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June 28th, 2024

Camdyn Powers Wins Ladies’ Title at 2024 NRL22 Championship

camdyn power nrl22 ladies rimfire lapua championship vudoo v22 burris xtr pro

camdyn power nrl22 ladies rimfire lapua championship vudoo v22 burris xtr proCamdyn Powers won the Ladies Division at the 2024 National Rimfire League (NRL22) Championships held June 21-23, 2024 in Frederic, Wisconsin. Along with winning the Ladies Division Title, Camdyn secured an impressive 7th place overall finish. Camdyn said the match was tough: “This match pushed my mental and physical abilities, but I managed to navigate the challenges and make wind adjustments effectively on the clock. It was my best two-day match performance with achieving a 95% hit percentage of the top shooter.” She noted that her Lapua rimfire ammo was accurate and reliable.

With this major 2024 title, Camdyn has secured her status as the top woman in NRL22 competition — in 2023 she was the 2023 NRL22 Ladies Division Season Champion, as well as the 2023 Ladies Match Winner.

Powers competes with a Vudoo V22 bolt-action rifle with a 20″ MTU-V contour Bartlein barrel in an XLR Envy Pro Chassis. On top is a Burris XTR Pro 5.5-30X FFP competition scope, with illuminated reticle. Camdyn’s sponsors include Lapua (ammunition), Burris Optics, Vudoo Gun Works, and WieBad Gear Bags.

camdyn power nrl22 ladies rimfire lapua championship vudoo v22 burris xtr pro
Camdyn Powers at recent 2024 Rimfire Revival Match in Price, Utah, which she won.

Camdyn praised her Burris XTR Pro competition scope: “With my XTR PRO, I could see the target clearly and bullet trace for accurate adjustments that led to impacts.” Burris Optics Marketing Director Jordan Egli stated: “We are incredibly proud of Camdyn Powers and her outstanding success at the NRL22 Championship. Her victory is a testament to her hard work and determination[.]”

About NRL22 Rimfire Competition

The National Rifle League (NRL) started off sponsoring major centerfire tactical matches, similar to PRS competitions. The NRL then added a .22 LR Rimfire series, called NRL22, which is now the premier precision rimfire league in the country. The NRL22 rimfire discipline has been a huge success, as rimfire guns are fun to shoot and ammo is very affordable. NRL22 is now the most active type of NRL competition by far, with a vast selection of matches around the country. Popular NRL22 matches have drawn up to 170 rimfire competitors. Divisions may include: Open, Base, Ladies, Air Rifle, Old Guns, and Young Guns. Get more info at NRL22.org.

About NRL22 Tactical/Practical Competition
NRL22 tactical precision Airgun Air rifle classThe goal of NRL 22 is to make Precision Rifle competitions more available to every community. A significant percentage of American cities do NOT have nearby ranges where you can shoot to 500 yards and beyond. However, most Americans can access 100-yard ranges within a relatively short drive and most shooters own a .22 LR rifle. The NRL22 program is designed so any facility with a 100-yard range can host matches. Participants at local NRL22 events can then attend the National Championship. NRL22 started with four classifications: Open, Base, Ladies, and Young Guns (8-18 age). Air Rifle is the new fifth class.

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June 28th, 2024

MidwayUSA Foundation Provides $2.3 Million in Range Grants

MidwayUSA Foundation grants youth sports range funding

For the fourth year in a row, the MidwayUSA Foundation has provided cash grants to help ranges across the country expand and support youth shooting sports activities. This year, $2.3 million has been awarded to 99 recipients — a substantial increase in recipients and dollars paid compared to last year. A key factor in choosing winning applicants is a range’s plan to increase and enhance youth shooting sports opportunities.

MidwayUSA Foundation Executive Director, G. Scott Reynolds, spoke about the Range Development Grant Program: “America’s youth not only need funding to cover their shooting sports expenses, but they need qualified coaches to teach them to shoot safely, and they need a safe place to shoot. MidwayUSA Foundation is proud to offer grant programs to cover all three needs.”

MidwayUSA Foundation grants youth sports range funding

Since this grant program’s inception in 2021, the Foundation has awarded $4.45 million for range improvements to recipient programs throughout the USA. MidwayUSA Foundation Range Development grant recipients are listed at: Midwayusafoundation.org/range-development-grants.

Applications for special purpose grants, like Range Development and Coach Training, will be accepted annually and applicants must hold an endowment with MidwayUSA Foundation to apply. Youth shooting teams and organizations should work closely with their range operators to complete the grant application.

The MidwayUSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity working to sustain and grow youth shooting sports by providing long-term funding to youth shooting teams. Every donation made is tax-deductible. The Foundation supports all shooting disciplines. Visit Midwayusafoundation.org or call 1-877-375-4570.

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June 27th, 2024

The M1903 Rifle That Shot 71 Straight Bullseyes at 1000 Yards

George Farr Camp Perry Record 1903 Springfield
Firing an “off-the-rack” M1903 Springfield that he had never shot before, using GI-issue “tin-plate” ammunition, George Farr shot 71 consecutive bullseyes at 1000 yards (70 for record), setting a marksmanship record that has never been broken.

This is not the typical Daily Bulletin feature. It is an historical account of one of the greatest performances by a marksman in the history of the National Matches at Camp Perry. We think any competitive shooter will find this amazing narrative worth reading from beginning to end. This story is provided courtesy the NRA Blog with photos supplied by the NRA Museums.

An Old Man at the National Matches:
‘Dad’ Farr’s Golden Afternoon at Camp Perry

by Doug Wicklund, NRA Museums Senior Curator

It was 1921. Warren Harding was President of the United States, and “The War to End All Wars” was less than three years past. The nation was getting back to a normal routine, and for competitive shooters, that meant an annual pilgrimage through the state of Ohio to the shores of Lake Erie, where the National Matches had been held since 1907 at Camp Perry. In those lighter days of the “Roaring Twenties”, marksmen from states banded together to make the journey, housing together in tent clusters on green lawns well behind the firing points.

George Farr Camp Perry Record 1903 Springfield
The silver plate affixed to George Farr’s M1903 Springfield states: “With this rifle and using issued ammunition Mr. G.R. Farr of Seattle Wash in the Wimbleton Match, 1921, Camp Perry O., made 71 consecutive bulls eyes at 1000 yards”.

But one man at the 1921 National Matches stood out amongst the rest. George “Dad” Farr was a 62-year-old man from the state of Washington, and this was his first time heading east to shoot in the “big leagues”, as some of his fellow Evergreen State friends termed the annual competitions.

Aptly nicknamed, “Dad” was a good bit older than the average shooter during that late summer season, striding forward hesitantly clad in a khaki shirt and dungarees. He wasn’t a practiced High Power shooter — he showed up at Camp Perry without a rifle, and relied on a crude monocular for a spotting scope that he had fashioned from a pair of French opera glasses.

At the previous day’s shooting, he had experienced issues with the initial .30-06 rifle he had chosen from the rack, a Model 1903 Springfield that didn’t seem to hold a consistent zero. This day, he chose a different gun, just another off-the-rack rifle no different from the one next to it. Though he didn’t realize it, George Farr had just made the best selection of his life.

Farr readied his bolt-action and prepared a clip of five rounds of Government Issue ammunition, then went to his position. He was ready to fire on a 1,000-yard target with a rifle he had never shot before.

George Farr Camp Perry Record 1903 Springfield

Perhaps he had resigned himself somewhat to the outcome — after all, it was the last relay of the day on September 9. Off to the west, the sun was beginning its slow trip down to the horizon. But Farr shouldered his Springfield and prepared to fire. The time was 4:30 p.m. Shooters nearby were puzzled by this shooter who squirmed and shifted repeatedly, but were amazed as he made his first hits on paper. Farr was shooting Frankford Arsenal tin-plate ammunition, the standard G.I. .30-06 rounds. More experienced marksmen, like Marine Sgt. John Adkins — who had just won the Wimbledon Cup — were using commercial Remington match ammunition and had spurned the government ammo.

The Historic String of Bullseyes
At that distant 36-inch target, Farr scored two hits for his two sighters, with the last sighter being a bullseye. He then prepared to fire 20 shots for record. Each of those 20 shots went into the center. Each scored as a “5”. At the end of this amazing string, Farr gathered up his monocular and prepared to depart. His fellow shooters quickly advised that match rules required him to continue firing until he missed “the black”, the inner 5-Ring bullseye at the center of the target. Farr had only brought one box of ammunition with him to the firing line, and had run out. As he waited for more of the tin-plate ammo he had been using, the sun continued its retreat. Farr continued his shooting, racking up growing strings of bullseyes – 30, 40 50, 60 – each impact on target being carefully recorded on his scorecard in the growing darkness.

Then, at the 71st shot with daylight completely gone, the bullet strayed outside the target center, and Farr’s incredible string came to its conclusion. But counting his second sighting shot, George Farr had fired 71 consecutive bullseyes at 1,000 yards using an unfamiliar rifle plucked from an ordnance rack earlier that day. It was an amazing feat, one immediately recognized by those in attendance. His fellow shooters quickly took up a generous collection, contributing in recognition of Farr’s natural skill and enabling him to purchase that bolt-action Springfield he had worked magic with on that distant target. Enough funds remained that a silver presentation plate, inscribed with the names of the states whose competitors had contributed, was ordered and mounted on the side of the rifle’s buttstock.

George Farr Camp Perry Record 1903 Springfield
CLICK HERE to zoom image

The next year, the Civilian Team Trophy was re-designated as the Farr Trophy, and George Farr’s record, fired on the old target system, was never beaten. Farr’s rifle went home with him to Washington and remained there, never again traveling eastward to Camp Perry. In 2011, The Farr family donated this legendary piece of shooting history to the NRA National Firearms Museum collection.

In 2013, as NRA Museums curators began assembling the collection for display at the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri, the museum staff created a unique exhibit featuring George Farr’s Model 1903 Springfield rifle and its special place in competitive shooting history. Alongside the rifle rests Farr’s simple monocular, another mute witness to Camp Perry history made on that September evening in 1921.

Farr’s Springfield… is one of thousands of historically significant firearms found in the NRA Museums collections on display across three locations. To view the collection and learn more about the incredible stories behind each gun, visit the NRA Museums in person or browse the NRA Museums website.

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June 27th, 2024

Cleaning Tips for Cartridge Brass and Reloading Dies

Bill Gravatt Creedmoor Sports Sinclair cleaning polishing brass reloading dies

Creedmoor Sports is a leading vendor of products for competitive shooters and serious hand-loaders. Along with great gear, Creedmoor Sports provides informative content for its customers. The Creedmoor InfoZone provides Reloading Tips, Gear Reviews, Shooting News, and basic gunsmithing information.

Bill Gravatt, President of Creedmoor Sports, is an expert on reloading processes and gear. He developed many of the popular tools marketed by Sinclair Int’l, and he brings that expertise to Creedmoor Sports. Bill hosts a series of “how-to” videos produced for the Creedmoor InfoZone.

Cleaning Cartridge Brass — Multiple Options Explained

In this video, Bill Gravatt demonstrates several methods to clean your cases. Bill tells us: “Powder residue should be removed before you insert your cases into your reloading dies. There are several ways to clean your cases. Many shooters use a combination of various methods…”

1. Manual Cleaning — You can use 0000 Steel wool for the outside of the case and a Case Neck brush for the inside. A paper towel can remove any remaining residue. This is a handy way to clean if you load at the range.

2. Vibratory Tumbling — This traditional method works well, particularly for pistol brass. Experiment with both Corn Cob and Walnut media. You can get a brighter shine by putting a small amount of liquid brass polish in the media.

3. Wet Tumbling with Stainless Media — This process can get your brass clean inside and out. Do check to ensure no pins are stuck in the flash-holes. Watch for peening of case mouths that can occur over time.

4. Ultrasonic Cleaning — Ultrasonic cleaning works great for small parts as well as brass. The ultrasonic process removes all carbon and traces of lube, which can leave the inside of case necks too dry. To smooth bullet seating, try putting a tablespoon of Ballistol in the cleaning solution.

Cleaning Reloading Dies

Cleaning your reloading dies is something that many hand-loaders neglect. In this 60-second Tech Tip, Bill Gravatt provides some smart advice on cleaning your dies. Bill notes: “After heavy use, case lube and carbon can build up in your reloading dies. It’s important to keep them clean. Also, with new dies, give them a good cleaning before first use, because they ship with a corrosion inhibitor.”

1. Step 1 — Prior to cleaning, disassemble the die and spray it with a good degreaser. Do this with brand new dies too.

2. Step 2 – Take a patch and run it in the die to remove old lube and gunk. Don’t forget the decapping assembly and other internal parts.

3. Step 3 — After cleaning the die, but before reassembly, spray the die with a good corrosion inhibitor, such as Corrosion-X or Starrett M1.

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June 27th, 2024

Versatile, High-Capacity TRC39 Tactical Rifle Crate

MTM case-gard trc39 tactical rifle case carry box transport box

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could have one large carry case that could hold your rifle, PLUS your ammunition, earmuffs, paper targets, rear bag, bipod, Magnetospeed, spotting scope, and all the other gear you might want to bring to the range? Well MTM Case-Gard has finally created such a do-it-all case, one of the first of its kind ever offered, available now for $89.99 on Amazon.

MTM’s new TRC39 Tactical Rifle Crate is an all-in-one solution for hunting and shooting gear transport and storage. The TRC39 has a foam-padded 39″ x 11.7″ x 3.1″ gun compartment on the top, and a storage compartment below. Up top, firearms are protected and held in place with MTM’s egg shell foam padding. Beneath the lift-out gun tray is a large compartment equipped with removable partitions. Total storage capacity of the 39″ x 11″ x 7.1″ (deep) lower compartment is 54 quarts. That’s plenty of room for gear and ammo in that lower storage area. And the TRC39 is rated to haul up to 75 pounds of guns and gear.

For security, the TRC39 has four snap latches, padlock tabs, and a water-resistant O-ring seal. To ease transport the TRC39 has two recessed wheels. And there are formed polymer handles on either end of the case. MTM Case-Gard’s TRC39 is now just $89.99 on Amazon36% Off the $139.99 original list price.

We can see this TRC39 case being very popular with tactical shooters and varminters who can carry a rifle, pistol, binoculars, spotting scope, ammunition, and rear bag, all in one large case. We just wish a longer version was also available — the max rifle length that can be stored would be 39″, unless the barreled action is separated from the stock.

MTM case-gard trc39 tactical rifle case carry box transport box

TRC39 Tactical Rifle Crate Features:

Gun compartment holds tactical and short rifles up to 39″ long
Lift-out upper rifle tray, protected with quality foam padding
Two removable dividers in 39″ x 11″ x 7.1″ lower compartment
A full 54 quarts of storage capacity in lower compartment
Two recessed wheels can support up to 75 lbs. of gear
Stackable design with tie-down and strap-over points
Four rugged, no-break snap latches with padlock tabs
No-rust, high-impact, polypropylene construction
Water-resistant O-ring seal (non-submersible)
External Size: 43.5″ x 14.7″ x 11.5″ (Tall)
Engineered and manufactured in America

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June 26th, 2024

Color Bullet Tips to Help Define Long-Range Groups on Paper

sharpie felt marker bullet color tip painting group paper target

When shooting groups at long range on paper it can be difficult to distinguish which bullet holes belong to a particular sequence of shots. If, for example, you shot three 5-shot groups at 600+ yards on a paper target, you would have 15 bullet holes on the target (assuming no misses). But at that distance it would be difficult to see the holes on target (even with a spotting scope). Accordingly, when you inspected the target up close, it would be hard to tell which shots belonged to which group. You might have a vague idea, but couldn’t be sure, without a target camera recording the shot sequence.

Here is a method to separate multiple shots into specific groups so you can better evaluate your load and shooting skills. The trick is pretty simple — mark your bullets with a color from a Sharpie or other felt marking pen. If you are shooting three 5-shot groups, mark five with red, five with green, and five with blue (or purple). Then, when you inspect the target, you can identify the group placements by the colors that appear on the paper.

sharpie felt marker bullet color tip painting group paper target

Round Robin: Using colors you can shoot “Round-Robin” to evaluate seating depths, neck tension, or other variables without having the shot order (and barrel heating) affect group sizes unequally. For example you might have three different neck tensions, each marked with a different color on the bullets. Then shoot Red, Blue, Green in that sequence for five total shots per color.

Smart Tip to Show Colors More Vividly

If the bullet inks are not showing up on your target paper clearly, here is a simple trick that can make the colors “bleed” to be more visible. In your range kit, bring some alcohol solution along with some Q-tips. Then dab the shots on the paper target lightly with wet Q-Tips. Here is the front of a target before and after application of alcohol:

sharpie felt marker bullet color tip painting group paper target

Forum Member NewbieShooter explains: “Dabbing a bit of alcohol on the bullet holes with Q-Tips makes the color pop a bit… especially on the back side.” See below:

sharpie felt marker bullet color tip painting group paper target

In short order you will see the colors spread into the paper, clearly marking the shot holes by distinguishing colors. If you were shooting a dark bullseye, view the the BACK side of the target to see the colors on a light background.

Credits: Bullet Tips photo by Forum Member Dave Way; Target photos by Forum Member NewbieShooter; Story tip from Boyd Allen.

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June 26th, 2024

How to Clean Brass Effectively with Ultrasonic Cleaning Machines

Ultrasonic Cleaning RCBS Ultrasound .308 Winchester 7.62x51 brass casings

Tumblers and walnut/corncob media are old school. These days many shooters prefer processing brass rapidly with an ultrasonic cleaning machine. When used with the proper solution, a good ultrasonic cleaning machine can quickly remove remove dust, carbon, oil, and powder residue from your cartridge brass. The ultrasonic process will clean the inside of the cases, and even the primer pockets. Tumbling works well too, but for really dirty brass, ultrasonic cleaning may be a wise choice.

READ FULL UltimateReloader.com Article on Ultrasonic Case Cleaning »

Our friend Gavin Gear has evaluated an RCBS Ultrasonic cleaning machine using RCBS Ultrasonic Case Cleaning Solution (RCBS #87058). To provide a real challenge, Gavin used some very dull and greasy milsurp brass: “I bought a huge lot of military once-fired 7.52x51mm brass (fired in a machine gun) that I’ve been slowly prepping for my DPMS LR-308B AR-10 style rifle. Some of this brass was fully prepped (sized/de-primed, trimmed, case mouths chamfered, primer pockets reamed) but it was gunked up with lube and looking dingy.”

UltimateReloader.com Case Cleaning Video (7.5 minutes):

Gavin describes the cleaning exercise step-by-step on UltimateReloader.com. Read Gavin’s Cartridge Cleaning Article to learn how he mixed the solution, activated the heater, and cycled the machine for 30 minutes. As you can see in the video above, the results were impressive. If you have never cleaned brass with ultrasound before, you should definitely watch Gavin’s 7.5-minute video — it provides many useful tips and shows the cleaning operation in progress from start to finish.

Ultra Dry Necks After Ultrasonic Cleaning — Some Suggestions
The Ultrasonic cleaning process gets cartridge brass so “squeaky clean” that increased force may be required to seat your bullets, or they may “grab” as they go in the necks. To reduce bullet-seating effort, you may benefit from adding a little dry case lube inside the case-neck before loading (use a nylon brush). Another trick is adding a teaspoon of Ballistol lube to the cleaning solution. That provides a trace lubricant inside the necks, but does not interfere with powder ignition in any way.


The latest Gen2 RCBS ultrasonic cleaning machine has a large 6.3-quart capacity. That’s nearly 100% larger than the first generation machine in Gavin’s video. The Gen2 machine, $399.99 on Amazon, features a second ceramic heater and transducer to better clean brass cases and firearm parts. The LED is easily programmable, and the timer can be set for up to 30 minutes of cleaning. The original 3.2 quart-capacity RCBS ultrasonic machine, as shown in Gavin’s video, is still available for $189.99 at Midsouth Shooters.

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June 26th, 2024

Feds Approve Sale of Vista Outdoor Brands to Czechoslovak Group

Vista outdoor ammunition kinetic group sale CSG Czechoslovak group csg cfius treasury department approval

CFIUS Clears Sale of The Kinetic Group to CSG
Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO) and Czechoslovak Group a.s. (“CSG”) have announced that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) has cleared CSG’s proposed acquisition of Vista Outdoor’s The Kinetic Group business. CFIUS has concluded its investigation of the Transaction and has determined that there are no unresolved national security concerns. CFIUS clearance was the final regulatory approval required under the merger agreement with CSG. CFIUS is a U.S. government committee that reviews foreign investment transactions to determine their effect on U.S. national security.

The Shooting Wire reports: “Vista Outdoor Inc. cleared a major hurdle in its plans to sell off its ammunition segment, known as The Kinetic Group, to Czechoslovak Group, or CSG, after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) cleared the proposed acquisition of The Kinetic Group business after the Committee determined ‘there are no unresolved national security concerns’. The closing of the transaction remains subject to receipt of the approval of Vista Outdoor’s stockholders[.] The Vista Board recommends stockholder approval based partly on a $2 billion purchase price, representing a $90 million increase from the original $1.91 billion purchase price.”

Michael Callahan, Chairman of the VSTO Board of Directors stated: “The CFIUS process involved a thorough review and investigation of the Transaction by numerous U.S. Government departments and agencies[.] We believe the end result supports our view that CSG — which has deep expertise in supply chain excellence and ammunition manufacturing and strong support for NATO and allied nations — will be an excellent owner of The Kinetic Group. CSG is fully committed to supporting our American workforce, American hunters, and domestic and allied military and law enforcement partners.”

The closing of the transaction remains subject to the approval of Vista Outdoor’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions. The special meeting of Vista Outdoor stockholders to vote on a proposal to adopt the merger agreement with CSG is scheduled to be held virtually on July 2, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.

About Vista Outdoor Inc.
Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO) is the parent company of more than three dozen renowned brands that design, manufacture and market sporting and outdoor products. Brands include Bushnell, CamelBak, Bushnell Golf, Foresight Sports, Fox Racing, Bell Helmets, Camp Chef, Giro, Simms Fishing, QuietKat, Stone Glacier, Federal Ammunition, Remington Ammunition and more. Our reporting segments, Outdoor Products (Revelyst) and Sporting Products (The Kinetic Group), provide consumers with a wide range of performance-driven, high-quality and innovative outdoor and sporting products. For news and information, visit our website at www.vistaoutdoor.com.

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June 25th, 2024

Podcast About New Products with Built-In Ballistics Functions

Applied Ballistics podcast products with software integrated

Modern binoculars and Laser Rangefinders have built-in sensors and microprocessors that can provide ballistics solutions. These work via on-board software as well as systems that talk (via Bluetooth) to a mobile device with a Ballistics App installed. Today we feature an Applied Ballistics Podcast that covers these impressive products with integrated ballistics functionality.

AB Integrated Products and Features
Applied Ballistics podcast products with software integratedIn this podcast, Applied Ballistics Founder Bryan Litz and Product Manager Francis Colon answer some of the most common questions received from listeners. They primarily discuss the latest Applied Ballistics integrated devices and highlight their capabilities.

Along with describing the basics of optics and rangefinder products with Applied Ballistics functionality, Bryan and Francis talk about how software can tailor the ballistics output to specific applications and firearms. Francis explains Drop Scale Factor (“DSF”) — a means by which you “train” your solver to match your specific equipment.

NOTE: As we cannot embed the full 42-minute podcast here, you’ll need to go to the Applied Ballistics site to listen. CLICK HERE.

Applied Ballistics podcast products with software integrated

Applied Ballistics podcast products with software integrated

Integrated Solution — Leica LRF and Kestrel with AB Software

This video shows how to pair a Leica Rangemaster 2800.com to a Kestrel Elite 5700. The Leica Rangemaster 2800.com provides the Kestrel with the Range, Firing Direction, and Inclination angle. The Kestrel will then calculate the firing solution and provide that solution on its own display as well as feed that back to the Leica which then displays the hold-over when looking through the Rangefinder. This allows for remote, hands-free operation of the Kestrel in a mount while still being able to see the firing solution in the range finder. NOTE: This is an older video, but similar systems operate with the latest products.

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June 25th, 2024

Cartridge Base to Ogive (CBTO) Length — What You Need to Know

chamber length loading berger bullets
Here are two different bullet types, seated to the same CBTO length, but different COAL. Note the shiny scratches on the bullets made by the comparator tool which indicates a point on the bullet ogive near where the ogive will engage the rifling.

Berger Bullets COAL length cartridgeEffects Of Cartridge Over All Length (COAL) And Cartridge Base To Ogive (CBTO) – Part 2
by Bryan Litz for Berger Bullets.
Part One of this series focused on the importance of COAL in terms of SAAMI standards, magazine lengths, seating depths, and pressure levels. Another measure of length for loaded ammunition is highly important to precision, namely Cartridge Base to Bullet Ogive Length (CBTO).

Figure 2. Chamber throat geometry showing the bullet jump to the rifling or lands.
chamber length loading berger bullets

Look at Figure 2. Suppose the bullet was seated out of the case to the point where the base of the bullet’s nose (ogive) just contacted the beginning of the riflings (the lands) when the bolt was closed. This bullet seating configuration is referred to as touching the lands, or touching the riflings and is a very important measurement to understand for precision hand-loading. Due to the complex dynamics of internal ballistics which happen in the blink of an eye, the distance a bullet moves out of the case before it engages the riflings is highly critical to precision potential. Therefore, in order to systematically optimize the precision of his handloads, it’s critically important that the precision hand-loader understands how to alter bullet seating depth in relation to the barrel rifling. Part of the required knowledge is understanding how to accurately and repeatably measure the Cartridge Base To Ogive (CBTO) dimension. This is explained in the FULL ARTICLE.

Bryan Litz offers an extended discussion on how to measure CBTO using different tools and methods, including the Hornady OAL gauge. You can read this discussion in the full article found on the Berger Bullets website. CLICK HERE to Read Full Article.

Why Not Use CBTO as a SAAMI Standard?
If CBTO is so important to rifle accuracy, you might ask, “Why is it not listed as the SAAMI spec standard in addition to COAL?” There is one primary reason why it is not listed in the standard. This is the lack of uniformity in bullet nose shapes and measuring devices used to determine CBTO.

Benefits of Having a Uniform CBTO
There is another aspect to knowing your CBTO when checking your COAL as it pertains to performance. With good bullets, tooling, and carefully-prepared cases you can easily achieve a CBTO that varies less than +/- .001″ but your COAL can vary as much as .025″ extreme spread (or more with other brands). This is not necessarily bad and it is much better than the other way around. If you have a CBTO dimension that varies but your COAL dimension is tight (within +/- .002″) then it is most likely that your bullet is bottoming out inside the seater cone on the bullet tip. This is very bad and is to be avoided. It is normal for bullets to have precisely the same nose shape and it is also normal for these same bullets to have nose lengths that can vary as much as .025″.

Summary of Cartridge Base To Ogive (CBTO) Discussion
Here are four important considerations regarding bullet seating depth as it relates to CBTO:

1. CBTO is a critical measurement to understand for handloaders because it’s directly related to precision potential, and you control it by simply setting bullet seating depth.

2. Tools and methods for measuring CBTO vary. Most of the measurement techniques have pitfalls (which may give rise to inconsistent results) that you should understand before starting out.

3. A CBTO that produces the best precision in your rifle may not produce the best precision in someone else’s rifle. Even if you have the same rifle, same bullets, same model of comparator gauges, etc. It’s possible that the gauges are not actually the same, and measurements from one don’t translate to the same dimension for another.

4. Once you find the CBTO that produces the best precision in your rifle, it’s important to allow minimal variation in that dimension when producing quality handloads. This is achieved by using quality bullets, tooling, and properly preparing case mouths and necks for consistent seating.

CLICK HERE to Read Full Article with More Info
Article sourced by EdLongrange. We welcome tips from readers.
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