded Warrior” class will be held on May 14-16, 2012 and will follow TDI’s Handgun 1-2-3 curriculum. For more info, call TDI at (937) 544-7228 or email tdiohio [at] dragonbbs.com.
TDI Operates 186-Acre Training Facility in Ohio
Founded in 1986, TDI is a tactics and training facility located in southern Ohio. TDI’s 186-acre facility features three live fire houses, a 2-story force on force house, 400-yard rifle range, unknown distance range, dueling plate range, vehicle range and a main range with both paper and steel targets. TDI works with civilian, military, Federal, local law enforcement and corporate clients. TDI offers training at both its Ohio facility and at off-site locations around the country.
Video Shows How Wounded Warriors
Successfully Adapt to High-Tech Bionic Limbs
Watch the video below to see TDI’s training program for prosthesis-fitted vets. The video (from WCPO Ch. 9, Cincinnati) shows the new technology that is allowing many combat veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to resume their lives, and in some cases, their military careers. With rehabilitation and modern prosthetics, 20% of soldiers who have lost one limb are able to return to active duty.
Watch This Video — The New Artificial Legs are Amazing!
This week, hundreds of the world’s best 3-gunners have been competing in Raton, New Mexico in the prestigious Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Championship. Today (Saturday), is the final day of the popular 3-day event which features nine different stages at the NRA Whittington Center. The elevation at Raton, combined with the rugged terrain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, have made for a physically challenging match. While this is very much a speed event, long-range skills are tested by some stages with rifle targets placed as far out as 500 yards.
In the slide show above, you can see top competitors (including Team S&W Captain Julie Golob and Safariland’s Scott Carnahan) engage Stage 2 of the event. Sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps’ Combat Shooting Team from Quantico, Stage 2 is named “OO-RAH” and includes all three firearms. Competitors start the stage with shotguns, shooting a series of steel targets. Then shooters transition to pistols to shoot paper and steel targets. Finally, they engage paper, steel, and even stationary clay targets with their rifles.
Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Will Be Broadcast on 3-Gun Nation
The Rocky Mountain 3-Gun is being filmed as part of the second season of the 3-Gun Nation TV show. After completion of the Raton tournament on Saturday afternoon, there will be a 3-Gun Nation shoot-off, where top-ranked competitors will compete head-to-head for bragging rights and a fat check. Last year, Remington’s Robby Johnson beat out Jerry Miculek for a $5,000 check from Safariland. In the slide show below you can see Robby Johnson competing at Raton, as well as ace USAMU shooter SGT Dan Horner, 3-Gun Nation’s 2010 Champion.
Check out gun industry insider info in the latest issue of SHOT Business magazine, now available online at www.shotbusiness.com. This month the magazine explores the growing interest of female shooters in “modern sporting rifles” — ARs aren’t just for guys anymore. Those of our readers who sell firearm gear will appreciate this month’s analysis of hot selling new products. The interesting new Vortek muzzle-loading pistol is reviewed. This is a long-barrel hunting pistol, similar in appearance to a T/C Contender (but without the break-open action). Other features in this month’s issue include a Q&A discussion about ATF regulations, a feature on air rifles, and a commentary on the upcoming 2012 SHOT Show.
SUMMARY: This review gives high marks to GemPro 250 scale from My Weigh. It offers 0.02 grain resolution, good enough to trickle kernel by kernel. At just $165.49, the scale is quite affordable. The GemPro 250 comes with a lifetime warranty for American buyers. As this scale weighs more precisely than popular digital powder scale/dispensers, you can use the digital dispenser to throw a “close” charge and then fine-tune your load with the GemPro, kernel by kernel.
by Bill Schnauffer (aka Cover Dog) The Importance of Precise Loads for Long-Range Shooting
The reloading scale is the life blood of anyone’s loading bench. It’s used for everything from weighing powders to cases or bullets and yes even primers. I would have never considered weighing primers but that is one of the many things I learned the weekend of May 20-22, 2011 at The Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Bench Rest Club’s Bench Rest Instructional School. All aspects of reloading for 1000-yard BR have to be identical. Your brass, bullets, powder and primers all have to weigh the same, for all your sighters and your 10 record shots, if you want any chance of being competitive. This can only become a reality if your scale is up to the task. Everything you do when shooting at 1000 yards is magnified 10x and your scale needs to be above all else, accurate and repeatable.
I thought that a scale accurate to 1/10th of a grain was good enough. Not so in the long range BR game. Scales need to be accurate to at least 5/100ths of a grain or better if you can afford it. This prompted my search for such a scale.
GemPro Is Half the Price of Denver Instrument MXX-123
I have read reviews for several of the better scales used for reloading including the Accu-Lab VIC 123 (Accu-Lab ceased operation Dec. 31, 2010) and its predecessor the Sartorius AY-123. The scales are identical just repackaged and with a new name and color. The scale is accurate to 2/100ths of a grain, but is also a scale that many felt was affected by RF interference and the slightest air movement made it drift. This was due in part because of the strain gauge technology that is used in the manufacture of this scale. And with parts not readily available, the lead time for one is you want it is over 20 weeks. The Denver Instrument MXX-123 also had a good review but like the others above, it’s into the $320 price range. And this is out of reach for many reloaders.
This now brings me to the My Weigh GemPro 250. It uses True-Division German HBM sensors and professional components in the manufacture of this scale. It has a 50 gram weight capacity (771.72 grains) and accuracy down to 2/100ths of a grain. It features seven (7) weighing modes as listed below. And with a retail price in the $165.00 range, this is a scale that most reloaders could afford for their reloading bench. And you won’t be pressed for room on that bench. The scale is very compact, measuring 5.25″ X 3.75″ X 2.5″.
NOTE: There is also a GemPro 500 which has a weight capacity of 100g (1543 grains) but only has accuracy down to 5/100ths of a grain.
Testing and Evaluation
I decided to give the GemPro 250 a try. Several days after I placed my order, Big Brown arrived. As I started to unpack the scale my heart started to sink and the first words out of my mouth were “boy is this thing small, hope it wasn’t a mistake”, only time will tell.
Included with the scale was a plastic travel case that housed the accessories. They consisted of an AC power supply, ASTM class F2 calibration weight, weighing pan, plastic tweezers and a vibra-kill pad. The scale also has a built in circular bubble level, four leveling feet, hinged protective windscreen and a stainless steel weighing platform. If you load at the range, you’ll be glad to know that it also runs on four AAA batteries. Information sheets that came with the scale stated it takes the load cell one hour to come up one degree in temperature when plugged in and turned on. Instructions recommend giving the unit a 24-hour warm-up before use.
Scale Calibrates Rapidly
After leaving the scale on for 24 hours (my scales are always up and running), I placed the ASTM class F2 20g calibration weight on the scale after setting it to calibrate. After about 3 seconds it stopped its calibration and read 20.000g exactly what the calibration weight was supposed to weigh. When converting grams to grains you need to multiply by 15.4324 or with this scale you can just scroll through the seven weighing modes until you come to grains. Its actual weight is 308.65 grains but since this scale only reads to 2/100ths of a grain the 100ths digit must always be an even number, so it reads 308.64 grains.
For the next several minutes I started weighing everything I had in front of me. Bullets, brass, loaded rounds all were gathered up and weighed so I could get the feel for the GemPro 250.
I set the calibration weight on the scale between every one of the 30 loads I weighed. Only once did it vary from the 308.64 grain reading when it moved up to 308.66 grains.
I wish I had at my disposal a scale more sensitive than the GemPro 250 to double check its accuracy. Scales that read to 1/100th of a grain are out of my price range, and cost from $2000 for the Citizen CX265 to $4065 for the A&D Phoenix GH252. I purchased a PACT Digital Scale in late 1994 and to this day it has been my “go to” scale. In 2002 I sent it back to PACT to have the infrared port installed so I could purchase PACT’s infrared powder dispenser. I have used the PACT Scale/Dispenser as a team for the last 10+ years for all my reloading needs. So now with the GemPro 250 on my bench it was time to see how “accurate” my reloading with the PACT combo has been.
Editor’s Note: In this review, the GemPro 250 is used to confirm the weight of powder throws from a PACT digital dispenser. However, the reviewer did not have a laboratory-grade scale to test the displayed weights from the GemPro 250. We have another GemPro 250 on order from Amazon.com. When it arrives we will do a comparison weighing test, using a Denver Instruments lab scale as the control unit.
REAL WORLD TESTING Double-Checking PACT Dispenser with GemPro 250
For the first test I used Reloder 15 (RL15), a course, long-kernel powder. After calibrating both the PACT scale and the GemPro 250 I set the Pact Dispenser to throw a charge of 27.7 grains. During the throws, if the PACT scale read 1/10th over/under, I didn’t make any correction. I just waited until it stopped dispensing and the transferred the charge in the pan to the pan in the GemPro 250.
Below are the results of those 10 thrown charges:
27.76 | 27.94 | 27.80 | 27.84 | 27.92 | 27.88 | 27.76 | 27.88 | 27.78 | 27.78
Note: As measured by the GemPro 250, none of the PACT throws hit the 27.7 grain mark exactly — all throws were slightly high. The total spread from lowest (27.76) to highest (27.94) throw was 0.18 grains and the spread from the 27.7 target weight to the highest dispensed charge was 2.4 tenths of a grain HIGH. I’m sure this could cause a little vertical at 1000 yards.
For the next round of tests, I used IMR 8208 XBR. Compared to RL15, the kernels of 8208 are shorter in length and smaller in girth. Using the same parameters as with the RL15, here are the results of 10 thrown charges with IMR 8208 XBR:
.
27.78 | 27.80 | 27.78 | 27.82 | 27.78 | 27.84 | 27.80 | 27.74 | 27.78 | 27.74
Once again, not one of the 10 dispensed charges were right on the mark according to the GemPro. Again, all thrown charges were slightly hight.The range from target weight to the highest was 1.4 tenths of a grain, and the total variance from 27.70 grain target weight was 0.14 grains.
The final powder tested was HS6. This is a spherical powder which, by most accounts, meters very well. With the same procedures in place here are the results for HS6 weighed on the GemPro 250:
As expected HS6 did very well in getting close to the 27.70 target and hit it on several throws. The total variance from the 27.70 target Averaging 26/100ths over for the 10 charges thrown
PACT Performance Re-Evaluated
Only able to read to 1/10th of a grain, the PACT dispenser looked to be nearly perfect with the HS6 powder. But when checked with a precision scale capable of reading to 2/100th’s of a grain, I found that the PACT still threw loads that were higher than what was programmed. I will still use my PACT to dispense my loads one grain short and then trickle in the last few kernels with the scale pan sitting on the GemPro 250.
CONCLUSION The GemPro 250 is small, compact, portable and able to deliver repeatable accuracy to 2/100ths of a grain, time after time. That is all that one can ask of any scale. There is one last important thing to mention. The GemPro 250’s express warranty is LIFETIME (for domestic buyers) or 30 years for International Customers. A lifetime warranty is unheard of in the electronics business. I guess the people at My Weigh know what they have and are willing to stand behind it. If it should ever need servicing the My Weigh service center located in Phoenix, AZ will repair your scale and have it back to you in two business days.
Alliant Powder has introduced a new Black Powder substitute, Black MZ™. This product is designed to work with all types of black powder firearms. We’re told this stuff is “on the trucks” — supplies are being shipped to vendors nationwide this month.
Why do we need another Black Powder substitute? Alliant claims this new propellant withstands moisture and significantly reduces the frequency (and difficulty) of bore cleaning: “Black MZ helps maximize shooting performance by resisting moisture and adverse weather conditions. Hunters can stay loaded in the field for days, only needing to insert a primer to get into the action. Black MZ won’t clump or corrode the barrel”.
Alliant designed Black MZ to deliver dependable ignition, lower barrel pressure and higher velocities. Alliant claims that “The clean-burning ignition of Black MZ is virtually non-corrosive, [and] greatly diminishes fouling”. Alliant adds that “wedged slugs, grimy barrels, stuck seater dies, and dwindling accuracy are greatly reduced by Black MZ.” Hopefully that’s not marketing hype. If, as claimed, Black MZ really does foul less than other BP substitutes, it should allow more shots between cleaning sessions. That would be a boon for BP shooters.
Black MZ’s enhanced performance derives from its high moisture tolerance and non-corrosive ignition. “We’re excited about what Black MZ can do for muzzleloader hunters and black powder cartridges. It helps take the hassle out of muzzleloading”, said Alliant’s Brand Director Rick Stoeckel. To learn more about Black MZ, or view load data, please visit www.AlliantPowder.com. Product designation: BLACKmz, 1 lb. bottle, Alliant Part No. 150524.
Story Tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Get the Latest Deals on CMP Rifles and Accessories
The 2011 CMP Sales Catalog Issue II can now be downloaded (in PDF format) from the CMP website. Check out the new offerings before they sell out. You can also may request a 2011 CMP Sales Catalog hard copy by filling out the Request Form.
National Match Tweets and Facebook Updates from CMP
The CMP is now on Twitter! Get CMP reports from Camp Perry by searching for ODCMP on Twitter.com or click the Twitter Icon posted below. During the National Matches CMP will also post updates on Facebook.
By Steve Cooper, CMP Writer Calm conditions and sunny skies prevailed as three previous champions set new national records in all three classes in the 2011 National Rimfire Sporter Championship fired here Sunday, 24 July. Charles J. Opalewski II, Lucas Boord and Ron Villanueva, all past champions, once again reached the top of the podium at this year’s event which also brought out a record 480 match entries. Opalewski, Boord, and Villanueva ALL set new National Records in their respective classes.
Record-Setting Performances in ‘O’, ‘T’ and Tactical Classes
Opalewski, 21, of Vicksburg, Michigan, won the open sights class (O-Class) with a national record aggregate score of 586-21X in the six-stage, 600-point, three-position match. He fired a clean 100-3X in the standing slow-fire stage en route to the win. The 2010 champion, CSM Steven Slee, U.S. Army Reserve, 47, of Dimondale, Michigan, finished one point behind Opalewski with a 585-19X performance. Opalewski surpassed Slee’s 2010 record score of 584-25x.
Lucas Boord defended his 2010 telescopic class (T-Class) championship with a total score of 597-39X, smashing his own national record of 593-34X in the process. Boord, 21, of New Stanton, Pennsylvania, fired perfect 100s in prone slow-fire and rapid-fire, sitting slow-fire and standing slow-fire, dropping one point in sitting rapid-fire and two in standing rapid-fire.
In junior shooting, Amos Peck, 18, of Leslie, Michigan, won the overall O-Class competition with an aggregate score of 570-5X, followed by Aaron Ward, 18, Ypsilanti, Michigan (554-8X) and Stephenie Sabin, 17, of Curtice, Ohio (542-7X).
Ron Villanueva captured the Tactical Rimfire Class title at the 2011 National Rimfire Sporter Championship. Villanueva, a perennial rimfire finalist, also ranked third in this year’s T-Class. Villanueva set a new National Record Agg of 590-27X while winning his first tactical rifle class championship. Villanueva cleaned his first three stages of fire and also fired a 99-4X in standing rapid-fire.
Increased Interest in ‘Tactical Rimfire’ Class
This was the second year for the tactical class at the national event. The tactical rimfire category is growing rapidly, as this year’s entry of 55 shooters more than doubled last year’s 22. Legal tactical rimfire rifles must comply with the requirements for overall weight and trigger pull and have a configuration that is similar to common AR and modern military rifles. Tactical rimfire rifles may have either aperture or optical sights (no higher than 6X).
The Modern Pentathlon is a 5-discipline Olympic event that combines Horse Riding, Running, Swimming, Fencing, and Shooting. However it looks like there won’t be real shooting anymore, at least at the 2012 London Games.
Union International de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) President Klaus Schormann declared that laser guns will be used instead of air pistols in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2012 London Olympics. Schormann claimed the lasers would enhance safety and allow “competitions in parks and even shooting malls”. Last year, UIPM officials argued for the use of lasers to reduce the environmental impact of lead pellets from air pistols. Schormann stated: “The decision to introduce non-air pistol shooting … is a significant development in terms of lowering the environmental impact of the sport.” That’s nonsense — Pentathlon air pistols fire tiny 7-grain pellets that are easily captured by bullet traps, so there is virtually no environmental risk.
Sebastian, creator of the Snowflakes in Hell Blog, observed: “The reasoning of the [UIPM] committee is disturbing. I hope this doesn’t portend bad things to come with other Olympic shooting sports, whose environmental footprint is arguably worse.” One Snowflakes Blog reader astutely commented: “It would have been trivially easy to mandate lead-free pellets, if the ‘lead poisoning’ argument were the real reason behind this change. Replacing air pistols with lasers instead of a much simpler requirement to use nontoxic shot suggests that it was the ‘gun-ishness’ of the air pistols, and not the environmental impact, that may have been the primary driver here.”
Technical Problems with Laser Systems
British pentathlete Sam Weale recently challenged the use of lasers in Modern Pentathlon. According to the Inside the Games website, Weale claims persistent technical problems with the laser shooting system have rendered Modern Pentathlon a “lottery” which threatens the integrity of the sport. Olympians can not trust the electronic scoring systems, Weale argues. “It can’t go on, it is embarrassing,” said Weale, who, along with four other atheletes, lodged a protest over malfunctioning targets at the recent European Championships.
UIPM Decision Criticized by USA Shooting & ISSF
The Outdoor Wire’s Jim Shepherd polled leading shooting sports officials and found widespread criticism of the UIPM decision to replace pistols with laser devices. According to Shepherd: “USA Shooting and International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) dislike the change. Their position is simple, the laser gun takes much out of the ‘shooting’ element of external conditions (pistol and pellet accuracy) and turns shooting ‘into an arcade game’. They view it as a possible threat to shooting, moving away from what is ‘shooting sport’.”
EDITOR’s Comment: One wonders if the UIPM’s next move will be to replace fencing foils and sabres with Wii computer-game controllers — in the interest of safety. And shouldn’t the UIPM replace Pentathletes’ four-legged equine mounts with hobby-horses to reduce solid waste and methane emissions?
A new online “e-Zine” has been launched for ladies who enjoy shooting and outdoor recreation. The Women’s Outdoor News (WON) features news, reviews and stories about women in the outdoors. This regularly-updated website includes reports from “The WON Guns”: Julie Golob, Marti Davis, Linda Milcun, Nancy Jo Adams, and Molly Smith. These “staff bloggers” provide regular reports about the shooting sports and/or hunting: Women’s Outdoor News gear reviews also appear in Ammoland.com weekly. RSS Feeds and a free email subscription are available at www.Womensoutdoornews.com.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) today filed a lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the Gun Control Act to compel 8,500 federally licensed firearms retailers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to report the sale of two or more rifles.
The ATF has issued new requirements, effective August 14, which would compel firearm retailers in these four states to report multiple sales of any semi-automatic rifle larger than .22 caliber and capable of accepting a detachable magazine that are purchased following an FBI background check by the same individual within five consecutive business days.
NSSF’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks an injunction to block ATF from implementing the reporting requirement. ATF has sent “demand letters” to firearms retailers in the four states to inform retailers they must begin reporting such sales by August 14.
NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane pointed out that if ATF can require this record-keeping and reporting requirements in these four states simply by sending a letter demanding the information, then there is no record or report ATF cannot require of any licensee, anywhere in the country, for as long as ATF wants. “This is the proverbial ‘slippery slope,’ and our industry is extremely concerned about it,” said Keane.
Keane added, “At the time Congress authorized the reporting of multiple sales of handguns, it could have required it for the sale of long guns, but it did not. Acting ATF Director Ken Melson himself has questioned ATF’s legal authority to impose this new requirement.”
Even if ATF had the legal authority to require multiple sales reporting for long guns, NSSF believes the policy would still be unwise. The NSSF suggest that illegal firearms traffickers will simply alter their schemes to avoid and evade the reporting requirement, making it more difficult for retailers to identify and report suspicious activity. For example, traffickers could simply move their illegal trafficking activities to other states where the reporting requirement does not exist.
NRA Also Files Suits Challenging ATF’s Multiple Sale Policy
Also today, the National Rifle Association filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging ATF’s requirement for reporting multiple sales of rifles.
Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) is teaming up with SRT Prosthetics to offer a “Wounded Warrior” training course for injured active/former military personnel. This course will also be open to civilians who are fitted with artificial limbs or other prostheses. The “Wounded Warrior” class will be held on May 14-16, 2012 and will follow TDI’s Handgun 1-2-3 curriculum. For more info, call TDI at (937) 544-7228 or email tdiohio [at] dragonbbs.com.
SUMMARY: This review gives high marks to GemPro 250 scale from 
Scale Calibrates Rapidly
REAL WORLD TESTING
The GemPro 250 is small, compact, portable and able to deliver repeatable accuracy to 2/100ths of a grain, time after time. That is all that one can ask of any scale. There is one last important thing to mention. The GemPro 250’s express warranty is LIFETIME (for domestic buyers) or 30 years for International Customers. A lifetime warranty is unheard of in the electronics business. I guess the people at My Weigh know what they have and are willing to stand behind it. If it should ever need servicing the My Weigh service center located in Phoenix, AZ will repair your scale and have it back to you in two business days.
Calm conditions and sunny skies prevailed as three previous champions set new national records in all three classes in the 2011 National Rimfire Sporter Championship fired here Sunday, 24 July. Charles J. Opalewski II, Lucas Boord and Ron Villanueva, all past champions, once again reached the top of the podium at this year’s event which also brought out a record 480 match entries. Opalewski, Boord, and Villanueva ALL set new National Records in their respective classes. 
In junior shooting, Amos Peck, 18, of Leslie, Michigan, won the overall O-Class competition with an aggregate score of 570-5X, followed by Aaron Ward, 18, Ypsilanti, Michigan (554-8X) and Stephenie Sabin, 17, of Curtice, Ohio (542-7X).
The 
Sebastian, creator of the 
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) today filed a lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the Gun Control Act to compel 8,500 federally licensed firearms retailers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to report the sale of two or more rifles.
