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July 7th, 2011
 The complete, official Results Bulletin from the 2011 NRA National Junior Air Gun Championship in Port Clinton, Ohio can now be found on the NRA’s Competitive Shooting website.
Congratulations to all of the 2011 winners and thanks to everyone who made the trip to Camp Perry for the competition this year. We would also like to extend our thanks to the staff, volunteers, and our friends with the Civilian Marksmanship Program and Ohio National Guard for their hard work that made this year such a big success.
2012 Championship Moves to Alabama
Match organizers hope to see everyone again in 2012 when the competition moves to Anniston, Alabama! Below is a slide show from Day 1 of the competition at Camp Perry in late June.
Story by Kerrin Brinkman and photos courtesy the NRA BLOG.
July 7th, 2011
MidwayUSA has released new versions of its tactical gun case/drag bag that has earned very high marks from purchasers. This product is plenty wide, with a padded internal divider, so it really can handle two rifles. One purchaser confirms: “[This drag bag] holds my custom 300 Rem mag and my AR-15 with plenty of room.” MidwayUSA’s Sniper Drag Bag Scoped Rifle Gun Case comes in two lengths — either 50″ or 56″ overall. MidwayUSA says the internal length is 4″ shorter than the overall length, but that’s a little conservative. The 50″ length will handle most rifles with up to 25″ barrels, while the longer length should handle 30″-barreled rifles. We’re pleased MidwayUSA offers two lengths. One of the problems with many “tactical” gun cases is that they are simply too short for modern target rifles, particularly F-TR rigs. And many tactical competitors are running fairly long tubes these days.
MidwayUSA’s drag bags are made from tough, Cordura-style PVC-coated nylon, with reinforced stitching, heavy-duty zippers and closed cell foam padding in all pockets. These are big bags, with three large external pockets and one internal pocket. Notably, the full-length padded divider wall allows for secure two-gun storage, although this becomes a very heavy package with two scoped rifles inside. To assist with field carry, the MidwayUSA Drag Bag features backpack-style shoulder straps.
50″ Drag Bag Now On Sale for $64.99
Here’s the good news — now through the end of July, 2011, the shorter, 50″ Drag Bag is only $64.99 in either black or OD. You can save $35 off the regular $99.99 price. If you’re a tactical shooter and your rifle can fit in the shorter 50″ bag, jump on this deal. We doubt you can easily find another gun case with so many features for just $64.99. The 56″ Drag Bag costs $129.99, in either black or olive drab.
Positive User Reviews
James D in California, who purchased one of these bags last year, writes: “I don’t post reviews much, but this deserves comment. I was looking for an inexpensive solution to get my rifles to the range, so I purchased one of these drag bags. What a shock, It’s outstanding! Quality materials, excellent design and workmanship. It’s padded, has pockets inside of pockets, supports to where it as a pack, over the shoulder or like a case. It’s got everything! I also saw one at my local gunstore — EXACTLY like it for over twice the price! If you need a bag, this is it.”
July 6th, 2011
 The White Horse Center Range near Peeltree, West Virginia, will host the 2011 National IBS 1000-Yard Nationals from September 3-5, 2011. The good news is that the match directors have lowered the fees in response to the week economy and high gas prices. If you register before August 8th, the match fee is only $80.00 per gun.
CLICK HERE for IBS 2011 1000-Yard Nationals Registration/Entrance Form.
 Match Schedule and Fees
The 1K Nationals will be a 3-target Aggregate match for both Light Gun (LG) and Heavy Gun (HG) with six (6) targets total. Membership in the IBS, NBRSA, or Williamsport organizations is required — bring your membership card. The match will run Saturday, Sunday, and MONDAY, September 3, 4, and 5. Practice and Sight-in will be available Wednesday (8/31), Thursday (9/1) and Friday (9/2), starting daily at 8:00 am. NOTE: There will be a $10.00 per target fee during practice days and the shooter must furnish his/her own target puller.
Match fees for the Nationals are $80 per gun ($40 per gun for Juniors), if post-marked before August 8, 2011. Thereafter fees go to $90 per gun ($45 per gun for juniors). All registrations MUST be received by 3:00 pm Friday, September 2nd. No walk-up registrations will be accepted on match days.
How to Get There
The Center is located 9.7 miles south on State Route 20 from I-79, exit 115 or 10.1 miles north of Route 20 from Buckhannon. Look for a brown and yellow Dept. of Natural Resources sign on Route 20. Take Crouse Road to the next sign, turn right at the sign, and proceed up the hill to the Center. Map coordinates are: 39°, 7′, 11″ North latitude; 80°, 13′, 4″ West longitude. The White Horse Center website has information on area hotels and campgrounds.
Story Tip by EdLongrange. We welcome submissions from our readers.
July 5th, 2011
A SEB MAX front rest, with the ability to handle wider rifles, was unveiled today by Forum member Ernie Bishop (aka xphunter). This is a prototype, and production versions will hopefully be offered in 2012. Weighing roughly 35 lbs. (16 kg), The new SEB MAX rest fits forearms up to 8″ wide. Without side plate assembly and special front bag, the SEB MAX can accept a 9″-wide stock. The Center-to-Center distance between the posts is 300mm (just a bit less than 12″). This makes the SEB MAX 100 mm wider than the SEB NEO, allowing for 275mm clearance between posts. The bottom plate of the top is 265 mm long (almost 10 1/2″). The side plates assembly with side bag is about 1.25″ thick. Net space is approx 8″ . Posts and height are the same as the SEB NEO, which already has a huge amount of elevation travel. For more info, visit www.SEBCoax.com, email Ernie Bishop at ernieemily[at]yahoo.com or call Ernie at (307) 257-7431. Ernie is the U.S.A. distributor for SEB products.
Ernie Bishop reports: “The new SB MAX is very smooth! I have used it out to 1000 yards so far and am very pleased. I do not know the price yet.” For more information, read this FORUM thread. As set up in the photos below, the SEB MAX is set for the 6″ forearm on Ernie’s 7mm WSM specialty benchrest pistol.
If you’re curious about Ernie’s 7mm WSM handgun, here are the details. Eric Wallace smithed this specialty handgun, as well as the stock. It is a 7mm WSM built on a BAT action fitted with 1:8″ test Bartlein barrel, with Wallace muzzle brake. The rig uses a Sightron S-III, 8-32 scope, and Jewel trigger. The gun was set up to shoot in the Heavy Pistol Class at the annual Long-range Handgun shoot run by the MOA Corporation. Ernie Bishop tells us: “When I have the time, it will also be used for light gun rifle matches at 600 and 1000 yards. I also have a McRee handgun chassis stock so I can use it for more huntng or field shooting.” Ernie does not have the load “fully tweaked yet”, but he’s currently running H1000 behind 180gr JLKs in prepped Winchester 7mm WSM brass, with Federal 210M primers.
July 5th, 2011
Proposed gun laws based on flawed technology were recently defeated in New York and California. In New York, A1157, a micro-stamping bill, was effectively halted in the New York State Senate. Meanwhile, across the country in California, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee voted down SB 978, a bill that would have required all air rifles to be brightly colored.
Micro-Stamping Blocked in New York Again
In New York, A1157, which earlier this year passed the General Assembly, failed to be voted on in the New York State Senate. This marks the fourth straight year that microstamping has been defeated in the Empire State. The proposed legislation would have required micro-stamping of handguns. This technology has not yet been perfected and it can easily be defeated by criminals. Requiring microstamping of all new handguns would force manufacturers to invest in very expensive machinery (or go out of business). Increased manufacturing costs would be passed on to the firearms consumer. To learn more about microstamping, read the NSSF Microstamping Fact Sheet.
Law Restricting Airguns Defeated in California
Last week, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee defeated SB 798, a bill that would have mandated that all airsoft and airguns (included Olympic-grade pneumatic air rifles) be brightly colored. In theory, this would help police officers distinguish airguns from actual firearms. In fact, because anyone can spray paint a firearm a bright color, this law would have jeopardized the safety of the public and especially police officers. AB 798 was defeated in large part because of opposition from law enforcement groups who understood the risk of criminals painting real firearms to disguise the weapons’ lethality. AB 798 is one more example of “feel good” legislation that would do more harm than good.
July 4th, 2011
 Comp-Tac, maker of competition and concealment gear, is having a 20% Off Sale on July 4, 2011. Save 20% on your purchase by entering the code “JULY-1776″ in the “Coupon Redeem Code” box when you “check-out” from Comp-Tac’s webstore. Comp-Tac offers a wide assortment of firearms accessories. Primarily known for their Minotaur MTAC hybrid Kydex/leather holster, Comp-Tac produces more than just holsters. This company also makes AR-15 Mag Pouches, Gun Belts, Light Holders, and much more! CLICK HERE to view all products and shop online.
Limitations and the Fine Print
This Fourth of July 20% Off Sale is only available Monday, July 4th. To see full instructions and limitations of this sale, CLICK HERE.
July 3rd, 2011
Bryan Litz, Ballistician for Berger Bullets, has authored an excellent article on bullet design, What’s Wrong With .30 Caliber?. This story originally appeared in Precision Shooting magazine, and now can be read on LongRangeHunting.com.
In this article, Bryan analyzes the design of long-range bullets, from .22 to .30 caliber. He notes that while 30-caliber bullets can have very high ballistic coefficients, 30-caliber bullets must be very heavy to match the BCs of the 6.5mm and 7mm projectiles. As the chart below shows, it takes a 240gr 30-caliber bullet to match the G7 BC of a 180gr 7mm VLD. But most 30-caliber shooters don’t use those ultra-heavy projectiles because the recoil is excessive and because it takes a monster cartridge burning lots of powder to drive 240-grainers to optimal velocities. Litz notes: “Heavy recoiling rifles are harder to shoot accurately. Even if a shooter overcomes the mental aspect of heavy recoil, the ‘system’ is more sensitive to minor imperfections in shot execution. This may be another reason that drives .30 cal shooters down to the ‘middleweight’ 190-grain class bullets instead of the proportionally heavy 220-240 grain bullets.”
 Litz concludes that the heavy 7mm bullets are a better choice than the biggest 30-calibers (except in unlimited weight “heavy guns” where recoil is not a factor.) Bryan writes: “Even a moderate 7mm chambering is capable of delivering 2800 to 3000 fps with the heavy 7mm bullets, much faster with magnums. The heaviest .30 cal bullet requires a big magnum just to get to 2800 fps. So the first problem is: you can’t get the heavy .30 cal bullets going as fast as the heavy 7mm bullets! Even if you could get the same muzzle velocities from the heavy .30 cal bullets, it would take much more powder to do it, barrel life would suffer, and you’ve only achieved parity with the 7mm. The various negative effects of the incredible recoil are really just the ‘nail in the coffin’ for the heavy .30 caliber bullets.”
Bryan’s Updated Second Edition Ballistics Book
If you are interested in learning more about bullet design and ballistics, check out Bryan’s book, Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting. This highly-respected resource, now in its second edition, includes experimentally-measured Ballistic Coefficient (BC) data for over 236 long range bullets of various makes. The new edition of Applied Ballistics was upsized to 7″x10″ and Bryan added two new chapters, while updating the existing chapters. Bryan’s book comes complete with a CD containing Version 2.0 of the Point Mass Ballistics Solver. CLICK HERE to order Litz’s book and CD for $49.95.
July 3rd, 2011
OutdoorsTrader.com is a FREE alternative to Gunbroker.com and AuctionArms.com for selling firearms, magazines, optics, and hunting gear. Set up like a Craigslist for gun stuff, OutdoorsTrader.com lets you place free ads for buying, selling or trading guns, ammunition and parts. Conveniently, you can search ads by state, or even by zip code proximity.
Because OutdoorsTrader.com is relatively new, there are relatively few listings at present, but we expect that to grow. We clicked on “Oregon” and found a couple dozen listings, mostly handguns. A search for “Colorado” revealed a half-dozen listings, half rifle, half pistol. So OutdoorsTrader.com has a long way to go to challenge the big players such as Gunbroker.com and AuctionArms.com. But we’re glad OutdoorsTrader.com exists — it’s always a good thing for consumers to have more options.
OutdoorsTrader Charges No Fees, Unlike Gunbroker
We hope OutdoorsTrader.com becomes successful. Gunbroker.com is fairly expensive for the seller, who pays when the item sells (at auction). On an expensive rifle, Gunbroker.com fees can be significant. The cost to sell a $3500.00 rifle on Gunbroker.com is $56.88.
By contrast, OutdoorsTrader.com is free to join and entirely free to use. Once an account has been created, the user may post ads of his own and also leave replies on other posted ads. OutdoorsTrader.com has been around for a couple years. We hope it gains in popularity so it can provide more competition to Gunbroker.
July 2nd, 2011
Smallbore competitors — mark your calendars for July 15 through July 19. That’s when the 2011 NRA National Metric Smallbore Championships will be held at the Wa-Ke’-De Range in Bristol, Indiana. Practice Relays will be held on the 15th. With Position shooting scheduled for July 16-17 and Prone for July 18-19, this event is a great way to tune up your marksmanship skills prior to the Smallbore Championships at Camp Perry which kick off on July 21st.
The Second Annual NRA Metric Smallbore Championships are limited to the first 200 competitors. You can still register now by contacting H.Q. Moody at 703-267-1475 or HMoody@nrahq.org. Don’t procrastinate — anyone attempting to sign up after July 8th will have to do so at the Statistical Office at the Chief Wa-Ke’-De’ Range. The Jameson Inn in Elkhart, Indiana is the host hotel. Mention the National Metric Championships to receive a special rate.
CLICK HERE to download 2011 Metric NRA Metric Championship Official Program
(36-page program contains schedules, courses of fire, sign-up info, even a map to range.)
July 1st, 2011
 Powder Valley Inc., one of our favorite vendors of powder, primers, and other reloading components, is offering a great Independence Day Deal. If you order online on the 4th of July, you will get 10% off the cost of your entire order. That’s right — 10% off everything you order. But note, this is a one-day deal only. Orders must be placed via the web on the 4th of July, between the hours of 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
 Powder Valley 4th of July Sale
In celebration of our great nation and independence!!!
24 Hour Special Only — CLICK HERE
10% off entire order placed online on the 4th of July.
Order must be placed online between the hours of 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM EDT July 4, 2011. It is best to place your order using Internet Explorer. Only orders completed during these hours will receive a 10% discount. NO EXCEPTIONS! Note: this does not apply to Hazmat fees or shipping charges.
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