If you’re looking for “all things tactical”, including boots, cargo pants, packs, gloves, headwear, optics, rangefinders, and Pelican cases, U.S. Cavalry is a reliable source, with good prices. There are a variety of current coupon offers that can save you 5-12% on top of U.S. Cavalry’s already low prices.
10% OFF entire order (Expires 12/31/2010). Use Coupon Code: CAVTWEET
10% OFF entire order (ongoing). Use Coupon Code: USCCJ10 or CAVTNP
10% OFF entire order $99+ (limited time). Use Coupon Code: PJUSC10 or CJ10
5% OFF entire order $49+ (limited time). Use Coupon Code: PJUSC5 or CJ5
Free Shipping (ongoing). Use Coupon Code: PNQFREE
NOTE: if the most attractive Coupon Code doesn’t work, just try a different code from the list above. Code terms can change without notice. CAVTWEET did work 12/3/2010 for one reader, giving 10% off.
The NRA’s NRA Women On Target Hunting Progam organizes a popular series of women-only outdoor adventures every season. Currently there are eight guided hunts with openings still available.
For a woman looking for a “no-stress” hunting holiday guided by skilled outfitters, this is an excellent choice. Starting as $360 for a two-day pheasant hunt, many of these events are quite affordable, so they would make a unique Christmas present for a female family member or your favorite lady shooter.
Now here’s something for the serious reloader — powder by the pallet. Looking to stock up on powder for your .50 cal or .338 Lapua Magnum? Here’s a deal for you big boomer shooters out there. You can’t beat the price: $3.85 per pound. But here’s the catch — you have to buy at least one full pallet.
Ballistic Solutions, Inc. is selling bulk pallets of milspec smokeless powder for .50 caliber reloaders. The $3.85/lb pallet price is 60% off the average retail price for comparable powders, such as Hodgdon H870. The powder, demilled by a military contractor, is palletted and ready for shipping. Quantities still available are:
665 lbs of WC867 (95 lbs. per barrel) (6 barrels per pallet); weight per pallet is 570 lbs.
44,383 lbs of WC872 (two 30-lb bags per box, with 36 DOT-approved boxes per pallet); weight per pallet is 2,160 lbs.
These particular powders have multiple applications. The burn charts show them to be ideal for .50-caliber reloading, as they are in the same range as H860, H870, 5010 & 50 BMG (872 is replacing 5010 by many reloaders.) The powders can be loaded in cartridges as small as .338 Lapua Magnum.
We can’t think of anyone who really needs this much powder, but perhaps a shooting club or .50 BMG shooters’ association might be interested in a group buy. This bulk powder could be ideal for someone planning to start an ammo-loading business. It is 1.3 tag-listed and legal for export.
The mil-surp powder, originally manufactured for Winchester by St. Marks, was vacuum-extracted by automated machines. Marc Coury of Ballistic Solutions told us: “This is super-clean powder with no contaminants and no moisture as is common with other pull-down methods, so the powder does not need to be filtered.” Ballistics Solutions’ price, for the remaining powder inventories, is $3.85 per pound with a minimum order of one pallet. The cost does not include shipping. Call (949) 645-3815 or email marc@ballisticsolutionsinc.com to order.
With the price of some premium scopes approaching $3000.00 (and beyond), it’s more important than ever to provide extra protection for your expensive optics. ScopeCoat produces covers that shield scopes with a layer of neoprene rubber (wetsuit material) sandwiched between nylon. In addition to its basic covers, sold in a variety of sizes and colors, ScopeCoat has a line of heavy-duty 6mm products that provide added security.
Triple-Thickness XP-6 Model for Added Protection
The XP-6 Flak Jacket™ is specifically designed for extra protection and special applications. The 6mm-thick layer of neoprene is three times thicker than the standard ScopeCoat. XP-6 Flak Jackets are designed for tall turrets, with sizes that accommodate either two or three adjustment knobs (for both side-focus and front-focus parallax models). To shield an expensive NightForce, March, or Schmidt & Bender scope, this a good choice. XP-6 covers come in black color only, and are available for both rifle-scopes and spotting scopes.
The heavily padded XP-6 Flak Jacket is also offered in a Zippered version, shown at right. This is designed for removable optics that need protection when in storage. The full-length, zippered closure goes on quick-and-easy and provides more complete protection against dust, shock, and moisture. MSRP is $30.00.
Special Covers for Binos and Red-Dots
ScopeCoat offers many specialized products, including oversize covers for spotting scopes, protective “Bino-Bibs” for binoculars, rangefinder covers, even sleeves for small pistol scopes and red-dot optics. There are also custom-designed covers for the popular Eotech and Trijicon tactical optics. Watch the Shooting USA video below to see some of ScopeCoat’s latest specialty covers.
GunVault has unveiled a new, affordable security system for AR-platform rifles. The patent-pending AR MagVault ($24.95 MSRP) is a key-lock-controlled bright orange nylon block that fits in AR magwells. When engaged, the AR MagVault blocks magazine access, and more importantly, prevents the bolt from cycling. Once the AR MagVault is locked into place, a round cannot be inserted or chambered.
According to the manufacturer, the AR MagVault fits virtually all .223/5.56 AR-platform rifles. We like this well-designed product. The fiberglass-reinforced nylon block seems sturdy. It can supplement the use of a chamber safety flag at the range (the hi-viz orange color makes it easy to see the block is in place). In addition the AR MagVault can provide added security when an AR is transported or stored in a gun safe. Our only concern is the key system — we’d rather see a combination lock. As blogger Robert Farago cautions: “Don’t lose that key!” For additional info, visit GunVault.com.
We’re often asked: “What’s the best way to set up a spotting scope for shooting from a bench?” Some guys have spotting scopes set on big full-size tripods positioned to the side of the bench. That will work, but it normally requires you to move way out of position to look through your scope. Also, if you place the tripod as close to the bench as possible, one of the tripod legs will extend down close to your foot. It is all too easy to jostle the tripod with your foot or knee and move the scope off your target. We’ve also seen folks with spotting scopes mounted on compact camera tripods set directly on the bench. Again, this is not a very good solution. These small tripods position the spotting scope too high. Small camera tripods are also really too light and flimsy to hold a big, heavy spotter, with a 65mm or larger front objective. You really need a better set-up. You want to mount the spotting scope so, when you are in shooting positino, the eyepiece is close to your head — allowing easy viewing without moving your whole body away from the rifle.
Scope Stands for Bench Use
The best system for mounting a spotting scope to a bench was the Ray-Vin Ultimate Benchrest Stand. This clamped securely to the side of the bench and was a very high-quality piece of gear. Unfortunately, Ray Brandes of Ray-Vin has retired and his clamping benchrest scope stand is currently out of production. If you can find one for sale second-hand — snag it. If you can’t locate a Ray-Vin clamping stand, don’t despair, Creedmoor Sports has come out with a clamping-type Spotting Scope Bench-mount that is only $79.95 without head. This features 1″-diam vertical shaft so it can be used with most scope-holding heads that can adapt to a 1″ tube, such as a Ray-Vin head, Big Blue head, or Creedmoor’s new Polecat head. The clamp mount secures the rig anywhere you want along the side of the bench. You can easily adjust the scope height and fore/aft position relative to the shooter. The Ray-Vin head, now sold by Creedmoor, features a twist handle with a ball joint on the end. This then lets you set the scope (and angled eyepiece) to any angle you want. It’s a very slick system.
The Creedmoor Bench-mount is currently back-ordered, but Creedmoor expects to receive product before the end of the year. The Polecat head is available now for $139.95. Creedmoor, which has taken over production of the Ray-Vin scope stand head, is taking orders for the Ray-Vin head currently. No release date is offered. However, there should be some 1″ Ray-Vin heads on the used market.
Each year Shooting Sports USA magazine (SSUSA) spotlights its Products of the Year — those competition shooting accessories which have the best combination of value, performance, and utility. Right now SSUSA is asking its readers to nominate products for the annual Best Products of the Year feature. SSUSA seeks your input on competitive shooting gear that made a significant difference in your shooting performance. Such products could include barrels, scopes, timers, holsters, magazine followers, instructional DVDs, or any other accessories/components which help you compete more effectively, and achieve higher scores.
Once the numbers are in, the results will be tallied and published in the SHOT Show edition of Shooting Sports USA. Please send your nomination for best 2010 competitive shooting product to shootingsportsusa@nrahq.org with 2010 Product in the subject line. The nomination deadline is December 10, 2010.
When is a 60s-era air pistol worth $431,840? When it happens to be the gun held by Sean Connery in promotional stills and posters for From Russia with Love, the second film in the hugely popular James Bond 007 film series. Yes that sinister-looking pistol, which some mistook for a long-barreled, 9mm Walther P-38, is actually just a single-shot pellet gun, a Walther .177-cal Luftpistole (LP) model 53 air pistol to be precise.
The $431,840 Movie Prop
Bond’s LP-53 recently sold at auction in London for £277,250 ($431,840 US) — nearly 14 times the £15,000-£20,000 price Christie’s Auctioneers had predicted. That just proves that there are many action heroes, but there is only one James Bond. Presumably, this shockingly high auction price may drive up the price of LP-53s on the used market. Sorry, there are no Walther LP-53s for sale on Gunbroker.com today… we checked.
Why was Connery given an air pistol? Here’s the story behind the choice of the LP-53. As part of the publicity campaign for From Russia with Love, Magnum photographer David Hurn was commissioned to photograph Sean Connery as Bond — holding 007’s signature Walther PPK pistol. But the production crew forgot to bring a PPK to Hurn’s studio.
Photographer Used His Own Gun
According to Christies’ auction lot history: “[W]hen Connery arrived at his studio for the shoot, it was discovered by publicist Tom Carlile that no one had brought the gun needed for the shooter, a small Walther automatic (Walther PPK). By chance David Hurn practiced air pistol target shooting as a hobby and had the air pistol he used for this purpose, also a Walther, to hand. Hurn explained: ‘It was decided that, without telling Sean or the other representatives of United Artists, we would use my pistol for the pictures and [we] presumed that should anyone have doubts, [when they saw] the name Walther on the gun, they would be reassured. This was, in fact, the case.'”
Poster Designer Favors Look of Long-Barreled Pistol Over PPK
In theory, the long barrel of the LP-53 air pistol was to be airbrushed out of publicity stills and a PPK was to be substituted when the movie posters were designed. In fact, in one USA-market “James Bond is Back” poster, you’ll see Connery holding an airbrushed, short-barrel Walther. However, Renato Fratini, the lead poster artist, preferred the look of the LP-53. Working from Hurn’s non-airbrushed original photographs, Fratini designed the posters for world-wide distribution with the long-barreled LP-53 in Bond’s hand. The iconic long-barreled Luftpistole was featured in posters for several more Bond movies, including Goldfinger (Japanese poster at right), and The Man With the Golden Gun.
The 3-Gun Nation Finals television broadcast airs this week on the Versus Channel. Held in September at the Desert Sportsmans’ Range in Las Vegas, the 3-Gun Nation Championship pitted many of the nation’s top multi-gun shooters in head-to-head competition. After a two-day qualifier to narrow the field, 16 of America’s top 3-gunners met in a single-elimination, man-on-man Final Tournament. $40,000 in prizes were up for grabs, with a fat $25K check for the overall winner.
The action was fast and furious as, one-by-one, competitors were eliminated in the 3GN Championship Shoot-Off, an all-steel target course of fire, racing to the final stop-plate. In the Shoot-Off, all contestants used FNH arms: SCAR rifles, SLP 12-gauge shotguns, and FNX-9 semi-automatic pistols. We won’t spoil the drama by announcing the winner (you can check our Daily Bulletin archive for match results), but you can preview the event by watching this teaser video featuring Bruce Hiatt, Jerry Miculek, and SGT Dan Horner of the USAMU. More videos are found on the 3-Gun Nation Website.
3-Gun Nation Repeats on Mondays and Thurdays throughout December
This 3-Gun Nation Finals broadcast airs on Thursday, December 2, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. The entire three-part championship block of episodes will repeat on Mondays and Thursdays throughout December.
President Obama has picked Andrew Traver, the BATFE’s Chicago Field Office Director, to be the new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver is considered a political chrony of Obama who holds extreme views on gun control. Michael Bane of Downrange.TV describes Andrew Traver as a “relentless anti-gun zealot”. The NRA has stated its opposition to Traver’s nomination in no uncertain terms, calling on President Obama to withdraw the nomination:
Official NRA Response To Traver’s Nomination
The NRA strongly opposes President Obama’s nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a “recess appointment,” in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly elected U.S. Senators.
Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” a “partnership” with the Joyce Foundation. The IACP report, generated with Traver’s help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment—all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.
An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.
Michael Bane Reveals Traver’s Anti-Gun Agenda
You can learn more about the Traver nomination controversy via Michale Bane’s Weekly Video Podcast. You should really watch this video — it uncovers the ugly truths about Andrew Traver. Just click the arrow in the middle of the video frame to play. NOTE: A short advertisement from the Outdoor Channel may precede the video playback.
The NRA’s 
With the price of some premium scopes approaching $3000.00 (and beyond), it’s more important than ever to provide extra protection for your expensive optics. 
The heavily padded XP-6 Flak Jacket is also offered in a Zippered version, shown at right. This is designed for removable optics that need protection when in storage. The full-length, zippered closure goes on quick-and-easy and provides more complete protection against dust, shock, and moisture. MSRP is $30.00.
Each year 
When is a 60s-era air pistol worth $431,840? When it happens to be the gun held by Sean Connery in promotional stills and posters for 
Why was Connery given an air pistol? Here’s the story behind the choice of the LP-53. As part of the publicity campaign for From Russia with Love, Magnum photographer David Hurn was commissioned to photograph Sean Connery as Bond — holding 007’s signature Walther PPK pistol. But the production crew forgot to bring a PPK to Hurn’s studio.
Poster Designer Favors Look of Long-Barreled Pistol Over PPK
The 
Official NRA Response To Traver’s Nomination
