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March 16th, 2020
At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.
1. Sportsman’s WH — Rem 700 ADL Tactical .308 Win, $399.99
The Remington 700 is the most popular modern bolt-action system in America. If you’re like most hunters and shooters you’d never complain about adding another Rem 700 rifle to your collection. We found an amazing deal on the Remington 700 ADL Tactical FDE in .308 Winchester. Get this fine .308 Win rifle for just $399.99 at Sportsman’s Warehouse. Act soon — we expect this deal to sell out.
2. Powder Valley — Lapua Brass Deals
Lapua brass is top-of-the-line and that’s why we’re always on the hunt for a deal. This week we found Powder Valley has a great selection of Lapua brass and many of the sizes are marked down so grab some and start prepping for the next match. For example, .223 Rem is just $56.93/100 while .308 Win is $76.27/100. Both 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5 Creedmoor are both $85.67 per hundred.
3. Midsouth — Nikon X1000 and FX1000 Sale, Free Tactical Bag
Nikon has produced some excellent tactical scopes with great features and rock-solid warranties. Now these Nikon Black Force X1000 and FX1000 scopes are being offered at close-out prices by Midsouth Shooters. The X1000 has a second focal plane reticle while the FX1000 models are First Focal Plane (FFP). Special Bonus — with each Nikon Black Force scope you get a Free Tactical Range Bag.
4. Midway USA — Factory Seconds Bullet Sale
Bullets aren’t getting any cheaper and for most of us we can’t tell a perfect bullet from one that is 99% as good so why pay full price if you don’t have to. Head over to MidwayUSA for their huge factory seconds bullet sale for some crazy savings. We can’t tell you the brands, but you’ll probably recognize them from caliber/weight, so take advantage of this sale.
5. EuroOptic — Nightforce Competition Demo Sale, $1,999
The Nightforce Competition scopes are favored by top F-Class and Long Range competitors, including the the U.S. Rifle Team. These high-end 15-55X power optics normally cost $2400. However, for a limited time, you can pick up a demo model Nightforce 15-55x52mm Competition for $1999.00. You know you’re going to get any scope dirty the first time you use it so why not buy a demo model and save $400. That $400 can buy a nice custom barrel and more.
6. Bruno’s — RCBS Match Master Powder Dispenser, $849.00
RCBS promised to shake up the reloading world by recently releasing their newest powder dispenser. The Match Master promises to drop all types of powder using a two-tube system with an accuracy up to .04 grain. Choose speed mode or precision mode. Most vendors, such as MidwayUSA, are charging $899.00 or more. But you can save $50 at Bruno’s which sells the RCBS Match Master powder dispenser for $849.00, the best price we’ve found.
7. Amazon — Vinca Digital Caliper, $21.98
 Every handloader needs a set of calipers, and this Vinca unit offers some great features for a very afforcable price. Do you ever wish you could take measurements and record them easily for review later? Grab this Vinca Digital Caliper for only $21.98 and you can upload data as you measure. The unit features a RS232 data transfer port that can communicate to a windows laptop or computer with an accessory cable (sold separately).
NOTE: The RS232 Data transfer port must connect with “VINCA DTCR-03″ Cable to make data transfer to PC. DO NOT CONNECT WITH REGULAR USB CABLE. This unit comes with one extra battery, and the maker offers a satisfaction guarantee.
8. Amazon — ProCase Tactical Range Bag, $49.99
This ProCase Tactical Range Bag offers great capacity, plenty of pockets, and an adjustable interior. Here is an actual owner’s review: “This bag is holds everything I need to go to the range and/or competition. I was able to place my ammo, 2 pistols, 2 x eye glasses and ear protection, shot timer, 6 speed loaders for the revolvers, a small pistol cleaning kit, my concealment vest, shooting diary, 2 x pens and a water bottle. It is very well padded for protection, and it even had rubber feet on the bottom.”
9. Amazon — Jialitte Scope Bubble Level, $10.99
All serious rifle shooters need a scope level. This nicely designed Jialitte Scope Bubble Level features a 30mm milled inside diameter, plus an inner insert ring so it will also fit 1″-diameter main tubes — that dual-diameter versatility is a nice feature. We also like the way the unit is nicely radiused, and has a low profile in the middle. Price is just $10.99 with free shipping. User reviews have been very positive. You could easily pay $35.00 or more for a 30mm scope level.
March 16th, 2020
Arizona is warm, dry, and sunny right? Well not always. This past weekend, rain fell in droves on the Friday practice day for the 2020 Cactus Classic 100/200 yard Benchrest event. Yes, it was Friday the 13th! But then the rain clouds receded, and visitors were greeted to a stunning rainbow.
Rainbow photo by Michelle Gallagher.
The two-day match got underway on March 14th in relatively dry but windy conditions. That created challenging conditions for the competitors — even with windflags set up to show wind velocity and angles.
One of the best matches of the year, the Cactus Classic attracts many of the nation’s top “point-blank” shooters. These aces compete with 10.5-lb Light Varmint and 13.5-lb Heavy Varmint rifles, nearly all chambered for the 6PPC cartridge. Many shooters run their LVs in HV classes as well, for simplicity (and to save money — one rifle costs less than two). In this game, the vast majority of shooters load at the range between relays. That lets them tune their loads to the condition — something that can help when you’re trying to shoot tiny dots.
With all the interest in F-Class, PRS, and ELR, we sometimes forget that plenty of folks are still competiting in Short-Range Benchrest disciplines, with standards of accuracy we can only envy. For a PRS shooter, a good 100-yard, five-shot group would be half-MOA. For a benchrest shooter, a good group at 100 would be in the “Ones”. That’s smaller than 0.200″ center to center for five shots. And the small group of a Relay is often in the “Zeros”.
Conditions were wet on Friday the 13th before the 2020 Cactus Classic.
March 16th, 2020
Applied Ballistics Wind Hack
Any long range shooter knows that wind is our ultimate nemesis. The best ways of overcoming wind are to measure what we can and use computers to calculate deflection. The Applied Ballistics Kestrel is a great tool for this. As good as our tools may be, we don’t always have them at our fingertips, or they break, batteries go dead, and so on. In these cases, it’s nice to have a simple way of estimating wind based on known variables. There are numerous wind formulas of various complexity.
The Applied Ballistics (AB) Wind Hack is about the simplest way to get a rough wind solution. Here it is: You simply add 2 to the first digit of your G7 BC, and divide your drop by this number to get the 10 mph crosswind deflection. For example, suppose you’re shooting a .308 caliber 175-grain bullet with a G7 BC of 0.260 at 1000 yards, and your drop is 37 MOA. For a G7 BC of 0.260, your “wind number” is 2+2=4. So your 10 mph wind deflection is your drop (37 MOA) divided by your “wind number” (4) = 9.25 MOA. This is really close to the actual 9.37 MOA calculated by the ballistic software.
WIND HACK Formula
10 mph Cross Wind Deflection = Drop (in MOA) divided by (G7 BC 1st Digit + 2)
Give the AB wind hack a try to see how it works with your ballistics!
Some Caveats: Your drop number has to be from a 100-yard zero. This wind hack is most accurate for supersonic flight. Within supersonic range, accuracy is typically better than +/-6″. You can easily scale the 10 mph crosswind deflection by the actual wind speed. Wind direction has to be scaled by the cosine of the angle.
March 15th, 2020
This story, from our Gun of the Week Archives, offers a good intro to the 30 BR cartridge, which is still the leading chambering for short-range Score Benchrest.
What’s better than one custom-built 30 BR with gorgeous wood and top-shelf components? A matching pair of course. Just ask Australian shooter Greg Roche (“Caduceus” in our Forum). A decade ago, Greg spent two years living and working in the USA. While in America, he commissioned two matched custom rifles to bring back to Australia for Hunter Class BR matches. Though the look-alike rigs are both chambered in 30 BR, one is designed for the Australian “Traditional” centerfire Hunter Class (10-lb limit), while the other is purpose-built for the “Custom” centerfire Hunter Class (14-lb limit). The 10-lb Traditional rifle features a fully-functioning two-round magazine and a 6-power scope. In contrast the Custom Class rifle is a single-shot action, with a 45X Leupold scope. The Custom weighs 13.5 pounds so it can also be used in traditional Heavy Varmint Benchrest matches if desired.
Tale of Two Rifles
Story and Photos by Greg Roche (“Caduceus”)
The USA boasts some of the finest precision rifle-builders and Benchrest parts suppliers in the world. Before returning to Australia after two years in the States, I decided to have two special BR rifles built using American components and skilled labor. I wanted a matched pair — twin guns that would be as handsome as they were accurate. The heavier gun of the pair, the 13.5-lb Custom Class rifle, features top-of-the-line (but well-proven) technologies and components. With the 10.5-lb Traditional Class rifle, we had to develop new solutions to allow the 30 BR cartridge to feed from a functional two-round magazine. Here is my saga of how my twin 30 BRs were conceived and built, and how they have performed in competition.
| BACKGROUND — The 30 BR for Score Competition
The 30 BR is a wildcat cartridge based on a necked-up version of the 6mmBR Norma case. It originated in U.S. Benchrest circles where it found its niche in Varmint For Score (VFS) matches. Unlike traditional Benchrest, where group size determines the winner, VFS matches are shot on a target with multiple, concentric-ringed bullseyes. Point total is based on “best edge” shot location (one shot per bull). In score competition, the 30 BR’s “supersized” .308-diameter hole offers an advantage over the 6mm hole created by a 6 PPC, the dominant group BR chambering.
The starting point for loading the 30 BR wildcat is Lapua 6mmBR brass. These are necked up as a single-step operation using a .30 caliber tapered expander ball (or dedicated expander mandrel). This will leave a bulge in the neck, so the expanded case neck is normally turned to bring the thickness down to the correct dimension for the chamber. I turned these necks down to .010″ wall thickness using a Stiller neck-turning tool. It features an eccentric mandrel similar to the Nielson “Pumpkin”. Loaded rounds measure .328″ neck diameter. This gives minimum clearance in my .330″ neck chamber, so very little neck resizing is needed after firing. Cases are trimmed to 1.500″ prior to turning to ensure consistency since the Stiller tool indexes the length of cut off the case mouth. Other than that, cases are just chamfered, loaded and made ready to shoot. No special fire-forming is required.
17-Twist Barrels for Both Rifles
Texan gunsmith Mike Bryant chambered both barrels. Mike also polished both barrels to a high-gloss to match the receivers. In this game, barrels are consumables, much like powder and primers, so most owners wouldn’t bother to polish their barrels. However a 30 BR barrel can provide up to 5000 rounds of accurate life (unlike a 6PPC barrel which might be tossed after 800-1000 rounds.) So, these barrels are likely to be on the rifles for many seasons. Given the high-gloss finish of the Grizzly actions and the beauty of the Red Cedar stocks, it would have been an injustice to leave a dull finish on the barrels.
The chambers were both cut with the same reamer supplied by Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool and Gauge. Randy Robinett, one of the originators of the 30 BR wildcat, specified the reamer dimensions. Randy’s 118gr, 10-ogive custom BIB bullets and the 30 BR cartridge enjoy a winning track record in the USA. The 30 BR Robinette reamer has zero free-bore and a .330″ neck, and is optimized for the BIB 118s. The bullets perform best when seated far enough out to jam firmly into the rifling as the bolt is closed. The long ogive means the bullet’s bearing surface is very short.
Slow Twists for Maximum Accuracy
You may note the unusually slow twist rate of both barrels. In most .30-caliber chamberings, the barrel twist rate is 1:11 or 1:12 to stabilize 150gr to 200gr bullets. The 30 BR is optimized for 115gr to 118gr flat-base bullets and 1:17 provides sufficient stability at muzzle velocities around 2900-3000 fps. In competitive Benchrest, where every thousandth of an inch counts, over-stabilization of projectiles can hurt accuracy, so “just stable enough” is the goal; hence the 1:17 twist.
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Case Forming, Case Prep, and Reloading Methods
A Sinclair case neck micrometer indicates neck thickness of 0.010″ after neck turning.
 30 BR dies are readily available from a number of manufacturers. I personally use Wilson neck and seating dies with a Sinclair Arbor press, but Redding and Forster both supply high-quality threaded dies for use in a conventional press. For under $100.00 US, custom full-length dies can be obtained from Hornady and CH Tool & Die by sending them reamer prints or a couple of fired cases. Harrell’s Precision offers “semi-custom” dies. Just send them some fired cases and they select a pre-made CNC-cut die that ideally fits your chamber. You can ask the Harrell brothers for a die that’s tighter at the shoulder or base, or otherwise customized to your preferences.
Load Development and Accuracy Testing
With cases formed and bullets selected, load development is simply a matter of choosing the right primer, powder and charge weight, and loading the most consistent ammunition possible. The Lapua BR cases use a small rifle primer. The choice here was Federal 205 Match primers vs. CCI BR4 Benchrest primers. Some shooters have also had success using CCI 450 Magnum primers but it is very unlikely the small case needs this much spark to light off regular extruded powders. In my case, I selected Federal primers because availability tends to be better in Australia.
The relatively large bore-to-capacity ratio of the 30 BR case means that fast burning powders are the order of the day. Once again, US experience suggests H4198 (the Hodgdon equivalent of ADI AR2207) is the choice of match winners. The fact that H4198/AR2207 is an Australian-made product is an added bonus. So, I loaded up test rounds with AR2207 from 32.5 grains to 35.0 grains in approximately 0.3 grain increments. All bullets were seated to jam +0.010″ into the lands. This places the bullet base about two-thirds of the way down the neck and well short of the neck-shoulder junction.
March 15th, 2020
If you look at that 5-round group you might think it was shot with a 6 PPC or maybe a 6mmBR. But no, this was done with heavy 180gr Berger Hybrid bullets and the .284 Shehane, an improved version of the .284 Winchester. In fact, this impressive sub-quarter MOA group was shot while fire-forming with a very well-worn barrel! Gun builder Ryan Pierce of Piercision Rifles explains:
Here’s a 5-shot 0.191″ group at 100 yards with my .284 Shehane fire-forming loads. This barrel has 2200 rounds through it. It had 2000 as a straight .284 Win and then I set it back to .284 Shehane to form brass with. This was the first five rounds through it after I cleaned it after the last match. [The load was] 180 Hybrids with 54.0 grains of H4831 SC.
Ya, I figured why not I had some old barrels laying around so I just chopped 2″ off the back and 1″ off the front and chambered it up as a Shehane. Had 1000 pieces to fireform and didn’t want to do all that on a brand new barrel.
My fireform loads are going 2765 FPS. I have a 29″ barrel also though since it’s a setback. Once you get it formed I would push it faster than that or I wouldn’t even bother with the Shehane. My old straight .284 load at 2890 fps had ES spread in single digits for 10 shots. I figured if I get it up to 2935-2950 fps that will be a point or two saved in a several day match.
Our friend Erik Cortina notes that the .284 Shehane has a velocity edge over the straight .284 Win because it holds more powder: “The Shehane has more capacity than the .284 Winchester. Ryan is using 54.0 grains simply as a fire-forming load. Typical load for a Shehane is around 57.0 grains of Hodgdon H4831 SC.” By blowing the sidewalls out 0.010″, the .284 Shehane picks up about 3.3 grains of extra case capacity. That enhancement makes a BIG difference. The extra boiler room is enough to drive the 180s at 2900-2950 fps with H4831sc, with long barrels.
Forum member Jim Hardy has shot the .284 with great success. He tells us: “In my humble opinion, the .284 Shehane is the best balanced long-range round there is — bar none. Here is why:
You have to shoot a 30 Cal Magnum with a 240gr bullet to equal the performance of most 7mm chamberings with the 180 Berger VLD. With the .284 Shehane, you have a .308 bolt face, medium action, and Lapua brass. You use less powder than the 7 mags, and have great accuracy and ballistics even while fire-forming. The .284 Shehane shoots inside the 6.5 AND the straight .284, the .300 WSM, and the .300 Win Mag with less recoil. What is not to love about the 284 Shehane? It is a no-brainer for long range — F-Class or Prone or 1000-yard Benchrest.”
Scotland’s Grant Taylor. who used the .284 Shehane to finish third at the 2009 F-Class Worlds in England says the .284 Shehane is “very accurate with superb vertical spreads at 1000 yards. [This] caliber… has awesome accuracy. I’m getting 2930-2950 fps with spreads in the 3-5 fps range. I use Hodgdon H4831sc powder, CCI BR2 primers, and pointed 180gr Bergers.”
March 14th, 2020
Brownells is running a huge St. Patrick’s Day Sale right now. There are over 1000 items on sale, with big discounts on reloading tools, AR uppers/lowers, ammunition, triggers, optics and much more. Six notable sale items are previewed above, but that’s just a small sample — there are 1020 products on sale now through March 17 at 11:59 pm CDT. CLICK HERE to shop all 1020 Sale items.
Other sale items include Lapua Brass, Federal Primers, Vortex Scopes, RCBS Chargemasters, Rem 700 Actions, Howa Barreled Actions, Redding Dies, Redding Reloading Presses, CCI and SK Rimfire Ammo, 9mm Pistol Ammo (many brands), Winchester Powder, Lyman Case Prep Centers, and much more. TIP: When you get to the SALE Page, set the “Per Page” display to show 96 Items. That will speed up your shopping.
March 14th, 2020
Many shooters, particular those who shoot vintage military rifle matches, reload once-fired military cartridge brass. This brass may be high-quality and stout, but you may encounter a primer crimp* that interferes with the seating of a new primer. There are a variety of dedicated, military-crimp tools on the market, such as Dillon’s excellent Super Swage 600 tool that “rolls the crimp away”. But the Dillon tool costs $114.99 and takes quite a bit of room on your reloading bench. If you don’t want to drop a C-note and give up valuable bench space — here’s another (much cheaper) solution.
If you already have a Wilson case trimmer set-up, you can ream away those military crimps using an affordable Wilson accessory — the Primer Pocket Reamer (large #PPR210, small #PPR175). This $32.65 accessory is used in conjunction with a Wilson case trimmer and case-holder as shown above.
 In the respected Riflemans Journal website, the Editor, “GS Arizona”, showed how to use the Wilson primer pocket reamer to remove military crimps on Lake City .30-06 cartridge brass. He explains: “The case goes into the Wilson case-holder, the same one used for case trimming, and the reamer replaces the trimmer head in the tool base. The threaded rod on the left side, which is normally used to regulate trim length has no use for this operation and it is simply backed out. Hold the case-holder as you turn the reamer into the primer pocket, it cuts easily and quickly. The reamer will stop cutting when the proper depth is reached.”
Do you really need to do this operation with military-crimped brass? Yes, and here’s why: “Any attempt to prime the case without removing the crimp will simply result in a mangled primer that cannot be expected to fire and certainly won’t fire reliably.”
Vintage Military Rifle shooters often utilize surplus military brass with primer pocket crimps.
*Why does military brass has a primer crimp? GS Arizona answers: “The crimp is nothing more than an intentional deformation of the case around the primer pocket, the purpose of which is to retain the primer in the case despite high pressure situations in machine guns and other automatic weapons where a loose primer may cause a malfunction. As reloaders, our task is to get rid of the remnants of the crimp in order to allow re-priming the case.”
March 14th, 2020
Looking to acquire a handgun for personal protection of home and family? There are countless options on the market. Your buying decision may be simplified by seeing what other consumers have chosen, as revealed by nationwide sales trends. You can now check firearms sales figures using “Gun Genius”, a new data-crunching service of Gunbroker.com. On GunGenius.com you can select any type of firearm (handgun, rifle, shotgun)* and see the top sellers for that category. Here are the top-selling semi-auto handguns, new and used. There are separate listings for wheelguns.
Here are the five (5) top-selling NEW semi-auto handguns for February 2020:
Here are the five (5) top-selling USED semi-auto handguns for February 2020:
*Chose semi-auto pistols, revolvers, semi-auto rifles, bolt-action rifles, lever-action rifles, single-shot rifles, semi-auto shotguns, pump shotguns, and more. You can also filter for sales trends (upwards and downwards). Drill down to see detailed product specifications and current prices.
March 13th, 2020
Due to public health concerns related to COVID-19, the Coronavirus, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has cancelled the April 2020 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits. A new, rescheduled event date has not been announced. The NRA event was originally slated for April 16-19 in Nashville, Tennessee.
In cancelling the 2020 NRA Annual Meeting, the NRA issued this statement on Friday, March 13th:
NRA Annual Meeting Cancelled
With our 149th Annual Meeting scheduled for next month in Nashville, we realize many NRA members and meeting guests have questions about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the potential impact on our convention.
We have been closely monitoring updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tennessee Department of Health. In fact, earlier today, a State of Emergency was declared in Tennessee.
Therefore, we have reluctantly decided to cancel this year’s NRA Annual Meeting, planned for April 16 – 19 in Nashville. This applies to all events and scheduled programs, including the NRA-ILA Forum. We sincerely regret the need for this action, particularly for our many loyal members who join us for this annual celebration of the NRA and our constitutional freedoms. Details regarding a rescheduled NRA Members’ Meeting will be forthcoming.
Under the direction of NRA President Carolyn Meadows, the NRA Board of Directors is working with the Office of the Secretary in relation to board elections, meetings, and the like.
Please know that we did not reach this decision lightly. We were ultimately guided by our responsibility to help ensure the safety and well-being of our NRA members, guests, and surrounding community. Please coordinate directly with any hotels, airlines or others who have assisted with your travel arrangements. Most companies have announced plans to accommodate travelers dealing with event cancellations.
Please visit NRAAM.org for additional news and information regarding NRA activities. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. |
March 13th, 2020
Competitors take note — The CMP Western Games will continue as scheduled at Ben Avery in Phoenix this week, from March 13 (today) through March 22, 2020. However, the CMP has cancelled some other events scheduled this spring due to concerns over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) (see below).
Regarding the Western Games, the CMP states: “The Western CMP Games and HP Matches at Ben Avery Shooting Facility, AZ [are] to be Conducted as Scheduled. Participants need to be mindful of sound general health practices to help prevent communication of the virus (frequent hand washing, social distance with others, etc.).”
The Western Games begin Friday, March 13 and conclude Sunday, March 22.
CMP Event Cancellations
1. CMP National JROTC Championship — Camp Perry, OH (March 19-21)
Changed to Postal Match.
This championship event will continue as a postal match with finals. Details will be emailed to teams and coaches as soon as they are finalized.
2. CMP 3-P Regional Airgun Championships — Camp Perry, OH – Sandy, UT – Anniston, AL (March 26-28 and April 2-4)
Changed to Postal Matches.
These regional events will continue as postal matches with finals. Details will be emailed to teams and coaches as soon as they are finalized.
3. CMP 3-P Air Rifle Junior Summer Camps and Clinics Program — Multiple Locations (June, July and August). CANCELLED Completely.
On the Watch List:
CMP 3P Air Rifle National Championship — Camp Perry, OH
(Sporter – June 25-27 and Precision July 11-13)
At this point the CMP is planning to conduct the CMP National 3-P Championship in June and July, but will be monitoring the situation and will announce additional cancellations if needed.
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