On Sunday, June 14, 2015, firearms manufacturer Colt Defense LLC and its subsidiaries (“Colt”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with the goal of selling the enterprise. Colt had been strained by a heavy $355 million debt burden, and had previously warned that it might resort to bankruptcy if it could not reach an agreement with bond-holders. In a Sunday news release, Keith Maib, Colt’s chief restructuring officer stated: “The plan we are announcing and have filed today will allow Colt to restructure its balance sheet while meeting all of its obligations to customers, vendors, suppliers and employees and providing for maximum continuity in the company’s current and future business operations.” Read full Press Release.
According to Marketwatch, Colt hopes to have new owners by the end of the summer: “Colt is racing to get to the auction block by August 3, with an opening buyout offer from Sciens Capital Management LLC, Colt’s private-equity backer.” There are actually ten separate but related business entities under the Colt umbrella that collectively filed for backruptcy. These are listed in the Bankruptcy Filing Summary, In re Colt Holding Company LLC, Case Number: 15-11296.
GUNS Magazine has just released a 180-page Special Edition dedicated to .22 Rimfire products — guns, accessories, and ammo. Rimfire fans may want to pick up the latest .22 Rimfire Book which covers all .22 rimfire types, from CB caps to the .22 WMR. The cover story features the new .22LR Charger handgun from Ruger. Varminters will enjoy the discussion of the .22 Magnum, a versatile round that is effective on squirrels and other small critters. Other features in this Special Edition include a review of the Volquartsen Custom Deluxe pistol, Dave Anderson’s take on the top .22 target pistols, and an article on Sig Sauer’s newest silencers.
Our favorite story was a history of High Standard’s .22 Match Pistols by contributor Robert Kolesar. High Standards are lovely guns, with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. “Unlike a number of classic guns from the past, the High Standards I remember fondly are still in production,” Kolesar writes. “And they haven’t changed to keep the liability lawyers or bean counters quiet. Arguably, it’s a better pistol, with tighter quality control, sight upgrades not available previously and a good factory trigger — just too good a pistol to be forgotten.”
The .260 Remington and the 6.5×55 Swedish (aka 6,5x55mm SE) are both very popular cartridges with hunters and target shooters. The 6.5×55 has a long military heritage and a great record as a hunting round. The .260 Rem, essentially a .308 Win necked down to .264 caliber, is a more recent cartridge, but it grows in popularity every year, being one of the top cartridges for tactical/practical competitions. It offers better ballistics and less recoil than the parent .308 Win cartridge. In our Shooter’s Forum, respected UK gun writer Laurie Holland provided a good summary of the differences between the two chamberings. Laurie writes:
The 6.5×55 case has 6 or 7% more capacity than the .260s, even more in practice when both are loaded to standard COALs with heavy bullets, which sees them having to seated very deep in the .260 Rem using up quite a lot of powder capacity. So loaded up for reasonable pressures in modern actions, the 6.5×55 will give a bit more performance.
The issue for many is what action length is available or wanted, the 6.5×55 requiring a long action. So sniper rifle / tactical rifle competitors will go for the .260 Rem with the option of the many good short-bolt-throw designs around with detachable box magazines (DBMs). If a bit more performance is needed, the .260 AI (photo right) can yield another 100-150 fps velocity, depending on bullet weight.
Berger Twist-Rate Stability Calculator
On the updated Berger Bullets website you’ll find a handy Twist-Rate Stability Calculator that predicts your gyroscopic stability factor (SG) based on mulitiple variables: velocity, bullet length, bullet weight, barrel twist rate, ambient temperature, and altitude. This very cool tool tells you if your chosen bullet will really stabilize in your barrel.
LIVE DEMO BELOW — Just enter values in the data boxes and click “Calculate SG”.
The Hornady Lock N Load AutoCharge Electronic Scale/Dispenser is now on sale for just $179.49 at Midsouth Shooters Supply, and $178.28 at Amazon.com. Those are the lowest prices we’ve seen on this product in a long time, making this a real bargain. If you are looking for an affordable combination digital scale and powder dispenser, this is very attractive pricing. By comparison, the RCBS ChargeMaster now sells for $314.99 at MidwayUSA. That means you can save at least $135.00 by buying RED instead of GREEN.
While we have a lot of positive experience with the RCBS Chargemaster, we haven’t done any long-term testing of the Hornady AutoCharge. However, user reviews have generally been positive. We suggest you do your own research and then make your own decision. Both the Hornady LnL AutoCharge and RCBS ChargeMaster offer load precision to ±0.1 grains. Both the Hornady Autocharge and the RCBS ChargeMaster are sold with a one-year manufacturers warranty.
We know that many of our readers are now tumbling their brass in liquid media rather than dry media such as corn-cob or walnut shells. When done with STM stainless tumbling media (small ss pins), this system really does work, producing brass that is clean “inside and out”. The only down-side to wet tumbling is that sometimes the inside of the caseneck gets so “squeaky clean” that bullets take more effort to seat. This can be remedied with the use of a dry lube inside the necks. When cleaning with stainless tumbling media you’ll need a quality tumbler that is water-tight. The wet-tumbler of choice is the Model B Thumler’s Tumbler. Featuring a bright-red, side-loading drum, the Model B Thumler’s Tumbler is reliable and built to last.
A while back, Bill Gravatt, then President of Sinclair Int’l, had a chance to evaluate the Thumler’s Tumbler and the wet-cleaning process for cartridge brass. Bill came away a believer: “I wanted to share with you my experience using the Thumler’s Tumbler and stainless steel pin media to clean brass.
We know you guys will like this, since most of you are using Lapua brass for your precision handloads. Now, for a limited time, Grafs.com is offering a custom thermal chest in Lapua livery with a Lapua logo. Use this cooler for your favorite beverage… or better yet, keep your precious match ammo cool. You will definitely get noticed at the range if you shelter your ammunition in a Lapua cooler. A $24.99 value, this Lapua thermal chest is FREE with the purchase of at least $200.00 in Lapua products from Grafs.com. Order a couple boxes of brass and a box of Scenars and you’ve earned yourself a cooler (limit one per customer).
If you will be flying with firearms this summer, you should read this article. You need to familiarize yourself with current Federal Regulations on gun transport before you get anywhere near an airport. Thankfully, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a web page that states the important requirements for airline passengers traveling with firearms and/or ammunition.
You’ll want to visit the TSA Firearms and Ammunition webpage, and read it start to finish. In addition, before your trip, you should check the regulations of the airline(s) with which you will fly. Some airlines have special requirements, such as weight restrictions.
Here are the TSA’s key guidelines for travel with firearms:
Could you hit a buffalo at 1.27 miles (2240 yards) … with iron sights? Impossible as that may seem, that’s exactly what Ernie Jimenez did last month at the North Springs Shooting Range in Price, Utah (elevation 5,627′). Shooting a milsurp Swiss K31 rifle chambered for the 7.5×55 Swiss round, Jimenez placed four hits on a three-foot-high, bison-shaped steel target placed a staggering 2240 yards from the firing line. Not bad for a rifle which Jimenez acquired many years ago for just $99.00. Of course he did have plenty of misses along the way (and Ernie even managed to hit the plate shielding his camera).
This video is set to start half-way through, when the shooter starts making hits:
This week, the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is pleased to host pistol teams from the various U.S. Armed Services in the 56th Annual Interservice Pistol Championship. Our Handloading Shop members have enjoyed discussing pistol accuracy and enjoying the camaraderie of competitive shooters from all over. In that spirit, this week’s topic will focus on handloading for best pistol accuracy, rather than our usual rifle-oriented information.
Optimize the Taper Crimp
One often-overlooked aspect of handloading highly-accurate pistol ammunition is the amount of crimp and its effect on accuracy. Different amounts of taper crimp are used with various handloads to obtain best accuracy. The amount is based on bullet weight, powder burn rate and charge, plus other factors. It is not unusual for our Shop to vary a load’s crimp in degrees of 0.001″ and re-test for finest accuracy.
The 6.5×55 case has 6 or 7% more capacity than the .260s, even more in practice when both are loaded to standard COALs with heavy bullets, which sees them having to seated very deep in the .260 Rem using up quite a lot of powder capacity. So loaded up for reasonable pressures in modern actions, the 6.5×55 will give a bit more performance.
The Hornady Lock N Load AutoCharge Electronic Scale/Dispenser is now on sale for just $179.49 at 
We know that many of our readers are now tumbling their brass in liquid media rather than dry media such as corn-cob or walnut shells. When done with 
