Memorial Day–Remember the Fallen
  
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May 27th, 2007
6BRX Barrel Life and Long-Term AccuracyFor the past year, Forum member John Skowron (John708) has been campaigning a 6BRX, built by Nat Lambeth (RustyStud). You’ll find the full history of John’s 6BRX project in this Forum Thread. With this rifle, John was the overall 1000-yard winner at Butner in February 2007.
The 6mm BRX is based on the 6mm BR cartridge. The shoulder is moved forward, but the shoulder angle and case taper is the same as the parent cartridge. This way you can use standard dies for most purposes (although it is a good idea to have a custom full-length die so you can size the entire case body). Many of our readers have been interested in the 6mm Improved (BRX, Dasher etc.), but they’ve wondered about case durability and barrel life. John has answers for those questions: 6BRX Case Life By the way don’t even bother with Remington-brand 6BR brass. The primer pockets were so loose after my standard fire-forming load I had to trash all the cases. Stick with the good stuff, Lapua. 6BRX Barrel Life Achieving this barrel life goal pretty much completes my 6mm BRX project. I’m now shooting a cartridge that has the same or better barrel life than the 260 Rem, it’s more accurate, with essentially equal wind drift. I’ll continue to post updates on barrel life. I think this barrel will last for another several hundred rounds. Heavier Bullets
May 27th, 2007
Great Source for Used Precision Rifles, Scopes, Dies, ToolsHow would you like to walk into a gunstore and find hundreds of quality, custom-built BR rifles, dozens of high-end scopes at 30-50% off new prices, plus mountains of premium reloading tools and accessories at bargain prices? Well, this isn’t a fantasy. Such a place really exists–it’s Bob White’s Shooters’ Corner in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, (973) 663-5159.
Bob maintains “The List” on the internet, an amazing inventory of Benchrest and Varmint rifles, plus assorted gear and accessories. And Bob is always adding new inventory. Here are a few samples (all subject to prior sale): B6. 6PPC Light Varmint, Stolle Panda R/L action; 4 Krieger bbls w/.262 nk, 1 under 200 rnds, 3 others 1500-3000 rnds; Edge Mod fiberglass glue-in stock; Kelbly 3oz trig; Gunsmith: Hammond Rifles; 98% cond. This rifle has shot screamer grps, a teen agg & has won rookie of the year. $2375. w/best bbl; add’l bbls $100. ea. B4. 30 Goodling 1000 Yd Hvy, 600/1000 yd gun in Imp 300 Wby Mag cal, Bat 8½” Mod “M” w/ejector R/L action; 30” Broughton 10”T bbl, 5R rifling, 1.35 dia w/.334 nk under 300 rnds; Shehane Tracker (African Obeche Lam) stock w/pillar glassbedding; Jewell 2oz trig; includes Bat 30MM scope mnts, custom Goodling dies & 50 loaded ctgs; Gunsmith: Sid Goodling; 99% cond. A sharp potential long range winner at a bargain price. $2395. ($3400. invested) B21. 6PPC Light Varmint, Viper R/L action; 2 Shilen bbls w/.262 nk under 500 & c.275-300 rnds; Bruno/McMillan fiberglass glue-in stock; Jewell 2oz trig; Gunsmith: Stevens Accuracy; exc cond. A competitive rig using state of the art components at a good price. $2099. V2. 6BR Remington 40X LH, Mod 40X-KS L/L action; factory 27¼” SS bbl w/10” twist .266 nk under 50 rnds; McMillan fiberglass stock w/factory glassbedding; 40X 2½ lb trig; includes Leupold 1” mnts w/lapped rings & cases; as new w/factory papers in orig case. An excellent caliber & shooter about new. $1895. (a $2300. value) V16. 6MM Rem Custom Varmint, Rem 700 R/R action converted to single shot, action completely trued w/oversize recoil lug; Shilen SS match 26” bbl w/muzzlebrake c.300 rnds; factory lam wood bolt-in stock, pillar glassbedded w/filled magazine area; Jewell 8oz trig w/safety; inclu loaded rnds & load data; Gunsmith: B. White; 98% cond. An extremely accurate varminter which lets you see your hits. $949. (over $1850 invested) V25. 22 BR Carry Varminter, Rem 700 action, Shilen SS match bbl 24” cryoed #4 contour w/.247 nk c.400 rnds, factory wood stock w/pillar glassbedding, factory Rem trig 2lb, inclu Leupold scope mnts & c.100 loaded ctgs, Gunsmith: Kelbly, Inc, exc cond. This 7¾ lb beauty gives 4100 fps w/40 grain bullets, $795, (Redding comp die set avail, $125.) Plus there are listings for scopes, rests, dies, bullet-making gear, even reloading books and magazines. If you are interested in a new precision BR or Varmint rifle, or you’re looking for a great deal on gear, check out “The List”.
May 26th, 2007
Neck Chamfering and Bullet JacketsShaving bullet jackets is a problem reloaders encounter from time to time. It can be caused by excessive neck tension, burrs on the case mouth, or over-aggressive chamfering that leaves a ragged edge on the case mouth. Larry Medler discovered some rounds where the bullet jackets were getting shaved. Diagnosing the problem, he found that this was caused by his outside neck chamfer. He was using a powered screwdriver to rotate the case, and over-cutting plus tool chatter was causing the case neck to roll inwards. This created a thin, sharp edge that actually cut into the bullet jacket as the bullet was being seated.
Larry has a Load Force 250 measuring instrument that records the dynamic bullet seating force and displays the results on a computer screen. Larry noted that spikes in seating force were associated with the cases where the bullets were shaved. Inspecting the cases, Larry realized what was happening. Chamfering the outside after doing the inside allowed his tools to cut too much. Combined with tool chatter, this actually created a sharp, ragged edge that rolled inward towards the bullet: “I discovered I had rolled the case mouth rim inward while deburring the outer edge. When deburring the case mouth on the outside edge, every now and then I could hear some tool chatter. The effects of this chatter really show in the picture.”
The above chart shows the dynamic bullet seating force for the bullet with the shaved jacket. Note the large initial force used to cut and scratch the bullet outer surfaces. The final seating force of 47 pounds is just before the Wilson Seating Die bottoms out and the force on the load cell jumps. The chart below shows normal bullet seating force.
As a fix, Larry decided to reverse the neck deburring operations. Now he deburrs the outside first. This reduces tool chatter and prevents the edge from rolling over, because the neck thickness has not been thinned by inside chamfering. While Larry uses a powered screwdriver to speed his case processing, the lesson applies to those who chamfer manually as well–do the outside first and never overcut. Remember, you simply want to remove burrs and create a slight chamfer. You don’t want to thin the brass significantly at the case mouth. This is why it is important to be very careful when using a deep-angle cutter such as the K&M inside neck chamferer. Click HERE to read Larry’s full report on neck chamfering, with more details on use of the Load Force 250 measuring instrument. Using device such as this, or a K&M arbor press equipped with a seating force gauge, will help you diagnose problems with your neck tension and reloading procedures.
May 26th, 2007
Free Muffs with .204 Ruger BrassHere’s a nice offer from Midsouth Shooters Supply for varminters who shoot the .204 Ruger. If you buy two 50-count boxes of Hornady .204 Ruger brass, Midsouth will give you a FREE pair of Silencio RBW71 Hearing Protectors. These NRR 25-rated muffs are “Hornady Red” with Hornady’s logo imprinted on the side. The muffs normally sell for about $10.00. The brass, Midsouth item 003-8604, costs just $21.03 per box of 50. Act soon, supplies are limited.
May 25th, 2007
Texas Long-Range Rifle ChampionshipOn May 26th and 27th, the Texas State Rifle Association’s (TSRA) Long Range State Championship will be held at the Ft. Wolters Shooting Sports Club in Mineral Wells, TX, 76067. Call Dick Curry at (817) 475-3189 or email curr320[at]aol.com for more information. This match will be for Palma Class, F-Class Open, F-Class T/R, and on Sunday afternoon there will be an Any Sights/Any Rifle competition. Past U.S. F-Class Champion Jeff Cochran (photo below) and many other top shooters will be at this match. The course of fire consists of NRA targets at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. Click HERE for an article describing the basics of long-range matches of this type and the different rifle classifications.
May 25th, 2007
Expander Tool for New BrassLapua brass is so good that you’ll be tempted to just load and shoot, if you have a “no-turn” chamber. However, some minimal case prep will ensure more uniform neck tension. This will produce better accuracy, more consistent bullet seating, and lower Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation (ES/SD). Lapua brass, particularly 6BR, 6.5×47, .243 Win and .308 Win comes from the factory with tighter-than-optimal necks. Before you seat bullets, at a minimum, you should inside chamfer the case mouths, after running an expander mandrel down the necks. The expander mandrels from both Sinclair and K&M will both leave the necks with enough neck tension (more than .001″) that you can then seat bullets without another operation. Put a bit of lube on the mandrel before running it down the necks–but remove any lube that gets inside the necks before seating bullets. Both Sinclair and K&M Tools make a die body specifically to hold expander mandrels. The Sinclair version, item NT-EXP, is shown below. This $17.90 unit fits caliber-specific expander mandrels ($7.95) which measure approximately .001″ less than bullet diameter for each caliber. Once you run the Sinclair expander mandrel down the necks of Lapua brass, after you account for brass spring-back, you’ll have about .002″ neck tension. This will make the process of seating bullets go much more smoothly, and you will also iron out any dents in the case mouths. Once the case mouths are all expanded, and uniformly round, then do your inside neck chamfering/deburring. The same expander mandrels can be used to “neck-up” smaller diameter brass, or prepare brass for neck-turning. Note: an alternative to this procedure is to full-length size every case with an expander ball in place, prior to loading. That works too, but many reloaders may prefer to simply expand the necks, when using Lapua brass.
May 25th, 2007
Super Shoot Daily ResultsKelbly’s Firearms Industry Super Shoot (FISS), one of the most important Benchrest matches in the world, is running this week in North Lawrence, OH. Here are preliminary “Top 10″ results. Scheduled matches are: LV 100 Wednesday, HV 100 Thursday, HV 200 Friday, and LV 200 Saturday. On Wednesday there were excellent conditions. It was hot (90° F), but there were mild winds, mostly left to right. On Thursday conditions were similar but “but the Agg’s were smaller and more 0’s shot. Wind picked up around 1 and didnt let up” according to JDS, posting on Benchrest.com.
May 24th, 2007
New 77mm and 88mm Kowa Spotting ScopesKowa, a favored brand among Highpower shooters, has started shipping two new lines of spotting scopes, the Kowa Prominar TSN-880 and TSN-770 series. These scopes feature 88mm and 77mm objectives respectively. Multiple interchangeable eyepieces are available including 20x-60x, Zoom; 30x, Wide; and 25x, LER (Long Eye Relief).
The key feature with these new Kowas, compared to previous models, is the quality of the glass and the size of the front objectives. All TSN-series scopes feature C3 fully multi-coated lens systems. The TSN-773/774 models have XD (extra low dispersion) objectives, while the premium TSN-883/884 models feature pure Flourite Glass lenses for reduced chromatic aberration and improved long-range resolution. The Flourite lenses add about $600 to the price of the scopes. The new Kowas are quite compact compared to most other spotting scopes with similar objective sizes. The highly achromatized objective lens makes the 88mm Kowa as compact as a 60mm class scope, with the light-gathering ability of a much bigger lens. A new internal dual-focusing system also reduces overall length. With large “fast-focus” knob you can focus from 5m to infinity in just two quick revolutions. Kowa also claims the internal focus keeps the image steadier during the focusing process.
Both the TSN-880 and TSN-770 series scopes are offered with either straight or angled bodies. Bodies are magnesium alloy, and the nitrogen-charged housings are fully waterproof–meeting the rigorous standards of JIS Protection Class 7. The new Kowas are sold by Creedmoor Sports, Cabelas.com, and other major retailers. The TSN-771/772s (body only) cost $1,195 at Creedmoor, while the top-of-the-line TSN-883/884s with Flourite glass, run $2000.00. We hope to test these new Kowas, head to head, against other premium spotting scopes, such as the Zeiss 85mm. Click HERE for a review from a UK birding magazine that concludes the Flourite-glass TSN-883 is nothing sort of outstanding–that it will compete with anything on the market: “With the launch of the TSN-880 series Kowa has clearly thrown down the gauntlet to challenge the Austro-German supremacy that has become widely recognised within the current optics market….This telescope offers almost everything: user friendliness, a large, light-gathering objective combined with a short body…and an image that is apparently second to none.”
May 24th, 2007
Timney Rem 700 Trigger on SaleShooters looking for a moderately-priced trigger upgrade for Remington and Rem-clone actions should check out this deal from MidwayUSA.com. Now through the end of May, 2007, the Timney Rem 700 trigger, item 563419, is on sale for $84.99, marked down from $94.99. This trigger, which adjusts easily from 1.5 to 4 pounds pull weight, is an easy install for most folks with Rem 700s and 40X actions. It fits right hand actions only and it requires the use of the factory safety. The housing is milled from solid steel. All working parts are CNC-machined from solid steel with all contact and wear surfaces hardened, surface ground and polished. User reports on the Timney trigger have been positive: “The trigger is easily adjustable and is CRISP with no creep and breaks cleanly. It has a wonderfully wide trigger and I have mine adjusted down around 1.5 pounds of pull, still crisp and clean.”–A. Richards. “The triggers are wider than stock with very fine ribs. The function is tight, crisp, creep-free, and factory set at 3 pounds (according to my trigger pull guage). They functioned flawlessly and the factory safeties mated right up to them, and functioned as they should.”–D.R. “Super easy to install, super easy to adjust the trigger, and a super high quality product. I am not mechanically inclined at all, and it was a cinch to install.”–J. Ritchie.
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