|
|
February 12th, 2009
Site contributor Chris Long (aka “TechShooter”) has crafted a report about his July, 2007 Prairie Dog Expedition in Wyoming. Ralph and Lenora Dampman of Trophy Ridge Outfitters served as guides for the trip. Trophy Ridge runs ‘Dog hunts near the town of Carlile in the NW range of the Black Hills, near Devil’s Tower National Monument. Primarily big game outfitters, Ralph and Lenora have access to thousands of acres of private ranch land. They run guided prairie dog hunts during their off-season. Chris reports “The terrain is beautiful, a welcome change from the South Dakota prairie, with lots of hills and Ponderosa pine trees. [These] ranch lands are home to some prodigious dog towns.”
Chris continues: “The goal of this trip (besides having a great time) was to get in some long range (1000+ yard) opportunities, and possibly even a shot over 1500 yards, in order to qualify for the VHA 1500 yard certification. I had worked up some really good loads for the 6.5-284 TubeGun and the .260 AI using the new 130 grain Berger VLDs, and wanted to see how they performed at these extreme ranges. I also wanted to see how the trusty 6 Dasher performed as a long range varmint cartridge.”
Chris Long was joined by two friends who came all the way from Virginia. Chris reports, “Our plan was to get in four days of intense, long-range shooting. We were not disappointed! The shooting was from 100 to over 1000 yards, and the dogs were everywhere. There were plenty of targets close in, so there was a lot a variety. It is especially challenging to move in and out in range by these extreme amounts. It gave me a lot of practice estimating range and wind conditions, then seeing if I could get the come-ups and windage right on the scope for the first shot at the new range. By the end of the trip, I was getting it pretty close, with some 1-shot hits out to about 600 yards.”
Chris’s primary long-range rifle was his 6.5-284 Tube-gun (photo above) running 130gr Berger VLDs at 3165 fps. Chris reports the 130s can be shot at 3165 fps with no excessive pressures, and “scary, one hole, 5-shot 100-yard group accuracy.” With a B.C. of about 0.6, the 130s shoot flatter and exhibit less wind drift than the 140gr class bullets at 2950 FPS.
Chris’s second gun was a more conventional bolt-action in a Franklin LowRider stock, set up with both 6mm Dasher and .260 AI barrels. Chris notes: “The Dasher has proven itself in spades as an extremely accurate cartridge for F-Class Open competition, and I was anxious to see how it performed as a varmint cartridge. The performance was excellent, with many hits out past 1000 yards. This rifle is set up as a switch-barrel rig, and is the platform for the 260 AI. I made a portable barrel vise that mounts in the trailer hitch receiver on the Suburban. That, with a rear entry action wrench, makes barrel changes a 5 minute affair. I would shoot until the barrel got a bit hot, then switch and proceed with the other caliber.”
CLICK HERE to read the complete story. It contains more load data, details of hits made out to 1330 yards, and many great photos of the Wyoming scenery. For .260 AI and 6 Dasher tech tips, visit TechShooter’s Shooting Pages.
Photos and quotes copyright © 2007 Chris Long, All Rights Reserved, used by permission.
February 11th, 2009
Credit this find to ace British benchrest shooter Vince Bottomley, United Kingdom 1K record-holder and publisher of the excellent Precision Rifle website.
Vince writes: “This beautiful compact press is made by an Italian company, BCM Europearms, run by Vittorio Taveggia. Vittorio builds some superb rifles but he also has a very useful range of accessories for accuracy aficionados. I’m sure you’ll be interested in Vittorio’s loading press — this is offered in several configurations for normal dies, Wilson-style hand-dies, or both. The press is superbly made. Vittorio also crafts very nice Weaver-style rings and bases. Again they are beautifully-finished and very strong. Vittorio also makes stocks and actions. At present, there is no UK importer for the press, but there could be very soon. If you are at all interested in any of the products please drop me an e-mail at vinceb [at] 6ppc.fsnet.co.uk and I’ll pass your interest onto the ‘soon to be’ UK importer.” The top photo shows the original Modulo Masterpiece version, which had three stations. There are other versions, as seen in the photo below.
Editor’s note: We don’t know of a US importer, but you can contact Vittorio directly. Information for his company in Torino, Italy is found on the BCM Europearms website. Send email to: info [at] info@bcmeuropearms.it.
Photo © Vince Bottomley, used by permission
February 11th, 2009
On the ShootingUSA television show, today’s episode will feature the Infantry Team Match at Camp Perry. In connection with that segment, Sgt. First Class Kyle Ward of the U.S. Army Marksmanship provides guideslines on how to properly fit a shooting sling, and how to best use the sling in various shooting positions.
CLICK HERE to read Sgt. Ward’s step by step Sling Instructions.
|
Proper Sling Adjustment
Once the sling is linked together properly, Sgt. Ward explains: “The next step is attaching the sling to your arm. Attaching the sling to your arm is simply done by creating slack in the sling, turning the sling a quarter turn clockwise if you’re a right handed shooter, or a quarter turn counter clockwise if you’re a lefty. You know that your sling is set to the proper length when you can easily and comfortably get into position, when you can take your firing hand off the rifle, and the rifle remains in your shoulder. To get the most of your sling, setting it to its proper length, and where you place it on your arm is critical. There are some general rules to follow when setting up your sling. You want it tight enough that it’s providing maximum support, but not so tight that you have to fight to get it into position.
Proper Sling Placement
Sling placement on your arm is also critical. In the sitting position, you want to place the sling toward the inside of the arm. Place the sling too far to the outside, and it will likely introduce pulse into your position. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust the length of the sling for different firing positions. While using the sling in the prone position, you should place the sling in the outside of the arm. Placing the sling too far towards the inside will reduce the sling’s effectiveness and likely generate pulse.
Try these techniques the next time you’re on the rifle range. Proper use of the leather sling will definitely increase you scores, and decrease the amount of perceived movement when looking through the sights.” |
February 10th, 2009
 The ladies beat the gents at the 2009 Arizona Long-Range Championship at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ. Nancy Tompkins (photo left) triumphed over 50 other shooters to win the main 1K event with a spectacular 600-36X, followed by Michelle Gallagher (of Berger Bullets) who shot 598-28X. Trudie Fay was the top shooter in Palma (.308) class. Way to go ladies! In this event, competitors shot prone (with sling) at 1000 yards. There were 60 rounds for record over two days, with two “any sights” stages, and one “iron sights” stage; the second “iron sights” stage was cancelled due to a sudden and severe hail storm.
Savage Tubegun Wows the Crowd at Ben Avery
Tubegun builder Gary Eliseo finished third overall with 596-27X. Gary’s performance shocked many fellow shooters … not because Gary doesn’t have the skills, but because he shot a 200-12x and a 199-6X on Day One with a Savage-actioned rifle. That’s right, Gary was shooting a prototype S1 Tubegun built with an out-of-the-box Savage Target Action with factory Accutrigger. Gary told us: “To be honest, like everybody else, I was amazed at how well that Savage shot. And I did no modifications or accurizing to the action whatsoever. All I did was lap the outside of the action to the S1 chassis for a better fit.”
German Salazar believes the Savage Tubegun is a very important development: “Here’s an affordable long-range prone rifle that can be assembled by the shooter with simple tools. Get a prefit barrel with barrel nut and you don’t even need a gunsmith. You save money, and just as importantly, you save time — no more year-long waits to get your rifle built.”
Plenty of 6mm Rifles on the Firing Line
While the match winner and runner-up were shooting 6.5-284s, the majority of the remaining Top 10 finishers were using a 6mm cartridge of some kind. Gary Eliseo finished third shooting a 6BR Improved (BRX), Randy Tesseidre finished fourth, also with a 6BRX, and German Salazar finished fifth shooting a 6XC and four of the next five finishers also shot 6mm cartridges. This may evidence a trend towards the smaller caliber over the 6.5mm. Why are we seeing more 6mm cartridges used at 1000 yards? According to German Salazar: “The answer is pretty simple — higher scores. Many (but certainly not all) shooters have found their scores increase when shooting 6mm cartridges, as opposed to the 6.5-284 or even the 7mms. The reasons are more consistent vertical and less recoil, and those two factors are related. With less recoil it’s easier to maintain the precise hold needed to shoot 10s and Xs throughout the match.” Third-place finisher Gary Eliseo also feels that some of the 6mm cartridges may be easier to tune than the 6.5-284. “I shoot the 6BRX”, Gary explained, “it’s an amazing little cartridge–easy to load for. With Berger VLDs seated into the lands it’s super-accurate and really holds tight elevation.”
More Match Results on Desert Sharpshooters Website
Complete Match Results are available on the Desert Sharpshooters website. The Top Three F-Class shooters (in order) were Jim Murphy, Larry Bartholome, and Jeff Cochran, while John Brewer was F-Class High Senior. The Palma match for .308 rifles, held on Friday, was tightly contested. Among the 48 Palma competitors in Friday’s match (not part of the championship aggregate), the top five finishers were Eddie Newman (445-26X), Gary Eliseo (444-25X), David Littlefield (444-21X), Trudie Fay (443-29X), and Steve Cunico (442-26X). Trudie was the High Women shooter while Steve was High Senior.
February 10th, 2009
Whatever your politics, you owe it to yourself to learn more about the restrictive firearm laws adopted in the United Kingdom and Australia. These have effectively banned hand-gun and semi-auto rifle ownership in the UK. In Australia self-loading rifles and even pump shotguns were banned, and hand-gun ownership was severely restricted. In this 10-minute video, gun owners in the UK and Australia tell their own story. The message is clear–without unified, organized opposition by sportsmen and hunters, gun rights will be taken away. In the UK, even shotguns and 22LR pistols used by Olympic competitors have been banned. Think it can’t happen here? Well already in California, new sales of semi-auto AR15-style service rifles are completely banned.
To further highlight the absurdity of gun laws in the UK, Great Britain agreed to construct a new indoor pistol-shooting venue — in order to win the right to host the next Olympic Games. But Olympic authorities have announced the shooting range will be demolished (at public expense) at the close of the games. Why? Because Brits aren’t allowed to own or shoot handguns. Today, even Britain’s Olympic pistol shooters are prohibitied from shooting in the UK and are required to do their training abroad. When London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, Parliament will have to pass legislation allowing the athletes to import and fire their target pistols.
This is a “must-see” video. Click on the image below to watch the video, hosted by YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch other NRA-produced videos.
February 9th, 2009
 The latest editions of Remington’s product catalogs are now available online. You can download the entire 2009 catalog (a 19.5 mb file), or select particular product lines: rifle, shotgun, ammunition, accessories. The Rifle Catalog features all the latest Remington rifles, including the new Model 700 ‘Target Tactical’ model. This 11.75-lb gun boasts a Bell & Carlson composite stock with ergonomic grip and adjustable LOP and cheekpiece. The Target Tactical is offered in .308 Winchester only, with a 26″ hammer-forged 5R barrel with triangular profile. MSRP is $1972.
Complete 2009 Catalog | 2009 Rifles Catalog
Ballistics Data for Dozens of Factory Loads
Remington also has a comprehensive Ballistics Data Sheet with ballistics information for all Remington loaded ammo — from 17 Fireball all the way up to the 45/70 Government. Even if you don’t use factory-loaded ammo, this is a very useful resource that allows you to quickly compare velocities, energy, wind drift, and drop among a wide variety of cartridges. Which shoots flatter… a .204 Ruger or a 22-250? Remington’s Ballistics Data Sheet provides a quick, reliable answer. Info is laid out in tables, with color coding for different bullet types.
CLICK HERE to download Ballistics INFO
February 9th, 2009
 HPS Target Rifles Ltd., Britain’s leading competition shooting supply vendor, offers a new sling design that should benefit smaller shooters or those whose rifles have shallow fore-ends. The HPS AKTIV Flex Sling, made of non-stretch, reinforced PVC webbing, is designed to overcome the problems of the sling fouling on the trigger guard or rubbing on the underside of the stock. The section of the sling that runs under the rifle is replaced with coated wire. The wire center section can be positioned directly under the stock to give maximum clearance. The front strap can be adjusted to the size of hand and to clear the wrist. The arm cuff can be adjusted in length for arm size and position, while sling length is controlled by a buckle that positions the ‘tail’ of the sling so that there is no fouling under the rifle. The HPS AKTIV Flex Sling comes in three colours: blue (shown), dark green and black. The price is U.S. $95.87, or 74.84 Euros.
To view more products from HPS Target Rifles, including their innovative System Gemini Modular position stocks, visit www.HPT-TR.com, or click the link below to download the HPS catalog as a .pdf file.
CLICK HERE to Download 10 mb HPS Target Rifles Ltd. Catalog (10 meg .pdf file).
February 8th, 2009
Doan Trevor is a master gunsmith and stock-maker who works in the old style. He still hand-crafts stocks from start to finish, and does all the metal-work on the custom rifles he builds. Starting with highly-figured woods, Doan carves and shapes his stocks largely by hand, with meticulous attention to detail. Each rifle he builds is optimized for its intended discipline, and custom-fitted for the customer.
With the help of his talented wife Sue (who does the photography and builds the web pages), Doan has created a wonderful website, DoanTrevor.com, that is a feast for the eyes. You can see beautiful wood-stocked rifles being hand-crafted. Doan also illustrates how he creates custom metal parts, and how he beds barreled actions into the finished stocks.
Set aside a few minutes and visit Doan’s website. Be sure to click on the site’s secondary pages: Rifle Building, Woodworking, and Metalworking. You’ll find dozens of high-quality photos and fascinating information on gun-building.
Doan Trevor Moving to New Mexico
California is losing yet another great “gun guy”. Doan announced in his Blog yesterday that he and Sue will be moving to Albuquerque, NM. Doan explains: “Moving under any circumstances is difficult … moving an entire machine shop without heavy equipment machinery movers is an undertaking. So far we have three pods (one and a half already loaded) and will probably need a 26 ft. truck. Yesterday Ray Del Rio and Gary Eliseo’s son Jeremy helped move the 3200-lb lathe. Any able bodies in Southern California are more than welcome to join the fun!” The video below shows the effort:
Photos © 2008-9 Sue & Doan Trevor, All Rights Reserved
February 8th, 2009
 We have a friend who is a record-holding benchrest shooter. He recently decided to explore a new discipline — prone shooting with iron sights — and he has been practicing with a Suhl 150 three days a week. We gave him a copy of David Tubb’s twin-disc Modern Match Rifle instructional DVD, which contains over 4.5 hours of information and expert advice. Two days later, our friend reported: “The DVD is amazing. I watched it two times all the way through. There is so much information on those discs. It’s worth the money just to see how Tubb sets up his rifle and sling… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve already put some of Tubb’s suggestions to work, and my scores got better.”
In his DVD, 11-time National High Power Champ David Tubb explains across-the-course positions (and the Approach Method in Offhand) and how to set-up the rifle for each position. He also also covers targets, set-up and use of aperture sights/diopters, and how to best place and use spotting Scopes. The DVD includes bonus footage of David shooting strings in all of the across-the-course positions. If you shoot Service Rifle, High Power, or prone, you can benefit from watching David’s DVD. The full 2-disc DVD is available for $49.95 from Creedmoor Sports or Superior Shooting Systems.
David has included highlights from that DVD in a shorter promo video, linked below. View the video and you’ll learn a great deal just by watching how David shoulders his rifle, and how he adjusts and maintains his shooting position. David demonstrates prone, sitting, and standing positions.
February 7th, 2009
Larry Crow of Competitive Edge Gunworks has developed a new action that allows the rear of the receiver to float. The front of the action features a large block that secures the action in the stock. Though similar in appearance, this is NOT a barrel block. The barrel snugs up to a shoulder inside the front block, much like a conventional action. Though the oversized block does the “heavy lifting” in terms of securing the action to the stock, there are two (2) action screws. One threads into the underside of the block while the second is placed further back where it attaches to the underside of the normal-diameter section of the receiver. This provides an extremely secure mount while allowing the rear of the action to float free above the stock.
Crow has tested the rifle with a variety of calibers including large magnums. Crow explains: “Our action mounts [with] an extended front lug and allows the rear of the action to float. When fired the barrel harmonics travels back through the action with the back of the action floated. There are no bedding issues which cause vertical stringing. The action is 4340 Rockwell to 42 with 1.228″ X 1.0625″ X 16 T.P.I. barrel shank. The standard action comes with a 20-MOA Picatinny rail. Our bolts are one-piece with M16-style extractor under right lug for 3 O’Clock ejection. Bolts are 4140 Rockwell 42 with R60 hard chrome finish. This [delivers] true bench rest accuracy in a tactical platform.” Shown below is the new action installed in a laminated wood stock and in a McCree modular metal stock (lower photo).
One-Piece Bolt for New Action
For the new action, Crow has also developed a new, super-strong, one-piece bolt. The handle is integral with the bolt. This should be stronger (and more durable) than a conventional bolt handle attached only with silver solder or a spot weld. Shown below are prototype examples of the new one-piece bolt. Production versions will be fluted. Note how the M16-style extractor is integrated into the recoil lug.
|
